Wholesome Snack: The Game Awards Edition 2024 Roundup

I have to agree with Andy Williams when he said “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” As it always is when we get to cover a Wholesome Direct or Wholesome Snack. Hosted as always by Jenny, this year’s Game Awards Edition is of just over 20 games you’ll put on your wishlist and keep there for a long time. So let’s stop time wasting and get to the show:

First up was Capy Castaway, a small adventure where you play as an adorable little Capybara pup from the developers of Pekoe. There may even be a reference or two to Pekoe in the trailer. There isn’t really much in terms of detail as of yet, especially a release date, however, I did say aloud “Ahh you are so adorable” about a capybara when I first saw it. Being a capybara, I think a lot of what you are doing is going to involve digging a lot.

From an addition to my wishlist to what was already on it, the fantasy life sim game Tales of Seikyu finally has an early access release window. With a beautiful trailer showcasing the world and some of the gameplay, you can get a hands-on feel for Tales of Seikyu when it releases in the spring of 2025. From kissing, relationship building, farming, and it seems even dungeon exploring, Tales of Seikyu is set to be everything you want out of a Yōkai life-sim, and I for one am excited.

On from Japanese folklore and anime art styles to a kitsune fixing a village’s broken stuff. Piece by Piece is another one of those shop/restoration simulators that have you piecing together someone’s broken items, repainting possessions, and generally all that wholesomeness you exact from games shown off at a Wholesome Snack. Seemingly Gamkat’s first game set to release (though they have worked on other titles before), there isn’t a release date in sight just yet.

Following a short mention of this year’s Wholesome Snack Humble Bundle featuring Fae Farm, The Ranch of Rivershine, Little Kitty, Big City, Spirit City: Lofi Sessions, Minami Lane, and Rusty’s Retirement. A portion of the proceeds are set to go to the World Central Kitchen which helps feed those who need it in the case of many desperate situations, including humanitarian, climate, and otherwise. Speaking of the idle-farming game that I’ve seen a streamer try to force into their live streams, and thus distracting from what is actually being played, up next was an update to Rusty’s Retirement. Maybe passive aggression towards a streamer isn’t so wholesome.

The free new update is available now, with Rusty’s Retirement having a new winter-themed map that has robots consuming more to work, new crops, new animals, and a new character that will sell you GMO crops. I’m sure the people who shout about things that aren’t in baby formula but still want that imaginary thing out of it will be very happy. Again, passive aggression isn’t very wholesome of me.

The scream I scrumped (shut up!) as I slammed my coffee down and shouted “YES!” From puns and other wordplay to that voice that melts like caramel in your ear, I loved my time earlier this year in Duck Detective: The Secret Salami, so a sequel? Give it to me now Happy Broccoli Games and the Freddy doesn’t get hurt.

Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping is set to release in 2025, with everyone’s favorite duck out of water back in the role of lead detective as the rich and famous camp-glamp around a haunted house. Given the spooky theme, I think we can guess when Happy Broccoli Games plans on releasing Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping.

Another postal delivery game, I’m so excited. Lou’s Lagoon has you delivering mail across some islands in your seaplane and maybe doing some exploration of the archipelago as you go. Coming from Tiny Roar and Megabit Publishing (as well as Rokaplay), it’s seemingly the studio’s first title and is ambitious. Fishing, flying, hand gliding, and more, the world is colorful, the characters seem interesting, and there is maybe even a touch of crafting too, so you have a place to go home to. No release date, but certainly worth wishlisting.

Well, that’s certainly a surprise, not too much unlike loss itself. Pine: A Story of Loss is that really sad-looking game about Mr Incredible dealing with the loss of his wife. I know, cheery and wholesome. Finally given a release date, you don’t have to wait long though, as Pine: A Story of Loss will be releasing on Steam, the Apple App Store, and the Nintendo Switch in 2 days – on Friday, the 13th of December. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go have a big cry for a minute.

Back to the somewhat colorful, River Towns is a minimalist city builder about doing things in very tight, confined areas. Frogsong Studios, developers of Spellworn and D-Corp, have also released a demo for River Towns. Not only that, but we’ve also got a Q2 2025 release window. See, that’s how to do it game showcases: Show off your newly announced game, have a demo ready, and have a release window in mind, beautiful!

We’ve seen Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To a lot before, I remember because I’ve said it looks like one of the gayest games ever created and I stand by that as I look at Iskandar. I mean, looking at everyone and totally not objectifying their bodies. However, my thinly veiled attempts at humor aside, Soft Not Weak’s upcoming title finally has a release date. Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To is set to release on February 3rd of 2025 for Steam and “Xbox.” I assume Xbox Series X|S, but I can’t quite tell.

Can we call a survival game “wholesome?” I guess we’ll have to wait to 2025 to find out, as we got another look at Pine Creek Games’ Winter Burrow. It is that cozy survival game in the Don’t Starve sort of camera way, but also with a Winnie The Pooh storybook sort of art style. I mean the old Winnie the Pooh books with sparse color, not the ones done now. It looks lovely, looks nice, I just don’t know how much I’ve got in me for some survival games, which is a shame because I want to like Winter Burrow. Coming to Game Pass and Steam, we’ve got a little ways to go before we get more details.

I love Finland and that section of the world, but Tove Jansson’s Moomin art style is sometimes creepy. Announcing a bit of DLC for Snufkin: Melody of Mooninvalley, Hyper Games and Raw Fury revealed “Fuddler’s Courtship.” The Steam page notes, “In this heartfelt novella-like story of romance, newfound friend Fuddler needs a helping hand to express his feelings.” Thank Ukko we’re not finding Snufkin some romance. Set to release on December 17th, 2024 for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and on Steam, you can find Fuddler’s partner very soon.

