All posts tagged in Simulation
Dec 8, 2022
Endless Seasons and Romance
In case you’ve missed seeing anything about Wylde Flowers, here’s my review on it, but Wylde Flowers is a relaxing, and enchanting simulation game where you play as city girl Tara. Having spent her childhood in Fairhaven, Tara isn’t unfamiliar with the small island town, but is brand new to the concept of farming and caring for animals. She’s willing to learn, though, in order to restore Grandma Hazel’s farm to what it once was. That’s why she’s back in Fairhaven, after all.
That’s not all though. Tara’s also a new witch! As it turns out, it runs in the family, and Grandma Hazel is a witch too. Now, Tara must learn how to live life in a small town, restore the family farm, and learn how to brew potions and cast spells. And do all of this while building friendships with the people of Fairhaven, solving the mysteries of the island, and potentially dating a new love interest.
One of the downsides in Wylde Flowers, which I mentioned in my review, is that once you’ve reached Spring 2, that’s it. You’re no longer able to change the seasons. So, if you haven’t gathered enough of the seasonal items throughout your play through, then you’re out of luck. There’s also a distinct lack of romantic interactions with your partner, especially after marriage.
However, the developers over at Studio Dry Dock listened to fans and will be releasing the Endless Seasons and Romance update, free, across all platforms. With this update, players will be able to change the seasons at will, as many times as they wish after completing the story! So no more worrying about content you missed. Plus, you’ll be able to take your partner on dates around town, and deepen your connection with repeatable affection animations.
Update Coming Early 2023
The free Wylde Flowers update is planned for early 2023, with no specific date given. You can find the game on Apple Arcade, Steam, and Nintendo Switch.
- Dec 7, 2022
Cook Colorful Creations
In Yum Yum Cookstar, you’ll join chef Yum Yum in the kitchen to learn and create a variety of wonderful dishes. Take time to learn different cooking techniques from something as simple as cracking an egg, to knife skills, and even frying or grilling. There’s not a shortage of cooking techniques.
Once you’ve learned the appropriate cooking skills, you can make a fairly large assortment of recipes. There’s fun rainbow-color desserts like Rainbow Waffles and Unicorn Cupcake Cones. There’s also some savory dishes to prepare, like Falafel Pita, Sushi Burrito, and Japanese Summer Noodle Salad. Then, you present your creations to the judges to receive a score. It is a competition, after all!
Gameplay
The overall gameplay for Yum Yum Cookstar is fairly easy. You get a few options on what controls to use on the Nintendo Switch, which I found useful. I used the touch screen and Joy-Con controls. So, mixing and the swiping mini games were done via touch screen, while others like rinsing used the thumbstick, and baking used the Joy-Con buttons. While my rhythmic abilities are lacking, the touch screen made it easier for me than trying to use the buttons for everything.
You’ll need to learn some cooking techniques before you can work on recipes. Then, as you complete sets of recipes, you’ll unlock more cooking techniques, which unlocks more recipes to cook. You can learn each technique in a tutorial level with an unhurried atmosphere and no pressure. You can also revisit the technique’s tutorial to replay it at any time if you need a refresher.
After you’ve finished learning the techniques, you’re ready to cook the real recipes! Both The techniques and recipes involve playing a mini game. Many of the cooking techniques are rhythm-based mini games, which is fun. There’s a playful and unique soundtrack for the game that’s both relaxing and upbeat. I unfortunately am not rhythmic, so I never scored perfectly!
I would have liked to see more variety in mini games, though. It gets fairly repetitive the longer you play, because the techniques are always done one specific way. For example, stirring is always swiping left and right, swiping up and down, and making circles on the screen. There’s no change in that, or the order it happens during the mini game.
The Judges
The personalities of the judges are almost as wide an array as the different types of recipes. Max Picante is the fun, light-hearted judge who’s easy to please. Basil Wellington is the snobby restaurant critic who demands absolute perfection and will test your skills. Then, there’s ambrosia, the pop star who is the middle ground between the other two judges and gives a more fair assessment.
What’s fun is that National Lampoon is responsible for the lines the judges say throughout the game. And sometimes, they throw out some funny responses. The disappointment I’ve gotten when I’ve failed tasks has been entertaining.
Final Thoughts
Yum Yum Cookstar is bright and colorful, and a perfectly casual game with the choice to have a no-stress play through. Or if you like a challenge, there’s different difficulty levels to try. It did fall a little flat for me, though.
The cooking techniques were repetitive, though that makes it easy to practice the activities to get perfect scores! Sometimes the number of mini games per recipe made it feel like an eternity making that recipe. My biggest complaint, though, is the long loading screens that occur between each segment of cooking and each segment of cut scenes. That really made the game feel like it dragged on. There’s some really fun art to look at on the loading screens, though!
