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8 games from the Wholesome Direct 2025 that you can play right now

From managing your own vending machine empire to chilling around a campfire.

From managing your own vending machine empire to chilling around a campfire.

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Image: Inlusio Interactive
Andrew Webster
is an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.

The Wholesome Direct is always full of cute and charming games to keep an eye on for the future. But it’s also a great place to find things to play now — and that’s especially true this year. The 2025 edition of the livestream showcase included a number of games that released during the show itself.

So if you like what you see, there’s no wait at all.

A screenshot from the video game Camper Van: Make it Home.
A screenshot from the video game Camper Van: Make it Home.
Image: Malapata Studio

Camper Van: Make it Home

Finally, a game that combines designing your own house with going on a road trip. Camper Van: Make it Home is exactly what it sounds like. On the design side, you’re able to customize a tiny home camper and make it appropriately cozy, but the developers say it will also take you on “a journey of self-discovery.”

A screenshot from the video game Fireside Feelings.
Image: Team Empreintes

Fireside Feelings

This game seems designed entirely around comfort. You play as a cute little animal and spend your time curled up around a fire, chatting with friends, and guiding the conversation as you get pulled into a bigger story.

A screenshot from the video game Instants.
Image: Endflame

Instants

Puzzle game meets scrapbooking. Here the goal is to organize a huge cache of family photos, and as you do, discover their history and story. “Inspired by the way elders pass down family history using pictures to support their storytelling,” the developers explain, “this game blends narrative, puzzle, and creativity.”

A screenshot from the video game Omelet You Cook.
Image: SchuBox Games

Omelet You Cook

This game is almost worth checking out for the pun title alone. In it, you create all kinds of weird omelets on a conveyor belt to deliver to students with seemingly very weird taste buds. Also, the principal is a rooster.

A screenshot from the video game Seasonala Cemetery.
Image: Gabby DaRienzo

Seasonala Cemetery

From the same team behind the similarly gothic A Mortician’s Tale, this game has players exploring a chill cemetery that changes based on the time of day and season. It even has sound effects recorded from an IRL cemetery. And not only is out today, it’s a completely free download.

A screenshot from the video game Squeakross: Home Squeak Home.
Image: Alblune

Squeakross: Home Squeak Home

For those who wish Picross also had lots of adorable little mice. In addition to all of the number-based puzzle solving, Squeakross also has some collecting elements, where you can gather decorations and stickers to up the cozy factor.

A screenshot from the video game The Guardian of Nature.
Image: Inlusio Interactive

The Guardian of Nature

This hand-drawn adventure game looks absolutely stunning, like an animated movie come to life, and it stars a little guy who can change shape to explore the natural world in various contexts. While the whole experience isn’t available yet, you can play the game’s first episode now.

A screenshot from the video game Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk.
Image: Aftabi Games

Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk

This game may give you a craving for Boss Coffee, but it also looks pretty laid-back. It’s described as a “charming idle simulation game,” and the goal is to build an empire of vending machines, where you’ll have to manage staff and handle decorations.

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