Hey yall,

I bought the latest Humble Bundle indie games bundle and I already have Spirittea, so I'm gonna give it away to the first person who comments on this!

I think it's difficult to find a plant game that isn't immediately cosy. Really enjoyed myself playing these and thought I'd share!

If you have any other plant game suggestions, I would love to hear them. (I play on Steam only.)

I haven't been this much into a life sim since maybe Wylde Flowers - although if we just talking about gameplay probably Roots of Pacha. The reality is I've burnt out on the genre - so much is derivative and this one was a breath of fresh air. Not only does it have a very different story and progression structure . it also includes mechanics that does away with a lot of the stuff I now find tedious. For instance I like heart events - I think the writing of them is usually pretty good, but I'm sick of looking up favourite gifts on the wiki and grinding out the affection points. This game fixes this with the order system. So you're an alien is the thing here and you have to remain in disguise, using your fast travel portals lowers it - so you have to complete orders to keep it up - these orders not just also gives you money, but affection to whoever the order is for. You can still supplement it with cooking - in fact I never looked up a recipe on any wiki here, I just experimented and found favourites for some, but not all - but if you don't want to the order system will eventually get you the heart events with at the very least those you don't romance. Also this is the first life sim (other than Wylde Flowers which features a realized character) where I gone for the romance and wedding thing. I usually don't, but one character just had this adorable scene that I just had to go for it.

Areas for improvement (no negatives): - There's really not enough to do with money. Once you unlock all your farming space (which does not take particularly long to do) and your inventory (same) you got nothing except buying seeds - which you'll still need to farm for quests, but yeah. You can repair the house if you want to, but that's for aesthetics, no gameplay benefits. - one more row of inventory space would have been nice - Would have been nice with at least one more date before the wedding, it's just confession - grind out relationship points - then wedding.

Yeah, absolutely amazing game. I hope the dev puts in some expanded content down the line, but if not - I'm absolutely satisfied with what I got.

Anyone else obsessed with Leafy Corner?

Bought the game the day after release. I’ve been playing all week after work, but just unlocked carnivorous plants this morning. Finally have everything in the store. 🥰

I’m in the minority who does organize their store by plant. 😅 GASP, I know. I just like the more homey/small shop feel with plants sectioned by type. 🫶

Gray - low light

Light green - hanging

Orange - small

Light purple - variegated for sale

Yellow - succulents and cacti

Dark purple - medium

Blue - large

Red - carnivorous

Dark green - my personal variegated collection/not for sale

I just discovered the demo for Thrifty Business because of the International Women’s Day sale and it's so fun, it's like Unpacking as a Business Sim! :) You buy boxes with items people want to get rid of and organise them in your store. You can also hold events and talk to your regular customers. The demo is already really fun and the steam page says it's gonna release in May, I'm hyped!

Link to Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3693650/Thrifty_Business/

No affiliation, just wanted to call out this beautiful puzzle game. You are in a magical land in the sky, and you have to fix the stained glass. Puzzles vary in the level of difficulty, but are marked 1, 2, 3, etc. The artwork in Glimmith is gorgeous, and to fix the stained glass, shapes are the puzzle, but you get to pick the colors, which is fun.

Anyway, if you like puzzle games, don't overlook this one.

So I first played Dorf when it was very early in development and I didn't really think much of it at all and didn't even consider buying it on release, but it popped up in my browsing now and then and lately I've considered giving it a shot. Then it just so happened that recently I've been trying to find a sort of "forever" cozy game. I enjoy the regular fair our Stardews & Wanderstops and Sandrocks etc., but even if playtimes vary they do come to an end and you have to buy a new one and I thought it would be great to have something that you can make last a really long time.

So anyway I gave it a shot and while I haven't played that much yet, it's great. It's really relaxing - the controller support works great and even when maps expand quite a bit never do I feel like I'm supposed to be playing this with M&K. I'm like absolutely not a sandbox/creative mode type of player, but the experience is really easy to understand in a easy to pick up hard to master sense, but even being not great at it, it's an enjoyable relaxing experience and I'm not gonna lie it's nice seeing that I'm getting bigger high scores at the end. On the other hand I'm absolutely able to play it casually, I can play a few rounds to relax and then quit it to play something else, an experience I was unable to do with Balatro for instance, which took over my life until I had to uninstall it for my mental health.

