All posts tagged in strategy
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!
- Sep 26, 2024
If you grew up playing with the Polly Pockets that came in the hard plastic clamshell cases that doubled as houses and scenes, then Tiny Garden is for you! Only instead of playing with tiny little dolls, you’re running a tiny farm. This is a relaxing strategy game that takes place inside one of those fun plastic clamshell toys. Grow some veggies, then trade them to upgrade your little scene.
Plant your seed, turn the crank, and watch your crops grow to maturity. Harvest them and trade them in for new seeds or items like furniture and outdoor decor. Some of the plants in Tiny Garden will even change the soil as they grow. Cacti turn the land into desert, bushes grow grass around them, and fountains flood the ground to make it perfect for growing water lilies. Whatever you choose to grow, discover all possible items to turn this classic piece of nostalgia into the perfectly decorated home you want!
Release Date
Tiny Garden is listed on Steam with no set release date. Add it to your Wishlist and check out the free demo in the meantime!
- Sep 19, 2024
The incredibly addictive and adorably cute Go-Go Town recently released an exciting new update that expands what you can do in the game. In this cozy city builder, you’ve been placed as mayor to a once-bustling tourist town. However, it’s now a little rundown and needs some rejuvenation. That’s where you come in! Establish industry zones to provide jobs for townies. Build shops and parks and other attractions to attract visitors. Go exploring, decorate and design the town to create a beautiful wonderland, and so much more!
This new update, titled Build and Bustle, adds some great new community-led content. It also brings new customizations for you to enjoy while decorating your dream town. You can look forward to more space, zone customization, fast travel, and more.
Expanded Town Map
Pay a visit to Stanley S. Trollson, your local real estate agent, to expand your town map with 5 new areas. That’s right, you’re no longer confined to such a small space! Now, you can build the different Go-Go Town districts you dreamed of. Design sleepy, residential streets away from the hustle and bustle of industrial blocks. Decorate and create the perfect tourist areas or even a large green space to relax in. Let your creativity free with this new, larger map, and see what you can dream up.
Zone Customization
Every single zone on the map can now be customized to suit your tastes. Yes, EVERY zone. So, now you can really get creative and make your town as unique and awesome as you want! Tweak the size of each zone, the layout can be edited, and the location of each space can be changed. That means you can turn the farm zone into a series of micro farms instead of one big one. Or, you can shrink the fishing zone and make the forestry zone bigger to change production. There’s even mine shafts now, so you won’t be running out of resources any time soon.
Fast Travel and Summoning Vehicles
With a bigger town map comes more walking, running, and putting around which can all be a chore. Except the Go-Go Town Build and Bustle update now lets you fast travel. Use the brand new subway system to get around quickly. Even your townies and tourists can make use of it to reach their destinations faster. Or if you’re out exploring with your trusty bike and get distracted by something fun, forgetting where you’ve left the bike, you can now summon it! Place vehicle racks and car parks around your town so you can easily summon your lost vehicle to you instead of searching high and low for it. You could even use the racks to tidy up the streets and have a place to keep all your vehicles, too.
But Wait, There’s More!
Even with these other great features, you’re getting spoiled with even more excellent content with Go-Go Town Build and Bustle. There are now 6 new townies to collect, along with new cosmetics for yourself like hairstyles, dresses, glasses, hats, a backpack, and new legs. Plus, over 70 new thingamajigs. From Roman-style columns, road bridges, giant chess pieces, flowers, and so much more to decorate with and have fun. Or explore the new Hedge Maze for a fun solo exploration, but make it even more fun with friends. And don’t forget the loot!
Release Date
The Go-Go Town Build and Bustle update is available now on Steam! And what better time to jump back into this amazing game than now. Or if you haven’t played yet, there’s no time like the present to pick it up and get started on a brand new city-building journey!
- Sep 18, 2024
Crossroads Inn 2 welcomes you back to Delcrys, the lovely fantasy realm where you’ll make a name for yourself. This game is an immersive real-time management sim where you play as an innkeeper. That means you’re in charge of all the tasks related to running an inn. Manage your staff members, make menus to satisfy your guests’ cravings, and tackle the general challenges that come with running your own inn.
