It feels like hardly a month goes by without us getting at least ten new cozy games, a genre that has become more popular than ever in recent years. These are the kinds of games that give you complete freedom to switch your brain off and spend hours enjoying their quirky worlds, charming characters, and that satisfying feeling you get whenever you unlock or discover something new. One way or another, these games always seem to find a way to keep you playing for hours on end.
The cozy game we’re talking about today is Lou’s Lagoon, brought to us by Tiny Roar. The studio was founded in 2015 by two best friends, which already sounds pretty wholesome, and has since grown into a team of 25 people united by their love of creating fun adventures and meaningful experiences that can be enjoyed by everyone. Some of their games include: Verdant, which has been announced but still doesn’t have a release date. In it, you embark on a beautiful yet painful journey as Sprout, a young adventurer stepping into a post-apocalyptic world frozen in time. Then there’s Into the Emberlands, released on January 20. 2025. where you journey into the world of the Emberlands, encounter mystical creatures, save a village, help rebuild it, and create a safe haven for the people who live there. At the moment, you can find it on Steam for just 2,96€! Finally, there’s XEL, released on July 12. 2022. It’s a sci-fi action adventure game in which you explore the mysterious world of XEL and help its protagonist, Reid, uncover her past. The game is available on Steam for 14,99€.
Judging by these games alone, it’s easy to see that the developers are particularly passionate about creating unique and genuinely interesting worlds.
What Makes Lou’s Lagoon Stand Out From Other Cozy Games?
The game begins with your uncle Lou telling you the story of how the world itself came to be. According to legend, everything began when Light met Darkness, and from their love came a new beginning. Their children, Wind and Wave, were born from that same love, but unlike their parents, the two could never quite see eye to eye. One day, their constant bickering escalated into a conflict so fierce that it created an enormous storm that swept across the entire archipelago. It was during this very storm, following yet another of his many expeditions, that your uncle Lou mysteriously disappeared without a trace. And that is where your adventure begins. In search of answers, you arrive at the islands Lou knew so well, determined to follow in his footsteps, discover what really happened to him and, most importantly, find out where he is.
The story itself is genuinely sweet and beautifully presented, accompanied by some excellent voice acting.
Once you’re done creating your character, you finally arrive on Lou’s Island, where you’re greeted by adorable anthropomorphic animals who make up the population of this unusual place. Interestingly, the NPCs don’t have traditional voice acting. Instead, they simply mumble their way through conversations, which can make some of the dialogue unexpectedly hilarious. These islanders will give you all sorts of quests that gradually introduce you to the world and its mechanics. One of your first tasks is repairing your plane, without which you won’t be able to continue your search for Lou. To get it back into flying condition, you’ll need to explore the island, track down the necessary components, and become better acquainted with its inhabitants, surroundings, and everything else Lou’s Lagoon has to offer.
The gameplay largely revolves around gadgets that make building, exploring, and gathering crafting materials easier. Early on, you receive a gadget called the Swirl 1.0. The 1.0 is there because, naturally, you’ll eventually be able to upgrade your gadgets. The Swirl allows you to vacuum up items, although different gadget levels can only collect items of corresponding levels. For example, if you have the Swirl 1.0, you’ll only be able to collect Level 1 items.
There are plenty of other gadgets as well, including the Builder, which allows you to create all sorts of things that we’ll get into a little later, and the Fishing Rod, which lets you fish for even more crafting components. Fishing itself is fairly simple, you won’t have much trouble as long as you pull the fish in the right direction and reel it towards you once it stops struggling. Then there’s the Glider, probably the most interesting gadget of the bunch, and the Scooper, which helps you detect objects hidden underground that can then be collected using the Swirl. Every gadget has its own cooldown, but the more you upgrade it, the shorter that cooldown becomes and the longer you can use it.
For almost every item, you’ll need certain materials in addition to the game’s currency, called Shellings. At the beginning of the game, you’ll have your own refinery for processing these materials. Unlocking certain items also requires Spark Cores, which you earn by completing quests. For example, you might need Refined Stone to build something. Refined Stone is created by combining Refined Metal and Refined Wood, while producing those two materials requires Scrap and Driftwood. Not everything has to be found using your Swirl, either. While flying, you can smash into floating crates with your plane to earn various rewards, including clothing for your character.
The plane was easily my favorite part of the game. You can hop inside and take off pretty much whenever you want. You can fly around a gigantic octopus and its tentacles or venture dangerously close to a storm that will definitely try its best to pull you in. Then there’s an NPC named Benoint de Bon Air, who gives you various timed challenges in which you have to fly through a certain number of rings. Succeed, and you’ll earn different skins or parts for your plane that can make it look much more interesting. Flying itself is incredibly simple, and you even have a boost that lets you pick up speed. That said, it would have been far more interesting if flying included tricks you could perform with the plane, or even proper races.
