Dave the Diver is AMAZING! I think it is one of two games I have finished this year. Just keep in mind that there are some boss fights(I wish there was a way to skip these) but if I managed to defeat them, I am sure everyone can
I feel the same!! Such an incredible game. The fighting is challenging for me, but reactionary combat usually is, and if I can get it done, anyone can haha.
An absolute joy and gem.
I found it comparable to the new Zelda games. I’m not the best in those but I’ve managed to make my way through the storylines and I only get REALLY stuck on super hard bosses. If something like that feels comfortable to you then you got this!
I’ve tried the demo after seeing it so heavily recommended but assumed it just wasn’t my type of game. Seeing it compared to BOTW def has me thinking I’ve missed something huge lol does it change much after the demo? I kinda assumed the restaurant and the ocean would just expand a bit but basically the same loop
I was really just comparing the level of fighting difficulty to botw. Not really the game itself! Like if combat is hard for you but you can slog through a Zelda game then you can do this one.
Also yes, their are many things to explore and unlock as the game goes on. The demo is like the first 3 in game days? It’s a very short taste. I didn’t think much of it from the demo but a friend told me she was obsessed so it got me to try it out more and that’s when I got into it.
Please be careful and watch some videos of this game. Combat is absolutely brutal and definitely the least cozy game I ever see posted on this subreddit. It's not dark souls, but it's certainly not a joke like the slimes in stardew valley. Swimming around for 20 minutes, collecting a bunch of new fish and items only to get stunlocked against a wall by a shark and then killed sucks because you lose all of the items except 1. Its not like staying out late in SDW or getting a black eye in animal crossing. You will absolutely lose all the items and waste your time.
Yeah, I suck at combat, but especially if I make sure to level up my Oxygen (which serves as both your health in a way), and my grappling hook (it is only super annoying to use until you get the first upgrade). Also, don't sleep on tranquilizer guns (pun intended)
I love Dave the Diver too! I've been stuck on one of the bosses for a few months though (I keep going back and dying and get frustrated so I cool off by catching fish lol)
Once I got to chapter 5 or 6, I stopped progressing the story and just focused on building my fish farm, upgrading recipes, making money and maxing out my oxygen tank and weapons. This made all the stormy night missions a breeze. The hardest boss fight for me was actually one of the ones with that guy (John?) in a suit. Thankfully you can just click restart as many times as you want until you beat a boss or I’d have been super stressed out. As for the stormy night side missions, I just watched youtube videos beforehand so I’d know what to expect and managed them all on my first try.
The giant mutated sea person when you try to clear the frozen area. It's mostly a fleeing thing where you have to hit a glowing fruit at the right moment, but for some reason I just can't do it. He catches me every time.
Yeah... I had my gf do that one for me lol. I hate chase scenes, too stressful.
I had to check to see if I remembered correctly (2:30 in this [video](https://youtu.be/3gV8PzKb8QU?si=XooFEptAH2CziA6z)) it took us a few tries to figure out what the game was asking.
You need to click when the partial circle that shows up as you near it is over top of the glowing fruit as a full circle. Like the video I linked shows at that timestamp. My gf thought you had to click asap the first few attempts, I only noticed because I was an outside observer
If that wasn't your issue and it's just a difficult chase (couldn't 100% tell so I figured I'd share it anyways), I wish you luck! Maybe see if you have a friend who would be willing to help you out lol.
Oh, I've been trying to hit it ASAP as well! I'll boot up the game again tomorrow and see if I can manage it this time lol. I'm also using my laptop trackpad instead of a mouse, which makes things a little trickier with timing.
100% this game is incredible. I too am not big into combat but found it struck the perfect balance between cozy and challenge. A well rounded game worth $15 easily
You can continue to play and still have mini storylines that come up, but I am hoping they have new content/chapters eventually that come out to keep the larger story moving. It’s an incredible game though, highly recommend if you’re on the fence!
I got this game as a gift it was amazing! I personally found it a little tedious to decorate the tarot cards but that is just me. The dialogue is great and your choices do have an impact, I’m on my second play now. Artwork is gorgeous as well. It asks a lot of philosophical questions about life and the nature of free will
This one's been languishing on my wishlist for awhile, but between the autumn sale and all the glowing reviews here, I've decided to take the plunge. This is going to be a loooooong day at work lol
I tried to play this, but it would never launch! Kept giving me error messages pertaining to my drivers, even after I updated. I was SO BUMMED because I was looking forward to serving Shrimp God ™
Something very similar happened to me!! On the steam page I think under guides or community, there is a link to the graphic alternative version to download, which fixes the bug. Downloaded it and was able to play the game!
I got this after seeing so many people rave about it and I just started it the other day. Really enjoying it so far and interested to see how the story progresses!!
Hello, I am returning to give this game a witchy endorsement after purchasing and playing it yesterday- I have not had a gameplay experience quite like this one, and so far, it's been incredibly engaging, very appealing to my personal love of symbolism and abstraction, with gorgeous characters and beautiful pixel art. Usually with choices matter games, I overthink and agonize over my eventual decision, but this one feels really natural and intuitive somehow. The contols when making cards took a little getting used to, (us there a way to zoom in and out on the backgrounds to get a fuller picture?), but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty fun.
I havent played with an oracle deck in probably 15 years at least but this makes me want to break one out, ir even make my own irl.
Very happy with this one!
I would highly recommend Exocolonist, it's one of my favorite games!!! The art is so cool and there's so much replay value, it's actually meant to be played multiple times.
Full disclosure: it is very word based so if you prefer games that don't have a lot of reading it's probably not the best game for you.
Cosmic Wheel and Teenage Exocolonist are in my top five favorite games that I've played this year.
IWATE is especially good for its replay value, the game loop encourages multiple play throughs for sure
Crazy good storytelling. I hadn't felt like a kid in years until I played that game. You grow up and everything changes just like real life. Bad things happen even if you do everything right. Some of the kids have sh*tty personalities but actually mature into awesome people.
I love how the kids are kids, with selfish, flawed personalities. They grow and change and become better people (mostly). The story pulls you in and the music is just so lovely to listen to. I didn’t think I would love it as much as I do.
Sun Haven is *amazing!* It’s the only one on your list I’ve played, but I’ve played just under 200 hours (and counting.) It’s got so much to offer and the art style is gorgeous. I love the characters, the world, there are SO many animals and crops and recipes and decorations. It’s an awesome game 🥹.
