Add these 3 gardening games to your wishlist
It’s getting chilly out here in the Northeast and boy am I not prepared. I shoveled for the first time this past weekend and I realized that it was time to replace the old winter coat. As much as I as my Wisconsin-born self thrives in the cold air, I can’t help but pine for warmer climes. Not for the heat—I’ll take 30 degrees over 80 degrees any day—no, I just need the life.
I also, gaming-wise, continue to need new entry points into the “cozy” genre. These games are huge and so few of them hit for me, Out and About being one of the very few. So, in the spirit of trying new things, bringing some life back to the world, and new year new things, here’s a list of three gardening-adjacent games I’m adding to my wishlist (and you should too!).
Sky Farm
Developed and published by Plaid Games
You know me, if I can put things in nice rows and sometimes pick up the garbage, I’m going to be having a good time. Sky Farm is a small farming game where you start an urban farm on the roof of a skyscraper. Restore, reuse, and recycle your decrepit post-apocalyptic gardening plot, then grow the crops you need to feed the people below. The gameplay seems to show a reliance on documenting the crops you have and creating systems that are regenerative, based on real world theories of permaculture.
I’ve been particularly drawn this year to games that are able to use their gameplay loops to find engaging, clever ways to teach me something. Earlier this year, I spent a few hours playing Out and About, a game interested in identifying wild plants and flashcard-style drilling you on retaining that knowledge. Sky Farm seems to be another really smart game in that vein, teaching the player about composting and how to garden without generating waste.
Coming soon.
The Abbess Garden
Developed by MD Studio
Published by indie.io
Just announced at the Women-Led Games winter showcase, The Abbess Garden has you playing as Agnès, a young peasant, restoring a private abbey garden in 1643 France. It’s a third person gardening game that touts gardening mechanics based on real-life botany, accounting for soil types, moisture content, and proximity to other plants. There’s also a linear story that requires gathering plant components and solving a grander mystery about a long-dead spy.
Marketed as calm and approachable, I have a feeling the Abbess Garden is going to tickle a very particular period piece drama fancy I haven’t been this excited about since Downton Abbey.
Coming soon.
Tales of Seikyu
Developed by ACE Entertainment
Published by Fireshine Games
Tales of Seikyu is a quaint farming sim inspired by Fields of Mistria and Rune Factory, transporting your character to a gorgeous village island populated by Yokai that can transform into humans. You’ll do what you expect from these types of games: farm, grow the town, romance some villagers, decorate your house, and harness your own Yokai powers to fight for the village.
Especially in the grim winter cold of New England December, the cozy vibes of Tales of Seikyu are drawing me in. If you’re looking for a Rune Factory or Stardew Valley style farming sim game, this one might be for you.
Available in early access.
