Cozy farm sim games just keep getting tinier these days. Small enough to dock to the bottom of your monitor like Rusty's Retirement, and in the case of Tiny Garden, small enough to fit inside a Polly Pocket-looking little capsule toy.
Inside its little globular world you've got space to cultivate a handful of plants in the bottom portion and then unlock a little vertical slice of a house to decorate in the lid by trading crops for furniture. There's a constant battle among cozy games to become the cutest dang thing I've seen all week but I think the crank handle on Tiny Garden has to win this round. Time advances as you wind it, making plants grow or tilled tiles run dry of water.
Tiny Garden calls itself a mix of farming, puzzles, and strategy, but there's a bit of a story in the background too. The little capsule wasn't originally yours and you'll discover things about its past owners. "Through letters, you'll uncover a heartfelt story that reminds us that objects aren’t just things—they hold the traces of lives lived and stories shared," developer Ao Norte says.
I'm all for the rise of cozy games that are as much tiny digital toys as they are actual games. "With no scores, no time limits, and no game-overs, Tiny Garden is all about relaxation and creativity," it says. "The more you explore, the more you’ll discover."
It looks like Tiny Garden ran a demo last summer and though I don't know anything for sure, I'd say keep an eye on the possibility that it could turn up in the Steam Next Fest happening at the end of February. If not, it's just announced a release date of April 8 on Steam so you'll be able to play this spring one way or another.
