Cozy games
Ever since I caught the FromSoftware bug in 2020 it's been difficult for me to enjoy action games anymore, but on the plus side, it has led me to spend more time exploring and enjoying cozy games! In particular, I love cozy games that don't involve any kind of violence or death mechanics.
It seems to me like these games are what people think of as being targeted towards kids, but kids these days aren't really interested in them because they are very calm, slow, relaxing and meditative, and everything kids actually consume in the "Screen Era" tends to be the exact opposite.
For me, these cozy games are a great way for me to get in touch with my inner child as an adult and they help me a lot with emotional regulation, making sense of my own childhood, all sorts of stuff, really.
Do you play cozy games? Are you interested in exploring cozy games? Do you stream cozy games? I'd love to hear from you and your experiences playing cozy games as an adult! Everything from recommendation requests, to reviews, to let's plays, and beyond.
I really liked Unpacking. There's little more cozy for me than setting up a space and making it one's own, with all the meaningful accoutrements one picks up through life. It's a very small game, but very comfortable.
I actually enjoyed watching my wife play this game, as goofy as that sounds. I have the hobby of collecting sports trading cards, and it reminds me of when I go through, organize, and add cards to my personal collection. It is relaxing to rearrange and fit things into the space provided.
I watched the trailer and I think I'm really gonna enjoy this one 🙏
Not really the same thing but Gone Home fits a similarly comfortable vibe for me. The story is a little more 'active' than Unpacking but the game revolves around handling and examining objects and exploring a house during a storm. That's it. But it's entertaining if brief and plays at your own pace.
I'll check this out, thanks for the rec!
I've replayed this game twice since it came out, it's so good. It's like a reset button on my brain, I just go into a zen state. The only game that's ever come close to this for me is Power Wash Simulator, but Unpacking provides a much tighter and more curated experience. I really hope we get a sequel.
A Short Hike perfectly fits the description. You might have it in your PC library already if you've been getting all the free Epic Store games or have purchased any of itch.io's mega bundles.
I loved A Short Hike. It is very short (per the name) but so endearing.
The design of the island is very thoughtful. It's a joy to explore. And the characters are very charming.
The platforming is easy but fun. You collect golden feathers which allow you to jump and climb higher. You could push yourself to scale to the top of the mountain with less feathers, or just take your time exploring to find more feathers.
I know OP was specifically talking about cozy games for grownups, but this game was also a hit with my 5 and 6 year old.
And if you've played A Short Hike, "Little Gator Game" feels very much like a spiritual successor!
And if anyone's played both A Short Hike and Lil Gator Game, then I recommend also playing Smushi Come Home! Cozy collectathons are going to become their own genre at this rate.
This definition fits the description for me! I can see myself playing this one soon.
There are a lot of great single player cozy game, one of my favorite is Dorfromantik. It's a relaxing puzzle, can be quite challenging if you want it to be. It has great art and sound effect.
But I cannot find a lot of multi player cozy games, the only one that I am aware of is Kind Words. It is a really tiny game, there isn't much you can do. It's more of a writing prompt than actual video game. But it's good when you want to turn off the brain and relax.
I'll give a +1 for Kind Words. You can send a receive brief and anonymous letters from other players all over the world. Let's say, for example, you don't know how to tell someone you love that a behavior of theirs is hurting you. You write a request and it is distributed to a number of other users. Those users can look through a pile of requests and pick out one or more to write replies to. Assuming they pick yours, you will return at a later time to find someone has given you a short but meaningful reply that might have good advice, general encouragement, or some other form of catharsis. It's a fulfilling way to reach out to others, and when you're feeling lost or overwhelmed, it's a wonderful way to feel connected and loved by others.
Hello from the future! This comment made me buy Kind Words, and I'm glad I did. So thank you! I just responded to a few letters, I hope they can help their recipients even in a small way.
