Indie developers all around the world have teamed up to bring to life Wholesome Games, an organization committed to sharing heartwarming new indie titles guaranteed to make gamers smile.
On May 26, Wholesome Games released its first-ever Wholesome Direct — over 30 minutes of announcements, teasers, and trailers for over 50 wholesome indie games coming out in 2020 and 2021.
If you missed the Wholesome Direct, you could watch the entire thing on YouTube here:
Curl up, perhaps under a blanket, or accompanied by a mug of your favorite coffee or tea, for a cozy showcase of the most adorable upcoming titles.
Looking for something to replicate the gentle and soft feelings which come from playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons? You’ll surely find something among these 50 titles, many of which feature a slice of life elements, laid-back puzzles, go-at-your-own-pace gameplay, and cute animal characters.
The stream, hosted by developer and streamer Jenny “Kimchica” Windom and reviewer Josh Boykin, emulated the style of the popular Nintendo Direct announcements by cramming a substantial amount of content into a small amount of time. It showcased a wide range of games coming to both console and PC over the next year.
There were too many games discussed to cover within the scope of a single article, so here are just a few highlights:
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- Tree Games’ Errand Boy, a story of helping others and spreading community in a post-apocalyptic world
- Kind Words – available now on Steam! – which allows you to send anonymous encouraging messages to gamers all over the world
- Spiritfarer by ThunderLotus, a resource management title about ferrying the spirits of the dead
- Tokotoko’s brand new adventure Hako and Friends, which sees your very own drawings
- Intricate open-world fairy-tale Book of Travels, coming in October
- Co-op “postal puzzler” KeyWe – now that’s a description you don’t hear every day!
- Fuzzy friendship filled Old Friends’ Dog Sanctuary
….And much, much more!
The first-ever Wholesome Direct even paid tribute to its Nintendo muses with a “but wait; there’s more” segment at the very end. Viewers were treated to the reveal of Hoa, a magical adventure with hand-painted art inspired by the legendary films of Studio Ghibli.
The Wholesome Direct is planned to be an annual event, with another equally-cozy stream coming sometime in 2021. For now, you can check out the Wholesome Games website for information about all 50+ titles revealed during the stream.
What was your favorite announcement from Wholesome Games? Let us know!
