We live in a heavy world right now, with stressors like AI, layoffs, and political crises seemingly around every corner with no signs of slowing down, which is why, even in the spooky month of October, I'm leaning into the cozy gaming space more than ever. Animal Crossing is still my go-to home away from home, but I'm always on the lookout for some place else to escape the real world.
"We wanted our game to feel like The Lord of the Rings x Animal Crossing," reads the caption on a YouTube short for new indie Kickstarter smash hit, Humblets. I'm intrigued.
"Have you ever wanted to become a rock?", asks developer Berry Bite in another video. Uh, sure?
"Sheep petting!!" says the dev in another short. Getting warmer.
"Card battles!" "Cozy meals!" "Plants wiggle!" OK, I'm thoroughly sold.
"We don't use AI!"... say more.
"Every part of our indie game is hand-made," says Berry Bite. "And we commission human artists for every single card. We'd rather support real passion than prompt a machine."
Take. My. Money.
Actually, with more than $135,000 in crowdfunding at the time of writing, Berry Bite probably doesn't need my money, but I'm compelled to back this ridiculously charming indie game nonetheless.
There's a lot going on here, with Lord of the Rings and D&D influences in its enchanting world, Minecraft building mechanics, cooking and fishing inspired by Animal Crossing, card collecting and battles, and even Zelda: Breath of the Wild DNA in its gliding and campfire cooking system, but having watched every gameplay video I could find, it all seems like a miraculously cohesive package all centered around "relaxed exploration, collection, and crafting."
It sounds like there's a deep level of customization in Humblets that'll let you personalize your avatar, your mobile campsite and tent, and thank goodness, your adorable pet companion you get assigned via a personality test and who helps you find and collect resources as you explore the world.
The only thing I'm somewhat hesitant about is Humblets' procedurally generated world. I'm generally a proc-gen skeptic, but find it a useful tool in generating massive amounts of playable space and variety in games like Hades, Diablo, and Minecraft where you need that sense of scale, but I find its less useful in something like a cozy game where it's more about moment-to-moment discovery in a smaller, well, cozier space. Berry Bite says the proc-gen world is mixed with "hand-crafted landmarks," but I'd definitely rather have everything be handmade. That said, everything else about Humblets has created enough goodwill for me that I'm happy to look past that element of the game.
Humblets has an estimated alpha delivery date of October 2027, and it's set to fully launch on Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
If you want cozy board games for Fall, some of my all-time favorites just got major discounts