You get to create your own story through your choices. Want to influence the world around you? Then do that. Get involved with the realm. Or do you prefer to live a tranquil life? Then simply be an innkeeper and don’t worry about changing what’s happening in the world! Crossroads Inn 2 gives you full control to make your own choices. Build the inn how you want. Create the perfect layouts, then decorate with furniture and decor. Even have a vegetable patch outside to source fresh veggies from. Just remember that your choices affect how your guests react to your style and quality of the inn.
Hire, train, and upgrade your staff to serve the needs of the rich and poor alike, too. They’ll be helpful in running your inn as it grows. And of course, get to know the customers who darken your doorway. Each one has a unique story to tell and quests for you to complete! Will you play the simple innkeeper or rise to fame with your establishment?
Release Date
You can find Crossroads Inn 2 listed on Steam and PlayStation, but there is no release date available. Add it to your Wishlists to be notified of its release!
Tavern Manager Simulator is another fun tavern management sim!
- Sep 5, 2024
Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure, developed by Massive Miniteam, blends automation with real-time strategy aspects for a unique adventure set in a beautiful fantasy world. In fact, this game is perfect for players who want to dive into automation games, but also great for automation veterans looking for something fresh. Explore a gorgeous procedurally generated world. Build massive automation networks to enhance productivity. And also get to know your townspeople and helpful little Sparks.
Sparks are the little creatures who follow you and help you out in your adventures. Take them across the unique biomes of Oddsparks to encounter some unusual enemies. Or stay at home and optimize your designs by giving your Sparks logistical instructions. Eventually build a thriving village for yourself and your townspeople to live in. Complete quests from your villagers to unlock new buildings. Also, unlock new customizations for your character to make them unique, too!
Release Date
You can find Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure on Steam now. It’s also coming to Xbox and PlayStation soon! So, get ready for an exciting adventure full of automation and fun!
Autonauts is another cute game that uses automation!
- Sep 4, 2024
Thank you to Broccoli Games for a copy of this lovely game!
Coffee Caravan by developer Broccoli Games is a wholesome and cozy cafe management game. Think PlateUp!, but with a pastel color palette, you only serve variations of coffee, and there are difficulty levels that affect the whole game. Start your coffee-making adventure with the smallest trailer and basic equipment. Serve a variety of different customers in order to earn money. And experience an enjoyable, but sometimes challenging cozy game with a roguelite element!
This charming game puts you in charge of running your very own, albeit tiny, coffee shop. You start your journey with the smallest trailer possible and with the basic necessities like coffee beans, a grinder, coffee pot, sink, and cups. As you complete levels and earn money, you’ll be able to access the shop to buy upgrades to your equipment, new equipment and helpful items like counters, and add more coffee recipes to your list. If you successfully complete a whole run from start to end, you’ll receive a larger trailer, too! Plus, there are decorations you can buy that offer useful buffs and you have control over how your kitchen, seating area, and decor is set up. So, organize the kitchen to best suit you, and serve some coffee!
The Coziest of Coffee Management Games
I love everything about Coffee Caravan. No, seriously. The start menu is relaxing and easy to navigate. The background music is chill, but upbeat. I enjoy the pastel aesthetic and the faceless character design adds a charm to the game. Being able to select recipes, organize my space, and decorate is a lot of fun too. The choice of easy, normal, and hard difficulties is perfect for different days. Some days I want the easy game, some days I prefer the challenge of hard difficulty. So, I have a save slot for each one!
What I’d never thought I needed was a roguelite element to my cozy games, but I love how it plays out in this one. No game will play the same as your roadmap will be different each time. And how you choose to play one map may differ from how you play others. The unique way this game lays out level choices adds freshness, too. You can choose from a laid-back level, or maybe visit the shop. Unless you prefer the challenge of a more hectic day, then choose that one and then hop on over to a bonus stage that might reward you with a new item, extra money, or even be a chance at another shopping spree at the shop. Or you’ll earn new customers or conditions to play through.
