Kind Words

Summary

Kind Words is a game where you write letters to ask for advice and reply to letters asking for advice, all the while vibing to low-fi music and catching paper airplanes floating through your room.

Kind Words on Steam

So what do you do


It's a bit more of an unconventional game, in that really the only aspect one can call "gameplay" is the collecting of stickers that you can get from other players who wanted to thank you for your reply to their letter with a sticker. The main meat of the game is actually reading people's letters asking for advice, or just a listening ear, and answering them if you want to. A kind post deer (..post-doe? post-stag? ...idk) will deliver your letters for you and will also hand you any letters you've received through your room window.


As I mentioned before, you collect stickers from other players. These stickers fall within different categories on different sheets. Once you've unlocked a sticker, it becomes a real item you can use to decorate your room with. You have multiple rooms, all with their own little writing nooks for you to muse away at and free for you to decorate however you want with your stickers-turned-items.

That being said, Kind Words doesn't really have a goal. Yes there is the stickers, and there is the ability to unlock a new lo-fi chill song every day you play, but its mostly about listening and being heard yourself. You can sort through the letters other people have written and select one you want to reply to; there is no pressure. Keep in mind these are real letters from people asking for advice; so it's only natural you won't have advice for everyone, and some letters might resonate more with you than others.
You can also only reply to a letter once; there is no back and forth between you and the people who reply to you (though I have seen people try by submitting a follow up letter to one of their previous ones so it ends up clogging up everyone's inbox...), so the only way to show your gratitude is by sending them one of your stickers.


You will also notice paper airplanes flying across your room from time to time; these are little notes people have written not looking for advice, just to spread a short message. Usually these are simple bits of advice, encouragement, or kind "chain letters", eg. "this is hug no. 14, pass it on".

Kind Words is just that; a place to send and receive Kind Words. And it's really quite lovely.

When should I play this game?

Spend some time on Kind Words if:
  • You are looking for kindred spirits when you're struggling with something
  • You are in a good mood (important!) and want to lend people and ear
  • You want a calm and relaxing little environment that doesn't ask much of you while you trade kind words with with strangers
That said, I strongly advise not to play Kind Words if you are in a bad headspace; reading other people's woes when you're feeling bad yourself can exacerbate the way you feel, and it can take some time before someone replies to your letter asking for advice, which might make you feel unheard. That's why I emphasize to play the game when you're doing (at least) reasonably well. Ask yourself 'can I handle this right now' and weigh it up against your desire for opening the game.

Also the music is fantastic and I get it stuck in my head all the time