Search results for "stardew valley"
Oct 18, 2023
dotAGE has you playing as the Elder of a village who has had visions of a doomed future. You take a handful of your villagers, called Pips, to seek out a new valley to settle in the hopes of overcoming these dooms. You need to guide them in working hard to prepare for what these dooms have in store.
With worker placement mechanics inspired by board games, dotAGE’s turn-based roguelike survival has you building a brand new village to suit your villagers’ needs and their survival. Each turn you can assign each Pip to a specific task like collecting food, chopping wood, or healing ailments. You can also train them in different professions as you upgrade your buildings to bigger and more useful things. You need to be careful and thoughtful in how you place your buildings as managing resources is imperative to survival. Once you end your turn, the Domains will take their turn and unleash increasingly powerful events on your village!
Can you survive them all and find out what’s causing the apocalypse?
Simple, but Wildly Engaging
When I say this game is addictive, I mean it’s addictive. It’s one of those games where you can pick it up and put it down at any moment because it regularly auto-saves, which makes it great for killing a few minutes of time. However, I’ve sat down fully intending to pay dotAGE for all of 20 minutes, and find myself still playing two hours later repeating “just one more turn” to myself.
Visually and game-play wise, it’s a really simple game. dotAGE has a cute pixel graphic style and simple sound effects. Plus, you navigate the research menu to unlock new buildings to build. Navigate the build menu to pick what to build. Click an already existing building to assign a Pip to a job. Then, click End Turn to advance the day. That’s it. There is the Agepedia which logs the different buildings, events, Pip traits, etc that you come across while playing, but that isn’t necessary for playing. It’s not a super complicated game, but succeeds in holding my attention for chunks of time!
And if you’re a fan of ActRaiser? Then perhaps you should try out this game. It has a very similar feel to it with the city building aspect.
Final Thoughts
There are difficulty levels you can choose from, which really makes dotAGE great. I’ve been playing an Easy campaign and still having a hard time keeping up with the dooms! However, it’s a great place to start to learn how to play the game and get a feel for what it’s like. Then, as you become accustomed to it, you can move to the harder difficulties. It’s perfect for testing your resource management and survival skills and challenging yourself!
There are games that I play through and remove from my computer to free up space. Many of those games I’ve loved, and will likely play again. Stardew Valley, Terraria, Core Keeper, and Raft being the main ones. Then there are games that live on my computer indefinitely because I can, and will, pick them up randomly to play. They’re essentially immortalized in my head and on my desktop. dotAGE is now one of those. I struggled hard to finish my first campaign, having up to 31 Pips only to end the game with 8, but I loved absolutely every second of this game.
Overall, I give dotAGE
You can find dotAGE on Steam now!
Heard of the Story? is another city builder you ought to checkout! There’s also Fabledom, The Wandering Village, and Gourdlets!
- Oct 5, 2023
Lonesome Village is a relaxing puzzle-solving life sim where you play as the adorable Wes, a coyote. Wes is looking to solve the mystery of this empty village and the tower that popped up. You’ll enter that tower to complete a number of different puzzles in order to free the villagers trapped on each level. As you do that, the story of what happened will unfold, and it’ll be up to you to stop the evil that threatens it all.
The Pros
There is no doubt that Lonesome Village is uber adorable. The art is wildly cute, and each character you save is some variety of animal. Each has a great individual design. Even the main character, who’s a little coyote character dressed like Link. Even the overworld designs of each area you can explore are cute. Overall, this game is visually great.
The puzzle tower is a fun concept. You’re tasked with rescuing the villagers of the world, and to do that you need to complete a puzzle on each floor. Completing the puzzle releases villagers from the statues they’ve been encased in. Sometimes it’s just one character, sometimes it’s a whole family of characters. The puzzles aren’t super hard, which is perfect for having a relaxing game play experience. Some of them make you think harder than others, but none of them had me stumped for too long. I enjoyed the variety of puzzles, too. It wasn’t repetitive rehashing of the same ones over and over.
The day/night cycle doesn’t affect things like sleep, either. I found that to be a nice touch. It adds ambiance and life to the world, but doesn’t lock you into a specific way to play. There’s no running to bed to beat the inevitable 2am pass out, like some other life sims!
