Joelle
Jun 9, 2022
Day of the Devs 10th Anniversary showcased a more in-depth look at Roots of Pacha, a farming simulation game set in the stone age. You can check out the video with the developers Soda Den below! They also announced that their Steam demo just launched today and will continue for the rest of the Steam Next Fest 2022 (ends June 20th, 2022).
The Roots of Pacha demo will be eight in-game days which amounts to approximately two hours. The community will have a chance to get two more days by unlocking fires in the Demo Festival Challenge (lighting fires). Players have already unlocked the Pacheems Statue and a Bunny Hat (as seen in screenshot) in the challenge so you’ll have to join now if you want to take part! Furthermore, the developers have allowed the capability to save during the demo, to start multiple runs, and to play in co-op.
Free Limited Time Demo During Steam Next Fest 2022
You can check out the Steam demo here. If you;re interested in what’s new, you can read their latest blog which includes mentioning that they have made “significant strides in the character customizer, including more skin tones, hair colors, hairstyles, and another outfit.” Don’t forget, Roots of Pacha will be releasing sometime later this year on PC and all consoles.
- Jun 9, 2022
Sort, Stack, and Organize Things Into Just the Right Spot
Another wonderful indie game was showcased at Day of the Devs just now, and it will entice people who love cleanliness, organization, and having things in their home placed just right. Especially those of you that have played and enjoyed Unpacking. With A Little to the Left, you’ll be tidying up the things that you own for that sense of satisfaction.
This game has over 75 unique logical puzzles. Your tasks will consist of: sorting and stacking receipts, placing books in alphabetical and sizing order, colour-coordinating notepads, etc. There will be the occasional pesky cat getting in your way and messing things up. However, cat lovers should be used to that kind of nonsense.
Releasing in 2022 on PC
A Little to the Left is developed by Max Inferno and published by Secret Mode. It will launch sometime in 2022 on Steam and itch.io. Both sites now have a limited free demo that you can try out now!
- Jun 9, 2022
New Ghost Bears and New Environments
The first Cozy Grove is a game about camping on a haunted island with a real-time day/night cycle mechanic like Animal Crossing. As a Spirit Scout, you’ll wander the island’s forest each day, finding new hidden secrets and helping the local ghosts. Activities include: collecting spirit animals, crafting decorations, going fishing. The developers, Spry Fox, have just announced that they are currently working on Cozy Grove 2.
With the sequel underway, that means there won’t be any more major updates for Cozy Grove. Although, you can read the rather extensive post-launch updates here, if you’re interested. So far, all we know is that the sequel will have “a bunch more new ghost bears, in new environments. And Flamey. And Scoutmaster Blake.”
Cozy Grove 2 is in Early Development
Cozy Grove 2 is still a ways away with an unofficial launch estimate of late 2023. For now, you can check out its predecessor on these platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and Epic Games.
- Jun 9, 2022
Today, June 9th, 2022, is The Summer Game Fest’s big opening event! So from now until Monday, be prepared for a bombardment of articles by us with news on cute and wholesome games! Let’s start with how Triband, the developers that gave us the hilarious golf-but-not-really-golf sim WHAT THE GOLF, announced a new game! WHAT THE BAT will be another silly physics-based game but in VR (virtual reality).
There’s not much actual baseball involved with WHAT THE BAT, but you can use your baseball bat arms to, well, bat things. This means there will be 100 unique levels of batting, cooking, shooting, smashing, parking, painting, pickling, so on and so forth. Yes, you will also be able to pet the dog, although that makes me sort of nervous in this case.
Coming to Meta Quest 2 and Steam in 2022
You can Wishlist WHAT THE BAT on Steam here. However, don’t be too discouraged that it will only release for PC, as we know WHAT THE GOLF later came out for the Nintendo Switch.
- Jun 8, 2022
Town Building, Exploration, Combat, Looting, and Villagers to Befriend/Romance
Solo developer Vasilis at Kappa Bits and publisher Merge Games just announced their new game Pixelshire. This 2D farming and life-sim reminds us of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, especially with the newly added feature of terraforming.
