All posts tagged in colony sim
Oct 2, 2024
From the developers of Parkitect comes Croakwood, a relaxing town building sim about frogs! Create and design a town settled into the heart of the beautiful Croakwood Forest. There lies a unique community of frogs who you get to help flourish. Help them build and grow their cozy home by designing and setting up structures using a piece-based building design system. Decorate the town to make it even more inviting with tons of customization options and style choices.
Utilize the Frog Market to manage your new amphibian citizens. Gently guide them as they settle into their new homes and learn how to thrive in the forest. Watch each of the Croakwood townsfolk for a bit of entertainment as they go about their day, too. Each one lives and expresses themselves in a unique way. Even guide the economy as your frog folk create items, and meet goals to unlock new areas and buildable. Then, go explore the ancient and wild forest around you. There’s secrets to uncover and new creatures to meet in the wilds!
Release Date
You can find Croakwood listed on Steam now where you can add it to your Wishlist. There is no release date available, yet.
If you haven’t played Kamaeru yet, you really should!
- May 23, 2024
Pixel Colony by Studio Gimbap is a game where you’re the governor of a new island, and it’s yours to build up and manage. To keep your citizens happy, you need to ensure their access to resources and services. Collect and gather the necessary items, like food and building supplies, for building your new society. Also provide services, luxuries, and medical supplies to keep your citizens healthy and happy. What will really make your new town successful is establishing production chains to make operations run smoothly. Resource processes will start simple, but as your city grows, you’ll need to upgrade to more complex production chains in order to produce new buildings, medicines, and foods on your tiny island.
Release Date
You can find Pixel Colony on Steam now! There’s even a demo available.
This game is similar in feel to dotAGe!
- May 16, 2024
Reus 2 by developer Abbey Games is the exciting and long-awaited sequel to the 2013 God game and colony sim, Reus. Become a God and utilize 6 powerful Giants to terraform the world. Create ecosystems for resources in order to enable the survival of humans. Your ultimate job is to shape humanity and determine which direction they should develop. Your choices matter in this game. Everything you do will decide the fate of humans, so choose wisely.
You have 6 Giants at your disposal to do your bidding. Each of the Giants in Reus 2 is a master of a unique ability that will help you shape the world. Their abilities in plants, animals, and minerals will let you create unique biomes for your humans to settle into. As the game progresses, you’ll unlock new useful abilities for the Giants so you can further shape the world. In order to help the humans flourish, you need to create livable environments beyond just the plants and animals. Work to evolve their primitive societies into advanced civilizations and reach for the stars! Just make sure to meet their needs appropriately, or they will rebel, and rebellion can lead to the end of the world.
Release Date
Reus 2 is set to release on Steam May 28th, 2024! You can go ahead and Wishlist it now, though.
As Far As the Eye is a beautiful and engaging colony sim you should also check out.
- Dec 13, 2023
In As Far As The Eye, you play the role of the wind guiding the Pupils as they journey to the center of the world. It’s your job to manage their resources, their buildings, and their whole lives. Direct them to a bigger and better life in order to make it to their destination while surviving life and the rising waters that threaten them. Ensure they survive and thrive!
The roguelike tribe system gives As Far As The Eye a fresh feel each play through you take on. Plan out the route the Pupils will take to reach the center of the world. Not every route spells disaster, but each one holds its own special discoveries. Explore and search points of interest along that path to discover long lost treasures, and even meet allies along the way. And before you head on to the next spot, harvest resources, build your mobile village, and stock up on necessities!
As Far As The Eye reminds me a lot of dotAGE, which I absolutely loved. They both lack enemies, and instead pit you against random events that threaten the survival of your people. You overcome these events by preparing your people, in this case the Pupils, appropriately. Instruct the Pupils to conduct research that will improve their skills in agriculture, crafting, scientific and mystical arts. You’ll also want to improve your Pupils through the job system, as well as upgrade buildings for better results.