Coronya and Quests
I’m afraid that despite mostly liking Lonesome Village, my cons list is longer than the pros. True to early Legend of Zelda vibes, you’re equipped with a mirror item that allows you to talk to your fairy companion, Coronya. This is a great way to have a reminder of what you were doing as far as the story goes, as there is no quest log. However, she likes to pop up from time to time at the shrine levels of the tower. These levels require you to find the item the shrine requests and place it there in order to open the door to the next floor of the tower.
Coronya likes to pop up on these levels to talk to you about what the item is and how to get it. That’s cool, and often useful. However, she then returns to wherever she comes from, and must discuss EXACTLY what she just said, word-for-word, via the mirror. She’s also adamant about telling you that you must save everyone in the tower, so don’t forget to do that! It’s all so unnecessary. The point of the game is to release people from the tower. And I certainly don’t need an exact repeat of what was just said, right after it’s said. I would have preferred a quest log.
Which brings me to the fetch quests you get from villagers. Lonesome Village’s newly released inhabitants will have quests for you to complete. It’s how you’ll earn hearts to continue through the tower. Talk to a villager and they immediately launch into their quest, then it immediately opens your inventory so you can complete the quest, even if it’s your first time hearing about the quest. Just be sure to write down what it is you’re looking for if you go accept multiple quests. Again, there’s no quest log to keep up with what needs to be done. It made for a frustrating time when I’d pick the game back up and had to go around talking to people to figure out where I was in my fetch quest endeavors.
There is No Autosave and Storage is Lacking
I repeat, there is no auto save. Maybe I’m spoiled by modern games, but I expect autosave to be the standard in games these days. Having the ability to also save at will is great too, but autosave has saved me so much trouble over the years. Lonesome Village doesn’t even have the sleep to save mechanics like Stardew Valley. Instead, you have to visit one of the statues scattered across the map to save. I don’t have words for the frustration I felt when I thought I’d saved, but hadn’t and closed the game. I was set back several floors of the towers, and several villager quests.
Backpack size is woefully tiny. Access to the storage chest isn’t super convenient. There’s a chest in your house, your tent, and in the tower elevator. Sifting through storage is fiddly, at best. Everything shows up in a line that you have to scroll through to find what you need. The backpack is the same way when turning in quest items. Plus, there is one hotkey slot, so you have to go into your backpack, choose the item you want to hotkey, then use the item. It makes switching tools cumbersome and slow.
Final Thoughts
I’d still recommend this game overall. It’s cute and chill. There’s no rush to complete things, so you can play at your own pace. Plus, there’s no stamina drain or health to lose, adding another layer for a stress-free experience.
I’d rate Lonesome Village:
You can find Lonesome Village on Steam, Epic Games, GOG, Switch, and Xbox now!
- Sep 20, 2023
Veil of Dust: A Homestead Game is a farming simulator seeking to turn the genre on its head. Inspired by the likes of Stardew Valley and Don’t Starve, this game is a historically-grounded fantasy homesteading and survival game with a more adult-oriented gameplay. You’ll play as the Callahan siblings, Shane and Áine, as they learn to cope with loss and learn how to survive life in the desert of eastern Oregon.
With a more task-centric focus, and less grinding, Veil of Dust sets you on an adventure to explore magic, intrigue, small town politics, and more. You’ll farm, forage, and hunt to scrape together the resources and food necessary to survive. Overcome challenges with tools you craft, and fill bellies with different recipes you’ve scraped together, as well as forge relationships. Survival isn’t just about finding food and shelter, after all. Life needs to be worth living, too! Experience deep characterizations and explore realistic, relatable scenarios that touch on heavier topics.
Veil of Dust isn’t devoid of humor and fun, though! Guide Shane and Áine as they search for answers as to why mysterious monsters attack their town and livelihoods. While defense wasn’t always a priority, you might need to protect your homestead from them. The homestead you’ve carefully made your very own by lovingly choosing the perfect colors, turning your inhospitable dirt patch into a comfortable home.
Where will your adventure lead you?
Available Now
You can find Veil of Dust on Steam now!
