Developer: Team Empreintes
Platform: PC (Reviewed)
Genre: Casual
Publisher: The CoLab
Fireside Feelings is a mental wellness experience. The game was developed by Team Empreintes and published by The CoLab. Fireside Feelings creates a deeper connection between players and offers an experience that truly stands out from other games.
Fireside Feelings is a single-player game where you get to have deep conversations by a cute campfire. I wouldn’t necessarily describe this as a game but more as a soothing experience. It is a game that people should build a habit with. In Fireside Feelings, you get to share your experiences and thoughts without any filters with others who have talked about all sorts of daily life topics. The game builds connections with strangers to create a cosy campfire talk and become part of a lovely, charming community.
As for the controls and mechanics of Fireside Feelings, they are extremely simple and with interactions by clicking and using your keyboard to type away your thoughts and feelings. As you get to type your response to the deep questions that cute flaming spark asks, you can customize text and edit speech bubbles so that your responses are read more comfortably by other players. Fireside Feelings also embraces the idea of making this experience yours. As you start the game, you get a debrief on what the experience you are about to enjoy and have the opportunity to customize your character. As you hold conversations, you end on a note where you can snap a picture by the campfire or even customize the way the background and environment look with all sorts of items. I especially enjoyed the addition of customization, as you were able to make the campfire setting more cosy and to your liking.
It is quite important that the game also offers the choice for players to add trigger warnings, as some conversations may be sensitive for players. The topics of conversation Fireside Feelings has to offer is a huge range, and they can vary from something like ‘friendships’ to ‘drug use’.
Fireside Feelings features a charming cartoon hand-painted art style that beautifully captures peaceful scapes and backgrounds. Each scene, from the woods to the beach to the forest, gives off a warm ambience. The use of calming and muted colours helps create a relaxing environment that makes the game perfect for a cosy vibe where you can share meaningful moments. I quite like the charm that comes from the designs of the characters and the charming company of the cute campfire. The details for the environment and landscapes that allow players to find the best setting for themselves resemble something out of a storybook with subtle yet embracing animations. The visuals are soft to the eyes, and the use of mellow instrumental melodies that feature strumming of guitars and subtle piano sounds create a stress-less feel. You can hear the hissing of the fire while your keyboard clicks away as you type out your thoughts. The soundtrack may be simple, but it adds to the charm.
Fireside Feeling is a game that explores a concept that allows players to really create an emotional bond or even delve into a therapeutic experience that makes you feel lighter even after having one conversation. You get prompted by several questions around a specific topic by the campfire, where you can freely write out your response. What makes this so meaningful is that you get to share your emotions and moments with others who are/have played this game. Sitting by the campfire and having a one-on-one conversation feels surreal, and the best part is getting to read others’ experiences. Fireside Feelings creates a kind, heartwarming environment with no sense of restraint. At first, you get prompted questions about friends and friendships. I was having a lovely conversation with ‘A Curious Little Fox’, and it was so interesting to see how others responded. Even though you have no idea who the other person is, you can sense a bit of their personality through the way they write, which is such a lovely feeling. Conversations have been moderated, so when you interact with someone else, they are not actively there, but you get to read the responses they made to the same topic during their playthrough. It doesn’t depart from having a conversation at all, which makes it even better.
As you finish the first conversation and begin the next, you get the option to choose the topic of the conversation. Not everything is unlocked for you as you begin. You need to have conversations over various topics to unlock more sceneries and conversations. The great thing about Fireside Feelings is that if you feel like not delving into such a deep subject, then you can pick another topic, like food. The game also allows players to quit anytime during a conversation, so if you feel uneasy during a certain moment, you can revisit it later or move on to something else.
Fireside Feelings is perfect if you’re looking to wind down and relax your thoughts or just want to have a deep conversation with a complete stranger. The range of topics almost feels endless, and I would recommend tuning into a conversation once a day so that you truly get to embrace your thoughts and wind down. You bring out the kindness in yourself and others. You get to share your experiences and listen to others. Fireside Feelings is about creating a soft, heartwarming community.
If you’re in the mood for a heartwarming, touching experience where you can connect with others by having a deep and meaningful conversation about all sorts of topics. Sit by the cute flaming campfire and indulge in soft-spoken visuals and heartfelt melodies that let you speak your truth. Create a strong connection, and be sure to check out Fireside Feelings.
Overall: 8/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