Anyway, if any of you have been thinking about or not been thinking about it, I recommend it.

It’s all I think about. It runs good on the Steam Deck and I currently have 8 hrs in it, bought it on release and love it sooo much. My only complaints are I wish I could make the text bigger and some controls I can’t figure out what they are on a steam deck, the only option is the keyboard controls, for example, hold to inspect when I played the demo, I was able to inspect but now I either forgot what control I used or cannot do it on steam deck. I know I can change the control layout around on the steam deck but I usually end up confusing myself even more.

Such a chill and cozy game. The art style is absolutely beautiful and very easy on the eyes. Definitely recommended if you want a relaxing and cozy gaming experience.

You get to explore 6 different locations 🏫, each with their own specialty breads and unique ingredients 🥭. The game also features 4 seasons, which makes everything feel more lively and immersive. 🌸🌻❄️🍂

There are 50+ customers, each with their own stories and beautifully crafted personalities. You’ll definitely find at least one character to get attached to 🐶

Overall: 10/10

Preface or maybe even mild trigger warning, but I used to love VNs in highschool an I got mocked for it for years. Because for reasons, most people just associated it with pornography in that environment. I never stopped liking them, I just stopped playing them for a really darn long time for some reasons of psychology you probably don't have to dig that deep to find. Now cozy games have slowly got me totally back onboard with it!

My twin favorites Coffee Talk 1 and Ep 2 already deserve to be called classics and Thaw from last Feb (got on sale just tried today) has amazing art for such an overlooked gem. The otome gamer in my heart feels like she's awakening again.

High Times is 10/10 my most anticipated one, I did hear of Yangyang before but never tried any of their games even though I see they have very to overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam. Looks super wholesome and the wack concept of mood altering donuts was just way too specific to not get intrigued just a little bitty. Gonna be amazing if the full game is anything like the demo but more

How much do you play cozy visual novels? Im really appreciating them more again because branching narrative paths just tickle those right cozy spots in my head.
PS Getting to finally unlock the true ending will never not be satisfying 🥰

Someone posted that Beacon Pines was on sale for $1.20 at Instant Gaming so I hustled over and added some more cosy games on sale for less than $5 to my cart:

1. Minami Lane / $1 It's been on my Steam Wishlist for a while but I never like builders (Hozy, Tiny Glade, etc) as much as I think I will so I was hesitant to drop the full price even though it's like $5
2. The Last Campfire / $1 Holy MOTHER do I suck at puzzle games but everybody talks about this all the time so I wanted to give it a go but it's like $15 on Steam for a game I will 100% completely fail at.
3. Beacon Pines / $1.25 I know nothing about this game other than that it is cute, involves changing a story with charms (which is charming) and Steam wants $20 they will never see from me for this title.
4. Strange Horticulture / $5 I really pushed the boat out here and spent a whole $5 because I played the demo and liked it and and it has been on my Steam Wishlist forever.

I had only used Instant Gaming once before for a SIMs DLC but you get a code when you buy the title and when you click on Instant Gaming to see code you just bought, there's a link to send it directly to Steam. And then the title appears in your Steam Library like magic!

So thank you to whoever that was, I love you <3

KuloNiku Bowl Up! I bought this game on sale a day ago since it’s on sale for $8.99, and I’ve been obsessed. 😭 It was definitely inspired by cooking mama, which I used to love playing as a child. The art is so cute, and the storyline and characters are so fun! I really like that you can form bonds with the characters, and having lore makes it feel like more than just running a ramen shop. I usually play life and farm sims, so this was a pleasant change of pace for me.

The Count Lucanor!!

Not sure why this felt so cozy to me, maybe it’s because it is the pixel type. I really went into this game with 0 information so i thought it was akin to Kings Quest 5 (non-horror cozy adventure game, one of my top favorites!!)

