Wholesome Direct 2023 Rundown

It is that time of year when my Steam Wishlist is bombarded with requests to remind me of something I’ll most likely forget about until three days before release. Yes, Wholesome Games’ Wholesome Direct is often the crown jewel of E3/Faux3, and we’re back once again to give a quick rundown of everything shown off this year. Starting with a pre-show full of updates on things we’ve seen before, our wonderful host Jenny had some interviews and trailers for us.

Kicking off the show was Mineko’s Night Market, the lovely-looking crafting social-sim adventure that celebrates Japanese culture. I’ve been excited about this one since we saw it a while back and finally, we’ve got a release date for it. Releasing on Steam and the Nintendo Switch on the 26th of September, you’ll get to play Meowza Games’ wholesome little adventure first. Oddly, the graphic at the bottom of the trailer shows a second release date for “Xbox One, Windows, and PS5|4.” Releasing on the 26th of October, Xbox One and PlayStation users will get to play Mineko’s Night Market too.

Sticking with something we’ve seen a couple of times or we’ll get a small update on, Pekoe is a cat-based teahouse simulator thing. I’ll admit I wasn’t too interested in this one before. When we’d seen Kitten Cup Studio’s Pekoe before, it was mostly that little window with a cat in it and we’d make some tea. Now that we’ve got an expanded look at the life of Taffy and all their friends, I’m a little more excited for Pekoe. Hitting Steam Early Access on June 28th, it will be a warm little tea blending time as you sit inside trying to avoid the unbearable sun.

Spirit Swap is next, the ultra gay match-3 puzzler and I am kind of interested in it. There is a trend right now of matching or doing actions to the beat of music. Despite being a musician, I am terrible at those. Given you are on the internet, I can tell that a Black woman named Mo clad in leather straps, with dark pink hair is enough to make you interested. It is worth noting that a demo is available right now until June 30th if you’re interested in Spirit Swap. There is nothing in terms of a release date yet, but the Steam page for Soft Not Weak’s match-3 puzzler does note a 2023 release window.

Less of an update and more of a cozy, visual novel, oh my Christ there is so much color in Button City, which is getting a spin-off. Button City Soccer Days is a Fifa-like from Subliminal with everyone you loved from Button City. There is no release date or window yet, though you can wishlist it on Steam and check out the website for more updates.

The last of the pre-show reveals/announcements, Frogsong got a big update. It was previously announced that the release date would be announced at the Wholesome Direct, but by the time the trailer was done, you could buy and play Frogsong there and then. As a bit of an older action RPG (almost Zelda-like) you’ll be able to play as a wonderful little frog fighting all the horribly vicious bugs around you. This is a bit of a theme you’ll find with wholesome games in general there, we have a lot of animals fighting something.

Moving on to the main show now, we’ll start off with I Am A Caterpillar. An all-out reveal more than anything, we started strong with a typical casual action adventure where you play as a lovely little caterpillar jumping around and doing what caterpillars do. No release date as of yet, but you can wishlist DevFatigued’s I Am A Caterpillar right now.

A return of something we’ve seen before, Bubblegum Galaxy is a casual city-builder strategy from Smarto Club. There is no release date once again, but a demo is available on Steam. I am going to be saying this a lot today so get ready to download a lot of demos.

Sticky Business is a fantastic little idea about being a small business owner that is trying to run their sticker-making business online. You’ll basically be running an Etsy shop. Coming from Spellgarden Games and Assemble Entertainment as the publisher, you can play a demo of Sticky Business right now. No release date was given, but once again we’ve got a release window of 2023.

Mixing Harvest Moon and Pokémon, Moonstone Island is a life-sim/Pokémon game that gives you over 100 islands to explore, lots of things to collect, and friends to make. No specific release was given once again, but a demo for Studio Supersoft and Raw Fury’s upcoming title will be available from the 19th and will run for 14 days. Though we didn’t get a specific release date, we do have a release window that is more narrow than just a year. Steam states it is coming in Q3 2023 and the latest update on Steam also states “COMING TO PC THIS SUMMER.” I know I am not the only one interested in Moonstone Island.

