The desktop idle game 'Familiar Life' hit Steam on the 9th. It follows the journey of Avia, a mythical zoologist, tasking players with the noble goal of completing a witch's grimoire of familiars. The core loop involves summoning creatures, gathering mana, and experimenting with fusion spells to stumble upon entirely new combinations.

You will encounter an array of familiars—from ancient dragons and ghosts to the curious capy-corn—all of which wander or lounge about the bottom of your screen. Feel free to click on them to trigger unique animations. There is a certain charm in fusing these critters to discover variants with special colours and higher rarity ratings.

Think of 'Familiar Life' as a digital companion that hangs around your desktop while you stream or crack on with actual work. As you progress, every new discovery feeds into your research, allowing you to gradually fill out the pages of your grimoire. You can also track your progress by reading through Avia's personal notes and insights regarding each familiar.

The developers have prioritised a 'non-intrusive' experience, ensuring the game stays out of your way. Menus auto-hide when not in use, and thankfully, there are no annoying notifications or grindy repetitive tasks to speak of. You can drag your familiars around at will, resize them with a scroll, or use the opacity reduction mode if you need to see what is happening on your desktop behind them.