Cozy Trophies for Cozy Gamers

[esstee11]

Moonshine wow enjoy a nice hangover today @graphic_violins8 ...like the rest of the world lol

 

Let the games begin! 😁🎉 

[Sea_Giraffe007]

Game: Venba

Type: Puzzle (according to PSN Profiles)

Points: 8 (platinum on PS5 - refer to profile)

 

Happy New Year!!  I knew Venba would be my first game this year to platinum and complete for this challenge, so of course I couldn't wait to get it started.  As a mod I am not part of the leaderboard challenge, but this will make a fun challenge for me and @graphic_violins8 to see who plays the most cozy games this year. 

 

If you're looking for something short, with a sweet story, beautiful art, and some amazing looking food, then this game may be for you.  This short story follows Venba, and the culture clash she and her husband face living and raising their kid in Canada and how it contrasts with their Tamil culture, language and, of course, FOOD.  The games puzzle system centers around the recipes and the vibrant food Venba creates to connect her son, Kavin, with their Tamil roots while also trying to maintain her relationship with him.   

 

If you're playing for trophies, it is a fairly easy game.  An easy miss for me was the Flavor Text trophy, which is then connected to the Paavlan Would Be Proud trophy, but if anything is missed you can run through the chapters when you finish the game.  

 

Happy gaming y'all!  Can't wait to see what you all complete this year!  💜

 

 

 

 

Edited January 2 by Sea_Giraffe007

[graphic_violins8]

1 hour ago, esstee11 said:

Moonshine wow enjoy a nice hangover today @graphic_violins8 ...like the rest of the world lol

 

Let the games begin! 😁🎉 

Lol thankfully the hangover wasn't too bad but the want to get out of bed this morning was nonexistent.  I'm stoked to start!  What's everyone starting with (if you're waiting to start, what do you think you might start with?)  Personally I'm knocking out Gris right now (good game, not big on the trophy list though lol).

[Xylobe]

15 minutes ago, graphic_violins8 said:

What's everyone starting with (if you're waiting to start, what do you think you might start with?)

 

I picked up Submerged after esstee's recommendation yesterday. I'd gotten Hidden Depths from another sale a couple of months ago, but I didn't realize it was a sequel until seeing that post! I probably won't get to them until a little later in the month, though.

[Mokkajunior]

15 minutes ago, graphic_violins8 said:

Lol thankfully the hangover wasn't too bad but the want to get out of bed this morning was nonexistent.  I'm stoked to start!  What's everyone starting with (if you're waiting to start, what do you think you might start with?)  Personally I'm knocking out Gris right now (good game, not big on the trophy list though lol).

Venba seems nice enough, might try that as well as a first game :). Will have to finish my current game first tho before starting the challenge.

 

Any way, best wishes to everyone and have fun with the challenge this year :). Working my way through the stomach pains and headaches today, so will start tomorrow

[Hurricane_Tanya]

2 hours ago, graphic_violins8 said:

What's everyone starting with (if you're waiting to start, what do you think you might start with?)  Personally I'm knocking out Gris right now (good game, not big on the trophy list though lol).

I started Tinykin this morning, which is very cute. The platinum will have to wait for me to finish RDR2 first though, but I’ll play some cozy games in between animal hunting sessions

[esstee11]

My first games will be Submerged followed by its sequel cuz I just got so excited by the sale I want to play them immediately lol 🙂

 

I also downloaded Gris like @graphic_violins8 👍

 

Also downloaded and keen to try out RÖKI though I really dont know anything about it.

 

And.. one of the first games i will play.. the classic.. probably ultimate in cosiness i wouldnt know cuz I've never played it 😱 ..Journey! I must have bought this game like 6 years ago and I'm excited this event has encouraged me to finally get around to experiencing it! 😁

 

Edit: Also congrats on the first completion @Sea_Giraffe007 🙂

 

Edited January 1 by esstee11

[SuperPatchZ7]

Sing me up. I don't know when i'm gonna play my next cozy game but it will be this year for sure.

[graphic_violins8]

10 minutes ago, SuperPatchZ7 said:

Sing me up. I don't know when i'm gonna play my next cozy game but it will be this year for sure.

You're in!  I'll add you to the leaderboard this week.

[MDLarson74]

After I bring down a legendary dragon to complete PS5 Skyrim, I'm going to move on to A Short Hike, the game I wanted to play in December.

