UMAMI

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I know some of us suffer from a Wholesome Coziness Exposure syndrome. It's a topic I see rearing its head on various platforms - how the 'cozy' genre of games grew way out of proportion and became this leviathan of titanic proportions. There is a bit of jaded cynicism quivering under the skin there. Something unsavoury. I, for once, never got tired of seeing the explosion of this particular soft genre. I mean, nobody ever complained about having a deluge of cheapo-made horror games, or about the "every game has to be an FPS" era. For me, the fact that the cursed pandemic of 2019 made the wholesome, soft and cuddly type of games have a robust resurgence is a thing to cherish! And then, there was just rejoicing...

I can understand the tiredness of seeing them everywhere, but for me this isn't their fault.

It's more this blaze attitude that all of us get when overexposed to a Thing. It's one of my personal flaws. When I hear everyone glazing over a new show and see talks about it everywhere, I automatically build a Hipster Empowered Mental Fortress. And decide to go against the grain and actively NOT watch said show until the hype dies down. It do be like that sometimes.

But, putting the whole tiredness with the genre aside, I am more than happy to stumble into a game all focused on eliciting a warm, tender feeling deep in my meow-meow. UMAMI is a delightful dish that aims to do exactly that. To be honest, it's one of those titles that are extremely hard to write a review about - simply because there is hardly any gaming here. What you get is fifteen tiny scenes of intricately designed wooden block puzzles. Each scene represents an impossibly cutesy, glazed, glistening piece of fantastical dish. Ginormous, stacked sandwiches, fat cakes, fluffy pancakes. All drizzled with too much sauce, adorned with little decor, overspilling with yummy goodness.

Each scene is a delicious little display of some way over-the-top dish!

Every adorable puzzle is filled with tiny details scattered around the main dish. Little morsels, candies, utensils, sauces, you name it. And they are all clickable to make them do a little animation and feed your ears a sweet little sound. The blocks themselves click and clack like real wood, snapping onto magnets with a sound that tingles the right areas in the brain. It's almost ASMR degrees of aural pleasure; the attention to detail when it comes to the tactile feeling of every single in-game element is to be praised. It's also a fun detail that you're softly incentivised to click on everything for completion's sake, as cutesy cards hide in these little bits on every stage. Sweet!

I sure didn't expect UMAMI to suck me in like it managed to do. I am not a huge enjoyer of low-stakes puzzle games. There's no timer, no lives. Unlimited attempts. You can relax, take your time, soak in the scene and let the music gently lull your senses. No score to chase, no challenges to overcome, just you, a bunch of blocks and a simple task ahead of you. So why does it work so well? How did it hook me in? I think the secret lies in a superbly crafted balance between slightly demanding and quite rewarding. It's a walk on a tightrope. You don't want your visual puzzle to be a trifle, because there's no sense of triumph in solving it. But you equally don't want to make it an exercise in frustration, too parcelled, too precise and too demanding to maintain that sweet spot. This game nails it. Each puzzle starts a little demanding, with all the pieces scattered, not knowing where to start, fumbling with pieces...

But each dish has a few big focal points. A pet animal, a big trinket, and a standing-out feature. Those are easier to find, to assemble. And once you get the ball rolling and the number of pieces shrinks down, the curve flattens, and the placements become more obvious. It's a fun dynamic that makes for a great start and a great finale.

With 15 puzzles to cross, this game can last you a good two weeks of evenings! That is, if you play it like me, and tackle one scenario at a time, a little self-indulgent time to relax after a long day. A cup of tea, a little snack, and UMAMI to keep me company became my de facto ritual before bed for the past week or so. If you aren't someone averse to overtly cutesy aesthetics and want a relaxing, soft bit of entertainment with a splendid soundscape. and soothing gameplay, you definitely cannot go wrong with this title. It's a tasty meal, even when taken one bite at a time.