Speaking of my love for certain sections of the world, while also having issues with the art style, Aikyam. Coming from Thousand Stars Studio, this turn-based battler has you dancing to fight villagers to get them to join your cause of fighting some rakshasa, including what I think is meant to be Rama. It is very Bollywood-inspired. My “issue” is more so the Funko Pop-inspired art style that I’ve forever hated and always will because it is horrifying. As a concept, I love Aikyam, but the art style makes me want to be sick in my mouth.

No release date, no major details. A demo is available now, and will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.

I see conveyor belts and I am very happy. Little Rocket Lab is a beautiful little game from Teenage Astronauts and No More Robots where you are fulfilling a dream of your mother to build her rocket ship (because that’s the type of thing people just own in games). Crafting in the way I like it, you are using lots of materials and building lots of automation to, well do rocket science. We don’t have a release date just yet. There is simply a 2025 window for the Nintendo Switch, Steam, and Game Pass. I am more than excited for this adorable little title. And can I pet the pup?

For the life of me I can’t remember if it was this year or last we saw Australian cozy MMO Loftia from Qloud Games. Very chibi in its art style, you can finally wishlist Loftia as the team behind it has released the Steam page. No specifics about when we’ll get to play Loftia or anything like that, but we do know some things thanks to a press release blasted out. Thanks to the games’ Kickstarter and the 500,000 community members, Loftia has raised $1.2 million for the MMO with studio co-founder Martina noting: “With Loftia, and with our new Neighborhoods feature, we’re excited for players to rediscover the joy of shared online experiences.”

Coming from the developers of Dorframontik and the well-known YouTube channel kurzgesagt – in a nutshell, Star Bird has you base building on astroids for interstellar birds of the kurzgesagt art style. Just another showcase of what is to come in 2025 to Steam, I still want to see more about it or maybe get a feel for it ahead of release.

An adorable train-based life-sim? How do I hit “Add to Wishlist harder?” Green Tile Digital’s second game Locomoto is bright, colorful, and very exciting as you play as the train’s conductor and you “Customise and manage your train.” From finding items, moving luggage, and even building the furniture for your train cabins, I didn’t know I wanted something so much, but I do! Stunning, beautiful, and I can’t wait!

I swear we’ve seen NAIAD before, that beautiful top-down game where you swim through rivers. I’m not too sure. One thing I am sure of though is that HiWarp’s NAIAD is out now on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS5/PS4, and Xbox Series X|S.

More wholesome than a James Stewart film, A Waddleful Life is a charming little game by Shaky Shrub Games where you play as a duck (I said duck not the other one auto-correct, I promise) as she raises her little ducklings. Very few details are available right now, but I’m excited to see more when we get to A Waddleful Life.

From the creators of Journey, free-to-play MMO adventure Sky: Children of the Light which is available across mobile, Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PS4/5 was showcased. Mostly highlighting a new event happening later in the month, you can “Fall down the Crabbit Hole” on December 23rd to be part of the Alice in Wonderland Cafe event.

Cozy pinball in a pastel neighborhood in a game about rebuilding the town, can you name a more Wholesome Snack game? Pinbleton Park is exactly that. Coming from solo developer Turtlesoup Games, you’ll meet and help the people of the town to halt the corporate overlords from destroying your charming little home/pinball table. Something tells me Wholesome isn’t so wholesome when it comes to corporations. Releasing sometime next year, we’ll find out more about Pinbleton Park in 2025.

Going back to 2001, you’ll play as a young boy who is obsessed with a round ball you kick with your feet, you might even call it a football. Despelote is something we’ve seen a lot of throughout the Wholesome Directs/Snacks, but we’re finally getting closer to the release. Set to release on the Nintendo Switch, “PlayStation, Xbox” and PC, Despelote is coming sometime in “early 2025.”

Back to the chibi/anime farming/life sims with farming and maybe a bit of that kissing I’ve heard ROSÉ sing about a lot, Sugardew Island – Your Cozy Farm Shop is a Stardew/Harvest Moon type with a side of extra Stardew. Charming and delightful, Sugardew Island is set to release on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, and Xbox Series X|S. Speaking of release, Sugardew will be coming sometime in March of 2025, with Silver Lining Interactive set to release a PS5 and Nintendo Switch physical edition, though no word on when that will be.

Coming from Wylde Flowers developer Studio Drydock Pty Ltd, Wylde Society takes you from cozy cottagecore lesbian farming sim to cozy (possibly lesbian) “period drama sim” with a hint of the witchy vibes. Set sometime around the early 20th century, you’ll be part of high society on a secluded island for witches. Not really a trailer of gameplay and if I’m honest, we didn’t get many details, but certainly something to keep an eye out for, or maybe overhead as these witches do enjoy a broom ride.

If that wasn’t enough, the final game of the showcase was from Something We Made, developers of the wonderful monochromatic photojournalism simulator, TOEM. Announcing TOEM 2, it was one of those “we’re making it, will you shut up and leave us alone now” trailers. Of course, there are no details to really speak of, but certainly something to get excited about as it follows on from the highly acclaimed TOEM.

Of course, as always, you can check out the full Wholesome Snack: The Game Awards Edition below. You can also tell us down below what games you are most excited for from this showcase. Personally? Tales of Seikyu, Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping, Little Rocket Lab, and Locomoto.