In Life Below, you play as Thalassa, a guardian of the deep, working to revive the struggling oceans of a near-future Earth. The game challenges you to adapt to a changing ocean environment, facing hazards like pollution and climate shifts while boosting biodiversity. The narrative, writen by Rhianna Pratchett, known for Tomb Raider and Mirror’s Edge, adds heartfelt depth to the reef-building adventure.

Megapop has also teamed up with accessibility consultant Arevya and the UK charity SpecialEffect to create helpful features. With customizable controls and inclusive interface options, they’re working to make Life Below one of the most accessible city-builders yet.

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It’s an understatement to say the demo version is a big disappointment. It’s quite limited, offering only one item per building category. Though the development likely doesn’t cost much, the demo isn’t a true reflection of the game and is playable until the end of Steam Next Fest.

Have We Ever Had a True Croatian Cozy Game?

Let’s start from the beginning: you choose a map, only one was available, set amidst forests and mountains, where you’ll build a cozy little cabin. It’s interesting that before starting, you can select specific object categories to unlock, like painting, fishing, or other interests, with items and structures color-coded. Of course, core items like walls and decorations are always available. Afterward, you build within a clearly marked grid area.

Log Away lacks tutorials, but honestly, you don’t need them. All you need is your creativity and emotion to bring your vision to life on the fields. Some might wonder, “What’s the point of this game?” The charm lies in relaxation, soothing music, and the rustling of leaves and nature, creating a full zen experience. To make it easier, you can switch between free camera and first-person views, and decide whether to see the roof or walls. Once you have an idea and arrange everything, you’ll find you can interact with objects, like opening windows or even petting a dog.

Object categories include furniture, decor, wall elements, plant embellishments, and more. Like Tiny Glade, it features a day-night cycle. Log Away already looks impressive and beautiful, with noticeable detail on every object and a tangible natural beauty in the river. Personally, I found decorating the interior more fun due to its experimental options, while the exterior felt quite sparse. Sadly, I’m not sure why, they didn’t need to unlock the whole game, but at least two items per category would have been enough. As it stands, you’re quite limited in options and can’t do much.

For Those Who Love Relaxation After Other Games

As is typical for such titles, a photo mode is available, letting you create your own screenshots. Additionally, you can switch visual styles, like from modern to pixel art, with the full version promising even more options. Of course, this won’t appeal to everyone, but for a good photo – why not? On the other hand, the soundtrack features tracks inspired by western, country, and blues genres, composed by Chris Haugen, and it’s truly impressive.

Building in this game is very straightforward. You can quickly rotate items, and some can be stacked, like placing a lamp on a cabinet. You have plenty of freedom to choose where and how to place objects, ensuring you’ll find something to your liking. You can even change colors, so it’s not all just brown.

So, if you enjoy decorating by the fireplace or watching a dog fit into the environment you’ve created, Log Away is definitely for you. Just don’t expect something grand, as cozy games generally don’t demand much interactivity but offer plenty of relaxation and creativity.

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Your main job is to chop wood, meet the friendly locals, and explore a world brimming with personality. The game’s retro pixel-art style, combined with a soothing, original soundtrack, creates a genuinely peaceful vibe that’s just perfect for unwinding. Whether you’re upgrading your skills or just wandering off to pet a squirrel, the game truly lets you set your own pace.

Additionally, you can customize your journey with enchanted necklaces, powerful upgrades for axes, or even special foods that tweak your experience. Play as a guy or a girl, and make the adventure entirely your own. Oh, and those forest animals? Some might love a pat, but others might give you the cold shoulder.

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Similar to Tiny Guilds, this game offers a creative and relaxing experience. However, in Islands & Trains, you’re tasked with building islands, not procedurally or randomly generated, but designed entirely by you. This allows you to shape the world exactly how you envision it. Once your islands are set up, you can start creating train tracks and stations to watch your trains traverse the map. To make your world even more beautiful, the game lets you add a variety of decorations, structures, and animals. I was genuinely amazed by the sheer variety of options available, from football fields and churches to wheat fields and swimming pools.

A Cozy, Unforgettable Experience

Islands & Trains is a sandbox game, meaning it offers plenty of interesting terrains and natural features to experiment with. Waterfalls, cliffs, stone walls, and other elements can be incorporated into your designs. The gameplay is simple and intuitive, you select a category, pick an item, and place it wherever you like, rotating and positioning it to your heart’s content.

In the demo, the building space is somewhat limited, but it’s sufficient to create multiple islands connected by train tracks. The train can even carry cargo, though the game’s primary appeal lies in its stress-free, relaxing gameplay. You can take beautiful screenshots, admire the vibrant colors and details, and spend a few minutes unwinding as you tinker with your creations.

The game’s cartoonish art style adds a sense of serenity and charm to the experience. It’s filled with details and thoughtfully designed structures, making it easy to lose yourself in the process of building and exploring. This title isn’t just for fans of cozy games, it’s perfect for anyone looking to take a break from fast-paced experiences like Marvel Rivals and instead immerse themselves in their own creative world. However, starting everything from scratch can be time-consuming, especially when you’re undecided about where to begin. I’m optimistic that the full version will offer this feature to make the initial setup more accessible.

A promising game, though not without its flaws

That said, there are some issues that stood out. For instance, certain textures feel out of place—like football fields looking awkward in the snow, or wheat fields appearing as plain white instead of properly snow-covered. The user interface is also intrusive, taking up a significant portion of the screen. While you can hide it by pressing F, its default positioning obstructs the view. Another annoyance is the item placement system: when you rotate the camera, the item you were holding disappears, forcing you to reselect it.

The winter update introduces many new features, including festive decorations, reindeer, Christmas trees, food stands, and more, allowing you to create a delightful mini-festival. There are also new train engines and wagons with 24 new Christmas assets and winter-themed items and buildings. I’m eager to see what the full version will offer; for now, the game has a lot of intriguing aspects. It’s easy to play, won’t waste your time, and the demo provides plenty of enjoyable gameplay.

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In Bigfoot Life, players step into the shoes—or rather, the oversized feet—of Bigfoot, experiencing the world from the perspective of the famous creature. You’ll be able to explore beautiful, untamed forests filled with lush greenery, rivers, and wildlife. As Bigfoot, your mission is to survive and thrive by foraging for food, building shelters, and avoiding human hunters who are eager to prove your existence.

You’ll need to catch and eat fish, insects, and other small creatures, as well as gather resources like mushrooms and berries. Finding fresh water in lakes and streams will be crucial to staying alive. Harsh winters can make survival even more difficult, so you’ll need to build shelters to protect yourself and store items to help you get through tough times.

Beyond basic survival, Bigfoot has plenty of abilities to unlock. You can acquire special Bigfoot Skills such as Bigfoot Vision, which helps you spot distant objects, and Speed, which allows for faster movement through the forest. You’ll also be able to climb trees and summon Fog, which can help you stay hidden from humans.

Human hunters will be on your trail, trying to photograph you or collect proof of your existence. You’ll need to outsmart them, perhaps by stealing their gear for extra points. But not all human encounters need to be hostile. You can even befriend a human and gain their trust, adding an interesting twist to the gameplay. In addition to surviving, you’ll also have the opportunity to meet other Bigfoot creatures in the wild and potentially find a mate.

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Create diverse biome habitats with different natural environments, from alpine forests and arid deserts to stunning Caribbean reefs, each with its own animals, plants and, of course, challenges. Preserve is a puzzle card game that takes players on a journey towards a harmonious ecosystem. The goal is to encourage and maintain a thriving and diverse biome, where each component coexists in symbiotic harmony.

“We are thrilled to finally release Preserve into Early Access and let fans experience all the new content we’ve been working on,” said Peter Janosik, Studio Lead and Programmer at Bitmap Galaxy. “The new Marine Biome adds a whole new dimension to the game, and players will enjoy creating ocean-dwelling habitats. We’re eager to hear feedback from our community and have more to reveal throughout Early Access leading up to our 1.0 launch.”

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Create diverse biome habitats with different natural environments, from alpine forests and arid deserts to stunning Caribbean reefs, each with its own animals, plants and, of course, challenges. Preserve is a puzzle card game that takes players on a journey towards a harmonious ecosystem. The goal is to encourage and maintain a thriving and diverse biome, where each component coexists in symbiotic harmony.

In Preserve, you can expand the map not only horizontally, but also layer natural habitats, creating a vertical network of interconnected environments. In addition to standard modes such as harmony and puzzles, creative mode gives you the ability to build a world without any restrictions, while photo mode allows you to capture and share your creations at the end of each session.

Preserve is releasing for PC via Steam in the summer of 2024.

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It’s fascinating how someone can live on a boat, go about their daily life, and simultaneously develop a game about oil spills. Lente’s journey has been quite long, which is why she opted to launch her own Kickstarter campaign after a year of working on the aforementioned game. The game got fully funded within 12 hours, and you can still grab your copy while it’s available at a reasonable price.

If you’re a fan of pixel style graphics and art, Spilled! might be the perfect game for you. It features 8 areas, each larger and with more substantial waste than the previous. After completely cleaning up one area, you can progress to the next. The core gameplay loop involves upgrading the boat – acquire a larger collector, a bigger tank, or enhance your speed. Additionally, each area introduces a new challenge, such as pushing plastic to the recycling center or cleaning oil off the land, providing varied gameplay experiences.

But wait, there’s more! There are a total of 16 animals to discover and rescue. While it may not provide extensive replayability and might not hold your attention for an certain period, its unique style and straightforward gameplay are the primary reasons it has the potential for success.

Spilled! will be available on PC & Mac ( Steam) probably later this year.

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