There’s a satisfaction that comes from knowing where everything is and putting everything in its proper place. Getting some spring cleaning done, organizing a collection of digital games into appropriate folders on your PlayStation 4 or in the Steam launcher, or just managing to get a specific space a little cleared up so you can perform tasks more accurately can be satisfying. Wilmot’s Warehouse, a new simulation on the Nintendo Switch and PC, embodies the notion of getting things settled so you can efficiently go about your day. Even more extraordinary is how it actually makes the entire endeavor fun.
In Wilmot’s Warehouse, players follow a box-like entity named Wilmot. Your goal is to take products that arrive there, store them properly, find out what your coworkers need to complete their tasks during the delivery phase, then get it to them. While it seems simple, things gradually scale in difficulty. You start with a warehouse with six pillars in it and 12 different products. Between most shifts, you only have three minutes to get the new deliveries sorted and stocked.
Once that phase is done, you have a service phase that lasts just und0er two minutes to complete. Your four coworkers appear at the hatch above requesting certain numbers of products, and you need to deliver them. Some will have stars that you earn for tending to them in a timely manner, which can be put toward upgrades like the ability to carry more products at once, a brief dash, the ability to rotate what you’re holding, and a robotic assistant. After getting through a quarter, you have an opportunity to buy upgrades and have unlimited time to get things settled. Once that’s done, it all starts all over again.
It may sound like a tedious endeavor and basic feedback look, but Wilmot’s Warehouse excels at making constant sorting and organizing an enjoyable experience. At the end of each shift, new products are revealed. There are 500 possible, but you can only get 200 of them, meaning you’d have to replay to see the others. Also, they unlock at different times, so you don’t know what you’ll get. The images for each one are abstract and colorful, which means your warehouse won’t look like anyone else’s.
For example, I received one product that could have been a swim fin, but also looked like a duck’s foot. Since my self-proclaimed “summer products” section was rather full and I didn’t have as many wildlife-related ones in another area, I filed it along with the beaver tails, puppy noses, and rabbit ears. You might get a cluster of objects that don’t seem to have a common thread, but all have a similar color scheme. So, I filed all of the grape and orange-colored items together. I put the music related items, like the microphones and trumpets in a “rich celebrities” section that also included a diamond ring, gem, lighted mirror, spotlight, and star.
Here. See for yourself as we go through the summer, yellow, grape/orange, crimson/navy/white, celebrity, fruit, travel, productivity, and animal sections.
This also means it can be fascinating to see what products other people get and how they decide to organize things. If you get a camel, do you place it in a section with other animals? Does it go with an igloo and torii gate, to represent travel destinations? Or, because it is the same two shades of yellow as a number of other products, do you group it with them? I ended up getting a WiFi symbol and what looked like a phone, so I placed them in a “productivity” corner that included office supplies like a calendar and clock. Everyone’s brain will work differently, which means they will play Wilmot’s Warehouse differently.
Wilmot’s Warehouse is a fascinating game. While it is about completing repetitive tasks, it is also an insight into how your mind sees the world and works. Your interpretations of products could be different than another person’s. Storage solutions that work for you might be a nightmare for another player. While there can be a sense of pressure after each new delivery, because you need to get things settled before you start your next shift, it feels so good when you are able to get things done quickly due to your careful planning and have the endless amount of time to get everything just right before another quarter begins.
Wilmot’s Warehouse is available for the Nintendo Switch and PC.
