Have you you ever sat on a bus, across from someone who clearly hasn’t showered in a hot minute, and you’ve wished some magical person would come help you and your nostrils out? If you’ve answered yes, then you’re going to love Is This Seat Taken?
I think like most people, if you were to have a look at my Steam wishlist, you’d see an assortment of cute and cozy games I’ve thrown onto the wish list to come back to an another point in the future. I find games that look interesting (usually from a NextFest or something that has caught my eye from a friend playing it over on Twitch. I also commonly stalk Wholesome Games for their new releases and sales.
Is This Seat Taken? was one of these recent additions and when a friend very graciously gifted me a copy for Christmas of Is This Seat Taken? – I figured I had plenty of time with us not currently working, and wanted a new low spoons to get into and friends – this has been such a great game to play over the Christmas period.
Is this seat taken - story line appeal
We follow our main protagonist, Nat, an unusual rhombus with dreams of becoming an actress. Her journey spans five different countries, where she meets new friends, and faces a series of challenges in pursuit of that goal.
Along the way, we’re introduced to a wide and wonderfully odd assortment of shapes, each with their own quirks, preferences, and opinions. While Nat’s story provides the narrative thread, the gameplay itself often zooms out to focus on the environments she moves through.
These scenarios range from cafes and cruises to public spaces where groups of shapes are simply trying to coexist.
This is where Is This Seat Taken really finds its rhythm. Rather than always centring Nat and her immediate companions, the game asks you to solve each scenario by seating everyone in a way that keeps their needs from clashing. Different shapes, different expectations, same limited space. And as you quickly learn, peaceful coexistence is often easier said than done. (Seriously, whoever is maintaining the cinema needs to have an audit taken as they’re significantly slacking on the job!!)
Each shape comes with its own personality and preferences; someone hates strong smells, someone wants a window seat, someone only wants to sit with friends – and gosh help you if you don’t meet those little demands. But this is part of the puzzles delightfully chaotic vibe. As you progress throughout the story, you’ll find more interactive elements than just the shapes, and can start to move objects to appease your little chaos gremlins, which adds a whole extra layer of interactivity and playability. If you’re an achievement hunter – I also highly recommend clicking on absolutely everything and seeing what happens.
At its core, Is This Seat Taken? is a logic puzzle that trades timers and pressure for awkward social problem-solving and rewards you for taking your time.
“This is a logic puzzle that trades timers and pressure for awkward social problem-solving.”
It's always time to drink Coffee, Nat.
You will enjoy is this seat taken? ...
If you are someone who enjoys low pressure logic puzzles, and has an affinity to put things in the right places – you’ll love Is This Seat Taken. It’s the right balance of having an entertaining story line and challenging enough content without feeling like you are about to rip your hair out, or be too bored of similar content.
I don’t honestly have anything negative to say about the game outside of nearly losing my bananas during some of the soccer matches (yes, soccer, we’re Aussie!) – but I did eventually get through them with some perseverance. There was an odd distortion on some of the Shapes text boxes in some scenes, but I think that may be have been a glitch, and didn’t overly impact gameplay.
As my last new game of 2025, and also my first game of 2026, I have been very privileged to both finish and start the year(s) on a positive note. I have thoroughly enjoyed my playthrough of Is This Seat Taken? So much so – it’s been the first game in my memory I’ve managed to complete 100% (including achievements!) so we’re taking on 2026 with a strong start.
Overall, I finished the game in full at the seven-hour mark. I think if you’re really good at puzzles, you could say this would be a comfortable five-hour game. If you do find them a bit trickier, maybe add another few hours on. I certainly wasn’t rushing through the game and was able to enjoy this over a few days on and off. I am saddened that there’s currently no additional DLC to look forward to, as I would love to see (more) bonus levels, as I really enjoyed this type of gameplay.
If you’re looking for a game this holiday season to sit back and chill with, this is certainly a great option that will keep you entertained for a number of hours and for only $14.99 AUD – you can’t really go too wrong. Just remember to go shower before hopping on board.
– Is This Seat Taken Fact Sheet –
DEVELOPER
Poti Poti
PUBLISHER
Wholesome Game Presents
PLATFORMS
PC (Steam, Mac, Linux) – Nintendo Switch, App Store, Google Play
RELEASE DATE
August 2025
Estimated Play Time
5-8 Hours
(P.S. Please update your Steam wishlist friends! My goodness, some of us want to surprise you with games which is super hard when you don’t have anything on it!)
