summer game fest rewind!

35 titles that will pull at your heartstrings and make you swoon from cuteness overload 🧸

Jun 13, 2025

this was my first year watching majority of the showcases for summer game fest [june 6-9], my second year watching wholesome direct [june 7], and i was truly blown away by not just the sheer number of games [over 300, what??], but the overall talent, beautiful designs and art styles, and the intentionality to representation and story-rich narratives.

I live-posted during each one on bluesky, and kiki’d in my discord channels — it seems across the board, NO ONE was expecting so many titles, let alone to be impressed by so many.

before we get to the games i’m highlighting for their emotional and spiritual themes, i must shout out all the Black girl presenters, + stephen jody works aka springsims as the only Black man 🫶🏾, during wholesome direct. i was so proud to see so many Black faces in gaming, and particularly in the cozy gamer space. deeply inspired to get on my zoom and potentially become one of the presenters next year 🥹

🌹 cozy k, milady confetti, pink umbrella, knimbley, atari, saffista, pleasantlytwstd, maybe sarisa, and springsims 🌹

wholesome direct merch included two t-shirt designs — the campfire circle of characters and the floating islands — with proceeds going to its charity partner, point of pride, an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and saving trans and non-binary lives through access to gender-affirming care. [i bought the campfire circle in indigo 🥰]

and we must not forget, the unexpected announcement of wu-tang rise of the deceiver!!!! i screamed so loud, you’d think i was being murdered in this apartment! i’m an old school hip hop head, so i was losing my mind a little 😆🙌🏾

i also discovered there’s a cozy gaming MAGAZINE??? patch magazine, just take my money!

because there are over 30 titles on this list, i’m combining games from the showcases i saw, including day of the devs, wholesome direct, women-led games, latin american games, southeast asian games, green games, frosty games [australian and new zealand devs], and Black voices in gaming. the below emoji key indicates which showcases games appeared in, since there were overlaps.

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

summer game fest & day of the devs 🌟 
wholesome direct 🧸 
women-led 💜 
latin american ❤️
southeast asian 🩵 
green game 🌱
frosty games ❄️ 
Black voices in gaming 🤎
game or demo available now  🤩

p.s. don’t forget to wishlist games you’re even slightly interested in on steam to help the devs and let them know we’re invested in their projects!

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a heavy morning 💜 by mays m. dweiri + saf interactive

keywords: depression, psychological, grief, visual novel, puzzles, choices matter, narrative, existential dread, trippy, adventure, mental health, self-discovery

the lazy capricorn

summer game fest rewind!

35 titles that will pull at your heartstrings and make you swoon from cuteness overload 🧸

sidebar: if you’re reading this in your email, you may need to click “view entire message” at the bottom of your screen to see the full post.

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