'Simpler Times' is the coziest game I've played in a long time

engadget.com:

Warm afternoon sunlight streams through the bay windows. A tree beyond the panes throws shadows across a plush rug, partially covered by an open cardboard box. The bedroom is compact and bright, and it’s filled with the remnants of youth: books and family photos line the walls, and the desk drawers are stuffed with drawing paper and school supplies. A skateboard pokes out from under the bed and stuffed animals are tucked into the room’s spare spaces. The record player spins soothing, lo-fi music, and you have a long, lazy afternoon to sit in this room, box up its memories, and move on.

Simpler Times provides this peaceful environment and invites players to get lost in it. There’s a story to unravel just by picking up objects, interacting with them and putting them away for good — the protagonist, Taina, is moving on from her childhood home, onto the next phase of her life, and her past and future come into focus as players explore her bedroom.

Even if Simpler Times’ idyllic setting doesn’t accurately reflect your own childhood bedroom, the developers at Transylvania studio stoneskip have designed a supremely comforting space. Everything about Taina’s room feels welcoming and safe: safe to explore, safe to get lost in, safe to fall fully into your thoughts.

Simpler Times is a first-person game with an emphasis on music and mood. The soundtrack is a series of original, lo-fi pieces that players control on the room’s record player, in a ritual familiar to vinyl owners. Each album runs for a set amount of time before it has to be reset or swapped out: Move the needle to the side, lift the record and carefully put it away, and then reverse the process with a new album. It’s a series of intentional actions designed to ground