All posts tagged in Exploration
Nov 15, 2023
Smushi Come Home is an adorable little exploration game. You play as Smushi, a tiny mushroom, who’s been taken from their home and dropped in a large forest. You must find your way back to your siblings and home island by adventuring through the forest. Run, jump, climb, and glide your way through different areas. Complete puzzles to progress through your journey. Even befriend some quirky forest-dwellers who need your help!
A Cozy Adventure
Though short, Smushi Come Home was a wonderfully relaxing and chill experience. The game does a great job of showing you how to play, setting up the story, then releasing you into the world to experiment with your skills. It’s low stakes, and takes very little effort or thought to play. This is not some complex strategy game, and it’s perfect that way!
This game is great for unwinding after a long day at work, or curling up on a cold day under warm blankets. Explore the autumn-colored woods, glide through the dark and mysterious caves, and swim underwater in search of items. Smushi Come Home has gorgeous scenery and a cast of quirky characters to keep you entertained. I mean, you get to ride on the back of a capybara! What’s better than that? Plus, a number of puzzles to complete that provide a small challenge, but don’t hinder the chilled out enjoyment just add to its charm. It’s such a cute little game, and great for all ages.
Final Thoughts
I wish I could gush more about this game, but that’s hard without giving away spoilers! I really recommend it if you’re looking for something short, but fulfilling. It’s scenic, relaxing, and just fun to wander around the woods.
I give it:
You can find Smushi Come Home on Steam and Switch!
- Nov 8, 2023
Smushi Come Home is a cozy adventure with chill vibes. You play as a tiny little mushroom who’s trying to find their way home. A large bird takes the adorable little Smushi from their comfortable home with their siblings by . Dropped in the middle of the forest, you’re lost and confused, but determined to make it back to your cozy little island.
Journey through different areas of the big forest as you meet new friends, solve puzzles, and find your way home. Run, glide, and climb through Smushi Come Home to overcome obstacles and discover secrets. Speak to other forest creatures along the way, too. Some will be able to help you on your adventure, while others require your help. You can even fill in a mycology journal by coming across different kinds of mushrooms, and collect cute skins to change the color of your cap!
Available Now!
You can find Smushi Come Home on Steam and Nintendo Switch now!
A Tiny Sticker Tale is another cozy adventure game you should take a look at!
- Nov 8, 2023
Have you ever dreamed about running your own restaurant while still seeing the world? In Catch and Cook, you can do both! You’re a skilled fisherman who gets to explore a beautiful world full of exciting locales. Explore a variety of gorgeous areas like icy landscapes and whimsical islands. Even take a moment to watch the world under the waves teeming with life. Schools of fish swim around, sunken ships lay in the sands, and even discover treasure chests!
Catch a variety of fish through four different methods. Fish with a fishing rod, put out crab pots, throw a net, or even use a harpoon to catch different kinds of fish. In Catch and Cook, you’ll discover the different fishing methods as you explore, and overcome each area’s set of challenges. Once you’ve gathered your haul, combine them with ingredients you’ve purchased from the villages to create tasty recipes. Experiment with different ingredients to discover incredible new dishes.
Available Now
You can find Catch and Cook, the cute fishing adventure, now on Steam!
For another fishing-focused game, I can’t recommend DREDGE enough. It’s spooky, but not too spooky and has chill vibes all around.
- Oct 12, 2023
If you’re unfamiliar with APICO, it’s a laid-back beekeeping sim game. You can find bees, breed them to create new types, and release them into the wild to repopulate the world. There’s even some resource gathering, home building, and exploration involved. Plus, you can use honey the bees produce to make other fun items to sell, like Apicola (honey soda)!
Starting Out
APICO is super laid-back, but can feel a little overwhelming at first. Instead of implementing forced, unskippable tutorials, the game uses a set of books you can access at any time at the bottom of the screen. The first one, “Grandpa’s Guide”, contains 46 chapters. These chapters are tutorial pages that explain what to do, and reward you when you complete it. These pages of explanations can be accessed even after completing, which is great for those of us who are forgetful.
Graphics and Bees
APICO is SO cute. Seriously cute. Its pixel graphics lend a sense of nostalgia to it, but it’s beautifully colored, too. There’s no overwhelmingly bright colors and nothing is difficult to look at. Nevermind that the little beehives and different wild bee species are adorable, too. Plus, each one of those has their own specific color so it’s easy to determine what type of bee it is at a glance. To make it easier to determine what kind of bee you’re looking at, it’s labeled with a three-letter abbreviation. Rolling your mouse over the bee will pop-up a small window with more information about it, too.
As for breeding the bees, Grandpa’s Guide walks you through setting that up really well. Then, “Beelia’s Almanac” further discusses each species. It also rewards you for discovering different types of bees! There are 45 different bee species for you to discover, making for a good amount of playtime as it may take a few rounds of crossbreeding to produce new species. Plus, you can use what your bees produce to make things like Apicola to sell in order to advance in other areas of the game.
The World
The world of APICO is fairly small. There’s the mainland you start on, swamp biome, tundra biome, and the Hallows located at the center of the map. There are also some fishing spots in the ocean, and a few coral reefs which were recently added in. So, while exploring is a part of the game as each biome has its own unique species of bees, it’s not the main focus. Each biome has been lovingly crafted, though, and offers its own resources.
