chronicallycosy

[chronicallycosy]

Fields of Mistria / Cosy Blog

Fields of Mistria…wow, it feels like the game just appeared out of nowhere and there it was, suddenly all over my twitter feed and so I instantly went to buy it, and let me tell you, it was the best £11.79 I ever spent. 

This cosy early-access game is already incredible and I can’t wait to see what is added come full release. In this blog, I will discuss what I love about the game while providing constructive feedback on things I would like to see added.

Straight away, the character customisation is brilliant. Hurray pronouns! It has warmed my heart to see people feeling represented by having a hijab available along with a wide range of skin colours! I love that when in-game, you can change your appearance any time, you can also change your name, pronouns and town name anytime! 

The progression in Fields of Mistria feels well-paced. I felt like I always had a goal and that currency gain/spend was balanced. I enjoyed the experience progression system combined with how there is a mana spell system offering interesting perks and bonus’. I think my main feedback though in this area would be that wood felt really grindy and difficult to get, five wood from destroying one tree with how much wood was needed to progress, sometimes it felt like a wood chopping simulator. 

Further feedback about the experience system though, I would also like to see the purple experience orbs either consume to the player quicker or there be some sort of magnet maybe in the skill up section? I was often having to stop and go back to my previous location to pick up the purple orb and I feel I have wasted a lot of time doing that. 

I love the villagers! The game designers have done an amazing job creating these villagers, I literally love them all. Who are you romancing? I am planning to romance Reina! She is SO SWEET. I love her. I love the seasonal outfits. I love how you can see the liked and loved gifts. I love how you can find where someone is by looking at the map too! 

The cooking and crafting system being tied to skills is a cool feature! I do feel like the little scene after you have made something is nice the first time but it gets annoying quite quickly, especially when making multiple things at once. 

Speaking of crafting, the decorating in this game???? SO FUN AND CUTE!! I love it. 

I truly adore this game, I love me a cute fun farming sim to get hyper-fixated on. I hope you love it too and I can’t wait to see what gets added! 

[chronicallycosy]

colourful teen room 🌈💜💙

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base game nursery

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kids art room 🧡

[chronicallycosy]

The Sims 4; Lovestruck

Oh hi? I bet you didn’t hear this from me first, but the new sims 4 expansion is out, Lovestruck! I am no reviewer, I just like writing up little informal blogs by having a thought dump about my feelings on CAS, build&buy, the world and gameplay. Also, I bought this pack with my own money, and even if I was lucky enough to be gifted from EA, no one could ever take away my honesty. 

Lets start with CAS. I love it. I’m just going to attach a screenshot showing all the new items that I love! If you want to see all items, you can check out all the new items in game by clicking on packs on the main menu and clicking on lovestruck. As shown below, you can scroll through all the CAS and build mode items added! 

Anyway…here are the items that I love and will see myself using! 

If I were to make a tier list, both the earrings, sunflower shirt, ombre oversized shirt and the ombre oversized jumper would be in the S tier. The earrings are my favourite and I love the colour range they come in. I think CAS overall is very solid and the tattoo of the crossing out of names is hilarious. There are no CAS items for kids/younger aside from some of the hairs crossing over. It is a little disappointing as a cute love heart printed jumper for kids for example would be fun. It makes sense they got nothing though given this pack is about adult relationships. 

Alright, onto build mode, again, I’m going to add a series of screenshots of the items I like then talk about my thoughts!

Build mode…build mode…build mode… where do I begin? First of all, the plant selection is chefs kiss, but once again, they have added in a plant where it is two plants joined into one item, WHY? Just let them be placed as individuals!!! I am still mad over the growing together plants too cause that set of four plants is so cute but placing it is a nightmare. Why do the Sims team hate us so much! Also, I am SO glad they added jacaranda trees cause they are one of my favorite trees! They are so pretty.

The new backsplash tile is very pretty but lacks swatches imo. I hope they add more backsplashes in the future. The new animal statues/plushies are so adorable. I love plushies and animal statues in my game so I will be using these a lot. I also love the curtain beads!! They are very hip and cute. The new artwork is chefs kiss and I love that we have new LED wall decals cause I loved the ones from the High school pack! Speaking of High school years, the style of this pack pairs well with Lovestruck! 

