"Even dry and lost places can flourish with a little care": Waterful is a gentle, beautiful puzzler about drawing rivers that makes me yearn for something overwhelming

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:06:26 +0000

Waterful is that most appropriate and disquieting of things, a "nature-builder". It's a soft and colourful chillout game in which you cut rivers through procedurally generated landscapes with a cursor, drawing from a limited supply of water that is topped up by connecting springs.

Importantly, and perhaps dispiritingly, you can dig and refill the terrain as you please. Depending on the shape of the river and the depth of its bed, you'll cultivate different vegetation. The vegetation, in turn, attracts a range of creatures, from butterflies to big-eared foxes. For each creature, you get a sticker. There are also machines you can build to, for example, carry the watercourse over hills. Comparisons given by Berlin-based solo developer Lenja Kaufmann include Dorfromantik, Tiny Glade, Islanders, Terra Nil and Townscaper.

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"Even dry and lost places can flourish with a little care": Waterful is a gentle, beautiful puzzler about drawing rivers that makes me yearn for something overwhelming