Will your Pupils survive?
Release Date
You can find this charming game now on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch!
The Wandering Village is another beautiful nomadic base-building game!
- Dec 6, 2023
Mind Over Magic is a simulation game where you run a magic school. Design, build, and develop your ideal magic school. Prepare your students survival skills and how to face the obstacles of the Underschool, an underground trial. Engage in a number of different types of magic, and make sure to keep the mysterious fog at bay!
Mind Over Magic allows you to build the school brick by brick. Create unique rooms by hand-placing lights, furniture, and decorations. Opt for a whimsical and cozy look, or perhaps the creepy and spooky is more your style! Then, run classes to teach your students magic and survival skills to prepare them for the Underschool. Choose the class schedule and assign teachers for each one. Craft wands and potions to summon more powerful students, and animate the dead to take care of chores. Then, delve into the labyrinthine Underschool to fight deadly magical battles!
Release Date
You can find Mind Over Magic on Steam. There is no release date set, but you can add it to your Wishlist and sign up for Playtesting!
Want more magic schools? Try Spellcaster University and Spells & Secrets!
- Oct 11, 2023
It’s Steam Next Fest time again! Last time, I found five cute and cozy games to play and wrote about them here. This time around, there are 10 games I thought fit the bill. These games are a fairly wide variety, so hopefully you’ll find one you love, too! One has combat, but the rest are perfectly relaxing and stress-free, so perfect for kicking back for some fun. If you haven’t tried any of these demos yet, I suggest you do it!
Bug & Seek
First up on the Steam Next Fest list is Bug & Seek! Once the lifeblood of the town, as well as the center of its economy, the Insectarium now stands abandoned. Someone stole all of the bugs and displays in the dead of night one day. Now, it’s up to you to restore the Insectarium, and even solve the mystery of the Great Bug Heist! Catch over 175 real-life types of bugs. Use those bugs to fulfill requests, as well as restore the Insectarium to the once fantastic bug display it used to be.
This demo was much shorter than I expected, and left me wanting more! With its charming pixel graphics and simple gameplay, Bug & Seek promises to be a perfectly relaxing game.
Coming this year to Steam!
Cupid Island
Cupid Island is a cute life simulator all about bringing together couples and nurturing their blossoming relationships! You play as a Cupid, and it’s your job to explore the human world and make couples. Once coupled, you can bring those humans to live on Cupid Island where you’ll collect their Love, Joy, and Passion which will help expand the island. Build and customize absolutely everything from your own home to the looks of your couples. Farm, fish, dance, and even play soccer in your down time. And who knows, maybe you’ll find your very own true love!
This was another short Steam Next Fest demo that I really enjoyed. It’s adorable, charming, and just so positive. It definitely will give you the warm and fuzzies!
Coming to Steam January 2024!
Vexlands
If you enjoyed Forager, give Vexlands a try. You’re a lone survivor deep within a cursed land and you need to explore the world by unlocking surrounding tiles. You do this by gathering resources that appear around you, sell them, and use that money to unlock new tiles. Those tiles will reveal more resources, loot, dungeons, monsters, and even disasters! Unlocking a tile also cleanses it of the mysterious curse surrounding it. Craft gear to help you in your adventures, and even build your very own home base with decor. You’ll also unlock the ability to raise animals as you grow your home base. There’s even cute hats to collect!
Coming soon to Steam!
Manitas Kitchen
In Manitas Kitchen, you play as Trexito, a Tyrannosaurus who has a dream to make pizzas! Your short little arms make that difficult, though. Under the supervision of a tiny, rude boss, however, you’ll gather a team of other dinosaurs to make up a kitchen full of the best cooks. With a humorous crime drama narrative, you’re sure to have a ton of fun with this one. You’ll learn to make pizzas and get to unlock new recipes as you buy ingredients from the store.