Quests are generally quick to complete, and each island has its own NPCs with their own tasks. Once you unlock the Job Board, you’ll be able to see which NPC is offering which quest and freely choose the ones you want to complete, as each offers different rewards.
The map itself is fairly small, but you’ll still unlock fast travel if you don’t feel like flying everywhere.
Now, let’s talk about building. It doesn’t take long before you’re given your own space to build on, along with plenty of things to create. I was genuinely impressed by this part of the game because building is refreshingly simple. You can place different walls, build staircases that seem to go on forever, add roofs that actually fit together properly without leaving you frustrated because something refuses to line up, and fill your home with all sorts of furniture. Some furniture can even be purchased, and if you want to make your yard look a little nicer, you can decorate it with plants as well. Building isn’t limited to decoration, either, as you can construct various machines that make the game easier. You can even build a tiny drone that, for a price, will gather certain items for you if you don’t feel like doing it yourself. Alongside building, you’ll also be able to cook by unlocking recipes and gathering the ingredients required to prepare them.
Even though this is a cozy game, the main quest will eventually force you to fight pirates. Thankfully, combat is just as easygoing as the rest of the experience. All you really need to do is use the Swirl to vacuum up enemies while keeping an eye on its cooldown and avoiding their attacks. Some will turn towards you and try to hit you, while others attack from a distance. Keep at it long enough and the enemy will eventually drop either crafting components or money. There are also various little creatures roaming the world that you can vacuum up to get useful items, but don’t expect them to go down without a fight. They’ll definitely hit back.
Things That Could Be Improved in the Future
Lou’s Lagoon is certainly a game you can spend hours having fun with, but it’s far from perfect. Sometimes you’ll need to climb onto a rock or reach a higher area, and your double jump simply won’t be enough, so you’ll usually have to rely on vines or ladders. Unfortunately, interacting with them can feel awkward. If you’re using the Glider and approach a ladder or vine, your character has to jump before they can grab onto it. Simply jumping directly at a vine or ladder doesn’t always do the trick; instead, you usually have to walk up to it, press the jump button, and only then will your character grab on. Here’s another useful hint for future players, the game never clearly explains how to use the Glider. Sometimes you’ll find specific spots where standing in the right place automatically opens your Glider and carries you upwards. However, if you climb somewhere and press F on the keyboard, you can actually deploy the Glider yourself, something you probably wouldn’t know unless you checked the Key Bindings in the settings.
Unfortunately, I also encountered a game breaking bug in the form of my refinery completely disappearing. After spending several hours trying to figure out where it had gone and whether there was any way to rebuild it, I eventually realized there was nothing I could do and had to start the game all over again. Still, it wasn’t a complete disaster. While desperately trying to solve the mystery of my missing refinery, I ended up learning a lot about the game’s mechanics and what materials I would need for crafting once I started over. So, a word of advice – keep checking that your refinery is still there!
The Colors That Give Lou’s Lagoon Its Soul
Visually, Lou’s Lagoon embraces a bright, colorful, stylized cartoon aesthetic that perfectly complements its laid-back nature. The islands are filled with vibrant colors, lush vegetation, and charming little details, while the characters themselves have a wonderfully quirky design. The shift in atmosphere between different locations is particularly nice, taking you from sunny tropical beaches and crystal blue waters to darker caves and islands shrouded in nighttime darkness. The game doesn’t need realistic graphics to impress, instead, it’s precisely this simple and playful art direction that gives it so much charm and a visual identity of its own. The NPC designs are equally distinctive and fit perfectly with the game’s quirky personality. The islands are populated by all kinds of anthropomorphic animals, each with a recognizable appearance and their own unique dose of charm.
Is It Worth Taking Off in Search of Lou?
At first glance, Lou’s Lagoon might look like just another cozy game in an increasingly crowded genre, but it doesn’t take long for it to show that it has enough ideas and personality of its own to stand apart from the competition. The search for your missing uncle Lou is only the beginning of an adventure that takes you from island to island as you gather materials, upgrade your gadgets, build your little home, cook, fish, and complete quests.
The plane, in particular, is what gave the game something special for me. Having the freedom to take off whenever you want and fly towards the next island makes exploration much more enjoyable, while the different gadgets and constant stream of new unlocks provide that familiar sense of progression and create an incredibly satisfying gameplay loop.
We would like to thank Megabit Publishing for providing us with a copy of the game for review purposes.
Lou's Lagoon (PC)
Although the game still has plenty of room for improvement, beneath those shortcomings lies a charming adventure bursting with color, unusual inhabitants, and small activities that constantly tempt you into doing just one more thing before turning the game off. If you enjoy games that let you explore at your own pace, gather resources, build, and constantly discover something new, the search for Uncle Lou could very easily become your next cozy escape from reality.
