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Personal Pick

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In addition to our main Game of the Year Awards 2025, each member of the PC Gamer team is shining a spotlight on a game they loved this year. We'll post new personal picks each day throughout the rest of the month. You can find them all here.

It takes a lot for a farming simulator to really impress me these days—I'm sure most avid cozy gamers will sympathise with me when I say that. Stardew Valley has had a lasting impact on me, let alone the cozy gaming space in general, and finding something that really lives up to the excitement of venturing into Pelican Town for the first time is becoming more and more challenging.

I've always liked Story of Seasons games, especially when I was younger. But the remakes from the previous few years, like Friends of Mineral Town and Pioneers of Olive Town, have a slight jank to their appearance and I can't lie, they feel a little clunky to sit and play through.

As a result, I haven't managed to find a home in them like I did in Stardew Valley, which forced my hand into casting them aside and heading back into the familiar, smooth experience I already knew rather than sticking it out. Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar strays from the pack however, and doesn't present any of these clunky mechanics I've seen in previous remakes.

Although it's got the same aesthetic as previous games, it's visually more impressive, too. Characters feel developed and fleshed out, with engaging dialogue to help you feel connected to the town. They also have entirely different preferences and gifts, which yes, does make pursuing any marriage candidates slightly more challenging, but it certainly helps to make the game feel fresh rather than just regurgitating the information I had already memorised from the first release in 2008.

In fact, it's the first farming simulator I've played since Stardew Valley where I've become obsessed with knowing the on-goings in the town, especially all the small-town gossip that Zephyr Town thrives on. The way Grand Bazaar sinks its hooks into you and pulls you into its world is what made it such a memorable experience this year.

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(Image credit: Marvelous)

These interactions are encouraged by the constant stream of in-game events the game hosts, too. Each season you'll get to participate in things such as a pet show, Honey Day, and a festival, tasking you with gifting as many flowers as you can.