Elfin Clay brings a childlike wonder to competitive multiplayer

Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2021-11-29 15:18 (JST)
Translated by. Nick Mosier

On November 29, IT company Sonorite announced their online multiplayer game Elfin Clay will be launching on December 2. The game will be available on PC (Steam) for 1,730 yen (roughly $17) and will support both English and Japanese. A free version with some restrictions will also be available the same day.

Elfin Clay is an online multiplayer game about collecting items where players control cute little creatures called Elfin Clay. Scattered throughout the stage are crayons, blocks, and other treasures. Players must work together with their teammates to gather as many treasures as possible within the time limit. But in Elfin Clay, it isn’t winning that’s important.

The concept of Elfin Clay is to make an online game where adults can become and play like 3-year-old children. During gameplay, the Elfin Clay will sometimes get upset or angry and can be cheered up by another player giving them a gentle pat or wave. The game also tracks friendship ratings with other players and has a picture diary that fills up automatically to document your games.

The game features numerous hats for the Elfin Clay to wear as well, with different hats having different looks and abilities, some useful and some not so much. There’s also a toybox for the toys you collect and a feature for trading with other players. In the trailer, the Elfin Clay waddle around like adorable little children. This game looks to let adults forget the troubles of being a grown-up and return to a time of childlike, innocent play.

The developer, unCompany games, is the game development division of Sonorite, an IT company that mainly focuses on working with other businesses. According to an older press release, the unCompany games team is made up of members that don’t enjoy more adult centric entertainment like going out for drinks, playing mahjong, or golf. And thus, the 7-member team came together to make the game inside the company.

It sounds like the team, weary from the demands of life, put their desire for a gentle world into creating a game. If you feel the same way, this may be a good game to check out.

Elfin Clay is scheduled to launch on PC (Steam) on December 2, for 1,730 yen (roughly $17), with a discount running during the game’s first week. A free version will also be available with restrictions on collectable hats and treasures. However, it will be possible to play with paid players using the free version.