One of 2027's most appealing cozy games drops early free sample on Steam

It’s never too early to start looking ahead to which video games are set to land in 2027, and for those who enjoy cosy gaming, Lavender Station is one you’ll want on your wishlist.

Developed by solo dev Denise Hohl, the co-founder of indie studio Ninoko, Lavender Station is a cosy train station sim.

That may not sound wholly compelling to some upon first sight, but Lavender Station’s charm is in its simplicity - and its beautiful presentation.

You essentially run and control the titular, compact Lavender Station; it’s down to you to welcome passengers and help with their requests.

As you progress, your local line will connect to regional and city lines and beyond, providing you with the income you need to improve Lavender Station’s facilities.

“Lavender Station is a cosy train station management game about care, routine, and small improvements,” begins the synopsis.

“You look after a quiet rural platform, welcome travellers, and gradually restore a forgotten station through decoration, maintenance, and thoughtful upgrades.”

Your tasks in the game include cleaning the platform, restocking its small facilities, preparing for train arrivals, assisting passengers with information, selling drinks and snacks, and overall maintaining a nice place to rest.

The better the reputation of your platform, the more visitors you’ll have.

Lavender Station is pretty run-down at the beginning of the game, with its rural location having led it to be largely ignored.

Ninoko

It’s noted that this is not a game about profit or pressure. Instead, players are invited to focus on “calm routines and atmosphere”.

“There are no fail states or strict timers, just the quiet satisfaction of caring for a place and watching it slowly come back to life,” it’s teased.

It’s nice to see a cosy game with that mentality, as so many, perhaps surprisingly, rely on quite a high need for grind from the player.

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Lavender Station has launched a free demo for Train Fest on Steam

Lavender Station is set to be a short title, running for around two to four hours; that’s quite nice, as it shouldn’t harm your backlog too much.

You don’t have to wait until 2027 to see what it has to offer, as a free demo is available on PC storefront Steam for a limited time.

Steam is currently hosting Train Fest, which runs from 20 to 27 July, with the demo available for the same period of time.

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It should introduce you to the game’s key mechanics. There’s no precise runtime for the demo, but it probably won’t run past 30 minutes, given the two to four-hour full runtime of the game.

If you like what you play, you can support this solo dev by wishlisting Lavender Station, which is really important to indie projects as it shows Steam there’s interest there.