Apparently, I had one last Steam Nextfest game to talk about, and it is a cozy one. Ever since I played Summerhouse I really started looking for games of that genre. I really do enjoy the build what you want, how you want it from building presets. The cozy sandbox kind of building game. It’s a superb genre so i decided to play more.

This week is Tiny Glade.

Tiny Glade is a cozy, casual sandbox-building game from Pounce Light. The game is slated to release on Steam in Q3 of 2024.

Don’t even think for one second that there is a story to this video game. Just build whatever you want and relax.

As you enter Tiny Glade you are immediately met with everything you need to play the game. The minimal UI consists of a row of options on the bottom of the screen: Building options, pathing, windows, color, erase, flowers, etc.

Its time to get to work.

The landscape opens up with a small circle on the ground which is your building area and the environment surrounding this circle is empty, with nothing but the forest and sometimes a sheep that grazes the area.

Choose from any of the aforementioned tabs and place buildings in any fashion and after you place the structures, you are free to manipulate it a handful of ways with the length, width and depth. Pretty much everything can be manipulated in these ways.

If you want a pointier roof for whatever reason, you can do that or build an insanely long singular building? you can do that.

What is so interesting about the design aspect of Tiny Glade is that the building of sections is so seamless. Do you want to build a section of housing that protrudes in a different direction? then just slide that section into the already planned and the buildings just meld together perfectly. This melding works for windows as well, which allows the player to make some really nice looking sections.

The way that the wall tool works is just so odd to me. You can make walls go in any direction and bend them anyway. It looks so funny when the walls just spiral out of the area and you can create little nooks and crannies for the cottage or castle you are building.

The path tool really accentuates the structure that the player is building. Take that path tool and delete parts of a wayward grass patch or run a path through your building and it can create arches. These arches really make the rest of the structure pop no doubt as it creates a little secluded area that you can raise or lower to your liking.

The erase tool and color tool do what they are supposed to do, nothing special. You can delete and color pretty much anything.

I really like the landscaping tool. It is more or less a grass/flower tool that just creates nice little lush greenery along the sides and on the property.

Tiny Glade so far is an absolutely beautiful video game. I enjoy everything about how minimal the game looks. I love that the UI doesn’t intrude on how the game looks. I love the little flowers and vines that creep up on the walls of the buildings you build. I love that there is a day/night cycle so that you can see what your castle looks like at night. The lighting is so good, it really makes your structure look like a lived-in, cozy building.

I think the sandbox, cozy building genre is fucking dope and for that matter, Tiny Glade is a dope video game. If I want to hang out and not play something that is going to stress me out I’m playing a game like Tiny Glade or Summerhouse. After playing PUBG or some stupid multiplayer game, Tiny Glade will be there for you to make you forget about those games.

Great concept for a great genre of games. I have it wishlisted and cannot wait to pet sheep and build some more elaborate castles.