Where Hidden in my Paradise shines is that it is artistically intricate but mechanically simple. It strikes an excellent balance in its difficulty level across the board, in my opinion never straying into either hidden object extreme — you know, the old, “This is so simple that I might as well not be playing anything at all,” or the classic, “I just spent 30 minutes searching for one item and, actually, who made this cruel game? The DEVIL?” Its middle-of-the-road difficulty makes it approachable, but at the same time it gets a bump in complexity from having multiple objectives (hidden objects, fairies, snaps, and chests) in each level as well as the creative sandbox mode that can add hours of additional gameplay. It brings all these elements together seamlessly and with great charm, and I loved experiencing for myself via the sandbox mode just how painstakingly designed each level must have been created by Ogre Pixel.
Mail Time is so far one of my favorite cozy games of 2023. And this is a cozy game — to a T. There's no violence — well, I mean, there is, unfortunately, a landlord, plus an offbeat caterpillar named Soks who might throw a real stinging quip or two your way. But in this casual platformer and collect-a-thon, there are no timers or penalties on your quests, no fall damage taken when you accidentally glide straight past your destination, and no real way to fail. It's a game where the biggest challenge is picking the cutest outfit, knapsack, and glider combo within the character creator. In short, Mail Time isn't perfect — but it's a two- to three-hour quest for joy and neighborly connection, and there's nothing wrong with that.
At its core, Exocolonist is a fascinating story about collective survival, finding harmony with the planet, and how a blank slate for humanity is, well, not really a blank slate at all. The memory of the crumbling planet Earth pursues these colonists, literally. And with the colony constantly on the brink of disaster, the old systems of militarization, power imbalances and overconsumption of resources starts to make a tempting appearance. It’s up to you as the player, and as part of the colony, to decide if you’re willing to give into that ghost of a collapsing society or if it’s better to try something new.
In short: if you have 1 - 3 friends, love punny restaurant names and micromanagement, and are unafraid of failure, put PlateUp! on the menu. And for the love of all that is holy, please look out for those beige puddles the customers left on the floor. We really don’t know what’s in them, but judging by the sound effects, it can’t be anything good.
Whether you’re jumping into the game for a few hours of a campground romp, or you’re craving a new ambient game that you can return to when you want to turn your brain off, Haven Park fits the bill.