Pokémon Pokopia can be described as a pocket monster-themed take on Animal Crossing with a hint of Stardew Valley thrown in for good measure. And if you’re like me, that alone might be enough to sell you on the game. However, after getting a chance to play a preview of it for almost half an hour, it became immediately clear that the game’s level of coziness is off the charts, but it also offers some fun twists on the genre.

Co-developed by The Pokémon Company, GAME FREAK and KOEI TECMO, instead of playing as a generic trainer, you control a solitary one. Likewise who woke up in a cave only to meet the Professor Tangrowththe last living resident of the once bustling town. While the professor may look like a bigger version of the the original pokemon with glasses, its role is to guide you in your reconstruction and hopefully fill the surrounding area.

As a Ditto, you naturally have the ability to transform into other Pokémon, although the process is incomplete, meaning you can only learn a skill from the monsters you are friends with instead of their full range of motion like in the mainline games. This is where the first twist on the traditional life sim comes in. Instead of creating them or getting money to buy tools, you can transform other Pokémon (like Lapras or Dragonite) to use their abilities to break through obstacles or shape the world around you. For example, transforming into a Squirtle allows you to shoot a water gun that revives dry patches or thirsty plants, while transforming into a Scyther allows you to slice through objects similar to HM Cut.

From there, you can use these skills to do things like create clumps of trees that serve as shelters for other Pokémon, allowing you to lure fellow creatures back into the once-desolate landscape. Another twist that I appreciate is that after appearing, new monsters will give you quests or just hang out. They even talk and respond, and I don’t mean like the 8-bit crying from other Pokémon games. They speak in full sentences, which is a strange departure from previous titles that actually give you the feeling that you’re making friends and rebuilding a community instead of just being on a crusade to take them all down.

The Stardew Valley side of the equation comes into play after you leave the first tutorial area and find an abandoned Pokémon Center in dire need of a makeover. You can do things like collect materials and do more quests to clear the area to eventually return the building to the center of town. Unfortunately, that’s where my preview ends, except for a quick jump into a multiplayer session where I find a more developed village, complete with more buildings, roads and benches. You know, all the kinds of things you use to furnish and decorate your island in Animal Crossing.

It gave me a great view of how many things you can build Poppy and how easy it is to visit other people’s cities. However, it doesn’t answer some of my big questions about the game, like what the deal is Peakych and Mosslaxwhich we have seen before in previous trailers. Are they just a version of existing ‘mons with unusual typings (like ghost and grass) just for this game, or will they become a bigger part of the Pokémon world in the future? Perhaps more importantly, it’s hard to tell if there’s any kind of PVE content like The Mines or Skull Cavern in Stardew Valley. I really hope there is because it seems like Ditto’s abilities can translate seamlessly to spelunking or fighting your way through dungeons in search of rare items or building materials.

That being said, just creating a community of friendly monsters while injecting life back into a forgotten city has good vibes radiating from every corner. So if you need a more comfortable game to keep you busy this winter/spring, Pokémon Pokopia formed digital version of a fluffy blanket and a cup of hot chocolate filled to the brim with all your favorite ‘mons.

Pokémon Pokopia available for pre-order nowwith an official sale scheduled for March 5.