That's wonderful to hear! It's a truly unique game that deserves way more attention than it actually gets. I hope it helps you to both give and receive more kindness in the years to come. <3
Oh Dorfromantik, how I enjoy thee! Have you played the board game version? I had no idea about the video game version until I recently learned that the board game is a spinoff of the digital release, which is surely rare enough!
As opposed to the endless cosiness of the video game, which could easily remove a week of sleep from me, the board game is quite bite-sized in its sessions, giving little point tasks to direct you and try and get a high score before your tiles run out. It's just as cosy, but I love the direction it has! It's also a bit of a "legacy" board game to a small extent, with little cross-game achievements to be had. So fun!
Ha, no idea there's a board game. Might give it a try if I find it in store.
God speed; it's very much out of print right now, so unless you speak German and can play those copies then if your local shop has a copy then snap it up quickly! My local's selling it for... £34, I think.
I love Dorfromantik. You might want to check out Islanders too. Similar concept, but instead of working with puzzle tiles, you get/lose points for putting certain buildings in the same vicinity. It's extremely zen, one of my favorites to play before bed.
Dorfromantik is such a nice little relaxing game! Picked it up for a friend who's a Tetris fan as something about it weirdly reminds me of Tetris and I was curious if he got the same vibe. (Something about setting up just the right arrangement to score a bunch of points, idk)
Dorfromantik is wonderful. I play it on my Steamdeck in bed sometimes if I can't relax.
Have you explored Coffee Talk and it's sequel? I found the games a few weeks ago, and while they are shorter, story-driven experiences (about 5-7 hours each), I enjoyed them very much.
You play as a barista chatting with their patrons, in a cozy little Seattle, WA coffee shop that's only open during the night. Each character is well-developed, and you can feel the relationships develop over the course of the story. Both games have an excellent soundtrack too, even if you're not into "chill beats to relax and study to" or lo-fi jazz.
There's also an element of coffee-making (of course), with each drink having at most three ingredients. Usually, the characters give you an explanation of whichever drink they want, and some "regulars" of the shop want the same drink each time (e.g., an espresso). There's an in-game tablet that keeps track of the recipes, and it's not on a time-limit or anything. Really, the coffee-making gameplay takes a back seat to the story, but it's a nice concept regardless.
I'm not the best at writing reviews, but if you have questions, please ask away. :-)
1: https://store.steampowered.com/app/914800/Coffee_Talk/
Check out VA-11 HALL-A it’s another great game like that.
Thanks for the recommendation! It's been lurking in my backlog recently (I went on a shopping spree to find similar games, and it happened to be on sale, still 33% off at GOG). I think I'll start playing today. :-)
This looks so cool! I am also a Seattleite and love playing games set in my city 😍
There is a pretty good chance you'll see me playing this on my channel this summer.
Awesome! I shall subscribe. Hope you enjoy the game. :-)
I just started my let's play of Coffee Talk! I love it already!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZMd8-Ct0j0
Stardew Valley is my favorite of this kind of game, especially to play with a friend or partner. Relaxing, fun story and premise, chill vibes.
Played it with my wife so much. Really great game. Can't wait for ConcernedApe's Haunted Chocolatier! Expected perhaps 2025...
I’m super interested in Cozy games. I think the only ones I’ve ever played are Stardew and Animal Crossing.
I’m looking for something new to try BUT, I want to play it on mobile (iOS)…I don’t have a lot of time these days to play console games, so looking for something to relax with on my phone. Any recommendations?
I can recommend "Sky: Children of the Light." It's very relaxing and has a nice story. You can play it either with a friend or a random as the story is 2-player driven.
Oh cool! I have seen videos of it, and I’ll give it a go.
I really enjoyed the Quell series on mobile. It's a puzzle game but I always found it relaxing.
Very cool! I will download now and check it out.
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is the definition of a cozy game, you play a small girl who is photographing the wildlife of a small island. Small but satisfying story, easy but also kinda tricky, lovely setting, highly recommended.
I am actually playing this one right now and I LOVE IT! Alba and Ines are just too cute together.
