The cosy game genre is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down, with new releases on the way over the next year that are all trying to revolutionise a saturated genre in their own way.
One of the more exciting is The Regreening, which takes the emphasis away from building structures and towns, and instead puts its energy towards encouraging the player to restoring the natural world.
Whilst there is obviously plenty of cosy nature in the genre as a whole, it's usually purely about either collecting resources or making your environment look as nice as possible. Not so here, where you'll much more be a part of a living world, shaping it through subtle actions, rather than totally bulldozing through it.
It's a nice approach, and seemingly a surprisingly deep game if the early materials are to be believed.
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Become One With Nature
Developed by the aptly named Positive Impact Games, The Regreening has a clear commentary here about the environment and our care for it, framed in a really approachable and endearing way.
In the developer's own words: "Restore the world with your hands, your heart, and just a touch of magic.
"Watch seeds turn into trees and the desert turn into a green oasis. Feel the change as it happens: warm breezes ripple through freshly sprouted meadows, frogs return to singing wetlands, and it finally rains."
There are quite a few different mechanics set to feature in the full game, almost all of which have you directly interacting with nature in some way.
The first, and probably most important, is planting and cultivation.
You'll discover new seeds and synergise new plants, taking them to different places to create your own custom biomes.
You can also restore animal habitats, bringing new creatures to the land and further diversifying the area.
As you go, you'll clear the environment of any junk you come across, with recycling and crafting all available to the player. This can encompass anything from decorations for your living area to complex watering systems for the plants you've just dug in.
There are also unique abilities tied to nature spirits that you'll meet along the way, that should make your tough life saving the world that little bit easier.
The game doesn't have a release date just yet, but there are plenty of gameplay images available to the public, so we're hoping it won't be too long before there's some news.
Topics: Indie Games, Valheim, Animal Crossing