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.
Dave The Diver: Plunging Headfirst into New Worlds
Too scared to play Subnautica, but want to traverse a deep sea environment? Meet Dave The Diver, developed by studio Mint Rocket, a cosy, yet challenging experience as the player inhabits Dave, a diver returning from his vacation, as he gathers different types of fish for the renowned Bancho Sushi. Pact full of incredible animations, dynamic boss battles and quests, Dave The Diver is easily one of the best games I’ve had the pleasure to play this year.
Charli XCX’s Brat Era Takes Over Dress to Impress
This Might Be the Best Brat Collab Yet Just when we thought our favourite digital dress-up game, Dress to Impress (DTI), had reached its peak, they’ve gone and outdone themselves. If you read our recent piece, “The New Era of Digital Dress-Up: How Roblox’s Dress to Impress Captivates a Generation”, you’ll know we’re completely besotted…
The New Era of Digital Dress-Up: How Roblox’s “Dress to Impress” Captivates a Generation
In recent years, many female gamers have found themselves nostalgic for childhood staples like GirlsGoGames and Disney’s Pixie Hollow—once thriving, now long gone. Nearly two decades after its launch, Roblox is keeping the spirit alive, turning outfit creation into a competitive, multiplayer experience.
More Than a Console: How Hardware Defines Gameplay
What Another Code: Recollection reveals about the importance of utilising game console hardware to its fullest potential Written by Arwa Al-Sahli As a form of media, video games have a unique feature that separates them from other forms of art: player interaction. Game developers utilise and embrace this aspect, as good game design shapes a…
Loving the Environment through Gaming
The EcoGaming Revolution Written by Christina Amato EcoGaming will forever be in vogue. There has been a surge within gaming in recent years, with developers coming out with stories that focus on nature and the environment. Some of these are cosy, cuddle-up-on-the-couch games, while others can feature forms of harsh survival. They immerse players in…
The Endearing World of Garage Sale
Garage Sale and its Director, Amelia Zollner, Prove the Importance of Indie Developers who Produce Heartfelt Gaming Experiences In Garage Sale, which saw release last June on Steam, you play as kid-next-door Juniper living in Lettuce Village: an adorable yet mysterious town away from the suburban life of Salad City. The player inhabits Juniper on…
Little Kitty Big City: The Warmth of Cosy Gaming
Proof That Sometimes the Purr-suit of Happiness Is as Simple as Being a Cat Written by Rose Renaud The mainstream popularity of the casual games genre has exploded in recent years. They have always been around and possess a sense of nostalgia with series like Animal Crossing and The Sims. They were worlds where we…
Strange Horticulture: Unraveling Mysteries One Leaf at a Time
In this botanical whodunit, the only thing sharper than your shears is your wit. Written by Janelle Hyde Strange Horticulture is an immersive game that excellently captures a somber tone. Set in the fictional town of Undermere, players inherit a plant store and navigate a world filled with botanical mysteries and magical properties. The game…
5 Must-Watch Runs From SGDQ 2024
Dive Into the Best of Summer Games Done Quick with These Five Unmissable Speedruns Written by Terry Ross Once a year, thousands of gamers turn off the cosy droning of the YouTube lo-fi beats streams which accompany their workweek and switch over to something far more exciting: the summer Games Done Quick speedrunning marathon. For…
Rock Band: The Game That Defined Your Music Taste Without You Realising It
The Unsung Influence of Rock Band and Guitar Hero on Modern Emo and Music Culture Written by Kayla Moreno Y2K and its subcultures have been seeing a massive resurgence over the past several years. It’s known that when people crave a sense of comfort, nostalgia waves often bring them peace. Things that are reminiscent of…