Wholesome Games Direct 2025: 9 Games Release Today
All the games in the Wholesome Direct showcase are indie games, meaning they were created by small, passionate teams. In addition to buying these games, another good way to show support is to wish-list them. That tells the community and platform you are excited about the project, even if you can't download them all today. Instants
Assemble a chronological puzzle of family photos to piece together their most cherished memories. Uncover the family's life story as you arrange the pictures in the correct order within carefully crafted albums. Unleash your creativity and decorate them with multiple scrapbooking tools.
You can play Instants by developer Endflame on PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch today.
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In Squeakross: Home Squeak Home , solve and transform puzzles into furniture to decorate the perfect home for your rodent friend. Collect hundreds of decorations, accessories and stickers in this cozy game full of charm.
You can play Squeakross: Home Squeak Home by Alblune on PC/Mac systems via Steam and Nintendo Switch today. Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk
Build a vending machine empire in this cozy idle sim. Manage staff, decorate locations, and watch your business thrive. Play actively or let it run passively in the background with relaxing music to enjoy while you work or unwind.
You can play Vending Donkan!: Kozy Kiosk by creator Aftabi Games on PC via Steam here.
RELATED: Cozy Game Alert: Little Friends: Puppy Island The Guardian of Nature
The Guardian of Nature» is a hand-drawn, size-changing adventure. Embark on a magical journey with botanist Henry, use your size-changing ability to explore nature in big and small and solve solarpunk puzzles to put nature back in order.
You can play the first episode of The Guardian of Nature by the creative team Inlusio Interactive on PC via Steam today. Seasonala Cemetery
Seasonala Cemetery is a meditative experience about grief and life that invites players to explore the serene beauty of a living, breathing cemetery as it changes with the seasons. Using your system's real date and time, the game changes dynamically – visit in the summer to see the cemetery bustling with life, or explore in the quiet, snowy winter. Observe and interact with NPCs and animals, all while listening to ambient sounds recorded from a real-life cemetery.
You can play Seasonala Cemetery by the publisher Gabby DaRienzo on PC via Steam today.
RELATED: Game Review – Projected Dreams Camper Van: Make It Home
The day is finally here to decorate and organize the camper van of your dreams. Embark on a journey of self-discovery as you build your own home-on-wheels, using a combination of creative block organization puzzles and relaxing interior design. Make your heart feel at ease and your camper van feel like home. It is so exciting to see this game go from a Kickstarter project to a finished game.
You can play Camper Van: Make It Home on PC and Mac systems via Steam today. Lynked: Banner of the Spark
Build a bright new world alongside a band of rescued robot buddies. In this colorful action RPG, battle waves of enemies in solo or co-op, then return home and use their parts to craft a thriving town. Assemble your crew and grow stronger with each new adventure.
You can play Lynked: Banner of the Spark by developer Fuzzybot on PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam today.
Related: Fields of Mistria is Finally Getting a Dating Mechanic Omelet You Cook
Omelet You Cook is a cozy, chaotic cooking roguelike. Assemble omelets for quirky students using ingredients from a conveyor belt. Try adventurous ingredient combinations to discover wacky new recipes to satisfy the ever-demanding Principal Clucker. If you can't take the heat, stay off the omelette station.
You can play Omelet You Cook by the publisher SchuBox Games on PC via Steam today. Fireside Feelings
Share your thoughts and discover those shared by others in Fireside Feelings . Gather around the welcoming warmth of the campfire and take part in conversations between people separated in space and time. Sometimes, we all need a long talk with good people under the stars.
You can play Fireside Feelings by developer Team Empreintes on PC via Steam today.
If you would like to support the Wholesome Direct stream, a few shirt options are being sold as a fundraiser. The design is a limited-time shirt that celebrates the theme of 2025 Wholesome Direct and features games included in the stream this year. This year's shirt supports Point of Pride, which helps trans individuals receive medical care. You can find the shirts here.
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Bullet hell dungeon crawler Enter the Gungeon (iOS, Android) and its sequel, former Apple Arcade exclusive Exit the Gungeon (iOS, Android), are both free to try and you can keep playing them after making an in-app purchase. These versions include touch controls, with publisher Devolver Digital pointing out that you can "swipe, tap and poke your screen to conquer the depths of the Gungeon." The developers have, at long last, added online co-op so you can play with your friends without having to be in the same room. There's also a crossover here, as the Lamb from Cult of the Lamb becomes the latest playable character. The games' arrival on mobile could also give veteran Gungeon players a decent reason to revisit Dodge Roll's series. The iOS and Android ports could also help them pass the time until Enter the Gungeon 2 arrives on Steam next year. Another popular indie expanded to more platforms this week as Dorfromantik (previously only available on PC and Nintendo Switch) arrived on PlayStation and Xbox, thanks to the help of Headup. This strategy puzzle game from Toukana Interactive is all about building out a world using hex tiles, which makes my Takenoko -loving self happy. It's a chill, beautiful game that'll still get your cognitive gears turning a bit. A mobile version is also in development, but it won't be a straight port of the PC and console game. Instead, Toukana is working with ClockStone on a reimagining of Dorfromantik that's built from the ground up for touchscreen devices. TMNT went turn-based for the first time in series history with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown , which debuted on PC back in May. Strange Scaffold has now brought the game to Nintendo Switch (only in North America for now) and Xbox Series X/S. It's coming to Switch in European regions at a later date. PC players might have a reason to return to the game, as Strange Scaffold has updated it with a Remix Mode. This adds many more enemy types with new moves and attack patterns, as well as tougher challenges. Ra Ra Boom is a co-op, side-scrolling beat-'em-up from Gylee Games that landed on PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X/S and PS5 this week. I love the premise, which sees ninja cheerleaders from outer space descending to Earth to free the planet from a climate change-battling AI that perhaps did its job too well by ridding it of humans. Each of the four characters has their own abilities, including a ranged weapon. I've played Ra Ra Boom for about 30 minutes and, unfortunately, it hasn't clicked for me so far. I might give it another shot, but there are just too many other games out there waiting to be played. I do appreciate games that are about more than giving players something fun to do. There have been quite a few over the years that aim to help people learn a language. Another arrived on Steam this week in the form of Wagotabi: A Japanese Journey , which debuted on mobile last year. In this slice-of-life RPG from Wagotabi Limited, you'll explore Japan and its culture. It's designed to help players start learning Japanese and it was made with beginners in mind. It features mini games, tests and is fully voiced in Japanese. The developers say that more than 300 teachers spanning more than 60 countries have been reviewing the game, presumably to make sure its lessons are accurate. The Dark Queen of Mortholme has been available on for some time, and it landed on Steam this week with new features, including support for controllers and Steam Cloud, achievements and more. In this short experience from Mosu and publisher Monster Theater, you play as the final boss of a video game who has to keep fending off a pesky hero. There are multiple endings and the one that you see is determined by your dialogue choices. The Dark Queen of Mortholme seems pretty interesting, and I'm looking forward to checking it out. Upcoming CrisisX is an ambitious-sounding survival crafting project from Hero Games. It features an 1,200 km² open-world map with 12 terrains and biomes, including snowy mountains and hidden labs. You can forge teams, groups and communes to help you fend off dangers such as infected and other players. What's really wild is that CrisisX will seemingly be able to support up to 5,000 players on a single server. It's coming to PC, iOS and Android in the second quarter of 2026. Those who are attending Gamescom next week will be able to play it at the show, while a beta test is scheduled for later this year. I'm intrigued, not least because CrisisX might be the closest we ever get to The Last of Us Online . I feel like I first heard about Henry Halfhead forever ago, so I'm glad that this sandbox adventure finally has a release date. It's coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and PC on September 16. Henry is, surprisingly enough, a character that is half of a head. They're able to turn into any nearby object, and you can play as more than 250 different items. There's local co-op support too. It seems cute! Henry Halfhead is coming your way courtesy of Lululu Entertainment and co-publisher Popagenda. If not for Öoo , The Way of the Tray might have been my favorite game in a hot minute. You'll play as a waiter in a Japanese spirit world, where you'll serve orders to various spirits after catching and balancing them on your tray. Seems like one for fans of the restaurant side of Dave the Diver . The Way of the Tray , which is from Who is Terry and publisher Targem Games, hits Steam on August 25. CloverPit is a grungy, slot machine-based horror game that looks right up my alley. After all, it's billed as a "demonic lovechild of Balatro and Buckshot Roulette ." Sold. You have to accumulate a certain amount of cash each round to help pay off your debt, or it's off to the pit with you. It's not about gambling so much as it is finding ways to break the rules of a slot machine to help you reach your objectives. There's quite a bit of buzz behind this one from Panik Arcade and publisher Future Friends Games. It's had more than 700,000 demo downloads and is among the top wishlisted games on Steam. CloverPit is coming to said platform on September 3. Let's wrap things up for this week with a game that has a very cool aesthetic. Zoe Begone! is a bullet hell shooter with hand-drawn visuals. The idea here is that the action plays out on a film strip, with a devilish animator drawing and painting more enemies for our heroine, Zoe, to overcome. As you might imagine, solo developer Retchy took inspiration from drawn-on-film animation from the 1930s, particularly the work of Norman McLaren. As an admirer of Stan Brakhage's work, this speaks to me. Zoe Begone! is coming to PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch on September 17. A demo is available on Steam now. If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
