Dressmaker Might Be GOTY: First Impressions

By Yoyo

Dressmaker is a title I’ve had my eyes on since it was shown off on the Wholesome Direct back in June. I’ve been counting down the days until I was able to have my turn at being a dressmaker myself and live out my seamstress dreams.

These are very early impressions (I’m only 5 hours in) but the game is a delight! So far, I’ve met a handful of fun and bubbly characters (and a beautiful vampire lady). Gameplay wise it’s all very straight to the point and simple, not shocking considering it is a cozy title.

When you’re making a dress, you follow the instructions given to you from the customer. Usually they’ll set the tone for their attire. For example, Rose, our lovely librarian, is professional and simple, so her dressy needs will reflect that. I, personally, really love the filter feature. It makes it so easy to just pick from all the different categories available, especially considering the piles of fabric can begin to accumulate fast.

Cutting fabric is super duper easy too. All the pieces are separated for whatever sketch you’ve laid out for yourself, you simply angle the pieces correctly on the fabric of your choosing and cut! Easy peasy. When it comes to assembling the dress the sewing took a couple of tries for me to get used to it, but after you get the speed down you’ll rip through dresses in no time.

The gameplay is very interactive, which is something I wasn’t expecting. I thought assembling and creating would’ve been more in the point and click category, but no, you’re really making dresses. The amount of creative freedom you have from both your commissions and “off rack” dress making adds so much to the game. On top of really well designed NPCs and fabric, Dressmaker is a solid hit in the cozy department.

Here are some of the dresses I've made so far:

When I say the fabric is well designed, I mean it. I used black velvet and lace to create a dress for the Duke’s funeral and I swear I could feel the texture of the black velvet.

Overall, I give Dressmaker a solid 8/10! It’s on sale right now on Steam for their release discount. I definitely recommend you check it out!