Mutazione
This game. I don’t know how to summarise it in a way that does it justice, I just loved it so much. Technically, I guess it’s a walking sim with interactive “soap opera” and garden sim minigames? But I’ve played walking sims, I’ve played interactive fiction, I’ve even played garden sim minigames, and this is really something else - even besides the fact that it’s extremely well done and polished to near perfection.
The unique art style, sort of minimal but very expressive. The story about a community of outsiders. The characters and dialogues that feel so real. The way the characters are animated. The fact that they hired someone for wildlife animations, and it was totally worth it. The encyclopedia of local plants that you can browse through. The musical gardens that you can design and tend to as much or as little as you please, then you pass by the gardens you created or sit in them with people, and you can see how you left your traces in that little world. The balance between light-heartedness and serious topics like grief and failure. The light and colours during the different times of the day. The main character’s journal notes. All the cute details. I think I screenshot like half of the game. There’s so much that’s just so immensely adorable.
– Real player with 28.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Relaxing Atmospheric Games.
You don’t play Mutazione, you live in Mutazione
INTRO
Mutazione is an indie gem, a wonderful game or maybe more like an experience. It’s extremely chill game and relaxing experience.
I can’t actually define it by genre, it’s kind of a point&click, narrative, gardening, mystery game?
STORY
You play as Kai – a simple girl who loves swimming. After the meteor hit a small town, mutants started appearing there and they live there on that destroyed island. So Kai travels there to see her ill grandpa. This is when your weird journey begins. You meet your grandpa of course and learn that he has been severely ill and he asks you for help to take care of a garden. You and Kai have no idea why at first of course, but it all makes sense in the end.
– Real player with 19.4 hrs in game
Unpacking
Unpacking is a gem. It’s a puzzle/discovery game with gorgeous art and great sound. In Unpacking, you’ll unpack the main character’s stuff during the moves she makes in her life - from moving into her own room as a child, to going to university, and beyond. My favorite part of the game is how you’ll learn bits and pieces about her every time you pull something out of the moving box, and see her grow and change throughout her life, all without ever seeing her on screen. It’s a subtle, yet beautiful, way to build a narrative.
– Real player with 7.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Relaxing Pixel Graphics Games.
This game is way too small.
I paid A$ 28.95 for a 3 - 4 hour game. You can 100% this game in under 10 hours.
I understand that you can only do so much with such a simple concept, but that still doesn’t justify the price-to-gameplay ratio being so low.
It doesn’t have a whole lot of replayability either. The concept is neat, and the execution is well done. However it needs much more content to be considered a good game.
I suggest the developers build on the concept a little, maybe double down on the puzzle portion in later levels; perhaps some levels the boxes don’t start in their corresponding rooms and you have to figure out where they go. Something like that to add some more content.
– Real player with 7.3 hrs in game
Cozy Grove
I love this game, and if you like games like Animal Crossing you will probably like it too.
It is a cute little game which allows you to help out ghosts by fulfilling the tasks they give you.
You also build a camp for yourself, take care of animals, harvest plants and flowers, decorate the island etc.
Everyday you get a few tasks and some things you can harvest, but after those are done you may have to wait till tomorrow to get new ones, so the game is more of a gradual story and a slow burn (which I like a lot because I do not have the time for major games at the moment).
– Real player with 97.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Relaxing Hidden Object Games.
A lovely game with interesting new ideas, stymied by poor design decisions that make it a chore. If you like Stardew Valley type games, and don’t mind the restrictions usually found on mobile, it could be for you.
Good:
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Interesting characters, a slow burn unravelling of their stories
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A nice ‘illumination’ mechanic whereby helping spirits each day lights up the area and enables resource harvesting. Feels rewarding and like you’re making progress.
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Lots of outfits and recipes to collect for collector / crafter types
– Real player with 75.3 hrs in game
PLAYNE : The Meditation Game
There is great irony to be had with this game, but first let me tell you of some of the positive things you can do. I can only speak to the non VR aspects, so if you have a fancy magic goggle machine I can’t help you with that but I will ooh and ahh appropriately. This “game” will help you to meditate and build habits through repetition so that it becomes an actual part of your life if you choose it to be. You can customize aspects of it, like reducing clutter/instructions while meditating - as, for some people, seeing words/visuals on the screen is going to make thoughts form which is counter to your goal. The more you meditate the more you progress in the game (unlocking environmental features which can be switched off or on after unlocking, as well as new game modes). Basically, in a nutshell, this game has real life usefulness and it’s pretty chill…
– Real player with 700.5 hrs in game
I’ve meditated, but I never RTFM.. even on Day 1 in Playne I continued the pattern of bringing the struggle into the solace. ADHD. 10 of 10 Tinnitus. Extreme anxiety as an effect of the tandem devils. I learned that my Tinnitus therapy noises were in fact me meditating all this time, but when I tried to ‘meditate’ in title I was pushing it all wrong. The very focus for another purpose was in fact meditation. This is how I know already on Day 2 where I stand and where this is going: This is Skinner Box conditioning psychology that unlike F2P/P2W games is built for the power of good. At last, someone took all this psychology and used it right.