I found this Next Fest demo to be quite a bit of fun. You get a little bit of story and a little bit of gameplay to get a peek into the whole picture. I did find Trexito to feel a little slow, and the movement felt a little clunky. However, this one seems like it’ll be a ton of fun once released!
Coming to Steam and PlayStation this year!
Snufkin: Melody of Moomin Valley
Snufkin: Melody of Moomin Valley is a charming game with a classic storybook art style. It’s easy to play and easy to navigate with a compelling storyline. You play as Snufkin, who’s returned to the valley after a long winter, only to find a series of parks has popped up. These parks ruin the natural beauty of Moomin Valley, and Snufkin’s determined to get rid of them all. Explore the beautiful valley as you remove ugly signs, knock over unsightly statues, and dismantle grotesque park fencing. Complete puzzles and gain friendly help using your trusty harmonica. Even sneak around park patrols to restore the beautiful valley to what it once was!
I loved this demo. It’s an absolutely gorgeous game. I felt like I’d been dropped down into one of my childhood storybooks. Plus, it’s easy to learn how to play. It’s perfect for relaxing after a long day, and great for adults and kids alike!
Coming to Steam and consoles early 2024!
Nom Nom: Cozy Forest Cafe
Ever wanted to escape city life and run a cute, cozy little cafe out in the woods? Now you can in this Steam Next Fest demo, Nom Nom: Cozy Forest Cafe! This game is a relaxing cafe management game where you complete simple rhythm minigames to bake tasty treats. Serve a variety of adorable animal customers, and even talk to them while they enjoy their food. Even decorate the cafe to your liking with different wall colors, flooring options, windows, signs, and more! You can also design custom t-shirts to give away to your customers as a thank you.
This demo was WAY too short. I got to experience a single customer, made one item for that customer, and decorated the cafe with a few options. I wanted more! What was there was so, so cute, though. Definitely keep your eyes on this one!
Coming to Steam soon!
Time to Morp
Time to Morp is like Pokemon meets automated machine production, and I’m all about it! You’re in charge of building up this planet, starting with making use of the cute little creatures name Morps. Build them suitable enclosures, and feed them different materials to watch them transform and produce resources! Explore a vibrant, colorful world in search of new Morps, new resources, and exciting new biomes. Then, settle in and build a network of pipes, pumps, wires, tubes, and more to create an automated system. Use it to feed your Morps, or direct them where to go, and more!
This demo was a lot of fun. The colors are super vibrant, but work really well within the game. The Morps are fun to take care of, and exploring is interesting with the wild variety of terrain and plants. Plus, the people you interact with are quirky, which makes for fun dialogue. This game doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Coming to Steam early 2024!
Horticular
Next up on my Steam Next Fest list is Horticular! You’ve been magically summoned by gnomes to restore a garden that’s seen better days. You’ll engage in a fantastic world where you have total creative freedom. Build and expand your garden. Use hundreds of unlockable surface types to create lush grasslands, lavish pond habitats, and ornate rivers. Decorate with a variety of items and plants, too. Create inviting habitats to attract back animal friends in order to restore the ecosystem. Just be sure to maintain the magic elements as magic will help you with unhappy animals, garden decay, and corrupted agents sent to sabotage you!
I really enjoyed this demo, too. It was relaxing, even though there were objectives to complete. There wasn’t a rush to complete them, and I could rearrange and redo my garden however I wanted. Plus, the sheer number of items promised in the full game, just makes me more excited. This will be the perfect game for designing gardens!
Coming to Steam soon!
Chill Town
Chill Town promises to be a soothing blend of idle game and life sim. And really, it reminds me of ACNH, but people instead of anthropomorphic creatures. You run around collecting resources on a beautiful island. Catch bugs, visit the shops or town hall, fish, farm, and tame cute creatures. Unleash your creativity in build mode and create your perfect home using a variety of different decor items. Even add your personal touch to the outside of your home with benches, light posts, and more. Even take care of your very own furry friend!