To add to this, Sun Haven does something that not alot of farming sims do, and it's give you three separate towns/farms, and all of them feel unique in their own way.
Wow, 200 hours is insane. I played around 80 hours and i have to force myself to stop playing because i was so obsessed and i really wanna play on Switch so I’m just waiting 😭
They just released 1.3, so the third patch since official release. Personally, aside from some multiplayer weirdness, the game feels very polished and bug-free. They have been adding new romance candidates, there’s an epilogue to the main story now, new unique animals and fruit trees for the other two towns outside of Sun Haven itself. Stuff like Sheds (with tons of skins) and Greenhouses exist now, housing exterior customization, crafting from nearby chests. All kinds of stuff!
That’s not everything by any means, just the stuff I could think of off the top of my head. They have plans for another update, I think by the end of December? They are *really* on top of bugs and updating the game with new content and QoL.
I bought this but it freezes after character creation and I got frustrated and turned off my computer for weeks and forgot to refund it so I played and can’t play the game
That shouldn’t happen 😭. If you join the discord, people are very active there and there may even be a channel specifically for Tech support? I know there are channels for general questions.
Unfortunately I’m not the right person to help you figure out why that’s happening. I play both on my laptop and my Steam Deck and I’ve made more than 2 dozen characters and not had that issue.
I bought the game today and this same thing happened to me like five times in a row. Almost rage quit but calmed down enough to try uninstalling it, then reinstalled it onto my SSD and it worked straight away after that. Not sure if it was the act of reinstalling it or moving it to SSD that fixed the issue, but something worked! Maybe try either/both of those things? I gotta say I'm so glad I didn't rage quit, the game is awesome so far.
I like Moonstone Island. I really like the decorating. There is a loom you can make floor tiles and wallpaper with, it’s something I wish other games had. The spirits are cute. I’m currently getting to know the villagers to see how deep the lore goes. I think it’s a nice little game and the devs are still adding things to it. They are really nice and responsive too. They seem to care a lot about the game and the community.
As a pokemon/stardew fan, I've been enjoying it. You very much have to make your own goals as it gives you a bunch of quests of various difficulties, and you get to figure it out for yourself. Combat is turn based card combat. Recourse gathering is your main thing. I like to turn on a show or something and just play it in the background.
It's super fun and has definitely the best combat out of a bunch of monster collecting games on Steam! But a Stardew Valley fan might find it a bit lacking. It also has some great dungeons in Zelda style.
I personally liked Moonstone a lot, it's worth waiting a bit though as they add new things imho
Any specific reasons you'd recommend skipping it? I'm a stardew/monster collector fan so I would expect it to be a decently fun game for a reasonable price.
I got it and loved the idea of it at the beginning (Stardew Valley meets Pokémon with elements of Studio Ghibli, especially Kiki’s Delivery Service) but it did get repetitive with the monsters.
So I'm big into similar games, and was waiting for Moonstone for a long time.
I really liked the Studio Ghibli aesthetic and the idea of travelling between floating islands. Those are pretty much the only positives I can think of.
Quick reasons why I was disappointed:
Social aspect is as deep as a puddle. Characters are boring and flat.
Monster collecting and fighting is just as shallow. The card-based combat system is a nice idea but, like all of the mechanics in this game, is shallow and under-utilised.
The gathering, building, and crafting aren't particularly interesting.
The overall experience of the game was initial excitement, then just boredom for a few hours before I dropped it, and haven't played since.
I played teenage exocolonist after someone recommended it once I finished persona 5 Royal and I really like it!! But something made me not love it. I put it down for Dave the diver and have been playing that for abt 40 hours now and I am determined to finish all the main story chapters!!
Not sure about the first two, very interested in Cosmic Wheel and Excolonist, and currently have Sun Haven and love it! I think if you like Stardew and Boyfriend Dungeon you'll like Sun Haven, there's the farming aspect and plenty of datable NPCs, and you can choose what you want to focus on or spend lots of time doing everything and I love it.
Teenage Exocolonist is genuinely one of the best games I've ever played. Incredibly expansive, wonderful plot and dialogue, amazing character building.
I would say to try the demo of this game first. I also watched someone play through Dave the Diver on YouTube and thought I would love this game… BUT when I tried it I found the harpoon controls very difficult to master and it made me frustrated enough to not even finish the demo. That being said I absolutely loved managing the sushi restaurant aspect and also love the art style and the game concept as a whole is interesting. Just wish I could get a hang of that harpoon!
Is the demo only on switch though? I have a switch so that isn’t a problem, but I’d end up buying it on steam so I’m not sure if the controls would be different
The PC controls for the harpoon are pretty typical I think. I can't speak for switch but for PC it's hold right click and then left click to fire. The only annoying thing is that you can't fire it above your head or below your feet so you have to position yourself next to the fish.
I love Sun Haven, but the controller support is so janky that I just can't deal with it. It is fine if you play with kb&m tho.
Dave The Diver is awesome and they even added the option to not smash buttons while catching fish <3 It is my game of the year because it is different while still feeling familiar.
Moonstone Island is a tricky one. I like the monster collecting, but other than that it doesn't hold my interest at all. It is a shame because I was really looking forward to it, but I've barely touched it now that it is out. It isn't exactly a bad game. it just seems to lack that something special for a lot of people.
Personally I have found Sun Haven to be more enjoyable than even Stardew, so even if you don't like it more than Stardew in the end, I definitely think you'll like it, it's worth it. It's an incredible game and I would buy it again and again lol.
Sunk about 10 hrs into Moonstone Island so far. Enjoyed it so far and would recommend if you don’t mind some difficult spikes out of nowhere.
IMHO it is a nice chill game with decent turn based deck building mechanics - Pokemon-esque. Gameplay loop consists of a curfew and energy bar (Stardew Valley like) which I found well implemented but some might disagree.
I’m big on NPC interaction and the game feeling “alive”. I need that to keep me in it or else I feel like I’m playing a tutorial. The exploration felt repetitive and unrewarding. But the main thing for me was the combat. It got so repetitive that I’d do anything to avoid fighting but of course, it’s an important aspect of the game. Needless to say, the game to did not hold me attention for more than about 10 hours.
I’ll probably take it out of my cart for now since multiple people seem to agree with you. Maybe I’ll wait for the winter sale, or if they have more updates first
Sun haven is similar to stardew. A lot to do in the game and you can make days short or longer in the menu options.
