☀🐬 Summer Cozy Gaming Session 🌊🍦

Here are all the games I played in June and July!

1. Undusted: Letters from the Past 📻

"Undusted: Letters from the Past is a casual game in which you clean and restore dirty items. What is her story as she returns to a long-neglected house? Enjoy the satisfying audiovisuals featuring sensually designed sounds and graphics."

Cleaning and fixing games are always so relaxing and this one is no different. Each object has a story and you use various tools to clean them - sometimes you start with a big brush to remove the first layer of dust, then you go in with the tiny brush to get into all the nooks and crannies. If you have a glass surface, there's also a special rag just for that! Idk why, I just loved this 😂

A big focus of the game is also its story. Why is this woman in the attic? What happened to her family? How do all of these objects connect? It's a lovely story, a bit sad at times though...In any case, I really enjoyed it because the art is nice, the cleaning is satisfying and the story is emotional. 

It's quite short so I definitely wish there were more levels and even more cleaning tools because it does get a bit repetitive toward the end when you've already unlocked everything. Although, the repetitiveness might be a positive for some if you really want to relax!

2. Pakinpaks 🧳

"A cozy puzzle game where you go on a journey all around the world packing and organizing all sorts of travel gear. Fulfill your client's request in any way you wish and prepare the neatest bags that you can while making sure everything fits!"

Lots of diverse puzzles and challenges in this super cute game about organizing stuff! Don't let the adorable art style fool you; it gets insane. I managed to finish 3 areas (each area has it's own items and challenges, e.g. the beach, the futuristic city etc.) before calling it quits 😂

 It started off nice, then slightly more challenging, then I turned into this insane person who spent hours staring at a suitcase thinking how in the hell am I going to put a freaking water bottle next to headphones because obviously you can't mix water and electronics?!?!

Besides just having to complete the puzzle - rotating all the items until they all fit in the suitcase - you also have to respect certain rules. You can't have hot stuff next to cold stuff, you can't put electronics next to metal etc. ALSO each area has its "boss" which, when you reach his levels, you have ADDITIONAL requests...Basically, if you like a challenge, pick this game up. I loved it to a point...and then I didn't lol

3. Piece by piece 📿

"It's time to open shop! Inherit your family's repair shop, and roll up your sleeves. Fix up the prized possessions of the forest folk, paint yourself a masterpiece to sell and make your family shop all your own with decorations, furniture and cookies!"

Another fixer-upper game! I was obviously in a specific mood this summer lol. To start off, the game design is ADORABLE. You play as this cute lil fox that has to keep his granpa's shop going while he's busy with something else, although we all know by the end of the game that he'll give it to him 😂

Anywho, you meet various residents of this sweet little animal town, and you can even venture outside - plant some flowers, trade with the local merchant and chop some wood!

Obviously, those are all side quests/ jobs; your main mission is to fix all sorts of knick-knacks people bring you. I loved the whole process, how you have to put the pieces together first and then clean it. Sometimes, you'll also have to paint the items and you get to choose the colors and everything 😂

That's not even all! You get to customize your little shop with different colored items and wallpapers! You just know I spent all of my in-game money on this lol 


4. Piece by piece 🧩

"Piece by Piece is a literal puzzle platformer where each level is fragmented into puzzle pieces. Clear each puzzle by connecting and unconnecting each piece to make your way through each of our 100 handcrafted levels. Discover new themes and mechanics along the way!"

Yes, these two games have the same title and you won't believe it, but they got released at the same time, so the authors decided to cooperate and give people a bundle discount! Love this 😂❤

This game...this game became my LIFE. I can't even explain my obsession with it. It beats all the other games I mentioned above just for the vibes. The gameplay seems simple: put the tiles (or puzzle pieces) in the correct order so you can get the king to pick up this golden puzzle and then get him to the exit. 

First of all, there are multiple ways the puzzle pieces fit and usually, you can't just make one "order." You need to move the king and the pieces multiple times and constantly keep track of where you were and what you need to do next.

THEN the author also decided to add different gameplay mechanics featured in differently themed zones, which is what makes this game so unique and fun. For example, there's a sci-fi theme where you have portals, a sketch/drawing theme where you have blueprints to add to the pieces, a steampunk theme where you have gears that rotate the pieces, and so on.

And if you think that wasn't difficult enough, the "boss" levels combine multiple mechanics, so you bet some of these levels stumped me. I'd have to take a step back (sometimes literally and turn off my PC lol), think about the bigger picture, or occasionally just wing it and randomly move the pieces until something clicks 😂 And yet, the pixel art and the sheer joy of discovering how the level works makes this game a very satisfying one and I'd recommend it to all puzzle lovers!

Have you played any of the games mentioned above? Or do you plan to in the future?