At first, the map feels too small, but it’s honestly perfectly sized for a game that isn’t adventure-focused. It’s easy to get to the different biomes with the boat to get resources or bees, and be back home quickly. It’s not a chore going anywhere, especially when you’ve turned on the Walk Through Trees accessibility option (which I recommend using; it makes playing so much easier). It also places the focus solely on the bees and breeding them, which is perfect. And you can terraform! So you can make space to suit your needs. Create the perfect bee garden with a little work!
Final Thoughts
APICO is an otherwise relaxing time. There are no time constraints to complete things. You can explore how you wish, even swimming through the shallower waters around the islands. You can terraform and build and decorate how and when you wish (items are unlocked via completing quests and such, but otherwise done at your pace). There are NPCs you can talk to, but they aren’t adamant and annoying about needing interaction. They also act as the shops of the world, offering useful items. It’s a great little game that’s perfect for learning about bees! And if you’ve done everything in the game, it not only supports, but encourages modding so you can get even more out of this sweet little game!
Nevermind that upon starting up the game, the main menu has links to the wiki! That’s a wonderfully useful piece of the internet that I used a few times as I played. There’s also a link to a charity that helps our real-life bee populations! So, not only is APICO a cute little bee game, it endeavors to support our real-life bee preservation efforts. I couldn’t love it more.
I give this game:
You can find APICO on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation now!
Check out some of my other reviews! I’ve covered Lonesome Village, Innchanted, and even Garden Story!
- Oct 12, 2023
I love fall, and especially love Halloween. I eagerly await it every year. I’m always in search of cozy games to play that get me in the right mood for the time of year, so I’m excited to share games I think fit that mood. And next up on my list of games to get you into the spirit of Halloween is Almatetra! This adorable little game is another perfectly cozy, yet spooky game to add to your to-be-played list. Overall, it’s a short little action-adventure game with some combat and mystery!
Embark on a journey that will have you questioning your reality. You play as a girl living in a world ruined by mysterious cosmic forces. You’re also haunted by a ghost named Mary, and on a mission to find your missing friend. The rest of your friends join you in your search and a very unlikely companion joins you too.
Will you find your missing friend? And exactly what happened to your friend?
Available Now
You can find Almatetra on Itchi.io now!
If you haven’t played DREDGE yet, you really should!
- Oct 11, 2023
Night in the Woods follows Mae Borowski, a college dropout who has returned home to Possum Springs. It’s a former mining town that’s absolutely falling apart, but Mae seeks to return to her aimless life there. You play as Mae as she tries to reconnect with old friends, and re-enter her old life. Things seem a little different, though. Old friends have grown up and changed. Leaves are falling as the wind grows colder. And strange things are happening in the darkness.
Plus, there’s something lurking in the woods. Embark on an adventure that focuses on exploring the town, engaging in compelling story lines, and unique character interactions. Night in the Woods is surely the perfect spooky cozy game to get into the spirit of Halloween!
Available Now
You can find Night in the Woods on Steam, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation!
For more spooky, but cozy games, try Farm for your Life! - Oct 4, 2023
It’s October, which means it’s time to get into the spirit of Halloween! Or at least get into the spirit of fall, if you’re not big on Halloween. Either way, Book of Hours is the perfect place to start. It’s cozy and charming, with a dose of mystery. There’s no combat, and it’s not scary so those of us who are scaredy cats can enjoy it too!
In Book of Hours, you play as a Librarian who has chosen a solitary life full of books and research. Your library, the famous Hush House, was once a bastion of knowledge. For fifteen centuries it stood as a place for patrons to gather and learn. However, a fire wiped out the book collection and the former Librarian simply disappeared. Now, you spend your days peacefully organizing books and helping visitors seeking information.
You’re also on the lookout for answers. Researching the occult stones around you, you’re determined to uncover the mysteries of history and that fire. Book of Hours offers an elegant, but melancholic experience as you spend time crafting inks and other tools to use in your day-to-day. You’ll even get to decorate your new home, study the nine Wisdoms, more!
Available Now
Book of Hours is available now on Steam and Gog!
Here’s more Halloween games to try out: 5 Games to Get into the Halloween Spirit!
- Sep 27, 2023
Play as Percival “Percy” Bilkin in this beautiful adventure puzzle game, Bilkins’ Folly. Percy is a treasure hunter on a mission to find out what happened to his mother and grandfather, both of whom mysteriously disappeared years ago. The problem is, his ship just got wrecked in a major storm, and now he has to find a new ship, reunite with his crew, and then resume his investigations. And of course, dig up hidden treasures along the way.
Bilkins’ Folly is a lovely narrative adventure that follows Percy and his trusty dog companion, Drayton. You’ll team up with your canine friend to uncover the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Percy’s family. Spend quality time with Drayton to level up your bond and earn points to spend on new skills. These skills can be used to clear puzzles. Also use Percy’s cartography skills to customize your map. This will help you solve puzzles, some of which you might need to come back to later in the game!
Socialize with the inhabitants you encounter, just remember they’ll remember how you treat them. Recruit aspiring sailors to join your crew. Fish for fun sea creatures and even enter treasure hunting contests to earn rewards. Play a number of different minigames in Bilkins’ Folly, too, like sheep herding, lock picking, and more!
And yes, you can pet the dog.
Coming Soon
Bilkin’s Folly is set to release in just 5 short days on October 2nd! You’ll find it on Steam, GOG, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation.
A Tiny Sticker Tale is an adorable adventure game you should also check out!
