I'm new to the cozy gaming world, but it was love at first sight. Stardew was my first truly Cozy Game, but I recently started Cozy Grove (loving it!) and am about to try Sun Haven. I tried one called The Archipelago a couple months ago, but it got a bit repetitive and boring after a while. Breadsticks was cute, but I'm terrible at platformers.
So, I was wondering, what are some of your favorites?
My favorite cozy games are A Hat in Time and Dying Light. Maybe odd choices, but these are games I can kind of turn my brain off and just relax. Whether it’s platforming around poppy worlds, or jump kicking zombies off roofs into spike traps, they relax me!
Not odd at all! Before discovering games like Stardew and Cozy Grove (which I'm now obsessed with), my go-to relaxing game was AC Black Flag, because pirates xD
Unless you hate the art style, the Atelier Games (especially the newer ones, like the "Ryza"-Trilogy or "Sophie 2" that got rid of the time limit) are definitely worth a look!
And if you enjoyed Stardew Valley, then Rune Factory might also be worth a look: the newest entry (5) is the first mainline 3d-title, which was a divise change (especially due to not amazing performance on the Switch), though I enjoyed it; but the "Special"-version of part 4 is also worth a look (if you can stomach the 3DS-style visuals)
The Sims 4 - mainly the building and decorating part, but making your sim do cozy things makes me relaxed as well.
Unpacking - this is a pretty short game unfortunately, but great for decompressing. You unpack boxes and put someone's belongings away in their proper place. You learn a little bit about the person through their belongings too
Valheim - most of the time, you need to be on your toes and not get killed, but I enjoy the "chores" that come with managing a base: turning over the crops, smelting all the ore, cutting down and replanting the tree farm, sorting out all the loot , and cooking food for the next adventure
Ah, yes! I love Sims 4, could get lost in it for days, despite being absolutely dreadful at constructing stuff 😅
Unpacking sounds fun! I'll have to check it out. I've played a mobile game that's similar in theory, but it was pretty shit.
Oh god, Valheim. I love the "chores" aspect, too, but I usually play it with my SO and he's all about chasing down giants and trolls and getting us killed. Now I'm lowkey terrified to play it alone 😅
Stardew is top tier cozy. Would also put animal crossing new horizons on that list.
Spiritfarer is another commonly recommended one. More of a linear story though.
Moonlighter is an older game I liked. Has some combat like the mines in stardew, but also you run a little store selling your treasures during the day 💎
Untitled Goose Game is a short cozy game.
Thanks for making this post! it came across my feed and helped me find this community :)
Edit: I'll also mention Don't Starve & Oxygen Not Included here . I find the base building aspect cozy
I don't know if it's necessarily the sort of thing most people here would count, but I thoroughly enjoyed Cats In Time. It's just a simple, casual, extremely cute, hidden object cat game with very little thought required. I found it adorable and extremely relaxing.
Melatonin is a great rhythm game, also Celeste for the first few minutes I enjoy playing until I end up rage quiting for an hour because of how hard it is. Uhhh yeah... melatonin is great!
It is basically Animal Crossing, or so I have been told. I always wanted to play Animal Crossing but with already not enough time to play all my PC games it didn't make sense to buy a console just for one game. Now I can play something similar on PC. ( ´ ▽ ` )
The other one is House Flipper. I like that I can just play for a few minutes on my break at work when I am stressed out.
Littlewood! It's basically what you'd get if you mixed Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing New Horizons, which are both super cozy in their own right.
Also, Life Quest and Life Quest 2 are games I discovered a decade or so ago that I come back to every couple years. They're super quick, 1 day games at this point, but they're a great pick me up.
currently i'm playing story of seasons for slow pace, final fantasy 16 for faster pace, and coop games to chill with friends. Also car mechanic simulator