All posts tagged in PS4 Games
Jun 11, 2022
Find Items, Explore an Island Filled with Frogs, Solve Puzzles, Farm, and Fish
Time on Frog Island has a new trailer via the Guerrilla Collective 3 announcing its release date this summer! This adorable adventure game starts like most of our beloved island sim games; a shipwreck. This particular and peculiar island is filled with frogs!
Seek out or trade for materials to fix your boat, solve puzzles, find hidden treasure, and go exploring! While running around, fishing, farming, concocting new brews, and talking to frogs, you’ll learn new abilities and new ways to help you traverse the island.
Launching July 12th, 2022 on Consoles and PC
The game is published by Merge Games (Pixelshire) and developed by Half Past Yellow. You can take a look at the adorable new trailer of a character assembling letters to spell out the release date of July 12th, 2022 below! Time on Frog Island will be releasing on (links provided) PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam).
- Nov 26, 2020
Here are some of my favorite farming games currently available, or coming soon, for the different consoles.
It seems that these days new farming games are coming out left and right. And because most single-person or small-team indie groups tend to build their games on PC, we get a lot of these awesome farming games on PC first. Compared to ten years ago, Steam is overflowing with farming games! Sometimes they come to console later, but some will remain exclusive forever.
But there is good news for everyone who has a preference for console gaming, or who doesn’t have a game-worthy PC right now. We’ve put together a satisfyingly large list of farming games that are either already available on console, or are confirmed to be coming to console at a later time.
Here are some console games that contain farming, growing or gardening mechanics, and they are all available on at least one dedicated gaming machine that is currently still in production. But they are not all in the same genre, and the emphasis placed on farming is different in each game, so these lists represent a variety.
I hope you’ll spot some of your favorites here, and maybe even have a few more to tell me about, so we can continue to make this list longer and longer.
Farming Games You Can Play Right Now
Doraemon: Story of Seasons (Switch and PC/Steam
For the ones who are not familiar with Doraemon Story of Seasons, it is a crossover game that combines the best out the beloved farming sim Story of Seasons and the more adventure driven Doraemon.
More info on Doraemon Story of Seasons here!
Farming Simulator (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, various versions)
Take on the challenges of the modern farmer! Explore a huge open world including a detailed North American environment, loaded with farming activities, over hundreds of acres of land. Drive over 250 authentic farming vehicles and equipment from over 75 manufacturers, including brands such as Challenger, Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra.
More info on Farming Simulator here.
Farming Simulator (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, various versions) Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles
For those with their head in the ‘clouds’, who have not yet played or heard of Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles, it is an aesthetic open-world adventure game. It was initially released for PC and PS4 on July 18th 2017. It was released for Switch on 17th May 2018.
Yonder (PS4, Switch) Farm Together
Farming games are on the up rise. Everyone is starting to enjoy our favorite laid back and relaxing video games. The latest addition to the Farming Sim genre is Farm Together. A multiplayer or single player ( however you prefer to farm ) game made by Milkstone Studios. Farm Together released just a few days ago, and it is already stealing the heart of Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon fans.
More info on Farm Together here.
Farm Together (Switch, Xbox One) Slime Rancher (PS4, Xbox One)
Slime Rancher, developed by Monomi Park, is a first-person farming simulation game with adorable pink slimes. Search for special treasure pods throughout the Far, Far Range and discover each slime’s unique secret style. Once discovered, you will be able to re-style every slime of that type whenever you choose!
More info on Slime Rancher here.
Slime Rancher (PS4, Xbox One) The Stillness of the Wind (Switch)
The Stillness of the Wind is a beautiful and unique take on the traditional and very popular farming game genre. The game focuses on Talma, an elderly woman who is spending her late days on her farmstead growing food, making cheese and tending to animals. The Stillness of the Wind packs everything you come to except from amazing farming games, such as Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons to name a few
More info on The Stillness of the Wind here.
The Stillness of the Wind (Switch) Harvest Life (Switch)
Harvest Life is taking a cute approach to the oh so adorable farming life simulation genre. In this game the player will of course do some extensive farming, taking care of livestock and exploring the gorgeous environment. But beyond it’s usual farming features, the game also delivers an intriguing story line.
More info on Harvest Life here.