[Sea_Giraffe007]

Game: Alba

Type: Narrative

Points: 4 (Completed story and all other trophies - refer to profile) - 12 points total between Venba and Alba

 

Ok, so this was a nice fast game to wrap up for another challenge I'm doing to increase my completion rate.  To reiterate, I am a mod so my points have no impact but rather create a fun challenge where I get to say I am better/more consistent when it comes to cozy games than @graphic_violins8 😝.  

 

Alba is another game that can be completed within a few hours.  You play as a little girl visiting her grandparents on a small island whereto it is announced that the nature reserve will be cleared to make way for an elite hotel.  To preserve the town and the nature reserve, Alba and her friend Ines complete tasks to get the islanders to sign their petition.  This is another sweet game with cute art and an environmentally friendly message.  

 

Much like Venba, it's a very easy game for trophies.  You do not have to complete the animal list for any achievements, but if you are missing some birds to complete signs or what have you, Google is of course the best bet.  Some functions in the game feel unnecessary,  for instance you can decide things by shaking or nodding your head; this can happen narratively or it might be a requirement to go to the other small island nearby.  I do wish you could move the character while holding up the camera, especially for some of the faster, flightier birds.  As a heads up, some animals will only appear after a certain number of days, so if you're missing the barn owl or the dolphin, you'll receive a notice that they have been spotted further into the story. 

 

These games have been relatively easy today.  Upcoming games for me are going to include Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, Road 96, and Monster Prom XXL.  My long term games are Disney Dreamlight Valley, and I will be starting Lemon Cake later.  

 

Happy gaming y'all!

[setobox]

9 hours ago, graphic_violins8 said:

 What's everyone starting with (if you're waiting to start, what do you think you might start with?) 

Starting out with Unpacking today. I also have Venba on steam. I also picked up a few games based on the recommendations here but I'll get to them later.

[setobox]

Game: Unpacking

Type: Puzzle 

Points: 8 (refer to profile for plat and story completion)

 

This was one of the games that has been in my backlog. I loved the puzzle aspect of it and the hint of the story going on in each chapter. Like for example

Spoiler

the boyfriend's stuff being unmovable because he doesn't want to compromise his space to allow her things. And after they break up the picture of him has a push pin through his face and you can't end the level without hiding the picture.

This was a short but sweet game about a woman's life through her moving in different and new places and sometimes old ones. The way you can tell how things are going on in her life and well things are by looking at her plush pig and purple cup, her love of art and drawing, and how much she loves her friends. This was an amazing game and I highly recommend it to others.

 

9/10

 @graphic_violins8 and @Sea_Giraffe007

Edited January 3 by setobox

[Sea_Giraffe007]

Game: Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

Type: Narrative

Points 1 (Completed the story - refer to profile)***will update later***

 

Reminder: mod; no impact on points/rewards.

 

This is a game I have really wanted to get back to after taking a break, but it is so narratively heavy that I was concerned I would forget what else I needed to do and what I still had to do.... and that's exactly what happened.  

 

Don't get me wrong, this is a beautiful game with stunning stories to listen to.  But walking, and walking... and walking, can get a bit tedious.  Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is a 1st person narrative where you spend your time trying to piece together what happened to everyone in a small British town.  In every new part of the map you follow another character's story over a very short period of time, while making sure you also interact with radios, tvs, newspapers, books and maps along the way.  

 

Despite how beautiful the game is though there are so many issues I have with it.  

 

1)  There are two trophies centered around "viewing" all of the bird books and the maps, and even with a walkthrough these seem very easy to miss.  The game doesn't give an indication/interaction with it to confirm that you looked at it, and there isn't a counter for items seen in, for instance, a menu setting. 

 

2)  I did this with a walk through, and the radios, bird books, and maps are still pretty easy missables, as is the Tea Leaf trophy.  

 

3)  With missables and possibly not viewing items in a way that counts, this game could take more than the 2 play throughs already needed to platinum it

 

I am posting this one now to put a pin in it.  I'm going to come back and platinum it later, but I just need to take a deep breath before delving into it again

[graphic_violins8]

Game: Gris

Type:Atmospheric
Points: 4

 

Gah, what a gorgeous game.  Honestly I played this back in  2019 on the Switch (first Switch game actually) and I adored it.  I think the trophies cheapened the experience a little to be totally honest.  Many of the requested actions removed a lot of the "beauty in the moment" and just made the whole experience feel more like a game than a work of art.

 

 

Edited January 5 by graphic_violins8

[esstee11]

Game: Submerged.

Type: I don't know, does it class as narrative/atmospheric? It's Exploration.

Points: Again someone else maybe do my points lol the points system is a little complex, at a guess, is this 4? Completed story and 100%.

 

1/10 difficulty.

~4 hours completion time to 100%.

