All posts tagged in Casual
Feb 15, 2023
Restore the Planet and Raise Loddles!
Welcome to GUP-14, a vibrant alien planet that needs your help. In Loddlenaut, you play as an interstellar custodian who has been hired by the spacefaring mega corporation GUPPI to clean up their mess. They’ve inundated GUP-14 with pollution, and want you to restore the planet.
Loddlenaut is an open-world ocean adventure where you’ll get to explore this beautiful alien planet, along with the corporate ruins of GUPPI. You’ll find remnants of their buildings, ships, and machinery that have all sunken to the bottom of the ocean. Use your bubble gun, clean up the trash, remove oil spills, and uncover clues about the past inhabitants. Unlock better gadgets to help you clean up different types of ocean pollution. Recycle the trash you collect and use it to craft items.
While you’re at it, have a little fun and make friends! Loddlenaut features some very adorable little ocean creatures called loddles. They look similar to axolotl. You can feed them ocean fruit and raise them. Cleaning their environment will also help them thrive. Though, depending on their diet, they will grow and evolve to better survive the ocean and the pollution. And when they’re stronger and their home is cleaner, you can release them into the wild and watch them thrive. You may even come across eggs they’ve laid that you can then incubate to hatch and raise more loddles!
Coming Soon!
There is sadly no release date available for this adorable environmental clean-up game. However, you can play the demo for Loddlenaut on Steam. You can also wishlist it on Steam. There don’t appear to be plans for Loddlenaut to be on other platforms at this time.
For more clean-up games, check out No Place Like Home, Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator, or even Unpacking for some organizational fun.
- Jan 26, 2023
Design, Grow, and Nurture Your Garden
Welcome to Garden Life, where you are in charge! The goal of this realistic sandbox game is to build the garden of your dreams. There’s no magic or miracles to it, though, and it’s all up to you to plant and nurture your garden. Use the appropriate techniques, the correct tools, your creativity, and a little bit of elbow grease to create a flourishing paradise.
Take the time to learn the needs of your plants. Each one will need different types of care, like fertilizer and pruning. And don’t forget to water! You’re not alone in Garden Life, either. You’ll be able to fulfill the requests of your friendly neighbors, who will reward you with new tools, fun decorations, and even new plant varieties. Take those new plants, and the ones you’ve grown, and experiment with them. Create new hybrids and beautiful variations to further beautify your garden.
Garden Life implements a grid-free placement system, so players really are in control of the design of their gardens. There’s no snapping to place, and fighting against a grid system to create your vision. It also uses a specially developed procedural growth simulation technology. Every plant in your garden is unique, but will also easily adapt to its environment.
Release Date To Be Announced
Unfortunately, the beautifully crafted Garden Life has no publicly available release date. You can add it to your Wishlist on Steam, though. Developer Stillalive Studios also lists the game as being developed for Xbox and Playstation consoles, though the store pages for the game aren’t available yet.
For more gardening fun, check out A Garden Witch’s Life or Witchy Life Story.
- Jan 19, 2023
Take on the Role of a Young Wildlife Photographer
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.
Available Now!
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.
- Jan 11, 2023
Garden and Customize Rooms
In Garden In, players will get to garden to their heart’s content. The objective of the game is to just grow a variety unique and beautiful plants. Pick from a variety of different pots, throw some soil in it, and plant a seed. Each plant will require different things in order to grow, like clay or rocky soil, but each one wants your time, love, and some care in order to grow and flourish.
You can also create hybrid plants. Take a larger hybridization pot, put in two compatible seeds, and see what you get! Try to discover all the different hybrid plants to fill out your herbarium. Plus, you’ll get to customize your plant rooms to fit your personal aesthetic and mood. You have control of the colors of the room, and the backgrounds can be changed, too. Arrange your plants, change the color palette, and set whatever mood you want for each room.
With no timelines and no quests or goals to complete, Garden In! is the perfect game for the casual gamer. It’s also a good game for the creatives looking to just relax.
Coming Soon!
Garden In! Will be available on Steam in about two weeks, on January 26th! You can add it to your wishlist to receive an email when it releases.
For more gardening fun, check out Garden Paws, A Garden Witch’s Life, or Strange Horticulture.
- Dec 29, 2022
Farm, Tame, and Ride
Paleo Pines is an upcoming game that definitely has an Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley-like feel to it, but with dinosaurs!
Customize your character, and embark on a journey to a peaceful little island where pioneers live peacefully with affectionate dinosaurs. On the island, evolution went a different direction – “survival of the kindest” – and resulted in a world where humans and dinosaurs live together in harmony. Much to the delight of the residents of the island, you’re the last known descendant of the Flute Whisperer. Together with your Parasaurolophus, Lucky, you’ll build a ranch, make friends with residents, and discover the history of your lost ancestors.
Explore the various biomes of Paleo Pines. From the flowery fields of Veridian Valley, to the canyons of the desert, there’s no lack of space to roam around. There are a number of cute wild dinosaurs that roam the biomes, too. Gain their trust through building pens for them to frolic in, feeding them their favorite foods, and giving them nose pats! If you build enough trust with them, they may even help you with your farm chores, like digging rows and harvesting crops.
You’ll also be able to change your clothing via your wardrobe. Plus, your ranch is fully customizable. Create the perfect paradise for you and your dinosaur friends. Decorate your yard, or fill it full of planting rows. Your ranch is yours to make how you wish!
No Release Date
Unfortunately, there is no planned release date available at the moment. However, you can Wishlist it on Steam. You can also follow Paleo Pines on Twitter, where they frequently post little development updates. The Dev Blog for the game is a great place to look at updates too.
