We need this new cozy puzzle game to go handheld, like, yesterday
When I first finished Unpacking, a cute moving simulator where your items tell a story, my immediate first response was to type in ‘games like Unpacking’ on Google. To my chagrin, there was little to be found in the way of similar narrative item-based games, and for a while, this market seems to have been left forgotten. Until, that is, the announcement of A Storied Life: Tabitha.
Announced at Gamescom, A Storied Life: Tabitha follows the player through the sorting of a loved one’s possessions after they have passed away. The things left behind in this life tell us much about the memories, traits, and quirks of a person, and A Storied Life looks to investigate that in more detail. As the player sorts through Tabitha’s belongings, they end up shaping what Tabitha’s story becomes.
The mechanics seem like a highlight – as you inevitably can’t find space for all of her items, you choose and shape Tabitha’s memoir. Each item that you keep or sell has its own words that you can add to the book. Want to bin her family photo album? Be careful – getting rid of the album might force you to write Tabitha as a recluse, while keeping it might enable you to write Tabitha as a family-oriented person. Either way – it’s a profound lesson about writing and erasing history, and all the things we don’t write about. I expect to be sobbing by the end.
At the moment, Lab42 Games has only announced A Storied Life: Tabitha for PC and that it will arrive in 2026, but I have high hopes for a Nintendo Switch or possible mobile port. The game seems like the perfect addition to the Switch cozy games roster and looks simple enough to be easily accessible on portable consoles, joining the likes of cozy legends like A Little to the Left, Coffee Talk, and, more recently, Tiny Bookshop.
We’ll report back as soon as we have any intel on a handheld version of this gorgeous-looking game. In the meantime, why don’t you check out our best cozy games list (featuring Unpacking), or for more handheld game ideas while you wait for a Tabitha port, check out the best Switch games.
