We Built This City On Tiles and Dreams
You know when you are in the mood for a zone-out game, and maybe that game has some fun Halloweeny vibes to match the mood. I know I am not the only one. Since you are looking for just that, let me tell you about Fangtopia, a chill world-building puzzle game where you build spooky landscapes for monsters and the paranormal to call home.
I love puzzle games; it is part of why I love horror games, since most use puzzle-based progression. So a puzzle game with a spooky but cute theme definitely caught my eye, but is it worth your time and money? The short answer is yes, if you like that kind of thing. Fangtopia by Absolutely Games is a tile-placing world-building puzzle game where the goal is to create the biggest world possible while scoring the most points in the process. The candy coating is the cozy Halloween theming of the world, its inhabitants, and its landmarks. You start with a castle and tiles for fields, forests, villages, or mountains to build off of. You earn points by combining similar tiles and start earning spooky landmarks straight out of your favorite Goosebumps books or Scooby-Doo.
Image Credit: Dan Morris for Fearzine /Absolutely Games Ltd. / Secret Mode Limited
At the start of the game, there is a training mode which teaches you the basics. Fangtopia mode is the core game, and for a more challenging option, there is Ghoulish Mode that adds rivers and the ability to swap the top two tiles in your hand. Lastly, Island Mode has you connect a chain of islands across an ocean so that you can run railway tracks for the Ghost Train.
When you begin a game in Fantopia, you start with 34 tiles in your hand, and when you run out of tiles, the game ends. You earn more tiles by completing challenges and unlocking new tile types. You have to place the tile in your hand in the world and try to score the most points by rotating tiles to make the best combinations of tiles. You cannot swap tiles out unless you place a monster home, and the monster rewards you with more tiles that replace your current hand. Tiles can also include rail lines that, when connected, start to spawn ghost trains that chug along the lines. They are super cute, by the way.
Image Credit: Dan Morris for Fearzine /Absolutely Games Ltd. / Secret Mode Limited
When you hit score milestones, you will be offered a landmark to place on the map. The selection screen shows you what kind of tiles the landmarks want and the reward for fulfilling their desires. I began to find monster tiles like werewolves, Yetis, and UFOs as I expanded the map. Both landmarks and monsters, and sometimes areas of landscapes, will award you bonus tiles and points when you achieve their desired goal of additional tiles. Landmarks and monsters want specific tiles placed around them to earn the bonus and make the monsters feel at home.
I quickly found myself caught up in the cycle of trying to earn as many tiles as I could in order to keep the game going. This got easier the more I played, as I unlocked new tile types, landmarks, and monsters. With each run, I had more options and ultimately made bigger maps. I got particularly absorbed in trying to build really long rail lines once I learned about the ghost trains and watched them puff around my villages.
The not-so-cozy aspects I faced mostly boiled down to finicky controls that will hopefully be fixed by the time you read this. Playing on the PlayStation 5 with a controller feels good enough, but there were times when I found it difficult to place my cursor where I wanted, which led me to place tiles in the wrong spot and ruin a high-scoring combo. There is an undo button, but I kept forgetting to use it. The zoom function also refused to work for me when the cursor was on an eligible spot. If I wanted to zoom in or out, I had to move off the point, change the zoom, then reposition the tile. Similarly, when I unlocked a monster to place on the map, the zoom would lock it wherever it was until I placed the tile. This certainly didn't ruin my relaxing playtime with Fangtopia, but it would definitely help to get sorted out in a patch.
Image Credit: Dan Morris for Fearzine /Absolutely Games Ltd. / Secret Mode Limited
RESULTS
Fangtopia proved to be a very satisfying and relaxing game that got its fangs in me. Its depth turned out to be more than its cover, as I sought to build up bigger and bigger worlds for all the creepy, spooky residents to call home. Come on down and visit Fangtopia this Halloween, or whenever you need to relax and enjoy some spoopy, chill puzzling and zen gameplay.
DEVELOPER: Absolutely Games Ltd.
PUBLISHER: Secret Mode Limited
AVAILBLE ON: PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, Stove), PS5, Switch 2
PLAYED ON: PlayStation 5
DEMO: YES
PRICE: $12.99/£9.99/€12.99
RELEASE DATE: October 26th, 2026
Learn more about FANGTOPIA by visiting the official website. Steam | EPIC | PS5 | Switch
Are you in the mood for some spooky cute puzzle action this Halloween? Let us know what you think of Fangotpia and some of your favorite puzzle and spooky games are.
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