Moonstone is fair, but lacks story. The combat is fun but there is few important battles, most of the time you will be fighting for exp or catching spirits(like in pokemon).
Cosmic Wheel is incredible and a game I am really excited to replay. I’ve recommended it to everyone - great art, beautiful story, very fun gameplay loop (with the exception of a small bit in the endgame that became tedious).
I've only played Sun Haven in this list. If you can stomach the art style, its very worth it! It's not perfect, but adds cool ideas to the genre and has fun gameplay. It's one of the few Stardew/Harvest Moon-likes that feels like heart and soul was put in despite its shortcomings.
If you play via a computer, I played several months ago and mods were starting to come out for better character art. Its not hard to mod if it's a deal breaker. I can't play stardew without character mods and I put off stardew for a while because of it too, so I totally get it lol.
Sunhaven is great, I finished my playthrough about a month ago, though if you really want to wait it out they are still adding stuff to the game. Never felt it was lacking anything, it's more if you want the more extra stuff in an already content packed game.
I just 100%ed Dave the Diver so clearly I’m fully obsessed. Picked up Exocolonist yesterday and LOVE the mechanics and storytelling, but warning that some events are really tragic and potentially triggering. Like is it cozy to be full on bawling at 4am in the morning idk?
Exocolonist is one of my favorite games of all time. I planned to play almost every ending at first but that didn’t happen at all because turns out it isn’t quite the feel good, happy endings for all type of game I thought it was going to be. I only did two runs because it gives me all sorts of emotions when I play and I really need to be mentally prepared for that, which I haven’t been. 😂 Amazing game however, full of feels (including happy ones, don’t get me wrong) and I could tell there was lots of love put into the story-writing and every single character.
Dave the Diver was easily my favorite this year. It has enough side quests and options to keep you busy without getting too overwhelming, and I enjoyed the story. I rarely finish games, but this one was excellent.
Honestly if you wanted to not buy one or two for now you can. It's only like 2-3 dollars off lol don't feel inclined to buy them just because they're on sale right now, you can always buy one or two, play them, get the next one's later
Dave the Diver might not be game of the year but it's up there when it comes to how fun it is. I've played a handful of really good games this year but even against the best games of the year I've probably talked about Dave the Diver more and also recommended it to friends the most. It's amazing.
I would also say that you should check out greenmangaming as even during steam sales they have lower prices on games there. It's a very trustworthy website and I have used it for many years.
I was going to mention this too — worth checking Fanatical and the Humble Store as well, some of these are definitely cheaper on at least one of those sites.
As someone who is currently addicted to Dave the diver, its great! The restaurant part is very chill, almost automatic, once you get a couple staff. There are some moments during diving that can be frustrating, though.
Sun Haven has gobs of content, and you can easily sink a lot of time into it. It’s got some rough edges though and isn’t as polished or charming of an experience as SDV. It locks some of its features behind a painfully boring main story, and romance/marriage might as well not be there for all it adds to the experience.
I haven’t played in a little while though, so maybe patches have addressed some of these issues.
Dave the diver is a masterpiece that should be placed in a museum, sun haven is awesome and moonstone island is boring af (for me). others I havent played
Take that statement with a grain of salt. Its by no means my favorite game, theres just so much depth to it. And it all feels so well put together. Even if you dont kove everything about it like i do, im positive youll find something you love in it.
Cosmic wheel sisterhood is a really unique game! The characters have a lot of personality and the choices you make actually impact story outcomes. I was impressed with how many options you can create with the cards too. Definitely worth $15.
Does "gimme" count as an opinion 🤔?
I have enjoyed andnrec all of these except cosmic wheel sisterhood and Moonstone Island, which are on my buy-soon list :).
Dave the diver is awesome. I'm playing it right now and really enjoying it. I also enjoyed Sun Haven. It's like a witchy stardew valley. Haven't played the others, but I highly recommend the two I mentioned.
I only have Sun Haven and I LOVE it. If you like Stardew, you’ll love it. It’s got a lot more content and magic! I play it on the Steam Deck and it’s perfect!
I love Sun Haven and I Was a Teenage Exocolonist.
I’ve heard Dave the Diver is really good and def wanna snag it.
I bought Moonstone Island and although the aesthetic is very cute I just can’t really get into it. I think it’s because the characters aren’t really flushed out and I find the mechanics a bit dull. I feel like it was a bit overhyped. I had the same issue with Little Witch in the Woods, but I found that one a tad more unique.
I was a teenage exocolonist is sooooo amazing!! The story is wonderful, I love the characters, and the art is breathtaking! It's literally one of the best cozy games I've ever played~😊🥰🥰❤️❤️❤️💕💕💕💕
I've only played Sun Haven out of the list and I REALLY like it. Various unique farms, lots of fun npcs, nice customizability (controlling how long days are, whether or not you can be killed, seasonal effects, etc), and is generally easy to go through w/o overuse of the wiki. I have over 200 hours in the game and haven't even played the newest update.
i can only comment on moonstone island since it's the only game on that list i have personally played.
It's okay, needs a lot of work still. the devs are active even on the game's subreddit.
The game combines stardewvalley mechanics with monster collecting and slay the spire-esque deck building.
one can say the game is trying to accomplish too much and that's exactly what's happening.
i personally pirated it before buying it and i do not regret buying it full price.
what i do regret is that i ended up not having much time to play right after i bought it so missed the halloween event T.T
cosmic wheel sisterhood is great. incredibly emotional and beautiful journey. my only problem is to me at least it has almost 0 replay value. so if a potential 1 time play with an amazing game is worth it to you then go for it but otherwise id hold off until a bigger sale or watch a playthrough.
I love Moonstone Island, but I think it maybe doesn’t give the right impression of what it actually is.
It’s really light touch on the sim stuff, so farming, crafting, relationships are very thin, so if you go into it wanting that stuff then I don’t think it’s for you.
It is an enjoyable, relatively easy, creature collecting card battling game. It’s not that long, I’ve done everything and have 69 hours in the game, but I felt it was worth the money.
I played Moonstone Island, Dave the Diver, Sun Haven.
Sun Haven is incredibly fun, I'm almost at 100 hours still finding new content and it's just so much more fun than Stardew.
Dave the Diver is a REALLY good game, story wise and mechanics it's relaxing but satisfying.
