Dec 13, 2023
Are you looking for a simple, but gorgeous exploration game with no combat? Then Submerged: Hidden Depths is perfect for you! This game is a self-described third-person “relaxploration” adventure where you simply explore a the ruins of a world. You take on the roles of Miku and Taku. Miku is cursed with a mysterious power that she’s determined to use for good, and Taku simply doesn’t want it to tear them apart.
Submerged: Hidden Depths will take you on a relaxing, low-stakes journey through the submerged ruins of a drowned city. There, you’ll discover the crumbling remnants of skyscrapers and streets as you search for the secrets of what happened. You’ll encounter obstacles along the way, and will need to solve puzzles to overcome them. You’ll simultaneously learn the story of the brother and sister pair as you explore the ruined city, too. Plus, you can collect items and upgrade your trusty boat!
Ready for your laid-back adventure?
Release Date
You can find the game on Steam, Epic Games, PlayStation, and Xbox now. And while Submerged: Hidden Depths is a sequel, it’s not necessary to have played the first game. However, you can find the first game, Submerged, on Steam, too!
Eastshade is another beautiful walking simulator.
- Dec 13, 2023
In As Far As The Eye, you play the role of the wind guiding the Pupils as they journey to the center of the world. It’s your job to manage their resources, their buildings, and their whole lives. Direct them to a bigger and better life in order to make it to their destination while surviving life and the rising waters that threaten them. Ensure they survive and thrive!
The roguelike tribe system gives As Far As The Eye a fresh feel each play through you take on. Plan out the route the Pupils will take to reach the center of the world. Not every route spells disaster, but each one holds its own special discoveries. Explore and search points of interest along that path to discover long lost treasures, and even meet allies along the way. And before you head on to the next spot, harvest resources, build your mobile village, and stock up on necessities!
As Far As The Eye reminds me a lot of dotAGE, which I absolutely loved. They both lack enemies, and instead pit you against random events that threaten the survival of your people. You overcome these events by preparing your people, in this case the Pupils, appropriately. Instruct the Pupils to conduct research that will improve their skills in agriculture, crafting, scientific and mystical arts. You’ll also want to improve your Pupils through the job system, as well as upgrade buildings for better results.
Will your Pupils survive?
Release Date
You can find this charming game now on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch!
The Wandering Village is another beautiful nomadic base-building game!
- Dec 7, 2023
Tales from Hazelwood Post is a cozy combination of puzzles and visual novel-like gaming. Your grandmother has fallen ill, so you return to the small town of Hazelwood to care for her. You unwittingly take on the job of being the new postmaster at the post office, and today is your first day! The post office is a small, dusty little operation that ought to be an easy task to run. However, the homes of Hazelwood don’t have addresses!
You’ll experience a gentle day-to-day cycle where you open the post office each morning. Explore the ongoing story of Tales from Hazelwood Post as you get to know the residents of the town and nearby Lighthouse Point and Crow Hollows. Piece together clues and figure out who everyone is, then deliver the mail to the people you think it belongs to! Sometimes it’s the regular newspaper delivery, and sometimes it’s a special delivery. You might even come across lost love letters with no signatures, and it’s up to you to deliver every piece of mail properly.
Your choices affect the story, so choose wisely and see what happens!
Release Date
Tales from Hazelwood Post is listed on Itchi.io and Steam. There is no release date available, though!
This game reminds me a lot of Witchy Life Story, Coffee Talk, and Tavern Talk! But if you’re looking for more games that deal with mail, try Lake and Mail Time!
- Dec 7, 2023
Remember Garden Galaxy, that adorable little cozy idle game I talked about here? In that one, you’re collecting coins from random visitors to spend in order to get decorations. Then, you take the decor and build your own little landscapes. It’s perfect for really casual gameplay, and so is this next game!
Rusty’s Retirement is another idle game I came across, but this time instead of decorating you’re running a farm. The game sits comfortably at the bottom of your screen so you can continue your tasks while it chugs along doing its thing. You’ll plant crops and watch as Rusty does his thing taking care of them. He’ll water, nurture, and harvest everything you plant. And as you progress, you’ll unlock new crops to plant.
Then, take those crops and manufacture biofuel. Rusty’s Retirement’s biofuel is clean and energy-efficient, and sells for a good bit of money so you can reinvest in your farm. You can also employ a host of cute robots who will help with planting, watering, and harvesting crops. Even customize and upgrade them for increased efficiency.
Don’t worry too much about getting distracted by Rusty’s Retirement, though. You can turn on “Focus Mode” to slow down production to allow you to concentrate on your tasks!
Release Date
This fun farming idler is listed on Steam, where you can add it to your Wishlist. However, there is no specific release date listed. It’s set to come out sometime in the first quarter of 2024, though!
- Dec 7, 2023
Pixel Cafe is reminiscent of the cooking games I used to play years ago. You know, like Papa’s Freezeria (and the rest of the Papa’s games), or the plethora of other similar restaurant management games that were out there. What’s cozier than nostalgia, after all! This game is a combination of arcade-style time management and visual novel narrative, after all.
Step into the role of a small-town girl as she embarks on an emotional journey that spans three generations. Pixel Cafe takes place in a gorgeous pixel-art world, and takes place in Karstok. The city sits stuck between a socialist past and a capitalist future. Experience a gripping tale as you explore the past and present. See how memories of your grandparents shaped your life into what it is now, too.