Want more farm sims that are just a little bit different? Checkout Moondrop.
- Aug 29, 2023
Blue Gravity was kind enough to provide a copy of Little Sim World for me to play!
I received a pre-alpha demo version of Little Sim World to play, which means I got an early view of a game that is growing bigger and better nearly weekly. What I saw, however, was already incredibly promising.
What Is It?
Little Sim World is an adorable life sim that draws inspiration from popular games like The Sims, Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley and Pokemon. You are in charge of your very own little cartoon-looking sim person. Start the game by creating one using a number of customization options (with more to come later!), like hairstyles and color, clothing, and facial attributes. Then, pick out different personality traits like favorite foods and quirks. After that, you’re released into the world of London and set in front of your very dingy new home.
Really dingy. Your fence is broken in spots and the paint is flaking. The front door and windows have seen better days. The appliances in the kitchen are dirty and barely fit to use. At least the furniture looks worn, but comfortable and cozy. Your computer, however, looks like the old dinosaurs from way back when that ran Windows ‘95.
Worry not, though! You receive a meager paycheck from unemployment benefits that you can use to survive and maybe even fix up your new home. Or, you can hop on that ancient computer of yours and search for a new job! Pick from one of five career paths like athlete, culinary, science, journalist, or painter. Detective is also listed, but either isn’t available yet, or I haven’t reached an appropriate milestone to unlock it. Either way, you’ll Start with basic jobs like professional fan, dishwasher, lab cleaner, greeting card wordsmith, and brush washer. As you level up in skills and traits, you’ll be able to earn promotions that will get your better pay. Better pay means better food, clothes, and house decorations!
The City
There isn’t too much to the city just yet, but it’s beautifully drawn and animated. There aren’t any transition screens, either, so moving from one activity or building to another is smooth making it feel like a big open world for you to explore. No waiting on a silly dark screen with a loading bar!
You’ll find several useful stores spread throughout London. Buy groceries needed to cook and level up your cooking skills with. Or trot on over to Simon’s Pub for some spirits and ready made meals. Get furniture from Futon Furniture and flooring or wallpaper from D&Y. Berry’s Electronics has all your appliance needs, while Banana21 Apparel provides for all your clothing needs!
Not in the mood for shopping? Head to the gym to get your sweat on. Or go to the library to relax with a good book that’ll level your skills. Perhaps you need to edit your sim’s profile? Pay the Royal Snail a visit and take care of that real quick. The nearby museum is worth a visit, too. You’ll be able to donate items you’ve found to replenish the exhibits, as well as collect stamps for accomplishments. Throw in cars and busses driving around, as well as other people walking along the sidewalks, and London is full of life and things to do!
Home Design
The design aspect of Little Sim World is super simple. You buy the elements you want from the shops, like wallpaper from D&Y. Then, while at home, you’ll enter the build menu which is laid out in an easy, intuitive manner. There’s a remove tool to not only remove walls and items, but to get some money back for them. You click the design element you want to work with, like wallpaper, and you can click each individual wall you want papered.
Or click and drag to cover the whole room. It’s easy to change whole rooms in this manner. Just be sure you have enough money. Buying the design at the shop merely unlocks the use of it. Placing it costs money too!Placing items is just as easy, too. Select the furniture you want to work with and simply click to place it where you want.
This part of the game is so easy and so simple to learn and do. It was fun designing my sim’s home instead of it being a chore. Switching flooring or rearranging furniture is quick and painless. I can foresee many, many hours spent simply building a fun house.
Sim’s Needs
Little Sim World isn’t just all about the fun shopping sprees and exploring, though. Your sim is essentially a real person. They need to eat, drink, and use the toilet. Bathing is essential to a happy and healthy sim, too. Of course entertainment and exercise needs should be looked after as well.
It’s up to you to fulfill all those needs, and I have to say, that’s a full time job on its own. Maybe it’s because I like to push things instead of balancing my time appropriately, but my sim always feels like it’s starving or needs a shower. Learning to balance my time between working, cooking, having fun, and other needs will take some practice. The challenge is fun, though. It doesn’t feel like a hindrance, but an aspect to rise up to and overcome.
Final Thoughts
Little Sim World has quite a few other game elements that aren’t included in this early version. Finding love, traveling the city via car, bus, or underground, even having a roommate if you want to play with a friend. And if they implement those with the same care and effort as they’ve done with the rest of what’s in the demo, it’ll be excellent! One of the planned additions is the ability to choose Identity attributes. You’ll distribute points among attributes like smart, health, charm, courage, energy, and luck. I suspect these will help determine how well your sim does in their romantic relationships, as well as maybe their job, and overall life.
There is constantly something to do. Care for the sim’s needs, get them to work on time, and fulfilling tasks are all just what’s available in the demo. Add in romance and whatever exciting new features that are planned for Little Sim World, and it’ll be hard to be bored with the game.
As for designing your home and clothing options, the demo has a limited view of each. I imagine Little Sim World will have a much larger variety of everything upon release and I can’t wait. The clothes and design items are already great. I look forward to even more variety for cute or dark aesthetics!
I for one cannot wait for the full release of Little Sim World. It’s bound to be an adorably great time.
Coming Soon!
This lovely little game is projected to come out in the beginning of 2024! You can find it on Steam now to add it to your Wishlist.
Want more reviews? Checkout my review for Ooblets or Roots of Pacha!
- Aug 3, 2023
With Palia’s open Beta release on the horizon, and its lofty promises of a free-to-play cozy experience, I’ve gotten more and more excited at the idea of having cozy MMOs. We have a hoard of relaxing, cozy games to play these days, but sometimes you just want to have a whole community you can play together with. And now, Palia isn’t the only cozy MMO coming to the market! Loftia is another adorable MMO for the cozy gamer crowd.
A Cute Solarpunk MMO Packed With So Much To Do
Loftia is still in its early stages, but it shows great promise. Drawing inspiration from fan favorites like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, the game seeks to carve its own path into the genre with some familiar elements.
Set in a new, solarpunk world you’ll be able to play solo or even build your very own community of people. Loftia encourages socializing by utilizing group quests and server events. You’ll be able to celebrate events like Halloween together by playing special mini-games that will give you the chance to win prizes like wallpapers, skins, outfits, and more! Group quests will take you on adventures across breathtaking biomes with friends so you can uncover the secrets of Loftia.
Loftia allows for total customization, too. Design your character and dress them up in a number of different styles. Then, you can decorate your home to fit your aesthetic. Want to live out your cottagecore dreams? Or perhaps you want to set up the gothic home you’ve always hoped for. Maybe you even want to create a gamer’s paradise. Whatever you choose, you’re free to make your home however you wish!
While you build up the perfect set of decorations for your home, you can go out and explore the world or even settle in for some farming! Loftia has over 50 different crops you can plant and harvest. The game even focuses on sustainable efforts, so you’ll get to use a community garden or hydroponics to grow your crops. Plus, you can level up your farming by becoming a beekeeper or wine maker. And when you get tired of farming, gather resources to upcycle items! Turn an old tire into a pretty little garden planter for your home.
Plus, so much more. Loftia is absolutely packed full of things to do. Just chill with friends. Hang out with the local NPCs. Explore the world solo or with friends. Join an existing club or create your own. Even adopt a pet! You get to choose how your adventure goes.
Release Date
There’s currently no release date. Loftia is on Kickstarter now, where you can check out the stretch goals, but it has been funded! Expect to see this lovely game on PC and Switch when it does come out!
- Jul 20, 2023
Pretty Princess Magical Garden Island is the sequel to Pretty Princess Party, and just as cutesy, magical, and pretty as the other. Only this time, you play as a princess who’s trying to revitalize a once flourishing island. You have full control over designing the island, as well.
Raise livestock to receive animal products to use in recipes. Grow crops and flowers. Manufacture other necessary items to craft beautiful dresses, hair styles, makeup, and decorations. Complete requests from visitors to earn money and points that level you up. You’ll unlock new buildings, decorations, and wearables as you level.
Decorate and Garden and Decorate Some More!
Pretty Princess Magical Garden Island looks a lot like Animal Crossing, honestly. You’re on an island that you get to design and decorate. You’re in charge of fixing it up without help, and there’s fruit picking and fishing to be done. Even the look of the map is Animal Crossing-esque. However, Garden Island successfully set itself apart, I think.
