If you could use a little more brightness in your life (and who couldn’t), you might want to mark May 26 in your calendar—that’s when Wholesome Games will be running its inaugural Wholesome Direct, an online video showcase to put the spotlight on more than 50 cute, friendly, compassionate, cozy, wholesome videogames.
The livestream will kick off at 10am PT on YouTube, with exclusive footage, announcements, and developer interviews for a wide range of wholesome indie games. Unfortunately for those in Oceania, time zone difference means it’s scheduled for 3am AEST / 5am NZST on May 27, but a big dose of warm fuzzies is probably a good way to start the day.
Here are a few of the games that’ll be featured in the show:
- Ooblets by Glumberland
- Spiritfarer by Thunder Lotus Games
- SkateBIRD by Glass Bottom Games
- Little Witch in the Woods by Sunny Side Up
- Garden Story by Picogram
- Chicory: A Colorful Tale by Greg Lobanov, Lena Raine, Em Halberstadt, Alexis Dean-Jones, and Madeline Berger
- 梅雨の日 / Rainy Season by Inasa Fujio
- Book of Travels by Might and Delight
- Tokotoko by Kalank
- Button City by Subliminal
- Snacko by Bluecurse Studios
- Errand Boy by Tree Interactive
- KeyWe by Stonewheat & Sons
- Old Friends Dog Sanctuary by Runaway Play
- Sayri: The Beginning by Vidloonnya Reborn
- Calico by Peachy Keen Games
- A Space for the Unbound by Mojiken Studio
Wholesome Games was established a little over a year ago with the goal of bringing attention to “an emerging genre of games less concerned with how you play (shooter, platformer, etc.) and more concerned with how they made you feel.” You can find them on Twitter, Discord, Instagram, Steam, YouTube, and Facebook, and get Wholesome Games merch from Tee Spring.
With the the major game events like E3 and Tokyo Game Show being cancelled due to COVID-19, a lot of publishers are taking to doing online showcases instead. It’s nice to see indie-focused events like Wholesome Direct and Indie Live Expo in the mix, and not having to fight for people’s attention with the limited time and floorspace of physical expo.