Puzzle game Is This Seat Taken? saved me from endless doomscrolling

Steam’s tri-annual Next Fest celebrations are some of my favorite times of year because I get to discover so many new indie games via their demos. One such game was Is This Seat Taken?, a charming, indie puzzler based on solving everyday problems and finding the perfect seat for each anthropomorphic shape.

Since the Steam Deck game launched, it has over 1,000 positive reviews on Valve’s platform, and also completed the portable gaming gauntlet with releases on iOS, Android, and the Nintendo Switch. While I initially thought I’d play Is This Seat Taken? on Nintendo’s hybrid console, I’ve been testing out the Android version, and I truly believe this is the optimal way to experience Poti Poti Studio’s puzzler because it can act as a stand-in for doomscrolling.

Is This Seat Taken?‘s logic puzzles have you finding the ideal placement for various shapes as they ride the bus, attend weddings, go to the cinema, and more. The puzzles start off fairly simple, with some passengers preferring the window or the aisle seat, and get progressively more challenging as the levels continue. After an hour or so, I was balancing the shapes’ demands for clean seats, people to chat to, and hatred for people with hats, all while giggling along at the adorably animated interactions.

It’s not just a contextless puzzle game either. Is This Seat Taken? follows a central character called Nat, who’s a rhombus with aspirations of Hollywood fame. They think it’s just a pipe dream until they see a shape just like them on the big screen and take a journey across the world to meet their hero. As the puzzles get harder, the motivation to help Nat achieve their dream is what keeps me going.

A lot of the best mobile games out there require a steady internet connection to enjoy, which isn’t always possible when you’re on the go, and you don’t always have room in your bag for a Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch 2. That’s why I think Is This Seat Taken? is so well-suited for mobile specifically. It’s completely offline, the levels are short, and the touch controls are smooth and satisfying. Depending on the size of your device, you might encounter a few misclicks here and there, but picking up and moving the shapes between seats with your finger feels oddly natural, and reminds me of playing Godfinger and other early mobile titles on my iPod Touch on the bus to school.

Not only is it wonderful to play, but Is This Seat Taken? looks stunning, too. The simplistic art style lends itself to the small screen, which I think is why the demo performed so well on Steam Deck back in February during Next Fest. While simple, there’s still plenty to look at and charm in every pixel. Thanks to the angled top-down view, the environments resemble dioramas, and I am a sucker for tiny versions of normal things, so it reminds me of arranging doll furniture or my Sylvanian Families back when I was a kid.

Everything about this game oozes style, and it’s even more impressive when you remember that Poti Poti Studio is a two-person team. While the graphical simplicity was likely influenced by limited resources, it lends itself to the game perfectly. I could easily spend hours in a sandbox version of this world, creating soap-opera stories about the shapes of Is This Seat Taken?

Overall, I think Is This Seat Taken? is one of the best titles to come out of Steam Next Fest and the Wholesome Games Showcase in the last few years, and it’s no wonder that Wholesome Games Presents saw enough potential in it to take on the game’s publishing. I know this game is a joy to play on PC, and I can imagine that it’s great on Switch, too, but I highly recommend playing this puzzler on mobile if you can. Who knows, maybe you’ll swap out scrolling while you’re on the bus for solving a puzzle or two?

There are plenty more awesome cozy games out there for all of your portable platforms, and we’ve made lists of all the new Switch games and new mobile games to look forward to in 2025 and beyond. Or, if you prefer the AAA scene, take a look at our Gamescom Opening Night Live 2025 round-up to get the latest announcements from Cologne’s showcase.