 

After a busy start to 2024 I finally got chance to get around to starting a game last night!

 

Seems you guys want a mini write-up of what we play 🙂 so here you go, Submerged:

A combat-free game that focuses solely on exploration. It's a totally chill hassle-free take a leisurely look around and enjoy the view type game. Set in an abandoned but beautiful watery world of a half submerged lost city (the graphics for this kinda old 2015 indie are still gorgeous imo, it's a visually beautiful game). Sail around the sea's or climb around the abandoned buildings. The Story/cutscenes/dialogue are minimal, main goal being to find supply crates to get your brother healthy. Mainly all this game is is enjoying the scenery while you find collectables (28 boat parts, 60 secrets, 10 story related supply crates). With a few little easy misc trophies thrown in like bump into the 8 pretty animals, or climb to the highest point etc.  I really enjoy exploration games, same as I enjoy the process of discovering collectables I find it relaxing and puts me in a content almost meditative state, also accompanied by the games nice soundtrack the game is just a lovely experience for me 😁
*However side note, if you don't like collectables, if you find them boring, monotonous, or even annoying to gather, then don't play this game. But the guide does have a picture of a map with all collectable locations to point you in the right direction if you want, or you can discover and mark them in-game with your telescope, your choice. 
 

 

Edited January 5 by esstee11

[graphic_violins8]

3 hours ago, esstee11 said:

Game: Submerged.

Type: I don't know, does it class as narrative/atmospheric? It's Exploration.

Points: Again someone else maybe do my points lol the points system is a little complex, at a guess, is this 4? Completed story and 100%.

 

1/10 difficulty.

~4 hours completion time to 100%.

 

After a busy start to 2024 I finally got chance to get around to starting a game last night!

 

Seems you guys want a mini write-up of what we play 🙂 so here you go, Submerged:

A combat-free game that focuses solely on exploration. It's a totally chill hassle-free take a leisurely look around and enjoy the view type game. Set in an abandoned but beautiful watery world of a half submerged lost city (the graphics for this kinda old 2015 indie are still gorgeous imo, it's a visually beautiful game). Sail around the sea's or climb around the abandoned buildings. The Story/cutscenes/dialogue are minimal, main goal being to find supply crates to get your brother healthy. Mainly all this game is is enjoying the scenery while you find collectables (28 boat parts, 60 secrets, 10 story related supply crates). With a few little easy misc trophies thrown in like bump into the 8 pretty animals, or climb to the highest point etc.  I really enjoy exploration games, same as I enjoy the process of discovering collectables I find it relaxing and puts me in a content almost meditative state, also accompanied by the games nice soundtrack the game is just a lovely experience for me 😁
*However side note, if you don't like collectables, if you find them boring, monotonous, or even annoying to gather, then don't play this game. But the guide does have a picture of a map with all collectable locations to point you in the right direction if you want, or you can discover and mark them in-game with your telescope, your choice. 
 

 

So I would call Submerged narrative.  When I think atmospheric I’d say something that has a nonexistent story or one that’s open to interpretation (Flower and Abzu are like my go tos for that category as there’s no plot to speak of).

 

Also I loved that game, glad to see it still getting some love almost 10 years on!

[esstee11]

1 hour ago, graphic_violins8 said:

So I would call Submerged narrative.  When I think atmospheric I’d say something that has a nonexistent story or one that’s open to interpretation (Flower and Abzu are like my go tos for that category as there’s no plot to speak of).

 

Also I loved that game, glad to see it still getting some love almost 10 years on!

 

The story is so minimal it is nearly non-existent though! I have to say i almost edited my write-up of the first submerged now that I've played about an hour of the sequel.. Because oh my God I'm blown away its goooorgeous and spectacular! Now the first game feels like a basic, concept prototype, I love the first but this second one is even a million times better! It goes above and beyond with environment design/graphics, story, cutscenes, heart, oof i almost want to suggest to people just skip straight to the 2022 sequel! It is absolutely sublime! 💜

[Mokkajunior]

5 hours ago, esstee11 said:

Game: Submerged.

Type: I don't know, does it class as narrative/atmospheric? It's Exploration.

Points: Again someone else maybe do my points lol the points system is a little complex, at a guess, is this 4? Completed story and 100%.

 

1/10 difficulty.

~4 hours completion time to 100%.

 

After a busy start to 2024 I finally got chance to get around to starting a game last night!

