Chelsea
Feb 1, 2023
Catch Critters and Discover Mysteries
For those players who really enjoy running around games like Animal Crossing and catching bugs, then perhaps Paradise Marsh would be a good fit. Developer LazyEti admits the game is short, but it’s been made with a lot of love by a solo dev, and that’s easy to see!
You wake up in a peaceful little wetland, but realize the stars are gone. They used to fill the beautiful night sky, but have now fallen. Wander through Paradise Marsh and its varying picturesque, but mysterious landscapes. Catch critters like frogs, fireflies, and many others, each with their own unique behaviors and quirks. Talk to the birds to hear some charming little poems, too. You’ll also be able to pick flowers, eat strange mushrooms you forage, build snowmen, and much more!
Paradise Marsh features a colorful cast of characters for you to meet. They even have quests for you to complete, but don’t worry about a time crunch. There are no time limits, no mini map, or quest markers. You’re meant to relax and enjoy nature while discovering things at your own pace and in whatever order you choose. You’ll also collect notes that will reveal the mysteries of the marsh, and maybe explain what happened to the stars! Plus, each time you play, you’ll get to explore a new procedurally generated world, so there’s plenty to discover!
Available Now!
This charming little collection game was released October 2022. You can find Paradise Marsh on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox!
Also check out cute games like Dinkum and Palia!
- Jan 31, 2023
Farm, Learn Magic, Befriend the Town
In Wylde Flowers, you play as Tara as she starts her new life in the town of Fairhaven, located on a small rural island. She may be a city girl turned farmer with little outdoors experience, but she has the can-do attitude needed to help Gramma Wylde take care of the family farm.
Learn how to plant and care for crops, mind animals, and gather materials like mushrooms and wood. You can also learn to fish, craft items, and much more!
Wylde Flowers features a diverse multicultural cast of characters. Get to know each of them through talking, quests, and story moments. Each one has a compelling backstory and even personal mysteries to discover. You may even find romance and love in one of them! Or if you prefer, platonic relationships and friendships are available and equally fruitful.
Rural life isn’t the only new thing for Tara, though. She’s also learning to become a witch! You will learn how to fly your broomstick, craft potions, control the weather and the seasons, and turn into a cat. Join the local coven who will guide you in your lessons.
Available on Steam Now
Wylde Flowers is already available to play on Apple Arcade and is now also available on Nintendo Switch and Steam. There is currently a free demo available on Steam, too.
The game is also getting a huge free content update, take a sneak peak here.
Check out Sun Haven or Super Zoo Story more cute sim games.
- Jan 26, 2023
Design, Grow, and Nurture Your Garden
Welcome to Garden Life, where you are in charge! The goal of this realistic sandbox game is to build the garden of your dreams. There’s no magic or miracles to it, though, and it’s all up to you to plant and nurture your garden. Use the appropriate techniques, the correct tools, your creativity, and a little bit of elbow grease to create a flourishing paradise.
Take the time to learn the needs of your plants. Each one will need different types of care, like fertilizer and pruning. And don’t forget to water! You’re not alone in Garden Life, either. You’ll be able to fulfill the requests of your friendly neighbors, who will reward you with new tools, fun decorations, and even new plant varieties. Take those new plants, and the ones you’ve grown, and experiment with them. Create new hybrids and beautiful variations to further beautify your garden.
Garden Life implements a grid-free placement system, so players really are in control of the design of their gardens. There’s no snapping to place, and fighting against a grid system to create your vision. It also uses a specially developed procedural growth simulation technology. Every plant in your garden is unique, but will also easily adapt to its environment.
Release Date To Be Announced
Unfortunately, the beautifully crafted Garden Life has no publicly available release date. You can add it to your Wishlist on Steam, though. Developer Stillalive Studios also lists the game as being developed for Xbox and Playstation consoles, though the store pages for the game aren’t available yet.
For more gardening fun, check out A Garden Witch’s Life or Witchy Life Story.
- Jan 25, 2023
Chop Your Way Through the World and Solve Puzzles
Lumbearjack is an adorable and charming puzzle adventure where you play as Jack the bear. Jack is a humble bear with a very simple dream. He wants to defeat the dishonest industrial giant, Evil Works, and restore nature. Join Jack, his trusty axe, and his wacky woodland friends on their mission.
Hack and slash your way through forests, construction sites, and other exciting locations. Solve various environmental puzzles as you explore. Upgrade your chopping skills when you reduce, reuse, and recycle! You’ll also take time to rescue the adorable cast of critters, then join forces with them to defeat Evil Works. Can you put a stop to the environmental havoc?
Jack and his friends have also teamed up with Ecologi to restore their home. Ecologi empowers everyday people to make changes for the betterment of the environment. And for each copy of Lumbearjack sold, Ecologi plants one real life tree!
Available Now!
The charming Lumbearjack is currently available on most gaming platforms. You can find it on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, GOG, and Epic Games!