Harvest Life (Switch) Castaway Paradise (PS4, Xbox One)
Your adventure on your very own tropical island. This is your island, your adventure! Do whatever you like! “Decorate the island, play dress up, collect bugs, grow crops and help your new neighbors.”
More info on Castaway Paradise here.
Castaway Paradise (PS4, Xbox One) Deiland (PS4)
Deiland is a single-player adventure RPG with several sandbox elements, such as farming, crafting, and building. Put on the mantle of the Little Prince of Deiland and rule over your own planet!
Stardew Valley (Switch, PS4, Xbox One)
In the Stardew Valley multiplayer mode, players can invite friends to their game and even provide them with their own little cabin. The Co-Op mode quickly became a fans favorite way to enjoy the much popular farming-sim.
More info on Stardew Valley here.
Stardew Valley (Switch, PS4, Xbox One) My Time at Portia (Switch, PS4, Xbox One)
My Time At Portia has officially been released on PS4, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch! In this article, we are going to look at the key differences between the PC and Console versions as of the initial launch. Even though the two versions are very similar, there are some very noticeable differences on the console.
More info on My Time At Portia here.
My Time at Portia (Switch, PS4, Xbox One) Dragon Quest Builders (PS4, Switch)
Gather, craft and build the kingdom of your dreams to restore the ruined world of Alefgard. As the legendary Builder, you’ll construct rooms, towns and defenses while fighting monsters.
More Info on Dragon Quest Builders here.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 (PS4, Switch)
Get ready to build a whole new world to your liking, and save the realm from Hargon. Hargon is back again and wishes to plunge the world into darkness and simplicity, striping the inhabitants of the land their ability to craft anything.
More info on Dragon Quest Builders 2 here.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 Graveyard Keeper (Switch, PS4, Xbox One)
Graveyard Keeper appears to be a darker game than what you would normally expect on your daily visit to myPotatoGames, but a closer look at the game reveals that its not much different from beloved franchises like Stardew Valley and other simulation games in the genre.
More info on Graveyard Keeper here.
Graveyard Keeper (Switch, PS4, Xbox One) Forager (Switch, PS4, Xbox One)
Forager was released April 18th by Indie developer HopFrog and published by Humble Bundle. Humble Bundle is the same company to work on other popular titles such as Mineko’s Night Market and Inkenfell. Within a short week, Forager has already begun to take over the internet through streams and videos. It has also already received many very positive reviews!
Forager (Switch, PS4, Xbox One) Plantera (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, 3DS)
Plantera is a farming-style clicker game that was released in 2016 by indie developer, VaragtP. With a “Very Positive” rating and over 3,000 reviews on Steam, it is easy to see why the developer has announced plans for a Plantera 2. Once finding out about this, myPotatoGames approached the developer to find out more information about the popular indie game sequel.
Plantera (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, 3DS) Little Dragon’s Café (PS4, Switch)
Little did I know when I started to play Little Dragons Cafe that I’d become so invested in the story line and characters. A small family of a mom, brother, and sister run a cafe together. One day, mom gets sick and you find out that she’s half dragon. An old man appears and tells the brother and sister that if they run the cafe together and raise this baby dragon well, their mom will be cured.
More info on Little Dragons Cafe here.
Little Dragon’s Café (PS4, Switch) Ooblets (Xbox One, PC)
In case you haven’t heard, Ooblets is an extremely adorable farming SIM/creature collection game in the style of such classics as Animal Crossing and Pokemon. Only in this game, you don’t need to necessarily catch your creatures, instead, you grow them in your awesome garden! Your little friends will help you do many things as you explore the expansive lands before you.
Ooblets (Xbox One) Earthlock (Switch, PS4, Xbox One)
The story is set in the world of Umbra, a world that has been affected by a catastrophic event that has ceased the world from rotating (thus the title Earthlock). The horrible event, known by the people as the Deadly Halt, has left the world in disarray.
Earthlock (Switch, PS4, Xbox One) Terraria (Switch, PS4, PSVita, Xbox One)
Terreria is a game about adventuring, building, resourcing, and generally just doing anything you want, whenever you want and how you want it! The randomly generated worlds of the game keep gameplay fresh for weeks, months, and years to come.
