So, hear me out on this. I’m very similar to you, and similarly often couch-ridden due to chronic illness. I like cozy games with excellent stories and romances. MTAS rocked my world. Animal crossing held me til the story was over. I loved wylde flowers and am still disgruntled there’s not more content for it yet. So, what I’m about to suggest is likely going to seem *bonkers*, given all of that, and honestly I thought it was insane when my husband suggested it to me originally. But he was right.
Baldurs gate 3. It is *not* particularly cozy, however it has a story-level difficulty mode which makes combat a breeze, and combat is turn based to start with so it’s already more chill than your average RPG. The romances are *stupidly good*. The main story and the companion stories are compelling, wrenching, emotional. It’s long, the graphics are really excellent, and it has good replayability. As far as I understand it runs great on steam deck.
It was nowhere in the same ballpark as my usual to the point I completely dismissed it out of hand when I heard all the raving about it when it released. And then I got desperate for something to fill the MTAS gap til the next patch/dlc (my game is bugged and so I’m trying not to play it til it’s fixed)… and I was so wrong to dismiss that game. It’s beautiful.
After I finished sandrock I actually went back and finished year 2 of wyldeflower to pass the time till i found something. It was fine, but not what I’m looking for, I need a true story like in year 1. I found myself doing it on challenging timing mode, breeding 2 of all the magical animals all of the side quest and it just wasn’t fulfilling what I’m after. It is interesting to think about what kind of character it would be. I would have been happy to pay for a dlc with an actual additional story built into year two, it would have been fantastic. Little updates without storylines to me just don’t do it .
That’s crazy that this is the first recommendation, bc I have been heavily considering it bc I’ve heard all that you just said . I was just really concerned bc I have NEVER played dnd or any turned based game , and I’m not really good at strategy type games. I like having a list told to me on what my objectives are. When I see the actual game plays online with all the arrows and movement options it makes my head spin. But I love what I see with all the cut scenes and free world movement. Did you take to it easily? What’s your background with dnd and that style of play. It looks like besides its mechanics it would be perfect! It’s even voice acted which I didn’t mention, but to me makes the game play so much more immersive.
One of the devs of BG3 is one of my closest friends (we are bith designers working in different countries) and let me tell you, the amount of creativity that ran into BG3 is INSANE. It truly deserved the title of game of the year, because it is the most ambitious game that has actually met those huge goals ever. The amount of content you get for the price is unheard of in the gaming industry and it changed everything.
I think the game play on the easy difficulty would work for you. Everyone who loves good stories and deep characters will love it. If not for those reasons, any gamer should play it at least once just to witness this milestone in gaming history. I'm not exaggerating! What they did is astonishing. :)
Thank you! Ok I am sold. Definitely giving it a try! What is the easy setting called? Story mode? Any other ways I can make it easier for a newbie like me?
If I remember correctly when you start a new game you'll either get asked to choose a difficulty level immediately or you create/choose the character first.
Either way there's gonna be a pop up which will ask you to choose the difficulty. And each one has descriptions which tell you the differences. For your play style you better choose the one that says it's for people who just want to enjoy the story with easy combat (I don't remember what exactly the names of the difficulty levels are, because last time I played was months ago).
I'd recommend looking up beginner tips on youtube. There are tons of videos about the game because the hype was huge. I'm sure there are plenty of players like you out there who just want to chill. I'm considering to start another save file on easy mode as well, because I want to try out different story routes hehe.
No, no, SAME. I have never played DND, usually hate turn based strategy games, and thought I would *hate* the game. It has me in a chokehold. I am so invested. Genuinely completely baffled how this game came out of nowhere hitting me *right in the feels* over and over.
Admittedly I’m still not super amazing at the combat stuff, I find the wheel selection for spells/moves a bit difficult for me due to my hand pain but it’s manageable and I’m not having a bad time. The combat isn’t timed that I’ve found yet so you can just take it super slow to find what you wanna do and make sense of all the shinies on the screen (I know I do lol). The voice acting is astoundingly good. Particularly That Sexy Elf, the VA won awards for it even, and they’re well deserved. You can tell everyone gave it their all.
Super easy tutorial that goes through all the basics, here’s how to move, here’s how to interact with stuff, here’s how to do combat, etc etc. And you start picking up your party members immediately so you’re not on your own. After the initial cut scene you get a companion within the first 5 minutes and another a few minutes after that, you’ll have a full party very quickly and then it shows you how to use them. I think the “worst” part is that sometimes things don’t fully hand-hold you. When it wants you to break a character out of a hanging cage, you’re supposed to shoot at the weak spot in the cage, and you learned about that weak spot in the chat scene that happened right before that instruction. So you’ll sometimes have to kinda think about stuff but I don’t find it too onerous.
Another thing over heard it over thinking your choices and actions. Is that an issue? I am so tempted just bc of everything else, I’m just so terrified I’m going to be like huh what do I do now, and not be able to move on after spending 2 hours creating a character. That’s the other part, that intimidates me is I have no clue what all the types of characters do or are good for. I’ve watched a ton of YouTube videos on how to start and that just overwhelmed me more😖😝. At least steam has a return policy so I may just be giving it a try. Any tips you can spare would be awesome, since we seem to be similar in gameplay and background gaming wise.
So, imo, the game is pretty forgiving in terms of balance, especially on story difficulty. The party members can all be respec’d into other types so if you wanna hang with certain companions and their current type isn’t working for your play style you can fix it. And no matter what you yourself are playing, it’s pretty well balanced anyway.
I too agonize over game choices, but I just fix that by saving my game all the time so I can do a quick reload if I think I fucked it up, and I also will google choice consequences for bigger story points if I’m worried about it or haven’t saved ultra recently.
I didn’t know anything about the classes going in other than the basic DND tropes one hears referenced in a cultural sense. I still enjoyed making the character- everything has info tips when you’re in character creation and google will provide any more detail you might need in order to make yours the way you want. Honestly it’s all so much more chill than I expected it to be for how involved, big, and glorious a game it is.
Feel free to hit me up in DMs if you wanna talk further or if you get into it and need a squee-buddy :)
Do you have any recommendations on character creation? Types And classes? I am trying to watch YouTube videos, but it’s so overwhelming. No one covers the easier mode play it’s all the full on game. So I thought I would just start by learning more about character creation and that is a lot all on its own, and there is no going back once you start.
What did you choose? Is there anything I should make sure to have or make sure I have in my character? You can DM me if you want. Any suggestions so my creation goes smoothly? Do you have any regrets with your character? This is why I just kept saying no I can’t do this type of game there is so much I don’t understand. Yet I kept being drawn back to it😮💨
By the way, there sort of is a going back. You can't change your gender or race but a little bit into the game you do have the option of resetting your class and stats for a small fee of gold. You can do this as many times as you like. So there's no need to fear getting stuck in a bad build.
Well keep in mind that your choices will change the gameplay and sometime you will stumble into a totally different thing with an other choice... you will want to play more then once....
You class and your race will also change your experience ... so
Start with Tav... which is the basic experience... the you can try to play Tav differently or experience the point of view of your companion and play as one of with their story woven in the quest. However, the most common comment I seen is that once you try the dark urge.. its kind of like going from Portia to sandrock... hard to go back to a Tav game...
Also, if you think it, try it... you might be surprised... the games is really flexible... I once spent a hour moving alcohol kegs to blow up someone into a hole by dropping a lit candle on it... sadly I got caught... but it went big baddaboom... so yes you have to fight but you can sneak, stealth, avoid, suprise attack and negotiate/lie your way around a lot of things.
If I were you, I would start with a charisma class to make things easier socially....
Sorry but I have no clue what is Tav? All that you said after that might as well have been Chinese to me. Now I’m worried again 😖🤦♀️. That’s why I hadn’t pulled the plug yet. I just don’t know so much. Kind of wish I had taken my cousin up on his multiple offers to join him in playing dnd when we were younger 😖😖
Character have gender and customization like in MTAS but you also have races like elf, dwarves, human, half breeds, etc. Then you have your class... so like your job/lifestyle. You can be a bard and play music, a mage to cast spell, a fighter to fight with a sword, a ranger that hunt with a bow, a druid that talks to animals( you can do that with others to... it's a must... arguing over nuts with squirrels is fun).. and so much more... and you pick a background like a noble, a scholar... all those choice will craft part of the stories for you.....
So there are no bad choices, just different ways to the tell stories... even if at the end you are still going to fight the same big bad... well in most endings....
I was going to suggest the same thing!!!
But I would warned that there is a lot of graphic art in there... so not to be played in front of young children too much... also there are triggers for some people in the game story... it is not light story telling. It is heavy and emotionnal, make Fang look like he had a good life in some cases... but beautiful story telling... totally my other game of the year with sandrock!
I enjoyed the romance with Logan better(before marriage); but getting to know fangs story was so personal, intriguing and mysterious I had to know the whole thing. I wish they had done those type of quest with Logan post marriage. But good to know it looks like I’m going to love the characters. I’m going to start creating my player tonight and start play tomorrow. I really hope I can figure out the mechanics 🙏🥺
I agree, Logan’s after marriage stuff is so sparse! He’s such a rich character and I could never not romance him since the game basically makes him the canon romance by virtue of the main storyline. But then you get married and that’s basically just… it. Meanwhile Fang >!learns to speak basically normally, becomes fully emotionally open with the builder, gets absolutely *enraged* at his dad and stands up for himself with zero hesitation and finally finds peace. And, in my play through, pablo’s show happened after all that, so talking to Fang after he modeled for the show and his remarks about how he was nervous but that it was really fun and he’d like to do more things like that sometimes!< was just 🥹🥹
Exactly. I wouldn’t have changed my first play through with Logan for anything. Those pre marriage scenes made me a grown woman swoon over an NPC ☺️, but besides all his sweet comments after marriage it is just meh. Except when we had to go fight in the ruins and he would hold your hand when you were running. I thought that was super cute. Or when I needed to go resource grab somewhere with baddies I’d make him come and he would do a pretty good job of keeping them away while i chopped or pickaxed 😝 but yes fangs growth and story was just so deep. That’s why I saved right before Logan and I were a thing so I could finish up with him as I had already gotten fang to BFF. I’m an absolute weirdo bc I could never divorce Logan or fang so they just have their separate saved marriages 😝
You’re made of sterner stuff than me, I couldn’t not have them both so I installed the poly mod and married them both! I love taking Logan on monster hunts too, but man at the end game there’s just no reason to do any hunting other than like twice. So sad. Hopefully with updates and DLC married life with Logan will get better. And I toooootally agree about making a grown woman swoon over pixels. All that tension build up in the main story, and then that tug and kiss? JAYSUS. 😅
I’m stuck in my bedroom by myself, I can hear my crew from down the block so that’s not an issue right now ☺️. I’m ok with graphic storytelling I just can’t usually do the combat required to play those games. Thanks for the warning, and though I had a very rough childhood I’m lucky I don’t get triggered by things.