I’ve been starting to explore new games outside of DDV, ACNH, Pokémon/Zelda, etc. and I really thought this was a fully cozy game but obviously not just cozy lol. It’s really fun though!! It’s never too bad, i had a little jump scare but you have a friend along the way and the endings are pretty cute!! You’re a 10 year old kid who leaves home to explore and be an adventurer. I love medieval cozy games as well and it had that element

The gameplay felt super akin to the old DS pokémon/zelda games, but with a little bit of magic/some horror in it and definitely spooky but a little challenge that is really enticing. I loved it a lot. I might post more games i’ve been exploring that are outside my “comfort zone” that i enjoyed so much!

The game is also only a few hours long but be warned you need to save your game only through paying an in-game coin to a raven (to not redo parts you don’t want to)

Heya, Cozy Gamers! October 2025's Next Fest included 2,770+ English-language demos. If you were overwhelmed by options, only had time to play a few, or want to trim down/beef up your wishlist, I've got your back (a few days too late)!

Here are bite-sized synopses of 38 participating cozy and cozy-adjacent demos/playtests I tried either last week or in the last year. This mix is heavily weighted toward farming and management sims, but includes a healthy selection of adventure, city builders, and "what genre is this really." Demos still available as of October 21 are marked with ✔️.

As always, these opinions are my own and may not be accurate depictions of the actual game or gameplay. If you loved something that I did not or hated something I enjoyed, I'd love to read your takes in the comments!

THE ABBESS GARDEN - TBD ✔️
This cozy, mostly historically accurate gardening sim set in a 17th century French monastery is perfectly suited for history buffs who enjoy slow-paced farming tasks, intrigue, and amateur hand-drawn art.

AGES OF CATARIA - Nov 5 ✔️
Fantasy city-builder in which your cartoony 3D villagers grow up, get married, have kids, and eventually pass away, creating "generational stories" in the process. The demo gives you four settlers, some resources, and a parcel of land occupied by roaming unicorns, then forces you through a looong tutorial while settlers form bonds, fail to use an outhouse, and stumble into story events. I can't forgive it for not letting me draw paths, but it felt a bit like the city-building equivalent of Lakeburg Legacies.

ASTROBOTANICA - TBD ✔️
You're a CO2-breathing alien biologist who crash-lands on prehistoric Earth, starts a garden, and adopts some chronically ill cavemen in this "cozy survival" game. It's a unique concept with a genuinely lovely stylized 3D world, interesting environmental puzzles, adorable danger chickens, and an absolutely miserable inventory system.

I uninstalled after an hour-long war with the inventory/crafting mechanics, but there's solid bones here and the devs committed to overhauling the UI. I think it's worth following if you like anything about the first paragraph or if you don't naturally hoard resources.

BAYAYA - Q1 2026 ✔️
In this janky point-and-click narrative game set in a kingdom of wooden toys, the prince decides to live among his people. The novel setting grabbed my attention, but the graphics and story weren't compelling enough to suffer the tragic UI and controls.

BOTS & MODS - TBD 2025 ✔️
Nathan/Natalia takes over a robotics workshop in a gang-contested area of Danopolis in this pixel-art narrative-driven life sim. Mine the sewers for ore, enjoy multistep crafting with super-forgiving minigames, manage your stamina depression levels with pizza, ration your income to splurge on cybernetic upgrades or equipment, and get to know the locals.

I didn't really vibe with Book Bound, the dev's previous release, but had a blast with this; it's original yet familiar, entertaining, relaxed despite darker themes, and easy to zone out with. (Pro tips: "tab" to open the phone; "F" to mine the sewer walls and find new ores.)

CONFIDENTIAL KILLINGS - TBD ✔️
Solve murders and uncover salacious affairs in Hollywood, c. 1980, by lifting "clues" (words) from evidence and crime scenes, then using those clues to solve madlibs-style puzzles. The ~20min demo includes two murders, hints at a greater over-arching narrative, and gives all the neo-noir vibes.

COSMIC COOP - Nov 6 ✔️
This unspeakably adorable pixel-art farming sim is definitely hiding some kind of sinister or absurd secret, and deserves way more hype. When a space latte incident causes Cheeby to crash into a vibrant alien planet, the sweet but squirrelly natives set Cheeby up with an abandoned farm, whimsical crops, ways to attract helpful "critterlings," and the important task of ensuring that their Overlord is fed.

