I'm convinced that there's a hidden dark side to the upcoming cozy game Vivarium.

I love it when major companies include unexpected indie gems in their extravagant showcases. It's easy for brands like Sony or Microsoft to rely solely on their vast assets, but there have been plenty of surprising surprises over the past few weeks at the Xbox Showcase and State of Play, from updates on highly anticipated releases to brand-new reveals that no one could have seen before. Vivarium was one of those games and it looks really lovely.

Developed by Serenity Forge, Vivarium immediately caught the eye with its gorgeous lo-fi art style that felt like a loving homage to Studio Ghibli classics like My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. It's the aesthetic equivalent of a warm hug and a nice cup of hot chocolate in the middle of winter. You play as a young girl in a picturesque world full of beautiful forests and small villages filled with talking animals who seem to live the most peaceful lives imaginable.

It's all very hazy and sweet as the narration deals with how you will take on this world as another comforting resident who spends his time watering crops, talking to new friends, and exploring this beautiful place you now call home. And while there's no doubt that this will be a cozy game in a mechanical sense, there's something much darker lurking in the story that we haven't seen yet, although the trailer clearly hints at it.

The vivarium is more than meets the eye

Let's start with the little sprout that the protagonist discovers at the beginning of the trailer as it begins to grow in the middle of the hollow tree. She informs the villagers of its appearance, but they ignore her, as if they know what the growth will entail. A later scene introduces another resident (this time the adorable dog lady), who tells him that the forest path is always changing, but dismisses this paranoia as irrational.

It then cuts to a small moment where the main character is laughing over a beer at a local bar, before zooming in on an old photo with several faces rough-scratched. I am especially curious about the story of the mannequin girl sitting by the pond in the forest who cannot stand up or move around. Why is she a living doll? And will this affect the story I'm putting together in my head?

Much like Little Goody Two Shoes, a narrative-driven horror gem released in 2023, Vivarium looks set to settle into a position where it can continue to subvert our expectations of what a cozy life sim should be, with a chilling story that dares us to ask questions about what's real and what's not. Is this really paradise? Is it safe for players to casually manage their stance, or is there something waiting out there in the woods waiting to strike?

The final scene of the trailer provides one of the biggest hints about where this story will go. It zooms out of the aviary where the game takes place, revealing it to be in the middle of an abandoned cabin with rotting wooden floors and constant rain hitting the windows. I wonder if the sprout we discover at the beginning of the story will eventually burst forth and change our little world forever.

If Vivarium can match the level of intrigue revealed throughout the entire experience, it could be a real challenge. It's scheduled to release for Xbox and PC next year, and judging by its social media accounts, it's been in the works for a very long time.