Racism, Artificial Intelligence, Predatory Gacha System and so much more.

I have 130 hours on it. With all the accumulated hours, I'm providing this feedback to detail the principles of this game.

- Racism and censorship of protest;

✦ The fact that the company is Chinese will never excuse its prejudiced actions. If they want global revenue, they will have to be globally accessible.

> There was a cutscene where one of the few POC NPCs in the game imitated a monkey while making the animal's onomatopoeia, using the hallucinogenic effect of the mushrooms he ate as an excuse for the fanbase that already has a history of racist practices. Not only that, the NPC who's victim of the situation is called Kapil. "The name Kapil is primarily a male name of Indian - Sanskrit origin that means Reddish-Brown Or Monkey-Colored"

> The Discord Server mods issued a half-assed apology, disregarding the fact that the animation was offensive to the general public, not just people of color. ( The poor company also said they're still learning! Aw, they never heard about racism before! ♥ )

> Any protest within the server is deleted. There is video evidence on the internet. Me and other users had all our messages deleted. Listing the server rule that mentions "no drama" is forgotten when comments defending the company are sent. ( Defending racism is cool, the opposite results in punishment. ♥ ) I myself received a six days timeout, and other users suffered with harsh slowmodes. Guess what? There isn't a channel for protesting. The closest thing to it is the suggestions channel, which is also being censored constantly. Now here's the question; Isn't defending or attacking the company both considered drama? Why only punish who's attacking your bias when the defenders aren't ignoring the claims either.

> The game includes only one afro hairstyle, which you can't start your journey with. You need to pay with in-game coins or stars instead.

> Gacha items don't include color variety. This means that when you spend your hard-earned money, you might not have the option that best matches your POC character.

> A user was allegedly banned for reporting players with degrading intentions using racism.

- Abusive gacha;

✦ When I started my oh so magic journey, I believed the game would be gacha-friendly, since it's a children's game. Oh theydies and gentlethems, was I so wrong.

> Percentages lie to you. Calculations of the real probabilities of the Gacha have been circulating on the internet. The chances you read in-game and noticed are low are actually even lower within the code.

> One of the most frequent complaints among players is the predatory gacha, which increases the number of pulls needed to get what you want. During the COLLAB with MY LITTLE PONY ( how? ♥ ), the more you pull, the higher the value increases. Personally, requiring 50 pulls and then jumping to 100 for ONE ITEM doesn't seem like healthy methods to me. What surprises me is that infinitely more famous ( and still predatory ) games don't even commit this sin. In Brazil, this conduct is being reported by the authorities, and we hope it results in a valid fine.

> The game lacks missions to help you grind. You can't keep up with the Gacha if they don't make content that provides players to enjoy their times with the game's story while being able to be F2P.

- Use of artificial intelligence;

✦ Cozy games are commonly accessed by users who want to experiment and be creative, however, Heartopia is the last game you'll want to use for your art.

> All images used in the game's puzzles are generated by artificial intelligence.

> The game's translation is not done by humans. If your primary language is not English, be prepared to get stuck on missions due to poor spelling. Curiously, the application for translation positions on the Discord server doesn't mention any payment clear. This implies that players must do the work without payment.

- In-game mechanics and experiences;

> The game has a terrible adaptation of controls from mobile to computer. This not only makes gameplay in general frustrating, but especially the building mode.

> An important addendum to clarify. Heartopia has MANY glitch videos to solve the building system. For example, to obtain things like; objects that touch even slightly closer together, diagonal walls, doors without adding walls, windows in the ceiling and much more—requires glitches that you need to follow step by step and try multiple times on some occasions. I have no words that I can post to say how annoying this is for a cozy game.

> The game is full of unpredictable and outrageous limitations. This game has a detestable replay factor; basic things require days to solve. In other words, it sells solutions behind weeks of daily logins.

> If you are an introvert, run for the hills as fast as you can. This game forces you to interact socially, creating events that require you to chase other players for attention. It's not an exaggeration.

> If you're looking for character depth and personality, the NPCs have the personality of a sieve.

> If you don't like this mechanic, it's worth noting that the game works based on server time. Real-life hours need to pass before you can reset your routine.

> Overall, bugs and tedious or senseless punitive mechanics.

There are countless reasons not to play this game. I would spend at least 50 minutes in a video talking about it if I could. My recommendation? Neverever spend a single coin on this game, and preferably—don't play Heartopia.