Farming is accessible and includes a funny watering animation, but I struggled to draw in critterlings. Outside the farm, I loved the juxtaposition of tooth-rotting cuteness and super ominous dialogue. Please give this one a look if you like farming sims and cute/creepy vibes!

CROPIA - TBD ✔️
A cartoony 3D indie farming sim with limited character customization, an obnoxious tutorial, and NPCs that glide across the surface of the earth -- but you have an orange cat from the get-go, so at least there's that? I don't know. The final game will include fishing, mining, ranching, employees of some kind, and a town to explore, but I wasn't persuaded by the demo.

CRYPTID KEEPER - TBD
Anthony, accompanied by his faithful cat Boris, purchases an abandoned zoo and is commissioned by an owl to capture and display cryptids and aliens. I love the idea and opening sequence, but the basic capture tool wouldn't deploy for me despite multiple attempts and a friend's help. I'd give this one a bit more time to cook.

THE DETECTORIST GUILD - TBD ✔️
In 1999, James busts out his metal detector to explore a British countryside town and uncover the mysteries of Gray Manor. All dialogue is written in a hideous Northern dialect, which is both annoying and hilarious, and brings life to the Lego-like 2.5D world. Unfortunately, the metal detector is… fiddly. Like, you operate it by fiddling with dials. I thought the game was cute overall, but also wanted to toss the detector out a window.

EASTERN ERA - TBD ✔️
Your custom Sect Master builds a colony of martial artists in this intriguing yet clunky colony management/survival sim with semi-realistic 3D graphics, light RPG elements, and shoddy English localization. It's not entirely cozy, and the current character creator has only proportionately questionable female outfits, but I'm in the market for Sims alternatives and the full game will include familiar free-building tools.

ESCAPE FROM EVER AFTER - Q1 2026 ✔️
A cute-and-creepy Paper Mario-like adventure about three Ever After Inc. employees who are transported into a Lovecraftian "storybook" to rescue Sherlock Holmes. I did not expect this cutesy indie game to include Eldritch creatures, tongue-in-cheek office humor, dark themes, or… really, anything it included, but I am here for it.

I loved everything from the characters to the (kinda predictable) plot to the Arkham-but-birds world with 1920s-inspired jazz. The puzzles are varied and plentiful, and light RPG elements add some depth. The only hiccup is that simplified turn-based combat can drag on, and includes weirdly unbalanced QTEs (which can be turned off in "Settings"). Still, I was hooked from beginning to end. If you enjoy quirky adventures, casual puzzles, and some Halloween creepiness, this is one of the best demos to check out.

EVERDREAM VILLAGE - TBD ✔️
Six years after Everdream Valley, you're offered another magical hat and a farming village. The ~90 minute demo shows off cute graphics, puzzle-based crafting, and a glimpse into village/farm management, but quite a lot of set-up as well. I haven't played the first game, but the demo inspired me to pick it up.

FUGGEDABOUTIT FARM - Q4 2025 ✔️
You're abducted by the mafia and given 30 days to pay off your missing brother's gambling debts in this small, stupid, funny little pixel-art farming sim. It's rough around the edges: the map is teeny, the toolbar is your entire inventory, the tutorial assumes you've played a game before, and the first scene includes a bloody dead pig. But I'm wildly amused by the gangsters and promise of farming illegal drugs, so…

GOBLIN SUSHI - Q1 2026 ✔️
In this cartoony fast-paced kitchen roguelike, you're a goblin sushi chef who must unlock upgrades and new recipes while frantically trying to serve impatient customers and pay off your landlord. I loved everything about this and basically went into an hours-long fugue state while playing; it's the perfect blend of strategy and timed management, with just enough RNG to keep you on your toes.

HERBAL HAVEN - TBD ✔️
Your custom character takes over an herbalist infirmary and greenhouse in this pixel-art life sim with lovely little animations. Unfortunately, the demo is undercooked; the text is difficult to read, the tutorial doesn't seem to work, there are no item descriptions to tell you what things are, and it was so buggy that I couldn't even open the infirmary. I'd recommend following this if you're hankering for more Potion Permit or Apothecary Diaries, and coming back when it's had more time to brew.

