There's a lot of generic stuff in the Wholesome Direct / cozy game genre (bingo card, anyone?), so here are my highlights of the show (this got much longer than I expected):
Frogsong (trailer, steam) — this selection courtesy of my partner; nicely animated frogs, minimal yet charming backgrounds, and action-adventure gameplay. Out now!
I Am A Caterpillar (trailer, steam) — the camera angle at the beginning caught my eye, and "monch things as a caterpillar that doesn't want to become a butterfly" is a neat premise.
Sticky Business (trailer, steam) — I'd previously seen a gif from this on twitter and thought it looked cute; I particularly like the chunky style of the pixel art. looking forward to messing around with the demo.
Moonstone Island (trailer, steam) — nice-lookin' pixel art caught my eye; not a monster-collector game player myself but I bet this will have some fans.
A Little to the Left: Cupboards & Drawers DLC (trailer, steam) — kinda disappointed this is coming out as DLC instead of part of the main game, and 25 levels feels a bit small, depending on the pricepoint. these types of levels were definitely the most enjoyable part of the base game, though, so more is nice.
Smushi Come Home (trailer, steam) — yet another low-poly indie adventure game, but something about the trailer felt very charming to me. Also out now!
Surmount (trailer, steam) — a mountain-climbing version of Heave-Ho?
Everdeep Aurora (trailer, steam) — snazzy retro-styled pixel art and nice color schemes with adventure gameplay; the style kinda reminds me of Gato Roboto.
Kibu (trailer, steam) — the Omno dev is making a new game! I got distracted from finishing Omno, but I enjoyed the time I spent with it. This being a second game, I hope it smooths out some of the rougher edges present in Omno (eg. floppy-feeling movement).
The Guardian of Nature (trailer, steam) — sometimes the art feels a little too digital-smooth, but the landscape exploration shots looked really nice to me.
Botany Manor (trailer, steam) — I love the concept of growing plants as puzzles, and the environmental art reminds me of budget The Witness in a really nice way.
A Highland Song (trailer, steam) — I was sold from the first Scottish accent, but the 80 Days and Heaven's Vault peeps are doing this?! Very excited. (why isn't scotland the setting for more games??)
Sushi Ben (trailer) — VR slice-of-life about saving a Sushi restaurant, lookin' nifty.
The Star Named Eos (trailer, steam) — I loved SEASON's scrapbook, and the photo puzzles here look similarly appealing!
Tiny Bookshop (trailer, steam) — I don't play management games very much, but I think this one might grab me.
Townframe (steam) — "create a picture based on a written description" reminds me of something but I'm not sure what. Looks like a bite-sized weekend chill game.
Overall, not quite as hype as last year (I'm dying for Naiad and Horticular to come out) but still a good bunch of things to keep an eye on. :)