There’s mining, farming, even animals to look after, and you have functional craft houses and restaurants that produce different kinds of food. There’s a functional element to the game that gives me a reason to play beyond just decorating. Garden Island’s livestock aren’t needy, they’re simply a building you place, you feed them, then they produce items. Farming is easy, too. You buy seeds, plant them, and wait! There’s a cute little chime that plays when a crop grows to maturity, too. So don’t go into this thinking you’ll have a Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon experience. You won’t. It’s just what ACNH should have done with crops.
There is a timer to making items, however. The base time is five minutes, though they can be up to ten minutes. These timers apply to crops, the animals, crafting buildings, and restaurants. When I first encountered this mechanic, I thought it would get annoying fast. That wasn’t the case, though. I found that there’s enough to do around Garden Island that I’d get swept up in something else and not even realize five or ten minutes had passed.
The best aspect, and probably the main aspect of Garden Island, though, is the decorating. Decorate yourself, change your hair, slap on some makeup and hair bows, then go pretty up the island. It’s almost overwhelming how many incredible options for decorating there are. From pretty and cutesy to gothic, to normal garden and cottagecore styles, you shouldn’t have trouble picking out the perfect pieces to use. The excitement of this is a little offset by the need to craft dyes and other materials to use to buy the decor. However, you can place multiple of one building to have a whole crafting set-up going so it’s really not a huge issue.
Final Thoughts
Despite the minor gripes, I really, really enjoy Pretty Princess Magical Garden Island. It’s fun and simple and forgiving. I can pick it up for a little while to fill some time, or I can marathon it all day. I can create beautiful water themed areas or spooky gothic and Halloween displays. Or, if I’m feeling in the mood, deck the whole place out in bright pinks befitting a pretty princess. The purposeful crafting and fulfilling order really gives me a sense of accomplishment, too. It makes me want to play because I have to earn levels to unlock more stuff, and craft items to get that stuff.
Overall, I give this one:
You can find Pretty Princess Magical Garden Island on Nintendo Switch!
- Jul 6, 2023
It’s no secret: Stardew Valley is my favorite cozy game; it’s possibly my all time favorite. I’m eagerly, and impatiently awaiting the release of Haunted Chocolatier, too. Until then, I’m always on the lookout for the next great farming sim. There are some great ones out there, and many more coming out that have potential. One Lonely Outpost was definitely one I’ve had my eye on for a while. Cozy farming sim where you restore the dying planet to its lush former glory and establish a brand new colony of people? Sign me up! Except, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
The Good
You can find One Lonely Outpost on Steam, and it is undoubtedly cute, and getting to restore the planet, while watching the flora and fauna slowly return is heart-warming. I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment from rebuilding the world into something liveable for my character and the NPCs. Getting to live on a planet that isn’t just some carbon copy of Earth, but actually feels like a surreal, alien planet is perfect. It immerses you into the story more, and makes the game just different enough, but with familiar elements.
What I really enjoyed was that sprinklers unlock early game. I can ramp up my farming almost immediately because of this, and ended up building a sprawling farm. There’s no endless struggling to complete tasks for in-game months while fighting your tiny amount of energy. Plus, it doesn’t feel like an end-game condition or after-thought. I can’t express enough how happy I was to get those sprinklers early.
The Bad
I know I just praised the sprinklers, but I have to also express how clunky they are. You have the sprinkler itself, which only waters crops within a specific radius of the sprinkler head. That’s normal and common in farming games. However, One Lonely Outpost also requires you to have a water pump placed near a water source, which will then provide water for the sprinklers to water crops. Then, you need solar panels to power those pumps. And each item has a specific range, so to cover a wide area, you’ll need multiples of each. Luckily, you can place a water pump by a water source, then place another water pump within the area of the first, and daisy chain the pumps to cover an area. However, if you’re wanting an aesthetic farm plot, it’s going to take some real planning.