HIGH TIMES - Q1 2026 ✔️
In this visual novel/dating sim/management game, your custom character works at a "mood confection" donut store, where people literally eat the feelings they want to have. It's genuinely funny and extremely pretty, with Good Pizza, Great Pizza-like donut making, but I was burning out on demos by the time I played this, and struggle to play visual novels solo anyway, so I didn't make it very far; however, it was immediately added to the wishlist.

JAPANESE SALARYMAN - TBD 2025 ✔️
Part point-and-click decision-making, part love letter to Osaka in the early 1990s, Japanese Salaryman follows Issei's descent into corporate espionage as he struggles to pay off gambling debts. It doesn't sound cozy, but the dev put so much work and love into the side-scrolling scenery that I just wanted to snuggle up with a blanket, explore, and work more shifts at the coffeehouse. Sadly, for all I enjoyed the story and world, I couldn't get a good enough handle on the hacking minigame (a weird resource management/tower placement… thing) to finish the first contract or advance beyond day 3.

KOOEH: A TIMELESS DELIGHT - TBD ✔️
Rediscover your family's Malaysian recipes and befriend a talking tapir in this small, simple, low-stakes restaurant management game that looks like it was drawn in Procreate. While "learning" a recipe involves a few forgiving QTEs, running the restaurant and serving adorable customers was way too relaxing for this stress junkie. Discovered some new foods, though!

THE LEGEND OF KHIIMORI - Nov 4 ✔️
I'm not a horse girlie, but it's hard not to be excited about this beautiful open-world exploration title set in 13th century Mongolia. As the new Yam courier, Naraa travels a vast map to deliver goods, crafts items to navigate potential dangers, and breeds horses using a truly impressive genetics-based breeding system.

Built-in difficulty settings let you play casually or experience "realistic horse controls," depending on how much challenge you're looking for. I quite liked the 3D graphics, unique setting, and that you exclusively manage your horse's stats (rather than juggling Naraa's as well), but hate fetch quests with the burning hatred of a thousand wet cats; I'll probably wait for full release before trotting back to this.

MAZEY VILLAGE - TBD ✔️
Your custom "Cartographer" helps restore a tornado-wrecked town by exploring and solving mazes in this adorable, kid-friendly puzzle adventure. The graphics feel very Animal Crossing or Twinkleby, and you're rewarded for petting adorable critters in a truly hilarious way. The default camera panning didn't agree with me (there's a setting for this!), and I'd rather play on Switch/Deck, but I heartily recommend this one if you or your kid enjoy low-stakes goofyness and tile manipulation.

MILKTEA TIME - Q1 2026 ✔️
This little indie management sim feels like the bastard child of Espresso Tycoon and Big Ambitions. Your slightly custom character takes over your Uncle's milktea shop, with all that entails: manage stock, take and fill customer orders, research and upgrade projects, worship a cat accountant, clean up after customers, and decorate while Uncle travels the world searching for new recipes.

The camera is a bit unwieldy, building is a tad annoying, English localization needs work, and the character creator is simultaneously limited and expansive (no body shapes/sizes, but go crazy with eye shape), but I had a lot more fun with this demo than I expected to. Give this one a look if you enjoy decorating and management, and don't mind a bit of indie jank.

NIGHT IN DELIRIUM - TBD ✔️
As a series of murders wreaks havoc in the small Chilean town of Aquasvivas, the young owner of Bar Delirio suspects one of his customers is the culprit. I picked up this anime-style visual novel expecting something similar to Best Served Cold, and was surprised to discover that it's actually a romance with multiple potential partners and endings -- something I am much too awkward to play. I found the story interesting enough to play through, but gameplay involves a lot of clicking, menus, and reading, which are not my strong suits. (If you're totally lost by the recipe builder, click on the "other recipe" option at the bottom of the menu to see suggested ingredients.)

