The rise of the “cozy game” is, on its surface, not that surprising. Video games have only grown in popularity so that naturally means that new types of genres are going to emerge to suit more people. But digging a little deeper suggests perhaps a darker reason for their popularity: life has generally gotten worse for many. Stagnant wages, catastrophic climate change-related disasters, and an onslaught of flagrantly corrupt, evil people seizing power all over the globe have created unimaginable despair for those in and out of the crosshairs.
Cozy games were conveniently meant to be walled gardens — often literally with digital gardens — to separate people from the infinite sorrow waiting just over those walls in the real world. Pick the weeds, plant the seeds, and temporarily get away from the chaos. But Wanderstop, the first game from The Stanley Parable writer Davey Wreden’s new team Ivy Road, busts down that wall. It is soothing with its mechanics that revolve around making tea, but also uses its cutesy outward demeanor as a clever way to disarm players and examine darker subject matter.
Wanderstop is not shy about these issues, either. Alta, the beleaguered protagonist, is constantly at odds with her own mental health. She’s tasted greatness by being a legendary warrior, only to recently fall a handful of times in battle. It’s a soul-sucking wound that’s done more damage to her mentally than physically. Her sword is now heavier than a thousand suns and her exhaustion claims her every time she tries to flee or even think about combat. Concocting the perfect cup of tea in a beautiful forest full of kind strangers might seem like the ideal remedy, but it’s clearly not the salve it might be for others who are less critical of their failures and aren’t always working themselves to the bone.
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Alta’s relentless self-judgment and stubbornness are relatable and it’s where the game is at its most interesting. She’s overanalyzed the small number of defeats, while not absorbing the bigger picture of how far she’s gone and the challenges she has overcome. Overworking is a defining and positive feature to her, despite how much crunch has debilitated her. The moments when she’s not cracking skulls in battle are agonizing, even if those moments are spent calmly planting and harvesting trees.
That process of figuring out each patron’s cryptic order, correctly placing the seeds to get the desired plant, and setting up the massive kettle is a simple yet engaging rhythm that gives Alta a therapeutic structure to work through her issues. The curative elements of the tea-making routine are usually lost on her, though. Boro, the teashop’s jovial owner, serves as the perfect foil to Alta since he’s able to savor these small moments and demonstrate a healthier approach without shaming her for how her brain works.
Regardless of his gentle disposition, Alta is too hard on herself to catch on and that flaw is a way more realistic portrayal of self-loathing and perceived inadequacy. A more saccharine game would heal her more and more with every clipped weed, brewed drink, and word of encouragement. Gradually gaining awareness and building up to a massive breakthrough would make for a compelling and convenient arc, but that’s not how real life works most of the time. Wanderstop stews in that uneasy space and points a mirror directly at players with the same mental roadblocks as Alta. “You do this, too!” the game screams, “It’s ridiculous, right?”
Wanderstop does not expect players to completely fix themselves as much as Alta is supposed to completely fix herself through her accidental retreat. She doesn’t even solve all of her problems at the end of her journey. Her losses are still seared into her brain and that sort of scarring doesn’t fully repair after a week of doing chores. It’s wonderfully poignant and while some progress is made, it more serves as a dissection of burnout and how one’s self-worth relates to it without a didactic or cloying message rooted in clichés.
Wanderstop is exquisitely written and has more than its share of absolutely hilarious moments (which also benefit from the exaggerated animation and playful sound design), but it’s equally impressive that its writing treats its subject matter in a way most people experience it: illogically. Alta is blind to the issues plaguing her in the same way many players probably are. Laying out that disconnect in a game serves as an effective way to reflect how self-denigration prospers since many who engage in that kind of cyclical thinking often need to observe it from the outside to see it for what it is. It’s intentionally uncomfortable and unlike other cozy games that often exist to ease anxious or busy minds. Wanderstop won’t resolve those issues and it’s stunningly well aware of that; it just wants to explore them with you with the maturity you deserve in an unexpected genre.
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