The map is another problem for me. It’s SO low tech. You’re over here crafting food processors, forges, and water pumps from parts, but your map only shows you a broad overview of the One Lonely Planet world. It doesn’t zoom into the specific spot in a region you’re in. It doesn’t have visuals so you can find the paths to other regions. You just have to guess, and really commit the place to memory. Nevermind not having icons for the NPCs, which is fine. Stardew Valley does the same, and that was workable. It just feels a little silly that we’re building a brand new colony with solar panels and cooking stations we’ve crafted, but the map is basically useless.
The Ugly
Fishing is usually my least liked activity in farming sims, because they’re often just annoying. Stardew Valley, for example, has got to be my least favorite fishing activity. It gets easier with practice and new items, but it’s often the skill I ignore when I play. However, the fishing mechanic in One Lonely Outpost is perhaps worse than that. You get this cool little fishing drone that you release into a body of water, which initiates a minigame.
You control the drone by moving left or right, and dashing forward to catch a fish. Then, you play a little minigame where you click when the indicator is inside a tiny bar that moves. Sometimes it’s fast, and sometimes you do this up to three times, and this is what determines if you catch the fish. Unfortunately, the drone maneuverability is not on par with the fish. It’s slow and cumbersome, while the fish are swift and swim away if you approach too close. You also need to resurface before the battery runs out, or you lose your drone, forcing you to buy a new one or make a new one. They’re not that cheap, either.
You can buy drones and other items from Linny. Except, Linny is the new Marnie. I think I successfully caught her in her shop twice, maybe three times since she moved to the planet. I imagine she has a specific schedule I just wasn’t able to suss out, but it sure did make buying necessary items from her unduly difficult.
What really bothered me was the glitching. Most of the time, using my bug catching drone bugged the whole game. When it’s out, it shows an area on the round so you can see if you’re close enough to catch a bug. If I had the drone out and walked to a new region, that area disappeared and I just had to guess. Then, it morphed into only showing up when in one specific region. This issue also caused the areas shown for sprinklers, water pumps, and solar panels. So, I struggled to rearrange my farm unless I did it first thing when turning on the game and before I ever used my bug catching drone.
Final Thoughts
It has potential, and some of my complaints are more personal preference than a problem with the game. However, there were enough problems that I just didn’t vibe with the game. One Lonely Outpost is in Early Access, though, so there is hope that it has the wrinkles ironed out and it improves. I truly hope it does, too, because I enjoyed the atmosphere of it. Until then, I rate it:
You can check out some of my other reviews, too! Roots of Pacha, DREDGE, and Ooblets are all great cozy games I’d recommend!
- Jun 21, 2023
Aside from the sales Steam puts on throughout the year, Next Fest is probably one of my favorite times of the year. Steam Next Fest happens three times a year and is often the first time a demo is available for a game. Plus, it’s always chock full of various demos to grab, and this round has been no different. I think I downloaded over 20 different demos! I won’t bore you with all of them, though. Instead, here are my top five favorite demos I played.
Moving In
Moving In is a cozy, relaxing interior design game. You’ve just moved to a new house, all of your belongings are out front by the moving truck, and now you get to take them inside to arrange them however you wish. Arrange the bedroom to make it comfy and perfect for sleeping. Decorate the living room to be as inviting as you can. Even load your groceries into the fridge! With item locking, surface snapping, item rotation, and a variety of decor items, Moving In offers a place where you can let your creativity flow. And, with no challenges to complete, no specific goals to meet, and no timers to compete against, it is the perfect game for just hanging out and decorating a home.
I enjoyed the simplicity of Moving In. You pick up an item, you put it where you want. Maybe rotate it some to get a better angle, but that’s it. You’re not pigeonholed into placing things in a specific way to meet a goal. You aren’t rushing to do it as fast as possible. You just get to decorate and relax. Even the color palette is pleasing. It’s not too dark or too bright. Everything works together to make a beautiful game.
Heading 2: Everafter Falls
Everafter Falls is a humorous little farming and life sim where you awaken in a new town. You’re surrounded by anthropomorphic animals, who explain to you that the past life you remember was all a simulation. You’ve supposedly been here before, but you have no memory of the place. That’s ok, though. Your neighbors are more than welcoming, and patiently explain things to you, including how to restart your farm!
