The Wholesome Direct's indie game showcase of 2024 took place on June 8. To?day, a massive collection of games with new trailers, release dates, or even demos have made their debut, with some fully launching today. Whether you're looking for a new game or two to try or want to fill your wishlist with a dozen new games, you'll have plenty of options as we explore the list of ava??ilable playable demos that are live now.

With that said, let's check out the complete list o??f demos for games fea?tured during Wholesome Direct 2024.

• Mythmatch (Steam)
• Caravan SandWitch (Steam)
• Tiny Bookshop (Steam)
• Into the Emberlands (Steam)
• Fantastic Haven: Prologue (Steam)
• Crab God (Steam)
• ILA: A Frosty Glide (Steam)
• Sally (Steam)
• Times and Galaxy (Steam)
• Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo (Steam)
• Pine: A Story of Loss (Steam)
• Afterlove EP (Steam)
• Dungeons of Hinterberg (Steam)
• Fruitbus (Steam)
• FREERIDE: The Personality Test (Steam and Nintendo Switch)
• Lost and Found Co. (Steam)
• On Your Tail (Steam)
• Spilled! (Steam)
• The Palace on the Hill: Prologue (Steam)
• Albatroz (Steam)
• While Waiting (Steam)
• Tukoni: Prologue (Steam)
• Monterona (Steam)
• The August Before (Steam)
• Space Sprouts (Steam)
• Broken Lens (Steam)
• Ringo's Roundup (Steam)
• The Star Named EOS (Steam)
• Dawnfolk (Steam)
• Kitsune Tails (Steam)
• Building Relationships (Steam)
• Tidy Cauldron (Steam)
• Pup Champs (Steam)
• Wax Heads (Steam)
• EbiTapes (Steam)
• Hirocato - The Delivery Hero (Steam)
• Undusted: Letters from the Past (Steam)

If any of these games caught your eye during the Wholesome Direct, you'll at least be able to play through their introductions before release. I don't know abou??t you, but I know I'll be playing through most of this list and enjoying their adorableness.

The Wholesome Direct also introduced numerous games released today or launched recently, with titles like Tracks of Thought and Rolling Hills being among the new releases. Others also made their first public announcements through the Wholesome Direct, with official re?lease dates listed as later this ye?ar, sometime during 2025, or completely unknown for now.

The post 37 Wholes??ome Direct game demos you can play right now appeared first on Destructoid.

Pretty cute platformer

Hours before the main event of The Game Awards was the Wholesome Games' Snack Direct, a showcase of some upcoming wholesome titles from developers who dwell in the aesthetic of cozy cottagecore. Mail Time is one such game. From developer Kela Van Der Deijl and publisher Freed?om Games, this adorable-looking platformer was previously announced for the Nintendo Switch, PC, and Mac. Today, Freedom Games confirmed the game will also launch on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IydcIxSpoCA

I'm not one for the wholesome game scene as it's burned me in the past and collect-a-thon platformers aren't exactly my cup of tea, but the art direction for Mail Time is doing ??a lot of heavy lifting in getti??ng me interested. Taking place in the warm and inviting Grumblewood Grove, the game puts players in control of a Mail Scout as they explore eight different locations delivering mail, listening to stories, and collecting bottle caps. The developer is promising an inclusive experience with this one, letting players choose their Mail Scout's pronouns in addition to the standard character customization options.

With the 2023 release schedule up in the air right now–we'll see how that changes after tonight�em>Mail Time won't have much competition when it ??launches for Switch, PS4, PS5, PC, and Mac in?? April.

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Wholesome Alien Antics Invade The Avian Skatepark

This year's Wholesome Direct just wrapped up, and like always, it made good on its promise of filling our hearts and minds with edgeless, universally appealing fun. Most of the games at the show might look niche to those whose definition of "an average and normal videogame" is a AAA shooter, but for the majority of people in the world (most of whom have never played The Last of Us or Halo in their lives), stuff like skateboarding birds wearing funny hats is a lot more? inviting.