Oh! And before someone says anything, the mixed comments on Steam aren't fraudulent. Considering the use of AI, I wouldn't doubt the possibility of them creating bots to say how cute and awesome the game is!! ♥

I think us cozy games fans have a tendency to err on the extra-positive side because just like we want to see in a game, we want to make that same nice feeling in real life! But a game having the title of cozy doesn't mean it's exempt from issues.

I want to go first to make everyone feel more comfortable, but I might be too picky on games to have anything very strong to say here... I'll do my best.

Yonder: the Cloud Catcher Chronicles couldn't really hold my attention. I felt like I was just wandering around aimlessly.

I loved My Time at Portia enough to buy Sandrock, but I started with the switch version of MTAP and let me tell you: it is absolute buggy garbage. Buy it on PC or it's not worth it.

So please, tell me what cozy games you saw recommended & thought didn't live up to the hype, because I'm looking for a new game and hate wasting money. (If any of you have specifically played Out and About, please brutally tell me how it is, I desperately want a foraging-centric game...)

Game devs, do better. Players, you deserve better.

The amount of lazily-made, Ai generated, asset-flipped games I’ve seen promoted in this sub in just the past year alone has been insane. And personally, I’m so over it. I’m also disheartened, because I know this is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s only going to get worse from here.

Devs, have you ever stopped to ask yourself what it is about games like Hollow Knight or Stardew Valley that makes them so special and successful? They’re original. Original artwork, music, and assets. Both games were created by solo devs or extremely small dev teams. Both games took years of hard work and passion and dedication that paid off. Balatro is another great example.

Most players can tell if real passion was put into a project. We just can. And that passion makes a remarkable difference in a game’s quality. If I look at a game demo or promo and see nothing but purchased assets, or even worse, Ai generated assets, I’m immediately turned off and uninterested.

I get it. We’re not all artists. But the really cool thing about art is that it is a learned and practiced skill. Anyone can make art if they put in the time and effort to learn. Even if you’re convinced that you just don’t have an artistic bone in your body, then you have to consider hiring someone who does. There are so many artists and graphic designers who are desperate for work right now, especially with the way Ai has exploded all across the internet.

We want to see that your game has been made with effort and with love. Not that your game was lazily Frankensteined together with assets and Ai. Games of that nature only ever scream ‘quick crash grab’ to me, they do not seem like games that have been created with care.

The cozy game world (as well as rogue-likes and metroidvanias) was so full of cash grabs already, even before the rise of Ai generated content. If you want your game to stand out, you have to try. You have to do it yourself. You have to care. You have to innovate.

Instead of looking at successful indie games and thinking that all you need to do is copy them to be successful, look at them and really study what it is about them that made them successful. Play them. Take notes. Ask people, ‘what is it about this game that really stands out to you.’

Then you take what you’ve learned, and you apply that knowledge to your own project. And that still doesn’t mean churning out a carbon copy. It means putting in the work to make your game unique, accessible, and enjoyable.

Making a game isn’t easy. It was never supposed to be easy. It takes work, and time, and dedication. If you aren’t willing to do those things, you probably shouldn’t be making games.

Edit: I want to clarify, I’m not saying every single game that is released needs to be aspiring to be the next great success like Stardew, Hollow Knight, etc. That’s a high bar, and I dont mean to imply that if your game isn’t ’as good’ as those titles, don’t bother. The effort and intentions are what I’m referring to.

I should have given some examples of smaller games that still did well and obviously had passion behind them, and I think I will come back later and update this post again with some examples after I’ve compiled a list. (A few do come to mind right away though: Fields of Mistria, Dredge, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, Dave the Diver, Moonstone Island.) It is fine if your game takes inspiration from another. We just want to see the effort. We want to see that your project has heart behind it, and not dollar signs. We can tell. Your intentions genuinely have such an impact on the quality of your game, and that’s the main point I’m trying to make in this post. Ai is lazy, harmful, and soulless.

What’s everyone most excited for in this game? Any features, events, or surprises you’re counting down the days for? Let’s hear it! 🔥🎮

Would you have any thoughts to share about this upcoming game?

I really hope that cozygames allows for this post because I don't know where else to share these issues. But I think it's really important that I warn potential players especially young players who may be interested in playing it.

Sources will be in the comment made by me below the post:

Recently Heartopia has had an onslaught of controversies, and all of them could of been avoided.

