This indie creature collector looks like a cozy Pokemon meets Stardew Valley experience, all at the bottom of your desktop

A screenshot of a pond in Whimside.
(Image credit: Toadzillart)

Whether you're a longtime Pokemon lover or a hardened Stardew Valley stan, you may want to keep your eye on Whimside, a stunning creature collector conveniently set at the bottom of your desktop.

Coming as indie developer Toadzillart's debut title, Whimside looks as fun as it is adorable - and it's very, very cute. The vibrant pixel art coupled with the game's enchanting creatures makes for a uniquely wholesome aesthetic, giving off a storybook-meets-Stardew-Valley sort of vibe. It all unfolds on your desktop, too, much like idle gem Rusty's Retirement does, so its visuals make for a nice addition to anything you're doing.

Whimside - Trailer Whishlist - YouTube Whimside - Trailer Whishlist - YouTube
Watch On

Whether you're browsing the web, studying, or working, you can play Whimside at the same time. There's no rush, and I think that's my favorite part of the upcoming creature collector - you can simply leave it running all day while you take care of real-life business and come back to it without any pressure. There's also plenty of incentive to do so, with decorations to place and rare critters akin to shiny Pokemon waiting to be collected.

With various biomes and worlds to explore, Whimlings to capture, and decorations to unlock via achievement hunting, I think I'll be set for more than a good few hours come Whimside's big release once it officially drops. While there's no launch date set in stone just yet, if you're as interested as I am you can keep up with Toadzillart's wholesome game on Steam and wishlist it to see future updates - I know I'll be doing so.

Craving yet another cozy adventure? Here are our favorite games like Stardew Valley.

CATEGORIES
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

Read more
Screenshot of My Little Life showing a large house sitting on the bottom of a desktop
If The Sims re-release isn't to your liking, this lovely life sim that lives on the bottom of your screen might fill the void
Sugardew Island
The Stardew Valley stan in me is more excited than ever to play this cozy farming sim for real next month, after its Steam Next Fest demo blew me away
Grimoire Groves
I got tricked into trying this roguelike dungeon crawler after its Steam Next Fest demo used cozy farm sim features as bait to draw me in, but now I'm converted
Screenshot of Herdling, showing the weird yaks heading toward a sunset horizon.
With 18,000 glowing Steam reviews on their lovely debut game, this indie team's game about leading cute fantasy yaks up a mountain is instantly one to watch
A screenshot from Ropuka's Idle Island, showing a frog napping on a grassy floating island.
This cozy farming sim is just a sleepy frog that idly grinds on your desktop all day - and it's the best $4 I've spent in ages
Aloft screenshot of the player-character paragliding across a pink sky towards a floating island above the clouds
I went into Aloft expecting a Stardew Valley meets Studio Ghibli experience, but I left impressed by its whimsical take on the survival genre instead
Latest in Simulation
A woman chasing a shining butterfly with a leaping cat on her shoulder in InZOI
InZoi has a long way to go before it can actually rival The Sims as its director says EA's "spent decades perfecting" the formula
A Hobbit man cooking in a cozy kitchen in Tales of the Shire
Cozy Lord of the Rings game Tales of the Shire aims to be something "Tolkien would be happy with," and "add to his world like a real mythology"
inZOI Character Studio trailer screenshot showing a young woman with ginger-y hair and a light baseball cap smiling to the side
The Sims competitor inZOI dethrones Hollow Knight: Silksong to become most wishlisted game on Steam
American Truck Simulator
3,348 days later, American Truck Simulator is finally delivering the DLC I've been waiting for longer than Hollow Knight fans have been anticipating Silksong
A woman chasing a shining butterfly with a leaping cat on her shoulder in InZOI
inZOI review: "Currently feels like a soulless imitation of the worst parts of The Sims"
inZOI Character Studio trailer screenshot showing a young woman with ginger-y hair and a light baseball cap smiling to the side
If you can't get enough of killing Sims in The Sims 4, iNZOI offers "16 different types of deaths" to inflict upon your poor unsuspecting Zois
Latest in News
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"
Fantastic Four: 1234 #2 cover excerpt
Sue Storm and Namor are officially both in Avengers: Doomsday, and fans are wondering if Reed Richards has something to worry about
The First Berserker: Khazan protagonist
The First Berserker: Khazan isn't even out yet, but the new Soulslike RPG already has over 1,300 94% positive reviews on Steam from early buyers
fool me once
Harlan Coben’s new novel is set to be "more of a sequel" to the hit Netflix series Fool Me Once: "I don’t know any time that’s ever happened"
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
Getting Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X was all about adding "dynamism" to the open world, but the devs seem most proud about the trees
Schedule 1
Schedule 1 is Steam's latest viral hit – an open-world drug dealing simulator with 98% positive reviews, co-op, and a free sample to get you started