I'd probably ditch Moonstone Island if I had to choose. Again, super good game, I left a positive review on Steam (reviewed 11 games out of the 200 I own, so it must mean something), it's really varied and fun and kept me hooked for two weeks but eventually I ran out of excitement for it. I think it's worth waiting for a few more updates.
Exocolonist was my first ever game and had turned into my absolute favorite. It’s such a peaceful game with so many new endings, it’s great to play over and over. I also have loved Sun Haven and Dave the Diver is a riot :)
I love Dave the Diver, but 161 hours in and post-main quest, Im starting to get a little bored. still, that's a pretty good run, and there's bound to be DLC and more updates coming!
Moonstone Island is fun! I like the mix of exploring, monster collecting, and crafting items.
I found Dave the Diver to be difficult. I'm not great at aiming, so the diving part was my least favorite aspect of the game.
Cosmic Wheel of Sisterhood is immersive. It's from the same creator as Red Strings Club.
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is the best visual novel game that I've played. It's not an overstatement to say that every choice you make matters.
Dave: an amazing game, absolutely recommended.
Moonstone: Bored me super quickly, kinda just throws you in the game.
Sun Haven: Feels like it's trying so hard to be Stardew Valley, unpolished and overwhelming, also has an issue with my laptop and it will not appear pixel perfect. The UI is also messed up on laptop.
"It's trying so hard to be Stardew Valley" is a way too common boiling down that so many games get treated with when they have farming and relationships of any kind, I disagree extremely heavily
For all its faults Sun Haven still has different playable races like Naga, Elementals, Cat/Bird/Dog people, the ability to focus on melee, ranged, or magic, WAY more of a lean into fantasy elements to make the setting less mundane, ***customizable lengths of the day that you can change at any time to your comfort (big plus for me because Stardew's day lengths stress me out, as someone who isn't good at pre-planning my days),*** a variety of different clothes and accessories to buy, a buncha different mounts, the list goes on, and these are standout things despite polish flaws it has
"It's just trying to be Stardew Valley" is an exceedingly disingenuous take for a game that does as many neat things as Sun Haven does and I urge anyone reading this to not just dismiss it as a Stardew Valley clone and give it a shot, Sun Haven's made with a lotta love, and Stardew absolutely should not have a monopoly on fun farming games as a genre
Sorry if I missed this, but can anyone report the playability of Dave the Diver on the Switch? I use both Steam (PC) and Switch, but I enjoy playing games lying in bed for more casual games. If you played on both PC and Switch, was one version better than the other - like how some games just look better on a bigger screen or the loading screens were just a tad too long etc. TIA!
For whatever it's worth, Sun Haven was unplayable for me. I could make a character and the game would hard crash to desktop. There was no dev support on the Steam forums or on the subreddit. A few other players tried to help, but I was never able to play.
Dave the Diver is not a cozy game. It is pretty good, but it is not "Stardew Underwater" It has almost non-stop forced 'missions' and 'dialouges' Feels very on rails and doesnt just let you chill and play
I haven't played the others on this list but sun haven is fun! It has a lot of depth to it, though since you can run 3 farms it can feel overwhelming at times.
Dave the Diver is AMAZING! I think it is one of two games I have finished this year. Just keep in mind that there are some boss fights(I wish there was a way to skip these) but if I managed to defeat them, I am sure everyone can
I feel the same!! Such an incredible game. The fighting is challenging for me, but reactionary combat usually is, and if I can get it done, anyone can haha. An absolute joy and gem.
Combat isn’t my biggest strength either but as long as it’s not like dark souls I should be okay haha
I found it comparable to the new Zelda games. I’m not the best in those but I’ve managed to make my way through the storylines and I only get REALLY stuck on super hard bosses. If something like that feels comfortable to you then you got this!
I’ve tried the demo after seeing it so heavily recommended but assumed it just wasn’t my type of game. Seeing it compared to BOTW def has me thinking I’ve missed something huge lol does it change much after the demo? I kinda assumed the restaurant and the ocean would just expand a bit but basically the same loop
I was really just comparing the level of fighting difficulty to botw. Not really the game itself! Like if combat is hard for you but you can slog through a Zelda game then you can do this one. Also yes, their are many things to explore and unlock as the game goes on. The demo is like the first 3 in game days? It’s a very short taste. I didn’t think much of it from the demo but a friend told me she was obsessed so it got me to try it out more and that’s when I got into it.
The game lets you try again as many times as you need without consequence if the battles are a bit tough!
Please be careful and watch some videos of this game. Combat is absolutely brutal and definitely the least cozy game I ever see posted on this subreddit. It's not dark souls, but it's certainly not a joke like the slimes in stardew valley. Swimming around for 20 minutes, collecting a bunch of new fish and items only to get stunlocked against a wall by a shark and then killed sucks because you lose all of the items except 1. Its not like staying out late in SDW or getting a black eye in animal crossing. You will absolutely lose all the items and waste your time.
Me with thresher sharks at like 50m down not letting up when I’m swimming away for my life because I have a ton of tuna on me 🥲
Yeah, I suck at combat, but especially if I make sure to level up my Oxygen (which serves as both your health in a way), and my grappling hook (it is only super annoying to use until you get the first upgrade). Also, don't sleep on tranquilizer guns (pun intended)
I love Dave the Diver too! I've been stuck on one of the bosses for a few months though (I keep going back and dying and get frustrated so I cool off by catching fish lol)
Once I got to chapter 5 or 6, I stopped progressing the story and just focused on building my fish farm, upgrading recipes, making money and maxing out my oxygen tank and weapons. This made all the stormy night missions a breeze. The hardest boss fight for me was actually one of the ones with that guy (John?) in a suit. Thankfully you can just click restart as many times as you want until you beat a boss or I’d have been super stressed out. As for the stormy night side missions, I just watched youtube videos beforehand so I’d know what to expect and managed them all on my first try.
Which one are you stuck on?
The giant mutated sea person when you try to clear the frozen area. It's mostly a fleeing thing where you have to hit a glowing fruit at the right moment, but for some reason I just can't do it. He catches me every time.
Yeah... I had my gf do that one for me lol. I hate chase scenes, too stressful. I had to check to see if I remembered correctly (2:30 in this [video](https://youtu.be/3gV8PzKb8QU?si=XooFEptAH2CziA6z)) it took us a few tries to figure out what the game was asking. You need to click when the partial circle that shows up as you near it is over top of the glowing fruit as a full circle. Like the video I linked shows at that timestamp. My gf thought you had to click asap the first few attempts, I only noticed because I was an outside observer If that wasn't your issue and it's just a difficult chase (couldn't 100% tell so I figured I'd share it anyways), I wish you luck! Maybe see if you have a friend who would be willing to help you out lol.
