Wholesome Snack: Game Awards Round up

Geoff can keep his yearly advertisements, I’ll stick with something much more wholesome. Yes, it is that time of year once again. We got a bite-sized snack of wholesomeness from the wonderful people over at Wholesome Games. As is the case with these Snack showcases, they are very short and very easy to talk about, so let’s get to the announcements and highlights of lovely games (well, mostly).

Starting off with something we’ve seen a couple of times now during Wholesome Directs/Snacks, Mail Time. In a colorful and cozy mushroom-based adventure game about being Postman Pat, you’ll go about delivering letters and parcels in this red-dominated world with your Bee friend. Mail Time will release on PS4/5, Switch, and PC next April. Like a number of game showcases, this time around there are limited-time demos available on Steam in conjunction with The Game Awards.

Next is a bit of a narrative-based life-sim/adventure. Mineko’s Night Market is a beautiful little slice of child-like adventure with a very crayon-based art style. There is just a texture to it that gives that crayon feeling. Coming in 2023 to Steam and the Switch, with a demo currently available on Steam, you’ll pet fluffy friends, drink tea, and generally explore this Japanese-influenced world of beautiful wonder.

If slightly creepy-looking Eastern European paper craft adventure games are for you, I’m sure you’ll want to know about A Most Extraordinary Gnome. Developed in Hungary, A Most Extraordinary Gnome is a 2D adventure about a gnome. The trailer does better justice to itself than my attempts to explain it, but the main takeaway is that it is available right now!

I might have been pulled in by the promise of being a writer in this life-sim/management title, Spirittea. Though there is very little writing of books, you’ll spend your time mostly playing what is basically a 90s RPG with a greater focus on bug catching, fishing, and drink mixing. Spirittea is coming to Steam, Epic, and the Switch, as well as Game Pass on day one. There is no release date given for Spirittea, but there is a demo on Steam right now.

There are two games I just didn’t gel with this Wholesome Snack, and Fae Farm is one of them. As a “Fantasy farm-sim RPG,” this is one that I’m sure Alexx will be finding time in his schedule for in Q2 of 2023. The trailer highlighted the Switch port and there is no Steam Store for it, but that would explain the almost Playmobile art style of the characters. It is that style that is putting me off the most from this otherwise wonderful game.

We first saw Way To The Woods away back in 2019 at the Microsoft E3 conference. Despite the long wait, work has continued for this more wholesome Bambi simulator. Releasing in March of next year, we’ll see a Doe and her deer (a dame and her tune) adventuring out onto Steam and consoles via Game Pass. It is just annoying knowing this all started with a 16-year-old that had the attention span to stick with this for the better part of a decade.

I’m sold on anything South Pacific and to do with exploring the cultures of peoples like the Kanak, the Māori, Aboriginal Australians, or Polynesians because these are such beautiful cultures and places of origin. A small dev diary from the people at Awaceb gave us a look not only at Tchia but also at the inspiration for this upcoming sandbox, New Caledonia. Releasing next year on the Epic Games Store and PS4/5, I’m excited to explore this magnificent recreation of some beautiful parts of the world.

I think it was last year’s Wholesome Direct during E3 where we got our first look at Loddlenaut, an ocean cleaning simulator. Back then the plucky little title was launching a Kickstarter, which was almost immediately funded by the end of June. Well, two years on from that (plus two months) and Loddlenaut will release in September 2023 for Steam. Though if you can’t wait, there is a demo on Steam right now.

I did say there are two that I don’t like from this Wholesome Snack but there is also one I don’t get either. Blanc is a co-op adventure game featuring monochromatic sketches of a young deer and a wolf cub exploring a place whiter than Frosty’s nose. If this was single-player I’d understand, but to have another person with me, I wouldn’t get the story the same way it is supposed to be consumed. Releasing on February 14th (of all dates), you’ll be able to pick this one up on Steam, Epic, and Switch. Strangest of it all, Blanc is published by Gearbox.

There are no words for what Tiny Glade made me feel, or at least there are no words that can be published. As a gorgeous little sandbox tool thing, you create little castle ruins with some very fluid controls in a relaxing little world. Oh and you can pet the lovely little sheep. There is no release date or a demo for this one sadly, but you can wishlist Tiny Glade on Steam.

We all have that friend that is almost too happy. You know, like toxic levels of happiness? Bits & Bops is a rhythm game that is very colorful, very cute, and very nice, but my god, is it too happy for my liking. I’m happy with some cheerfulness, but this was too aggressive for me. There is no release date just yet as this was a trailer to announce the Kickstarter and Steam demo available right now. Hopefully, this level of aggressive happiness doesn’t appear around me again.

The blob at the start of Distant Bloom‘s trailer looked like the physical manifestation of cancer and I love his cute little face. Much like the fantastic Terra Nil which we’ve covered a few times, Distant Bloom is about rejuvenating the husk of a world from greys and browns to blues, greens, pinks, and many other wonderful colors. Set to release in 2023, we don’t know much yet. However, you can give it a whirl this weekend with the demo available on Steam.

First-person Grow Home, you say? Where do I sell my soul? Valley Peaks is the first frog climbing simulator where you explore, chat with your froggy friends, climb big rocks, and proceed to jump off said rocks with a paraglider. I can only be so excited at once and this is everything I want from a game. Set to release on Steam sometime next year, we’ll almost have to wait. We would if there wasn’t a demo available on Steam right now, and you are damn right I downloaded that straightaway.

The final game of the Wishlist filling snack, Europa is an adventure game about Jupiter’s moon and a half-android half-human about gliding, running, and flying. I think this snack alone has unveiled my weakness for fun movement. Europa is set to release sometime next year and sadly we don’t have a demo for this one. I’m excited to explore Europa better than Janeway did in 1979.

If you’d like to see the entire show, as was streamed live on Thursday afternoon, we’ve linked that below. Here is hoping we see more wholesome games soon and more Wholesome Directs too.