Hands-on with Cozy Playtest is here, where I discuss several games I have had the pleasure to playtest. I’ve followed LadiesGamers for the longest time so what better place to write about my experiences than here!
Hands-on with Cozy Playtests
I had the opportunity to playtest 4 cozy games on Steam recently: Muri:Wildwoods, Glintseeker Island, Animalkind, and Sheepherds! None of these games are available for purchase yet. A game developer chooses to have a playtest when the game is getting close to release. At that time, people who are unfamiliar with the game are invited to play a small portion of it and offer their suggestions and feedback. I like playtesting because I get to meet and converse with others who enjoy the same type of games that I do. Plus, sometimes I get to influence the final version of a game through my suggestions. Nice!
Muri: Wildwoods by Speldosa
Firstly, I playtested Muri: Wildwoods by Speldosa and really liked it. This developer had previously released Project Shoreline as a free proof of concept game. Muri: Wildwoods runs with that idea and hits a home run!
In the game, you are cleaning up a corrupted world with an adjustable spray water gun. You are a Muri, a really cute fictional character. In the playtest, we got to clean 2 areas of the world as well as befriend, pet, and clean cute little critters. The game devs have chosen to separate the world into small areas to be cleaned. When each area was totally clean, lovely plants would bloom, and the area became beautiful! I found it very satisfying and was thrilled to experience feelings of accomplishment over and over again. In fact, I played the playtest twice in a row, and it was so much fun.
There is some mild platforming in Muri: Wildwoods, but nothing too intense. According to the Steam page, in the full game, there will be many more puzzles and adventures. I am definitely looking forward to the final release of this game. In the meantime, I encourage you to play Project Shoreline, which has the same basic mechanics, and it’s free!
Glintseeker Island by Half Soup Labs
Next, I playtested Glintseeker Island. It’s a mining game with a really unique mechanic. First, you enter a cave where you have to deal with enemies. In general, I don’t like combat in my games, but these enemies were not hard to defeat at all. At least not in the game levels I was able to try! Once you have defeated them, you can make your way to sparkling spots on the mine walls, which indicate there is something special in there. You hit those spots with your pickaxe and are greeted by a mini game where you are told how many treasures are hidden there. You have a certain number of hits you can use to try and release the treasures before the wall collapses. You get to keep as many as you release. It’s quite addictive and requires some strategic planning!
Once you have your treasures, you have another puzzle in which you must arrange them to fit in the spots in your backpack. Whatever does not fit has to be left behind! So another mini game, which requires planning and strategy. There’s also a village; the playtest only let me see a small portion of it. It looks like there will be various NPCs to interact with and some interesting buildings. I was able to interact with the shop owner (to buy and sell items) and the blacksmith during my playtest.
I usually play very simple games that are not heavy on strategy. However, Glintseeker Island is different from my regular choices. Near the end of the playtest, things got more complex, and I got a bit confused. Another playtester helped me, which was sweet. I asked the devs if they thought the game was beyond my capabilities, and they said it probably needed more instructions in the tutorial for players like me. They said they intend to add this to the final version. I hope they will, because I really liked the game and would definitely play it if it was “dumbed down” a bit for me! Maybe they could implement an easy mode? But for players who often play highly strategic games, I think Glintseeker Island would be perfect as is.
Animalkind by Uncommon Games
I also playtested Animalkind by Uncommon Games. You can play as a cat, dog, or raccoon. It’s an open-world game with lots of NPCs to interact with. Animalkind involves quests, crafting, fishing, and cultivating food, plus town building! What makes this game unique is that your animal can jump inside a mech, giving them the use of opposable thumbs! I play with a controller, but unfortunately, the game is not fully optimized for controller support yet.
The developers know the controller support is not acceptable yet and are working on that. Because of this limitation, I could not do everything that non-controller testers could. I did have fun with the activities I could partake in, and I can also tell you that the other playtesters absolutely love this game!! The world is bright and colorful, and the NPCs are cute. I look forward to trying it again when the controller support is fully implemented. The developers are paying close attention to what the testers are saying and are already improving the UI and QOL experience in other ways, too. I expect Animalkind will be a great game when it’s completed, and by the way, it’s multiplayer too.
Sheepherds! by Ultimo Disco
Finally, I playtested the game Sheepherds! by Ultimo Disco. In Sheepherds! you are a dog, and your task is herding sheep. This game can be played individually or in multiplayer in co-op mode. In all levels I played, I was herding sheep into a barn. I believe that’s the main gameplay element in this game. As the playtest progressed, there were harder and harder tasks. For example, one level required me to herd a certain number of pink sheep into the barn. The sheep begin as white, but I can make them pink by herding them through a field of red flowers. But….if the sheep go in the water, they become white again!
Each level of Sheepherds! was standalone with different landscapes, but the same basic goal. Get the sheep into the barn! Another level required me to herd a certain number of lavender sheep into the barn. To do that, I first had to herd the white sheep through red flowers and then blue ones. Quite a challenge!
You also receive interesting dog goodies such as colorful outfits and unique skins as you complete levels, which is fun!
The graphics in Sheepherds! were really cute, and I’m sure many players will have a great time playing. I loved how once you got some sheep into their barn, new sheep dropped down from the sky to take their places. Too funny! However, I don’t do well with fast-paced games, so I found myself way out of my element. That’s a ME problem, not a you problem. I also think if I played in co-op mode, it would have been more enjoyable to me, but again, that’s a ME problem!! Don’t let it stop you from trying the Sheepherds! demo. If you like fast-paced games like Lemon Cake, you’ll enjoy this game.
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