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Favorite "cozy" games?
I'm a HUGE lifestyle sim player. I've played Animal Crossing since Wild World came out on the DS. I've put waaaay too much time into the Sims. Stardew Valley is my absolute favorite farming sim.
I just decided to buy Kingdoms and Castles Complete Edition because it's on sale. What other games should I check out? I have a Switch and Mac ecosystem for my games.
It's still in development but keep your eyes peeled for Palia. It's an MMO based entirely around crafting and community. An MMO without combat? Yep.
It sounds really silly, but if games like The Division had like... subgroups of players who wanted to play the game as we all know it and... and a game for a different subgroup of players who wanted something more life-simmy wherein we could clean up the city by hauling away all the bodies in trucks and trash bags, and somehow gamifying the city clean-up, I would probably never put that game down.
It did a little bit of doing-missions-to-make-settlements-cozier but it wasn't enough. I wanted a full MMO where I just made people cozy as the game went from trash-ridden decrepit city to livable colonies with flourishing, adapted life.
...so yes, I very much have my eyes on Palia. MMO for crafting and community 😍
If you want a game where you just clean up after "the main character," then you might enjoy Viscera Cleanup Detail.
Good recommendation/I have played and enjoyed that game very much.
Yes, VCD, but co-op, please. I want to make jokes about the limb distribution in the nightclub while mopping the floors with my friends.
The good news is that VCD is a coop game.
Edit: And it does offer a 4 pack, one copy for you and three copies to be sent to your friends.
I'm a major fan of TD2, and i wanted to be able to make a clan (ugh) owned settlement. Pick the NPCs to stock it with, use a special in-game currency to buy features. I wanted to use an underground parking structure (so you could have everyone's settlement in the same location like player housing.)
I guess you could say I've put some thought into "cozying" The Division, yeah.
Man, I had so much fun when The Division first came out. I used to work at GameStop so my coworkers and I would find a game to hyperfixate on for a few weeks and we'd all play together.
I’m in the testing for this! Super awesome game so far
Likewise. I'm loving it! I can't wait for it to go live.
Neato, the last MMO I knew of without combat was the ancient A Tale in the Desert.
I immediately signed up for this cause it looks awesome. Thanks!
I cannot wait for it to come out. And for Switch owners, they just announced it's coming out for that platform!
Stardew Valley is my default too. Sometimes I wish I could just wake up and be in that world.
It doesn't get much cozier. Very low risk of losing progress and even if you did end up losing everything, it's not hard to rebuild with how many free resources it gives you. But there's still the chance to have high intensity play if you're up for it in the mines.
My kingdom for a VR Stardew Valley rip-off... or any VR Life-Sim game, really. The ones that've come out feel very abandoned/half-assed.
I don't really think anything substantial like life-sim will become big until the technology is there for it. VR is still in its infancy so everything seems relatively crude imo.
It’s a great game for couples too!
Small note: This question was asked a few weeks ago, so if you're looking for more suggestions beyond what's posted here, check out https://tildes.net/~games/15yf/cozy_games.
Oh perfect; I didn't see this when I posted. Thank you for sharing!
Strange Horticulture! A puzzle mystery botany game with an incredibly cozy vibe (especially if you like being inside when it's raining). I watched my partner play it and I regularly listen to the soundtrack. It isn't a long game so might not be your cup of tea if you are looking for something lasting, though I do recommend having a cup of tea with the game.
Cozy games, especially life sims, are probably my favorite! And lucky for you, I'm basically in the same boat with having Switch/Mac as my main options.
Top recommendation: Cozy Grove. You play as a spirit scout, and help the ghosts on the island move on. It operates on a real time calendar like Animal Crossing, unlocking bits of story every day as you complete tasks for them. Only downside is that it feels finite. Once I helped the last neighbor I stopped playing since it was mainly just tedious fetch quests. I played it on Switch.
My Time at Portia is another fun one I've played. You run a workshop and help build up Portia, it uses crafting and combat as the core mechanics. It can be pretty rough sometimes though, both in terms it can get tedious (as all resource/crafting games can) and the gameplay itself could get a bit glitchy at times. That might be because I played it on Switch though. If you want to play it, buy it on sale. I see it pop up for $7.99 on Switch and I think $4.99 on Steam fairly often. Steam says it works on Mac, so might want to spring for that version.
Also, coming out next week for Switch is Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. It's based on Harvest Moon: A(nother) Wonderful Life, which was the first HM game I ever played. Lately HM and SoS have been lagging in quality, so I haven't really played any of the Switch games (except SoS: Friends of Mineral Town, though haven't played that one much), but the remake seems to be a great expansion from what I've heard! I actually ordered the collector's edition out of nostalgia for the original.
One more suggestion I have yet to play myself, but only hear good things about: Sun Haven. It's supposed to be like Stardew Valley, but with more magic. It should work on Mac according to the Steam page.
