“A farm life sim but you’re a witch” is an extremely enticing proposition. Games about settling down in a quaint little town and running a farm while getting to know the locals—the old Harvest Moon model that’s grown so popular in the wake of Stardew Valley—are delightful. Being a cute …
Even without any personal nostalgia to draw from, there’s always something enchanting about rural Japanese settings in games. From Persona 4 to Root Letter, Boku no Natsuyasumi to The Kids We Were, it’s not an uncommon backdrop, but one that always comes with its own unique magic. It’s that same …
When you win a dance battle in Ooblets—because dance-offs are how these particular collectible monsters compete—you get a chance to collect a seed from the leader of the other team. But rather than snatching the spoils from a vanquished foe, or ensnaring them in a little ball, you give a …
The tension of a roguelike and quiet charm of a cozy life sim might seem at odds, but Cult of the Lamb finds magic in that juxtaposition. There’s nothing quite like a quiet, cozy life sim. The old Animal Crossing vibe; hanging out with a quaint little woodland community of …
At first glance, Wylde Flowers doesn’t stray too far from the farming life sim conventions that Harvest Moon laid out some 25 years ago. I don’t say that as a complaint: this is a genre where, more so than most, there’s comfort in familiarity. A new setting, a new group …
Are you sick of the quaint, laid-back charm of Story of Seasons-esque farming life-sims yet? I know I’m not, but even if you are (monster!), there’s a new one on the horizon that you may want to keep an eye on. Coming soon to Steam Early Access is Kappa Bits’ …
The fun of a management sim mixed with the endless charm and cuteness of our feline friends? A game about running a cat cafe seems like the perfect recipe, but it’s also one that could easily go amiss if the pieces don’t line up just right. Luckily, Cat Cafe Manager …
Since February this year, Apple Arcade subscribers have had the joy of Studio Drydock’s cozy magical farming sim Wylde Flowers. Life sim fans outside the iOS ecosystem might have looked on with envy, but the good news for them is that Fairhaven will soon be opening its gates much wider, …
The premise behind Staxel is simple, but compelling: what if you mixed the farm life sim of Story of Seasons or Stardew Valley with Minecraft’s block-building creativity? It seems like a natural fit: disparate as the genres are in a lot of ways, they have similar rhythms to their relaxing …
There’s a free PC demo now available for Kokopa’s Atlas, a “cosy, curiosity driven adventure” about a cat-like intergalactic explorer who crash-lands on a uncharted planet and sets about creating a new home. Kokopa’s Atlas is the creation of HyperMegaPixel, a one-person studio composed of Rafael Martin (unless you also …
