May 10, 2023Indie Highlight
Welcome to Brookhaven, a curious little town on a beautiful island full of friendly villagers and dangerous creatures. However, Brookhaven only exists inside a dark storybook, and a wizard has trapped you inside. Within the pages of this book you’ll encounter a cast of unique people with magical powers. Settle down and forge friendships, fall in love and start a family, explore, farm, and so much more in Brookhaven Grimoire!
The community of Brookhaven includes those who use magic. It is the backbone of this society, after all, and you’ll be able to join in by learning how to perform magic. You’ll also get to engage in a wide variety of activities. Fish for a variety of fish species in different areas of the world. Forage for mushrooms, flowers, and herbs. Grow vegetables, herbs, flowers, nuts, and fruit trees, then cook up a storm with your ingredients. You’ll also use these items in alchemy recipes, quests, or give them as gifts to villagers of Brookhaven Grimoire. You’ll also get to tend to a wide variety of animals on your farm who’ll provide you with animal products you can use, gift, or sell. There are 21 different creatures for you to raise, so no shortage of variety.
There are also over 100 mythical creatures for you to encounter on your adventures through Brookhaven Grimoire. Perhaps you’ll get to see some mermaids and werewolves in your search for dungeons to complete. Summon minions to help you in battle. Acquire supernatural abilities from one of five different supernatural creatures you can run into. And don’t forget your magic! Perhaps with all of these abilities, you’ll be able to uncover the mysteries of this storybook world and find a way back home.
This dark-style fantasy sim game is available now on Steam!
For more dark farm sim fun, checkout Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire and Critter Crops: Mystery of Mullery Mansion!
Jan 31, 2023Indie Highlight
In Wylde Flowers, you play as Tara as she starts her new life in the town of Fairhaven, located on a small rural island. She may be a city girl turned farmer with little outdoors experience, but she has the can-do attitude needed to help Gramma Wylde take care of the family farm.
Learn how to plant and care for crops, mind animals, and gather materials like mushrooms and wood. You can also learn to fish, craft items, and much more!
Wylde Flowers features a diverse multicultural cast of characters. Get to know each of them through talking, quests, and story moments. Each one has a compelling backstory and even personal mysteries to discover. You may even find romance and love in one of them! Or if you prefer, platonic relationships and friendships are available and equally fruitful.
Rural life isn’t the only new thing for Tara, though. She’s also learning to become a witch! You will learn how to fly your broomstick, craft potions, control the weather and the seasons, and turn into a cat. Join the local coven who will guide you in your lessons.
Wylde Flowers is already available to play on Apple Arcade and is now also available on Nintendo Switch and Steam. There is currently a free demo available on Steam, too.
The game is also getting a huge free content update, take a sneak peak here.
Check out Sun Haven or Super Zoo Story more cute sim games.
Jan 25, 2023Indie Highlight
Lumbearjack is an adorable and charming puzzle adventure where you play as Jack the bear. Jack is a humble bear with a very simple dream. He wants to defeat the dishonest industrial giant, Evil Works, and restore nature. Join Jack, his trusty axe, and his wacky woodland friends on their mission.
Hack and slash your way through forests, construction sites, and other exciting locations. Solve various environmental puzzles as you explore. Upgrade your chopping skills when you reduce, reuse, and recycle! You’ll also take time to rescue the adorable cast of critters, then join forces with them to defeat Evil Works. Can you put a stop to the environmental havoc?
Jack and his friends have also teamed up with Ecologi to restore their home. Ecologi empowers everyday people to make changes for the betterment of the environment. And for each copy of Lumbearjack sold, Ecologi plants one real life tree!
The charming Lumbearjack is currently available on most gaming platforms. You can find it on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, GOG, and Epic Games!
For more bear fun, check out Bear and Breakfast or Little Bear Chef. Or if you’re interested in more environmental cleanup games, try No Place Like Home. which has farming, quests, and more, or Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator, which is just cleaning the environment.
Jan 19, 2023Indie Highlight
In The Beasts of Maravilla, you play as a young, aspiring wildlife photographer Marina Montez, who is on a mission to explore the island of Maravilla and discover the extraordinary creatures living there. Her goal is to restore the waning magic of the island. To do that, she needs to prove magical creatures are real and restore humanity’s belief in the magical! Therefore, armed with her grandfather’s camera, and his journal of Maravilla, Marina must run, climb, explore, and solve puzzles to find the wondrous beasts of the island and photograph them.
Discover the 50 different creatures of the Beasts of Maravilla, located in three distinctive ecological zones. Traverse the Singing Jungle, the Glimmering River, and the Painted Plateau in search of the perfect shots. You’ll have to coax out the unusual behaviors of creatures to fill your photo book, but that shouldn’t be an issue! Simply play hide and seek with the otter-crocodile, or be the wing man for a love struck bird-monkey, and so many more. Use your photography skills to get the best shots possible, and don’t be afraid to be creative. Adjust the angle, height, and zoom of your camera to get the perfect shot.