Station to Station is the most beautiful cozy railway-building simulator I’ve ever seen. I’ll say it until I am blue in the face, well-lit voxels with a touch of tilt-shift will always look amazing! A demo is available now and once again we’re knocking on the door of a release window that is blanketed for over a year. Not too far away though, as Station to Station will be arriving at the station of Steam later this year.

Niku Games were up next with a short showcase of the wonderful and gorgeous looking The Palace on the Hill. If you’re interested in the life-sim management title about cooking Indian food in a rural Indian village in the 90s, a short prologue was made available in May. No date was given but you should be able to wishlist it once the Steam Page is up and get excited for the August release. As well as being released on Steam, The Palace on the Hill will release on Google Play and Apple App Store.

After a short break to thank those supporting Wholesome Games, including Devolver Digital who wasted 12 minutes of their own showcase and my life, we got to see Usagi Shima. We’ve seen Usagi Shima a couple of times before, and I knew a couple of people who would have loved to play it. Releasing on the 1st of September, pank0’s bunny-based casual title is only releasing on the Google Play and Apple App Store. We’ll see this a lot, but I don’t understand the point of releasing what would theoretically work as a normal game on mobile only.

Next up was an example of what multiplayer gameplay should be. I want to spit on people to make them sticky so we can platform in a game. I also wouldn’t mind spitting on them in-game too. A strange little twist on the platformer, KarmaZoo from Pastergames and Devolver Digital has you and up to 9 other people trying to make your way through some dungeons with a mix of 50 different characters.

The one thing I don’t understand is the line “10 random players help each other” bit. This is the internet, I’ve not seen 3 people try to help each other. There is no release date yet, but KarmaZoo is set to release on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam & Epic).

Flutter Away is a Pokémon Snap/Beasts of Maravilla Island type of game but this time in first-person. Take pictures, catalog, and explore this wonderful place that Runaway Play has made. You can wishlist it on Steam right now, but Flutter Away is set to release on Steam and Nintendo Switch on August 3rd.

Staying on the theme of taking pictures, Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge is a farming, frog breeding and collecting, and picture-taking title from Humble Reeds and Armor Games Studios. All about restoring and building up biodiversity, you’ll set up a sanctuary for the frogs you’ve collected and created. No release date, of course, but you can still wishlist it on Steam right now.

From there we had to jump to this year’s fantastic T-shirts and the charity of choice this year. The two limited-time T-shirts are available to get from the Wholesome Games website, with 100% of the proceeds going to The AbleGamers Charity. It is $15 each for a T-shirt and if you want the poster for this year, that is $24. The AbleGamers Charity is all about making and improving accessibility in gaming. As I’ll say until my dying breath (not very wholesome), accessibility is important. Not just for you and me, but for everyone.

Getting back to the games, we’re onto Baladin, a colorful adventure RPG that you can play with up to 4 players. Seed by Seed created Baladins with tabletop RPGs in mind. Beautiful and downright colorful, I want to say I would play Baladins when it releases in early 2024 on Steam. However, the truth is I’m only brought in by the art style.

Finally, something that fixes Max Inferno’s A Little to the Left. A Little to the Left: Cupboards & Drawers is the upcoming DLC that isn’t so pedantic about how or where you organize everything. Adding 25 new puzzles to the mix, A Little to the Left: Cupboard & Drawers is set to release on the 27th of June for PC, Mac (Whoopi Goldberg will be happy), and Nintendo Switch. Here is hoping no cats are knocking everything over that you organize now, or I’ll be doing what Mary Bale did in 2010.

We got another look (after the Day of the Devs showcase) at Henry Halfhead. In short, you play as Henry, who is half a head. In essence, you are expected to possess objects like Mario’s hat to complete tasks. If that wasn’t enough, co-op lets you play a game of apple-knife. With still no release date, as it was only announced the other day, we are waiting on the release window of 2024 to be narrowed down.

