A stress-free game with creative freedom – Virus

Under Canopies quickly appealed to me for one simple reason — it doesn’t constantly try to attack me. In survival games, I’m used to some kind of danger being almost always present, whether through enemies, weather conditions, hunger, or some other system that constantly creates pressure. Here, that’s not the case in the same way, and that change was excellent for me. I can explore, gather resources, build a cabin, and do my own thing without the feeling that something will ruin my plans at any moment.

Under Canopies is currently in Early Access, and for me, the greatest value of the game is that peace. I don’t have to finish anything in a certain time, I don’t have to defend myself while building something, and I don’t feel like the game is constantly pushing me to hurry. That was a real refreshment for me.

Building the cabin was my main reason to continue

Of everything the game offers, I was most drawn to building the cabin. The building system gives enough freedom to create something of your own, and that was the most interesting part for me during about two hours of gameplay.

I didn’t feel like the game was limiting me too much or forcing everything to look a certain way. I could slowly arrange the space as I liked, and that was the part I kept returning to. Interior decoration wasn’t that important to me; it mainly served to make the cabin not look empty, but the actual construction of the exterior and the feeling that I was gradually creating my place in the forest were much more interesting to me.

This fits well with the whole idea of the game. You don’t build a base because you have to survive an attack or because the system forces you to create a certain structure as quickly as possible. You build because you want the space to become yours.

The forest has plenty of reasons to explore

Exploration also didn’t feel empty to me. There’s almost always something concrete I can find, whether it’s resources, plants, or something that might be useful to me later.

This is important because this type of game can easily become monotonous if the world is just a beautiful backdrop that you pass through without a real reason. I didn’t have that problem here. I had enough reasons to stray from the path and see what lies ahead.

On the other hand, gathering resources does start to feel like a grind over time. At first, everything is pleasant enough as you constantly discover new things, but when you start repeating the same actions just because you need more materials for a certain item or part of the build, that part becomes less interesting.

It didn’t ruin my experience, but it’s something I felt relatively quickly.

Cooking surprisingly suited me well

Cooking was one of the more enjoyable side systems for me. I like how it fits into the overall rhythm of the game and it didn’t feel like something that exists just because a survival game must have food.

I even remember the sound when the character eats food. It’s a small thing, but such details often do more for the atmosphere than some much larger systems.

Plant cultivation and animal care also fit well with the whole concept. It gives me the feeling that I’m not just building a cabin but slowly creating life in the forest. I like that there’s no feeling that someone will destroy my garden or attack the animals. Everything is designed to be cozy and stress-free.

Animals are cute to me, but I wouldn’t say they feel particularly natural. They are more like sweet objects in the world than something that truly creates a sense of a living ecosystem through behavior. That’s not a big minus for me, but there is room for that part to be further developed later.

Photography of animals was more of a side activity for me. It’s good that it exists and provides an additional reason to pay a little attention to the environment, but it’s not something that would personally keep me playing.

My biggest problem is UX

My biggest downside is UX. The user interface is not a disaster and I can manage, but some basic things are not communicated clearly enough by the game.

The best example for me is the beginning of the game when I didn’t immediately know how to repair the axe. This is one of those situations where the player shouldn’t get stuck because it’s not clear where to go or what exactly to do. If the game is already forcing me to search for a solution in basic systems that it could simply and clearly explain, then there is a problem in guiding the user.

Since I also work in UX/UI design, such things immediately catch my eye. I think a lot could be resolved with better information priorities, clearer instructions, and better guidance through the first hours of the game.

The UI is generally functional enough for me, but the UX could definitely be better.

The visual style is pleasant, but already familiar

Visually, Under Canopies is cute to me and fits the cozy atmosphere very well, but I wouldn’t say it has a particularly original identity. We’ve seen this style in quite a few other cozy games.

That doesn’t mean it looks bad. On the contrary, everything is pleasant to look at and the whole forest has enough warmth to fit well into the relaxed pace of the game. It just didn’t leave me with the feeling that I was looking at something I would immediately recognize as Under Canopies without additional context.

The sound and music, on the other hand, do a very good job. They are subtle enough and help maintain the sense of peace, which is the biggest reason for me why the game works.

Technically, I didn’t have any problems. I didn’t encounter bugs, performance drops, or anything that would interrupt my gameplay, which is a very good sign for a game that is still in Early Access.

Peace is the greatest value here

After about two hours of playing, Under Canopies has mostly stuck in my memory as a game that simply allows me to be at peace. It doesn’t force me to fight, it doesn’t create false urgency, and it doesn’t try to punish me for wanting to spend ten minutes building a cabin.

This is my biggest plus and the reason I think this game has a place among survival titles. Not because it does something completely revolutionary, but because it consciously eliminates some things that have become almost mandatory in the genre.

Of course, there are things that need to be improved. UX is my biggest problem, resource gathering eventually turns into grind, animals could feel more natural, and the visual style lacks a particularly original personality. Still, the foundation is very charming to me.

Under Canopies is currently the most interesting to me when I’m not trying to play it as a classic survival game. It works best when I simply accept that I can build a cabin, explore the forest, cook something, and not worry that someone or something will destroy it all. This is exactly the kind of game I was missing.