However, I am critical of the build mode selection. I wish the giant mirror was placeable on the small wall height. Considering they added no new doors and windows for medium or tall wall height, then we get some giant mirror that can’t even be placed on the lowest wall height kinda ticked me off. I also just wish we had…more. We got a lot of romantic-styled furniture, which makes sense, it is a love pack. However, we got this beautiful new world called Ciudad Enamorada, inspired by Mexico! It feels like we have barely any items in build & buy that represent the culture and style. Build & buy had so much potential here and it flopped. You can also absolutely say the same for create a sim, the clothes lacked representation of Mexican culture. I feel like if the sims are introducing a new world that clearly represents a location, the build & buy and create a sim should be following those representations. 

I think for the reasons above alone, I will die on the hill that this pack should have been a game pack similar to parenthood. The romance systems, the app along with romantic style build & buy and create a sim would have made for a great game pack. I had the same conclusion when growing together came out. I think the world of Ciudad Enamorada hasn’t been done justice and it would have been better suited to a different style of expansion. I think it would have been fine if we had more representation of Mexican culture, there is some, just not enough honestly. 

Whilst I am on the talk about the world. I think Ciudad Enamorada is gorgeous. There are a lot of pretty romantic spots to put down a blanket and get some cute moments. I love that you can travel via the bus stops, I waste so much time with sims running around trying to get home. Overall, there isn’t much to do in the world. I get why it is like this, and it is a common theme among all the words, I just wish worlds were more engaging. As for the separate areas in Ciudad Enamorada, Plaza Mariposa is by far the most gorgeous area. Vista Hermosa is pretty too but it feels like it is missing something. Nuevo Corazon, whilst it is nice to have more penthouses (even though I low-key hate them because taking screenshots on those lots is an awful experience,) that area has like…nothing in it, meh. 

One more thing I want to add, which may be a hot take; I hate the emphasis this pack puts on exercise and health = love. You don’t have to be ripped and the epitome of health to be loveable. 

Okay, I have waffled ALOT. Onto a random thought dump with some screenies…

Yeah…. Justice for the loners, please? I wanna just sit and watch the sky. Alone. 

Summary; Axolotls carry this pack. 

Romantic satisfaction is bleh, this could have been done so much better! Cupids corner is okay but where are all these gallery sims we were promised? All I have seen are the regular townies and the random generated townies. The dates suck, having to go through all the menus just to get to a specific interaction is boring. Especially when you need to complete so many just to get gold, it feels like the gameplay consists of just spamming out socials and doing nothing interesting.

Positives? Axolotls, cuddling is cute, some nice items, the new gift menu is useful, and a lot of the new animations are cute. 

I think I have constructed most of my thoughts? It isn’t a pack you can solely play alone, it is more of a nice background add-on to the game. So if you are looking for an expansion pack that really gives oomf to your game, this pack isn’t it. If you are looking for an expansion pack that adds more to relationships, I would recommend it, but I would actually recommend growing together instead if you are more interested in family gameplay! 

Okay, I think this sums up my messy brain dump! 

Chronically Cosy, aka Georgia :)

[chronicallycosy]

a lil light academia bedroom, crystal creations bookcases will forever be a fav

[chronicallycosy]

Dinkum, The Aussie Cosy Life

Dinkum is so underrated. I feel like I never hear anyone talk about it on my feed, but I love this game so much, so I want to give it the attention it deserves! Me and my bestie love playing this game, we are both autistic + adhd and love cosy games so anything we can play together for a joint hyperfixation leads to a fun chaotic time. 

Like Stardew Valley, Dinkum is worked on by one person, James Bendon! The game is still in early access and the developer is slowly putting out lots of love in updates. I have been playing this game for way over a year now and I love watching what new goodies are brought in.

The game feels most comparable to animal crossing gameplay but without the mass villagers. You spend most of your time harvesting, mining, metal-detecting, doing daily NPC requests, fishing and bug-catching. You can also explore, decorate, cook and care for animals. You make money and work towards creating a thriving town by inviting all the NPCs to join your island. 

Dinkum is based in Australia! Which I love. I feel immersed in Australian culture when playing. Prepare to get your ass beat by some alpha crocodiles and alpha kangaroos! One of my favourite NPC in the games is called Irwin, he owns the animal store. He is super wholesome and I love how the devs have honoured the legacy of Steve Irwin within the game. 

Here is Irwin!

This game is definitely a slow burner, I personally wouldn’t suggest going into this game expecting to get its full experience within the first year of playthrough. Progression takes time, especially if you want to enjoy the later game features. 

However, the game feels very interactive to play, I love the hand trolley and wheelbarrow and how you are moving everything around visually instead of it just going into the bags. 

There is quite a bit more quality of life I would like to see from Dinkum still in the future. I would love to see improvements to the levelling farming early game, NPC locations on the map, a sandbox/creative mode, the pineapple plant re-growing instead of destroying, and possibly animal automation? I would also love to see improvements to multiplayer, currently, it won’t recognise another player as living there, but it would be good to have the option for them to have more control over things.

