Catch cute creatures, raise plants, and explore your hidden emotions. Dustbunny launches on iOS and Android today

Antientropic :

November 12th 2024 – Indie developer Antientropic is proud to announce the launch of debut title, Dustbunny: Emotion to Plants, now available on iOS and Android.

Dustbunny is a therapeutic decorating sim that blends the emotional core of Kind Words and the mindful decorating of Animal Crossing with principles of mental health practices, including compassion-focused and cognitive-behavioral therapies. Driven by founder and creative director Stella Kim’s personal experience with mental health support during the 2021-23 lockdown, Dustbunny offers a safe space for players to explore their emotions.  

You awake in an abandoned room that reflects the player character’s inner void. Guided by a friendly rabbit called Empathy, you’ll catch and nurture adorable emotibuns – cute creatures that represent repressed emotions – who transform into vibrant plants when captured. Care and tend to them, play minigames to earn collectables, and discover the mysteries of the room as you turn it into your own personalized sanctuary.
Design your perfect space by decorating with plants - including various breeds of monstera, philodendrons, alocasia, anthurium, and rare unicorn and hybrid varieties unique to Dustbunny. Cater to their unique needs with over 20 interactive Care Cards like watering and observing – symbols of real-life self-care practices – to promote reflection and emotional growth. As your plants thrive and you catch more emotibuns, your room becomes a cozy, comforting sanctuary that reflects your personal journey of emotional growth.  

Dustbunny includes a range of delightful minigames and collectables, from flying Paper Planes, to unlocking and preparing new flavors of Cup Ramyun, to playing the nostalgic retro Gameboi. Each minigame provides energy that’s used for caring for your plants and also new collectables, decorations, and stickers to personalize every part of your room.

Every aspect of Dustbunny is thoroughly informed by therapeutic principles to support self-reflection and emotional growth. Conversations with your rabbit guide, Empathy, are focused on self-acceptance and nurturing self-love, informed by compassion-focused therapy. The many activities are centered around inner space and gentle focus as tools for healing and tending to your emotions mindfully.  

Today’s launch marks the completion of a development journey that has been supported by Dustbunny’s early access players. Multiple features have been introduced and updated with the full launch, including the the Doors feature – decorate the gateway to your sanctuary with symbols and ornaments that reflect your personal journey. Players can now visit and complement each other’s rooms, fostering positive connection and collective healing, a core mission statement for Dustbunny and its active community.

The Journal has also been updated to be a more guided and directly therapeutic experience following player feedback during the Early Access period. You can find and place expressive stickers that incorporate elements of cognitive behavioral therapy in a playful and charming way.

Features include:

Dustbunny: Emotion to Plants is the debut title of Antientropic, an indie studio based in New York. Co-founded by Stella Kim, Minh Dinh, and Dawn Kim, Antientropic wants to craft inclusive games that foster love and reflection.

Kim said: “We wanted to make a space that feels like a safe corner, like a blanket fort or a childhood bedroom – a place where you can retreat into yourself and, when you’re ready, step out to connect again. Dustbunny came from my own mental health journey, and in finding a bit of understanding for myself, I hope to share some of that path with others.

“For me, this line from Empathy captures the core of the game: ‘Sometimes, when loving myself is hard, I try loving small things first, like plants. I hope that one day, this love can make its way back to me’. We wanted to offer small, gentle ways to help you reconnect with yourself, especially during times when connection feels distant or difficult. It centers on caring for little things – a small plant, a quiet space – as a reminder of the value in taking time for yourself. We have endeavored to create a space that encourages this kind of journey, where self-acceptance can grow gradually, and maybe, piece by piece, allow love to find its way back to you.”

Dustbunny: Emotion to Plants is available for free on iOS and Android. For more information, contact Khai at [email protected].  

About Dustbunny: Emotion to Plants
Catch your hidden emotions and grow them into plants. Your repressed emotions have turned into little creatures. They are super shy and incredibly fast but, once found, can grow into beautiful plants – certain emotions will sprout into rare unicorn plants! Interact with plants to water, catch pests, mist, and much more by collecting Care Cards. Get cozy with minigames like catching bubbles in your Bubble Tea, making Cup Ramyun, and playing the Gameboi. Your room will become your safe space of rest, growth, and love.  

About Antientropic
At Antientropic, we make games for everyone. For us, games are necessary make-believe that helps us aggregate, sustain, and reflect love. As you tread through the chaotic tempo of life, we hope to create spaces for you to hold onto love. Our team is based in New York, US.