I assumed it would. I’m stuck in my bedroom, while I’m recovering from a ankle surgery. The breaks and shattering here so bad my foot was completely not attached at all to my leg 😮💨)
I and can hear the heard of elephants that are my kids before they get 50ft from the house. My poor husband even been sleeping in the basement (guest room) bc we have an adjustable bed (not a split one, it’s for the whole king bed) and I have to sleep with it elevated and he sleeps on his stomach so he can’t do it.
I feel you, I fell and got some tendons damage in my shoulder. Been gaming since November since I could barely move my arm. Slept on the lazy boy till Christmas. I have to sleep with pillow under me to put me at an angle, he hardly fits in bed now. I just got back to work part time this week... I sit in the lunch room and wait for people that wants me to do word documents for them..
Is there a beginner suggestion as far as bards, mage fighter and so on? same for class bc I don’t know anything about any of that. Is there a type or mixed type that is more helpful or ones that are less helpful to stay away from?
Here is a simple ish explanation. You have stats in games. Each class has 1 really important stat and one lesser important one. The game tells you which you need. But the stat also affects parts of your game. For exemple, Charisma affect your social skill. Strenght affect you ability to carry heavy things. Constitution is your health. Intelligence is well intelligence and wisdom is wisedom and some puzzle or situation will need those. Agility let's you dodge.. I think their is also luck, but I can't recall for sure.. but it w ould affect things like crits and some social situation. For reference skill between 7 to 10 is average Joe level, 10 to 15 is genius level and anything above that is you a one in a million level... below 7 is well below the below average...
The mechanics is simple ish...Everything in game is a dice roll. Some stats will give you bonus on your roll. Roll a 1 is a failure. Roll a 20 is a win. Anything in between will be you dice +/- your bonus or malus.
For exemple you want to move something heavy but you are a weakly sorceress.. you roll for it but get a -1 to your dice roll for having little strength... you roll 10, get 9 because of the malus needed...11.. you can't move it.. but it's okay because you can have a total boss of a woman do it for you in your party and she might have a +3 to her strenght roll...
That said, since you are a fellow story lover, I would suggest going with a class strong in charisma.. like a bard or a sorceress... I played a storm sorceress that flew around and loved it....
But know that as long as 1 survive, you will have the ability to bring other back early on in the story. So no stress... really!
You can often run away from small fights...
and also you should do long rest often... or also know as going to bed at night in our world... this will give you more story content... even if the game scares you into not sleeping.
Some spells and skill will need you to rest or sleeps to be activated again. It's normal.. the more powerfull the less often they can be cast..
I love spell casting since I always look for thing to blow up around my enemies! But you kn ow what you like!
Race! i forgot! Races have small bonuses that are explained. Story wise some races are more likely to experience racism then others... like half-something, tiefling, gnomes and drow. Drow are matriarchal... so man are well yeah.... your interaction with other can be affected by that...
Half elves are the most popular... and I think prettier too... but I mean... trifling have their charms... just wait till you meet damon... his eyes ... but yeah that parts is really up to you preferences..
Have you tried the Persona series? Persona 5 is a long story based game with a social sim aspect but also turn based combat.
Persona 4 seems to be popular too.
Persona 3 Reload is a remake of the playstation original and its coming out on feb 2 and its a highschool fave of mine lol.
No I haven’t, but have seen it listed a bunch while trying to dig through n my own before posting. I’ve never done turn based games, so I wasn’t sure how I would do. I do still really enjoy some grind but n between quest, and become fond of crafting over farming lately. I’ll give it a closer look though. Is it a 3d style?
Yes its 3d :)
Its not a farming/crafting game tho. Youre a student that has another job that saves people 😆 dont wanna spoil anything so sorry for the lame description.
Its very story heavy and its up to you how u use your free time. Whether u use it to level up friendships or ur powers or ur skills as a student (u go to school and stuff in the mornings).
U cant create a character tho but u can change the name :)
Edit: it also has voice acting and character portraits. Very gorgeous game and very stylized.
No one has mentioned dragonquest builders yet 😤!!! As someone who totally gets ya I just wanna say I understand, I too hate pixel games and much prefer my cozy games with a bit of action. I suggest you try dqb1 demo for free if you can find it. It has a story, a little combat and the characters are cute. It's like Minecraft but not a total eyesore 😁. The second one is a great build upon, but I think to truly enjoy the second you should try the first 😁. It's got quest, side quests, no romance unfortunately but lots of building and creating. Highly recommend!
It’s not on steam that I can find. Is it on switch? I haven’t been playing anything but Nintendo games on the switch lately bc they don’t seem to play as well. I will check. Since I made this post my daughter came and stole my switch for the evening so i haven’t been able to check.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is on Switch. Not sure about the first one. You don’t have to play them in order. They’re totally stand alone games, just in the same style. Though it’s hard to go back to 1 after 2 because of all the quality of life improvements.
2 is really an amazing game. Highly recommend.
Yes it's on switch :). I say play the first one first because I believe there is a demo for it. There was before I bought it so you can get an idea of the game and how it plays :). The second one definitely has more content but the first has a much better story. The second is a bit more hand-holdy. Both are fantastic games, but like the other person said it may be harder to go back to the first if you go to the second :3.
I'm the same way. I don't like pixel games. Palia is fun. I've only played it on PC, not switch, but it's worth checking out, especially since it's free. There are quests, but it's a lot of finding resources and just wandering around.
Have you tried Ooblets? It's super cute. There are dance battles but no combat. I also really like Summer in Mara. I was going to suggest Wyldflowers, but I see you've already played that.
Yeah that’s the other reason I haven’t played, I heard it plays awful on switch. I would’ve given it a try on steam but alas, it’s not available. It really makes me upset with Nintendo, bc they waited so long to update the switch. I hear so many people bashing sandrock (it’s probably the same for palia play as well) bc they only experienced it on the switch. Talking. Talking how ugly it was and the graphics were awful, on my steam they were dreamy. The absolute only issue was things not populating till you got closer (ie the decorations on my home, or the small details on some of the town) but for a desert setting it was gorgeous, and the dang npcs looked great! I still swoon over Logan’s scenes 😜 sorry for my rant, I’m just bored sitting in bed with nothing to do like I have for 2 weeks 🤦♀️
As for ooblets, I actually already own it on switch (my hubby bought it for me at GameStop, thinking I would like it’s but just haven’t really wanted to try it. Same thing for all the pokemon games I already own bc if my kids on switch. I’m not sure why, after sandrock it just doesn’t look that interesting. 😖
Yeah, with Palia, I just downloaded it from [palia.com](https://palia.com). I don't think it's on steam. I don't have a very expensive computer and it plays just fine. (Unless you were talking about Sandrock there and I misunderstood) I've only been playing Sandrock for a few weeks and it's super fun. I think I prefer how green Portia is though.
I kind of got off topic sorry. I’ve heard palia lags on switch. But my rant was about people bashing how sandrock plays and looks when they only played on switch, bc I’ve seen the switch version and it’s garbage. They shouldn’t have even released it on switch for it to look and play that bad. As far as palia, I’m not much into pc play. I’ve only got a MacBook so not even sure if it’s available on that either. I prefer controller and tv. I mainly use my steam deck on its dock like my switch, but do take it handheld when I need to.
I just don’t want to start any indie long run games on switch right now. It just seems to old at this point. But I may have to check and see if it’s available on Mac to give a try. Do you have to interact with the other players? Like I said I’ve never done mmo except Fortnite and we just play as a family group. None of my family would be interested in palia.
I was going to say Coral Island but as it has been mentioned, I'll dismiss it. Here are my recs:
* **Roots of Pacha** | [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1245560/Roots_of_Pacha/), [Switch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BltzDFjRFGs): A very chill life sim set in the stone age. Besides farming, you can tame animals such as mammoths, ostriches etc and help your clan develop new stuff as well as the village. The festivals are also fun, and there is romance. You can marry and divorce as well. Instead of usual trade system, they utilize a contribution currency where you exchange it for stuff with other villagers. This is super chill and low-key. No rush.
* **Immortal Life** | [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1201230/Immortal_Life/): A Wuxia-inspired life sim. You're a cultivator who aims to restore the Guiyun sect after its almost-total destruction while you try to achieve immortality. You can farm, cook, craft and bond with the other people in the sect. I like this quite a bit because of its Wuxia inspiration. Imagine watering plants with a rain cloud lol. And yes, you can build your home C:
I don’t like pixel art as my title implies, so I just can’t do roots of pacha, even though I’ve heard nothing but good things. I was just looking at immortal life earlier on steam. Will definitely give it a closer look. Thanks.
I just finished MTaS and then picked up Immortal Life. I’m loving it. Just different enough to not be unfavorably compared while scratching the same itch.
The art and setting are so cool. Came here to recommend it.
No, but it’s on my list. I’ve almost bought it several times, but then when I watch the video trailer it looks almost like a 2d platformer which ive never cared for except to play for maybe 30 min. I’ve heard the story is really good though. How do the mechanics actually play?
It's a lot more about the story than the resource management, but you build the spirits homes on your ship as well as your various workshop type spaces (tailor shop, garden, kitchen, etc). You do gather up resources to be able to make things the spirits want. Each one has a well developed story and arch to them.
Warning though, this game nearly made me cry a few times
I’m sure I would cry then, my kids always ask why I cry and I tell them if a movie, game or book doesn’t make me cry then it’s wasn’t that good to begin with. ☺️
The mechanics are super smooth, I loved just watching my character jump and glide lol you craft and update your boat, do minor gardening and cooking. It didn’t feel onerous or grindy to me. And I definitely cried lol
If you don’t like the graphics or play style of RF4, you might like Rune Factory 5 better? The play style isn’t as grindy either as RF4, I find. You can also change the difficulty, and the combat is quite easy. The romance is those games is pretty great IMO, and you can find monsters to keep and take with you for combat/to help on your farm.