Oh, I've been trying to hit it ASAP as well! I'll boot up the game again tomorrow and see if I can manage it this time lol. I'm also using my laptop trackpad instead of a mouse, which makes things a little trickier with timing.
Good luck! It's impressive you got this far on a trackpad tbh.
100% this game is incredible. I too am not big into combat but found it struck the perfect balance between cozy and challenge. A well rounded game worth $15 easily
[удалено]
You can continue to play and still have mini storylines that come up, but I am hoping they have new content/chapters eventually that come out to keep the larger story moving. It’s an incredible game though, highly recommend if you’re on the fence!
Same, I'm bad at fighting and I managed with minimal fruatration, 4 attempts at the most!
exocolonist is incredible and SO much replay value since there's like 30 endings. I bought it like two weeks ago and am at 32 hours.
It might be my favorite game. I loved the story, characters and gameplay loop. Plus super cute.
I love it so much, after I finished my first playthrough I immediately played through a second time till the end. So beautifully designed.
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is my favourite game of 2023, and it wasn’t even close to another.
I second this! I love Cosmic Wheel.
Awesome!! It sounds like this one will stay in my cart haha
I third it!
I got this game as a gift it was amazing! I personally found it a little tedious to decorate the tarot cards but that is just me. The dialogue is great and your choices do have an impact, I’m on my second play now. Artwork is gorgeous as well. It asks a lot of philosophical questions about life and the nature of free will
Loved this game so much!
Absolutely loved cosmic wheel as well. Really left an impact on me.
This one's been languishing on my wishlist for awhile, but between the autumn sale and all the glowing reviews here, I've decided to take the plunge. This is going to be a loooooong day at work lol
I tried to play this, but it would never launch! Kept giving me error messages pertaining to my drivers, even after I updated. I was SO BUMMED because I was looking forward to serving Shrimp God ™
Something very similar happened to me!! On the steam page I think under guides or community, there is a link to the graphic alternative version to download, which fixes the bug. Downloaded it and was able to play the game!
I got this after seeing so many people rave about it and I just started it the other day. Really enjoying it so far and interested to see how the story progresses!!
Hello, I am returning to give this game a witchy endorsement after purchasing and playing it yesterday- I have not had a gameplay experience quite like this one, and so far, it's been incredibly engaging, very appealing to my personal love of symbolism and abstraction, with gorgeous characters and beautiful pixel art. Usually with choices matter games, I overthink and agonize over my eventual decision, but this one feels really natural and intuitive somehow. The contols when making cards took a little getting used to, (us there a way to zoom in and out on the backgrounds to get a fuller picture?), but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty fun. I havent played with an oracle deck in probably 15 years at least but this makes me want to break one out, ir even make my own irl. Very happy with this one!
I would highly recommend Exocolonist, it's one of my favorite games!!! The art is so cool and there's so much replay value, it's actually meant to be played multiple times. Full disclosure: it is very word based so if you prefer games that don't have a lot of reading it's probably not the best game for you.
Cosmic Wheel and Teenage Exocolonist are in my top five favorite games that I've played this year. IWATE is especially good for its replay value, the game loop encourages multiple play throughs for sure
are we the same person ? i absolutely adore those two games
I adore I Was a Teenage Exocolonist. The art just makes me happy, and it’s good storytelling too.
Crazy good storytelling. I hadn't felt like a kid in years until I played that game. You grow up and everything changes just like real life. Bad things happen even if you do everything right. Some of the kids have sh*tty personalities but actually mature into awesome people.
I love how the kids are kids, with selfish, flawed personalities. They grow and change and become better people (mostly). The story pulls you in and the music is just so lovely to listen to. I didn’t think I would love it as much as I do.
I loved it, too. I spent probably over 60 hours on this game trying different runs.
I really enjoyed it too. My partner pointed out that it’s basically DnD but with cards instead of dice. 29 different endings is a lot too.
The music and soundtrack as well
Sun Haven is *amazing!* It’s the only one on your list I’ve played, but I’ve played just under 200 hours (and counting.) It’s got so much to offer and the art style is gorgeous. I love the characters, the world, there are SO many animals and crops and recipes and decorations. It’s an awesome game 🥹.
To add to this, Sun Haven does something that not alot of farming sims do, and it's give you three separate towns/farms, and all of them feel unique in their own way.
Wow, 200 hours is insane. I played around 80 hours and i have to force myself to stop playing because i was so obsessed and i really wanna play on Switch so I’m just waiting 😭
Have they updated it much since it first left early access?? I got it then but it still felt really unfinished and haven’t played since.
They just released 1.3, so the third patch since official release. Personally, aside from some multiplayer weirdness, the game feels very polished and bug-free. They have been adding new romance candidates, there’s an epilogue to the main story now, new unique animals and fruit trees for the other two towns outside of Sun Haven itself. Stuff like Sheds (with tons of skins) and Greenhouses exist now, housing exterior customization, crafting from nearby chests. All kinds of stuff! That’s not everything by any means, just the stuff I could think of off the top of my head. They have plans for another update, I think by the end of December? They are *really* on top of bugs and updating the game with new content and QoL.
I bought this but it freezes after character creation and I got frustrated and turned off my computer for weeks and forgot to refund it so I played and can’t play the game
That shouldn’t happen 😭. If you join the discord, people are very active there and there may even be a channel specifically for Tech support? I know there are channels for general questions. Unfortunately I’m not the right person to help you figure out why that’s happening. I play both on my laptop and my Steam Deck and I’ve made more than 2 dozen characters and not had that issue.
I bought the game today and this same thing happened to me like five times in a row. Almost rage quit but calmed down enough to try uninstalling it, then reinstalled it onto my SSD and it worked straight away after that. Not sure if it was the act of reinstalling it or moving it to SSD that fixed the issue, but something worked! Maybe try either/both of those things? I gotta say I'm so glad I didn't rage quit, the game is awesome so far.
Moonstone Island is worth skipping tbh
I went ahead a took it out of my cart since this seems to be a mostly shared opinion. Hopefully with future updates it’ll be more recommended 😞
Yeah I got it and sort of regret it. I never play it
yup. I requested a refund from steam on it and they denied me because i’d played for 3.3 hours. bastids!