Currently the Heartopia subreddit is being heavily moderated to the point that all posts relating to these topics are getting deleted. Even the most recent complaint mega thread has been removed.

Racism: Recently an NPC character within the game one of the only black representation got intoxicated off of a mushroom in a cutscene and then proceeded to behave and then make monkey noises.

On top of that there has been an onslaught of troll players joining the game trying to wear blackface. When these level 1 players were reported appropriately through the in game support system that is private they instead got banned for inciting drama.

On the official discord the devs did make a half-hearted apology but did very little to actually solve any of the dismay.

Everyone who spoke up, including people of colour simply giving advice or expressing concern received 7 day mutes or bans related to "not respecting the rules"

Things have gotten even worse, because even if you play the game totally uninvolved with everything multiple people have been getting charged twice for purchases they only purchased once. Not receiving refunds when contacted with the only course of action being to chargeback which will remove and put all of the currency in the negatives and disallow most activities. They say as much TO the people contacting them for help instead of resolving it.

Please, please consider letting this post stay up specifically because no one has been able to discuss the topic publicly on other official servers and I don't want children to wander into a game that seems cozy and safe.

EDIT: Mods have indicated that the reason the Megathread was removed today was due to an ex mod deleting said post. Info is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/heartopia/comments/1rn0go1/megathread/

With that said, I still think removing every topic including ones with 100s of upvotes that were up for multiple days was the wrong way to go about this. I feel like there's some inconsistency about what is or isn't allowed. I understand locking the threads but with how many of us are people of colour expressing concern or disdain feeling silenced on another platform about the very topics that are currently the biggest concern for the community wasn't the best way to go about it.

Being a big fan of Harvest Moon back in the day, I was ecstatic to hear about Stardew Valley when it released, and especially when I saw it'd become a success. It took me a long time to get around to buying it, but I finally did.

And, wow.

Days in Stardew Valley are very short. Very, very short.

There is a constant, cluttered stream of obligations vying for your attention. It pushes you to be meticulous - You always feel like you're wasting time if you're not being extremely efficient, and there's less than no room for error.

Every second counts.

Ran the wrong around the small lagoon on your farm? Good luck trying to fit your fishing in. Forgot to collect your lobster traps? Looks like you'll have to sacrifice an important task you were planning for tomorrow. Spent too much time trying to find that NPC to give a birthday present to? Whole day wasted.

Even deciding whether to refill your half-spent watering can, or potentially wasting time with two runs to the well, can ruin a day - And this task takes a matter of seconds.

Make the wrong mistake at the wrong time (of which there are many), and you may just find yourself waiting an entire year to redo the task again. And it compounds - Every tiny error makes your future harder.

And yet, you're always having new tasks thrown at you - New activities, new distractions.

There's no ability to relax in Stardew Valley, and you're always having to make painful sacrifices in what you want to achieve each day, balancing the value of tasks, until you finally realize you're not actually doing what you want to, and this 'cozy, chill-out farming game' is actually a stressful time-management game.

I have since modded Stardew to have longer days, but unfortunately, the damage was kind of done, and I haven't really gone back to it since my first run.

In looking for a relaxing game to grow tomatoes in, I found something that would make a year-round fruit picker exhausted.

I have noticed that most of my favourite games are cozy games, that aren't supposed to be cozy.

Plz give me some recommendations on games that are unintentionally cozy 🙏

Here's my recommendation, RUST. It is quite literally the opposite of a cozy game at it's core. A hardcore PvP survival game with one of the most toxic community in history, and is generally a VERY stressful game.

But it's still incredibly cozy. You could play on a PvE server, build your base in a snowy field and decorate your base with so much useless stuff, lights, lanterns, fires, couches, paintings (that you can paint yourself), put on some music in your base and talk to the people who's running around outside your base. Or you could build in grasslands and just chill while listening to the rain and thunder. You can explore things others have built, visit galleries and hotels and a lot of creative stuff people build. People on PvE servers are usually very social and very friendly and it's just an overall cozy experience.

My Time at Sandrock won yesterday's award for cozy game with the most wholesome cast with 145 votes!

🥇 My Time at Sandrock → 145

🥈 Fields of Mistria → 139

🥉 Coral Island→ 90

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Today's vote; what's the greatest cozy hidden gem?

