All posts tagged in Life Simulation
Apr 17, 2024
Play as a rancher by day and a vampire by night in this upcoming new farming sim called Vampire Rancher by solo developer borispixel. In this charming new game, you must balance your life as a rancher and vampire. You require blood, which you can take from the town’s visitors, but you need to make them happy by restoring the town or they won’t come visit! That blood essence you get can be used to upgrade different skills like turning into a bat, resisting garlic, and being immune to sunlight.
Run your ranch and care for chickens, pigs, and cows in Vampire Rancher. Pet them, feed them, and generally tend to their well-being, and they’ll take care of you, too. You can also farm a variety of different crops, which you can use in recipes to attract visitors. But more importantly are your responsibilities to the town! It’s up to you to restore the town so you can have more tasty meals of blood, er, visitors! Plus, you can get to know a unique cast of neighbors who will task you with different quests. Or go explore the vampiric ruins to find rare resources.
This game promises a uniquely cozy experience with a vampiric twist!
Release Date
Vampire Rancher is currently listed on Steam, where you can add it to your Wishlist. There is no release date available, but remember the developer is solo!
For more vampire fun, check out Brocula, Voltaire: the Vegan Vampire, and Moonlight Peaks!
- Apr 10, 2024
Live life as an adorable bunny who runs their very own bakery in Cinnabunny by developer Reky Studios!
Your family is in trouble from a nasty drought, and your mother tasked you with finding a new home. You discover the cozy Sugar Creek Burrows, a delightful new place perfect for your family to live and run their bakery. Gather resources to use in your bakery and become successful by making fabulous treats!
This cozy game with a whimsical feel seems to be the perfect game for players looking to get away from pure farming. Cinnabunny does still have farming as you need to grow wheat for flour. However, you also forage for ingredients like easter eggs. Plus, you need to mine salt from the caves. Then you can work on a variety of recipes, and even add a special touch by combining other ingredients for a special flair. Decorate your bakery to make it an inviting place for customers, but decorate it for yourself, too. It is where you live after all. Get to know your new neighbors by giving them tasty treats, go birdwatching in your off time, or even collect mushrooms. There are 40 different varieties located in the caves of Sugar Creek Burrows!
Cinnabunny does have co-op capabilities, but it is local co-op. There isn’t a native online multiplayer, but it’s possible to play online through Steam’s Remote Play Together. So grab a friend and get to work in your bakery!
Release Date
Cinnabunny is set to release in March of 2025 on Steam.
If you want more bunny fun, try Bunny Park!
- Mar 27, 2024
If you’ve been looking for a cute fishing-focused game, then let me introduce Whisker Waters by developer Underbite Games! This casual game blends fantasy with fishing elements to make an intriguing concept for players. Start by creating your very own cat character by choosing from a number of fur colors and accessories to make a cat that’s uniquely yours! Then, set out on a journey of whimsy and wonder as you explore different regions while mastering fishing.
Whisker Waters takes place in a beautifully designed world where you’ll experience a distinct narrative and adventure. Solve some mysteries and unravel some stories to get to know the place, as well as make some friends along the way. Cats, bears, and birds all live in harmony, and you can befriend them or help them out with tasks. They’ll even reward you with some cool gear! As for the fishing, this isn’t your usual simple fishing game. While it’s easy to play, it’ll take time to master the sport. Each fish has its own tricks to avoid capture. Plus, you will have to deal with some obstacles like a tangled line, whirlpools, and stuck fish. Each one requires prowess and thought to overcome, but offers a wholly rewarding experience once you learn!
Are you ready for your next great fishing adventure?
Release Date
Whisker Waters is set to release on April 25th on Steam, Switch, and PlayStation!
Captain Pawesome is another cat-centric fishing game. Plus, there’s Catch and Cook: Fishing Adventure and DREDGE for more fishing-centered fun.
- Mar 27, 2024
There appears to be an uptick in cozy room designing games lately, and I’m here for it. I know a lot of the casual, cozy gamers enjoy the building and room design aspect of The Sims. These latest design games focus solely on designing rooms and homes, without the people management. That makes these games perfect for the creatives who just want to design! Cozy Space by developer 攻壳游戏 Gamker Studio is one such game that boasts a cozy, easy-to-use interior design interface so you can create your dream rooms.
This gorgeous game features an extensive library of models that lets you design each room down to the minute details. Create comfy bedrooms with luxurious beds and the perfect ambient lighting. Place desks, lamps, plants, mirrors, and more for the perfect design accents. Pick appropriate wallpapers or paint colors and flooring options. Even make your dream game room, as Cozy Space is particularly geared towards gamers and includes large desks, computers, and other accessories. While you design, listen to the built-in relaxing music that you can control and customize for a better gaming experience.
Your imagination is the limit in this game!
Release Date
Cozy Space is available now on Steam in Early Access!
Make Room and Hometopia are a couple more cozy design games.
- Mar 21, 2024
Play as the fierce former Fae Queen in the cozy Final Profit: A Shop RPG by developer Brent Arnold. Your daughter felt your plans to save the realm from financial ruin were too radical so she exiled you. You merely wanted to beat the financial predators at their own game! Even the Fae Council thinks you don’t have a chance at taking down the Bureau of Business, but you’re determined to prove them wrong. Starting with nothing and certainly with no help from your kingdom, you set out to become Lord of Business by creating a successful business!
Final Profit offers a combatless experience where progression is tied to running your shop. Gather products and find customers to buy your wares in order to earn a profit. You can buy different buildings to add to your passive income, as well as invest in stocks. Spend your money on upgrades and paying off your debts. Automating your shop is even possible. Then, set out to explore an exciting world full of quests, minigames, and magic. Learn spells to help you in your adventures. Make decisions as you interact with people that will add to your Generosity or Ruthlessness stats, and affect how the story unfolds for you.