Terraria (Switch, PS4, PSVita, Xbox One) Junk Planet (Switch)
“Clean up junk while bringing plants and creatures to life. Freely reclaim the Junk Planet in this 2D sandbox game. The game takes place on Junk Planet, a planet that was bombarded with so much junk, it was completely ruined. It’s here that a peculiar pair meet by chance and their story begins.”
More info on Junk Planet here.
Junk Planet (Switch) Harvest Moon: Light of Hope (Switch)
Looking for a fresh start and some new surroundings, you set off on a voyage to begin your new life! Unfortunately, the weather has different plans, as your ship is hit by a monsoon, and goes down! You drift into a small harbor town, now in a shambles from the storm, where a young doctor named Jeanne saves your life.
More info on Light of Hope here.
HM: Light of Hope (PS4, Switch) Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale (3DS)
Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns just came out, but this is whole different game within the same franchise. It combines the best you know from Story of Seasons and turns it into an adorable RPG Adventure Game. Popolo Crois comes with an engaging story line, and interesting characters that you will meet along the way.
More info on Return to PopoloCrois here.
Return to PopoloCrois (3DS) Ever Oasis (3DS)
Ever Oasis sports a team structure during dungeon crawling that’s reminiscent of Xenoblade. It seems like gameplay focuses mostly on combat when you’re in these dungeons. Other than that, mission and story structure are about what you’d expect from the average RPG.
Ever Oasis {3DS) Rune Factory 4 (3DS)
“Establish a new life in a new country, developing relationships, cultivating the land and adventuring with comrades on an epic quest that begins with a humble tumble. Designed for beginners and series veterans alike!”
More info on Rune Factory 4 here!
Story of Seasons (3DS)
“Longtime series producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto returns to lead a veteran ‘Bokujo Monogatari’ development team as the series is reborn in the West with its new name, STORY OF SEASONS.”
More info on Story of Seasons here!
Story of Seasons Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns (3DS)
Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns is the sequel to the immensely popular Story of Seasons for 3DS. It features a richer gameplay and a huge open world to explore. Harvest Moon fans have long considered this game a worthy successor to the popular farming franchise.
More info on Trio Of Towns here.
SoS: Trio of Towns (3DS) Harvest Moon: A New Beginning (3DS)
“Your parents recently offered you a chance to renovate the abandoned family farm, but reviving a successful ranch requires rebuilding the town. Can you find the materials and blueprints that allow you to create the best community in the land?”
More info on A New Beginning here.
HM: A New Beginning (3DS) Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)
The ‘Welcome Amiibo’ update to New Leaf brought with it a variety of new features, including a campsite area, much like the one seen in Animal Crossing Pocket Camp. With the Welcome Amiibo update coming to New Leaf in the same period of time that Animal Crossing Pocket Camp was meant to release, it’s blatantly obvious that the two titles were supposed to have the connectivity that Nintendo had teased
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)
If the hustle and bustle of modern life’s got you down, Tom Nook has a new business venture up his sleeve that he knows you’ll adore: the Nook Inc. Deserted Island Getaway Package! Sure, you’ve crossed paths with colorful characters near and far. Had a grand time as one of the city folk. May’ve even turned over a new leaf and dedicated yourself to public service! But deep down, isn’t there a part of you that longs for…freedom? Then perhaps a long walk on the beach of a deserted island, where a rich wealth of untouched nature awaits, is just what the doctor ordered!
More info on New Horizons here.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch) Rune Factory 4 Special (Switch)
Rune Factory 4 Special will feature all new visuals, an exciting “Newly-wed” mode and more! Check out the gorgeous trailer below for some story time as well as some brand new gameplay footage.
More on Rune Factory 4 Special here.
Rune Factory 4 Special (Switch) Farming Games Coming to Console in the Future
Staxel (Switch)
We’ve been following Staxel for quite some time now, which you can see in our article about the demo. Plukit, the developers, were kind enough to give myPotatoGames a copy of the full-release on Steam to review with the new updates. If you’re looking for a great sandbox game to spend hours and hours building and farming, look no further! Feel free to relax and explore a plentiful island, and build a wonderful town that villagers will want to move into.
Staxel (Switch) Garden Paws (Switch)
Garden Paws, created by Bitten Toast Games, has it all in this simulation/adventure! You can garden, farm, fish, mine, run a shop, tame wild animals, decorate yourself and your home, build new stores and homes for the town, and much more! Constant quests to either progress the town or to help out some villagers makes it so that everything you do has a grander purpose, aside from just being cute that is.
