Squishy sounds, made from the material

Nothing in Build A Squishy plays a recording. Every squeeze, poke and stretch makes a sound on the spot from what the squishy is made of, so a jelly, a chocolate bar and a frozen one all sound different — and the same squishy sounds different when you squeeze it harder. It is quiet by design: the kind of sound you lean in for.

The outside

The finish sets the voice. A glossy jelly squeaks softly and settles with a wobble. A matte one gives with a dull push. A crust snaps. Ice crackles when you poke it and shatters after enough pokes, with a cluster of falling notes; melt it and the sound goes soft again. There are 34 finishes across 5 material families, and each family has its own way of answering your finger.

The inside

What floats inside has a voice too. The insides are grouped by what they would be made of — water, honey, foam, powder, air or jelly — and that medium bends the sound: honey is slower and lower, foam is softer, water has a wash under it. Open a squishy up and the inside spills out as slime, with its own stretch, pull and splat sounds.

A tune for each inside

As a squishy forms, it plays a short tune, and the instrument depends on the inside: a mallet, a light synth, a woodwind, a wooden marimba or a glass bowl. Nothing in the app tells you this; it is one of the small secrets, there to be noticed.

Headphones help

On an iPhone or iPad the app adds gentle haptics, so a squeeze is something you feel as well as hear. Get it on the App Store, free. On the web, headphones and a quiet room are all it needs. See how to play for the gestures.

Updated 2026-10-29