Roadmap
That’s not all that this game will have, though! In fact, the developers have just released an update for players who use macOS. This release also sees the addition of some great QoL updates like being able to switch the item in your hand with the item on a customer’s table! So, no more running to an open table or counter to free up hands. Just switch them out! There were some missing icons on recipes that have been added in, as well as a new confirmation for deleting a save on a gamepad. Then there were some optimizations to make the game even better.
The lovely developers have also release a roadmap that gives a general idea of what they’re working on and what to look forward to. First was the macOS release, which is to be followed by improvements for the Steam Deck, and the launch of a Discord server. Their goal for this summer is to release the Ice Cream World update so you can serve delicious, frosty treats instead of coffee. Plus, you get to look forward to new character accessories for customization and Russian and Korean localization. Later on this year, with no release date determined, Coffee Caravan will see the addition of Endless Mode for greater challenging fun, cat pets for you to enjoy, Twitch integration, Freeplay mode, and a new demo.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it’s a great little single player game. Play on whichever setting you prefer, and experience an ever-changing game with fascinating roguelite features. There’s also tea service you can unlock, and coming with the free summer update is ice cream! It’s a perfectly cozy game, or make it as challenging as you want, if you prefer that. Coffee Caravan really aims to provide a varied gameplay experience and they achieve that! I can’t recommend this game enough to the casual gamers out there.
I give it:
You can find Coffee Caravan on Steam now!
- Aug 28, 2024
Horticular is a relaxing gardening game with a magical twist. Developed by inDirection Games, this beautifully vibrant game begins with you being magically summoned by garden gnomes. They want you to restore a garden that was abandoned by its previous caretaker. So, take on this huge task, but at your own pace, and build a lush garden to be proud of!
You have total creative freedom to turn this garden into whatever you want. Use hundreds of unlockable surface types to create biomes with different terrain. Plant tons of different kinds of flowers and plants. Even place fun decorative items like pillars, planter boxes, and more to create your dream garden. Of course, you want to build the garden in a way that it’ll attract creatures! Each critter has requirements before it will move in, though. So, plan accordingly and soon your garden will overflow with plants and animals!
You also need to maintain the magic of the garden in Horticular. Animals will become unhappy, the garden will decay, and you’ll see corrupted agents sent by your nemesis show up. With the help of the garden gnomes and your abilities, though, you’ll be able to prevent all of that. There are also garden upgrades you can purchase. These upgrades will increase your skills and unlock new items. And while each playthrough will be different, no choice locks you out of upgrades. You’ll be able to unlock everything every time!
Release Date
You can find Horticular now on Steam!
Like gardening? Try Botany Manor!
- Aug 28, 2024
Into the Emberlands is a quirky storybook-like adventure game where you uncover an ever-changing world. Your job is to rebuild your decimated village and save the villagers who’ve been lost to the Miasma. You’re the chosen Lightbearer, and you’re the only one capable of navigating the Miasma. Equipped with a lantern fueled by a light-bringing ember, you can venture forth to find the villagers. Just be sure your light doesn’t fade while you’re in the Miasma or you’ll be lost too, and need to wait on the next Lightbearer to find you!
Explore different biomes in a procedurally generated world as you discover scenery hidden behind the Miasma. There’s tons of life and secrets to find during your journey. Encounter small adventures and big surprises, too. Like quirky and mystical creatures that come in all shapes, sizes, and fantastic colors! Help out the creatures of Into the Emberlands and they’ll aid you in your journey to restore the village by providing you with necessary resources and helpful equipment upgrades. Use the resources you gather to rebuild the village, taking it from nothing to the thriving safe haven your people deserve. Different buildings and vendors within your town can help kickstart your next adventure, too. So, rebuild and find those villagers!
Release Date
You can pick up Into the Emberlands on Steam now!
Want some more exploration games, but perhaps something a little less world saving? Try Endless Ocean Luminous, Seasons of Rocco, or Alba: A Wildlife Adventure!
