Wholesome Direct is coming back with more of the "cute and cozy indie games" we crave

A Short Hike
(Image credit: Adam Gryu)

Wholesome Direct, the show that's all about adorable indie games to soothe the soul, is coming back in 2021.

The showcase made its timely debut in May of 2020, just as the world was coming to grips with the fairly new coronavirus pandemic. A year later, our hunger for the sort-of "cute and cozy indie games" on display is as insatiable as ever.

"Wholesome Direct will return this year!" reads the announcement from organizer Wholesome Games. "A full-length showcase packed with exclusive footage, developer interviews, and announcements from cute and cozy indie games. Just like last year, anyone can submit their game for consideration!"

Wholesome Games hasn't revealed a date for the event, but it's likely to take place sometime in the next couple of months. If you've got a game you think could steady our trembling hands in the second year of the After Times, you can submit it for consideration here.

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Following the success of last year's event, Wholesome Games teamed up with a number of indie game developers for Slice of Life, a vinyl compilation of supremely chill soundtrack music benefiting BIPOC, women, and LGBT+ led game studios through the Galaxy Fund grant. Check out the trailer previewing some of the tracks on the vinyl album here, and snag a pre-order through Black Screen RecordsShip to Shore PhonoCo, or The Yetee.

We assembled a list of new indie games coming in 2021 to keep on your radar - hopefully we'll see a few of them at this year's Wholesome Direct.

Jordan Gerblick

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.