When you settle into this town on the continent of Arcadia, you not only get to build your home, but also get to design the homes of your neighbours. However, like us, you’ll probably spend most of your time carving out rivers, creating hills, and making paths with the landscape.
Aside from forming and growing the population of the town, you can master skills and trades. For example, tending to livestock, growing crops, mining, woodcutting, fishing, cooking, and brewing. To sell these items you’ve made or collected, you can put them in your own shop!
While exploring through procedurally-generated islands with enchanted forests, mountain jungles, and more, you’ll fight enemies, find hidden treasure, and clear dungeons. On these adventures, you can even get the villagers you have befriended or romanced to join you!
Coming to PC and Consoles Sometime in 2023
Pixelshire will be releasing sometime in 2023 on PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, and Xbox. You can Wishlist the game here right now on Steam. If you’re looking for another game that combines farming and exploring with building friendships and/or romance, check out Blue Oak Bridge.
- Jun 7, 2022
Transform Into Different Animals, Explore a Colourful and Magical World, Solve Puzzles
As mentioned previously with Garden In, indie team Dramatic Iceberg is concurrently working on another cute game, Racoonie: Legend of the Spirits. If you like Tunic, you’ll probably also love playing as a raccoon going on an adventure and solving puzzles.
In Everland, you’re tasked with restoring peace by helping great animal spirits. Every animal spirit will give you new powerful abilities of transformation (frog, ram, etc) which will allow you to unlock new areas.
Furthermore, this magical world has many other adorable talking animals to meet with different personalities and stories. Those characters will give you side-quests aside from your main objectives of exploring, going into dungeons, and looting treasure.
Coming Soon to PC (Steam)
You can Wishlist Racoonie: Legend of the Spirits on Steam here. The game is still in early development however more information will be coming soon!
- Jun 6, 2022
Mix and Match Seeds, Pots and Environments to Fully Grow Your Plants
This just in! Newly-founded small indie game studio based in Italy, Dramatic Iceberg, is currently working on two adorable games; Racoonie: Legend of the Spirits (more on this later) and Garden In! To start with, Garden In is a relaxing and peaceful game about planting seedlings in pots and watching them grow. Perfect for casual gamers.
Much like Unpacking, you focus on small rooms within a house that you get to decorate to your liking. In this case, you can also change the background design and colour outside of the room to set the mood you want.
Each plant is unique and has different needs. Some will need certain soil to grow its roots, others get their nutrients through their leaves and only need objects like rocks in the pot, and there are others that only need water as they can float. Furthermore, you can discover different combinations to complete your herbarium by combining seedlings. Two compatible seedlings can be placed in a bigger and larger hybridization vase to create a new seed.
Coming Soon to PC (Steam)
For now, you can Wishlist Garden In on Steam here. There isn’t a release date yet, however more information and another trailer will be announced during The Summer Game Fest this weekend. Furthermore, on June 13th, 2022, you can find a demo for Steam Next Fest. *Updated: trailer below*
- Jun 3, 2022
Become a Legend and Rebuild a Sacred Book
The Zelda-like isometric action RPG, Tunic, released on PC (Steam, Epic Games, and more) and Xbox (including Game Pass) in March 2022. Now, during PlayStation’s State of Play on June 2nd, 2022, we know that it will be releasing for PS4 and PS5 this fall!
In Tunic you get to explore a land filled with lost legends and ancient powers, confront colossal beasts, collect incredible treasure and missing manual pages of a scared book, and solve intricate puzzles. The adorable part? You get to do it as a tiny yet brave fox hero.
Coming to PS4 and PS5 this Fall
Tunic is created by Andrew Shouldice and publisher Finji (Night in the Woods, Chicory: A Colorful Tale) and will be coming to PS4 and PS5 on September 27th, 2022. Watch the new reveal trailer below!