With the help of your pet, till the earth, plant some seeds, water them, and eventually you’ll have crops to sell. You’ll even be able to employ the help of drones to automate your farm, too, so you can adventure through the dungeons with no worries about your farm. Of course, you’ll be able to fish for a variety of fish, which you can donate to the aquarium to revitalize it. Or, go forage for a number of different items to use. Maybe complete some quests while you’re at it, too.
I found Everafter Falls to be just gorgeous and adorable all at once, but what really drew me in was the humor. It immediately throws out hilarious dialogue and cements the animal townspeople are quirky and entertaining. It helps set it apart from other farm and life sims. Of course, the beautiful scenery and cute villager designs help set it apart too. Having a demo is a great way for people to decide if they like the game and will buy it, but not all demos achieve greatness. Heck, I played some that left me bewildered and unimpressed. However, Everafter Falls quickly made its way to my Wishlist with its refreshing characters, but familiar gameplay. I’m always chasing that cozy farm sim feel that Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley left me with.
Little Kitty, Big City
Little Kitty, Big City is about a little black cat who gets lost in the big Japanese city it lives in, and they’re trying to get back home. You play as this adorable kitty as it explores the charming neighborhood alleyways and the bustling thoroughfares of their city, all while trying to make it back home. Befriend other animals and complete quests for them. Nuzzle up to strangers or even trip them and steal their phone! Hunt down cute little hats to wear, and knock over people’s potted plants. Cause chaos or simply find your way home, the choice is yours.
I have been impatiently waiting for this game for a while now. Unfortunately, it’s not set to release until 2024, but I’m so excited that a demo has released for Steam Next Fest. And it was awesome. Wandering around the streets between homes, finding vending machines and a busy walkway full of business people was all very nostalgic. It is exactly how I remembered many areas of Japan when I lived there. Nevermind that this game gives Untitled Goose Game vibes, but you’re a mischievous little kitty. I had an absolute blast with this demo.
Paleo Pines
Next up on my Steam Next Fest list is Paleo Pines, another game I’ve been anticipating for a long while now. You’ve recently moved to a charming little island called Paleo Pines, where you find a small town alongside herds of friendly little dinosaurs. Of course, you’re not unfamiliar to people living alongside dinos. You have Lucky, your trusty parasaurolophus. With Lucky at your side, you’ll not only revitalize your rundown farm, turning it into a lush dino paradise, but you’ll explore the island and uncover the mysteries of Paleo Pines. Make friends with the quirky townspeople, as well as the friendly wild dinos, while you’re at it. Each dino has a skill that can be helpful to you on your farm.
Paleo Pines seems to be all I’d hoped for. It’s adorable, it’s beautiful, and there are friendly dinosaurs, who have a function beyond just getting to look at them! I absolutely adored this demo, and getting to see a hint of what’s to come. The island has some breathtaking views and easy gameplay, making for a perfectly cozy, relaxing play through.
Sticky Business
Sticky Business is the perfect opportunity to run a sticker business without the pitfalls of running your own real business. And it has the added intrigue of character stories! In this game, you get to design different stickers from thousands of design elements, including sparkles and holo effects. Set a specific niche for yourself, or go wild and sell all kinds of different types. Each sticker attracts all kinds of different customers, and each of those customers have their own stories and backgrounds to discover. Once you’ve designed your stickers, print them out, and lovingly pack them up for each order. Listen to your customer’s story as you choose the perfect paper and filling to keep the stickers safe in the mail.
The demo for this game was wonderful. It’s calming, relaxing, and has an easy to use interface. Designing stickers was as easy as dragging and dropping elements onto the design area. Even packing orders wasn’t stressful. You see how many of each sticker you have, how many stickers an order wants, then get to choose from several different paper colors, as well as filling options. I’d love to get the full game so I can see the upgrades you can buy, and what goodies there are to add to each box!
Want To Give Them a Try?
This round of Steam Next Fest is currently going on, and will be until June 26th. Head on over to Steam to grab the demos for these games, and so many more. And while you’re at it, add your favorites to your Wishlist to get notifications for them.
And of course, if you’re looking for even more cute games, checkout Pixelshire, Dinkum, or even Coral Island.