I ctrl-F'd to see if Alba was on this post, and I am so glad to see that it is! My wife and I played through this game a couple of years ago, and it was just so dang cozy and lovely, and just plain fun! It really reminds me of a book I recently read, Legends and Lattes, just an incredibly relaxing and kind, yet ever-so-slightly dangerous adventure. And the fact that picking up litter was a bonus objective made my "de-trashing" soul sing. Great suggestion, Sharkey!!
Travis Baldtree is a gem, I haven't read legends and latte's, but I love his audiobook narration. I'll have to give it a read!
I just checked my Steam inventory and didn't find too many cozy games other than a few already mentioned elsewhere in this thread (Stardew Valley, VA-11 HALL-A). However, two "cozy" game experiences of mine came to mind: Minecraft and The Long Dark. Both games have survival modes that for me produce the most cozy moments in gaming if played right, though it's perhaps not exactly what you're looking for. I do recommend considering a few easier play-throughs in most survival games (those without a massive combat focus) to reach this cozy-optimal endpoint I'll talk about.
In essence, for me the opening peril of a survival game leads to in-game experiences later where my achieved self-sufficiency, often with a self-constructed home, allows me to look back at how far in the game world I made it and feel grateful that I survived. With Minecraft, that vanilla survival loop does hit the spot, since I never really want to leave the home I built, yet reticently I'll explore the surrounding area, do a bit of spelunking, get lost and get into trouble a few times, and then run back home to fish or eat or farm, and be cozy inside my house.
The Long Dark offered me a really exceptional version of this that I'll never forget. No spoilers, but I dropped into one of the easier starting zones, and slowly started setting up camp in a cabin I found. Collecting food, scavenging sometimes barely enough, waking myself up in the middle of the night to fish in a blizzard, slowly exploring. Then after a couple of weeks of in-game time, I was finally getting a hold on surviving.
Then on a short afternoon expedition to explore, I ended up accidentally getting locked outside a big encampment-fence that I couldn't get back around, and ... it was suddenly night, I was freezing, and a blizzard hit. Seeing no other option, and full of regret for having left home under prepared, I just had to turn my back on everything I'd worked on, and go forward to survive. I felt kind of staggered by how quick it all happened, one stupid mistake: everything I'd spent so long working on to make a home out of was gone. It was like a couple in-game days of sleeping in caves, barely scraping by on not much to eat, and trying as hard as I could to travel safely during the day.
Then, nearly worn out, I finally spotted a house way, way off in the distance. I was somehow atop this huge mountain up in a lookout tower, having wandered there looking for shelter. Decided to walk through the night to get to the new house, or I might not make it without food and water. Another in-game day to walk there, hungry, tired, frostbitten. But I got there, got inside the abandoned cabin, and there was some food and drink in the cupboards, a few spare jackets, a fireplace with tinder already in it. And honestly, when I lit that fire, I'd never felt so "happy" in my "gaming" life. That was my home.
I'd still explore nearby outside day to day, more cautious, hunting, foraging, fishing. But when I'd come back in before nightfall, I'd light the fire again, make some in-game tea or warm up soup or whatever, and kind of have this real moment of ... gratitude, warmth, and happiness that I was there. I'd remember how I got there, and I'd feel really good. Cozy was part of it. Having a story was another.
Couldn't have gotten that though without the in-game peril, that whole accidental losing my first home.
I'd recommend none of that Rust gaming stuff, but something survival that is more low-key, fair, and solo based where you can build a cozy home and still venture out into the wild yet have a place to come back to ... that I'd recommend could lead to cozy.
Funny enough, as a weird recommendation, years and years ago I saw this slight parody, partially sincere Skyrim play-through called "Rag's to Riches: Olaf's Diary" where the character would eat in the inn in the evenings, and it always felt cozy to me seeing someone actually using the Skyrim inns as if they were communal spaces.
The upcoming Palia is one such game... the only violence is a hunting mechanic (it's a crafting/exploring/social game), but even then, hitting something with an arrow just makes it poof and you get a bag of meat and pelt. I've been enjoying the alpha tech tests immensely.