For more dinosaur fun, check out this list.
- Dec 14, 2022
Run Your Very Own Teahouse
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.
Coming 2023
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, 2022
Fly, Forage, and Explore
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!
Available Now!
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 24, 2022
Farming, Magic, and More – take a look my review of this magical game.
Wylde Flowers is an absolutely enchanting game with an incredible story line. In it, you play as Tara, a city girl who has just moved to Fairhaven to help her ailing grandmother with the farm. Unfortunately, the farm is in disrepair since grandpa passed away, so it’s up to you to restore it to its former glory. You’ll learn the basics of running a farm from Grandma Hazel, and the townsfolk will help you learn more advanced concepts. They’ll also prove to be a wonderful community to get to know.
Of course, farming isn’t the only new thing Tara will learn. As it turns out, Grandma is a well-respected witch in the local coven, and Tara’s also a witch. She’ll learn to cast magic spells and craft potions to help with things like growing crops or restoring her energy, and more! All while building relationships with the townspeople, possibly finding love, and solving the mysteries of the island.
Farming
Wylde Flowers is pretty straightforward as far as game-play goes. You run a farm that needs to be repaired. You’ll utilize Parker, the town woodworker, and Natalia, the town blacksmith, quite a bit in order to fix up the farm. Otto, the local fisherman, will give you a lesson on fishing, and eventually you’ll be able to buy livestock from Marty, who is also new to the town.
The crops and flowers you’ll be able to grow are seasonal, until you build the greenhouse. You’ll then be able to use the crops in recipes you can cook in your kitchen, many of which will help you in becoming friends with the townsfolk. Unfortunately, the space you’ll have to grow crops and flowers is limited. The greenhouse only has 5 plots, while the first outdoor garden you have access to can potentially hold around 11 plots. It will depend on your creativity in how things fit together. It’s almost like playing Tetris, with more unusable spots. When you finally open the large garden, you can fit about 27 plots there.
It’s certainly no Stardew Valley in farm size, but it didn’t pose any problems for me. Crops grow within a few days, and when you control the seasons (more on that later), it’s easy to just grow everything you want per season.
Magic
The magic system is a fun addition to a farm sim (though I’d say farming is the secondary bit to this game, while the story is the main thing). You’ll learn spells to make it rain, create thunderstorms, freeze time, reverse time, grow crops faster, make crops yield more per harvest, and much more.
I think my favorite part of the magic system is being able to ride a broomstick as a way to fast travel. While the playable map is fairly small, it’s still a great mechanic to get to unlock. Even better is the incorporation of magic into it. What’s not fun about getting to ride a broomstick across town?
My one complaint with this system is the ability to occupy your cat familiar, Cleocatra. While it’s a fun mechanic, and does play a part in the story, it’s not as useful as I’d hoped. It’s used once in the story, and that’s the only time it’s necessary to even be a cat. It’s also a pain if you don’t know how to do it, like me. When you become the cat, there’s no way to cancel the spell, unless you go to sleep. So, use it wisely, if you do choose to use it more often.
The Townspeople
The townspeople of Fairhaven are possibly my second favorite thing about Wylde Flowers. The cast is wildly diverse. From Kim, who is of Japanese descent and identifies as nonbinary and isn’t sure how to navigate beginning a relationship, to Amira who’s super flirty from the start. There’s even Cameron, the local leader of the League of the Conscious Mind center (*cough* can you say cult *cough*) with his sketchy past and charming personality.
Each character you’ll encounter in Wylde Flowers has their very own personality and rich back stories. Even better is each one is fully voice acted. And I don’t mean one guy and one woman change their voices to act out each character. Everyone has their own unique voice actor to capture the personality of the character. It’s hard not to feel the charm and beauty in individuality with this cast. You even have the chance to date and marry one of seven romanceable characters. So, take your time to get to know everyone, and see who you’d like to date, or just build meaningful friendships with everyone. The choice is yours!
The Story
I won’t go into detail about the story line, because it’s what Wylde Flowers is all about and I want all of you to experience the joy of progressing through it, but this is my favorite thing about the game. It seems so simple at first. Tara arrives in Fairhaven to take over and restore the family farm as Grandma Hazel is no longer able to take care of it. Then, Tara discovers Hazel, and herself, are witches. Tara is welcomed into the local coven, and is tasked with discovering the secret identities of each coven member after she’s gained their trust.
After that, Tara spends her time restoring the farm, exploring the mines, raising crops and livestock, and delving into her magical studies. However, she’s also working to solve the problems and mysteries that the small island town faces. And all of this while building relationships with the townsfolk, or even dating.
You and the coven are in charge of turning the seasons, which means you can progress as fast or as slow as you wish to, within reason anyway. You won’t get the opportunity (or appropriate spells) to change the seasons unless you progress the story, but when you reach that point, it’s all on you to initiate the change. So, take your time helping out the town with the bulletin board requests, exploring the mine, fishing, farming, and talking to everyone.
The downside is that you only get to experience one Spring, one Summer, one Fall, one Winter, then what I’ve deemed the Eternal Spring. You’ll change seasons one last time to Spring, and that’s it. You can play indefinitely after you finish the story line, but you better stock up on seasonal finds each season.
Final Thoughts
I LOVED Wylde Flowers and will absolutely be replaying it again and dating everyone I can. Even despite some of the minor irks like the cat transformation and the Eternal Spring. I can’t recommend this game enough. It’s perfect for cozy gamers, is absolutely beautiful, and a whole lot of fun. And any game that gives me the name “Cattleclysm” as a preset option to name my cow with is great in my eyes!
Check out another farm sim review we’ve done for Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town!