You can find Beast of Maravilla on almost all of the major platforms. Find it on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and Epic Games. It’s also coming soon to PS4!
For more photography fun, check out Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, Toripon, or Wilderless.
Dec 14, 2022Indie Highlight
Welcome to charming Pekoe, where you are the newest resident in town. You’re also the new owner of the local teahouse. Being the owner of a teahouse come with its own challenges, but don’t worry too much. As you play, you’ll learn all about teas and how to successfully run the teahouse.
Not only do you brew the teas to serve, but you’ll learn how to harvest tea leaves too. Learning what leaves on which plants to pick, and when it’s the best time to harvest them will help you create the best teas for your customers. There are also numerous ceremonies and rituals to perform, never mind the many different types of tea you can brew and recipes you can combine! Plus, it’s full of adorable cats.
There are over 10 unique cat characters in Pekoe for you to meet too. Serve them up the teas you brew, even the experimental ones! Just remember each character does have their own likes and dislikes. Visit seven different teahouses to learn from each one, and different beautiful tea cups to serve your drinks in. And don’t forget about your teahouse. You can upgrade it and customize it to suit your tastes! Unlock new items as you help the townsfolk while you play, and make your teahouse comfy-cozy.
Sadly, the adorably relaxing Pekoe won’t be released until sometime in 2023. There’s no specific date listed. When it does come available, you’ll find it on Steam, where you can currently wishlist it.
For more cat game fun, there’s Mineko’s Night Market, Cat Cafe Manager, and Cats and Soup.
Dec 1, 2022Indie Highlight
Flying Neko Delivery is an adorable and pleasingly colorful game where you play as Onigiri, a sweet little black feline witch. Fly around on your broomstick to your customers and meet some quirky villagers while you deliver their packages. Your broomstick can be upgraded, too!
Delivering mail isn’t the only thing you can do, however. You’ll even be able to customize your cottage, forage for plants and fungi, and explore some incredible looking worlds. From picturesque mountains, a desert with fun flowering cacti, to relaxing little meadows, there’s a lot to look forward to exploring.
Flying Neko Delivery looks like it’d make for a fun game for families and children, or for anyone looking for a low-stakes game to relax with. It has a simple premise, and has simple controls. You can fly around without the worry of crashing as controls are forgiving. There’s also no combat. You’re simply exploring, foraging, and delivering mail!
Flying Neko Delivery is available now on Nintendo Switch and Steam.
For more cute cat games, checkout Minkeo’s Night Market, Little Kitty, Big City, Snacko, or even Cattails.
Nov 30, 2022Indie Highlight
Down in Bermuda is a pleasant and colorful little puzzle game featuring Milton, the adventurous airplane pilot. A bizarre and abnormal storm has swept through Milton’s path and has left him stranded on the infamous islands of Bermuda for decades. Milton will have to work to overcome a number of different obstacles in his search for a way home.
Milton has discovered he’s trapped inside a baffling time bubble, and needs your help to escape and get home. He’ll have to overcome creatures of the deep, as well as crack various codes. Collect mysterious orbs, and also solve a number of puzzles on 6 of the islands of the notorious archipelago. Can you help Milton find his way home and escape the beautiful, but mystifying island?
Down in Bermuda is available now on numerous platforms. You can find it on Steam, Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Epic Games, Humble Bundle, and GOG.
Here’s a throwback to the 15 Most Wholesome Games on 3DS.
Nov 19, 2022Indie Highlight
You, the player, have purchased your first plot of land located in an aging town in Japan’s countryside. Fully customize your character and your cell phone, and begin your new life. Your goal is to create a homestead you can be proud of. You’ll learn to collect your own water, generate power, grow crops, craft food, care for your animals, and much more in order to help your local economy.
You’ll get to ferment soy sauce, grow and grind your own flour, and even make cheese. Then, you can take it all a step further and cook recipes using your homemade ingredients.
SunnySide also features a colorful cast of characters for you to interact with. Life in the small town is peaceful, but not without its problems. Each of the locals has their own issues to deal with, as well as having distinct personalities and stories. As you take the time to interact with the characters, you’ll get to learn their backstories and problems. Bond with the locals, attend events, and even find someone special to date.
What sets SunnySide apart from the other farming sim games that keep cropping up is that it seeks to combine modernism with the old. It also skips some of the more well-used game mechanics. There are no watering cans, shipping bins, or seemingly endless gifting to increase relationships.
You’ll have access to solar panels, electric water pumps, and other contemporary machinery. Upgrade your technology to further improve your farming experience. Developer RainyGames wanted players to leave the tedium behind and truly get to enjoy a farming experience.
There is currently no release date available. You can find SunnySide on Steam to wishlist, however. It will also be coming to Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and Playstation. In the meantime, you can check out their website.
For another Japanese farming sim, take a look at Shepherd’s Crossing. For other farming sims, there’s One Lonely Outpost, Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire, or even Blue Oak Bridge.