Nano Neighbors Review

Nano Neighbors is an online idle game developed by Studio BitDot and published by UNIKAT. This is a weird game to review for me, as it’s the first time I’m reviewing a title like this. It’s a desktop toy more than anything. So, how do I review an idle game? Well, by writing its own review while it’s running, of course! So, will it be worth having it as a companion to your work, or would I rather be listening to Spotify?

I'm not letting you see my desktop

There isn’t much of a setup here. You just select what type of NANO android you’d like hanging around before you let it sit anywhere on the screen you want. It’s as simple as that… except not really. Look, when I tried to put it somewhere in view, it would get in the way of other windows I need open. I had to relegate it to my second monitor, which I know quite a few people might not have.

At least the animesque sprite art is done really well. All the furniture and mini-games feature some wonderfully done assets that are great to look at, especially when they’re animated. It’s very enjoyable to see your NANO and whatever pets you get just wandering around. But that’s not everything about Nano Neighbors: it’s a social game too.

You can visit rooms and interact with other players around the world. You can even integrate your Discord room or Twitch chat into the game so that you don’t have to constantly switch windows to check on who’s talking. It’s a nice way to add a little more spice to your chats.

Wow, jobs you can easily sign up for!

But at the start, you only have one empty room. If you want to improve your NANO’s home and style, you’ll need money, which means getting a (shudder) job. Thankfully, though, these professions take the form of mini-games to play. You can have your NANO go Asteroid Mining, do Street Delivery, cook up some delicious dishes, and even chase virtual stardom via Streaming. Most of them are pretty simple and easy to do, and will get repetitive after a few tries, but it’s a fun little distraction from something monotonous. Unfortunately, there are some bugs that come with it.

The game would crash when I click on the Info, so I couldn't figure out how to do the Streaming job at first until I realised it’s a pretty passive activity. Just put it to the side as you do something else on your PC and try to become a virtual star, all while dealing with truly random events, until the timer runs out. It’s actually one of the tougher professions, as you won’t be getting much of a viewership because you have to rely on luck to get anywhere. At least with the second hardest, Street Delivery, it takes skill, but with Streaming, it’s just letting it do its own thing. Trying to level it up is straight-up torture!

Streaming is a nightmare

Meanwhile, I was having issues with the game itself. After finishing a stream, my rooms disappeared, and I didn’t know where they went. I had to restart the game or do one of the other professions to get them back. I also found putting down furniture to be a little finicky, as the small sizes of items can make it hard to click on, and there seems to be some sort of snap-to-alignment feature that doesn’t quite work properly.

But I think the worst thing about Nano Neighbors is the UI. It could use some work because the windows are too small and navigating the menus is frustrating. It also doesn’t save their positions, which is a little annoying.]

Making a desktop to a deskhome...

Despite these issues — and my perpetual aversion to being social — I wouldn’t mind having Nano Neighbors around while I’m working or simply goofing off on my PC. It’s a fun little distraction that I hope gets better as time goes on because I want to like it more, but its issues make it a lot less cosy than it should be.