Seconding Cozy Grove. It was a little too cozy for me, as I wanted to take bigger bites of it than it really allowed, but it's A+ coziness.
I'm replying to you, as many do not know this, but there's a good chance, you in particular do know this.
Harvest Moon, specifically anything that's come out in the past 9 years, is no longer technically related to any of the classic harvest moon games many remember.
Due to a licensing dispute around 10 years ago, the rights to the name "Harvest Moon" is owned exclusively by the company that used to translate the series (Natsume), but never developed them. Story of Seasons is the new name of the long-running series, as made by the development team that has always made it(Marvelous).
This is why almost every Harvest Moon game in the past decade has been... bad.
So Story of Seasons is the series that's actually the sequels to everything after Harvest moon New Beginning. If you've played some of the Story of Seasons game and been like "Man, this kinda blows", I would also remind you that at least 1 in every 3 Harvest Moon Games has always blown. (Looking at you Save the Homeland, Animal Parade, and Two Towns)
I've never played a SoS/HM game before, so maybe I need to give it a try! I've heard good things about the franchise, but since I played Animal Crossing first, I kinda stuck with those rather than another series.
As an older fan of HM, I will admit I'm biased towards the older games. The recent entries in both have been kinda hit or miss with the fan base, and a bit lacking when it comes to the characters. Hence why I'm looking forward to A Wonderful Life: it's a remake of a classic, and has a great cozy feel to the village. It always felt like an actual place to me.
Also, can totally relate to sticking to Animal Crossing. It's the whole reason I got a GameCube, and then the primary motivation for getting every other console it came out on. I'm just glad there are more games like it! If you want one that's really similar though, and still have your DS or can get an emulator, look up Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times. It is literally identical to Animal Crossing but with magic. I am not exaggerating, it's basically a direct clone. Only the first one ever got released outside of Japan, and I'm disappointed that there probably won't be another one given the recent popularity of this genre. It basically just came out at the wrong time.
Maybe I’ll give the remake a try! I blasted through AC: New Horizons as I picked it up on launch day..it got me through the initial year of COVID/quarantine and was well worth it. I think I’m at 600+ hours (which is crazy!). But I don’t have the energy to go back into it, so maybe something new is the ticket!
Haven’t played it much since the official release, but I second My Time at Portia. It’s got the town and its soothing surroundings to explore, locals you get to know, resources to collect, projects to build and a house to make your own. Cozy vibes for sure.
Pokemon blue. It's not cozy in the modern sense, but it's pretty lowkey and a game I play for comfort and nostalgia.
It's Pokemon Fire Red for me, but imo it has the same essence. Many people hate Kanto because it's Game Freak's favorite child, but you can't deny it's unbelievably cozy. The simplicity of the story and mechanics make it relaxing.
I think this is also the reason why I didn't mind Pokemon Let's Go. It's a weird game due to the catching mechanics, but the 3D Kanto actually looks nice- I dare say it looks great compared to the newer regions.
I play this about once a year, every year, for at least the past decade, before bed! Same with Gold.
I've been playing it at max speed on emulators with just one Pokemon each playthrough. It's really fun and when you're playing it super fast you can finish the game in a few hours.
It's fun and mindless and I plan on doing it again soon! Thanks for the reminder
Pokemon is just one of those relaxing games I can go back to whenever. Its mechanically extremely simple, has enough 'strategy' to make you keep an eye on it while listening or watching something else. And with so many iterations its easy to be like "Well, I haven't used this Pokemon in my starting six for any extensive period of time. So lets try something new". Plus nostalgia.
For sure. And with all the glitches that are capable, one could figure out how to sweep the game with Mew as soon as Nugget Bridge, etc. It's such a fun and simple game, and the sprite artwork is so endearing.
I was never a huge Pokemon fan. My parents didn't let me play it growing up (don't ask me why 🙄) and as an adult I've never been able to get into it.
I would absolutely recommend Dorfromantik. It’s an incredibly charming tile placing game where you match like-land features to accomplish mini-quests to receive more tiles and so on. By the end, you’ve crafted a very cozy landscape!
Came here to post this! This may be the coziest game I've ever played. The music and sound effects are sublime.
Wytchwood! Adorable aesthetic, very chill relaxing game. The core gameplay loop is that you basically run around the world and collect ingredients that you use to craft various things (e.g. potions, traps, etc), and then use those things to help you obtain other rarer ingredients that let you craft other rarer... and so on and so forth. There are specific quests and objectives, it's not totally "okay what do I even do here" style open ended, but it's very easy to just sort of run around at your own pace and enjoy the vibes.
I've heard really good things about this one! I'll add it to my list.
Slime rancher is a great cozy game. There’s a sequel that came out not too long ago, though I’ve not played.
I just played through Roots of Pacha which is very obviously inspired by Stardew. I personally love Stardew because of the min maxing farm production, and so I didn't enjoy Pacha as much. The point of the game is a community working together so money is de-emphasized, and there aren't end game purchases to work towards. The game seems more fleshed out in the relationship and design aspects which I personally am indifferent to, but others might appreciate.
