It’s that time of year when LadiesGamers looks forward to watching the Wholesome Direct. It is dedicated to bringing us the cosiest games in the video game showcase.
Since LadiesGamers is all about cosy wholesome games on Steam and Switch, we feel it is essential to highlight the direct, as the gaming world is flooded with many violent shooters or war games, generally from big developers.
The Wholesome Direct goes in an entirely different direction, featuring non-violent games from indie developers worldwide. With so many games shown in the Wholesome Direct, we can’t mention them all here; they all look great. Let’s look at what stood out to us during the Direct.
Grimoire Groves
Grimore Groves is a sweet-looking adventure game. Play as a witch who grows cute plant creatures with your magic in this cosy rogue-lite dungeon crawler. Craft powerful spells and items, discover new plant types, befriend magical creatures, and restore the magical forest.
You’ll unlock all your magical witch spells and complete the grimoire. Then you can mix and match different spells to find your brand of witch magic and master the balance between all four elements.
Flutter Away
Flutter Away is another adventure game where you take a walk on the nearby tracks and enjoy the beauty and the serenity of the Amazon rainforest at whatever pace is most comfortable. Encounter all kinds of creatures and plant life. Build a friendship with a shy Capybara and discover her secret!
Tiny Bookshop
Tiny Bookshop is an RPG simulation set in picturesque places around Bookstonbury that offer characters to meet and stories to discover as you become part of the community.
Where you will go daily, which items you bring, and how you interact with the people around you all shape the town’s stories and your own.
Station to Station
Station to Station is a voxel simulation puzzle game from Galaxy Grove. In the game, you connect stations to small rural settlements to create growth and expansion.
Hop on board and steam through colourful biomes. Breathe life into the desert sands, and transform the untamed mountain terrain. Build and watch your peaceful world come to life with an ever-widening tapestry of flora and fauna!
Pekoe
Pekoe is a cute-looking game full of cats. As the town’s newest resident and teahouse owner, you’ll learn everything about tea.
Learn new rituals and tea-making styles to make an endless combination of recipes. Build relationships with the townsfolk, and visit their teahouses to purchase exclusive teaware and ingredients.
Garden Buddies
Simplicity reigns supreme in Garden Buddies, a farming life simulation, allowing you to unwind and immerse yourself in soothing gameplay.
The game will have intuitive mechanics and a user-friendly interface that effortlessly guides your journey, encouraging relaxation and focusing on the captivating experience that awaits.
Loftia
Lofia is a cosy MMO set in a relaxing solar punk world – find your new home, contribute to the community, and embark on adventures together.
As of yet, there isn’t a Steam page where you can Wishlist the game. However, there is a Kickstarter campaign; you can find more details here.
Smushi Come Home
Smushi Come Home is a cosy exploration adventure game where you play as a tiny, tiny cute mushroom trying to get back home.
Lost and confused, you must journey through different forest areas and find your way back with the help of your new tools and fellow forest creatures. Run, Glide, Climb, and Swim your way through different forest areas.
Kibu
Kibu is a tranquil adventure in the heart of the wilderness, developed by Studio Inkyfox. As a solitary monk, you must build a temple, brew delicious teas, and journey into the wilds seeking out ancient spirits. Carve out your particular corner of the home in a beautiful, mysterious land.
Go-Go Town
One quick phone call and congratulations, you are the new mayor of Go-Go Town. Go-Go Town is a rundown tourism destination. With some guidance from the elderly residents of Go-Go Town, you’ll soon learn the ‘ins and outs’ of being town Mayor, starting with constructing and repairing buildings. It’s all in the name of encouraging more tourists to visit.
Yvonne played the demo of Go-Go Town. You can find her thoughts on the demo here.
The Guardian of Nature
The Guardian of Nature is an exploration adventure game. Go with the botanist Henry on a magical journey to save the mother tree. Use your ability to change in size to explore nature from big to small and solve solar punk puzzles to put nature back in order.
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley is a musical adventure game in which Snufkin needs to restore the harmony of Moominvalley after a series of grotesque parks have appeared and ruined the valley’s natural balance.
The game is an ambient and wholesome experience for kids and adults and combines open-world mechanics with puzzles, stealth and melodic elements. I remember reading the Moomin books to my daughter when she was a young child; that’s quite a time ago.
Quilts & Cats of Calico
Quilts & Cats of Calico is a digital adaptation of the award-winning puzzle board game for one to four players. Meet adorable cats and sew the cosiest quilts. Compete with other players in multiplayer mode, play solo, or delve into the story of a quilter sewing their way through the city of cats.
Mina played the demo of Quilts & Cats of Calico and gave us her thoughts on it here.
Botany Manor
Botany Manor is an exploration-puzzle game set in the 19th century, where you play as a retired botanist called Arabella Greene.
Explore a complete historical English manor and its grounds. There are many rooms and gardens to discover, all set inside a beautiful countryside surrounding. Botany Manor is a relaxing and peaceful environment; feel free to stop and smell the roses.
We looked at the demo for Botany Manor, and you can find Yvonne’s thoughts here.find Yvonne’s thoughts here.
This link will take you to the Wholesome Direct Steam page, where all the games are listed. Why not try out some demos that are available to play during the Steam Next Fest? For those who missed the Wholesome Direct, the full showcase is below. Enjoy!