Dorfromantik’s masterful minimalism will soothe your soul

polygon.com:

The German word “dorfromantik” can be literally translated as “village romanticization.” Its real meaning is more ineffable. In a recent interview with Eurogamer, the developers of Dorfromantik (the game) said the word was “usually used to describe the kind of nostalgic feeling you get when you long to be in the countryside.” Dorfromantik is a state of mind.

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That couldn’t be more apt for this exquisite chill-out game, which has just emerged from a year of early access. Dorfromantik is a peaceful game of tile placement: a sort of minimalist, meditativeCatan. You build a landscape from hexagonal tiles, creating pine forests, patchwork fields, meandering rivers, spidery train tracks, and higgledy-piggledy little red-brick towns. (No roads, though.) And that’s it. There’s no resource production or cost to think about — no competition, no population, no politics, no win, no lose. You are scored purely on how well your tiles match up. Your only goals are harmony and beauty.

Playing Dorfromantik is relaxing. You could even say it is aesthetically cleansing. The landscapes, drawn in loose strokes and lazy splashes of pastel color, and animated with puffing steam engines, tugboats, and wheeling sea birds, are gorgeous and toylike. It’s just a nice place to be. Time doesn’t pass here, and nobody needs anything from you. Nothing is counting down while you consider placing your next