What to play this weekend: time for relaxing sims on Steam!

Happy Friday, Watchers! We’re all about the cozy and the chill this weekend with the ever-worsening heat. Instead of fixating on the state of the world, I invite you to dive into our realm of relaxing titles.

Release of the week: Horticular (life sim)

Horticular speaks to me as an avid Stardew Valley player — sometimes you just want to sit and revive your long-lost farm garden, right? Instead of Junimos, the magical entities of Horticular are mysterious gnomes who have magically summoned you. They only want you to restore the aforementioned garden, which the previous caretaker abandoned.

This game moves at your pace — one day, you may add a new vegetable area and stave off decay in the environment with your magical gardening gloves. The next, you’re progressing a story arc and creating animal habitats to bring new little friends to your space. But beware the corrupted agents of your unknown nemesis — they’re out to thwart your promising new paradise.

Get Horticular for $19.99 for PC on Steam.

Release of the week: The Last Alchemist (fantasy sim)

If you’re not feeling that cozy life, perhaps you’d like a touch of fantasy in your weekend sim — enter The Last Alchemist. Set in a “wholesome, science-fantasy world,” this sim embraces the combination of science and magic with a delightful environment that combines muted earth tones and vivid pops of colors for things like the local flora.  Solve alchemical puzzles, build your workshop, and share your lab space with the Agari (adorable local sentient mushroom creatures) as you earn their trust and learn about the world around you.

Get The Last Alchemist for $19.99 for PC on Steam.

Steal of a deal: Floppy Knights (turn-based strategy)

Our third and final entry for the week is, frankly, fascinating. Floppy Knights is a turn-based strategy/deckbuilder game, but oh, so much more. Meet Phoebe (a brilliant young inventor) and Carlton (her robot-arm bestie), and begin collecting Phoebe’s newest invention — the titular Floppy Knights, “tangible projections summoned from floppy disks” — to build your decks for turn-based battle. The music is fantastic, and the artwork is precious. This game is too cute to ignore, and the price cannot be beaten.

Get Floppy Knights for FREE on the Epic Games Store until July 18. It’s also available for Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC on Steam.

Now tell us, Watchers — what are you playing this weekend? Share in the comments below, and we’ll feature your new interest in next week’s round-up!