I'm starting to think people like cozy games a little: Steam Next Fest darling about "doodling castles" whose devs thought was "very niche" hits 1 million Wishlists
Jun. 25, 2024Other Steam Next Fest devs are right to fear Tiny Glade
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Tiny Glade has managed to rack up a million Steam Wishlists, and I’m not even thetiniestbit surprised.
It’s a major testament to the warm and cozy allure of Tiny Glade that I, a horror aficionado whose own fiancé once bemoaned as only enjoying media with “blood and guts,” immediately stopped in my tracks when I spotted it among the deluge ofSteam Next Fest demos. Its art style is soft and squishy, with muted pastel colors expressed through a nearly indiscernible atmospheric fog, and its toolbox is extremely limited, but what it does, it does extremely well.
And what it does, as it turns out, is conquer your anxiety like a Tarnished felling Malenia after findingthis early-stage Shadow of the Erdtree item that gives them Sekiro-like parrying. OK, even I’m feeling whiplash after that digression, but anyway, Tiny Glade is very, very relaxing, especially if you’re someone who feels overwhelmed by too many options. And apparently, that’s a heck of a lot of people.
“Tiny Glade has just passed 1M wishlists 🤯🤯 We always thought it’d be a very niche game,” readsa tweetfrom Tiny Glade’s Twitter account. “We’re continuously surprised by the love & attention, and we’re overjoyed that Tiny Glade found its audience in so many of you (or, should I say, that you found Tiny Glade!)”
When Tiny Glade barreled past 800,000 Wishlists earlier this month, another dev who took part in June’sSteam Next Festpointed out the hilarious irony that is the “juggernaut game we’re all dwarfed by, the baddest motherf***er in the room” being a self-described “small relaxing game about doodling castles.”
On the other hand, hasStardew Valley’s monumental successdone nothing to drive home the fact that cozy sells?
Meanwhile,one GR+ writer is finding purpose in building Studio Ghibli houses in Tiny Glade.
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After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar’s west coast Staff Writer, I’m responsible for managing the site’s western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I’m too afraid to finish.
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