AuntyGames’ Gourdlets was up next, a sandbox city-builder. Kind of idle in its ideas, you are expected to build your little city and watch as little grape people called Gourdlets go about their day in your city. The trailer was mostly about showcasing that by supposed popular demand the final release will include the addition of farming. There is no release date as of yet, but there is a demo available and you can wishlist the game on Steam right now.

I might have fallen slightly in love with the art direction of Ishtar Games’ Lakeburg Legacies, a social village management sim set in the days of ye old kingdoms and castles. You will be playing medieval Tinder as you match-make for the peasants of Lakeburg. You’ll be able to do as Yente did before moving to Jerusalem on July 20th, and you can wishlist the game on Steam right now.

See, this right here is what is wrong with Wholesome Directs, they make me want to play cozy MMOs like Loftia. We got a short teaser of the upcoming title from Qloud Games showing off the general art style and aim for the game with a voice-over noting the cozy vibes that are the target. We also got a small mention that Michael and Martina are working their way to get the Kickstarter up and out. Beyond the trailer that we’ve seen and somewhat aimless statements on the website, there isn’t much about Loftia. It is pretty and has a nice idea, but it is still a while away.

Beastieball! Depending on our schedule, the Day of the Devs coverage might already be out. In essence, Beastieball is netball meets Pokémon if it understood what Pokémon was supposed to be. Also, the trailer from the Day of the Devs coverage has the best voice actor ever. I am so excited for the release coming in 2024, but if you want to support the team right now you can wishlist it on Steam and join the hundreds of backers on Kickstarter to get stickers, the artbook, soundtrack, a Sprecko Pin, a tank top with artwork, name an NPC, name a team, design something in-game, get put in the game, or become a coach. Of course, backing can also get you a copy of the game when it launches.

Smushi Come Home (similar to Mail Time) has appeared in a showcase either here or elsewhere before, but Noah of SomeHumbleOnion had something to say. It is out now. On Steam and Nintendo Switch, you can pick up Smushi Come Home and enjoy the mushroom-based adventure. I wish I knew about that beforehand so I could have had a review out, much like all these surprise launches.

I may have done a whole cheer like I was watching wrestling when it was announced that Venba would finally be releasing in July. Set in Canada in the 80s, you play an Indian mother as she cooks some wonderful things and watches her son grow up. You can wishlist it right now or play the demo ahead of its July 31st release. I might be setting my editor-in-chief on the emails of Visai Games to get a review copy. I have been in love since I first saw it at a previous Wholesome Direct.

It is difficult to say we get pure platforming fun anymore, but Die Soft (oh, so wholesome) showed off Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland. With possibly the longest title this whole direct minus a DLC, Little Nemo is a Metroidvania, 2D-platformer with a whole lot of character in its jumping. Fighting the corrupting force inside your dreams, you are the only one to save Slumberland. Right now you can check out the demo on Steam. No release date, again, though we do know Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland is set to release on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

A double bill from Soedesco was kicked off by Garden Witch Life, which we’ve seen a couple of times before. This is a chibi farming sim that I have previously said Alexx would love and I still stand by that statement. As a farming-sim trap for those easily seduced by such, the currently available closed beta might be for you.

Following that it was a showcase of early access pixel-art Stardew Valley-esque game, Orange Season. I don’t understand this one, personally. Not the game, not the idea of doing a Stardew Valley/Harvest Moon-like, but the trailer was just to point out to wishlist it on Steam. According to Steam, Innerfire Studios have had Orange Season on the platform since April of 2017 in Early Access. Answers on a postcard there, please.

Surmount was next with a showcase of the swinging mechanics of this rock-climbing Rogue-like platformer. Strange, wonderful, and colorful, I’m personally in two minds on this one. Luckily, ahead of the planned 2023 release, you can play a short demo of Surmount right now.

