Of all the surprise new games to top Steam’s charts this year so far, Dressmaker might just be one of the most mind-boggling – but I’m so here for it.
If you haven’t spotted it on your storefront home just yet, Dressmaker is a cozy new indie sim that does exactly what it sounds like it does: places you in the shoes of a dressmaker running a busy little boutique.
As developer Cozy Lives describes it on the wholesome game’s official Steam page, you get to “choose fabric, cut out patterns, and sew them all together to satisfy (or sabotage!) townsfolk in this cozy crafting game inspired by real dressmaking.”
Yes, sabotage. We love a bit of chaotic flair in our otherwise relaxing experiences, right? It seems most folks agree, anyway, seeing as Dressmaker already boasts a solid 96% rating and “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews overall… and it only released yesterday, y’all.
The hype is so, so real. As one person comments, “This game is everything I wanted it to be and more.” Another adds, “You should buy this game. You can feel the love poured into it.”
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In fact, I can’t find even one negative review unless I specifically filter for them – that tells you all you need to know about what players think of Dressmaker so far.
That and the fact that it’s sitting nicely in ninth place over on Steam’s list of global top sellers, beating out the likes of Control Resonant and Diablo 4. That’s no small feat, especially for a small sim about making dresses.
I’m counting this as a win for us fashion-loving girlies, honestly.
Now we just need a solid remake of the early Bratz hits on Wii and Barbie’s fashion DS titles – then I’ll be satisfied. Until then, though, I’ll be cutting cloth and designing dresses.
Searching for more gems to wishlist? Browse through our roundup of the best upcoming indie games to look forward to this year and beyond.