More info on Garden Paws here!
Garden Paws (Switch) Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin (PS4 and Switch)
Players take on the role of Sakuna, a proud yet lonely harvest goddess who is banished to a dangerous island with a group of outcast humans. As she tames the island by defeating demons in gorgeous, mysterious natural settings, she will also find a home in a mountain village. This is where she will prove herself worthy of her title by harvesting rice and bettering the lives of humans. Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin has an emphasis on the artistry of cultivating rice, and the craft behind the agriculture.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin (PS4 and Switch) Re: Legend (Switch, PS4, Xbox One)
For those of you out there who are like us and just can’t wait to get your hands on Re:Legend, we have excellent news. Developed by Magnus Games Studio, Re:Legend is an online co-op adventure game that features all the goodies we’ve come to love so much at myPotatoGames (i.e. farming, crafting, creature collection). This amazing title is going to be available to try out very soon, and we’ve got everything you need to know about being a part of the early access trial.
Re: Legend (Switch, PS4, Xbox One) Picontier (Switch)
For those that may have missed it, Picontier is a slow paced and relaxing life sim game. The game contains aspects of farming, building, fishing and crafting. There will also be a light combat element, for those that seek the rewards of a dungeon master. Picontier is currently in the works, and the developers are pushing for a release of 2020.
Picontier (Switch) Stranded Sails: Explorers of the Cursed Islands (Switch)
I am happy to say that Stranded Sails: Explorers of the Cursed Islands has a release date of October 2019! Furthermore, it is releasing worldwide both digitally and physically. This open-world adventure and simulation game is developed by Lemonbomb Entertainment and published by rokapublish. Now they have also teamed up with Merge Games to bring the title to all current generation consoles! Stranded Sails will be released for PC, Nintendo Switch, as well as Xbox One and PlayStation 4 simultaneously on the same release date!
Stranded Sails: Explorers of the Cursed Islands (Switch) Summer in Mara (PS4, Switch)
Summer in Mara is centered around the main island Qälis, a small town with different Qüidos, humans, cat-children, and a few Elit. In this city, you can see the mixture of cultures scattered all through Mara. In Qälis, you will meet people, trade with them, and discover lots of secrets about Mara’s exotic and ancient structures. You’ll be able to befriend all of these villagers but you’ll also be able to craft, grow livestock, and plant trees and crops!
More info on Summer in Mara here.
Summer in Mara (PS4, Switch) Mineko’s Night Market (Switch)
Mineko’s Night Market is an upcoming cat-themed crafting adventure game that celebrates Japanese culture and is essentially about friendship, choices, and of course, cats. The indie game is being developed by Meowza Games,and being published by Humble Bundle, who will also publish upcoming games Forager and Ikenfell.
More info on Mineko’s Night Market here.
Mineko’s Night Market (Switch) Littlewood (Switch – available on PC)
Littlewood is a new village simulator game coming to early access next month on Steam. myPotatoGames was able to sit down with developer, Sean Young, and get some exclusive details about this highly anticipated game. As an extra bonus, below are some never before seen screen shots of the game! This is all quite exciting so let’s jump into it!
Littlewood (Switch) Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (Switch – Available in Japan already)
Story of Seasons Reunion of Mineral Town is a remake of the much beloved and highly praised Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral Town. The game will be coming to Switch later this year and we have the first gameplay footage!
More on Friends of Mineral Town here.
Rune Factory 5 (Switch)
Rune Factory 5 is the sequel to the much beloved and extremely popular Rune Factory 4 – a game initially released on the Nintendo 3DS and now coming to Nintendo Switch with all new visuals and game features.Fans of the series are excited to learn more about Rune Factory 5 for Nintendo Switch. To satisfy the need and hunger for more details on the sequel, Marvelous released a a short Rune Factory 5 Teaser at the end of todays stream. Check out the adorable little video below!
Do let me know what your favourite farming, gardening, or growing games are in the comments below! And remember, if I missed one, I really want to hear about it!
