Is This Seat Taken? Review: A Cozy, Wholesome Puzzle Game | The Gamerheads Podcast

Platform reviewed: Steam (PC/Steam Deck)

Also on: Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

Price: $9.99

Who knew so much personality could come from small, simple shapes? That’s exactly what I experienced in Is This Seat Taken?, a cozy puzzle game from Poti Poti Studio. It’s a perfect game for anyone looking to take a break from a busy day or simply find something that will make them smile.

In Is This Seat Taken? the concept is pretty straightforward: I take characters that look like shapes and place them into seats that make them happy. There are different settings, like a bus, a restaurant, a boat, or a train, just to name a few. Each level has several stops, and at these stops, shapes leave and new ones appear. The trick is that each shape wants a specific seat. Sometimes they want to sit next to a friend, or someone they can talk to, or avoid someone who smells. The mechanics are intuitive: I grab a shape and place them in a seat. If an area effect is in play, like someone’s smell or loud noises, the affected seats are highlighted in blue so I know which spots to avoid.

Granting everyone’s wishes gives me a perfect score, and while none of the main missions were terribly difficult, a few required quite a bit of rearranging to make everyone happy. Earning a perfect score opens a bonus stage for that series of levels. The bonus stages are much more difficult, but since the rest of the game isn’t too hard, I always pushed to unlock them so I could experience a bit more of a challenge.

What I didn’t expect was a charming story behind the game. The main character is Nat, a shape who is an aspiring thespian. However, Nat is concerned about their looks and fears they won’t make it in the industry. Supported and encouraged by friends, Nat wants to sit beside them whenever possible. This cozy story-driven element ties in nicely with the puzzle placement of the shapes. Perhaps there’s a bigger theme about fitting in and finding your place in a game about placing shapes in the correct seats, but even if there isn’t, I enjoyed the wholesomeness of the story.

Final Grade: B+

As a puzzle game, Is This Seat Taken? isn’t terribly difficult, but that’s not the point. It’s a cozy puzzle game with a wholesome story, and that’s exactly what I needed. In a fast-paced, stressful world, it’s nice to have something more laid-back, which brought a smile to my face.

Review code provided by popagenda.co