so, i ♡ lists: top 5 little indie games i adore
Not only of books lives a nerdy young woman! I also play a lot of games and, as a graphic designer, I'm fascinated by anything colorful and artfully composed. So, because my little crow brain likes to collect stuff, I collect things I like through lists!!
And where better to start than my ultimate gaming passion: cozy indie games. I've played some, not a lot, but enough to really like the genre, so here's 5 charming games if you want to start somewhere (in no particular order).
Oh yeah, I couldn't start this without making a shoutout to the OG cozy game, Stardew Valley, which catapulted me into this whole thing to begin with. Even after more than 360 hours into this game it still feels new, and the love ConcernedApe has for his creation is felt through every pixel art and dialogue. Definitely a classic for me.
In honour of this amazing thing getting a sequel(!!!!) let's start with one of the most charming indie games I've played. In this game, you are a little creature that takes on a journey to snap photos and climb a mountain to experience "TOEM", whatever that could mean.
Through helping other beings and fulfilling requests with your photos, we are encouraged to take our time discovering every nook and cranny of various places, and to capture warm memories along the way.
TOEM is a very short but rewarding experience, great for casual gamers looking for a very low stakes adventure and completionist people that love to uncover every secret and achievement. The puzzles aren't hard but offer a nice challenge sometimes, too. God, I can't wait for the sequel!!!!
You can find TOEM on Steam, the Switch e-shop and other consoles.
This is one of the quintessential cozy games, that is full to the brim with cuteness and the childlike wonder of exploring. In A Short Hike, you are Claire, a crow-like bird that wants to hike up to the top of Hawk Peak in order to get better cellphone signal. But the path is not easy, and as you explore the little island you're in, helping strangers along the way and collecting feathers to make you fly better and higher, you truly understand how a journey is not about its ending.
Amongst beautiful scenery, charming characters and a fantastic soundtrack, I wish I could get lost in this island and never come back to the real world. The only fault of this game is that it ends, but it had to end at some point. This one is also perfect for those who like to explore places and admire views, but there are platforming aspects that offer different challenges than TOEM. In my opinion, it's the perfect game to introduce someone new to gaming, with its calm atmosphere and forgiving controls.
You can find A Short Hike on Steam, the Switch e-shop and other consoles.
Now for a change of pace. Coffee Talk is also an amazing introductory game for those wanting to experience visual novels but aren't used to just blocks and blocks of dialogue. With great pixel art to make the plot even more palatable and a nice little minigame, we can fulfill our secret dream of absconding from our regular lives to buy a café and befriend our customers.
The story is simple but actually really interesting, spinning the magical realism and intertwining real-life issues in a really nice way, albeit very on the nose lol :v our regulars are from various fantasy races, like elves, orcs and such, and as we get to know them their struggles feel very real; it's so easy to get attached to them it's crazy. And as your café becomes a safe space for introspection and different problems, you too start to wish for a place like this in real life.
Coffee Talk episode 2 is also very good despite adding little in terms of game mechanics, but I find that formula to be very nice already, so it's a nice playthrough too.
You can find Coffee Talk episode 1 and 2 on Steam, the Switch e-shop and other consoles.
Our last two games involve organizing, but in very different ways. Wilmot's Warehouse is a very simple and square puzzle game with a humorous plotline: you are a very dedicated employee of an Amazon-esque platform, and your sole job is to organize the shop's goods in a warehouse and quickly attend to your other colleagues.
As you get through days of work and upgrades to help you in the warehouse, the game gets more and more chaotic. Some people find this game too fast paced and say they feel anxious playing, which is totally fair, so this might not be your jam. I can just speak for myself, but as someone extremely anxious, especially while gaming, Wilmot's Warehouse was surprisingly soothing. The learning curve was easy and the game encourages you to play more than a single time, so the pressure of the timer got overruled by the satisfaction of organizing boxes by color or by vaguely defined themes.
You can find Wilmot's Warehouse on Steam, the Switch e-shop and other consoles.
But if Wilmot's Warehouse is too much and reminds you of your day job, that's not a problem at all! Unpacking still gives you the joy of organizing but in a much more casual and story-driven way. Through a photo album we follow the growth of a kid into an adult in different homes through her life, organizing her belongings in their right places but also with our own personal way of organizing.
This window into someone's life through only their belongings is at the same time very personal and very universal, with a lot of nostalgia sprinkled in every book, plushy and coffee cup. Makes you want to revisit all the places that were once "yours", no matter how simple or small they were. What was important and not important, the person you grew into as the years went by.
Unpacking is a short game made for everyone, from the clean freaks that will organize every book by size and color to those who will put the diary below the pillow because they did so in their youth.
And with that, I finish this list! It was so nice revisiting games I've already played but weren't long or profound enough for a post. I love sharing my favorite experiences with people, so I hope any of you that finds this thing feel joy and warmth playing any of these games. Until the next one :)
You can find Unpacking on Steam, the Switch e-shop, other consoles and mobile devices.