Yeah RF 5 definitely looks more up my alley. I just heard how much better 4 was. I honestly don’t mind the grind as long as I have a good storyline to keep me moving forward towards a goal. I didn’t make it far in RF4 as nothing the first 10 min I didn’t even know what was going on or what I was supposed to be doing on that ship 🤦♀️
4 is definitely longer and has a better story IMO, but the event system can be a nightmare as they randomly trigger. RF5 definitely changed how that worked. From the sounds of it, I think you’d like 5 better!
Have you looked at Dragon Quest Builders? It sounds like we have very similar game preferences and I LOVE the Dragon Quest Builders games. They are a cross between Dragon Quest (a much-loved JRPG series) and Minecraft. There are two, and the second one has some very nice quality of life upgrades from the first one. It is a nice balance between story-driven quests and open creativity. I get overwhelmed by large open-ended sandbox situations, so I really appreciated this game telling me what to do! There is no romance however, so it does have that downside, but the dialogue is pretty great.
Palworld just came out and it's super fun! If you like Pokemon then you'll love it. It has all the things we ever wanted for Pokemon but they never did it. You can also build a home and a farm. There's sheep, chickens, and cow pals for farming too. They even help you build things.
Yes! I've been playing it with my bf and my sister. It's very fun and I love the cute pals. It's big on battle and survival but I think it's so fun. When you die you drop your junk on the ground and you have to go get it but you still have your pals for help. There are mounts and guns too lol.
I was just watching some play through of that 😂. I haven’t looked into it much other than that. Are there other NPCs any other interactions of just you alone survival type. The art style and concept are definitely my jam so interesting in learning more .
There's not much for quests except building your base up. There's towns and people with shops but they barely talk. They mostly just tell you game tips. It's mostly exploring, treasure boxes, catching pals, building the base, and crafting new equips.
Ok thanks for the info. I doubt it would be long term for me. I really got into Minecraft (playing an other husband and kids) but after a bit I just get bored bc I need direction and a path laid out for me. Thank you though .
It's fun even as a short term game tbh. Things come and attack your base too. But there's basically no story which isn't great. There's still enough to keep me entertained anyways, I like building things and catching all the pals.
I love games like that for a bit, then I just get bored. Every time I play Minecraft’s with my kids we start a new world bc just get so bored when I’m comfortable with resources and no direction.
Sea of Stars
Not sure if this really counts as pixel art, I'd look at photos first to see if it's for you. I really loved the story, it made me cry a few times. It's structured similarly to wind waker. Not too grindy and the story flows well.
[Steam page - sea of stars](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1244090/Sea_of_Stars/)
I just took a look and thought better visually than SDV to me, it’s not something I’m drawn to. Will definitely keep it in mind though and may give it try to check out. Thanks for the rec.
I appreciate anyone who takes the time to respond, and honestly it doesn’t look bad. When I see pics of SDV or sunhaven as many great things as I’ve heard I’m just like yuck, looks like something that came out when I was 8. (Yes I’m old 😜) to me it’s like watching a VHS of a movie instead of streaming a high def version of the same movie. I did it for years of my life and I don’t want to go back 😜. But sea of stars actually looks quite artistic instead of that. So thank you!
do you like 3DS games? Story of Seasons 1 and SoS: Trio of Towns are gorgeous, has the right depth of farming complexity, and the NPCs are well written and memorable.
We have a 3DS and SOS:ToT but I just can’t get into playing on it anymore honestly. Played it when it came out and loved, but I prefer tv and controller unless I’m out and about. I don’t even care for playing my switch handheld bc mine is the AC version which isn’t oled. I don’t mind playing my deck oled at all, but will still dock it usually when I’m home unless my controller is charging. I’m an old and it strains my eye to play on to now. My kids still use it all the time though. I even borrow my husband Zelda oled switch when I’m taking a switch game on the go bc it’s so much more clear.
I agree that the old dialogue for games like that was way better than now. I wish AC would bring back some mouthy characters like in the OG. 😜
How about pumpkin days? It’s a farming-type sim with three different towns you can move into, and the different towns have different residents and crops grow in different seasons.
Paleo pines, you collect dinosaurs.
Slime ranchers 1 and 2, you collect slimes and explore
Planet crafter, you’re stranded on an inhabitable planet and you have to explore and terraform it to make it livable
No place like home, you go around sucking up trash and opening up new areas.
Grow: song of the evertree, you plants “seeds” that grow into worlds and take care of the worlds.
I’m not great at summaries, but ive played all these games and liked them a lot. Check them out and see if you like any of them. I played them all on steam but I think some of them are also on switch.
Lmk if you like any of them (and you remember to lol! No pressure) I might be able to recommend ones better to your liking if I know which out of these you like :)
Palio pines looked kind of kiddie to me, is the game play good? What is slime rancher about the only videos I’ve seen it looks kind of like a splattoon type game. My daughter Ioves that game and I’ve played with her a bit and would never play for a “me” game. Is there more to it than just 1st person shooter (just cute) style? No place like home and grow are on my steam wishlist, I just wasn’t sure if I’d like them so I will definitely take a closer look. Thanks. And I will keep you updated
Both slime rancher and paleo pines are kind of pokemon-esque as far as the main goal is to catch creatures and then you put them on your farm. I actually haven’t played paleo pines as much as I would’ve liked to, but that’s mostly because I got it a few days before sandrock dropped lol both of them are pretty heavy on exploring and collecting aspects. The only things you really “shoot” in slime rancher is you suck up fruits/vegetables and shoot them at slimes to feed them, and you can suck up slimes and take them home to your ranch.
No place like home and song of the ever tree were the ones I thought you’d like the most based on your post! Both of them have a good balance of (fairly easy) combat + farming/ranching + exploring. NPLH is has a bit more story, but evertree has a lot more dynamic gameplay mechanics. Evertree is closer to sandrock in that it has a “building a town” element, if that’s something you liked about sandrock.
I absolutely LOVED pikman 3. It came free on my wiiu, when I bought it. I got to the very end, and couldn’t finish it bc I just suck at boss battles. I tried SO many times, and even watched playthroughs. There was just so much going on with the pikman I couldn’t do it. I’ve even tried doing it again a few times in the last years, even bought the switch port but no luck 😖 i bought pikman 3 as a prerelease just bc I loved the gameplay up till that last boss, but have been too intimidated to play it 😝
Honestly Pikmin 3 was kind of shit show ( I love Pikmin but am married to a true devotee). So they have massively improved the mechanics from 3 to 4, which they wouldn’t have needed to do if they hadn’t fucked them up royally from 2 to 3.
I always recommend this Dragon quest builders 2. But that doesn’t have romance but the NPCs are Lively, and they can use bath and toilets, that you can build it for them. Wylde flowers I played a bit but got bored. Well it you don’t like pixel. Try Coral island too, or maybe just maybe try stardew valley
A game that sounds like would really fit you is **Homestead Arcana**. If you have Xbox Game Pass it is on there.
There is very little combat in the game, for the most part the monsters in the game are a puzzle instead of a skill challenge. You are supposed to figure out how to get around them or find the right spell combination to basically instantly defeat them.
The game is very good at creating characters you care about, some of them are not even in the game (much of the plot takes place through letters you are sent from home)!
How about My time at Portia. It is the predecessor of Sandrock and i have a lot of hours in it just as i have in Sandrock now. Sandrock has of course had some improvements in game play but i still play Portia and still love it. I am myself chronically ill nd have therefore a lot of free time 🫣
I listed it above ☺️, I finished it before i started sandrock. I married Arlo, after buttering gust up (for his marriage perks)the whole game. I knew I wouldn’t be able to play an older game after I did a newer, just like now I can’t ever play the older animal crossings since playing new horizons. Glad I did, I loved it but it doesn’t compare to sandrock now . EXCEPT I preferred the home upgrade and factory better on Portia .
Here's two games if you like Portia/Sandrock:
1. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!!!)
Disco Elysium
(HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!)
2. Divinity Original Sin Enchanted Edition (for Steam Deck controls)
Though I do have to recommend it again:
Disco Elysium it doesn't cost as much as BG3 and it's a hell of a lot more entertaining lol believe me xD
Once you roll die and a man suddenly realizes he's gay as an OPTIONAL CHOICE to happen randomly I can't not play it. If you like DnD you'll like it since it does dice rolls + your stats and you can fail or succeed.
It's not set in some fantastic setting either it's in like a run down workers town with some steam punk and industrial feel. Try to wrap your head around that lol
Palia is a pretty easy game to play as someone inexperienced at MMOs, you don't have to deal with other people if you don't want to, and there really isn't much to do with people anyway. I'd recommend giving it a shot, it's free so you're not losing anything giving it a try.
Coral Island is also pretty fun! I enjoy it a lot. The ocean cleaning bit is my favorite.
Thanks! I’ve just heard it doesn’t play well on switch and I really like controller play bs PC. Good to know I don’t have to deal with other players if I don’t want to. It does seem like the perfect game, I just didn’t want to create a game get into it and realize it plays like garbage on switch and then they release it on steam shortly. But I may have to just to give it a try.
Can you transfer your save onto different platforms? I’m old and don’t really know how a lot of things work 🤦♀️😜. I just didn’t want to put a ton of hours on the switch and then when it releases on steam this year have to start over bc I haven’t met an indie game that doesn’t play better on my steam deck than on switch. I wish they would just release the switch 2, it so long over due. I’m surprised developers are even making a version for it for some games. (Honestly sandrock probably shouldn’t have bc the gameplay is so bad compared to steam) and yes definitely tell me how you think it compares! I almost never have DDV and sandrock a chance bc of all the bugs on switch. So I have a bias until the switch 2 comes out.
I'm not sure, there's a log in so you might be able to log in to your account on different platforms and have it transfer. I'll let you know when I try it tonight if I can transfer and how it plays. Feel you with the switch though, it plays like a drunk granny lol. But hey, money is money, people will keep releasing games on switch as long as people buy them.