– Real player with 95.3 hrs in game
Aery - Sky Castle
An excellent indie game with decent graphics at the level of serious projects, I really liked the views that you can see, especially if you look closely. I want to note the good control, but unfortunately it is only on the keyboard, and not on the mouse as in other parts. If you’ve played other series in this game, you’ll need to get used to the new mechanics. This game is very good at responding to the outside world and is very relaxing. I also want to note how well the colors are chosen, especially considering that this game is very abstract. The eyes do not get tired even after a long game, and all this is due to the soft colors. Before you start playing, I highly recommend brewing some tea and grabbing some biscuits to get a feel for the atmosphere that has been very well portrayed here. Strongly recommend to purchase.
– Real player with 15.6 hrs in game
Before us is a rather unusual game. I was looking for a game where you can relax and forget about all the problems, and so I came across it. After playing it, I was hooked, and I could not tear myself away. Let’s move on to the components of the game:
- Gameplay. In the game we have to play as a bird, fly across large maps and collect feathers. In the process, we will be told a story, but more on that later. The gameplay itself is pretty simple, and mastering the controls doesn’t take long. Thanks to this, the game allows us to really relax. There are no complaints about the gameplay.
– Real player with 12.7 hrs in game
Alexey’s Winter: Night adventure
I enjoyed playing this short point and click game. The hand drawn scenes have a great sense of place and the snow gives shivery cold feeling so I really felt sorry for the main character locked out of his apartment. The music was a good match for the game. The dialogue was very funny and endearing.
I had a small technical problem with my computer before I could play this game but the devs were really helpful and responsive so that the game works as it should now.
I hope the developers add some more episodes as I would definitely play them.
– Real player with 20.5 hrs in game
Alexey’s Winter: Night adventure is a very short point & click adventure set in the 1989’s USSR. The game was initially launched in 2017 on the mobile platform and gained positive feedback from the players. At a later date, it received a second episode (and as of Sep 26 2021 a third one) and underwent several design changes. This version was now ported to Steam as a paid item, while the mobile one remains free but was reverted back to one episode only.
The story follows Alexey’s troubles during one cold winter night, trying to get back his lost apartment keys. After a series of intricate puzzles he manages to regain access to his home, only to find out that in the meantime his TV was stolen. This sets the plot for the second and third episodes, which are slightly longer than the first one.
– Real player with 11.1 hrs in game
Who Stole My Beard?
I have been playing this game for the last 2 days and just completed it, plus all the side quests and every achievement.
The Good
–——–
Overall - It is a very charming game. Lots to do, good amount of play time for the money and lots of variety in terms of mini games, quests and areas to discover. Also it is pretty funny in places (I laughed a few times), has many unique characters and lots of little cute pop culture references and quirky aspects - like the changing pictures each day based on time travel movies and passing references to TV shows like The Wire
– Real player with 17.9 hrs in game
This game has been so much fun. Very reminiscent of classic RPG’s that we all grew up with. I love the mystery, all the puzzles and police adventures, the story line was great and cute music soundtracks.
The developer has even put it on sale, you really cannot go wrong with this purchase. Also check out the NFT’s available. One of a kind :)
– Real player with 16.9 hrs in game
The Palace on the Hill
Play as a teenage boy who uses his passion for art to escape poverty.
Set in a small and secluded hillside village in India, overlooked by the ruins of a 15th century palace The Palace on the Hill is a cozy management game which follows the story of a young boy, Vir as he discovers his passion for painting stories.
Made with beautiful painted 2D graphics, you explore ruins, meet people, set up a farm, manage a tea shop, fish, and run errands.
The unique mechanic in this game takes the branching narrative style of storytelling and applies it to create paintings inspired by Indian miniature art.
The paintings, each depicting a particular event in history, are strung together to form a story of the past.
Each painting can have hundreds of possible combinations of choices which helps in creating a unique experience for each player.
Hanako’s flower shop
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1529640
Hanako’s flower shop is a story about a girl Hanako who runs a flower shop. Inspired by her grandfather, who is an outstanding florist himself, she is putting all her efforts to bring a smile to faces of her customers. She listens to their stories and tries to understand what is happening in their hearts in order to express these feelings via yet another intricate bouquet.
FEATURES
- A unique mechanic of composing a bouquet based on flowers language;
- An eye-catching anime-like bright and pleasant visuals;
- A non-linear story shaped by your choices;
- A variety of characters of different ages, social positions, goals, problems and ways of overcoming them.
Promesa
Promesa is a work of art and art can be divisive. I would even go as far as to say that this is not a videogame in a classic sense. It’s more of an experience and a very slow one at that. During this experience I had the feeling of visiting scenes of memories and dreams from someone else. These scenes often felt very much lifelike thanks to the stunning environments but at the same time there was always something “off”. A strange feeling and sensation, just like in a real dream. Some environments even felt familiar to me. Above all else, this feels like a very personal experience that can be compared to a painting. The artstyle in Promesa is truly stunning and I enjoyed the scenery and accoustic environment very much.
– Real player with 7.5 hrs in game
I completed a play-through of Promesa and I have no idea what just happened. I spent about 40 minutes walking forward at a generally slow pace through a series of doors and scenes. Some are created with great detail, while others are very impressionistic. There was an occasional bit of stream-of-consciousness narrative about growing old and looking back. And, in the background, an interesting sound track of instrumentals and ambient noise.
As an artistic piece, it is interesting and certainly combines various styles and textures (in terms of sights and sounds). But, as art goes, some ‘get it’ and others do not. I fall into the latter category, as I did not come away with any meaningful emotional reaction or any sense of cohesive threads within the game.
– Real player with 3.2 hrs in game