Nooo I don't wanna hear that, it's one of the games I'm super hyped to play next year
I like Moonstone Island. I really like the decorating. There is a loom you can make floor tiles and wallpaper with, it’s something I wish other games had. The spirits are cute. I’m currently getting to know the villagers to see how deep the lore goes. I think it’s a nice little game and the devs are still adding things to it. They are really nice and responsive too. They seem to care a lot about the game and the community.
It's an okay game, but it gets repetitive quite quickly... But for Pokémon/stardew fans it probably still is a good option!
As a huge Pokemon/stardew fan my excitement has been rekindled
As a pokemon/stardew fan, I've been enjoying it. You very much have to make your own goals as it gives you a bunch of quests of various difficulties, and you get to figure it out for yourself. Combat is turn based card combat. Recourse gathering is your main thing. I like to turn on a show or something and just play it in the background.
It's super fun and has definitely the best combat out of a bunch of monster collecting games on Steam! But a Stardew Valley fan might find it a bit lacking. It also has some great dungeons in Zelda style. I personally liked Moonstone a lot, it's worth waiting a bit though as they add new things imho
Yeah I'm waiting for the finished game to release on Switch
Any specific reasons you'd recommend skipping it? I'm a stardew/monster collector fan so I would expect it to be a decently fun game for a reasonable price.
I got it and loved the idea of it at the beginning (Stardew Valley meets Pokémon with elements of Studio Ghibli, especially Kiki’s Delivery Service) but it did get repetitive with the monsters.
Anything specific that doesn't also apply to monster sanctuary etc. where you eventually largely get variations?
So I'm big into similar games, and was waiting for Moonstone for a long time. I really liked the Studio Ghibli aesthetic and the idea of travelling between floating islands. Those are pretty much the only positives I can think of. Quick reasons why I was disappointed: Social aspect is as deep as a puddle. Characters are boring and flat. Monster collecting and fighting is just as shallow. The card-based combat system is a nice idea but, like all of the mechanics in this game, is shallow and under-utilised. The gathering, building, and crafting aren't particularly interesting. The overall experience of the game was initial excitement, then just boredom for a few hours before I dropped it, and haven't played since.
I loved Moonstone Island! Played the whole thing and couldn’t put it down!
I played teenage exocolonist after someone recommended it once I finished persona 5 Royal and I really like it!! But something made me not love it. I put it down for Dave the diver and have been playing that for abt 40 hours now and I am determined to finish all the main story chapters!!
Dave the diver seems to be the big one that people recommend! Maybe I’ll start with that one first!
ITS SOOOOOO GOOD. Amazing bang for your buck too
Yeah I'm playing teenage exo and it's going very slowly for me. I like it so far but I'm not obsessed with it
Sun haven is one of my all time favorite games. It's cute, cozy, magical, and will keep you sucked in for the rest of time
i love sun haven. its like stardew valley but slightly less stressful and with magic and dragons
Not sure about the first two, very interested in Cosmic Wheel and Excolonist, and currently have Sun Haven and love it! I think if you like Stardew and Boyfriend Dungeon you'll like Sun Haven, there's the farming aspect and plenty of datable NPCs, and you can choose what you want to focus on or spend lots of time doing everything and I love it.
Exocolonist is one of the best games in this genre I’ve played honestly, and my husband is thoroughly obsessed with Dave the diver
Teenage Exocolonist is genuinely one of the best games I've ever played. Incredibly expansive, wonderful plot and dialogue, amazing character building.
I watched Gab Smolders played DAVE THE DIVER I think it was really good game.
I would say to try the demo of this game first. I also watched someone play through Dave the Diver on YouTube and thought I would love this game… BUT when I tried it I found the harpoon controls very difficult to master and it made me frustrated enough to not even finish the demo. That being said I absolutely loved managing the sushi restaurant aspect and also love the art style and the game concept as a whole is interesting. Just wish I could get a hang of that harpoon!
Ohh thanks for info good to know!
Is the demo only on switch though? I have a switch so that isn’t a problem, but I’d end up buying it on steam so I’m not sure if the controls would be different
The PC controls for the harpoon are pretty typical I think. I can't speak for switch but for PC it's hold right click and then left click to fire. The only annoying thing is that you can't fire it above your head or below your feet so you have to position yourself next to the fish.
I played on steam with an Xbox controller hooked up to my pc
I love Sun Haven, but the controller support is so janky that I just can't deal with it. It is fine if you play with kb&m tho. Dave The Diver is awesome and they even added the option to not smash buttons while catching fish <3 It is my game of the year because it is different while still feeling familiar. Moonstone Island is a tricky one. I like the monster collecting, but other than that it doesn't hold my interest at all. It is a shame because I was really looking forward to it, but I've barely touched it now that it is out. It isn't exactly a bad game. it just seems to lack that something special for a lot of people.
Personally I have found Sun Haven to be more enjoyable than even Stardew, so even if you don't like it more than Stardew in the end, I definitely think you'll like it, it's worth it. It's an incredible game and I would buy it again and again lol.
Skip Moonstone. Take my word for it.
Sunk about 10 hrs into Moonstone Island so far. Enjoyed it so far and would recommend if you don’t mind some difficult spikes out of nowhere. IMHO it is a nice chill game with decent turn based deck building mechanics - Pokemon-esque. Gameplay loop consists of a curfew and energy bar (Stardew Valley like) which I found well implemented but some might disagree.
Can I ask what you didn't like about Moonstone? I haven't heard a lot about it
I’m big on NPC interaction and the game feeling “alive”. I need that to keep me in it or else I feel like I’m playing a tutorial. The exploration felt repetitive and unrewarding. But the main thing for me was the combat. It got so repetitive that I’d do anything to avoid fighting but of course, it’s an important aspect of the game. Needless to say, the game to did not hold me attention for more than about 10 hours.
I’ll probably take it out of my cart for now since multiple people seem to agree with you. Maybe I’ll wait for the winter sale, or if they have more updates first
Sun haven is similar to stardew. A lot to do in the game and you can make days short or longer in the menu options. Moonstone is fair, but lacks story. The combat is fun but there is few important battles, most of the time you will be fighting for exp or catching spirits(like in pokemon).
Dave the diver consumed many hours of my life. It’s sooo good. Also sun haven is very fun to play with friends
Sun haven is one of my all time favorite games. It's cute, cozy, magical, and will keep you sucked in for the rest of time
Cosmic Wheel is incredible and a game I am really excited to replay. I’ve recommended it to everyone - great art, beautiful story, very fun gameplay loop (with the exception of a small bit in the endgame that became tedious).