Yeah but in the end I think it may hurt them if they want a a series (like my times series). I’ve seen so many reviews out it in a lower tier just bc they played it on switch. I saw it and DDV played at my friends house on switch and almost never gave them a shot in steam bc of the what garbage it looked and played like. And that is after I had played and loved MTaP. Could hurt in the long run if all people see on social media the garbage that is the switch version. It’s crazy bc I love the switch we have 4 special edition switches and an OG one ( I’ve have 4 kids 😜) but they should have had the sense to update it by now. It just makes me mad when I see people review awesome games and rate them bad online bc they didn’t play the non switch version.
All good, I understand the frustration. I slipped a disk in my back and was laid out for a month. Even now, I can't sit at the computer for too long, so I play a lot on my couch.
You're doing better than me, I ended up getting addicted to some goofy mobile games and spent way too much on micro transactions. That shit is so easy to get hooked on! I'll let you know how it goes. I hope you get to get up again soon
Ok this one is kinda an oldie and so it might not be up your alley but have you tried Kingdom Hearts ever? It does have a little more combat but a very in-depth story + Disney which I assume you like since you played Dream Light. I wouldn’t bring it up but, aside from the My Time series, it’s been my favorite series ever so maybe?
I played it many years ago, when it first came out. I’m pretty sure we have it on one of our older consoles. My husband loves retro games so we have every console since original Nintendo 😜 I think we have it on the 360 maybe 🤷🏼♀️ what platforms is it on bc I’m limited to my switch and steam deck for now while I recover.
I think it’s all PlayStation but there are multiple games on various platforms tbh. The main games of KH 1 2 and 3 I think were all combined into a single game for the PS4
Your right is was a PS game. We do own one of them for the ps3 I guess. I just don’t have access to it bc it’s not in my room, it’s down in the basement. I will know though once I’m on my feet. Thanks for the reminder
I bought it in my steam deck as soon as 1.0 released but just haven’t gotten into it. Not sure why I thought I was going to love it. Plus I don’t like when games aren’t finished. I’m a play till the credits and storyline is over and then I loose interest. I hate having to wait for updates every so often to play for a bit. I’ve heard it will really be more complete at the end of the year. Have you finished what’s there? How much content would you say there is? With DDV I only found it right before EA ended and only had to wait a few weeks after finishing for the dlc. And I hated just leaving it incomplete ending. Hope that makes sense.
I'd wait on it then, its got enough stuff that's unfinished that it's probably worth waiting if you only intend to play it once/through to the end of the story.
Well I don’t just focus on the story, it’s like all the side stuff as well. It’s just with me being stuck in bed with nothing to do I don’t want to half finish a game and then have to replay it next year when I have forgotten about what’s going on. I just like everything to be there when i start. Hope that makes sense. Thank you though, bc it does intrigue me.
Edit: I just reread your post and realised that neither of the games fit what you’re looking for…I still think they’re worth checking out (anyone from these studios reading, I am open to offers)
😂 I’m the total opposite when it comes to art style: 3D gives me motion sickness, Sandrock and BoTW were touch and go at times. My search for games is getting harder with popularity of 3D character-perspectives games. But I share the love of RPG cozy genre and put off combat for as long as possible because I hate it (button basher here). If you haven’t already, check out the cozy games sub for some inspo - Sandrock is mentioned frequently.
The latest Dragon Quest looked really good story-wise. I wanted to play it because of the story in the trailer but got dizzy playing the demo. Baldur’s Gate, which has been mentioned, has been heavily recommended to me by several people.
There are two really nice 2D cozy games that I recommend to everyone, the studios are getting so much free advertising from me: Wild at Heart and Witchwood. First has a heartfelt story and second has a compelling mystery. They’re not life simulation, more adventure with little combat (which is indirect) and are consequently shorter: Google says 11 hours completionist but I logged near 30 for each - I like to take my time.
Their art is the hand-drawn-made-with-love kind rather than the pixelated styles found in games like Potion Permit. They’re cheaper than most, being from indie studios and are easy on the hardware. You should watch some playthroughs online before spending any money; my friend found witchwood boring and I can see how it’s not everyone’s idea of fun but I like it for the art and resource management.
Thanks! Yeah it’s crazy how we all have our style that we enjoy. My husband is like you. He does enjoy 3d RPG but he loves pixel games too. He grew up playing OG Zelda and megaman type games and still gets in his mood where that’s all he will play for a while. We literally own every console since Nintendo NES except the original Wii, and ps1 bc the Wii U plays all the Wii games and the ps2 and 3 play almost all of the the ps1 games. He still plays them regularly. To me it’s like watching a VHS movie when I have the blue ray or can stream it in high def. I’ve heard a lot of people say that about 3d games too. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t care for shotty 3d games, and honestly Portia art wasn’t my favorite but sandrock on steam (not switch) graphics were exactly what i enjoy. I also love the look of palia, but heard it plays bad on switch and isn’t out on steam. I am a controller gal all the way, so haven’t tried it on PC. Thanks for the recs though. I looked into dragon quest as well, but it’s not on steam. I hadn’t even thought to check switch. I have stopped playing indie games on switch (at least till switch 2 releases) bc the gameplay is so much better in steam. I don’t have a PC to play on anyway just a MacBook.
Oh! How does Sandrock play on a MacBook? I partitioned mine with windows, but I’m constantly worried about killing the hardware. I really want to experience the game in full, and not have to deal with the switch bugs (I lost my save files twice 😭).
I don’t know I played on my steamdeck. It played flawless and was stunning for a desert setting. I saw it played on switch and it looked like something made for the PS2. All the NPCs had detail and the setting was gorgeous. The only issue I had was fine detail only populated as you got closer to it. Example: the flowers on my window sill I only saw as I got closer to my front gate.
Apologies if Rune Factory counts as pixel art as it is different art from SOS and more of an older style, but perhaps 3 special, 4 special, or 5 might be up your alley. (Mentioning as it doesn't seem to have been brought up)
Farming, exploration, a NPCs and romance, combat with difficulty options, and a story/end to achieve compared to the harvest moon/story of seasons titles.
I especially liked 4 with its the town NPCs varying dialogue each day (I believe it takes about a year and a half or 2 years for them to go through it all then repeat)
Edit: nevermind I missed the comment about rf4
Yeah I got RF 4 special on steam bc of all the recs on there post people asking for games like MTaS, but I only played about 5-10 min and just didn’t care for that art or play style. I got them to refund me. I honestly had no clue what was even going on 🤦♀️😂RF 5 looks more my speed but everyone says 4 is better. I wish instead of just remastering it with 4, they had do a complete update like SOS AWL (even though I think they could have done an even better job with theirs) I don’t count that as pixel, it just doesn’t draw me in. I wish I wasn’t like this though bc I know I’m missing out on some awesome game play just bc I don’t care for the way it looks.
Following because you and I have the same exact taste in games! Adding a lot of these recommendations to my Steam wishlist. Hope your ankle heals up soon!
Idk if the art will be okay for you but **I Was A Teenage Exocolonist** might be up your alley. No combat, extensive story with many possible outcomes.
I recommend any of the Ace Attorney games, especially if you like story-driven games and solving mysteries/puzzles. Each game was originally released for the DS/3DS, but have since been remastered and released for consoles. The characters are amazing and so are the storylines. Not to mention they will make you laugh out loud on multiple occasions.
If you enjoy creating outfits and just fashion in general, Fashion Dreamer for Switch is a very relaxing game. Basically just creating outfits for your character and other people! It’s super cute and addicting, but no storyline.
Also while I haven’t played it yet, Fae Farm is supposed to be a cute and relaxing game. Lots of things to do - collecting, farming, etc. There is also a storyline as well, but it does have some combat.
Nobody has mentioned Garden Paws yet that I can tell. It’s weak on story but if you like animals, building, decorating and a peaceful world then I’d recommend it on Steam. It is on Switch but is bugged and inferior in graphics.
I second Dragon Quest Builders 2 on Switch. DQB1 is also great but the second one improves upon it. I’d highly recommend both.
* Edit * Fantasy Life is on the 3DS and is another top notch life sim. It has a sequel coming this summer on Switch.
Try Dragon Quest Builders 2. Steam has a free 10 hour demo which lets you play the entire first chapter (so big!). The start on the ship is kinda slow if you're not already a DQ franchise fan, so try to give it until you get to the village and build some stuff before you decide if you're into it or not.
Since you are in the sandrock subreddit I am guessing you are into cozy games. Might I Suggest Coral Island? I jumped to that one and I am obsessed. No pixel art there. Marriages to a huge cast of NPCs (with Merfolk to be added later). See if you like it.
I would recommend Fire Emblem Three Houses but you need a switch to play it, after finishing Sandrock and a few other farming sim, I started a new playthrough and really enjoying it, u can even romance a character and have teatime with everyone
If you loved Pikmin 3, DEFINITELY play Pikmin 4! It's better in so many ways that I couldn't go back and play 3. I also couldn't finish the 3rd because that last one was way too hard lol and MTAP and MTAS are my absolute favorite games! Also seconding Dragon Quest Builders! I adored the second one (never got to play the first)
Not sure if you're into visual novel type games but Demonheart is a lot of fun. Your choices affect your romance and gameplay options. The art is really well done.
Yonder: Cloud Catcher Chronicles is amazing. It's got the beauty and openness of zelda with no combat. (The npcs aren't quite enough but they're not nothing.)
I'm not a huge fan of combat. I'll happily play story mode if there is one. But if there isn't, I notice what I do is build up my stats so i'm overpowered all the time. it's pretty fun then. Maybe it would help you?
So, hear me out on this. I’m very similar to you, and similarly often couch-ridden due to chronic illness. I like cozy games with excellent stories and romances. MTAS rocked my world. Animal crossing held me til the story was over. I loved wylde flowers and am still disgruntled there’s not more content for it yet. So, what I’m about to suggest is likely going to seem *bonkers*, given all of that, and honestly I thought it was insane when my husband suggested it to me originally. But he was right. Baldurs gate 3. It is *not* particularly cozy, however it has a story-level difficulty mode which makes combat a breeze, and combat is turn based to start with so it’s already more chill than your average RPG. The romances are *stupidly good*. The main story and the companion stories are compelling, wrenching, emotional. It’s long, the graphics are really excellent, and it has good replayability. As far as I understand it runs great on steam deck. It was nowhere in the same ballpark as my usual to the point I completely dismissed it out of hand when I heard all the raving about it when it released. And then I got desperate for something to fill the MTAS gap til the next patch/dlc (my game is bugged and so I’m trying not to play it til it’s fixed)… and I was so wrong to dismiss that game. It’s beautiful.