Will you save your people or will you reject your morals and become a ruthless agent of capitalism?
Release Date
Final Profit: A Shop RPG is available now on Steam!
Wonder Wandelier is another fantastic shop management game!
- Mar 20, 2024
Meowjiro is a charming combination of job sim, raising sim, and collection game. You work part-time in a convenience store. There, you need to work hard and complete a number of tasks in order to earn your paycheck. Stock shelves, prepare soft serve ice cream, heat up food, and run the cash register. You want to build your skills as a clerk and make a comfortable life for you and your cat, Meowjiro!
Your goal to become an all-can-do clerk in Meowjiro will take some work and planning. You need to juggle customer needs with basic duties. And when it’s super busy, you’ll need to learn how to prioritize and work quickly to satisfy all of your customers. Many of the tasks are completed through mini-games within the game. Like serving the soft serve ice cream! You must time the machine correctly to achieve the appropriate size for the order and turn it off once it has reached the size needed. As you work, you’ll earn a paycheck, which you can spend on food for Meowjiro. Once your furry friend has enough food, you can also buy furniture and decor for your home to make it cozy!
Release Date
This adorable game is available now on Steam.
- Mar 20, 2024
Little Lives, by solo developer Houndstooth Games, is a life sim game set in the town of Littleton. Featuring semi-realistic graphics, you get to customize your own character, including traits, and set out on that journey known as life! Work a job, build friendships, and face unexpected challenges as you play. Climb the corporate ladder, buy your dream home, and much more in this top-down life sim.
Little Lives has a bustling open-world that you can navigate from the default top-down perspective. Or, hop in your car and drive through the town of Littleton in a captivating 3rd person view. The town has a robust economy and is home to several different shops where all your needs will be met. Find your perfect home from an inventory of rental apartments or homes for sale, then decorate your living space to suit your tastes. Some items even have useful modifiers to improve your skills. Build meaningful relationships with friends or even find someone to romance and marry! Select your ideal furry companion, train your skills, find the perfect job and climb the corporate ladder, and take on hobbies to live the life of your dreams!
How will you live your little life?
Release Date
You can find Little Lives on Steam now!
- Mar 14, 2024
Spirittea is a cozy life sim all about helping out mischievous spirits. Developed by Cheesemaster Games, this relaxing sim is perfect for anyone looking to branch out from the usual farming sim. You play as yourself with some customization options, and you’ve just moved to a tiny town in what feels like the middle of nowhere. It’s generally a peaceful town, but the spirits have become restless and lost now that the townspeople have stopped worshiping them. It’s up to you to not only restore the bath house to give the spirits an outlet, but you’ll need to track them down and solve their problems, too!
Overall, It’s an Enjoyable Game
I’ve followed the development of Spirittea for a while, because as much as I love farming sims, having something different in the cozy game category is great. Plus, I love the idea of living in a rural Japanese-inspired town and running a bath house for spirits. It’s like my own personal Spirited Away without the consequences and bad guys.
The game starts with you meeting all of the townspeople, much like every other life sim out there. This time, though, you have Jan the dog to show you around. Speak to Jan and they’ll lead you to the villager, instead of aimlessly wandering around the town looking for people. It was an enjoyable way to force you to meet everyone and get a chance to see the town as you do it.
Being able to sleep at any time of day to advance the day by a few hours, or all night, is seriously one of Spirittea’s best assets. Sometimes you don’t want to open the bath house. Instead, you want to go fishing and catch some bugs, but you also want to do it at night. So, hop in your cozy bed and advance the clock! It was great when I was just done with the day and wanted to move on period.
Throw in the spirits with their different storylines and histories, and Wonyan being a sassy bit of comic relief, and it’s an intriguing game overall. Each of the spirits shows up in their own way, and requires some type of help that differs from the last. Plus, they look unique and have some great dialogue of their own. The character designs are done well, so everyone looks different from each other and easy to distinguish. The town is easy to navigate and explore, too. Everything together makes for a delightful experience.
There Are Some Cons, Though
As much as I enjoy Spirittea, there are some problems with the game. I thankfully didn’t encounter any bugs or glitches, so I suppose these are more gripes than anything. However, there’s definite room for improvement in some aspects.
My biggest issue is the map. It sways. When you open it, instead of the landmarks, houses, and trees being stationary, the sway and bounce to the music. It was a motion-sickness dilemma that posed a problem throughout my whole play. Plus, trying to find someone in the apartment building can be difficult because the sprites stack on top of each other so it’s hard to distinguish who is who. And if you’re at the apartment trying to see if your target townsperson is there, your marker is huge and covers up a good portion of that stack.
I enjoyed Spirittea’s addition of mini-games, and that they were unique. There was no carbon copy with a slight difference. I initially picked the hardest song possible in karaoke and wondered why it was SO hard, until I realized my mistake. The controls for that mini-game are great, though. My problem was with the fishing mini-game. You move your thumbstick the opposite direction instead of in the direction of the circle you want to select. It’s not very intuitive, and it wasn’t very cozy to have to stop and struggle every time I fished. Worse was the drinking mini-game not telling you anything about how to play or what controls to use. You just have to figure it out. Good luck!
Final Thoughts
I would still recommend Spirittea to cozy gamers looking for something different than the usual farm sim. It really is a delightful game, despite some of the issues. The storyline is unique, the characters are fun, and the visuals are nice. I really enjoy running my own bath house, too. It was simple and easy, and just overall fun!
I give it:
You can find Spirittea on Steam, Switch, and Xbox!