It wouldn’t be a Wholesome Direct without a colorful dungeon-crawling Rogue-lite that is cozy and had a hint of farming-sim, now would it? Grimoire Groves looks like more seduction for the farming sim lovers but with a touch more action to it. A Kickstarter campaign is underway right now and if you’re in two minds over it, you can check out the demo that is currently available too.

A man with Jonathan Ross hair was up next, oh, and his friend, to show off GardenBuddies. A garden-making sim with a social element about making friends with fruit and veg that have Disney eyes. When I looked at the Steam page I forgot I saw this one in the showcase. While it is colorful, I can’t say I was terribly excited by this one. Coming to Steam and Switch “this summer,” you can wishlist it for more updates.

Stickers are really in this year with indie developers. Next up was A Tiny Sticker Tale, a relaxing adventure puzzle game from Ogre Pixel, the people behind last year’s Lonesome Village. A demo is available right now If you’re happy with the demo, A Tiny Sticker Tale is also available to back on Kickstarter.

Everdeep Aurora looks like a gorgeous puzzle platformer. However, for some reason, I can’t help but not get excited about playing it. Nautilus Games’ first title is set to come to Switch and Steam sometime in 2024.

Studio Inkyfox showed off Kibu next and I fell in love. It is available to wishlist on Steam, with action-adventure, farming-sim, and crafting game elements. It is one of the few that breaks through my dislike for farming-sim or crafting titles. No date was announced, though given we’re talking about a beautiful game from a solo developer, I don’t blame them.

I also have a penchant (for lack of a French word) for hating magic. I fell in love with Skaule and Whitethorn Games’ Magical Delicacy, a magical platformer in the same vein as Battle Chef Brigade but without the Master Chef motif. It will be available on day one with Xbox Game Pass on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One, and is also coming to Steam. There is no word on when that “day one” will be, but I know for a fact I want to play as Flora and make some spicy dishes for the people of Grat.

Nintendogs was up next, though without all that fog we had on the DS. Little Friends: Puppy Island is exactly like Nintendogs. Though if you actually have a dog or pets to look after, it is just more work to add to your day. Big Blue Buddie’s latest game is releasing on June 27th, but if you want to check it out before then, a demo is available right now on PC too. Alongside releasing on Steam, Little Friends: Puppy Island will release on the Nintendo Switch.

With art direction that looks like it is straight out of a Norwegian horror, or as they call it a kids show, The Guardian of Nature is Inlusio Interactive’s first game. In this point-and-click adventure, you play as a botanist called Henry as he tries to save the mother tree in a cozy forest full of grottos with lots of puzzles. It is interesting, though it could be off-putting for its darker setting. There is no release date, of course, though you can wishlist The Guardian of Nature on Steam right now.

We’ve seen Townseek a couple of times now throughout the years, and Whales and Games have piqued my interest with this strange, colorful, management-trading adventure title. Finally getting a release window, we’ll see Townseek in early 2024 on PC. Not only that, but the trailer showed off the addition of mascots like Sparx from Spyro, with many of them coming from other wholesome and not-so-wholesome games like Lil Gator Game, Cult of the Lamb, and A Short Hike.

Another return is Feed All Monsters, the cozy casual puzzle game about moving your zookeepers around a square puzzle thing toward all the monsters. There wasn’t much to say before and arguably there still isn’t. The one thing that is notable now more than previous showcases of Feed All Monsters is that DU&I announced that Feed All Monsters will release on the 22nd of June.

Manitas kitchen is Ratatouille with dinosaurs, and if that doesn’t sell Little Arrow Games’ first game to you then I think you are heartless. As an arcade mini-game style of cooking game, there isn’t much to this one, but who doesn’t want to make pizza as a T-rex? Releasing on October 23rd, you can wishlist Manitas Kitchen on Steam right now.

My game of the year in 2021, Unpacking is coming to mobile and tablets later this year. I’ll complain about cute casual games only going to mobile storefronts, but I don’t entirely moan about great games already on conventional platforms going to mobile. This is a fantastic game that everyone should play. It is short, fun, and filled with love. I can’t say enough about Witch Beam’s wonderful game.

