The cosy game genre is more crowded than ever, making it increasingly difficult for new farming sims to stand out. While many lean heavily on familiar mechanics borrowed from classics like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, Everdream Village takes a few welcome risks of its own.
Minecraft is having a real community renaissance, and smaller, more intentional servers are leading the way. As players return for creativity, comfort, and connection, spaces like Starless SMP show how powerful cosy, people first worlds can be. In this feature, we talk to the team behind Starless about building a safe, welcoming server for girls and nonbinary players, from plushies and post offices to magazines and daily events. We also introduce G.URL SMP, now live at play.gurlworld.live.
Ten years into her work in Black character design, Danielle ‘Ebonix’ Udogaranya reflects on influence, visibility, and the future of games.
When two icons of early internet life collide, magic happens. Habbo Hotel and Neopets have teamed up for a crossover bursting with pixel nostalgia, pet companions, and collectible chaos. It’s more than a campaign: it’s a time capsule from 2005, reborn for the players who never really logged out.
After 14 years of silence, Katamari Damacy is back to roll through time and grab your attention.
Habbo Hotel turns 25 this year, marking a chaotic legacy of furniture scams, controversy, internet infamy and unexpected survival. Once a hotspot, it faced near collapse – but it's still online, and still finding ways to reinvent itself for a new generation.
Hello Kitty’s first ever DLC is dropping — and it’s a dreamy, flour-dusted world of magic ruins, soft girl lore, and new bestie Cogimyun. Wheatflour Wonderland launches this September, bringing the biggest update yet to Island Adventure. Think bakery-core meets mythic quest, with carbs, cuteness, and emotional depth.
No A-listers. No viral stunt casting. Nintendo just revealed the faces of Link and Zelda for its live-action film — and it’s refreshingly understated. Rising talents Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth step into the green tunic and royal gown, signalling a quieter, more serious take on Hyrule’s cinematic debut.
With every new life sim release, something gets shinier — but also flatter. Meanwhile, The Sims 3 continues to spiral in on itself, breaking in new ways and revealing stranger layers the longer you play. 600 hours deep, it’s still the only game I know that feels alive in its decay.
ZA/UM Atelier just crash-landed at Paris Fashion Week with The Alters collection - a cyber-survivalist line fusing gaming weirdness, Gorpcore outerwear and glitch-pattern kimonos. It’s clothing built for alternate timelines, dystopian cities and looting your future self’s wardrobe. A sharp, worldbuilding collision of high fashion and speculative identity play.
“And the Universe Said I Love You”: The Unexpected Philosophy of Minecraft
Written by Elise Georgeson You might have skipped past it, read it and misunderstood or thought a little deeper, but here’s our take on the iconic End Poem. Released in 2009, Minecraft is a staple of childhood, whose popularity has ebbed and flowed since its release 15 years ago. With its most recent resurgence happening…
Exploring the Poetic Journey of Gris
A Palette of Emotions Painted in Silence. Written by Calypso Morgan Imagine a young girl perched on the hand of a statue, trying to sing but unable to. Suddenly, everything around her crumbles, and she plummets from the sky, landing in a barren white landscape. With nothing but the sound of wind on the horizon,…
Professor Layton is Back Again
The world of puzzles and mysteries is set to expand once more with the upcoming release of Professor Layton and the New World of Steam, a thrilling new chapter in the beloved Layton series. This installment, set for release in 2025 on the Nintendo Switch, promises to deliver the intricate puzzles and captivating storytelling that fans have come to love, all while embracing new characters and a fresh setting.
The Bell Tree Forums and Forum Culture
In the fast-paced world of social media, The Bell Tree Forums offer a slice of internet nostalgia where Animal Crossing fans still find their digital home. Long before Twitter wars and TikTok trends, there were forums—a simpler, slower-paced corner of the internet where people gathered to discuss their passions in depth. Among these early digital…
The Resurrection of MySims: Cosy Nostalgia or Corporate Ploy?
EA bets on cosy vibes and nostalgia, but will the return of MySims warm our hearts or just our wallets? In a gaming landscape where nostalgia sells, EA is dusting off the cobwebs of its once-beloved MySims franchise and reintroducing it to a new generation on the Nintendo Switch. Slated for a 19 November 2024…
A Short Goodbye to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
As Nintendo announces the end of service for Pocket Camp, it’s time to say a temporary farewell to the Animal Crossing worlds within our phones In an email to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp players, Nintendo has announced that the service for the game will sadly be coming to an end on November 28th 2024 at…
Style Savvy: The Nostalgic Dress-Up Game for the Nintendo DS
With the resurgence of digital dress-up games online, one game had surprisingly been ahead of its time… Written by Hafsa Ahmed Dress-up games became a hit in the online digital space during the 2000s. Many of these were the classic, click-and-select gameplays that provided clothes to dress up avatars. However, they didn’t just exist online.…
Fantage: A Glittering Digital Ghost Town
Ah, Fantage—a flashback to the days when the internet felt like a freshly discovered galaxy. Imagine it: 2008, an era where the internet was less algorithmic and more anarchic, where the hottest trend wasn't about who had the most followers, but who had the most neon-clad avatar in an online game designed for kids. Fantage was the digital utopia for the tweenage crowd, a place where your biggest dilemma was whether to splurge your hard-earned Stars on a new virtual outfit or save up for a more exclusive hairdo. It was a pixelated paradise, until it wasn't.
Spiritfarer: A Game About Life, Death, and Human Connection
How Spiritfarer Embraces the Complexities of Life and Death Written by Calypso Morgan 2020 is a year many of us would rather forget, but if it is to be remembered for one thing, it should be the release of a game that turned the world upside down. This isn’t a reference to Animal Crossing: New…
Mum’s Letters in Animal Crossing
In the world of Animal Crossing, the letters from Mum (or Mom) have evolved into something of a cult artefact, a weird blend of digital nostalgia and a reminder of that soft, maternal nudge from a simpler time. They’re these peculiar little notes you receive as you toil away, pulling weeds and catching bugs on your quaint little island. Mum's letters are equal parts endearing and slightly offbeat—a perfect encapsulation of the game’s charm, but with an undertone that makes you question who’s really writing them and why they keep coming.