However, the variety of recipes Yum Yum Cookstar has is wholly welcome and enjoyable. The vastly different personalities of the judges made their scenes entertaining, and it gives the game a competition feel. Overall, it’s a pretty good game to just pick up and play when you have a moment to fill, or are bored but aren’t looking for something more involved.
Epic Chef is another cute cooking game to checkout!
- 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!
- Nov 2, 2022
Repair and Clean the Post-Apocalyptic World
If you’re a gamer who loves to kick back and relax with fun cleaning games like Powerwash Simulator or even enjoy the cleaning portions of No Place Like Home, then this game is for you. From Chicken Launcher, who are the developers of No Place Like Home, comes Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world that’s covered in trash and failing wildlife, it’s up to you to help. In this single-player FPS, you’ll run around the world with one tool at your disposal. It’s a curious combination of vacuum cleaner and water hose. As you travel around the world, wash away piles of mud and suck up mountains of trash. You can also water the dried up plants you find to help restore them to their former beauty. Water the sprouts, too, to see them bloom!
In Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator, you’ll also discover a variety of characters whom you can help. Bring them comfort and happiness through completing requests they may have. Sometimes you’ll find it necessary to find missing parts to abandoned machines to get them running again. These items haven’t been used in ages, and may need cables to be reattached or missing items to be put back.
This game looks like Chicken Launcher took No Place Like Home and removed almost everything but the cleaning aspect. Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator has the same cutesy, but pretty graphics and takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. This game would be perfect for those who like cleaning games without the farming aspect that No Place Like Home has!
Early Access Available Now
Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator is available for Early Access on Steam.
If you haven’t seen it yet, Unpacking is another great, relaxing cleaning/organizational game.
- Aug 15, 2022
If you love Animal Crossing, but are looking for a completely new game, then check out mobile game Cozy Islands – craft & build by Tetrox Limited. This game is a relaxing management sim with Studio Ghibli looks available on Android systems. You arrive alone on the beautiful, overgrown island of your childhood where you will work as the sole inhabitant to make this new space your home.
Collect, Craft, and Quest
Complete daily tasks from the bulletin board, and finish recurring quests for the jolly traveling merchant who visits. Mine rocks, chop trees, clear bushes, and collect flowers for resources. Use your newly collected resources to rebuild the island for yourself and restore your childhood home to its former beauty.
Play Cozy Islands at your own pace and complete tasks in any order you wish. The super casual game-play is perfect for players looking to break away from forced story lines and game-play
The playable character chopping a tree. Open Beta Available
While the game is still in early development and has no full release date, it is in open beta and available to play. Developer Tetrox Limited even has big plans outlined for the future. Those plans include access to unique auto generated mystery islands for players to travel to and explore.
Cozy Islands will also have other cultures based on real-world experiences for players to enjoy. Lovable villager characters to settle in on the island and make friends with will make an appearance too. And perhaps even more exciting is the plan to add cute animal companions for players to acquire. These companions will work to help players with their daily tasks.
If you enjoyed the terraforming of Animal Crossing, mixed with the other features, check out Pixelshire, where you get to build your own home, design the homes of neighbors, and arrange the town as you like.
- Feb 29, 2020
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is bound to be the top of every Nintendo Switch owner’s game wishlist this month. However, here are four other great games that are also coming to the console this month.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a remake of the 2005 matched pair of Pokémon games Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team. The remake will release on Nintendo Switch on March 6th, and will be available to purchase as both a digital or physical copy for USD$59.99.
About
In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, you will wake up in a village as a Pokémon including the likes of Pikachi, Eevee, and Charmander. Whilst getting to explore a magnificent reimagined world, your objective is to solve a strange predicament and build a rescue team to find and rescue lost Pokémon from a variety of dangerous dungeons. The game can be downloaded from the Nintendo eShop for USD$59.99 or purchased as a physical copy.
Features
- Begin the game by taking a personality test to determine which of 16 Pokémon you will become.
- Try out the first few levels of the game in the free demo version. If you want to continue playing, you can carryn over your save data to the full version of the game.
- Experience living as a Pokémon in a bustling village and interact with other NPC’s living there.
- Solve the mystery of your strange predicament by befriending others and taking on a variety of missions to find and rescue lost Pokémon from dungeons.
- Build a rescue team who are up to the challenge of saving the world from a variety of natural disasters.
- When not rescuing lost Pokémon from perilous dungeons, return to Pokémon Square to prepare for your next challenge.