For more bear fun, check out Bear and Breakfast or Little Bear Chef. Or if you’re interested in more environmental cleanup games, try No Place Like Home. which has farming, quests, and more, or Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator, which is just cleaning the environment.
- Jan 21, 2023
Farm, Clean the Environment, and Embark on Adventure
In the relaxing farm sim game No Place Like Home, play as Ellen Newland, a young woman who’s come to visit her grandpa on his farm one last time before moving to Mars with the rest of Earth’s population. However, she discovers Grandpa is missing and the farm and town are trashed.
Embark on a journey to clean up the environment by destroying piles of trash and vacuuming up the remnants. Hidden within the piles of garbage are trapped farm animals looking for a friend to rescue them, and seeds to grow crops on your farm. You’ll also discover the few townsfolk left on Earth as you uncover the town in your adventures. Befriend them and they may prove to be helpful in your search for Grandpa and in your quest to restore the farm to a thriving homestead.
The fun doesn’t end there, though. You can use the garbage you collect to craft items. Create things to help you make the farm a better and more functional place. You can also decorate the inside of your home. Take it from the dusty, unkempt place to sleep, and turn it into a place all your own!
Available Now
No Place Like Home is developed by Chicken Launcher, and published by Realms Distribution. You can find it on Steam, along with information about the new patch update that was released August 9th.
I also recommend checking out My Time at Portia, and the upcoming sequel, My Time at Sandrock for some similar feeling games.
- Jan 19, 2023
Take on the Role of a Young Wildlife Photographer
In The Beasts of Maravilla, you play as a young, aspiring wildlife photographer Marina Montez, who is on a mission to explore the island of Maravilla and discover the extraordinary creatures living there. Her goal is to restore the waning magic of the island. To do that, she needs to prove magical creatures are real and restore humanity’s belief in the magical! Therefore, armed with her grandfather’s camera, and his journal of Maravilla, Marina must run, climb, explore, and solve puzzles to find the wondrous beasts of the island and photograph them.
Discover the 50 different creatures of the Beasts of Maravilla, located in three distinctive ecological zones. Traverse the Singing Jungle, the Glimmering River, and the Painted Plateau in search of the perfect shots. You’ll have to coax out the unusual behaviors of creatures to fill your photo book, but that shouldn’t be an issue! Simply play hide and seek with the otter-crocodile, or be the wing man for a love struck bird-monkey, and so many more. Use your photography skills to get the best shots possible, and don’t be afraid to be creative. Adjust the angle, height, and zoom of your camera to get the perfect shot.
Available Now!
You can find Beast of Maravilla on almost all of the major platforms. Find it on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and Epic Games. It’s also coming soon to PS4!
For more photography fun, check out Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, Toripon, or Wilderless.
- Jan 12, 2023
Grow Crops and Sabotage Opponents
Farm Your Friends is like Among Us, but farming. While you won’t be sneaking around a spaceship to sabotage the other players, you are trying to become the best farmer through hard work and sabotage. Gather up to 8 people and see who will outwit the rest to become the best farmer!
As a fast-paced, competitive multiplayer game, Farm Your Friends isn’t one to relax with. Players will run around planting crops and harvesting them when they’ve grown. Or, you could skip all of that and just steal the crops from your opponents! You’ll be able to choose from different traps, too, in order to protect your precious farm. Place a land mine to turn players to ash, a carnivorous plant to eat your enemies, or even a fun spring-loaded ground tile to fling opponents away. Perhaps even forming alliances will help you win, too. Defend your farm at all costs!
The fun doesn’t end, or even begin there. Each player will be able to customize their character by choosing from a variety of costumes, similar to Overcooked’s character choices. Plus, farming and sabotage aren’t the only things to worry about. Farm Your Friends also has random events like being struck by lightning or attacked by a shark.
Release Date TBA
Unfortunately, this cute and frenetic multiplayer has no release date available. However, you can Wishlist it on Steam to keep up to date with it!
For another frenzied co-op game, check out Camped Out!
- Jan 12, 2023
Garden, Cast Spells, and Help the Village
In this cute and cozy little visual novel game, Witchy Life Story, play as a customizable, fully emotive witch of your own design. You are the youngest member of the esteemed and magical von Teasel family. You aren’t exactly the star of the family, though. Grandma has set you a test, and should you fail, you’ll receive no more magical training. The task? Save the harvest festival in the small village of Flora. And you only have two weeks!
You and your crow familiar, Ramsey, will spend your time gardening, using your plants in spells and rituals, getting to know the villagers, and helping them make their upcoming harvest festival a success. Fulfill orders for the villagers, including relax incense or chitchat potions. You’ll craft spells, perform tarot readings, and lead guided meditations. Witchy Life story even has three romanceable villagers! Two weeks is enough time to make the festival a success and for you to make some big life choices, right?
Play Witchy Life Story today
Witchy Life Story is now available on Steam. There is even a free demo if you’d like to give it a test spin!
for other witchy, fun games check out A Garden Witch’s Life, Little Witch in the Woods, and Mika and the Witch’s Mountain.
