Danchi Days: A Cozy, Heavy Game
As Blendtec Asks… Will It Blend?
Spoiler warning for the Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, and Hamtaro video game series.
Trigger warning for the discussion of heavy themes (Alzheimer’s disease, alcoholism, death, depression, eating disorders, racism, and ableism).
By Olivia (Danchi Days Marketing Team)
What makes a game “cozy,” and what makes a game “heavy”? Cozy games evoke feelings of comfort: dream worlds with attractive scenery, where players relax through the mechanics. A game with heavy themes is quite the opposite, incorporating difficult or controversial topics. Naturally, a game that combines both cozy and heavy themes might not work. What happens if it does? As Blendtec famously asks… Will It Blend?
The devil’s advocate says, absolutely not! A cozy, heavy game lacks a traditional target audience. If somebody likes Dark Souls, you wouldn’t recommend Nintendogs to them. Or would you? Surprisingly, a Dark Souls player might share the same enthusiasm for collecting equipment as they would for dog accessories. When a familiar genre is blended with the unfamiliar, it feels comforting yet new. Cozy games are often criticized as unrealistic, and heavy games as too realistic. Mixing both can create a balanced, distinctive story.
Danchi Days uses this dichotomy by combining a bright summer vacation with societal sorrows. It is a challenge, as the game must maintain this direction throughout its production. Luckily, similar games have succeeded before! Let’s discuss a few of these.
Other Cozy and Heavy Games
Animal Crossing for the Nintendo GameCube is a beloved cozy game for many. It doesn’t get more cozy than starting life anew in a forest of cute animals. But wait! Your new house comes with debt, so it’s straight to work to pay it off. Meet your rude neighbors, who act like… animals. Shake a tree and bees chase you into a pitfall. Reset the game and a disgruntled mole, Resetti, screams at you. How is this cozy again?
The key is that the struggles lead to gratification. You feel achievement when you pay off your debt and decorate your beautiful home. Grumpy neighbors turn into friends, the town grows, and chores become meditative. Like a real cozy day, magic moments exist within the mundane. Interestingly, a criticism of the series’ newest installment, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, is that it feels less alive. Resetti retired because auto-save took his job, and neighbors are not as argumentative. Problems were eliminated, as well as the fun. Animal Crossing shows that tough moments can actually make cozy games more cozy, as long as they are relevant or purposeful.
Harvest Moon 64 for the Nintendo 64 brings to mind adorable box art, with a farmer and his puppy running in the sun. The friendly rating “E for Everyone” is stamped on the front, but on the back is a “Use of Alcohol” warning. This is a preview to Karen, the stunning daughter of the vineyard owner… who is a heavy drinker, argues with her dad publicly, and runs away if you don’t befriend her. You can meet Elli’s sweet grandmother, but she doesn’t stay around forever. Even marriage isn’t permanent, as your wife can threaten divorce!
Yet, memories of the game are overwhelmingly pleasant: picking flowers for your partner, brushing cows, or napping in lush fields. It’s cozy, but sprinkled with the relatable bleakness of real life. You embrace the slow life, with gentle references to issues like rural brain drain and addiction. Maybe that’s why the company’s motto when you boot up the game is “Natsume: Serious Fun.” We love that Harvest Moon 64 balances heavy scenes in a cozy game meaningfully, and hope to achieve that in Danchi Days.
Lastly, Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak for the Game Boy Advance, and indie titles Consume Me and Fishbowl, are examples of games with cute aesthetics but serious themes. Hamtaro features colorful graphics and huggable hamsters. Very cozy, until a demonic hamster starts breaking up relationships. Friends stop talking, and couples separate due to his trickery. You must work with your friends to repair broken bonds, and learn how to compromise. The cuteness lightens the presentation of heavy issues, while maintaining a clear message.
The upcoming games Consume Me and Fishbowl are also wonderful at blending cozy and heavy themes. Consume Me is a puzzle game with adorable graphics, like a sparkling-eyed heroine and smiling food slices. Yet, the main character shows how she feels the exact opposite, battling an eating disorder and body-image issues. Fishbowl is a slice-of-life game with whimsical pixel art that draws you in. Meanwhile, the story addresses the death of a loved one, complicated childhood memories, and how to process them. Danchi Days also hopes to seamlessly blend heavy themes within a welcoming environment.
Danchi Days balances cozy and heavy themes throughout its gameplay. The cute, pixel art aesthetic, lovingly created by our artist, mogumu, presents an optimistic setting for a Y2K Japanese summer adventure. The creative mechanics of Sense Games encourage players to sit back and enjoy life’s precious moments. And the unconventional narrative delivers both laughs and serious concerns about society.
In a world with neoliberal values that promote productivity and competition, social issues like an aging population, ableism, and racism continue to fester. Danchi Days asks controversial questions, softened with a cozy setting. Should aging or neurodegenerative diseases always be feared? Why do adults fear being perceived as frivolous or unproductive? What would the world look like, if technology wasn’t heavily utilized for economic growth?
Oftentimes, the answers are not black-and-white, and Danchi Days embraces the gray. We hope you’ll find your own answers after playing Danchi Days!