Lost Nova

Lost Nova is a cozy exploration adventure built around the gentlest possible space-crash premise. Mia's spaceship has gone down on an unfamiliar alien planet during a vacation gone wrong, and she needs to gather what she can to fix the ship and get home. There are no enemies, no time limits, no fail states. The whole game is structured around taking your time — collecting resources, befriending whoever else turns up here, and spending the occasional relaxing day fishing in nearby lava pools instead of working.

The core toolkit is the salvaging laser, used to harvest resources from the environment and earn currency for upgrades and unlocked activities. Money can be spent on better equipment, new exploration options, or — in one of the game's more endearing touches — on revitalizing the local pet store and buying a cat tree for your spectral cat. Farming, mining, fishing and pure exploration are all viable income paths, and the choice between them is largely about which one you find most relaxing on a given afternoon.

The world changes based on your actions. You can create a hub where your new friends gather, rediscover old characters in new locations as time progresses, and gradually piece together hints of a larger mystery — why so many people seem to end up on this planet, and why getting off it again is harder than it should be. The supporting cast includes a ghost who needs help being properly scary, a single parent struggling with many bear children, and a robot working through an artistic burnout.