Playing as a retired 19th-century botanist, Arabella Greene, you explore and fill out research while playing Balloon Studios’ fantastic-looking Botany Manor. It is a bit of a walking-sim, a bit of exploration, and is filled in with the topsoil of puzzles, I’m excited for this one. Available to wishlist on Steam with a demo to sink your teeth into until the 19th of June. Botany Manor will release on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, though there is no date as of yet.

Something that was already on my wishlist, Solarpunk is a game I want to be playing right this second instead of writing about it. A cozy survival crafting farming-sim thing, Cyberwave’s latest title beat its $32K goal on Kickstarter already with just over two weeks to go. Now sitting at just over $200K, I think a lot of people are like me and excited about what is next from the German developer. We only have a release window again, but hopefully, it won’t be too long until we get that 2024 release date.

Following that was something interesting and beautiful, which isn’t saying much here. Though a Q4 2023 release date is rare, Bontemps Games’ While the Iron’s Hot is a pixel-based blacksmith adventure title full of interesting ideas. Not only do we have a narrow launch window, but we also have a demo available on Steam right now.

Another strange one is next, but it makes sense given it is the month that gays are allowed out of the closet (and no other months, according to some), as we got a look at Studio Drydock’s 2022 title Wylde Flowers. This is a chibi-farming sim with a lesbian witch.

With recent updates focusing on romance, farming, and character customization, I wonder what the game looked like before these updates as that looks to be everything Wylde Flowers happens to be. As gay as a rainbow, I think I knew a couple of people that might be into this one and now it is on their radar. It is available on Switch, Steam, and Apple Arcade, if you are a cretin.

Why do I always jump when I hear a Scottish accent in something like this? A Highland Song is a rhythm story-driven title about a young woman that wants to get away from the Highlands and towards the sea. From the developers of 80 Days, I don’t question the story aspect. However, I will swear profusely when I am awful at the rhythm section. Set to release sometime this year, you’ll brave the wind and the rain of the foggy moors when it hits Steam.

I want this, but not in VR. Sushi Ben is a VR title coming to PS5 and PC about a failing sushi bar that you have to save by catching and farming stock, bringing in new customers, and struggling to keep afloat. As I mentioned, I would care more if only it wasn’t VR. I think the story is probably the same for many others too.

I know I said Norwegian earlier, but Finland is kind of Scandinavian so I’m counting it. This is more of the horror passed off as something for kids, it is Moomins. We’ve seen Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley once or twice before here on the site throughout showcases, and once again it is making a return. It wasn’t mentioned in the trailer (or if it was, I missed it), but on Steam there is an update with great detail from Hyper Games. In it, we find out that Snufkin: Melody of Mooninvalley is now set for a Q1 2024 release.

Speaking of 2024, The Star Named EOS by Silver Lining Studio is a first-person puzzle game focused on a narrative. With a name like that, you better hope you have a story to back it up. Well, visually Silver Lining Studio has my attention (and being is wishlisted) ahead of its 2024 release. It is another one of those camera-based puzzle things full of puzzles to solve.

Fall of Porcupine is releasing on the 15th of June, and if I wasn’t excited before about this story-driven platforming about an unhealthy healthcare system (something about America), I am now. As only a small return ahead of the release, it was just a short trailer to remind you about the impending launch. Coming to PS4|5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, GOG, and Steam, there are plenty of places to get your fix of pigeon-based doctoring.

Something that is absolutely going to shoot to the top of my boss’ lists is Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. Here is hoping it isn’t a scene-for-scene remake. Dark jokes aside, the Harvest Moon-esque title is releasing on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC on the 27th of June. That is turning out to be quite a popular date, I wonder why?

I can’t repeat what my notes say for Neoludic games’ Tiny Bookshop. I want to go to little seaside towns with my caravan full of books and sell them to the locals. I am in love with this fantastic little life-sim/management title that is right up my alley. You are absolutely right if you guessed that I’ve wishlisted Tiny Bookshop. I’m sad I can’t do it more to show just how much I want it.