As I mentioned, I’m currently doing a second playthrough with my bestie! We are slowly working on creating a bigger town with roads and larger farms. We are in the middle of moving everything over to the middle and it is so fun watching it all come together! 

I am excited about the future of Dinkum. It has such charm to it. There is so much potential there and I’m truly looking forward to seeing what the dev has planned! 

Chronically Cosy, aka Georgia :)

​P.S, James, if you are reading this, I have broken at least 10 dirt printers, I need emotional support. 

[chronicallycosy]

Tiny Glade | Demo

Wow. I’m blown away by this game! I have been keeping my eye on watching this game unfold via PounceLights (developers) twitter and we finally got a demo! It does not disappoint, and after playing the demo, I’m even more excited to see the full game release. 

Upon opening the game you are met with a pre-placed wall. Ready to erase or edit, it is up to you! You are given a small circular space to work with, along with different tools at the bottom. I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to game UIs, this is hands down one of my favourite UIs I have seen. Easy on the eyes, easy to navigate, it’s not in your face or taking up too little or too much room. It is a very clean and well put together UI and I wanted to complement that. 

There are quite a few features that are locked behind access, but that is expected of a demo, however, the game gives quite a lot of tools to play around with. You get walls, two different shapes of buildings, 3 sizes of pathways, windows, lights, terrain levelling and plants. It may not sound like a lot, but by combining features together you can create something new. Example;

By adding pathways through walls, you create arches. Similarly, you create a door when you put a pathway into a building. You can also add multiple windows to a window to create a bay window. The procedural mechanics in this game combined with the gorgeous art style and lighting is quite remarkable. The little palette tool you see allows you to change the colour of pieces! The eraser tool allows you to remove specific things without affecting the rest of your design. For example, you can choose to erase only foliage, or just erase paths, so handy!

The camera mode is also amazing! After you have created a glade of your dreams, you can take stunning screenshots with the options available. 

Here is what I whipped up after 30 mins of exploring Tiny Glade;

AHHH this game is gorgeous. I’m SO excited to see more of this game. 

Chronically Cosy, aka Georgia :) 

[chronicallycosy]

base game x cozy bistro kit

I love this kit! I can see myself using many of these items often. I may be biased because I really love this style!

This kit would have been elevated more if there were matching counters to go with the bar, however, the ones we have in the base game match well, but not perfectly.

I was worried this kit would only be useful if you have the cafe and restaurant lot types, but upon exploring the kit it pairs well with the base game, allowing players to elevate their lounges.

If you love this style of furniture/decor and enjoy using lounges, restaurants and cafes, this feels like a good addition to your game!

[chronicallycosy]

What are you all feeling about this new sims 4 kit?

I love the brick wallpaper. Also a big fan of the pot plant, curtains and the new rock details. Apart from that it isn't massively standing out to me to be honest!

Built with base game + riviera retreat kit only

[chronicallycosy]

Camper Van; Make It Home | Demo

So, Camper Van; Make It Home. I have had my eyes on this game for the longest time! The devs recently gave us a demo on Steam and I was super excited to dive in. 

The art is so gorgeous! 

Upon opening the game I was met with a camper van ready to decorate. The decorations and belongings were all organised into sections on the right. I found the UI pleasant to navigate. I loved the art style! 

While trying to organise the fridge with yummies, I struggled to place the banana. I felt like it had plenty of space to fit here but I just couldn’t get it to place after trying different angles, so I did have to re-arrange the fridge again. Also, chocolate goes in the fridge! 

I did find myself having issues in other areas. I thought this little box next to the toilet was extra storage. However, when trying to put stuff in there it bugged out, so I did have to move them elsewhere and keep them empty. I did struggle placing objects in a few other areas but it wasn’t that bad that it ruined my experience playing. This is what betas are for! 

I really enjoyed decorating the space! I can’t wait to play more of this game and see what features are coming. 

You even get to place items outside which is really cute!

One of my special interests is organisation, so I absolutely love games like this where I can sit and organise spaces and make them look functional and pretty. I realise looking back I should of been clicking on the items more to see what different placement options they have, so if you play the demo, I definitely recommend trying that out!

I had so much fun playing and I can’t wait for the future of this game! It is adorable!

Chronically Cosy, aka Georgia :) 

[chronicallycosy]

Stardew Valley; My Beloved

A special interest of mine since its release! My first chronically cosy blog is about Stardew Valley. It is mostly a love letter to this game. How much it means to me. The happiness and cosiness it brings. SDV has gotten me through so much. 

