Lost Nova is the low intensity gathering game you might need

I thought I wanted a gardening game. The few I tried were fussy, though, and too much like the kind of cold scientific procedure that turns growing things into industry. With Lost Nova on my back burner I shrugged, and gave that a go, having frankly forgotten what it was.

It’s a gathering game, so almost the reverse of gardening, or perhaps the end point of it. But its relaxed pace, warm tone, and fun dialogue were, it turns out exactly what I needed. There’s no pressure, and not too much to worry about. You can just wander about enjoying the vibe and digging things up with your gentle laser as you go.

I’m actually struggling to think of a specific game it plays like, and yet it’s super familiar from the beginning. You crash semi-accidentally on an unfamiliar planet full of blobby apple people and bears and rabbits and other friendly space people, and set about finding the stuff you need to repair your ship. That means gathering lots of “glems” and bits and pieces. But rather than the usual punch tree smash rock memorise list eat 3 entire bison a day deal, you pretty much just hoover up everything as you walk about without worrying.

It doesn’t feel like a chore, since resources are plentiful enough, and there’s no faffing about with inventories or elaborate controls. Your little laser can reduce rocks and flowers and mushrooms and crystals into the raw stuff you need, and recharges quickly so there’s no need to worry about ammo or anything either. It’s gentle enough that you don’t even feel guilty for zapping people with it, and they don’t seem to mind either. It has the feeling of brushing your hand on low hanging leaves as you walk under a tree, or pausing for a few seconds to pick some berries.

Best of all though, you don’t need to be particularly focused. You’re given direction, but not a list of chores or pressure to “progress”. You can just generally wander wherever’s new, zapping things as you pass, and you’ll also be rewarded with brief conversations with friendly, slightly odd little aliens. Some will swap resources for a nice doodad, others will offer tips. One will pop up and use your ship’s Science Energy to power a Science Farm, another will have little bouncy pals shove your ship from area to area to save you from too many journeys. It doesn’t exactly have jokes, but lots of gently funny little exchanges and turns of phrase. The characters don’t quite break the fourth wall, but get a little silly with it without ever getting smug or laying it on too think. As you exit the first little area one of the blobby fruit people offers you a map, and when you say “Actually I’m leaving the planet so this is goodbye”, they go “haha ok”. You’re in on the joke, you know?

It feels like an ideal game for a slightly too hot or unhappy or tired afternoon. Gently comforting without being saccharine or emotionally heavy, and engaging and mildly compulsive without ever feeling unhealthy or laborious. We could all use a little crash planet like this.