Kind Words 2 (lofi city pop), a game in which you send real letters to real people and explore a cozy town, is set to be released on Steam on October 7th.
This is the sequel to the 2019 award-winning game Kind Words (a letter-writing game with a lo-fi, chill beat) from Boston-based independent studio Popcannibal. In the original game, players wrote and replied to letters from other players in a single bedroom, with a sweet, lo-fi soundtrack in the background. The game had a bit of room customization and sticker collecting, but what it really was about was connecting with strangers in a warm and lovely way. It was a visionary idea. Just six months after Kind Words launched, the coronavirus pandemic put the world into lockdown. Connecting with people safely from a distance suddenly became a top priority, and Kind Words delivered on this responsibility well. In the five years since its launch, hundreds of thousands of players have sent more than six million messages in the game.
Kind Words 2 imports your letters, room modifications and stickers from the first game, letting you leave your bedroom and explore a small town with shops, cafes and parks. In addition to the standard letter-writing loop, you can customize your avatar with new clothes, shout into the void (in writing), wish upon a star, recite poetry and interact with other players in public spaces. The endless, soothing soundtrack is by Slay the Spire and Kind Words composer Clark Aboud. It all looks and sounds incredibly adorable.
In terms of game design, Popcannibal faces a unique and seemingly impossible challenge with the Kind Words series. Instead of building innovative environments and super-responsive controls, the developers must create a world that encourages anonymous online strangers to be kind to one another. The original game excelled in this regard, using visuals, mechanics, atmosphere, and music to encourage friendly conversations among thousands of anonymous players around the world. Kind Words 2 is bigger in scale, but the atmosphere is just as welcoming, and this time Popcannibal has brought his years of moderation and atmosphere curation experience to the table. If anyone can create an anonymous social network without trolls, it’s these people.
Kind Words 2 was announced during the Day of the Devs stream in December 2023 and is currently available to add to your Steam wishlist.