Back into the weirdly horrific again, we have Wood & Weather. Stylized as Wood + Weather, this is a god-sim akin to Black and White but with those wooden peg people small children play with. It is charming, but Christ on a bike, it is horrifying. You can play the demo on Steam right now and wishlist Paper House’s latest game too.

I’m jumping back on my soapbox here again about mobile games. Why are we putting something like Campfire Cat Cafe on mobile and featuring it alongside everything that is on PC or Switch when it could (and should) be too? I’ll tell you why, there are in-app purchases between $1.99 and $99.99. As I said in the Landlord’s Super review in a reference back to the first episode of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, you can take your mobile games and stick them where penguins, pelicans, and Inland Revenue can shove their bills.

Back to calmness and back to wholesomeness. Sopa is heading to Steam in 2024. StudioBando, I have very little idea what your bloom-heavy adventure narrative game is, but I want to play it on one condition. Fix that god-forsaken framerate by the time of release, please. I don’t want to feel sick.

Next was the final update for Tracks of Thought ahead of release hopefully, as the ladybug-based story-rich RPG is set to release in Q1 of 2024. Though if some of the “wholesome, card-based, talk-’em-up RPG!” descriptors don’t interest you yet, there is a demo currently available on Steam. When you’ve been convinced by that, you can also wishlist Tidbits Play’s Tracks of Thought on Steam or Epic.

I am in love with Go-Go Town. When the trailer showed that old woman about to be struck by a drone, only to be given a seat and a heart attack, I knew it was a game for me. Then we got to see the actual city-building gameplay. It is strange given that there is a demo available now, but there was a highlighted point towards the end of the trailer that said on July 3rd there will be a playtest. I would have thought this was a co-op-focused test, but it turns out not to be. Apparently, they mentioned that the “focus [of] this playthrough is to throw you into the beginning of the game.”

From here out we got short bursts of gameplay with the title in the corner. So what is left is basically everything with little detail about it, so I’ll try to bring as much as possible that might not have been in the trailers. First up was Cato, a cat-based platformer that is releasing on Steam in 2024. With colorful pixel-based graphics and a puzzle gameplay focus, Cato might be one we return to later down the line.

Let’s! Revolution! is a strange one when you go digging a bit further. The trailer showed off a colorful turn-based tactics Rogue-lite on grid-based maps that is releasing on the 28th of June. The Steam page for something under the same name (and all the same screenshots) says it will be released on the 19th of July. I don’t know how I am supposed to give great insight when the trailer and store page don’t know either.

Diluvian Winds is an early-access fantasy survival city-building RPG from Alambik Studio, where you are tasked with managing resources to keep the travelers you’ve invited in alive. Think of your Frostpunks and Ixions, but with a much more pleasing aesthetic. Looking much more appealing than the darker titles already mentioned, I’m excited to see what it comes to once it hits full release. It only went into Early Access a couple of weeks ago on the 25th of May, so that will be a long time I am guessing.

Releasing on the 20th of July, Ducky’s Delivery Service is your typical 2D platformer with a little bit of a twist. Based on physics, you are timed very strictly and are aiming to get a number of deliveries done as quickly as possible. Being a duck, you can and will be throwing packages like a disgruntled Amazon delivery driver.

Tall Trails is a game about climbing stuff. Looking like a turd with legs and a happy face drawn on it, you are all about exploring and climbing. I am sold! The trouble is, there is nothing to really say as there is no release date to speak of.

Petit Island is another story, as it is set to release sometime in 2024. I feel we’ve seen this one before from Soedesco, or I have from my emails. I am excited to find out more as it is another one of those exploration games with a camera and a whole lot of jumping.

Quilts and Cats of Calico is set to release sometime this year, with a demo available right now for Monster Couch’s latest game. The thing is (I can’t stress this enough), it isn’t made by the people that made Calico the game. It is completely different, but have both appeared on these Wholesome Directs.

