In a jam-packed weekend for gaming showcases and festivals, we don’t want anyone to overlook one of our favourites: Wholesome Direct. This annual showcase is an independent effort from Wholesome Games, a video game curation community that strives to spotlight the inventiveness, charm and incredible diversity of indie games made by small-scale teams around the world.

Wholesome Direct 2022, which was live streamed this past Saturday, 12 June, was no different. It featured 94 “wholesome” or cosy titles, which break from violence and grim depictions of life. Instead, they offer relaxed, cheerful experiences created with a mix of rich storytelling, innovative gameplay, beautiful art and striking sound.

Watching the hour-long showcase above, or browsing through every one of the profiled games (don’t forget to wishlist your favourites!), some reoccurring themes and genres come through strong in the 2022 set. These include titles with an environmental focus, like ecosystem reconstruction game Terra Nil, unusual building game The Wandering Village, and VR experience The Last Clockwinder.

Casual gardening/farm life sims remain massively popular, as do wacky dating sims (check out upcoming Lovebirb, and Kaichu: The Kaiju Dating Sim), while we’re not done yet with games that centre on mail delivery, or have potion crafting as a key gameplay component. At the same time, cute frogs, birds (especially chickens) and witches are evidently the most popular protagonist choices for devs across the globe.

One significant change since the smaller Wholesome Snack showcase back in November? The explosion of rhythm and music-centred games. It was tough narrowing down our favourites from Wholesome Direct, and in process of picking our top 5, we couldn’t fit in just-announced ASMR puzzle adventure Melodyssey, or ODDADA, which lets players create music by placing colourful buildings on tiered, shifting landscapes.

Please note that we’re also not mentioning some returning showcase favourites, like organisational/ pattern-finding puzzle game A Little to the Left (wishlist here), and family-friendly narrative adventure The Spirit and the Mouse, which now has a demo. Both of these games should be out before the end of 2022.

Paper Trail

Strongly reminiscent of iconic puzzle game Goragoa, there’s Paper Trail from Newfangled Games. In this top-down adventure, which draws heavily on flat aesthetic styles – such as printmaking and watercolour – players must fold and tear their way through a diverse paper world. The game centres on budding academic Paige, who leaves home for the first time to pursue her studies.

Paper Trail is coming to Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, Xbox One and Series consoles, iOS and Android in early 2023. Wishlist Paper Trail, and play the demo, now.

Melatonin

Melatonin, from developer Half Asleep, wasn’t the only rhythm game to appear in Wholesome Direct 2022, but its style and intriguing concept helped it to stand out. Featuring challenges, hand-drawn art, and colorful music, players must traverse levels that mix dream and reality to piece together the story of the main character’s life. As you progress, and encounter new ways to follow the rhythm, you’ll unlock more chapters, challenge modes, mashups, and a level editor.

Melatonin comes to PC and Nintendo Switch on 16 September. Wishlist, and download the demo, here.

Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley

Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley from Hyper Games, is a musical adventure based on the beloved Moomins book series from Tove Jansson – and the game goes so far as to to replicate a storybook art style. Players assume the rule of vagabond Snufkin, who needs to restore the harmony of Moominvalley, after a series of grotesque parks ruin the valley’s natural balance. The game combines an open world setting with puzzles, stealth and melodic elements.

Snufkin is planned for release in 2023 for Steam (PC) and consoles. Wishlist here.

30 Birds

It’s the trippy perspective shifts and intricate, patterned aesthetic – inspired by Persian art – that caught our eye when it comes to 30 Birds. From RAM RAM – Business Goose, 30 Birds centres on Zig, who must find thirty birds in a hand-painted city mixing 2D with 3D. Players will have to explore, talk, outwit and play music with all kinds of bizarre characters (including djinns and magical animals) to save Simurgh, the giant bird goddess.

Mixing old tales, mythology and modern everyday life with contemporary humour, the quirky 30 Birds is aiming to be out in 2024 for PC and consoles. Wishlist, and play the demo, here.

Puzzles for Clef

Puzzles for Clef, from Weasel Token, made only a tiny appearance at the end of Wholesome Direct 2022, but this relaxing platformer looks like it’s loaded with enjoyably challenging puzzles. As a birthday gift, heroine Clef is sent on a treasure hunt by her sister across the magical sky island where their family once lived. The journey will take Clef through the island’s nine diverse regions, and see her solve puzzles, unearth secrets, meet and accept quests from charming locals, and rediscover her family’s legacy.

Puzzles for Clef is set for release in Q2 2023, and is coming to PC and Nintendo Switch. Wishlist, and try out the demo, here.

P.S. Two games launched on the same day as Wholesome Direct 2022. Lumbear Jack – a casual, comical puzzle adventure with a recycling theme – is now available for PC, Switch and Xbox consoles. Then there’s colourful puzzle game Freshly Frosted, set in a donut factory. It’s available to play on all consoles and PC.