That's probably why, despite middling initial reviews and a lack of big publisher support, SkateBIRD is "on the cusp of making a million bucks" in profit. It's fun too! A few patches after launch, the game plays better than ever, and if you still find any?? of the controls to be frustrating, most of them can be adjusted in accessibility settings. Those options, plus the universal appeal of becoming a double-jumping swallow who can freestyle (and fumble) across a series of duct-taped skate parks, have done a lot to help the game make numbers.

Some of those dollars have been spent on making the game even better. Announced at the Wholesome Direct, the game will be getting an update today that adds a new playground-themed park, a playable crewmate from Among Us, and new Pride-themed outfits, though SkateBIRD creator Megan Fox tells us she "...just wanted gay clothes anyways and I'd added them a while ago, and then ??it accidentally lined up..." with both the month-long ?LGBTQ+ celebration and its coinciding Wholesome Direct.

This content is headed to SkateBIRD on consoles as well, so if you want to whip out ?your Switch and kickflip with an owl while wearing rainbow??-tinted sunglasses, you won't have to wait long.

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"Nearly 100 amazing indie games" lined up for this year's Wholesome Direct showcase

There's not enough time to hear about (much less play) all of the worthwhile video games in the collective cooker, and even if we narrow down our scope to certain genres or moods, our brains can only hang onto so much information at once. But we can try! So while June is going to be another busy month for?? live-streamed game showcases, I've once again got my eye on the Wholesome Direct, a celebration of cute and cozy upcoming indie games.

The Wholesome Direct is back for 2022, and the event is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Pacific on June 11. Here's a teaser tr??ailer with a preview of some of the curat??ed games.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Easppal2KtQ

On the docket so far, we've got:

• Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly, a visual novel about listening (and being a barista) in a fantasy version of Seattle.
• Mail Time, a "cottagecore" delivery adventure game with a glider.
• PuffPals: Island Skies, a farming life sim that looks too pure for this world.
• SCHiM, an eye-catching platformer about jumping between shadows.
• Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, a storybook adventure with musical puzzles.
• Terra Nil, a serene building game about revitalizing ecosystems in wastelands.
• And a few more, as teased in this video.

Some of these might've ??been on your radar, but most of them are probably new to you.

The showcase will air on YouTube on Saturday, June 11, and you can expect to see "new game reveals, exclusive f??ootage, and even games that will launch during the show."

[caption id="attachment_322168" align="alignnone" width="2560"] _Frogun.[/caption]

According to the organizers o?f Wholesome Direct 2022, there will be "nearly 100 amazing indie games in total." Odds are, you'll see something that clicks with you.

For me, just based on the teaser trailer, I know I'm down for Frogun. I continue?? to be a mark for colorful 3D platforms ??that throw back to the PS1 era, and this one's a cutie.

As much as we've learned to keep our guards up during these past two summers with too many tedious streams, I think spreading the good word about "uplifting, compassionate, cozy video games" is a noble task, a??nd it's one that's worth tuning in for agai??n this year.

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The Nintendo-like presentation will have reveals and chill vibes

The Wholesome Games cr?ew is back again this year with some more wholesome games. The Wholesome Direct will air? on June 12 at 1 p.m. ET.

Last summer, the Wholesome Direct was a nice, relaxing break from the usual press showcas??es, filled with lots of cozy game trailers. This year looks to be ??more of the same, with even more on display: Wholesome Games is saying it will have exclusives from over 75 games, including new game reveals.

#WholesomeDirect returns on June 12 at 1pm ET! 📺 We'll have new game reveals, exclusive footage, and even games that will launch *during* the show! And thanks to our pals at @GuerrillaCollec, @Twitch, @IGN and @GameSpot, Wholesome Direct will reach even more players this year 🥳 pic.twitter.com/NGy9TrSWyd

— Wholesome Games (@_wholesomegames) May 12, 2021

There will even be games that ??launch during the show! I have to admit, I'm a bit of a sucker for the "available now" thing.

Among the games already confirmed for the Wholesome Direct are Unpacking A Life, We Are OFK, Moonglow Bay, Paralives, Bear and Breakfast, Ooblets, The Gecko Gods, and Amber Isle. As we gear up for the big summer showcases, and especially with E3 2021 right ar??ound the corner from this direct, I'm pretty psyched to hear more about some chill games I can relax to.

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