I have no idea what the goal of Pizza Possum is, but I want to play it. Releasing sometime in 2023, it looks like a co-op Anarchy ‘em up with lots of chasing and running away. I guess we’ll find out eventually when we get a release date.

Coming from Marvelous and Vile Monarch, The Last Alchemist is something I expect Alexx will be writing a review on sometime later this year when it releases. As a crafting farming sim with alchemy at the heart (of course), you’ll spend your time solving puzzles and wondering why those mushrooms have red ears.

I mentioned this in the Day of the Devs rundown, but Mars First Logistics is amazing and I love Ian who showed it off. Releasing on the 22nd of June into Early Access, I can’t wait to ruin Elon’s home planet with my many Besiege-like contraptions.

Are you having a laugh imissmyfriends.studio? Fishbowl is expected to release sometime in (prepare yourself) 2025. It is a lovely little top-down RPG style of game with an emphasis on friendship and self-discovery. I’m excited but still wondering… why 2025?

Clay Game Studio’s Mirth Island is about a duck that is depressed and goes to play music on Mirth Island, where happiness is said to be growing out of the ground. With a much more sensible release schedule of sometime in 2024, I’m hesitant to say I’m too interested in a rhythm game.

I want to play it now and I want to play it yesterday. Stillalive Studios showed off the wonderful and interesting Garden Life, also set for the far-off land of 2024. It is just the gardening part of House Flipper. I, for one, am sold!

Sanya is a point-and-click adventure set in the 90s, so you know it is aiming right at your nostalgia. Sometimes colorful and a little bit dark in places, I don’t know how to feel about this one. It has yet to showcase anything worth caring about. All the same, it will be released sometime this year.

With a much more narrow release window, March of Schrooms is set to release sometime in Q3 of 2023. As one of those auto-battlers I don’t understand because I am old and don’t know what you kids want from a game, it certainly has color but I don’t understand much else.

Toasterball is something I understand though because it is Pong with toasters. Who doesn’t love the sound of that? Released in May, this fantastic twist on a classic of gaming makes for an interesting and fun idea that will be simple to learn but hard to master. It is a bit like getting the right amount of toasting on your toast.

Releasing in 2024, Townframe will first have to correct the grammatical errors in the writing. Then it will need to sell me more on its concept. From what I can understand from its short trailer, you are asked to create a picture of some townscapes from someone’s short descriptions. It can be an old woman looking for an old memory, or something else. I want to say I like the idea, but the trailer doesn’t do justice to sell me on Norrimo’s upcoming puzzle game.

Another mobile game among PC releases, Window Garden isn’t pulling my hose when it comes to its in-app purchases. As a lo-fi idle game that focuses on making a pretty-looking window garden, it doesn’t seem too bad.

Word Factori (yes, with an I) is a logic puzzle where you only start producing the letter I. However, through many factories and logic automation chains, you’ll have to create many more complex letters. By bending, stretching, and other methods, you’ll create whole words out of the many I’s. Coming to Steam on August 2nd, my brain will be broken by August 3rd. There is a demo available right now.

Life After Magic is one of those free-to-play gay dating-sim visual novels. I am sure some states in America are already trying to ban it after its March 23rd release this year. If you are a fan of that crunchy pixel art style with a 4:3 aspect ratio, it might also be your thing too.

The penultimate game of this year’s Wholesome Direct really wants you to forget Pokémon while also trying to be angry Pokémon attempting to do a joke. It would be cheap to say that Athenian Rhapsody wants to be the next Undertale, but I’ll absolutely point it out. Set to release in Q3 2023, it will excite some, but I can’t understand it myself.

The final game was kind of a letdown if you were expecting anything other than yet another Stardew Valley-like with top-down pixel art, as Fields of Mistria is very much that. Set to release in 2024, we’ll see this one again sometime down the line. The animated version of the key art had a far more interesting art style in my opinion. Though it appears in the text-box segments, it still feels like the “one more thing” for something that could have been in the middle of the direct.