I'm on a Discord server with a few people who might really like this 🤔
I intend to introduce my server to it when it hits release. It's about our vibe... when we're not playing GTA Online. We have diverse tastes. ^_^
I'd definitely recommend 'A Little to the Left'. A cosy game where you tidy up various things around a house. There are also daily challenges and some DLC dropping at the end of the month.
fairly relevant video.
Edit: I’d also recommend taking a look at some of the recent threads about Visual Novels for more recommendations. I have never walked away from one that has made me more stressed than I started.
The older I get, the more I enjoy the visual novel genre; as long as you enjoy reading. There is something very comfy about being carefully led through a narrative without having to grind mindlessly or worry about skillfully executing game mechanics. The genre has a healthy number of sub-genres so one can easily find something interesting.
That being said, when I don’t feel like reading, I tend to play a lot of grindy games while listening to audiobooks. Stardew, as mentioned previously, is one of the goats.
I bought Dinkum very recently (in fact it was in a Cozy games sale!). It's sort of like Australian Animal Crossing. You can see the Animal Crossing DNA nigh immediately in the character interactions (although everyone is human in this case) and some of the progression (e.g. taking on debt to build XYZ, paying it back, etc.). Fish, farm, catch bugs, donate to a mueseum, there's co-op, etc.. It's in early access but there's a lot there.
I really enjoyed Dinkum when I purchased it last summer! I really enjoy meandering around the map. As someone who greatly enjoyed collecting things on Animal Crossing, the collecting and hunting in Dinkum exceeded my expectations. My only complaint is that the human villagers are very odd and off putting. I am glad to see that the game is receiving support still! +1 to the recommendation.
Funnily enough there's actually a live video today called Wholesome Direct. It's a cozy gaming showcase featuring over 70 upcoming games that fit exactly this category. It will be live on YouTube and twitch, and a vod will be posted on YouTube I believe. I'll share the links below.
(Also shouting out Stardew, unpacking, VA-11 HALL-A, and Calico.)
https://youtu.be/hHPF2g1HyLs
http://twitch.tv/wholesome_games
I was about to link that same stream! I'm a huge fan of cozy farming games like Stardew Valley and Rune Factory so I'm excited for Fields of Mistria, which is a fantasy farming RPG with a 90s anime aesthetic. The trailer premiered earlier today and it was such a welcome surprise how they got Toby Fox to do the music for it.
Also recommend checking out the Wholesome Games Steam curator page for more games that were showcased over the past few years!
Ooh yeah I'm also looking forward to Fields of Mistrial. I haven't seen the trailer yet, I'll need to check it out. :)
Thank you! I had no idea this was happening today, what a coincidence!
I find the coziest games to be more sandbox-y ones like Minecraft, Terraria/Starbound or Stardew Valley that I can pump up full of mods, make a server, and just hang out with friends while building up our home or exploring.
A cozy game I started playing recently has been Sun Haven, a magical farming game that leans more heavily on the combat and rpg-leveling mechanics in the same style as the Rune Factory series (one of my all time favorites). Unlike Stardew and other games of the genre, it doesn't have a stamina/energy bar and the length of each game day can be customized. There's also co-op multiplayer and plans for more content updates in the future.
Lots of good options! I'm going to be following this thread too.
The Atelier series is a great cozy RPG series. I recommend the Mysterious games first (Atelier Sophie being the first there). Some games have a time limit, but it is pretty forgiving in the Mysterious games.
I second these! I started with Atelier Ryza 2, but I sort of wish I'd started with the first one. It's my own fault, YouTube told me I wouldn't get the character references. I thought I wouldn't mind that, but I do.
The gameplay is great though! I love collecting items, crafting, discovering new recipes. The exploration is simple but fun, the combat is relatively easy, and the dungeon puzzles are engaging enough for me. I also don't think they kept the time mechanics in the Ryza series, which I appreciate.
