Muri: Wildwoods is a beautiful cozy game about making a difference

I've lost track of the number of cozy games I've played over the years; everything from farming sims to bizarre incrementals has found a home in my Steam library. There's no better time for cozy games than the colder evenings of fall and winter, and I think I've found my favorite cozy game of 2026 just in time. 

Muri: Wildwoods is an environment-cleaning game that manages to put the cleaning aspect firmly in the back seat in terms of narrative focus, despite it being the main mechanic of the game. I know that sounds contradictory, but it makes sense when you play, and doing so feels like an absolute joy. 

A focus on narrative

To explain my contradiction, I have to compare Muri: Wildwoods to other cleaning games like Powerwash Simulator. The core mechanics of the two games are pretty similar: find something dirty, clean it, move on to the next dirty thing. Where they diverge, however, is in the narrative. In Powerwash, the narrative is easy to completely ignore and is secondary to the act of cleaning, but it takes on the most central role in Muri: Wildwoods.

The story in Muri: Wildwoods is one of purifying a world damaged by corruption, washing the gunk off marine plants and creatures struggling to survive amid the darkness taking over their habitat. Pelle, the main character, travels with a backpack jet washer, slowly removing the darkness she encounters as she explores an island in the middle of the ocean. 

The lore and story development quickly become the main focus, as Pelle sketches everything she encounters, and messages back and forth with the rest of the team add more to the tale. You never get to meet any of the other team members in the demo, but that doesn't stop them from becoming much-loved characters, and it's always exciting to hear from them. 

The cleaning becomes almost (but not quite, because it's incredibly satisfying) a secondary goal, because the story is what drives you to keep cleaning rather than just doing it purely because it feels good to clean things. 

Be the change you want to see in the world

As I said, the focus of Muri: Wildwoods is removing the corruption from an island, which takes the form of black sludge covering pretty much anything substantial. Wherever the sludge remains, all color is drained from the world, leaving the island grey and cold. But when you remove the sludge from an area, the color and life return, and clearing each area feels like a small achievement in a much larger task. 

There are also creatures that have fallen victim to the corruption, and all of them are adorable. From shrimp-like creatures to sea birds, it's your job to guide Pelle as she clears the corruption and the animals are free to live life as they always should have. When you've cleaned them up, you can interact with them to get sketches, and Pelle even does a little dance with the birds, which might be my favorite tiny detail of the game so far. 

The world in Muri: Wildwoods is diverse and filled with little corners to explore, complete with little hedgehog-like creatures tucked away in nooks and crannies. It's a gorgeous place to be, even when it's gray, but the true beauty comes from completing an area and restoring color. 

Waiting for more

I played the demo of Muri: Wildwoods and got so sucked in that I forgot it wasn't the full game. Imagine my surprise when the demo came to an end just as something new and exciting was looming. The gasp I gasped must have been audible from a mile away, and the “nooo!” that came soon after definitely was. 

But that's the mark of a brilliantly designed demo: it gives you all the experience you need to decide if the game is for you, while also cutting you off at the perfect point to keep you wanting more. Yes, it's momentarily annoying when you get thrown out of a world you've only just begun to love, but you get to enjoy the excitement of knowing there's so much more to look forward to in the full game. 

Speaking of the full game, Muri: Wildwoods is set to release on December 7, 2026, right on time for me to confirm it as my favorite cozy game this year. If you want to try it out and fall in love with the world and narrative as I did, the demo is available now on Steam.

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