Cozy Games, Meta Quest 3, and strategy titles

Plus, Microsoft closes the Activision Blizzard King acquisition

Courtesy of Visai Games

I spent much of the week recovering from a COVID booster and, later, a medical procedure — but I had plenty of games to keep me warm as the weather’s turned Autumnal (I’m fine now by the way — all fixed up).

Mostly, I binged cute indies and revisited classics to prepare for a Cozy Gaming discussion moderated by the 1A’s Jenn White. I talked about the obligatory Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing with fellow guests Cozy K, Jenny Windom and Nicole Carpenter — but we also touched on some other favorites: the new narrative cooking game Venba, gentle puzzler Unpacking and the tear-jerking Spiritfarer.

The discussion ranged widely, but it highlighted how cozy games (or wholesome games, or whatever you want to call them) imagine interactive experiences outside of the hack-and-slash and shoot-em-up mold that many think encompass the whole medium. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Final Fantasy XVI or Hunt: Showdown, but I also love playing through emotional stories and atmospheric puzzles.

To that end, here are some more recommendations from the cozy side of the gaming spectrum:

• Melatonin: People have recommended this 2022 rhythm game to me for months. Its desaturated, dreamy visuals certainly fit a cozy vibe if not a cozy difficulty-level. While I’ve often failed at its demanding stages, it’s still meditative enough to get you in the mood for sleep, as the title suggests.

• Hello Kitty Island Adventure: An Apple Arcade exclusive, HKIA adds broader exploration mechanics to the Animal Crossing: New Horizons formula. It’s also the one game I played this week that hooked my wife — she’s taken over my iPad as she’s furiously befriended the whole Sanrio cast.

• Night in the Woods: While its story gets deep and distressing, you mostly play this slice-of-life mystery game by wandering around a gorgeous Appalachian town. Oh, and everyone’s an animal-person, naturally.

• Strange Horticulture: To quote my 2022 review, “Strange Horticulture unfolds like a delicate flower. Behind rain-spattered windows you’ll identify specimens, decipher cryptic letters, and attend to customers seeking herbal remedies or dangerous potions. You’ll soon grow accustomed to puzzling over a map and horticultural guidebook for answers to the world’s many secrets. And if you play your cards right, you may just crack an occult mystery and save a life or two.”

Highlights

• I edited my colleague Will Mitchell’s review of the new virtual headset, the Meta Quest 3: “Meta has poured tens of billions of dollars into developing headsets and smart glasses since it purchased VR pioneer Oculus in 2014. CEO Mark Zuckerberg even changed his company's name from Facebook to Meta, though he recently laid off employees working to build his so-called metaverse… Meta missed an opportunity to come out with a bang at launch with more than one great mixed reality experience. However, the impressive hardware could be enough to justify the $500 for existing enthusiasts and well-heeled holiday shoppers.”

• Alex Curley reviewed two big strategy games — Total War: Pharaoh and Star Trek: Infinite. He liked Pharaoh best, but offered this qualified recommendation of ST:I: “the… warp drive that powers the game encourages conquest and expansion — an ambition totally out of step with the original show creator's vision. If Trekkies can stand that cognitive dissonance, they'll find a home in Star Trek: Infinite, but experienced grand strategy gamers might find it too familiar for comfort.”

• After clearing many regulatory hurdles, Microsoft finally closed the deal with Activision Blizzard King. The acquisition was the biggest yet in gaming — costing nearly $69 billion. I await to see how the move will reverberate throughout the industry and how it will impact players.