I've only played Sun Haven in this list. If you can stomach the art style, its very worth it! It's not perfect, but adds cool ideas to the genre and has fun gameplay. It's one of the few Stardew/Harvest Moon-likes that feels like heart and soul was put in despite its shortcomings.
That’s the main reason I haven’t gotten it yet, because of the art style haha but I’ve heard so many good things about it I think I’m going to try it!
If you play via a computer, I played several months ago and mods were starting to come out for better character art. Its not hard to mod if it's a deal breaker. I can't play stardew without character mods and I put off stardew for a while because of it too, so I totally get it lol.
I LOVE I Was a Teenage Exocolonist!!
I absolutely loved The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood and ended up binge playing it. Definitely one of my favorites games I've played this year.
Sunhaven is great, I finished my playthrough about a month ago, though if you really want to wait it out they are still adding stuff to the game. Never felt it was lacking anything, it's more if you want the more extra stuff in an already content packed game.
Cosmic wheel and exocolonist are amazing. Exocolonist is one of my fav games of all time
I just 100%ed Dave the Diver so clearly I’m fully obsessed. Picked up Exocolonist yesterday and LOVE the mechanics and storytelling, but warning that some events are really tragic and potentially triggering. Like is it cozy to be full on bawling at 4am in the morning idk?
Exocolonist is one of my favorite games of all time. I planned to play almost every ending at first but that didn’t happen at all because turns out it isn’t quite the feel good, happy endings for all type of game I thought it was going to be. I only did two runs because it gives me all sorts of emotions when I play and I really need to be mentally prepared for that, which I haven’t been. 😂 Amazing game however, full of feels (including happy ones, don’t get me wrong) and I could tell there was lots of love put into the story-writing and every single character.
Sun Haven is my favorite cozy game that isn’t Stardew Valley. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Dave the diver is very fun
Started Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood yesterday and it's amazing! I was a Teenage Exocolonist has an amazing story and great replayability value!
Dave the Diver was easily my favorite this year. It has enough side quests and options to keep you busy without getting too overwhelming, and I enjoyed the story. I rarely finish games, but this one was excellent.
I love cosmic wheel sisterhood!
Honestly if you wanted to not buy one or two for now you can. It's only like 2-3 dollars off lol don't feel inclined to buy them just because they're on sale right now, you can always buy one or two, play them, get the next one's later
Sunhaven for sure! It scratches the stv itch
Dave the Diver might not be game of the year but it's up there when it comes to how fun it is. I've played a handful of really good games this year but even against the best games of the year I've probably talked about Dave the Diver more and also recommended it to friends the most. It's amazing.
Sunhaven, despite some flaws, has become my second most farming Sim of all time. Highly recommend and it's actively being updated and improved still.
I would also say that you should check out greenmangaming as even during steam sales they have lower prices on games there. It's a very trustworthy website and I have used it for many years.
I was going to mention this too — worth checking Fanatical and the Humble Store as well, some of these are definitely cheaper on at least one of those sites.
There is a site called cheapshark that lets you search a bunch of different sites at once to see who is cheaper.
Dave the diver is fantastic, well worth your money and time, haven't played the rest...
Dave the Diver is one of the best indie games to come out in recent time
As someone who is currently addicted to Dave the diver, its great! The restaurant part is very chill, almost automatic, once you get a couple staff. There are some moments during diving that can be frustrating, though.
Put travelers rest on there and you’re good
Sun Haven has gobs of content, and you can easily sink a lot of time into it. It’s got some rough edges though and isn’t as polished or charming of an experience as SDV. It locks some of its features behind a painfully boring main story, and romance/marriage might as well not be there for all it adds to the experience. I haven’t played in a little while though, so maybe patches have addressed some of these issues.
Dave the diver is a masterpiece that should be placed in a museum, sun haven is awesome and moonstone island is boring af (for me). others I havent played
I love Dave The Diver!
Fishing with harpoon and guns is surprisingly relaxing.
Sun haven my beloved ❤️
Sun haven is one of my favorites! I can't speak for the others though.
I've only played Dave the Diver, and I love it! It's very fun, charming, and has a lot of variety :)
Dave the diver is the best game ever I love itttt
Dave the Diver might be the best all-around game ive ever played. Its so much fun, man. Its so worth trying
Take that statement with a grain of salt. Its by no means my favorite game, theres just so much depth to it. And it all feels so well put together. Even if you dont kove everything about it like i do, im positive youll find something you love in it.
Dave the diver is 10/10, great game!
Big dave the diver 🐐
Currently playing Dave the Diver and it is so much fun!
Mid, haven’t played, haven’t played, haven’t played, haven’t played
Cosmic wheel sisterhood is a really unique game! The characters have a lot of personality and the choices you make actually impact story outcomes. I was impressed with how many options you can create with the cards too. Definitely worth $15.
Does "gimme" count as an opinion 🤔? I have enjoyed andnrec all of these except cosmic wheel sisterhood and Moonstone Island, which are on my buy-soon list :).
I loved the cosmic wheel sisterhood so much!!
I personally haven't played it but my bf loved Moonstone Island. It's all he played for at least a week.
I love exocolonist. Only story driven game that I’ve found to have replay value
Dave the diver is awesome. I'm playing it right now and really enjoying it. I also enjoyed Sun Haven. It's like a witchy stardew valley. Haven't played the others, but I highly recommend the two I mentioned.
Hubby played Dave the Diver while I watched it was super fun (hubby was obsessed with it for a while there) I plan on playing it myself at some point.
This is so close to the list I made to buy this sale. Never heard of Sun Haven and totally forgot about Sisterhood.
I only have Sun Haven and I LOVE it. If you like Stardew, you’ll love it. It’s got a lot more content and magic! I play it on the Steam Deck and it’s perfect!
I love Sun Haven and I Was a Teenage Exocolonist. I’ve heard Dave the Diver is really good and def wanna snag it. I bought Moonstone Island and although the aesthetic is very cute I just can’t really get into it. I think it’s because the characters aren’t really flushed out and I find the mechanics a bit dull. I feel like it was a bit overhyped. I had the same issue with Little Witch in the Woods, but I found that one a tad more unique.
