Amid all the guts and gore of this year’s Xbox Showcase the most pleasant surprise was the Ghibli-style life sim Vivarium

Today’s Xbox Showcase just wrapped up, and amid all the blood, guts, and wackiness the standout trailer for me had to be the calming life sim, Vivarium.

It’s not that I don’t like my fair share of gore—State of Decay 3 and Metro 2039’s new trailers both looked fantastic, and I can’t wait to play them, but a Ghibli-styled cosy life sim? Hell yeah, that’s what I get out of bed for.

This is the first time I’m seeing anything about Vivarium, but I like what I’m seeing. Set inside a “perfect” pocket world you play a protagonist in a life sim adventure progressing through a non-linear narrative which is apparently shaped by your own choices.

To do so you need to chat to the locals, who are peculiar yet charming anthropomorphic animals, plus a doll, who is also your best friend (no judgement here). You’ll learn more about your neighbours and the secrets that this world holds.

It all sounds absolutely delightful. I’m something of a horror mega fan, but I always like to have a slower-paced cosy game in my back pocket for mental emergencies. It works just as well as watching cute animal videos in my experience.

But it’s greatest strength, in my humble opinion has to be its hand-illustrated art style which has clearly been inspired by anime classics like those from Studio Ghibli. Watching the protagonist amble through forests and over babbling brooks feels good for my soul. My love for this style is almost certainly nostalgic, but it doesn’t make it any less beautiful.

The only catch is that we don’t have a release date for this lovely life sim yet. We do know it will release sometime in 2027, so let’s just hope it’s sooner rather than later.

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