Correct, Ryza doens't have time mechanics (except for day/night, but nothing that affects the overall plot), and I don't miss them either. In Firis it was okay, as you could power through and IIRC use all time you want to explore everything you missed.
Atelier Ryza is fun, I kind of enjoy the Mysterious games more but almost all of the games I played from Atelier were at least enjoyable.
If you start Arland, get Rorona's most updated version. Apparently the original's plain broken hahah.
I also like how they use tropes but in a more wholesome, mature way than I'm used to in jrpg's.
I could be wrong in that though. But I feel the writing itself is pretty thoughtful. For instance, conflicts that arise don't get hyper played up for drama, or at least not often.
Some designs do dive straight into fanservice territory lol. Looking at you, Lila.
Outer Wilds might be for you if you enjoy exploring at your own pace. It's a very unique experience in that once you've beaten it once you can start fresh and beat the game in less than ten minutes. But on your first playthrough be ready to spend like 20 hours figuring it out.
If you like space and taking your time exploring and uncovering secrets I can't recommend it enough. It's easily in my top 3.
Fantastic game, but for me it was far from cozy. Once I left the home planet and realized the horrors of floating helplessly in space as I learned the controls, it was more than a little stressful. Having beaten the game, and knowing all the secrets, it's a cozy experience now... but getting there, not so much.
Still, great recommendation.
2 I've played lately that might tick some boxes for people here.
Carto
A game where you collect and arrange map tiles to solve puzzles.
The art, music and the characters are all very cozy. It's a very endearing world they created, which is what kept me coming back.
It can be hard to understand the puzzle logic at times, but it's generally pretty satisfying to work through.
Carto on Steam
Lil Gator Game
This one is in my mind is like an evolution of A Short Hike. It's a simple exploration platformer with a bunch of charming characters.
The framing of the game is brilliant. You play as a the titular Lil Gator, who is pretending to be a hero on a quest. Their friends have created cardboard enemies to destroy all over the map, and they've roped others around the island to play along and give you quests.
The game is a fun little sandbox that doesn't get in it's own way. It gives you a bunch of fun mechanics, and encourages you to just play with them. I'm going to avoid going into much detail here, because part of the fun for me personally was finding the various mechanics they put in.
Quite a cozy experience, but also very joyful.
Lil Gator Game on Steam
I've recently become really into these types of games since becoming a father and, in general, slowing the pace of my life down. When I do have time for games, I usually just want to chill out and have it be more of a meditative experience. Games that stand out to me in this vein are:
Honestly, the thing I like to do most is take a competitive game I love and play it solo and more casually. I usually play Super Smash Bros Melee every day and practice tech skill or try my hand at All Star on the 20XX mod which makes the CPUs significantly more difficult. I also used to do this with Rocket League and training mode. It's a good way for me to feel connected with those past competitive experiences without putting too much pressure on myself and just have fun with it.
I'm surprised I haven't seen Cozy Grove mentioned yet!
https://cozygrovegame.com/
I haven't played it myself, but my wife (who loves games like Star Dew Valley, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Spirtfarer, etc) really enjoyed this one - you play a guide on an island finding and helping spirit bears discover peace. My explanation is terrible - I recommend checking out the trailer!
I second Cozy Grove! It was incredibly relaxing and felt... Kind? I don't know. Helping the bears reconcile their past and allowing them to ascend created a storyline around the fetch quests and collecting. It was only 14.99 when I purchased, and I'd say I probably got the most bang for my buck with it!
The Animal Crossing series has always been my go-to, ever since Wild World for the Nintendo DS.
Lately I've enjoying Terra Nil, a kind of laid back "reverse city builder" where you reclaim barren, polluted landscapes to nature. The Android and iOS versions are included with a Netflix subscription for no additional cost.
I’ve been playing Disney Dreamlight valley - it sounds like a kids game (and it kind of is) but it’s very similar to animal crossing, in that you have a little island you can decorate and collect stuff to make things out of, but it has proper little quests to meet which is something I was missing from animal crossing after getting the island to 5 stars. Currently you pay for it but soon I think it’s going to be free and on mobile (I play on switch).