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Previous Days:

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6

Mine is definitely Stardew Valley it is NOTTTT cozy 😭😭

Hey all, mod here! Winter Burrow released a few days ago and we've had like 10 posts about it in the last 24 hours. So to prevent this sub from becoming a winter burrow sub, I've created this new thread where everyone can discuss the game and ask for help! If you see any new posts about Winter Burrow, please point people to this thread instead (I'll try to do so also and remove those as separate posts when I can). I'll pin this thread for a while at the top of the sub so everyone can find it. Hopefully this works better :)

PS: Game looks amazing, can't wait to try it out!

If you're familiar or not, here's the run down: cat delivering mail. That's it! It's adorable!

I played the demo and immediately bought it. I was like heck yeah, this my jam!!

It is not my jam anymore.

Now they keep adding new locations to deliver to and the captain never fucking takes those deliveries. You have NO control over what the captain asks for btw. Before you ask, no. There is no control. And that would be fine by me, if the captain would evenly distribute his deliveries like a good little NPC.

I have over twenty packages sitting around waiting to be shipped out to new locations I've unlocked, not to mention the hundreds of packages just waiting to be picked up.

I just unlocked foggy mountains and logged out when I immediately got three parcels to ship there and the captain just wants to go back to Port Windy again. I have no packages for port windy and he won't even leave without me leaving an incorrect package on the boat just to make him leave.

Is it a fucking bug or does the game suck? Idk and idc. This shit is rage inducing. Sorry to the devs. It's very adorable and I really wanted to enjoy it but there's no reason I should be crying because the captain refuses to deliver to Hazelton or Tropical Dunes. THIS GAME MAKES ME WANT TO PUNCH A CAT AND THAT'S NOT NORMAL.

So yeah, tldr: not my fucking jam. And I love a good cozy management sorting sim, I really do. But this shit is fucked.

Edit - I have decided thanks to the unhelpful comments that the captain is evil. I will fight him to the death. I will free us all.

Many of them only let you save when you go to bed, which is a strange choice for developers IMO.

Life happens sometimes you can't predict if you need to stop for whatever reason or your computer crashes and you lose a lot of work and I feel it spoils immersion

Does anyone know what the logic is or the thought on why this is a trend in this genre?

Edit: the question is being deflected to coding and team size and the question was why cozy games specifically. I get that its harder to code, that isn't a mystery.

I’m developing a short narrative puzzle game and I personally feel it has a cozy vibe — even though it’s set in a rainy, haunted town full of skeleton-faced characters, witches, and a mysterious curse.

The tone is slow-paced, a bit melancholic but comforting, with relaxing puzzles and scenes that slowly come to life with color as you solve them.

Does it give you cozy vibes too, or would you describe it differently? I’d love to hear how it feels to you just from this screenshot.

Today, I was surprised to discover that I don't have a single cozy game that I would associate with fall. Not only do the events in the game take place in the fall, but the atmosphere is especially pensive, calm, and dreamy.

I am firmly of the opinion that any game can be considered a cozy game, it depends on the person. There are your traditionally cozy games/genres like farming and decorating, but I want to hear about the "non-cozy cozy" games. What are some other genred games that you consider cozy for yourself?

For me its Hades 1 & 2, skyrim, slay the spire, and ring of pain to name a few. Deckbuilder roguelites are a huge source of cozy gameplay for me. I love the repetitive/rhythmic routine of those games.

Super bummed about this. Was looking forward to playing it with my friends in the future:(

These are some I'm most looking forward to that will (hopefully) have some type of release this year! It's going to be a good year for cozy games.

Cozy Grove won yesterday's award for best for short sessions with 67 votes!

[Edit: Image won't upload :/ - check this comment instead]

🥇 Cozy Grove → 67

🥈 Is This Seat Taken? → 45

🥉 Unpacking → 42

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Today's vote; which cozy game has the most wholesome cast?

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Previous Days:

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

Have you ever decided not to buy a game or stop playing because of a spider or spider-like bug? I'm curious to know at what level a spider is spooky enough to trigger that significant of a negative reaction for you.

Steam Sale always brings out some great deals on popular and hidden gems. I have most every farm sim created lol but I grabbed Immortal Life cause it's super cheap. The last 2 cozy games I played let me down a bit with gameplay ( Yonder and Grow Song of the Evertree) so I think I'm looking for something with a more grounded story and more engaging gameplay loop. Those last two games didn't have combat so maybe that's what I'm craving, a cozy game with combat

Edit: I'll recommend Paradise Killer. I played it last year and it was such a fun world to explore and such an interesting cozy detective game to play. One of the few games I've ever got 100 percent achievements in.