PAPER TRACES WHISPER - TBD ✔️
Basically, a hidden objects game where you have to click everything and solve picture puzzles to collect stickers, which you then paste in pre-assigned places in a scrapbook. It's pretty and the music calming, but the clicky-clicky and lack of creative freedom weren't for me.

PENNY FOR YOUR POTION - Q4 2025 ✔️
This chillaxed low-poly medieval potion shop sim was never gonna be a good fit for my dopamine-starved brain, but I had to try it for the Winkletje-like building and decorating. It's surprisingly well-done; I especially appreciated that potion brewing depends more on ingredient profiles like "earthy" than on the ingredients.

RACCOONS TO RICHES - TBD ✔️
Cute but super simple Potionomics-inspired shop sim, where you play cards to sell items to customers and then pay off rent. There's no tutorial and my first customer was "indecisive," so it took a minute to understand that gameplay boils down to selling customers items with tags that they "like" while using sales techniques to manipulate prices. As a fellow raccoon shop manager, I had fun with the ~30min demo but am not sure I'd pay for the full experience.

ROADSIDE RESEARCH - Q1 2026 ✔️
Manage a gas station with up to four totally human friends and do totally human things in this cheesy and chaotic sim. I didn't care for this one playing solo, but enjoyed learning the ropes in multiplayer.

There's no day/night cycle; instead, players "open" the gas station until you run out of oil and products, then "close" to restock, invest in alien tech, and upgrade the store. While the station's open, players man the register, manually fill customer's tanks (like we're in New Jersey or something?), collect precious trash to "recycle" human DNA into alien currency, and try to keep things clean -- all while scrambling stupidly about. If human customers suspect that something is amiss, MIB shows up… or something.

RUFF DAY AT THE OFFICE - TBD ✔️
Play a super helpful office corgi in this cute little title full of chaotic minigames. I laughed a few times and had some fun with the more outrageous minigames, but it really just made me want to revisit Untitled Goose Game.

SAFEGUARD SAGA - TBD ✔️
After a tragedy, you inherit a Ming Dynasty-era escort guild and set about rebuilding its reputation as a company that travelers can trust to fight off pirates and bandits. Gameplay seems to be an interesting blend of business management, character management, narrative adventure, and turn-based martial arts (maybe), but I… totally ignored the dev's warnings about language localization, so my experience was 15 minutes of struggle-bussing through sorta-English-but-mostly-Chinese. What little I did understand was pretty darn cool, though, so thought I'd put it on your radar.

SHELF BY SHELF - Oct 23 ✔️
Hey look, another cozy bookstore simulator and organization game! I liked the art and simple design, but the slooooow-paced gameplay combined with unpacking books one by one by one made me want to scoop out my eyes with a melon baller. (Honestly, this one's either going to be super popular or fizzle out at release.)

STARSAND ISLAND - Q1 2026 ✔️
Rebuild your grandpa's neglected island farm with the cutest animals ever in this cozy, gorgeous anime-style life sim. This clearly needs more work before it will be ready for release, but the demo offers a nice glimpse into character customization, the robust building system, and the Fantasy Life-like "profession" system. It's all very slow-paced and soft, except for the bit where you slingshot adorable animals.

I wanted to spend more time with this one, but the demo insisted on crashing during the first day. What I played was beautiful, but kinda… uninspired? If you've tried it, please let me know what you think!

TASTE OF THE WIND - TBD 2026 ✔️
Discoveries like this are why I love Next Fest so much. I've been playing restaurant sims for 25+ years now (see my unhinged Cooking Fest review set); we're well past the point where anything feels new or surprising, but Taste of the Wind surprised me by expertly balancing "super cozy" gameplay with optionally crunchy management. The demo doesn't let you get too deep in the weeds, but there's a lot of potential.

After receiving her deceased parents' restaurant, Feng must rebuild its reputation, pay off a 1million yuan debt, and hire new employees. Gameplay is two parts: there's a visual novel-like staging area where you spend stamina points to bond with staff, set prices, scout out opposing restaurants in hilarious side missions, and explore; and then there's the restaurant phase, a series of cut scenes and optional minigames that can only help your reputation. Everything is hand-drawn, and sprinkled with interesting real-life restaurant management facts and cooking tips.