Another chill game is Apico. You collect and breed bees to get more bees and honey. Very laid back and low-stakes, which I really enjoyed.
And a different genre, but Yoku's Island Express is one of my favorite games of all time. "Cute pinball metroidvania" is not something I expected to enjoy as much as I did.
I'm a very huge fan of sandboxes and building, so my number one cozy game is Terraria. This game evolved very much through more than 10 years, and I think you could find any activity you like in it. There is huge aspect of building and exploration, small part of RPG, a bit of slasher and a lot of strategy if you want to fight bosses. So I switch to different goals in this game depending on my current mood.
Another favourite game is RimWorld. It is also a sandbox game with huge focus on colony management and dynamic storytelling.
Seconding on Terraria, it's one of those games where you can go swing at a boss if you want to have a challenge but you can also just take an afternoon and build whatever you feel like building. There is always something you haven't crafted yet or some cooler version of the village you haven't built yet. You can make optimised structures or you can build a nonsense layout to amuse yourself and it all works well in my experience.
The music heavily sells this as well I think. Going out to snag some wood or do some fishing leaves you with that pop over-world theme with some real charm to it.
Obviously cozy doesn't necessarily mean everything has to be happy positive, but I do find it funny that Rimworld, the game where you can harvest people's organs, is described as cozy lol
I've played a LOT of rimworld, and usually play it in a fashion that feels fairly cozy. I'm not having tons of brutal raids, and am usually just building up my colony in a very chill, relaxing manner. It's a game that allows you to have a lot of down-time if you want, just watching your pawns go around and do stuff you have set them up to do.
Also, I tend to have very non-warcrime focused colonies, so the whole vibe doesn't seem nearly as dark as it is for the organ harvester folks among us...
I haven’t played it myself, but Toem looks like a really cozy game. I’ve watched a couple of playthroughs of it and have it on my list once I finish the other three ahead of it :)
Little Witch in the Woods is like Wytchwood with a longer play loop.
You jump into an old witch's abandoned home and hearth and start integrating your services with the neighbors. No time restrictions, no pressure. Just a cottage-core game that has you making potions to help people at your pace.
this is gonna sound weird, but hardspace: shipbreaker. I find it incredibly zen to methodically take a derilict ship apart, piece by piece.
House Flipper, basically you play as a handyman or woman or robot or Santa Claus (depending on the hand model that you choose in the settings). And you start with doing odd jobs, such as installing radiators or cleaning houses. To which it accumulates into flipping rooms to flipping houses. And that is just to get enough money to afford your next house, which you can renovate for yourself or a list of clientele. If you liked the building side of things in the Sims, this might peak your interest.
Kerbal Space Program. You take the role as the lead rocket scientist for a space program. You really don't need a back ground in engineering or rocket science to actually launch the rockets, mostly because the game does a great job of teaching you how to build the rocket, which is really satisfyingly to do, after trial and error. And sometimes it is fun to simply just blow the rocket up.
Stardew Valley, as other people had said.
SimCity 4 or City Skylines.
I follow a Youtube channel that uploads no-commentary House Flipper videos. I'll check it out if it goes on sale!
The developers are preparing to release a sequel to House Flipper that adds new features and adds upon the current features of the game.
Oh, good to know! I’ll add that one to my wishlist, too.
This may be a bit cliché, but I also haven't seen it mentioned, so perhaps not. I really like playing single-player vanilla Minecraft on "Peaceful" difficulty. Throwing Minecraft on "Peaceful" makes the, normally hostile mobs not spawn, and allows me to sit there and explore around, mine, and build up structures from what I mine, without worrying about it getting damaged or destroyed by a creeper, et al. The monotony of just exploring and gathering resources without the combat, or requirement for nourishment makes this very cozy for me.
I love to just hop into RDR2 and take in the world. Do some hunting, stroll through the towns, fight some gangs.
I’m in awe anytime I play and just always enjoy going back.
Potion Permit has been my go to lately. I really enjoy Cozy Grove, Graveyard Keeper, and Stardew Valley as well.
Sun Haven is quite cute and very similar to Stardew Valley.
Based on the prompt I'm not going to recommend anything that's completely unrelated to simulation games at this time, let me know if that's wrong though. Like so many others I've played plenty of Cities:Skylines. But I've also had plenty of good times playing the as yet unmentioned Planet Coaster, which is a full fledged Rollercoaster-Tycoon-like with a focus on park design. I don't find it too difficult once you balance the initial financial instability and it has a lively, upbeat vibe.
A Short Hike is a lovely platformer with a lot of charm in my opinion. Very relaxing.
I've been playing the demo for Paleo Pines and it feels like a cozy mix of Stardew Valley and Slime Rancher. A bit over the top in its cutesy theme but not too bad mechanically.