Originally released in 2025, Wanderstop is from the mind of Davey Wreden, best known for The Stanley Parable and The Beginner’s Guide. Those games, in summary, are a little bit about the process of playing and appreciating a video game and what it means to have and give player choice. There is a lot more to them than that, but that’s arguably the short version. By comparison, Wanderstop is more straightforward, but still makes plenty of room for the examination of video games as an entertainment medium.
In the game, you are Alta, a former adventurer/warrior who is attempting to take on a new life and manage a tea shop to address her overwhelming anxiety. But, in typical Wreden style, there is more to it than that. In Game Informer‘s Wanderstop review I wrote, “I admire the game for being able to use video game genre conventions to tell a pensive, funny, and surprising story set in a charming location with enjoyable characters. Watching Alta grow and accept her limitations will stick with me and make me reflect on my own inability to turn off and just relax. I appreciate any art that makes you think in that way, and Wanderstop is successful in that goal.”
As of June 23, the game is available on Switch and Switch 2 and it’s worth playing, even if you’re not typically a fan of the wide-ranging “cozy” genre. Wredon is still making video games, but the studio, Ivy Road, that created Wanderstop has unfortunately been shuttered. But that’s doesn’t mean it didn’t create a worthwhile video game worth experiencing.