You’ll forge relationships with your Pixel Cafe bosses and clients as you experience the story while perfecting your coffee-making and cooking skills. Your professional career will take place across 10 wildly different bars. You’ll learn new recipes and have the chance to take on 50 optional Nightmare levels. When you’re not cooking up a storm and making customers happy, take some time to breathe a new life into Grandma’s old house. Decorate it to suit your style and make it home!
Release Date
Pixel Cafe is available now on Steam, Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation!
Want more cafe fun? Check out Nom Nom: Cozy Forest Cafe, Cat Cafe Manager, and Cafeteria Nipponica!
- Dec 6, 2023
Station to Station is a relaxing puzzle experience set in a voxel-art world. Transform the world from dull and drab, to vibrant places full of life by building railways. Build connections for commerce and passengers across the countryside. Get the necessary materials to the production plants that need them, and then the finished product to the cities that need them to create thriving landscapes. Complete the puzzle elements and solve logistical conundrums while optimizing your train routes for the best results!
The Maps
Each level of Station to Station starts as a dull, lifeless landscape. It’s uninteresting and borderline boring, and it’s certainly an uninviting place for people and animals to live. However, as you make railway connections, the maps transform into gorgeous dioramas full of flora and fauna. There are six different biomes, each with a handful of levels. Each of those levels, while set in a specific biome, and therefore have the same atmosphere, differ from each other in their layouts. This offers just enough difference to keep the game visually appealing.
The voxel art style provides a visually beautiful and intriguing element to Station to Station, too. I’ve restored the color and life to a map only to sit panning around the map watching the individual pieces. Watching the camels in the desert, or the bustling little villages in the grassy meadows is one of my favorite things to do. Observing all of the little details that were added just absolutely sucks me in.
The Puzzles
Station to Station offers quite a bit of content, plus has announced more to come in a recently posted roadmap. I’d classify the “puzzles” as more objectives than puzzles, but that might be nitpicky. You have a set amount of money to use to build your connections. There are a limited number of cards to help you with discounts and such, too. However, you’re ultimately trying to build railway connections within a specific area of each map. Sometimes that’s easy, and sometimes it takes a little more trial and error. There’s also a few extra optional objectives per level you can complete to increase the difficulty level.
Nothing is overly difficult, though. I didn’t sit stuck contemplating a problem for long stretches. Plus, Station to Station gives you a couple of options for redoing the level. There is a reset button, making returning to the absolute beginning of a level easy. Or, if you just need to redo a little bit, you can return to a checkpoint instead of wiping the whole level. They’ve both come in handy when figuring out how to play and how to complete a level.
Final Thoughts
What Station to Station boils down to, though, is you place train tracks to connect buildings, then you move on to the next level. That’s it. This is not one of your deep, story-driven or deeply puzzling games chock-full of different mechanics and facets. It’s a simple game with a gorgeous art style, and that’s ok! This is perfect for me when I’m in a puzzle mood, but don’t want to be stuck on a problem for long. It’s a great low-pressure, low-stakes experience.
So, if you’re looking for something more, this isn’t for you. If you want that low-pressure experience, though, I recommend this game! I give it:
You can Station to Station on Steam!
Want more reviews? Check out my reviews of Witchy Life Story, APICO, and Little Sim World!
- Dec 6, 2023
It’s December! And you know what that means, right? Christmas is almost here! My favorite holiday is Halloween, but Christmas is a close second. It’s the perfect time of year to get comfy and cozy with a good blanket, cup of hot chocolate, and a lovely video game. I’ve gone hunting for some great Christmas-themed games to share with you all this season, too!
Snowman-Building Fun
Everybody Wham Wham is one such Christmas-themed game I’ve come across. This one comes from developers Bonte Avond, who also made the funny Once Upon a Jester, and also has those fun storybook looking visuals. This time, it’s a whimsical story-driven adventure where you compete to build the best snowman!
You’ll go head-to-head with two other competitors to compete for the winning spot. Just make sure you pay attention to the criteria and build within the time limit. Everybody Wham Wham will have you hand-rolling your snowman, as well as decorating it. Choose from 60 different decorations to impress the judges. And if you do it right, you might just score a perfect 10! Then, hang out with a cast of quirky characters while you attend karaoke night, drink a hot cup of cocoa, or listen to a fun campfire song with them. Not everything is quite as it seems, either. Talk with Wham Wham the snowman to see if you can’t unravel the reason why the festival is held and what it is he’s hiding from contestants!
Release Date
Everybody Wham Wham is currently available on Steam and Itch.io for you to enjoy whenever!
Speaking of Christmas, do you need some ACNH inspiration?
- Dec 6, 2023
Mind Over Magic is a simulation game where you run a magic school. Design, build, and develop your ideal magic school. Prepare your students survival skills and how to face the obstacles of the Underschool, an underground trial. Engage in a number of different types of magic, and make sure to keep the mysterious fog at bay!
Mind Over Magic allows you to build the school brick by brick. Create unique rooms by hand-placing lights, furniture, and decorations. Opt for a whimsical and cozy look, or perhaps the creepy and spooky is more your style! Then, run classes to teach your students magic and survival skills to prepare them for the Underschool. Choose the class schedule and assign teachers for each one. Craft wands and potions to summon more powerful students, and animate the dead to take care of chores. Then, delve into the labyrinthine Underschool to fight deadly magical battles!
Release Date
You can find Mind Over Magic on Steam. There is no release date set, but you can add it to your Wishlist and sign up for Playtesting!
Want more magic schools? Try Spellcaster University and Spells & Secrets!
