Wholesome Games held their third annual Wholesome Direct Indie Game Showcase on June 10, 2023, featuring footage and announcements from 70+ cute and cozy indie games. In this episode, the No Small Games hosts recap the direct and discuss the announcements that got them most excited from Saturday’s presentation.
After recapping their favorite announcements from the Wholesome Direct, our hosts review the demo of the upcoming cute and cozy roguelike game Grimoire Groves, developed by Swiss game development company Stardust.
Links and Shoutouts
You can watch the full 2023 Wholesome Direct – Indie Game Showcase on YouTube.
If you want to check out Emily’s spreadsheet of the Wholesome Direct announcements, you can view it on Google Sheets.
Shoutout to AbleGamers, a nonprofit committed to making gaming more accessible to people with disabilities and improving their lives through the power of games. Wholesome Direct partnered with AbleGamers with two commemorative t-shirts, all of whose proceeds go to supporting the nonprofit. You can see and purchase the shirts on The Yetee.
Lastly, shoutout to our friend Marcy, who is an amazing content creator and player of The Sims, Stardew Valley and many indie games! You can find Marcy as MarcyLaycelle on Twitch and YouTube.
Timecodes
Looking for a certain segment in this episode? Use the timecodes below to jump straight there:
- Intro & Wholesome Direct General Recap – 00:00:40
- Top 3 Kate & Emily Picks – 00:10:38
- Kate & Emily’s Individual Top 10 Picks – 00:23:56
- Grimoire Groves Demo Review – 01:27:15
Grimoire Groves Demo
Grimoire Groves is a cute and cozy action roguelike where you play as a young witch embarking on a quest to learn new spells, get to know the forest spirits, and ultimately restore the Grimoire Groves back to a lush, natural state.
Inspired by games like Animal Crossing and Cult of the Lamb, the core gameplay is action-packed and very true to the roguelike genre, while removing the element of violence from the combat. Rather than fighting, your character uses witchy spells to grow the plants they encounter in the forest.
This game is currently in development by Stardust Studios.
Check out Grimoire Groves Demo
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No Small Games is an indie game recap and review podcast brought to you by hosts Kate and Emily! They became friends while streaming on Twitch and bonded over their love of indie video games. In each episode of No Small Games, the two will discuss an indie game they both played independently. They’ll compare their experiences: the good, the bad, their most memorable moments of their playthroughs.
In this bonus episode, you’ll hear the hosts recap their favorite announcements from the 2023 Wholesome Direct.
Learn more about the podcast and its hosts on the About page.