Wholesome Direct 2025 presented a beautiful answer to the fears and anxieties of the modern world. If you’re feeling stressed or scared – and know you’re not alone in feeling that way – this showcase introduced an array of games to calm nerves, occupy the mind, and bring warmer, cosy feelings to the surface.
A good video game is a tool for escape. It tickles the brain, transport you away, and dampens all your worries. There was plenty such experiences shown off during the annual Wholesome Direct presentation, with a smorgasbord of gorgeous, fun-looking, and delightful games given the spotlight.
Here’s the highlight reel for all the lovely, cosy games showcased at Wholesome Direct 2025.
Wholesome Direct 2025 – Roundup
Instants
Instants (Endflame) is a lovely, pastel-coloured journey through a family scrapbook, where you must assemble pages to reflect evolving memories. In each level, you’ll be able to explore and analyse a particular family life event, and then use logic to place each photograph and decoration in the correct place.
As you might expect from a game with subject matter like this, Instants looks set to be a real tear-jerker, balanced by a sense of fun and neat storytelling. The best part of all is Instants is now available, per Wholesome Direct 2025, so if you’re looking for an instantly cosy time, you can jump in immediately.
Squeakross: Home Squeak Home
As shown off at Wholesome Direct 2025, Squeakross: Home Squeak Home (Alblune) is a delightful picross puzzle game where you complete number puzzles, to create little furniture for a tiny rodent. Picross puzzle games are frankly excellent for occupying your mind.
For those unfamiliar, they task you with “carving out” an image from a set grid, by following rules on a number chart. If one grid row says there’s 0 blocks, you can eliminate all blocks in that row. If there’s 6, you need to figure out all the spaces they could possibly be, then use other clues to figure out exactly where a hidden image is.
Read: Consume Me is for anyone who felt ‘fat, lazy, and ugly’ in high school
In this case, Squeakross: Home Squeak Home lets you discover hidden furniture, and then use it to decorate the tiny home of a cute little rodent. Having spent hours in this game already, I’m more than happy to say it’s a wonderful time. It shone brightly at Wholesome Direct 2025.
Crescent County
Crescent County (Electric Saint)is a colourful life sim game where you play as a young witch in charge of making deliveries in a new town. As you roam a sunset world of pink, purple, and orange, you’ll be able to forge ahead with your delivery job, get to know the witches in town, and create a cosy living space for yourself.
While this game’s primary appeal is its snappy broom races, its life simulator elements also shine brightly. It’s not just about completing your job as a delivery witch, it’s also about taking time for yourself, basking in the world’s glow, and discovering the true power of friendship. As spotlighted during Wholesome Direct 2025, a Kickstarter for Crescent County is now live.
Pawsta
The first thing you need to know about Pawsta (Cold Sector) is that it stars a tiny mouse named Rigatoni who “travels the world over mastering cuisines, collecting mice-alin stars.” The second thing you need to know is this game features a “meep” button, to ensure Rigatoni can meep all he wants as he tackles his biggest tasks.
This game looks absolutely delightful, and it was a clear standout during Wholesome Direct 2025. Beyond its cooking gameplay being entirely appealing, what is most compelling about this game is Rigatoni himself, and just how cute he is. We love you Rigatoni! We’ll learn more about Pawsta as it heads to Kickstarter in future.
Is This Seat Taken?
Is This Seat Taken? (Poti Poti Studio) is a minimalist puzzle game where you must place people in various environments, based on their peculiarities and quirks. One person might want to be with a parent in a bus. But they also haven’t showered in a week, so they can’t sit with anyone who dislikes strong smells. One person might be a bit judgemental, and not want to sit with a personal of pentagon shape, or another person that smells.
Your job is to ensure you’re placing your tiny people in the correct layout, so all of their peculiarities are addressed, and everyone is happy. The particular puzzles in Is This Seat Taken? feel very novel, and I personally can’t wait to smash through each and every one. As announced during Wholesome Direct, Is This Seat Taken? is targeting launch in August 2025.
Omelet You Cook
Omelet You Cook (SchuBox Games / Dan Schumacher) is a “wholesome roguelike cooking game” where you’re making omelettes for a middle school cafeteria. As with Is This Seat Taken?, your customers are a little bit quirky, and you’ll need to satisfy their peculiar demands (including wild omelette combos) to ensure you meet a high score threshold for your cooking.
Eventually, you’ll unlock more ingredients (and seemingly more madness), as you work to one-up your omelette prowess. As long as you’re constantly improving, you won’t face the wrath of the terrifying-sounding Principal Clucker (a giant rooster). Those keen to get cooking won’t have to wait long. As announced during Wholesome Direct 2025, Omelet You Cook is now available on Steam.
Letters to Arralla
Letters to Arralla (Little Pink Clouds) is a cutesy delivery game set off the coast of Victoria, Australia, made by a lovely Australia-based team. In this adventure, you’re delivering letters around a cosy island, playing as a cheerful turnip with a desire to make friends, and have fun.
As you wander an island setting, letting your bum cheeks fly free, you’ll meet all sorts of bright characters, while also getting to take in the native flora and fauna. Those familiar will spot plenty of Australiana in this game’s design, as it’s intended to be a lovely celebration of the country, as well as a funny little romp. As announced during Wholesome Direct 2025, you can now jump into a new demo for Letters to Arralla via Steam.
Haunted Paws
Haunted Paws (LazyFlock) is a game for those who recently enjoyed Split Fiction or It Takes Two. Here, two players work together as puppies exploring a haunted mansion, looking for their human companion. It’s a bit Scooby-Doo by design, and continues to look genuinely delightful with each new trailer. (The latest Wholesome Direct trailer was no exception.)
More co-op games are always something to celebrate, as playing games with friends is a pure joy. In Haunted Paws, you get the added benefit of being a tiny little puppy, and using all sorts of funny skills (including peeing) to get past obstacles in gameplay. There’s so many cool ideas in this game, and so much wonderful potential. Those keen to get hands-on with a pal can now check out a demo via Steam.
Fishbowl
Fishbowl (imissmyfriends.studio) is likely to bring tears, so you should approach this when you’re least vulnerable. For those looking for a warm, emotional tale that sparks new ideas and understanding, it should be your radar. As described, Fishbowl is a slice of life coming of age story that’s told over the span of a month. You play as Alo, a 21-year-old who gets her first job in a new city, while also learning to live at home, and while grieving the death of her grandma.
You’ll walk through various calls and communications with a range of people in Alo’s life, experiencing her feelings, and helping her along a path of self discovery. The game tackles feelings of isolation and grief, as well as personal triumph, and the value of friendship, so it’s certain to be one that sits with you.
Fishbowl is currently in development, and as confirmed during Wholesome Direct 2025, it will be published by Wholesome Games Presents.
MakeRoom
MakeRoom (Kenney) got a release date trailer during Wholesome Direct 2025, confirming it’ll launch on 7 August 2025. This game, which has long featured on the wishlists of cosy gaming fans, lets you decorate tiny dioramas.
Across a range of settings, you’ll place furniture of all sizes, colours, and shapes, working to create a coherent space with your own design intentions. Per Kenney, you’ll be able to work freeform, but there will also be special requests to fulfil, like designing a cosy room for cats, or putting together a vampire lair.
MakeRoom is all about having the freedom and space to create, with the game tailored around letting you design and place furniture at your own whims. You can also create furniture from scratch, adding a new dimension for more creatively-minded folks.
Camper Van: Make it Home
If you’re hankering to design a cosy living space and you want the opportunity now, Camper Van: Make it Home (Malapata Studio) might just scratch that itch. In this organisation sim, you’re tasked with decorating the camper van of your dreams, tackling various puzzles and interior design challenges to ensure your space is cosy and fit for purpose.
Beyond having neat organisation puzzles that’ll make you feel on top of life, what’s loveliest about Camper Van: Make it Home is its warm pastel aesthetic, that invites you into a more wholesome world where your cares seem much smaller, or at least more manageable. With a sandbox approach, you can create your perfect Camper Van as you see fit, and imagine a life where you can set off into a sunset world.
As revealed during Wholesome Direct 2025, Camper Van: Make it Home is now available via Steam.
You can catch up with all the Wholesome Direct 2025 announcements on YouTube.