A game I really liked and wished was longer is Wylde Flowers. Another similar collecting-things-to-make-other-things game but it had a fun mystery storyline. It’s on mobile but in Apple Arcade (not sure about android) and I think I saw it’s also on the switch
I just started Chicory and that's been lovely! There's a sweet story and fun puzzles but if you want to just walk around and color in the world, you can do it.
Love someone else's shout for Minecraft. That's kind of the ultimate comfy game, especially with how much nostalgia I feel. Zoning out into a big build or a big modpack is like nothing else.
Ooblets is a nice cozy game for the Switch/PC. :)
Pretty much all I play are cozy games these days. One series I will always go back to is Harvest Moon (now called Story of Seasons). I’m very excited for the remake of the GameCube one: A Wonderful Life. Just farming, talking to villagers, the passage of time. There’s not even dungeons/mines like in Stardew Valley so no fighting.
But sometimes I just want something I can pick up and put down. Right now for me that is Lemon Cake, which is definitely one that matches your “sort of marketed to children?” vibe. You’re just a baker trying to grow their bakery. Except it’s not an intense run around try and appease everybody thing. You get like 3-4 customers a day in the beginning and as far as I can tell they don’t even get mad and leave if you’re slow.
One I really want to look in to but isn’t easily playable on Steam Deck yet so I’m hoping it’ll go on sale for Switch soon is Ooblets. (I only play games on Deck and Switch, you can get Ooblets on Epic and in a roundabout way get Epic on the Deck but meh). It seems very bright and cheerful and chill.
Ah, this reminds me of some games I picked up a while back from sokpop! (https://sokpop.itch.io/)
They make a bunch of tiny little fun games, which helped me scratch an itch for wanting to play 'old flash games' back when I was having bad luck setting up an emulator for those 😄
I don't know if I'd call it cozy but I find Powerwash Simulator incredibly relaxing and satisfying. I can kill hours playing. A lot of folks like to listen to podcasts or audio books while cleaning away!
Off-topic, but you're the guy behind Komorebi? Did I get that right? If so, that's one hell of a coincidence, I've used your window manager for a good while! What are the odds...
Anyways back to topic, I guess it depends on the game, really. I've always been a fan of Sims since the original one, it's a decent brainless distraction, but Maxis/EA has grown increasingly greedy over the years and the quality of the games went downhill.
Other than that, I like Myst and it's sequels, Obduction was fun and I'm looking forward to Firmament. I'm not really into puzzle games, but I like games where you explore alien places and get to piece the story or lore, I have good memories from Uru Online back in the day lol.
Haha yes I am the komorebi guy! Always nice to run into people who have benefited from my software out in the wild 🙏
What does it mean to catch "the FromSoftware bug"?
Ah it's just an expression I made up. It means that I went through a period of playing games mostly by FromSoftware like Sekiro, Dark Souls etc., (and I enjoyed the combat style in those games so much that I couldn't go back to other action action games afterwards because I didn't find them as enjoyable)
As someone who got into FromSoft through Elden Ring, FromSoft games feel like a breath of fresh air compared to other action games, especially AAA ones. I can see how once you’ve experienced FromSoft, everything else pales in comparison and you may have a hard time enjoying other action games.
Yeah, Elden Ring was pretty massive for them because of gamers like me- who couldn't really get into Souls games or Sekiro for whatever reason. Elden Ring was phenomenal at bringing those styles of games to the more common gamer, especially with how diverse and interesting the first half is
The only games consistently play is Merge Dragons. I did take a 2 year break and just started up a few months ago. There are a lot of new features that really are cash grabs. However you can definitely play without spending any money.
Doesn't hurt the dragons are adorable.
Slime Rancher is definitely a fun one.
Honestly any game with farming or fishing is calming for me.
Jusant was announced today and it looks incredible! There is a demo on Steam and it's such a cozy, intricate climbing experience!
I really enjoyed it and gave my impressions in real-time here.