- Dec 13, 2019
We may not have gotten more Animal Crossing: New Horizons information from last night’s (December 12th, 2019) The Game Awards, however Nintendo is still teasing us with social media posts letting us know that something is in the works. Nintendo also seemed to have already shown us the bulk of their games coming next year (2020) with the Indie World Showcase from last Tuesday. That’s not to say there weren’t any amusing highlights during the 3-hour long live-streamed event!
The Game Awards was the biggest we’ve ever seen with live orchestra performances and an appearance from the band Green Day. Even though there weren’t any World Premieres of wholesome ‘potato games’, I’ve listed my favorite moments of the show below. Potato Highlights, if you will.
Muppets and Untitled Goose Game Moment
Thanks to Geoff Keighley’s hard work of putting together The Game Awards, we all got an early Christmas gift that was Untitled Goose Game and The Muppets Show crossover. Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker came on the stage to announce the winner of the Games for Impact, which GRIS took the award for. Not only were the Muppets live on stage, we also got a hilarious video, Untitled Beaker Game, which made my whole night. I only wish that the developers House House could make this game a reality. I’d pay good money for that DLC.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Smash Bros Ultimate Win Awards
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice ended up taking the big award home (Game of the Year) during last night’s The Game Awards 2019, however a couple of Nintendo games also won in different categories! Most notably, Super Smash Bros Ultimate won Best Fighting Game and Luigi’s Mansion 3 won Best Family Game! I’m so happy for Luigi’s Mansion 3 because it was one of the best games I’ve played this year and Polterpup is a good boy.
Reggie’s Speech on Indie Games
Ex-CEO of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, was present at The Game Awards 2019 and announced the award for Best Independent Game. Before the winner was named, he gave a very passionate speech about the importance of indie games and how every game developer starts out as “indie”. These games are the future and I have definitely found quite a few gems over these past few months! I’m not crying, you’re crying!
Biggest Surprise: Bravely Default II on Switch
This exclusive Nintendo Switch game announcement came quite out of nowhere with very little details. Bravely Default and its direct sequel Bravely Second: End Layer were amazing 3DS games by Square Enix. Bravely Default II seems to be an entirely stand-alone game with different characters but in a familiar world where there are “Heroes of Light”. My guess is they might be starting to create a numbered series like Final Fantasy. We can expect Bravely Default II to release sometime in 2020.
Xbox Series X Holiday 2020
The Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, came on the stage to show us the new Xbox console coming next Holiday Season (2020). We have known for quite some time that Microsoft has been working on their next generation console code-named Project Scarlett, but now we have the real name; Xbox Series X. The specs are as follows: 4K visuals at 60FPS, with possibility of up to 120FPS, including support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and 8K capability. For more information on the Xbox Series X, you can go to Xbox’s official website here.
Game Festival Favorites
If you haven’t had the chance to try out the dozens of free demos available on Steam thanks to a new project by The Game Awards called The Game Festival, you should head over there now! The Game Festival allows you to try out demos that you normally would only see at conventions and events that you may not get the chance to attend in-person. Now, for only 48 hours (which started early December 12th, 2019), you can try out quite the wholesome list.
My first game on the list was SkateBIRD and can say that this tiny hawk is poised to replace the champ of skateboarding themed video games. However, what really surprised me was how much I enjoyed playing the demo for Roki. Finding items and figuring out how to use them to move on to the next puzzle was truly a fun experience. I also want to know more about the story and what’s with the creepy vibe I’m getting. Another game worth mentioning is Spiritfarer. The gameplay footage we got to see at Gamescom 2019 is the same but what I didn’t know was how a second player can play your cat companion Daffodil! Both of you can also go around hugging everyone and its so wholesome.
Finally, I also really enjoyed Moving Out and its physics-based mechanics, and Chicory for its clever use of the paintbrush for platforming puzzles and the nostalgic feeling I got of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. Both games are also local co-op games!
- Dec 10, 2019
PlayStation’s State of Play just finished live-streaming today (December 10th, 2019) and if you missed it, you can check out the 20 minutes video below. Some exciting release dates were given, announcements of games coming to the PS4 were made, and one interesting new VR game has caught my attention.
Release Dates
State of Play kicks off with Untitled Goose Game. It has already been released on the Epic Games Store and I’ve had a chance to play it on the Nintendo Switch and really enjoy it. Now this hilarious stealth game is coming to the PS4 on December 17th, 2019! The more platforms the better!
Dreams is finally releasing!