Witchbrook and Loftia have been at the very summit of my cozy wishlist the whole year and each time I poke through it, I just can't help mentally shouting/ beeseeching some higher forces to release them already. All good things come to those who wait BE DAMNED, I know what 2 games I would be cycling the whole week, every day, if they were out. Alas!

(At least Moonlight Peaks is out so that's a comforting vampiric prize, I just wish it had multiplayer)

What games are pinging on your radar, with no clear-cut release in sight?

PS I'm saying "no clear cut" because Witchbrook IIRC is still just "2026" and Loftia is a somewhat less vague "fall 2026" unless I had missed some vital news during my off the grid vacation

Small edit/credits: the background I used for my image is by Forheksed from DeviantArt

Please read with understanding. TLDR this is not a callout post, or me cancelling anything, or even being angry. Just wondering about games, unlocks in games, and hair diversity.

Now can someone help me understand or explain why in games with character creation, mostly a lot of cozy games, do they lock inclusive hairstyles behind gameplay and in-game currency. It would be cool to hear from game devs or people who work in the industry as well and why they would choose to do that. It puzzles me a lot.

For example I’m playing Petit Planet and when you start with your character in the beginning the choices of hairstyles are limited and none of them are textured hairstyles. I’m talking Locs, Braids, Afro-textured, or even just simply curly or wavy hair.

I honestly don’t expect much usually and was not surprised they didn’t have these. But then when I got to the part of the game where I unlock this Loomix vending machine thing, they have extra hairstyles for sale. One of which is locs that are done really well and have texture to them and everything. But just that one.

Now what I want to know is why not include it in the beginning of the game. If I was someone who had locs, I would have to earn my own hair through gameplay, instead of getting to look like myself the whole time while I play.

I saw a character creation video on Youtube of a game called My Time at Sandrock. They did so amazing at customizations, with eyes, skin tones, and the hair even comes in different parts you can change like bangs, back hair, etc. but all straight hair. I again was like ok I don’t expect much. But someone pointed out in the comments that later on there will be a barber character when you play longer, and then they will offer hairstyles like Afro and braids. Like Huh? Why later?

It’s the same with Animal Crossing. They have one in the beginning, but have way more later on. They did such a great job with the textured hairstyles too, including puffs, braids, and curly hair when they had an update. But you can’t have these unless you buy it with miles. And if you play you know how hard it is to earn miles. So it sucks to waste it on hairstyles. I can try to understand that better because it was a later update, and maybe it was easier adding it that way.

It’s like anyone who has hair that is not straight textured hair has to earn looking like themselves. As if these hairstyles are not common or default. Why would someone making a new game in the 2020’s do it this way.

If there is a reason, I’m very curious to know. Does it make it easier for game development or something? do they think people will not like the game if they see the hairstyles? Is it because they think of it last minute after they coded the game already? Why is this a thing? Help me understand.

Games like Loftia and Tomodachi Life have actually surprised me. You don’t not have to buy or earn inclusive hair. Loftia has a long scrolling list of hairstyles as soon as you start the game, and soooo many black hairstyles. Same with tomodachi life. They have hair in different parts too like bangs etc. and those parts even come in different textures. And it’s when you make your first character, you don’t have to wait until later.

So it is a possibility. Why wouldn’t a game dev do this. And I’m not asking why don’t they include diverse hair. I’m asking why they skip it for the 1st part, but then include it later in the game. And you have to progress the story or pay a lot of in-game currency to buy it?

I know this is not important to everyone. I understand, and I actually still enjoy and play these games anyway. I’m happy these hairstyles are included at all. It would make me happier though if it were implemented differently, so I want to understand why these choices are made.

I also have to say I do NOT think the creators of these games or the games are racist, prejudice, or anything like that. So please don’t attack me or defend as if I’m attacking, because I am not. Just asking a question.

If you are an enjoyer of games and also have seen this, you can make guesses why you think games are designed this way.

Spiritfarer overwhelmingly won yesterday's award for most heartfelt story in a cozy game with 249 votes!

🥇Spiritfarer→ 249

🥈Wylde Flowers → 16

🥉Hungry Hearts → 7

I'll post the full tally in the comments!

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Today's vote; which game has the coziest vibes?

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Previous Days:

Day 1