Another Game About Clicking, developed by myownrose, is a combination of a farming simulator and a clicker game. In this demo you manage a farm interpreted as the repetitive task of clicking on the icon with an animal on it. Over time you accumulate more currency which allows you to afford the pricier animals, growing a bigger and busier farm as you progress.

Building An Animal Economy

First impressions were definitely interesting. Upon opening this demo, it simply throws you into its gameplay with no fanfare. From there, you’re subtly instructed to begin your clicking spree. 

This left things rather vague and many of the things I found out weren’t because the game specifically told me.

For example, I didn’t know you could raise the amount of a specific animal by clicking the orange button above their head. Or at least I assumed that’s what I was doing. The demo didn’t give me any reason not to think so.

Though it’s a bit abrupt, a part of me can appreciate the free range element. After all, clicking games are characterized for their simplicity. And yet, I still left the demo feeling the slightest bit confused and unfulfilled.

Fish In A Henhouse

Though I know clicker games are meant to fulfill a specific niche of casual gaming, I still think there’s been so much innovation with the formula that Another Game About Clicking doesn’t attempt.

You don’t get the same feedback or sense of accomplishment that you would with something like Cookie Clicker. In the infamous 2013 title, your progress was marked by a slow descent into madness. Over the course of the game, you become the head of a bustling cookie monopoly that threatens to destroy the world in an eldritch apocalypse.

The psycho sexual experience of the more recent Clickholding is characterized by its sheer depravity. It quite literally holds players hostage with its uncomfortable atmosphere and a lingering air of sadomasochism.

In Another Game About Clicking, you get more animals and the ability to click them a little less than you did before. Though it’s most definitely cuter and easier to explain than the surrealism this genre is capable of, for me, its unironically squeaky-clean presentation was part of the problem.

The whole point of a clicking game is that the simplicity of the formula is part of the joke. However, Another Game About Clicking doesn’t have a punchline. Or at least it doesn’t have a funny one. I do suppose that the golden egg feature that eliminates all you’ve done is a metaphor about the finite state of digital progress, but that’s more of an assumption on my part.

The game’s central selling point, and arguably its saving grace, is a fishing game which isn’t available in the demo. I honestly think that’s a shame because it is a genuinely unique concept. It ties into the animal theming. I do imagine there will be some unique clicking gameplay that comes with the feature. It wouldn’t be much, but I think it would have given the demo a little more depth-and I’m not just talking about the ocean.

And On This Farm We Had A…?

Despite the game’s tongue-in-cheek title, Another Game About Clicking never leans into its self-awareness. It could learn more from its predecessors by at least constructing an objective or overarching story that gives its world more context.

I think this is where more visual input would come in handy. Maybe a slowly changing farmland that becomes busier as the number of animals starts to populate.

Or perhaps introduce an objective or active threat. I think some sort of race against the clock woud suffice. Maybe an end goal like trying to keep the farm from being repossessed and using the revenue to keep the barn doors open. It would inspire a sense of urgency and investment.

There’s also the option of leaning fully into the absurdity of the concept. I think it’d be amusing to have the animals actively fighting for dominance over the farm, Animal Farm style. Almost anything at all would give the demo some personality.

Though it would operate mostly as background noise, the thing about clicker games is that they’re allowed to have any story they want to justify their existence. 

Cookie Clicker is insane but narratively complex. Clickholding is perverted but darkly humorous. Another Game About Clicking is…cute, but that’s about it. Cuteness is great, but cuteness without context feels less to me than its more distinguished counterparts.

The demo for Another Game About Clicking is available through Steam’s June Next Fest. It’s scheduled to have a full release in July 2025.