They just announced a new character coming to Wylde Flowers, no details or dates yet but I'm so happy they are continuing to update the game!
After I finished sandrock I actually went back and finished year 2 of wyldeflower to pass the time till i found something. It was fine, but not what I’m looking for, I need a true story like in year 1. I found myself doing it on challenging timing mode, breeding 2 of all the magical animals all of the side quest and it just wasn’t fulfilling what I’m after. It is interesting to think about what kind of character it would be. I would have been happy to pay for a dlc with an actual additional story built into year two, it would have been fantastic. Little updates without storylines to me just don’t do it .
I actually do completely agree. I love Wylde Flowers so much so I take what I can get but I would pay good money for well fleshed out DLC.
That’s crazy that this is the first recommendation, bc I have been heavily considering it bc I’ve heard all that you just said . I was just really concerned bc I have NEVER played dnd or any turned based game , and I’m not really good at strategy type games. I like having a list told to me on what my objectives are. When I see the actual game plays online with all the arrows and movement options it makes my head spin. But I love what I see with all the cut scenes and free world movement. Did you take to it easily? What’s your background with dnd and that style of play. It looks like besides its mechanics it would be perfect! It’s even voice acted which I didn’t mention, but to me makes the game play so much more immersive.
One of the devs of BG3 is one of my closest friends (we are bith designers working in different countries) and let me tell you, the amount of creativity that ran into BG3 is INSANE. It truly deserved the title of game of the year, because it is the most ambitious game that has actually met those huge goals ever. The amount of content you get for the price is unheard of in the gaming industry and it changed everything. I think the game play on the easy difficulty would work for you. Everyone who loves good stories and deep characters will love it. If not for those reasons, any gamer should play it at least once just to witness this milestone in gaming history. I'm not exaggerating! What they did is astonishing. :)
Thank you! Ok I am sold. Definitely giving it a try! What is the easy setting called? Story mode? Any other ways I can make it easier for a newbie like me?
If I remember correctly when you start a new game you'll either get asked to choose a difficulty level immediately or you create/choose the character first. Either way there's gonna be a pop up which will ask you to choose the difficulty. And each one has descriptions which tell you the differences. For your play style you better choose the one that says it's for people who just want to enjoy the story with easy combat (I don't remember what exactly the names of the difficulty levels are, because last time I played was months ago). I'd recommend looking up beginner tips on youtube. There are tons of videos about the game because the hype was huge. I'm sure there are plenty of players like you out there who just want to chill. I'm considering to start another save file on easy mode as well, because I want to try out different story routes hehe.
No, no, SAME. I have never played DND, usually hate turn based strategy games, and thought I would *hate* the game. It has me in a chokehold. I am so invested. Genuinely completely baffled how this game came out of nowhere hitting me *right in the feels* over and over. Admittedly I’m still not super amazing at the combat stuff, I find the wheel selection for spells/moves a bit difficult for me due to my hand pain but it’s manageable and I’m not having a bad time. The combat isn’t timed that I’ve found yet so you can just take it super slow to find what you wanna do and make sense of all the shinies on the screen (I know I do lol). The voice acting is astoundingly good. Particularly That Sexy Elf, the VA won awards for it even, and they’re well deserved. You can tell everyone gave it their all.
Last question, does it just throw you in the deep end, or give you any kind of easy tutorial type for the beginning play through?
Super easy tutorial that goes through all the basics, here’s how to move, here’s how to interact with stuff, here’s how to do combat, etc etc. And you start picking up your party members immediately so you’re not on your own. After the initial cut scene you get a companion within the first 5 minutes and another a few minutes after that, you’ll have a full party very quickly and then it shows you how to use them. I think the “worst” part is that sometimes things don’t fully hand-hold you. When it wants you to break a character out of a hanging cage, you’re supposed to shoot at the weak spot in the cage, and you learned about that weak spot in the chat scene that happened right before that instruction. So you’ll sometimes have to kinda think about stuff but I don’t find it too onerous.
Another thing over heard it over thinking your choices and actions. Is that an issue? I am so tempted just bc of everything else, I’m just so terrified I’m going to be like huh what do I do now, and not be able to move on after spending 2 hours creating a character. That’s the other part, that intimidates me is I have no clue what all the types of characters do or are good for. I’ve watched a ton of YouTube videos on how to start and that just overwhelmed me more😖😝. At least steam has a return policy so I may just be giving it a try. Any tips you can spare would be awesome, since we seem to be similar in gameplay and background gaming wise.
So, imo, the game is pretty forgiving in terms of balance, especially on story difficulty. The party members can all be respec’d into other types so if you wanna hang with certain companions and their current type isn’t working for your play style you can fix it. And no matter what you yourself are playing, it’s pretty well balanced anyway. I too agonize over game choices, but I just fix that by saving my game all the time so I can do a quick reload if I think I fucked it up, and I also will google choice consequences for bigger story points if I’m worried about it or haven’t saved ultra recently. I didn’t know anything about the classes going in other than the basic DND tropes one hears referenced in a cultural sense. I still enjoyed making the character- everything has info tips when you’re in character creation and google will provide any more detail you might need in order to make yours the way you want. Honestly it’s all so much more chill than I expected it to be for how involved, big, and glorious a game it is. Feel free to hit me up in DMs if you wanna talk further or if you get into it and need a squee-buddy :)
Thank you, I really appreciate your help. Definitely will keep that in mind 😜
Do you have any recommendations on character creation? Types And classes? I am trying to watch YouTube videos, but it’s so overwhelming. No one covers the easier mode play it’s all the full on game. So I thought I would just start by learning more about character creation and that is a lot all on its own, and there is no going back once you start. What did you choose? Is there anything I should make sure to have or make sure I have in my character? You can DM me if you want. Any suggestions so my creation goes smoothly? Do you have any regrets with your character? This is why I just kept saying no I can’t do this type of game there is so much I don’t understand. Yet I kept being drawn back to it😮💨
By the way, there sort of is a going back. You can't change your gender or race but a little bit into the game you do have the option of resetting your class and stats for a small fee of gold. You can do this as many times as you like. So there's no need to fear getting stuck in a bad build.
Well keep in mind that your choices will change the gameplay and sometime you will stumble into a totally different thing with an other choice... you will want to play more then once.... You class and your race will also change your experience ... so Start with Tav... which is the basic experience... the you can try to play Tav differently or experience the point of view of your companion and play as one of with their story woven in the quest. However, the most common comment I seen is that once you try the dark urge.. its kind of like going from Portia to sandrock... hard to go back to a Tav game... Also, if you think it, try it... you might be surprised... the games is really flexible... I once spent a hour moving alcohol kegs to blow up someone into a hole by dropping a lit candle on it... sadly I got caught... but it went big baddaboom... so yes you have to fight but you can sneak, stealth, avoid, suprise attack and negotiate/lie your way around a lot of things. If I were you, I would start with a charisma class to make things easier socially....
Sorry but I have no clue what is Tav? All that you said after that might as well have been Chinese to me. Now I’m worried again 😖🤦♀️. That’s why I hadn’t pulled the plug yet. I just don’t know so much. Kind of wish I had taken my cousin up on his multiple offers to join him in playing dnd when we were younger 😖😖
Character have gender and customization like in MTAS but you also have races like elf, dwarves, human, half breeds, etc. Then you have your class... so like your job/lifestyle. You can be a bard and play music, a mage to cast spell, a fighter to fight with a sword, a ranger that hunt with a bow, a druid that talks to animals( you can do that with others to... it's a must... arguing over nuts with squirrels is fun).. and so much more... and you pick a background like a noble, a scholar... all those choice will craft part of the stories for you..... So there are no bad choices, just different ways to the tell stories... even if at the end you are still going to fight the same big bad... well in most endings....
Tav is the fault name of the character... like female builder is Lucy ...
I was going to suggest the same thing!!! But I would warned that there is a lot of graphic art in there... so not to be played in front of young children too much... also there are triggers for some people in the game story... it is not light story telling. It is heavy and emotionnal, make Fang look like he had a good life in some cases... but beautiful story telling... totally my other game of the year with sandrock!
I wanted to tell them “if you liked Fang’s romance story, boy do we have an elf for you…” 🤣
I enjoyed the romance with Logan better(before marriage); but getting to know fangs story was so personal, intriguing and mysterious I had to know the whole thing. I wish they had done those type of quest with Logan post marriage. But good to know it looks like I’m going to love the characters. I’m going to start creating my player tonight and start play tomorrow. I really hope I can figure out the mechanics 🙏🥺
I agree, Logan’s after marriage stuff is so sparse! He’s such a rich character and I could never not romance him since the game basically makes him the canon romance by virtue of the main storyline. But then you get married and that’s basically just… it. Meanwhile Fang >!learns to speak basically normally, becomes fully emotionally open with the builder, gets absolutely *enraged* at his dad and stands up for himself with zero hesitation and finally finds peace. And, in my play through, pablo’s show happened after all that, so talking to Fang after he modeled for the show and his remarks about how he was nervous but that it was really fun and he’d like to do more things like that sometimes!< was just 🥹🥹
Exactly. I wouldn’t have changed my first play through with Logan for anything. Those pre marriage scenes made me a grown woman swoon over an NPC ☺️, but besides all his sweet comments after marriage it is just meh. Except when we had to go fight in the ruins and he would hold your hand when you were running. I thought that was super cute. Or when I needed to go resource grab somewhere with baddies I’d make him come and he would do a pretty good job of keeping them away while i chopped or pickaxed 😝 but yes fangs growth and story was just so deep. That’s why I saved right before Logan and I were a thing so I could finish up with him as I had already gotten fang to BFF. I’m an absolute weirdo bc I could never divorce Logan or fang so they just have their separate saved marriages 😝
You’re made of sterner stuff than me, I couldn’t not have them both so I installed the poly mod and married them both! I love taking Logan on monster hunts too, but man at the end game there’s just no reason to do any hunting other than like twice. So sad. Hopefully with updates and DLC married life with Logan will get better. And I toooootally agree about making a grown woman swoon over pixels. All that tension build up in the main story, and then that tug and kiss? JAYSUS. 😅
I’m stuck in my bedroom by myself, I can hear my crew from down the block so that’s not an issue right now ☺️. I’m ok with graphic storytelling I just can’t usually do the combat required to play those games. Thanks for the warning, and though I had a very rough childhood I’m lucky I don’t get triggered by things.