 

Seems you guys want a mini write-up of what we play 🙂 so here you go, Submerged:

A combat-free game that focuses solely on exploration. It's a totally chill hassle-free take a leisurely look around and enjoy the view type game. Set in an abandoned but beautiful watery world of a half submerged lost city (the graphics for this kinda old 2015 indie are still gorgeous imo, it's a visually beautiful game). Sail around the sea's or climb around the abandoned buildings. The Story/cutscenes/dialogue are minimal, main goal being to find supply crates to get your brother healthy. Mainly all this game is is enjoying the scenery while you find collectables (28 boat parts, 60 secrets, 10 story related supply crates). With a few little easy misc trophies thrown in like bump into the 8 pretty animals, or climb to the highest point etc.  I really enjoy exploration games, same as I enjoy the process of discovering collectables I find it relaxing and puts me in a content almost meditative state, also accompanied by the games nice soundtrack the game is just a lovely experience for me 😁
*However side note, if you don't like collectables, if you find them boring, monotonous, or even annoying to gather, then don't play this game. But the guide does have a picture of a map with all collectable locations to point you in the right direction if you want, or you can discover and mark them in-game with your telescope, your choice. 
 

 

Great minds think alike, also did Submerged 1, just did a shorter game before that to start off the year 

 

Also had some mop up on other game to do before starting this, so now we can finally enjoy some relaxing games!

 

1st game played: Venba

Type: Puzzle

Points: 8?

 

Kinda had high hopes (as advised by @Sea_Giraffe007), but sadly this game did disappoint a bit and not talking about gameplay as I wasn't expecting much, but just the story didn't get to me at all. It's a normal life situation for many people and although it ends with a bit of an uplift, the game itself is a sad realization of where we are all heading and how our children come to see us as parents 🤣.

Anyway, I would still recommend playing this as it's well-made, and it's actually fun to play. Story is very short and text is almost nonexistent, tho. Longest phrases are in the recipes 😂.

 

2nd game played: Submerged I

Type: Narrative

Points: 4?

 

Although this is a very short game, I really enjoyed it (still am as I'm waiting for 35 mins in a boat, why?, just why?). The game has some buggy things but overall this was gorgeous, kinda gets my hopes up for Submerged II which is next up :). Referring to the elaborate write-up from @esstee11 the collectible part is not that bad in this game, some are kinda tricky to get to but overall not very hard, just a bit annoying at some points where you have to backtrack all the way to the beginning to get to another collectible... (coming from someone who absolutely dreads collectibles in games 😜).

 

The point system is also something I will have to learn as we go :). Just snatched points from the earlier achievers, but no idea if that's correct or not :P. Will get the hang of it before 2025, I promise! 😂

Edited January 5 by Mokkajunior

[Mokkajunior]

1 hour ago, Mokkajunior said:

1st game played: Venba

Type: Puzzle

Points: 8?

 

2nd game played: Submerged I

Type: Narrative

Points: 4?

 

The point system is also something I will have to learn as we go :). Just snatched points from the earlier achievers, but no idea if that's correct or not :P. Will get the hang of it before 2025, I promise! 😂

Ok,

 

So I think I get it:

 

Venba: 5 points for plat, 3 points for 100%, so 8 total

Submerged: 1 point for 100%, no plat so no 3 points

 

Should bring my total to 9 points if I'm correct?

 

1 hour ago, esstee11 said:

 

The story is so minimal it is nearly non-existent though! I have to say i almost edited my write-up of the first submerged now that I've played about an hour of the sequel.. Because oh my God I'm blown away its goooorgeous and spectacular! Now the first game feels like a basic, concept prototype, I love the first but this second one is even a million times better! It goes above and beyond with environment design/graphics, story, cutscenes, heart, oof i almost want to suggest to people just skip straight to the 2022 sequel! It is absolutely sublime! 💜

 

Started the sequel as well and indeed it's much better graphically, but I got stuck twice (once on a set of stairs I was trying to climb and once behind some floorboards that didn't go all the way through against the wall :P), so that's not a great start to the 30 mins I've played so far . Still enjoying it tho and nothing a quick save and quit and relaunch can fix :).

[graphic_violins8]

7 minutes ago, Mokkajunior said:

Ok,

 

So I think I get it:

 

Venba: 5 points for plat, 3 points for 100%, so 8 total

Submerged: 1 point for 100%, no plat so no 3 points

 

Should bring my total to 9 points if I'm correct?

 

 

Started the sequel as well and indeed it's much better graphically, but I got stuck twice (once on a set of stairs I was trying to climb and once behind some floorboards that didn't go all the way through against the wall :P), so that's not a great start to the 30 mins I've played so far . Still enjoying it tho and nothing a quick save and quit and relaunch can fix :).