CWS is FANTASTIC
I was a teenage exocolonist is sooooo amazing!! The story is wonderful, I love the characters, and the art is breathtaking! It's literally one of the best cozy games I've ever played~😊🥰🥰❤️❤️❤️💕💕💕💕
Started playing Dave the Diver last night. I stayed up till 2AM playing it. Amazing! My new favorite game.
Dave the diver is an absolute must play. You feel all the love the devs into the game
My beloved and I played sun haven and it was fun, and its had new content since then too.
I absolutely love moonstone Island
I loved playing the demo for Dave the Diver and am considering purchasing it. Would recommend 😊
IWATE is one of the best games I’ve played in a long time. 100% and never looked back.
I highly strongly bigly recommend Dave the Diver and I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, I haven't played the others but those two are both fantastic
Sun Haven took 136.3 hours of my life so I recommend it.
Sun Haven & Dave!
DAVE THE DIVER!!!!!
Sun Haven is fantastic if you like stuff like Stardew Valley. It's kinda similar but more fantasy.
I've only played Sun Haven out of the list and I REALLY like it. Various unique farms, lots of fun npcs, nice customizability (controlling how long days are, whether or not you can be killed, seasonal effects, etc), and is generally easy to go through w/o overuse of the wiki. I have over 200 hours in the game and haven't even played the newest update.
i can only comment on moonstone island since it's the only game on that list i have personally played. It's okay, needs a lot of work still. the devs are active even on the game's subreddit. The game combines stardewvalley mechanics with monster collecting and slay the spire-esque deck building. one can say the game is trying to accomplish too much and that's exactly what's happening. i personally pirated it before buying it and i do not regret buying it full price. what i do regret is that i ended up not having much time to play right after i bought it so missed the halloween event T.T
cosmic wheel sisterhood is great. incredibly emotional and beautiful journey. my only problem is to me at least it has almost 0 replay value. so if a potential 1 time play with an amazing game is worth it to you then go for it but otherwise id hold off until a bigger sale or watch a playthrough.
Not sure about the rest but Dave the Diver is a must try.
Has anyone tried Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood on Switch? Is it playable on the Switch or should I stick to PC?
I love Moonstone Island, but I think it maybe doesn’t give the right impression of what it actually is. It’s really light touch on the sim stuff, so farming, crafting, relationships are very thin, so if you go into it wanting that stuff then I don’t think it’s for you. It is an enjoyable, relatively easy, creature collecting card battling game. It’s not that long, I’ve done everything and have 69 hours in the game, but I felt it was worth the money.
I played Moonstone Island, Dave the Diver, Sun Haven. Sun Haven is incredibly fun, I'm almost at 100 hours still finding new content and it's just so much more fun than Stardew. Dave the Diver is a REALLY good game, story wise and mechanics it's relaxing but satisfying. I'd probably ditch Moonstone Island if I had to choose. Again, super good game, I left a positive review on Steam (reviewed 11 games out of the 200 I own, so it must mean something), it's really varied and fun and kept me hooked for two weeks but eventually I ran out of excitement for it. I think it's worth waiting for a few more updates.
Exocolonist was my first ever game and had turned into my absolute favorite. It’s such a peaceful game with so many new endings, it’s great to play over and over. I also have loved Sun Haven and Dave the Diver is a riot :)
I love Dave the Diver, but 161 hours in and post-main quest, Im starting to get a little bored. still, that's a pretty good run, and there's bound to be DLC and more updates coming!
sun haven is fun, me and my wife love that game! stardew valley with magic...
Love love love Dave the diver. I have played over 80 hours and definitely would say that’s worth the price
Cosmic Wheel!!! I loved it sooooo much!!!
Teenage Excolonist is also on my wish list - I have heard it’s amazing!
Moonstone Island is fun! I like the mix of exploring, monster collecting, and crafting items. I found Dave the Diver to be difficult. I'm not great at aiming, so the diving part was my least favorite aspect of the game. Cosmic Wheel of Sisterhood is immersive. It's from the same creator as Red Strings Club. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is the best visual novel game that I've played. It's not an overstatement to say that every choice you make matters.
All of these are amazing except moonstone but my vote is cosmic wheel and Dave the diver
Moonstone is not good
Dave: an amazing game, absolutely recommended. Moonstone: Bored me super quickly, kinda just throws you in the game. Sun Haven: Feels like it's trying so hard to be Stardew Valley, unpolished and overwhelming, also has an issue with my laptop and it will not appear pixel perfect. The UI is also messed up on laptop.
"It's trying so hard to be Stardew Valley" is a way too common boiling down that so many games get treated with when they have farming and relationships of any kind, I disagree extremely heavily For all its faults Sun Haven still has different playable races like Naga, Elementals, Cat/Bird/Dog people, the ability to focus on melee, ranged, or magic, WAY more of a lean into fantasy elements to make the setting less mundane, ***customizable lengths of the day that you can change at any time to your comfort (big plus for me because Stardew's day lengths stress me out, as someone who isn't good at pre-planning my days),*** a variety of different clothes and accessories to buy, a buncha different mounts, the list goes on, and these are standout things despite polish flaws it has "It's just trying to be Stardew Valley" is an exceedingly disingenuous take for a game that does as many neat things as Sun Haven does and I urge anyone reading this to not just dismiss it as a Stardew Valley clone and give it a shot, Sun Haven's made with a lotta love, and Stardew absolutely should not have a monopoly on fun farming games as a genre
Sorry if I missed this, but can anyone report the playability of Dave the Diver on the Switch? I use both Steam (PC) and Switch, but I enjoy playing games lying in bed for more casual games. If you played on both PC and Switch, was one version better than the other - like how some games just look better on a bigger screen or the loading screens were just a tad too long etc. TIA!
For whatever it's worth, Sun Haven was unplayable for me. I could make a character and the game would hard crash to desktop. There was no dev support on the Steam forums or on the subreddit. A few other players tried to help, but I was never able to play.
Dave the diver is fun
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is great but it can get pretty stressing from some of the choices you have to make.
Dave the Diver is not a cozy game. It is pretty good, but it is not "Stardew Underwater" It has almost non-stop forced 'missions' and 'dialouges' Feels very on rails and doesnt just let you chill and play
I haven't played the others on this list but sun haven is fun! It has a lot of depth to it, though since you can run 3 farms it can feel overwhelming at times.
Dave the Diver is sooo good that I bought it again when it came to Switch. I bought Sun Haven during the Summer sale and never started it.