Wholesome Games Serves Up Sweet Treat With Wholesome Snack Conference

By Jessica Howard | August 25, 2020 | 3:45pm

Video Games News Wholesome Games

Wholesome Games Serves Up Sweet Treat With Wholesome Snack Conference

Earlier today, the indie game curators over at Wholesome Games served up a sweet treat with their Wholesome Snack Conference. During the online event, various developers were given the opportunity to talk about eight “cute, friendly, compassionate, and cozy” titles they’re currently working on—two of which were previously unannounced. In case you missed it, here’s a roundup of all the games discussed:

Pupperazzi

Developed by Sundae Month, this upcoming title allows players to live out the ultimate fantasy of being a photographer in a world entirely populated by dogs. Traverse boardwalks and skate parks as you capture dogs in their natural habitats doing all the usual things dogs do—like kick flips and driving Vespas. As you photograph pups and showcase their unique abilities and personalities, you’ll discover even more canines, obtain camera upgrades and build your career as pet photographer. According the game’s Steam page, players are also able to pet, fetch, play dress up with, and even have dance parties with every breed of our four-legged friends imaginable. And naturally, yes, you can pet the dogs. It’s half Pokémon Snap, half Nintendogs, and all together a unique experience that seeks to give players a doggone good time.

Snacko

In developer Bluecurse’s upcoming game Snacko, players take control of big city cat Momo as they make the move to a deserted island where they will attempt to both explore and restore the land. Once they arrive, players can farm, care for animals, fish, donate to the town’s cultural center, fully customize their town, befriend its residents, and explore mines and puzzle dungeons. Fans of games such as Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing might want to keep an eye out for this game. While still in development now, it is available to wishlist over on Steam.

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Garden Story

Slated for a release sometime next year, developer Picogram’s Garden Story is another game that allows players to care for a garden and became a part of a flourishing community. However, unlike many farming simulators, Garden Story seems to lean harder into combat. The game is set in a land called The Grove, which is divided into four regions that are slowly being overtaken by Rot. It is up to you to explore infested areas, solve puzzles, and fight off these foes to protect your homeland. With a visual style reminiscent of early Legend of Zelda games, Garden Story seems to meet at an intersection of many different gamer’s interests. More information can be found on the game’s Steam page.

Lonesome Village

Developed by Ogre Pixel, Lonesome Village is a game about a quiet town struck by disaster when a mysterious event causes every inhabitant other than our protagonist, Wes the coyote, to disappear. It is then up to Wes to uncover what happened to his woodland friends and restore the town in a what the developers call a “puzzle-filled life sim.” In the trailer revealed during the Wholesome Snack conference, the game showcased its haunting music, vibrant characters and teased the identity of the mysterious forces at work, but did not reveal gameplay. However, while the official release date has not yet been announced, a tech demo of the game is available on Itch now. Additionally, those who are interested will soon be able to back the game on Kickstarter if they wish to follow or contribute to the game’s development.

Lemon Cake

Next up is Lemon Cake developed and published by Éloïse Laroche. In Lemon Cake you play as a budding baker and pastry chef who’s goal is to create the greatest (and freshest) bakery around. In this restaurant simulation game, it is up to you to repair and expand your store, learn new recipes, adjust your menu, care for customers, manage your finances and tend to your garden and animals to obtain the freshest ingredients. This game seems to offer a similar experience to titles like Diner Dash, but delves deeper into the idea of comfort—serving up warm food and even warmer art. While Lemon Cake’s release date has yet to be announced, you can follow the game on Steam.

Button City

Button City, developed and published by Subliminal, follows a group of furry friends as they attempt to save the town’s arcade from a greedy fat cat who wants to tear it down. In the game, protagonist Fennel the fox alongside his “Fluff Squad” play arcade games, solve puzzles, and take on various tasks about town as you “follow a story about friendship, growing up, and saving the things that are important to you,” according to the game’s Steam page. The developers describe Button City as a “quirky world of pastel colors, spunky animals, rockin’ arcade games, and floating islands,” a concept the latest trailer definitely conveyed, and the best part? According the developers, this game is coming soon.

Land of Screens

And last but certainly not least, we have our two new games—both created by Half Past Fate developer Serenity Forge. In Land of Screens, we play as Holland, a book editor going through a bad break up. The game takes place over her cross country road trip to visit her family, but as quickly as she heads out, she realizes she forgot to pack her cellphone charger. However, rather than panic, Holland embraces this, and learns to live in the moment and embrace what’s around her in this point-and-click adventure. Serenity Forge founder, Zhenghua “Z” Yang, said through his games he tries to create “meaningful experiences that challenge the way you think” and feel rooted in the realities of our lives—Land of Screens seeks to offer this experience. Land of Screens is slated for a 2021 release and is available to wishlist on Steam now.

Date Night Bowling

Coming Spring 2021, Date Night Bowling is a fast-paced, retro bowling game that seems to take notes from the WarioWare series. In the game, your goal is to impress your date through various mini games such as giving them a massage, tossing popcorn in their mouth, grabbing their bowling shoes, polishing bowling balls, and, of course, through knocking down some pins. In Date Night Bowling, players get to replicate the “fun, quirky moments” that come with dating. Head to the game’s Steam page for more information and to see even more mini games.

Want to see even more of these games? Watch the entire conference right here: