We all have our peculiarities. Some of them are more understandable than others. If, for example, you take public transport and you’d really prefer not to be overwhelmed by your neighbour’s cologne, that’s understandable. If you want to read, that’s fine. If somebody else wants to play music, that’s fine too. But in the spaces where needs overlap, and all these desires clash – what are you supposed to do? You can’t read while music is blaring. You’ll be unhappy if your companion is stinky.
Surely, some knowing god will step in to separate these desires, and to ensure you have a pleasant ride. In Is This Seat Taken?, you are that god.
This upcoming game from Poti Poti Studio and Wholesome Games Presents is an incredibly novel puzzler, with just the right amount of challenge. In each of the game’s scenarios, you’re introduced to a flock of tiny folks, each with their own pet peeves, and levels of judgement.
Some of the tiny folks are pretty chill with where they’re placed in a stage. Others will have a checklist of 3-4 core desires that must be met before they’re happy.
Is this seat taken? Well, you see…
“I don’t want to eat or drink anything” is a desire you’ll find in one of the cafe stages in Is This Seat Taken?. This mean you don’t strictly have to place this character anywhere, but as seats fill up and more folks arrive in later stages, you’ll have to work out where to place them, so they don’t interact with food at all.
The pickiest guests of the lot are the ones who don’t like kids. Across cinemas, buses, and cafes, you’ll find plenty of grumps who simply don’t want anything to do with kids. If you place them across from a child, or next to a child, or even in their general vicinity, they’ll immediately turn grumpy, and refuse to have fun.
When you encounter these folks, you must place them carefully – and usually, last. As you play through Is This Seat Taken?, you’ll end up forming your own hierarchy of needs, determining which are the most important rules to carefully placing each person. If they don’t want much, they can usually be placed first. If they have something another character wants, you’ll need to consider which pairs to put together, and whether their desires conflict.
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If a person wants to steal popcorn, but they don’t like smells, they’ll need to be placed with a person who has popcorn, who doesn’t smell. If a kid wants to be with another kid, and one kid wants to chat and another kid wants to read, you’ll have to reconsider your pairings.
There’s also some kids who want to be with parents, and some adults who don’t want to be with other adults. As Is This Seat Taken? grows more complex, you’ll find environmental circumstances come into play, as well. If someone has sensitive skin, they can’t be near an open light source. If someone hates bugs, they can’t be near that light source.
You can also play around with your environment in many stages, to guide the light (and bugs) to a new area. Then, of course, if you’ve already placed folks in the newly-infested spot, you’ll have to work out where to relocate them, to make them happy.
Is This Seat Taken? is a rich game, in this way. Each puzzle layers in new quirks, allowing you to experiment with your choices, and figure out the perfect path forward. It’s very simplistic on the surface, with a depth of neat mechanics.
With a minimalist, clean art style of muted colours, the puzzles also come to the forefront, and you can analyse your environment well. And when your little folks beam with pride at having their deepest wishes fulfilled, you can be satisfied knowing you’re the reason for their joy.
Since I put down the preview of this game – which comprised three massive early stages – I’ve been thinking a lot about Is This Seat Taken? and how well-designed its puzzles are. As someone who enjoys organisation, and particularly categorising and ordering, it’s given me a completely smooth, wrinkle-free brain. I’m hankering for more, and I’m pleased at the knowledge I won’t have to wait too long for that gift.
As announced during Wholesome Direct 2025, Is This Seat Taken? launches in August 2025. Those keen for a strong puzzler with very clever sensibilities can now check out a demo via Steam.