So you would get the 100% points for Submerged as well since the goal is platinum or 100%.  So you get 4 there, giving you 12 total.

 

That being said I see that the point system is causing some confusion, so I worked with @Sea_Giraffe007 and she is going to make a post simplifying everything.  So whatever your points are before this post they will remain as such, but after it will use the new system that we agreed should be a bit easier. Obviously if you disagree let us know!

[Sea_Giraffe007]

Ok, let's go ahead and revise the point system a bit because I think we all interpreted it differently.  (Even I did as a mod 😔).  We will do it as flat points, but the system will remain the same - so don't worry about adding story completion and platinum.  

 

Virtual Life:  10 points for platinum/100% of trophies; 5 points for story completion
Light Management: 7 points for platinum/100% of trophies; 4 points for story completion
Puzzle:5 points for platinum/100% of trophies; 3 points for story completion
Atmospheric and Narrative: 3 points for platinum/100% of trophies; 1 point to complete the story

 

Still confused?

 

- Let's say I platinum Disney Dreamlight Valley, then I get 10 points for that game, but let's say I play Gone Home and only complete the story (and do not get 100% of the trophies or platinum it) then I get 1 point.  

- If I go back and platinum a game, I would just convert the points to what it would be for the platinum/100% of the trophies (for instance, if I go back to Gone Home and 100% it, I will just change my points to 3 instead of 1)  

 

[Mokkajunior]

42 minutes ago, Sea_Giraffe007 said:

Ok, let's go ahead and revise the point system a bit because I think we all interpreted it differently.  (Even I did as a mod 😔).  We will do it as flat points, but the system will remain the same - so don't worry about adding story completion and platinum.  

 

Virtual Life:  10 points for platinum/100% of trophies; 5 points for story completion
Light Management: 7 points for platinum/100% of trophies; 4 points for story completion
Puzzle:5 points for platinum/100% of trophies; 3 points for story completion
Atmospheric and Narrative: 3 points for platinum/100% of trophies; 1 point to complete the story

 

Still confused?

 

- Let's say I platinum Disney Dreamlight Valley, then I get 10 points for that game, but let's say I play Gone Home and only complete the story (and do not get 100% of the trophies or platinum it) then I get 1 point.  

- If I go back and platinum a game, I would just convert the points to what it would be for the platinum/100% of the trophies (for instance, if I go back to Gone Home and 100% it, I will just change my points to 3 instead of 1)  

 

Ok, so if I get it right: with the new system I would get:

 

Venba (puzzle): 5 points (platinum/100%)

Submerged (narrative): 3 points (100%)

 

@graphic_violins8 see screenshot below

 

 

So total would be 8?

 

I'm not playing for the rankings as such but want to do it correctly and hopefully give someone a challenge by doing so 

 

Edited January 6 by Mokkajunior

[graphic_violins8]

1 hour ago, Mokkajunior said:

Ok, so if I get it right: with the new system I would get:

 

Venba (puzzle): 5 points (platinum/100%)

Submerged (narrative): 3 points (100%)

 

@graphic_violins8 see screenshot below

 

 

So total would be 8?

 

I'm not playing for the rankings as such but want to do it correctly and hopefully give someone a challenge by doing so 

 

Correct!  It functions different now (see Sea Giraffes post above) but prior to that, you earned 8 points!

[esstee11]

5 hours ago, Sea_Giraffe007 said:

Ok, let's go ahead and revise the point system a bit because I think we all interpreted it differently.  (Even I did as a mod 😔).  We will do it as flat points, but the system will remain the same - so don't worry about adding story completion and platinum.  

 

Virtual Life:  10 points for platinum/100% of trophies; 5 points for story completion
Light Management: 7 points for platinum/100% of trophies; 4 points for story completion
Puzzle:5 points for platinum/100% of trophies; 3 points for story completion
Atmospheric and Narrative: 3 points for platinum/100% of trophies; 1 point to complete the story

 

Still confused?

 

- Let's say I platinum Disney Dreamlight Valley, then I get 10 points for that game, but let's say I play Gone Home and only complete the story (and do not get 100% of the trophies or platinum it) then I get 1 point.  

- If I go back and platinum a game, I would just convert the points to what it would be for the platinum/100% of the trophies (for instance, if I go back to Gone Home and 100% it, I will just change my points to 3 instead of 1)  

 

 

When you said a simpler change I thought you would just make any/all cosy games completed like 5 points each or something which would make it real easy lol

 

But any way is fine, i am happy with whatever points system you like 🙂  We are all just playing for fun enjoying cosy games so it's all good 💜

 

Edited January 6 by esstee11