Puzzling Places – 3D Jigsaw Sim is a great puzzle game; it’s a great diorama game. The game is polished from the main menu to the controls and the chill soundtrack. I love the customization options for the puzzles, the sounds, and the little elements. I’ve been savoring the 18 puzzles we have for now and am eagerly awaiting future content updates.
It is quite fitting that our first true customer is someone familiar – it sets the tone of the game- we are in familiar cozy waters, but it won’t be quite the same as before. There are new things to learn and hear, new friends to meet, and new faces to remember. The Coffee Talk games are very dear to me, always a comforting gaming experience, which I continue to return to. It was a relief when Coffee Talk Tokyo was announced, and now I am ecstatic to report that the new game is just as good as the others. If you loved the originals, I think you’ll absolutely love Coffee Talk Tokyo too.
Hidden Things: Beach Elves is the perfect bite-sized gaming treat to help you relax after work—especially as you welcome the summer months.
Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts might be a bit of a niche game, but if you are in the mood for humor and creativity and you are in a medieval mood, Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts might just be the game for you.
Despite its espionage and politics intrigue, The Abbess Garden is a cozy little retreat of greennery and flowers, that offers a reprieve from the real world. We can garden to our hearts content, at our own pace. We can progress the story whenever we want, or just spent hours wandering about our little garden. If you like narrative-driven, nature inspired games, give The Abbess Garden a try, you might love it as well.
I’ve been in the mood for a good detective story for a while now, and thankfully, Feline Forensics and the Meowseum Mystery didn’t disappoint me. I hope the game is successful enough for the developers to give us another chance to investigate crimes with this particular cat detective.
Cats Around Us: Black Cat is a delightful mini-game inviting you to discover hidden cats and solve fun jigsaw puzzles. It may not reinvent the wheel, but it offers a charming escape that brightens any busy workday.
Moving Day: Make it Home is a down-to-basics interior design game. While there are more polished examples of the genre available, Moving Day: Make it Home can still scratch an itch. For its price and with tempered expectations, it can offer a few hours of mindless fun in cleaning and rearranging furniture to your heart’s content, if you don’t mind the basic options.
Cats and Seek: Osaka is yet another hidden-object game centered on cats. If you need something short but fun, give Cats and Seek: Osaka a try.
Cats and Seek: Toge Land is yet another hidden-object game centered on cats. If you need something short but fun, give Cats and Seek: Toge Land a try.
If you like educational games and sea creatures, and if you are in the mood for some calm and contemplative gaming experience, take a look at Turquoise. You will probably enjoy it.
I love adventure games, have a soft spot for trains, and especially enjoy the combination of the two. It sounds like a niche genre, but this is actually my third “murder investigation” on a train, after 2024’s Loco Motive and 2023’s Murder on the Orient Express. Each of those games brings something new to the table, and Moses & Plato – Last Train to Clawville is certainly one of the more unique spins on the story. I hope this is not the last I’ve seen from Moses and Plato.
A Storied Life: Tabitha is, without a doubt, a charming game, even with its somewhat heavy subject. While part of life, the topic of death and what we leave behind is never easy. Still, the game manages the topic with grace. It turns something heartbreaking into something positive, showing that we always leave something behind in the relationships we forge and the people who love us. If you are in the mood for a thoughtful and wholesome narrative puzzle game, I urge you to try A Storied Life: Tabitha. I think there’s no reason you won’t like it as much as I did.
Hozy was one of my most anticipated games of the year, and it didn’t disappoint at all. The developers have promised extra content down the line, but even now, the game is just cozy enough to replay each level, without hurrying, leisurely, cozily. If you like interior design games and you are in the mood for something short, but very cute, Hozy is definitely worth a look.
Clean Up Earth is easily one of my “podcast games”- I load up a podcast or an audiobook and start the game. It is a beautiful, vibrant game, but unfortunately, the inability to skip levels or at least have a hint system if you get stuck means you might not be able to finish it. Still, if you are willing to take that risk and you need a new, relaxing, and satisfying experience that doesn’t involve cleaning in real life, Clean Up Earth might be the game for you.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Seclusa, and there are still things to learn about photography there, so I know I will return. If you are curious about photography, if you like natural beauty and animals, if you need a distraction from the busy real life, Seclusa might just be the little break you need.
Pieced Together is a cozy and gentle scrapbooking puzzle game with a poignant story about friendship and growing older. It offers us a few hours of dreamy distraction from the real world, allowing us to immerse ourselves in the friendship of Connie and Beth and perhaps to recall our own childhood friends and simpler times.
Esoteric Ebb quickly became a favorite game. Its sharp wit, outlandish characters, and endless Cleric choices are magnetic. Early on, I knew it stood out—what’s not to love about a game where fleeing from a goblin queen is on the table, even if I fail spectacularly?
Gameplay-wise, Bits & Bops might not be to everybody’s taste, but still, it’s a game well worth trying. In general, I don’t like failing a lot in games; I don’t find it particularly entertaining or relaxing to be stuck on a level, but Bits & Bops is charming and colorful enough to make me want to try again and again
If you like collecting things and opening packages and clicker games, Unboxathon might be the game for you – it is a well-made game, with a pleasant soundtrack and enough achievements to keep you going for a while.