Another one of my favorite surprises was that of a release date for Dreams. Dreams, by Media Molecule, allows you to basically create your own game for yourself and others to enjoy, and has been in Early Access for quite some time now. However, look forward to exploring worlds of limitless imagination on February 14th, 2020.
A couple of other wholesome game mentions where that of Superliminal, a puzzle game inspired by forced perspective, which is not only available now on the Epics Game Store, but will be available on the PS4 sometime in 2020. We also have a date for Kingdom Hearts III’s DLC, Re-Mind, which is January 20th, 2020. This new DLC will feature new playable characters like Kairi! You can play a free demo of Kingdom Hearts III if you haven’t played it already, with more information on that here.
Paper Beasts
Paper Beast is a VR adventure game coming soon in Q1 2020. We got to see some footage where you can immerse yourself in a simulated living world. You can interact with the environment and what appears to be origami-like creatures! To learn more about Paper Beats, go here.
Finally, we were told to expect some more gameplay videos and reveals during The Game Awards happening this Thursday, December 12th, 2019! I’ll definitely be there to catch the epic live-stream!
- Dec 6, 2019
After releasing the Most Wholesome Game Releases in December article recently, I of course find more potato-friendly games releasing this week (December 2nd to December 6th, 2019)! All games are already available now on consoles and PC so you can start playing whatever genre suits your fancy such as a classic RPG, a relaxing adventure, or unique puzzle games!
Heroland – December 3rd
The Heroland theme park offers guests an authentic RPG-style adventure for a price, but when a scruffy young park guide and his guests uncover ulterior motives by the organizers, legends become reality, and guests must take the fate of the park (and the world!) into their own hands. Created by an all-star development team consisting of key people behind MOTHER 3, Legend of Mana, and Fantasy Life, this 2D adventure brings not only a host of quirky heroes and their unique abilities to join your party for a new take on classic RPG-style combat, but also a colorful cast of monsters employed by the theme park, many with their own stories to tell!
Heroland is developed by FuRyu and Netchubiyori Limited, and published by XSEED. It is available now on The Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC. Even with Bug Fables out now, I still have a classic Paper Mario-shaped void in my heart that this game looks like it can help fill!
Arise: A Simple Story – December 3rd
Set out on an adventure through the changing landscapes of memories lush with feelings of love and loss. Every moment of this rollercoaster ride is a new challenge and a chance to see your life in a different light. Enter the wonderful world of memories and feelings brought to life by the talented artists from Piccolo Studio. Discover the heartfelt magic in your personal, everyday struggles thanks to the game’s soulful music and beautiful art direction. Control the flow of time (or invite another player to do so) and change your surroundings from the shifting of seconds to entire seasons. Fast forward, move back or pause time to relive your memories and overcome every obstacle on your journey.
Arise: A Simple Story is published by Techland and developed by Piccolo Studio. It is available now on Epic Games Store, Xbox One, and PS4. The graphics and soundtrack are so beautiful and peaceful I feel like I might be crying with this game. In a good way.
JigSaw Solace – December 3rd
JigSawSolace is a calming and relaxing puzzle game with 6 different themes to choose from, 4 different difficulty size to adjust any time during playing, 30 high quality puzzle images. soft, relaxing and cheerful music, and the ability to adjust background themes. There are puzzles for kids and adults such as cartoon animals, outer space, and beautiful landscapes.
JigSaw Solace is created by Playstige Interactive and is available now on the PS4 and the Nintendo Switch for under $5! Rejoice cat-lovers! Now you can play digital jigsaw puzzles so your furry children do not eat the required assembly parts.
Tick Tock: A Tale for Two – December 5th
Tick Tock: A Tale for Two is a two-player co-op adventure game that is all about communication. Players have to unravel a narrative together, talk to each other about what they are doing and what they see in order to solve puzzles. Tick Tock is played on two devices, either mobile, tablet or computer.
Tick Tock: A Tale for Two is created by Other Tales Interactive and is available now on the Nintendo Switch and Steam. The gameplay reminds me of something similar to Them Bombs which is a unique way to solve puzzles with a friend!
- Dec 5, 2019
Concrete Genie, a PS4 exclusive, follows the heartwarming journey of a bullied teen named Ash, who escapes his troubles by bringing his colorful imagination to life in his sketchbook, while exploring his hometown of Denska – a once bright and bustling seaside town now polluted by Darkness. To find out more about this game, check out my article here.