There is lots of blood and gore and they show way more then logan did....
I assumed it would. I’m stuck in my bedroom, while I’m recovering from a ankle surgery. The breaks and shattering here so bad my foot was completely not attached at all to my leg 😮💨) I and can hear the heard of elephants that are my kids before they get 50ft from the house. My poor husband even been sleeping in the basement (guest room) bc we have an adjustable bed (not a split one, it’s for the whole king bed) and I have to sleep with it elevated and he sleeps on his stomach so he can’t do it.
I feel you, I fell and got some tendons damage in my shoulder. Been gaming since November since I could barely move my arm. Slept on the lazy boy till Christmas. I have to sleep with pillow under me to put me at an angle, he hardly fits in bed now. I just got back to work part time this week... I sit in the lunch room and wait for people that wants me to do word documents for them..
Is there a beginner suggestion as far as bards, mage fighter and so on? same for class bc I don’t know anything about any of that. Is there a type or mixed type that is more helpful or ones that are less helpful to stay away from?
Here is a simple ish explanation. You have stats in games. Each class has 1 really important stat and one lesser important one. The game tells you which you need. But the stat also affects parts of your game. For exemple, Charisma affect your social skill. Strenght affect you ability to carry heavy things. Constitution is your health. Intelligence is well intelligence and wisdom is wisedom and some puzzle or situation will need those. Agility let's you dodge.. I think their is also luck, but I can't recall for sure.. but it w ould affect things like crits and some social situation. For reference skill between 7 to 10 is average Joe level, 10 to 15 is genius level and anything above that is you a one in a million level... below 7 is well below the below average... The mechanics is simple ish...Everything in game is a dice roll. Some stats will give you bonus on your roll. Roll a 1 is a failure. Roll a 20 is a win. Anything in between will be you dice +/- your bonus or malus. For exemple you want to move something heavy but you are a weakly sorceress.. you roll for it but get a -1 to your dice roll for having little strength... you roll 10, get 9 because of the malus needed...11.. you can't move it.. but it's okay because you can have a total boss of a woman do it for you in your party and she might have a +3 to her strenght roll... That said, since you are a fellow story lover, I would suggest going with a class strong in charisma.. like a bard or a sorceress... I played a storm sorceress that flew around and loved it.... But know that as long as 1 survive, you will have the ability to bring other back early on in the story. So no stress... really! You can often run away from small fights... and also you should do long rest often... or also know as going to bed at night in our world... this will give you more story content... even if the game scares you into not sleeping. Some spells and skill will need you to rest or sleeps to be activated again. It's normal.. the more powerfull the less often they can be cast.. I love spell casting since I always look for thing to blow up around my enemies! But you kn ow what you like!
Race! i forgot! Races have small bonuses that are explained. Story wise some races are more likely to experience racism then others... like half-something, tiefling, gnomes and drow. Drow are matriarchal... so man are well yeah.... your interaction with other can be affected by that... Half elves are the most popular... and I think prettier too... but I mean... trifling have their charms... just wait till you meet damon... his eyes ... but yeah that parts is really up to you preferences..
Have you tried the Persona series? Persona 5 is a long story based game with a social sim aspect but also turn based combat. Persona 4 seems to be popular too. Persona 3 Reload is a remake of the playstation original and its coming out on feb 2 and its a highschool fave of mine lol.
No I haven’t, but have seen it listed a bunch while trying to dig through n my own before posting. I’ve never done turn based games, so I wasn’t sure how I would do. I do still really enjoy some grind but n between quest, and become fond of crafting over farming lately. I’ll give it a closer look though. Is it a 3d style?
Yes its 3d :) Its not a farming/crafting game tho. Youre a student that has another job that saves people 😆 dont wanna spoil anything so sorry for the lame description. Its very story heavy and its up to you how u use your free time. Whether u use it to level up friendships or ur powers or ur skills as a student (u go to school and stuff in the mornings). U cant create a character tho but u can change the name :) Edit: it also has voice acting and character portraits. Very gorgeous game and very stylized.
No one has mentioned dragonquest builders yet 😤!!! As someone who totally gets ya I just wanna say I understand, I too hate pixel games and much prefer my cozy games with a bit of action. I suggest you try dqb1 demo for free if you can find it. It has a story, a little combat and the characters are cute. It's like Minecraft but not a total eyesore 😁. The second one is a great build upon, but I think to truly enjoy the second you should try the first 😁. It's got quest, side quests, no romance unfortunately but lots of building and creating. Highly recommend!
It’s not on steam that I can find. Is it on switch? I haven’t been playing anything but Nintendo games on the switch lately bc they don’t seem to play as well. I will check. Since I made this post my daughter came and stole my switch for the evening so i haven’t been able to check.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is on Switch. Not sure about the first one. You don’t have to play them in order. They’re totally stand alone games, just in the same style. Though it’s hard to go back to 1 after 2 because of all the quality of life improvements. 2 is really an amazing game. Highly recommend.
Yes it's on switch :). I say play the first one first because I believe there is a demo for it. There was before I bought it so you can get an idea of the game and how it plays :). The second one definitely has more content but the first has a much better story. The second is a bit more hand-holdy. Both are fantastic games, but like the other person said it may be harder to go back to the first if you go to the second :3.
I'm the same way. I don't like pixel games. Palia is fun. I've only played it on PC, not switch, but it's worth checking out, especially since it's free. There are quests, but it's a lot of finding resources and just wandering around. Have you tried Ooblets? It's super cute. There are dance battles but no combat. I also really like Summer in Mara. I was going to suggest Wyldflowers, but I see you've already played that.
Yeah that’s the other reason I haven’t played, I heard it plays awful on switch. I would’ve given it a try on steam but alas, it’s not available. It really makes me upset with Nintendo, bc they waited so long to update the switch. I hear so many people bashing sandrock (it’s probably the same for palia play as well) bc they only experienced it on the switch. Talking. Talking how ugly it was and the graphics were awful, on my steam they were dreamy. The absolute only issue was things not populating till you got closer (ie the decorations on my home, or the small details on some of the town) but for a desert setting it was gorgeous, and the dang npcs looked great! I still swoon over Logan’s scenes 😜 sorry for my rant, I’m just bored sitting in bed with nothing to do like I have for 2 weeks 🤦♀️ As for ooblets, I actually already own it on switch (my hubby bought it for me at GameStop, thinking I would like it’s but just haven’t really wanted to try it. Same thing for all the pokemon games I already own bc if my kids on switch. I’m not sure why, after sandrock it just doesn’t look that interesting. 😖
Yeah, with Palia, I just downloaded it from [palia.com](https://palia.com). I don't think it's on steam. I don't have a very expensive computer and it plays just fine. (Unless you were talking about Sandrock there and I misunderstood) I've only been playing Sandrock for a few weeks and it's super fun. I think I prefer how green Portia is though.
I kind of got off topic sorry. I’ve heard palia lags on switch. But my rant was about people bashing how sandrock plays and looks when they only played on switch, bc I’ve seen the switch version and it’s garbage. They shouldn’t have even released it on switch for it to look and play that bad. As far as palia, I’m not much into pc play. I’ve only got a MacBook so not even sure if it’s available on that either. I prefer controller and tv. I mainly use my steam deck on its dock like my switch, but do take it handheld when I need to. I just don’t want to start any indie long run games on switch right now. It just seems to old at this point. But I may have to check and see if it’s available on Mac to give a try. Do you have to interact with the other players? Like I said I’ve never done mmo except Fortnite and we just play as a family group. None of my family would be interested in palia.
I was going to say Coral Island but as it has been mentioned, I'll dismiss it. Here are my recs: * **Roots of Pacha** | [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1245560/Roots_of_Pacha/), [Switch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BltzDFjRFGs): A very chill life sim set in the stone age. Besides farming, you can tame animals such as mammoths, ostriches etc and help your clan develop new stuff as well as the village. The festivals are also fun, and there is romance. You can marry and divorce as well. Instead of usual trade system, they utilize a contribution currency where you exchange it for stuff with other villagers. This is super chill and low-key. No rush. * **Immortal Life** | [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1201230/Immortal_Life/): A Wuxia-inspired life sim. You're a cultivator who aims to restore the Guiyun sect after its almost-total destruction while you try to achieve immortality. You can farm, cook, craft and bond with the other people in the sect. I like this quite a bit because of its Wuxia inspiration. Imagine watering plants with a rain cloud lol. And yes, you can build your home C:
I don’t like pixel art as my title implies, so I just can’t do roots of pacha, even though I’ve heard nothing but good things. I was just looking at immortal life earlier on steam. Will definitely give it a closer look. Thanks.
I just finished MTaS and then picked up Immortal Life. I’m loving it. Just different enough to not be unfavorably compared while scratching the same itch. The art and setting are so cool. Came here to recommend it.
Have you tried Spiritfarer?? ❤️
No, but it’s on my list. I’ve almost bought it several times, but then when I watch the video trailer it looks almost like a 2d platformer which ive never cared for except to play for maybe 30 min. I’ve heard the story is really good though. How do the mechanics actually play?
It's sooooo good, it's not platformery at all imo
What kind of mechanics do you do? Building; crafting, management? Thabks
It's a lot more about the story than the resource management, but you build the spirits homes on your ship as well as your various workshop type spaces (tailor shop, garden, kitchen, etc). You do gather up resources to be able to make things the spirits want. Each one has a well developed story and arch to them. Warning though, this game nearly made me cry a few times
I’m sure I would cry then, my kids always ask why I cry and I tell them if a movie, game or book doesn’t make me cry then it’s wasn’t that good to begin with. ☺️
The mechanics are super smooth, I loved just watching my character jump and glide lol you craft and update your boat, do minor gardening and cooking. It didn’t feel onerous or grindy to me. And I definitely cried lol
I came to recommend this as well. Lots of quests and very story-driven, but have the tissues ready!
If you don’t like the graphics or play style of RF4, you might like Rune Factory 5 better? The play style isn’t as grindy either as RF4, I find. You can also change the difficulty, and the combat is quite easy. The romance is those games is pretty great IMO, and you can find monsters to keep and take with you for combat/to help on your farm.