This game may have been released over 8 years ago back in Feb 2016. However, over the years, developer Concerned Ape has brought us quite a few free updates. Bringing more quality of life, more end-game content and more. A low purchase cost and free updates? Concerned Ape massively sets the standard for the games industry. I will forever love indie games. 

Did you even play Stardew Valley if you didn't put the shorts in the soup?

After being over 200 hours on switch and 700 hours on steam, I like to consider myself quite the seasoned SDV player. As it has become one of my biggest autistic special interests, my mind has become a walking wiki. I recently dived into Stardew Valley Expanded mod which was super exciting to play. I definitely recommend checking that out if you are a SDV lover and play on PC/Steam Deck! 

I recently put to bed my beach farm which ended up being a perfection run of which I married Emily. Ahh, I love her. She has a golden heart. 

I haven’t started the new chicken starter farm though! I am patiently waiting for switch update release so I can enjoy the new update there. Unless someone wants to get me a steam deck, please steam, hit me up. I desperately need a steam deck in my life. Also, my next run, I will be marrying Sam. He doesn’t get the love and appreciation he deserves and he is an angel. 

Speaking of the recent update, hello?? XP books, book buffs, the mastery levels?! The upgraded furnace?? AHHH. There was so much welcomed quality of life and boosts to end game content. The racoon family is SO CUTE. I love the festival in Calico Desert too. The new furniture tables, the trinkets, dehydrator, fish smoker, extra house space, just so many cool new features that enhances the game. Hot tip, turn your quarry into a tapper and moss combi farm! 

I could speak about this game all day, I just love it so much. Relaxing winter days re-arranging the farm ready for the start of a new year. Trying to get that community centre done in year one. Creating the craziest ancient fruit wine farm on Ginger Island. Getting to 100 in Skullcavern with no stairs. The Marnie and Lewis scandals. The excitement of waking up to a giant crop, or multiple! The game is just full of so many satisfying, wholesome and funny moments that never get old, at least for me anyway! 

However, the game is absolutely not immune to critism. Nothing is perfect and things can always improve! As a non-binary person one of my biggest wishes is for a pronoun update. I would also love to see some more new characters with more diversity. I also wish we could give Marlon gifts and get friendship with him! I would also really love to see Marnie and Lewis actually marry, and be open about their relationship further into the game when you learn of their secrets. More roommate options similar to Krobus would be cool too! I also wish for a special item or book that allows to see daily luck without tuning into the TV. I really hope Concerned Ape continues to bring us updates, no matter the wait, it is always worth waiting for. 

What are your favourite Stardew Valley memories? What do you love about the game? What do you hope for the future of Stardew Valley? I would love to hear your thoughts! 

Oooo also, have you been to the concert or are you planning to go? I’m going in June and I’m so excited as I absolutely love the soundtrack and orchestra! 

Chronically Cosy, aka Georgia :) 

[chronicallycosy]

Introducing Chronically Cosy

Hi friends! 

I just wanted to start by introducing myself on this page. I'm Georgia, I live in the UK and I'm disabled. I have quite a few conditions that lead me to live quite a low quality of life. However, games are something that helps me keep going. 

I love throwing myself into games, I often hyperfocus on games but I recently wanted to challenge myself to play more. I don't know about you but my steam library is 80% unplayed. I want to try and change that. I have also been looking for a reason to use my games design honours degree, so writing up some game blogs about what I'm loving felt right. 

I will be covering lots of games, mostly ones I find cosy. Old and new. If you are a games designer looking for a tester, I have done some testing and would love to get involved! Alternatively, if you have any game recommendations I would love to hear them. Tips on this page will help support me. I will always appreciate every ounce of support no matter how big or small. I will also be adding a wishlist in the future.

About me? Well, I did a games design course at Uni. However, my disabilities make it very difficult for me to work. I have been looking for something I can do at home when I have energy but many industries aren't that accessible. Doing something for myself feels like the only option but to reach an audience you need to be consistent with content and that is something I struggle with. 

I also love my photography and building lego. I love arts and crafts too even though my projects end up looking a bit..rubbish. I might even post some lego here, I do also have a photography page if you are interested in that! (self promo of my redbubble store.) 

I am quite the open book, so if you want to know anything about me, or have any questions, I am happy to chat! I also want to make it clear my writing skills are not great. These game blogs will be super casual, informal and will just be mind-dumping.

Anywayyyyyyy, happy gaming friends !! 

Chronically Cosy

aka Georgia :)