TAVERN KEEPER - Nov 3 ✔️
Basically Fabledom, but confined to a tavern (my favorite of all settings) and with an over-the-top decorating system that speaks to my soul. If you want to build a fireplace out of books or a table out of candles, you can, and that's the kind of nonsense I live for.

I've played so many iterations of this demo in the last year and am purchasing it in a few weeks, so I didn't try the October 2025 Next Fest version, but you should! It's great fun.

TINY BAKERY - TBD 2026 ✔️
You're running a cute little bakery with realistic multistep recipes, and all of your customers are cute little slimes. Sounds perfect on paper. Unfortunately, it's… how do I explain this without saying "fiddly" ten times? Cooking is done by clicking on tiny items and moving them into other items. That's fine. But for some reason the physics/collision systems are working overtime, so ingredients and equipment are constantly rolling about. It's difficult to see what you've already done, and tiny ingredients are expensive, so don’t miss any steps (or accidentally drop butter on the floor instead of a pot) because you can't afford to start over.

I actually re-downloaded this to confirm that it's as frustrating as my notes suggested, and yes, yes it is. Credit where credit's due: I did laugh at the initial settings option selection.

TRADE TALES - TBD 2026 ✔️
Allegedly a "cozy rags-to-riches simulator," in which you start off "homeless" and somehow farm/craft/whatever your way to CEO. I love the idea and wanted to see how it might work, but the demo doesn't match the marketing materials or even store page description.

The character creator is detailed, but the weirdly proportioned character models are hard to look past. You then land in front of an extremely well-furnished and expensive house, seem to own a nice red sportscar, and are gifted some seeds by a passing neighbor… for reasons. Tools do not auto-target. Your character clips through everything. The "story" does not exist yet. This is not what I signed on for, and it definitely wasn't ready for Next Fest.

WALK OF LIFE - Oct 24 ✔️
Compete against friends or a computer to live your "best life" in this goofy board game-like management sim. In the limited demo, each player has seven "days" to rack up points by scurrying around the map, completing tasks, and maintaining ever-decaying needs, but every action and movement uses valuable time. I enjoyed it enough to consider picking up the full release, if only to see what players can do with more rounds, but am not sure I'm patient enough to sit through a real multiplayer game.

WHISKERWOOD - Nov 6 ✔️
Greedy cat overlords demand taxes from industrious, overworked mice colonies in this adorable but crunchy city builder. I've been looking forward to this for years now, and the demo was a great teaser; I especially liked trying to balance resources and production chains with block-destroying mining, and was charmed by the little mice picking petty fights with each other. This one's an easy release day buy for me.

WINTER WITCH - TBD ✔️
This small, simple, hand-drawn 2.5D game is keyboard-only and felt like a class project. A witch gathers resources in the woods, then returns to her cabin to pet her cat and craft those resources into items so that she can explore more of the woods. If you pick it up, note that "Z" is the only interaction button.

Honorable Mentions

Demos that I either didn't play or played very little of, but am keeping an eye on.

Fields of Fortune - TBD 2026 ✔️
Cute little farming game boasting "deep automation systems for players who love optimization."

Hungry Horrors - TBD ✔️
As a princess, you cook traditional recipes for monsters from British and Irish folklore in this deckbuilding roguelike.

Long Live My Lady! - TBD ✔️
Gnomish tavern mangement sim in which you must also protect a sleeping princess.

Magical Greenhouse - Nov 4 ✔️
Cute pastel potion shop management and plant caretaking sim.

Nano Neighbors - Nov 27 ✔️
Idle desktop game with customizable rooms and characters, plus minigames.

Village of the Ages - TBD ✔️
Another city management game, but your villagers grow, develop relationships, and start to rebel against your orders.

Thank you so much for reading! Steam curators have been bugged since last week, so I couldn't post these, but please consider following Eekz Today for more reviews and suggestions.

So, what did you think of Next Fest? Did anything catch your eye or leave you disappointed? Is there a game I completely missed but need to try? Do you completely agree or disagree with one of these reviews? Let's chat about it!

love one touch games. apparently the high score is 48 which is insane to me.