Toys to Life has come and gone in waves over the past decade or so, with Skylanders, Disney Infinity, LEGO Dimensions and amiibo all taking their time in the spotlight. In 2025, only amiibo continues to dominate with most, if not all, other Toys to Life products going the way of the dinosaur.
However, that doesn’t mean there’s not room for something new, and that’s where ÆRTHLINGS from Moose Toys comes in. Part Toys to Life, part Pokémon and part Minecraft, ÆRTHLINGS is taking a new and novel approach to the genre that, so far, appears to be working.
Each ÆRTHLING you buy comes in a blind box for maximum collectability. When you scan the figurine, a procedurally generated version of that character will be loaded into your game with its own stats and special moves. Once they’re in the game, you can start to explore ÆRTH and play within the digital world.
ÆRTHLINGS Review
ÆRTHLINGS is very much a product of two halves. The first is the collecting of figures, hunting for rare ones and trading to make sure you get your hands on the ones you want. The second is the video game. The figures themselves are cute in an ugly sort of way. They’re colourful, tactile, squishy and include a hook to attach a lanyard. They’re perfect for attaching to schoolbags, pencil cases and what have you. Younger kids who are exposed to (and/or obsessed with YouTube culture) will love opening up the blind boxes and finding out which ÆRTHLING they can add to their collection.
A huge part of ÆRTHLINGS‘ design is the trading of figurines, which works something of an unexpected way. When you scan your ÆRTHLINGS, they remain yours to keep, digitally, forever. But when you trade them, you physically have to swap the figurine to make the trade go through. By doing so, you in-game character ears special points to help them level up, get stronger and improve in the digital world of ÆRTHLINGS. I think the tricky part about this is that parting with these physical toys may be harder than the developers intend. People (kids especially) can get attached to their toys and even if they’re getting something in return it might be a bridge too far to say goodbye to a toy they hold dear.
To sweeten the deal, the more times ÆRTHLINGS are traded, the stronger they become and players are able to track these ÆRTHLINGS to see the trades and see how far their original has travelled.
The actual gameplay of ÆRTHLINGS is a bit like Minecraft-lite. Once your procedurally generated ÆRTHLING pops into the world, you’ll need to explore, collect resources, heal “scars”, fight baddies and expand ÆRTH. As you explore and expand the world, you’ll encounter new biomes and special challenges that help you earn more resources and points to continue to expand. Eventually, you unlock the ability to build structures and reshape the world, allowing players to build their own ÆRTHLINGS village for their characters.
So far, the gameplay is quite simple and straightforward and doesn’t feel much more complex than your average ROBLOX game. That’s not to say that it’s bad or boring, but it certainly isn’t the deepest gameplay experience. However, there’s no time pressure, no microtransactions (thus far), and you’re able to pick up and play whenever you like, making it perfect for long car trips or quick bursts.
There is a multiplayer component; however, I haven’t been able to test it out as yet. Given how popular online gaming is, especially the likes of ROBLOX and Minecraft, ÆRTHLINGS is sure to be a hit with players once they’re able to play together, visit each other’s worlds and show off their collections.
The first wave of ÆRTHLINGS, dubbed Genesis, is available now with each blind pack retailing for a very reasonable $10 AUD. The game, on both the App Store and Google Play, is free and, as mentioned (at this stage), does not include any microtransactions. This seems very reasonable given that even if you do unbox doubles, the in-game character is always going to be a little different and that trading is a massive part of the experience and highly encouraged.
I do have to mention that with all four of the ÆRTHLINGS I received to write this piece, I struggled to get them scanned into the game. I’m not sure if this is an issue with the NFC reader on my iPhone, or the case I use or it’s simply that the ÆRTHLINGS figures are a bit fiddly. But it took quite a few tries each time I tried to scan one and I can imagine that for kids 12 and under, it might be disheartening to not be able to easily get the characters into the game.
That being said, I was really pleased with the parental supervision and child account system in place, with my account being able to control what my son’s account can and can’t do. Better still, because his iPad isn’t able to scan (due to the lack of an NFC reader), I simply logged into the same account as the one on my phone, and all of his ÆRTHLINGS were there and ready to go.
So, while ÆRTHLINGS is, essentially, a Toys to Life product attached to a videogame, it feels like the collecting and trading of the figures is at the forefront, being supported by the digital experience. Being able to keep your digital creature takes the sting out of trading away the figurine (a little), and by making trading integral to upgrading and levelling up your characters, ÆRTHLINGS may have just found a way to ensure players and fans are encouraged to trade and swap.
Will ÆRTHLINGS be as popular as Yowie toys were back in the 90s? Time will tell. But for now, ÆRTHLINGS are an excellent gift for kids 8-12 and will be a welcome addition to any Christmas stocking or under the tree this year.
ÆRTHLINGS are available at retailers Australian wide, and the app is available on the App Store and Google Play.
Four ÆRTHLINGS blind packs were provided to PowerUp! by the publisher.