Half Past Fate
Half Past Fate is an upcoming 3D Pixel-art-stylised rom-com adventure game developed by Serenity Forge and set to be published by Way Down Deep. The game is set to release on March 12th 2020 on a variety of platforms.
About
In the game, you follow the lives of 6 different individuals who find each other in unusual ways. Half Past Fate is described as a time-jumping saga, from eight days to eight years, that will change how you feel about fate forever. The game will release on a variety of platforms including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and of course, Nintendo Switch, where it can be downloaded for USD$19.99.
Features
- A heartwarming and relatable present day narrative.
- Jump through time and discover how six ordinary people find each other in extraordinary ways over eight years.
- Immerse yourself in a beautiful 3D Pixel-art-stylised world.
- Change a flat tire, eat some spicy ramen, and learn the difference between green and black tea.
- Most importantly, enjoy relatable stories about life and love, and how fate can bring people together.
A Street Cat’s Tale
A Street Cat’s Tale is an emotional pixel-art-stylised adventure game about the survival of a stray kitten. The game is both developed and published by feemodev, and was first released on PC and Mobile last year in 2019. The game will be published and available to download on the Nintendo Switch eShop by CFK for USD$7.99 on March 12th 2020.
About:
A Street Cat’s tale is a game where you play as an orphaned kitten. The aim of the game is to survive thirteen days as a kitten on the streets alone, after the tragic death of your mother. In the game, you will have to find your own food (which can be healthy or unhealthy and affect your health) and forge relationships with other animals and humans. But beware, not all of the NPC’s you encounter will be nice. Will the poor little kitten survive? And will it end up continuing to roam the streets, or find a loving home?
Features:
- Roam the streets as a stray kitten and obtain food in order to avoid starvation and survive.
- The game features a variety of NPC’s each with their own personalities.
- Like in real life, some NPC’s dislike strays and will get angry if you attempt to interact with them.
- However, some people will like you and may give you something to eat.
- If you get close enough to certain NPC’s, they may tell you details about themselves.
- There are 11 different endings in this emotive narrative-driven adventure game.
Cooking Mama: Cookstar
Cooking Mama: Cookstar is the sixth mainline game of the cookery simulation-styled Cooking Mama series. Whilst a specific release date has not been announced, the game is set to release on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 at some point in March 2020.
About
Cooking Mama: Cookstar is the first ever HD Cooking Mama game. It is also the first Cooking Mama game to release on a platform besides Nintendo or mobile. The game has been praised by PETA for featuring a vegetarian mode. screenshots of the game were first leaked back in August of 2019.
Features
- Live out your culinary dreams and become a virtual Cookstar with Mama as your mascot.
- Collect and master over 90 brand new recipes.
- Re-create a variety of dishes from previous games in the series.
- Choose between traditional and vegetarian options for the first time ever.
- Play by yourself or with a friend in the game’s multiplayer mode.
- Take photos of your dishes and apply filters and stickers.
- Share pics of your creations with friends and family on Facebook and Twitter.
- Feb 8, 2020
Nintendo have remained somewhat cryptic about Animal Crossing New Horizons *insert an angry Mr. Resetti image here*. However, with each new trailer and video posted about the game, more and more exciting details are given.
This article will feature all the official Animal Crossing: New Horizons videos released so far, and the information that can be ascertained from each one.
First Teaser Trailer From 2018:
The first teaser trailer for Animal Crossing New Horizons was somewhat bittersweet. It was exciting to finally hear news on how the Switch addition to the franchise was progressing. However, the teaser trailer was just that. Nintendo teasing us. The only information given by Tom Nook, was that he had ‘business to attend to’ and needed ‘to make sure everyone has a nice, new place to come home to’. Naturally many fans were a little disappointed. However, there was excitement that Nintendo had finally begun talking about the game.
E3 2019 Trailer:
Fast forward to June 11th, 2019, during Nintendo E3, Nintendo released a more informative trailer. This trailer announced that New Horizons would be set on a deserted island and showcased major graphical improvements. The trailer also gave a sneak peek into new features that were unavailable in earlier Animal Crossing games, such as:
- Being able to gather materials
- Being able to craft tools
- The ability to place furniture outside
- The ability to make your own dirt paths without placing tiles
- A handy tool that allows you to pole vault across rivers (which inspired a few memes ?)
- Shinier hair for your characters that actually obeys the laws of physics and bounces ?