Now players new and old can play Concrete Genie and add some holiday flair to their experience! When you download the new patch 1.06, you will be asked if you would like to activate the Holiday Brush Pack. You can load up your existing saves or start a new game, and you can also turn the brush options on/off in the menu at any time. Developer Pixelopus offers these new holiday themed brushes, such as Santa hats, to their fans for free to thank them for supporting their game.
If you’re interested in what other games will be embracing the winter holidays this month, check out my article here: Winter and Holiday Events in Games for 2019.
- Dec 5, 2019
Spirit of the North is a 3D adventure game about discovery and companionship. The developers, Infuse Studio, mention how they were inspired by the landscapes of Iceland, and Nordic folklore. Solve various puzzles and examine the ruins of an ancient civilization. You can buy it here on PSN for $24.99 and enjoy running freely on snow-covered mountaintops this holiday season!
About Spirit of the North
Play as an ordinary red fox whose story becomes entwined with the guardian of the Northern Lights, a female spirit fox. As you journey over the mountains and under red-stained skies you’ll discover more about your companion and a land left in ruin.
You can follow the developers on their Twitter page here for more information. For a similar breathtaking experience and story-rich game, check out my review here: Lost Ember: A Beautifully Heartbreaking Exploration of Forgiveness.
- Oct 30, 2019
Eastshade is a first-person open-world walking simulation game where you travel a serene fantasy world as a painter with the simple goal of capturing specific areas of the island as per your mother’s last wishes. If you’ve ever wondered from other RPGs, like Skyrim, what it would be like to be one of those vendors you purchase goods from and not having to save the world, well wonder no more. Relax and play this game at your own pace and meet the interesting inhabitants of Eastshade. They might even ask you for painting commissions!
Eastshade has been available on Steam since last year but as of October 21st, 2019, you can purchase the game on consoles! I’d like to thank Eastshade Studios for giving me a PS4 digital copy of the game in order to share this review with our community!
Exploring Eastshade and Painting
You start off on a ship set for Eastshade as you mother boasts about the beauty of this place you’ve never been to. Your boat sinks but you make it to shore along with the other crew members. From there, you are free to go anywhere you please! There are helpful paths leading to points of interest but if you stray from those, you can forage for herbs, roots, feathers, and other items you’ll need for crafting. The first thing you’ll want to learn is how to craft a canvas so you can start painting right away. The mechanic for painting isn’t you actually using an in-game paintbrush to draw something; it’s you framing scenery as if you were going to take a picture with your camera. Then your character automatically paints exactly what you’ve selected.
Painting Requires Inspiration
I suggest reading every single book you come across as they not only give you inspiration, they give you helpful hints. Inspiration is a sort of stamina bar you’ll need to fill in order to be able to paint anything. This is probably the most important thing you need to keep an eye on. The only way to gain more Inspiration is by discovering new locations, drinking teas, completing side-quests, and sitting in hot-springs for the first time. This became a little stressful for me since I wanted to paint everything in sight, however, if you meet someone not too far from Lyndow, you can listen to them sing a bard song for an infinite amount of Inspiration.
Modes of Transporation and Favors
I really loved talking to everyone I met as they all have stories to tell and favors to ask. This will open up side-quests for you to complete and some of them will let you decide on the outcome. You can even learn recipes either from townsfollk, or books, in order make teas with varying effects, for example. One of the teas will allow you to fast-travel to select areas you’ve already visited on your map. Not that traveling takes too much time in order to see everything, and who wouldn’t want to take in the sights anyway, but it’s pretty convenient to have modes of transportation. You can make yourself a raft, buy a bike, ask villagers with wagons to bring you to the two major towns, etc.
It’s Freezing Out at Night
Speaking of towns, I recommend heading to Nava as soon as possible. Once there, you can buy, what I find to be, the most useful item in the entire game; a coat. After 6:00 p.m., Eastshade gets too cold for you to be outside so you either have to go inside someone’s house, an inn, drink a specific tea, or build a campfire or tent if you have the schematics.