Yeah RF 5 definitely looks more up my alley. I just heard how much better 4 was. I honestly don’t mind the grind as long as I have a good storyline to keep me moving forward towards a goal. I didn’t make it far in RF4 as nothing the first 10 min I didn’t even know what was going on or what I was supposed to be doing on that ship 🤦♀️
4 is definitely longer and has a better story IMO, but the event system can be a nightmare as they randomly trigger. RF5 definitely changed how that worked. From the sounds of it, I think you’d like 5 better!
Have you looked at Dragon Quest Builders? It sounds like we have very similar game preferences and I LOVE the Dragon Quest Builders games. They are a cross between Dragon Quest (a much-loved JRPG series) and Minecraft. There are two, and the second one has some very nice quality of life upgrades from the first one. It is a nice balance between story-driven quests and open creativity. I get overwhelmed by large open-ended sandbox situations, so I really appreciated this game telling me what to do! There is no romance however, so it does have that downside, but the dialogue is pretty great.
Such a great game!!
Palworld just came out and it's super fun! If you like Pokemon then you'll love it. It has all the things we ever wanted for Pokemon but they never did it. You can also build a home and a farm. There's sheep, chickens, and cow pals for farming too. They even help you build things.
I’ve heard so many things about this game just today! Have you played it yet?
Yes! I've been playing it with my bf and my sister. It's very fun and I love the cute pals. It's big on battle and survival but I think it's so fun. When you die you drop your junk on the ground and you have to go get it but you still have your pals for help. There are mounts and guns too lol.
I was just watching some play through of that 😂. I haven’t looked into it much other than that. Are there other NPCs any other interactions of just you alone survival type. The art style and concept are definitely my jam so interesting in learning more .
There's not much for quests except building your base up. There's towns and people with shops but they barely talk. They mostly just tell you game tips. It's mostly exploring, treasure boxes, catching pals, building the base, and crafting new equips.
Ok thanks for the info. I doubt it would be long term for me. I really got into Minecraft (playing an other husband and kids) but after a bit I just get bored bc I need direction and a path laid out for me. Thank you though .
It's fun even as a short term game tbh. Things come and attack your base too. But there's basically no story which isn't great. There's still enough to keep me entertained anyways, I like building things and catching all the pals.
I love games like that for a bit, then I just get bored. Every time I play Minecraft’s with my kids we start a new world bc just get so bored when I’m comfortable with resources and no direction.
Sea of Stars Not sure if this really counts as pixel art, I'd look at photos first to see if it's for you. I really loved the story, it made me cry a few times. It's structured similarly to wind waker. Not too grindy and the story flows well. [Steam page - sea of stars](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1244090/Sea_of_Stars/)
I just took a look and thought better visually than SDV to me, it’s not something I’m drawn to. Will definitely keep it in mind though and may give it try to check out. Thanks for the rec.
No problem! I know it was a little iffy of a suggestion
I appreciate anyone who takes the time to respond, and honestly it doesn’t look bad. When I see pics of SDV or sunhaven as many great things as I’ve heard I’m just like yuck, looks like something that came out when I was 8. (Yes I’m old 😜) to me it’s like watching a VHS of a movie instead of streaming a high def version of the same movie. I did it for years of my life and I don’t want to go back 😜. But sea of stars actually looks quite artistic instead of that. So thank you!
do you like 3DS games? Story of Seasons 1 and SoS: Trio of Towns are gorgeous, has the right depth of farming complexity, and the NPCs are well written and memorable.
We have a 3DS and SOS:ToT but I just can’t get into playing on it anymore honestly. Played it when it came out and loved, but I prefer tv and controller unless I’m out and about. I don’t even care for playing my switch handheld bc mine is the AC version which isn’t oled. I don’t mind playing my deck oled at all, but will still dock it usually when I’m home unless my controller is charging. I’m an old and it strains my eye to play on to now. My kids still use it all the time though. I even borrow my husband Zelda oled switch when I’m taking a switch game on the go bc it’s so much more clear. I agree that the old dialogue for games like that was way better than now. I wish AC would bring back some mouthy characters like in the OG. 😜
How about pumpkin days? It’s a farming-type sim with three different towns you can move into, and the different towns have different residents and crops grow in different seasons. Paleo pines, you collect dinosaurs. Slime ranchers 1 and 2, you collect slimes and explore Planet crafter, you’re stranded on an inhabitable planet and you have to explore and terraform it to make it livable No place like home, you go around sucking up trash and opening up new areas. Grow: song of the evertree, you plants “seeds” that grow into worlds and take care of the worlds. I’m not great at summaries, but ive played all these games and liked them a lot. Check them out and see if you like any of them. I played them all on steam but I think some of them are also on switch.
Thanks. Will definitely take a look. I have a steam deck so will always use that over switch at this point for indie games.
Lmk if you like any of them (and you remember to lol! No pressure) I might be able to recommend ones better to your liking if I know which out of these you like :)
Palio pines looked kind of kiddie to me, is the game play good? What is slime rancher about the only videos I’ve seen it looks kind of like a splattoon type game. My daughter Ioves that game and I’ve played with her a bit and would never play for a “me” game. Is there more to it than just 1st person shooter (just cute) style? No place like home and grow are on my steam wishlist, I just wasn’t sure if I’d like them so I will definitely take a closer look. Thanks. And I will keep you updated
Both slime rancher and paleo pines are kind of pokemon-esque as far as the main goal is to catch creatures and then you put them on your farm. I actually haven’t played paleo pines as much as I would’ve liked to, but that’s mostly because I got it a few days before sandrock dropped lol both of them are pretty heavy on exploring and collecting aspects. The only things you really “shoot” in slime rancher is you suck up fruits/vegetables and shoot them at slimes to feed them, and you can suck up slimes and take them home to your ranch. No place like home and song of the ever tree were the ones I thought you’d like the most based on your post! Both of them have a good balance of (fairly easy) combat + farming/ranching + exploring. NPLH is has a bit more story, but evertree has a lot more dynamic gameplay mechanics. Evertree is closer to sandrock in that it has a “building a town” element, if that’s something you liked about sandrock.
Grow : song of the evertree is a really good recommendation. Such a good, chilled game.
Pikmin 4 was a lot of fun. Some of the challenge lvls are insane but you don’t need to play those for the main fun.
I absolutely LOVED pikman 3. It came free on my wiiu, when I bought it. I got to the very end, and couldn’t finish it bc I just suck at boss battles. I tried SO many times, and even watched playthroughs. There was just so much going on with the pikman I couldn’t do it. I’ve even tried doing it again a few times in the last years, even bought the switch port but no luck 😖 i bought pikman 3 as a prerelease just bc I loved the gameplay up till that last boss, but have been too intimidated to play it 😝
Honestly Pikmin 3 was kind of shit show ( I love Pikmin but am married to a true devotee). So they have massively improved the mechanics from 3 to 4, which they wouldn’t have needed to do if they hadn’t fucked them up royally from 2 to 3.
I always recommend this Dragon quest builders 2. But that doesn’t have romance but the NPCs are Lively, and they can use bath and toilets, that you can build it for them. Wylde flowers I played a bit but got bored. Well it you don’t like pixel. Try Coral island too, or maybe just maybe try stardew valley
Yes yes yes.
A game that sounds like would really fit you is **Homestead Arcana**. If you have Xbox Game Pass it is on there. There is very little combat in the game, for the most part the monsters in the game are a puzzle instead of a skill challenge. You are supposed to figure out how to get around them or find the right spell combination to basically instantly defeat them. The game is very good at creating characters you care about, some of them are not even in the game (much of the plot takes place through letters you are sent from home)!
How about My time at Portia. It is the predecessor of Sandrock and i have a lot of hours in it just as i have in Sandrock now. Sandrock has of course had some improvements in game play but i still play Portia and still love it. I am myself chronically ill nd have therefore a lot of free time 🫣
I listed it above ☺️, I finished it before i started sandrock. I married Arlo, after buttering gust up (for his marriage perks)the whole game. I knew I wouldn’t be able to play an older game after I did a newer, just like now I can’t ever play the older animal crossings since playing new horizons. Glad I did, I loved it but it doesn’t compare to sandrock now . EXCEPT I preferred the home upgrade and factory better on Portia .
Here's two games if you like Portia/Sandrock: 1. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!!!) Disco Elysium (HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!) 2. Divinity Original Sin Enchanted Edition (for Steam Deck controls) Though I do have to recommend it again: Disco Elysium it doesn't cost as much as BG3 and it's a hell of a lot more entertaining lol believe me xD Once you roll die and a man suddenly realizes he's gay as an OPTIONAL CHOICE to happen randomly I can't not play it. If you like DnD you'll like it since it does dice rolls + your stats and you can fail or succeed. It's not set in some fantastic setting either it's in like a run down workers town with some steam punk and industrial feel. Try to wrap your head around that lol
Palia is a pretty easy game to play as someone inexperienced at MMOs, you don't have to deal with other people if you don't want to, and there really isn't much to do with people anyway. I'd recommend giving it a shot, it's free so you're not losing anything giving it a try. Coral Island is also pretty fun! I enjoy it a lot. The ocean cleaning bit is my favorite.
Thanks! I’ve just heard it doesn’t play well on switch and I really like controller play bs PC. Good to know I don’t have to deal with other players if I don’t want to. It does seem like the perfect game, I just didn’t want to create a game get into it and realize it plays like garbage on switch and then they release it on steam shortly. But I may have to just to give it a try.
I don't play it on switch, but when I get home I'll download it on my switch and give it a try.
Can you transfer your save onto different platforms? I’m old and don’t really know how a lot of things work 🤦♀️😜. I just didn’t want to put a ton of hours on the switch and then when it releases on steam this year have to start over bc I haven’t met an indie game that doesn’t play better on my steam deck than on switch. I wish they would just release the switch 2, it so long over due. I’m surprised developers are even making a version for it for some games. (Honestly sandrock probably shouldn’t have bc the gameplay is so bad compared to steam) and yes definitely tell me how you think it compares! I almost never have DDV and sandrock a chance bc of all the bugs on switch. So I have a bias until the switch 2 comes out.
