NAIAD Review - Could This Be The Ultimate Cozy Game Experience?
NAIAD combines stunning minimalist visuals with a relaxing soundtrack. Dive into this in-depth review to see if it’s the coziest indie game of 2024!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Good Game Lobby review of NAIAD, a relaxing journey through a colorful, minimalist world with a chill soundtrack and cozy vibes. Let’s take a journey together and discover why this is the coziest game of 2024.
The Guardian of The River
Let me share with you the setup for this beautiful game's story.
The aptly titled Episode 1, The Essence That Was Born When the Rain Kissed the Rock, introduces us to our main character, born into this vibrant world. Your guide, The Little Cloud, tells you your name is NAIAD, which means "Flow," representing the primary way you navigate this enchanting world.
As you flow through small ponds and rivers, you encounter animals and assist them in solving puzzles that unlock hidden areas and guide you to the next part of your journey downstream. You’ll attract a school of fish, bluebirds, ducklings, frogs, and even humans, helping each of them in their own unique adventures. For example, ducklings are often trapped behind large logs and separated from their mother. You’ll slide obstacles out of their way using quick movements, reuniting them. Similarly, bluebirds follow you to their nests where baby birds hatch and complete a circle of life.
This gameplay loop continues throughout the game, introducing fresh puzzles to keep the experience engaging, relaxing, and thoroughly enjoyable.
The subtle way you’re introduced to the minimal gameplay mechanics deserves its own discussion, so let’s dive into that next.
Graceful Mechanics and Relaxing Puzzles
You control NAIAD, the guardian of the river, using the left thumbstick to flow through the water. NAIAD swims gracefully, kicking their legs to glide around. Holding and releasing the X button allows you to dash, which you’ll quickly discover by interacting with a nearby frog. Mimicking its style of movement, you guide the frog to a lily pad where the rest of its friends await. This interaction creates a trail of bubbles that leads you to new areas and hidden secrets.
You dive underwater and boost forward by pressing A. This quick movement allows you to move around obstacles. You sing by pressing B and rotating the right thumbstick in different directions to change the note you are playing.
You solve puzzles like the lily pads and frogs, ducklings returning to their mother, and more, all before going downriver to the next set of puzzles and obstacles.
As you progress, sunlight acts as a spotlight, either naturally appearing or requiring puzzle-solving to access. Stepping into the light allows NAIAD to grow and evolve, marked by a satisfying sound effect reminiscent of Link obtaining a new heart in The Legend of Zelda.
A Minimalist World Brought to Life
HiWarp, the solo developer behind NAIAD, spent five years crafting this delightful artistic expression of a game, and it shows in every detail. The attention to the environment, the fluidity of gameplay, and the design elements all reflect a labor of love. I mean just look at the website for the game itself its gorgeous! (Link below)
The top-down view keeps NAIAD at the center of the action, occasionally focusing on foreground elements like a bird you’re guiding. Swimming through the water, you interact with leaves and flower petals floating on the surface. Simply grazing them adds vibrant color, as if everything NAIAD touches comes to life. Singing brings even more greenery into bloom, extending vines and beautifying the world around you.
A Symphony of Nature and Harmony
The sound design is as charming as the visuals. The sound of sunlight encouraging NAIAD's growth mirrors the joy of plants flourishing. A glittering effect accompanies every interaction with floating leaves and petals.
When diving underwater, the sound design shifts to a muffled tone, mimicking what NAIAD might hear. Lily pads and underwater plants emit bubbling sounds, while hidden tunnels are marked with distinct jingles that signal exploration or puzzle completion.
Full disclosure the soundtrack is only available on Steam so I can not share a link, but someone uploaded a song from the demo a few years ago that is truly beautiful and captures a part of the game brings NAIAD closer to their connection with the people in the game:
Standout moments involve finding a guitarist along this exploration. Playing notes, the guitarist invites you to mimic their tune using NAIAD’s singing voice. Each successfully unlocked melody adds to the game's sprawling soundtrack, filled with serene, uplifting tracks. Some advice if you are planning on playing the game: This mechanic was initially challenging for me because the notes span two different octaves. I eventually realized the position of musical notes that come out as the guitarist plays corresponds to thumbstick movements of NAIAD's singing—a neat touch I discovered far too late! Another great design choice that, unfortunately, went right over my head.
NAIAD’s Emotional Turn
I dont want to spoil anything but just share that its not always beautiful serene landscapes and colors. As NAIAD matures, the world around them also grows darker and more polluted. The river water becomes less pure over time, bringing a new task at hand: the importance of assisting animals around the waters to safety and working on ways to reverse the pollution. It adds more depth to the story and comes full circle with an awe inspiring conclusion.
Must-Play
So, why should you play NAIAD? With so many cozy games released these days, what sets this one apart?
The five years of development shine through in every aspect of the game—from the immaculate design to the polished soundscapes of water, animals, and even the late-game industrial environments. The relaxing soundtrack complements the easy-to-learn gameplay mechanics, and swimming feels almost like dancing at times. It's also refreshing to play a game developed by a solo creator with such attention to detail—I didn’t encounter a single bug or hiccup during my playthrough. This level of polish reminded me of Animal Well, another standout solo-developed game from this year. Its inspiring to say the least.
What begins as simple puzzles evolves into a deeper narrative about humanity’s impact on nature. The game subtly encourages players to care for the environment, showing that neglecting it affects not just the world but also our own well-being.
At $20, NAIAD is a bargain for the five hours it took me to play—or should I say, experience—the game. After completing it, you can revisit each episode to uncover hidden areas, learn new songs, or assist more wildlife you missed on the first play through. With its cozy vibes, relaxing and therapeutic soundtrack, and engaging yet simple gameplay loop, NAIAD is a must-play and undoubtedly one of the coziest games of 2024.
What do you think? Will you try my favorite cozy game of 2024? What was your favorite cozy game this year? Lets talk about it in the comments.
🎮NAIAD | Steam | Website
🗓️Release Date | Out Now on All Major Platforms