Umami

A near‑perfect cozy puzzler that delivers tactile joy, gorgeous hand‑painted dioramas, and a deeply soothing atmosphere. It’s a compact, lovingly made experience that nails its brief: calming, sensory puzzle play that rewards curiosity and slow, deliberate interaction.

Each level is a visual feast for the eyes, game-play is simple and what you would expect of a jigsaw in real life. If you do so happen to get stuck, then a hint system is available. Personally, the asking price seems fair for how detailed the designs are, and I’d happily return to this game if they add additional levels in the future. My biggest issue with the game… it made me hungry for something sweet. UMAMI offers a fun time with cute levels, that you will probably finish in an afternoon, like I did. Congrats UMAMI, on earning the Thumb Culture Gold Award!

A beautifully crafted 3D puzzle game that has a high chance of making you hungry when playing.

Critiques are truly minimal in this case, mainly just about how Umami could have been expanded just a bit further in terms of gameplay without sacrificing its pacing or overall tone of sensory relaxation. I genuinely look forward to seeing more from this studio.

Umami is a very well crafted puzzle game that lets you take things at your own pace. Each of the puzzles is very well put together and look great, while the levels themselves provide a relaxing atmosphere. A couple of minor issues with the puzzle pieces do not totally detract from a game that lets you just sit and enjoy yourself.

Developer Mimmox packed quite the punch with their indie gaming debut, UMAMI, and gave us more than the entire meal and dessert! As much as we can include as many food-related puns and idioms to express how blissfully enjoyable puzzle-solving is, it's the moments that remain for a long time despite its short gameplay length.

UMAMI is a nice and quick game to play when you're not up for the heavy stuff. With cute food and artwork, it'll leave players looking for this type of title satisfied.

Umami has great potential to be your companion for a quiet afternoon. Although I feel the game could be a little bigger, its visual style and overall experience are quite relaxing and very fitting for those moments when you just want to distract your mind. For a casual gamer or a puzzle lover, it will be a delightful diversion.