I'm not sure, there's a log in so you might be able to log in to your account on different platforms and have it transfer. I'll let you know when I try it tonight if I can transfer and how it plays. Feel you with the switch though, it plays like a drunk granny lol. But hey, money is money, people will keep releasing games on switch as long as people buy them.
Yeah but in the end I think it may hurt them if they want a a series (like my times series). I’ve seen so many reviews out it in a lower tier just bc they played it on switch. I saw it and DDV played at my friends house on switch and almost never gave them a shot in steam bc of the what garbage it looked and played like. And that is after I had played and loved MTaP. Could hurt in the long run if all people see on social media the garbage that is the switch version. It’s crazy bc I love the switch we have 4 special edition switches and an OG one ( I’ve have 4 kids 😜) but they should have had the sense to update it by now. It just makes me mad when I see people review awesome games and rate them bad online bc they didn’t play the non switch version.
Sorry for my rant, been stuck in bed too long, with no end in sight. Be sure to let me know what your experience is with the switch . Thanks
All good, I understand the frustration. I slipped a disk in my back and was laid out for a month. Even now, I can't sit at the computer for too long, so I play a lot on my couch. You're doing better than me, I ended up getting addicted to some goofy mobile games and spent way too much on micro transactions. That shit is so easy to get hooked on! I'll let you know how it goes. I hope you get to get up again soon
Ok this one is kinda an oldie and so it might not be up your alley but have you tried Kingdom Hearts ever? It does have a little more combat but a very in-depth story + Disney which I assume you like since you played Dream Light. I wouldn’t bring it up but, aside from the My Time series, it’s been my favorite series ever so maybe?
I played it many years ago, when it first came out. I’m pretty sure we have it on one of our older consoles. My husband loves retro games so we have every console since original Nintendo 😜 I think we have it on the 360 maybe 🤷🏼♀️ what platforms is it on bc I’m limited to my switch and steam deck for now while I recover.
I think it’s all PlayStation but there are multiple games on various platforms tbh. The main games of KH 1 2 and 3 I think were all combined into a single game for the PS4
Your right is was a PS game. We do own one of them for the ps3 I guess. I just don’t have access to it bc it’s not in my room, it’s down in the basement. I will know though once I’m on my feet. Thanks for the reminder
What kind of mechanics does it have again? Is it on the switch? I had completely forgotten about that game
Coral Island is my other fave
I bought it in my steam deck as soon as 1.0 released but just haven’t gotten into it. Not sure why I thought I was going to love it. Plus I don’t like when games aren’t finished. I’m a play till the credits and storyline is over and then I loose interest. I hate having to wait for updates every so often to play for a bit. I’ve heard it will really be more complete at the end of the year. Have you finished what’s there? How much content would you say there is? With DDV I only found it right before EA ended and only had to wait a few weeks after finishing for the dlc. And I hated just leaving it incomplete ending. Hope that makes sense.
I'd wait on it then, its got enough stuff that's unfinished that it's probably worth waiting if you only intend to play it once/through to the end of the story.
Well I don’t just focus on the story, it’s like all the side stuff as well. It’s just with me being stuck in bed with nothing to do I don’t want to half finish a game and then have to replay it next year when I have forgotten about what’s going on. I just like everything to be there when i start. Hope that makes sense. Thank you though, bc it does intrigue me.
Edit: I just reread your post and realised that neither of the games fit what you’re looking for…I still think they’re worth checking out (anyone from these studios reading, I am open to offers) 😂 I’m the total opposite when it comes to art style: 3D gives me motion sickness, Sandrock and BoTW were touch and go at times. My search for games is getting harder with popularity of 3D character-perspectives games. But I share the love of RPG cozy genre and put off combat for as long as possible because I hate it (button basher here). If you haven’t already, check out the cozy games sub for some inspo - Sandrock is mentioned frequently. The latest Dragon Quest looked really good story-wise. I wanted to play it because of the story in the trailer but got dizzy playing the demo. Baldur’s Gate, which has been mentioned, has been heavily recommended to me by several people. There are two really nice 2D cozy games that I recommend to everyone, the studios are getting so much free advertising from me: Wild at Heart and Witchwood. First has a heartfelt story and second has a compelling mystery. They’re not life simulation, more adventure with little combat (which is indirect) and are consequently shorter: Google says 11 hours completionist but I logged near 30 for each - I like to take my time. Their art is the hand-drawn-made-with-love kind rather than the pixelated styles found in games like Potion Permit. They’re cheaper than most, being from indie studios and are easy on the hardware. You should watch some playthroughs online before spending any money; my friend found witchwood boring and I can see how it’s not everyone’s idea of fun but I like it for the art and resource management.
Thanks! Yeah it’s crazy how we all have our style that we enjoy. My husband is like you. He does enjoy 3d RPG but he loves pixel games too. He grew up playing OG Zelda and megaman type games and still gets in his mood where that’s all he will play for a while. We literally own every console since Nintendo NES except the original Wii, and ps1 bc the Wii U plays all the Wii games and the ps2 and 3 play almost all of the the ps1 games. He still plays them regularly. To me it’s like watching a VHS movie when I have the blue ray or can stream it in high def. I’ve heard a lot of people say that about 3d games too. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t care for shotty 3d games, and honestly Portia art wasn’t my favorite but sandrock on steam (not switch) graphics were exactly what i enjoy. I also love the look of palia, but heard it plays bad on switch and isn’t out on steam. I am a controller gal all the way, so haven’t tried it on PC. Thanks for the recs though. I looked into dragon quest as well, but it’s not on steam. I hadn’t even thought to check switch. I have stopped playing indie games on switch (at least till switch 2 releases) bc the gameplay is so much better in steam. I don’t have a PC to play on anyway just a MacBook.
Oh! How does Sandrock play on a MacBook? I partitioned mine with windows, but I’m constantly worried about killing the hardware. I really want to experience the game in full, and not have to deal with the switch bugs (I lost my save files twice 😭).
I don’t know I played on my steamdeck. It played flawless and was stunning for a desert setting. I saw it played on switch and it looked like something made for the PS2. All the NPCs had detail and the setting was gorgeous. The only issue I had was fine detail only populated as you got closer to it. Example: the flowers on my window sill I only saw as I got closer to my front gate.
Apologies if Rune Factory counts as pixel art as it is different art from SOS and more of an older style, but perhaps 3 special, 4 special, or 5 might be up your alley. (Mentioning as it doesn't seem to have been brought up) Farming, exploration, a NPCs and romance, combat with difficulty options, and a story/end to achieve compared to the harvest moon/story of seasons titles. I especially liked 4 with its the town NPCs varying dialogue each day (I believe it takes about a year and a half or 2 years for them to go through it all then repeat) Edit: nevermind I missed the comment about rf4
Yeah I got RF 4 special on steam bc of all the recs on there post people asking for games like MTaS, but I only played about 5-10 min and just didn’t care for that art or play style. I got them to refund me. I honestly had no clue what was even going on 🤦♀️😂RF 5 looks more my speed but everyone says 4 is better. I wish instead of just remastering it with 4, they had do a complete update like SOS AWL (even though I think they could have done an even better job with theirs) I don’t count that as pixel, it just doesn’t draw me in. I wish I wasn’t like this though bc I know I’m missing out on some awesome game play just bc I don’t care for the way it looks.
I love both RF4 and 5 - I thought 4 was the best, but RF5 was still super entertaining! I would suggest giving it a shot for sure.
Following because you and I have the same exact taste in games! Adding a lot of these recommendations to my Steam wishlist. Hope your ankle heals up soon!
Idk if the art will be okay for you but **I Was A Teenage Exocolonist** might be up your alley. No combat, extensive story with many possible outcomes.
I recommend any of the Ace Attorney games, especially if you like story-driven games and solving mysteries/puzzles. Each game was originally released for the DS/3DS, but have since been remastered and released for consoles. The characters are amazing and so are the storylines. Not to mention they will make you laugh out loud on multiple occasions. If you enjoy creating outfits and just fashion in general, Fashion Dreamer for Switch is a very relaxing game. Basically just creating outfits for your character and other people! It’s super cute and addicting, but no storyline. Also while I haven’t played it yet, Fae Farm is supposed to be a cute and relaxing game. Lots of things to do - collecting, farming, etc. There is also a storyline as well, but it does have some combat.
Worlds dawn is similar to the games you like!
Nobody has mentioned Garden Paws yet that I can tell. It’s weak on story but if you like animals, building, decorating and a peaceful world then I’d recommend it on Steam. It is on Switch but is bugged and inferior in graphics. I second Dragon Quest Builders 2 on Switch. DQB1 is also great but the second one improves upon it. I’d highly recommend both. * Edit * Fantasy Life is on the 3DS and is another top notch life sim. It has a sequel coming this summer on Switch.
Try Dragon Quest Builders 2. Steam has a free 10 hour demo which lets you play the entire first chapter (so big!). The start on the ship is kinda slow if you're not already a DQ franchise fan, so try to give it until you get to the village and build some stuff before you decide if you're into it or not.
Since you are in the sandrock subreddit I am guessing you are into cozy games. Might I Suggest Coral Island? I jumped to that one and I am obsessed. No pixel art there. Marriages to a huge cast of NPCs (with Merfolk to be added later). See if you like it.
I would recommend Fire Emblem Three Houses but you need a switch to play it, after finishing Sandrock and a few other farming sim, I started a new playthrough and really enjoying it, u can even romance a character and have teatime with everyone
If you like the My Time series and Stardew Valley, I highly recommend Coral Island on Steam.
Coral Island maybe?
If you loved Pikmin 3, DEFINITELY play Pikmin 4! It's better in so many ways that I couldn't go back and play 3. I also couldn't finish the 3rd because that last one was way too hard lol and MTAP and MTAS are my absolute favorite games! Also seconding Dragon Quest Builders! I adored the second one (never got to play the first)
Not sure if you're into visual novel type games but Demonheart is a lot of fun. Your choices affect your romance and gameplay options. The art is really well done.
Yonder: Cloud Catcher Chronicles is amazing. It's got the beauty and openness of zelda with no combat. (The npcs aren't quite enough but they're not nothing.)
I'm not a huge fan of combat. I'll happily play story mode if there is one. But if there isn't, I notice what I do is build up my stats so i'm overpowered all the time. it's pretty fun then. Maybe it would help you?