- More realistic looking human characters
with terrifyingly realistic kneecaps - The ability to make flower crowns for your players to wear
- New items of clothing and new accessories
- More diversity with new hairstyles and skin tones
- Villagers actually being able to wear short sleeve tops and long sleeve tops! (adios tank tops)
- The first hint towards the game supporting multiplayer
E3 2019 – Nintendo Treehouse Livestream:
Also released on June 11th, 2019, as part of E3 2019, was a Nintendo Treehouse Livestream containing Animal Crossing: New Horizons gameplay which showcased:
- Some of the DIY recipes available to craft. These include tools, benches, bonfires, signs, laundry lines, etc. We also get a peek at the sorts of materials required to craft these items. A lot of materials required to craft these items are supposedly easy to gather on the island. An example of this is the ability to gather materials such as stone and clay by hitting rocks with a shovel. Different types of wood can also be obtained by using the ‘flimsy axe’
- The ability to choose between northern and southern hemisphere when setting up your game/island means that the weather on your island is more closely matched to the weather that players across the world would experience in real life.
- The ability to buy tools as opposed to gathering resources and crafting them.
- The introduction of ‘Nook Miles’ (Similar to ACNL’s MEOW coupons), allows players to accumulate Nook Miles by completing various activites on the island. These include: crafting tools, pulling weeds, selling unwanted items, etc. Nook Miles can be exchanged for items and other activities, meaning that players are now being rewarded for completing tasks they would probably do anyway. Fun Fact: Nook Miles are called Tanuki Miles in the Japanese version of the game.
- A first insight into local multiplayer using one console. You can call other players on your island by using your Nook Phone. (For more up-to-date information on how multiplayer will work in Animal Crossing New Horizons, click here).
- More realistic features such as leaves blowing in the wind and the sound of the wind
- The ability to change between leaders during one console co-op play. (The yellow flag above a players head shows that that particular player is the leader).
- A brief insight into how multiplayer will work (8 people can visit one persons island at the same time)
- The ability to take photos (hopefully better quality than ACNL screenshots ?)
- Photo filters ?
- The ability to acquire DIY recipes through other animals (similar to how players obtained Public Works Projects in ACNL maybe?)
- The ability to dig up clams on the beach, which you can craft into fishing bait.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Direct 2019:
This promotional video aired on the 4th September 2019 during a Nintendo Direct. The video shows:
- A yellow plane situated next to the building that manages it. The building has a sign on it that says ‘Dodo Airlines’, which given the name, could be managed by birds. The fact that the plane remains on the island, and has its own dedicated building, could mean that players can travel to different places.
- Various different new weeds
- A potential building modification system situated at Nook’s Services at the centre of the island. There are blueprints, paint and tools based here.
- That players will need to keep up their energy to complete strenuous activities such as pulling up a tree. In the video, the player eats an apple and her energy increases.
- Different ways to earn Nook Miles, such as: pulling weeds, collecting DIY recipes, greeting islanders a certain amount of times in a day, getting familiar with your new NookPhone, catching a bunch of fish in a row without any getting away, etc.
- You can move whole trees
- Windy weather is now a thing
- Villagers can read books
- Fish bait is a thing
- Curved paths are a thing
- You get your own workbench
- Gigantic mushrooms exist
Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Deserted Island Getaway Package Primer:
On January 22nd 2020, a new advertisement for the game appeared. Although the video is rather short, one can learn the following:
- Tom Nook is as greedy as ever
- Tom Nook’s nephews are featured, and may return
- The villagers/animals in the game are cuter than ever
- Isabelle could be returning
- What the game’s box art will look like
Nintendo Switch Animal Crossing: New Horizons Edition:
This advertisement shows the recently announced super cute Animal Crossing Switch Console. Although the video is brief, it shows a Nintendo Switch Console with:
- Pastel green and blue joy-cons
- A cute Animal Crossing print on the back of the tablet console
- An adorably fitting Switch dock featuring Tom Nook and his nephews dressed for an island adventure.
Nintendo Switch My Way – Animal Crossing:
And finally, is the most recent Animal Crossing (related) advert. Which showcases local co-op play, and gives a wholesome insight into how whole families can enjoy the game together :3
Many Switch owners are kicking themselves for not waiting for an Animal Crossing Nintendo Switch console. If you are lucky enough to not currently own a switch, but would love to own an official Animal Crossing Switch, you can pre-order one below:
?? Canada
?? Australia
NB: The console has sold out in a few places online, but hopefully more will available soon.
Animal Crossing New Horizons Decals!
If you own an original Nintendo Switch which you’d like to make a bit more Animal Crossing-y, click here for some amazing Animal Crossing decals and cases 🙂
What are you most looking forward to in ACNH?
What are you hoping to see in ACNH?
Animal Crossing Themed Mini Garden Kit!
If you love to garden without a mess – this tiny garden kit features everything you to need to grow a Japanese Succulent or vibrant green Bermuda grass – grab yours right here!