This demo was super cute. You got to interact with some of the townspeople and get an idea of what they’re like, while learning how to fish and collect items. I’m thinking this will be a great alternative to players looking for more ACNH-like games!
Coming to Steam soon!
A New Leaf: Memories
A New Leaf: Memories is an adorable new farming sim where you wake up on a mysterious beach with no memories of how you got there. The mayor has graciously gifted you a plot of land, and the townspeople helped equip you with the necessary tools. Grow a number of fruits and vegetables on your farm, and sell the produce or use them to cook fun recipes. Explore the island to find a network of caves where you can gather resources. Even take a moment to fish in the different bodies of water found across the island. Plus, raise farm animals, complete quests and build relationships, befriend an adorable cat or dog, and decorate! You’ll be able to customize your look, as well as change your clothes. And of course decorate your home to create a cozy escape from farm work!
I’m sure we’ve all been eagerly awaiting A New Leaf: Memories, and thankfully they released this demo during this Steam Next Fest, because boy was it adorable. The demo shares just the basic first steps, but it was beautiful to run around and explore. Plus, the plot of land you get for your home is massive! I can’t wait to see all of the fun farms people create!
Coming soon to Steam!
- Sep 14, 2023
Remember those adorable desktop pets and helpers you used to be able to have? I touched on them a bit when I talked about Werydlets, a cute desktop pet game that’s coming to Steam. Well, it appears developer 3DM Live Wallpapers has jumped on the cozy game train to bring us Desktop Farm.
As the name suggests, it’s a farm that you play on your desktop! Your farm becomes your very own live, interactive wallpaper. There’s no rushing necessary in Desktop Farm. Develop your farm in your own good time. And since it sits in the background, it’s perfect for playing when you have an idle few minutes to spare. It starts when you start your computer, and pauses when you open other applications, so you aren’t missing anything. No need to spend all your time and energy on your farm. Just visit it when you have a moment and wish to relax!
Available Now
This fun little desktop game is available now on Steam!
- Jul 12, 2023
A Cute Colony Sim That Takes Place Over the Ocean
Havendock is a resource management and colony sim where you find yourself on a single square of a pier. You need to gather resources as they float by in the ocean’s current in order to expand your living space. You’ll also build new facilities to help make your life on this pier more comfortable. Arrange your facilities where you wish, catch fish and grow crops for food, and even manage new settlers as they arrive. You can assign them to specific jobs to make operations much easier, but make sure you have enough food, water, and shelter for them!
And it’s recently received a great new update!
Cows, Birds, and More!
You can now visit Cow Island and speak to Josh to add the adorable cow to your list of animals. Feed them to receive milk, which can be turned into cheeses and desserts for your settlement to enjoy. You can also visit Bird Island where you’ll find Mother Kewi, a large bird who will help repopulate Bird Island. Once you rebuild her nest she’ll appear, and you can customize her colors, complete quests for her, and feed her. She’ll repopulate the island with tiny Kewi, who will carry resources back to your island. You can even take a ride on Mother Kewi!
There’s even more to enjoy, too. You can now access an abandoned fishing village. It was once a village full of life, but now it’s up to you to revitalize it. Rebuild necessary buildings and recruit new fishermen. You’ll need their services to create a sustainable way to feed fish to the birds, after all. When you’ve done that, hop into the water to discover the mysteries of the crash. Use your bots to clean the area, drill for minerals, and investigate the wreckage. Even attract a new doctor NPC by shooting off a flare.
Havendock now has The Cave, where you can explore and fight slimes. To access The Cave, visit Bird Island and find the door. Fighting slimes will reward you with slime bubbles, which can be used to make desserts or combat gear. This portion of the update is bare bones at the moment, and the developers are looking for suggestions on equipment, upgrades, etc to improve the area.
Find Havendock on Steam now! It is in Early Access, but receives great updates regularly. For another colony sim, check out my review of One Lonely Outpost.
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