If you fail to do either one of those things, your character will freeze and automatically return to the last inn you stayed at overnight (probably Lyndow). When I got the coat in Nava, I was so relieved that I could just journey around outside whenever I wanted. Some quests even need you to stay out until after midnight, which are so much easier to complete if you aren’t on borrowed time. One time, I stayed in someone’s house for several real-life minutes waiting for the morning to come as I didn’t have any items with me.
Shopping With Glowstones and Commissions
Don’t worry about spending your precious Glowstones on a room at the inn because it is very cheap and you only have to pay once! After that you can keep using the room to sleep if you need to speed-up time. Glowstones are hard to come by at first and require you to sell paintings to certain folks. There are three Shadefolk that will buy items off of you for a small amount of Glowstones as well, in case you’re in a pinch.
In Nava, there is so much shopping to do, like that coat, so you’ll want to save up. You can even buy canvases as there’s a finite amount of those particular crafting materials. While you’re there, become an employed artist and start submitting paintings via requests for more Glowstones! I only wish there were more commissions as I loved finding specific things all around Eastshade but still having the freedom to decide exactly how to paint them. For example, you can decide on distance and angles. Weather and time-of-day will also affect the hues and lighting in your paintings. There are some teas you can drink to change the filter of your graphics which is also very fun to use. There’s a lot of weird tea-drinking in this game.
The Lore and World of Eastshade
The day-night cycle in Eastshade is relatively the same as ours but with the difference of the daily solar eclipses at noon and the daily lunar eclipses at midnight. The skies can go from blue to red, to blue again, and then to a golden color. I could have sworn that Eastshade’s moon looks to be like the planet Earth so I did a little digging on the developers’ intentions and found the following:
“The moon in Eastshade appears habitable, and since its about the same size as the planet you’re standing on, you orbit it as much as it orbits you! In other words, both planets are moons to one another. This means Eastshade’s moon remains in the same place in the sky all the time, which creates daily solar and lunar eclipses. At midday it blocks you from the sun, and at midnight you block it from the sun. Tidally locked, you orbit around each other in a double planet dance all the way around the sun. Is there another world of intelligent life just across the cosmic pond? The residents of Eastshade can’t know. All they can do is look up and wonder…”
Learning About Early Settlers
This whole new world that was built is so fascinating that it is too bad that there isn’t more lore to learn about. My favorite quest would be the one at Sinkwood Inn since you get to play as a detective and solve a theft. It’s nothing too complex but rooting through people’s personal belongings and learning a tiny bit about politics and things going on in Eastshade, was a blast! That quest really got me excited about the ancient ruins they described, only, you can’t even go inside. I guess the point isn’t to be a treasure hunter but learning more about the history of certain areas and these so-called First Folk would have been awesome.
The Shadefolk and Their Music
There are different types of anthropomorphic animals in Eastshade such as deer-folk, bear-folk, owl-folk, and ape-folk. Their garbs and homes are quite primitive and adds to the “relaxing pastoral” feel of the game. I’m very impressed that most characters are fully-voiced, and very good at that. That one song that someone sings, as mentioned above, is absolutely beautiful. The background music is so peaceful too that I would definitely get the soundtrack and listen to it on its own.
Eastshade’s Scenery
The detail to everything astounds me and there isn’t a single thing that isn’t great to look at. Even this boulder, that’s a nice boulder…The only thing I would change about the visuals are the menus. Compared to everything else, they are so drab in their black-and-white. It can make it difficult to see the item in your inventory you are looking for. Even the quests are white if you haven’t completed them and ever-so-slightly greyed-out if you have. Perhaps even simply adding current and completed quests in different menus would have been helpful.
Completing Your Journey and Returning Home
When all is said and done, and you have fufilled your mother’s wishes with the four mementos, you leave Eastshade and return home. You actually get to walk around your house afterward and read letters sent to you from the Shadefolk you met and helped out. This had me tearing up a little and made it even harder to say goodbye to the game. Even my paintings that were still in my inventory were hung up on my walls! I painted mostly cats, because they are so cute. With the amount of cats lying around Eastshade, there should be an achievement to paint them all. That is something I would definitely do. The only other thing I would have wanted is to see in my home a portrait of myself or my mother just to know what race I am.
I highly recommend playing this game for yourselves and discovering hidden areas, solving a puzzle or two, and painting to your heart’s content! If you’re interested in purchasing the game on PS4 as well, click here for the link.
