We all know and love Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, but with new cozy games coming out all the time, I couldn’t resist making a list of the best.
What do I count as a cozy game? Basically any game that focuses on instilling a sense of joy/wonder/peace, and not on competition or overly dramatic storylines. These games are designed to just make you feel good as you play.
Two quick notes: First, cozy games are not always suitable for children. Some of them address rather sensitive topics, even while maintaining an overall chill vibe. Don’t treat this as a list of games that are guaranteed to be child-friendly. Check the ratings.
Second, I have not personally played every game on this list. While I have played several, and have more on my wishlist, some are here because they have received a majority of positive reviews, or recommendations from friends.
We good? Okay, let’s get to it.
Expert Tip: If any of the games below aren’t available in your region, CyberGhost VPN can help you out. Change your IP address to a different country and play all you like.
1. Cat Cafe Manager
It’s exactly what it says on the tin: build, decorate, and manage a cafe. Take care of as many cats as you can handle. You can also make human friends, if you’re so inclined, and solve a number of cat-themed mysteries. It’s a simple, wonderful concept, and it’s one of the best cozy games for Switch.
Available for: Switch, PC
2. Catch & Cook: Fishing Adventure
If you’ve always liked fishing minigames and you like cozy games for PC, why not go for a game where fishing is at least half the point? Take your little fishing boat out to sea, then cook what you catch.
Available for: PC, Mac
3. Disney Dreamlight Valley
It’s basically the Stardew Valley formula, but Disney-fied to within an inch of its life. Build your dream home, play mini games, farm to your heart’s content, and do it all while surrounded by Disney’s best heroes, villains, and more. This is one of the best cozy games for PS4.
Multiplayer is not yet available, but it is a planned feature.
Available for: PC, Switch, Xbox, Playstation
4. Fae Farm
Fae Farm is a multiplayer (1-4 players to be precise) farming and fantasy adventure game. Build, explore, adopt cuddly companions, and do it all with friends. Honestly, if you’re looking to shake things up until the next Animal Crossing title, this is probably one of the best cozy games for Switch right now.
You’ll probably also want a good gaming VPN to smooth out your cozy game online play.
Available for: Switch, PC
5. Lonesome Village
Lonesome Village has a slightly darker tone than most of the games on this list, while still having an overall positive vibe. Take on the role of a coyote named Wes, and help a calamity-stricken village rebuild. It’s a life-sim type of game, with quite a few puzzles as well.
Available for: Switch, PC, Xbox
6. Moving Through Life
Your inner organization nerd will love this one: Moving Through Life is literally about arranging furniture at different stages of, well… life. As you do, you’ll learn the story of the main character, and how your decisions shaped events.
Available for: PC
7. Mimi the Cat – New Friends
Mimi the Cat is a Sokoban-style game where you push boxes around to solve puzzles, but this time you do it as a cat. Completing puzzles allows you to unlock more cats, and bask in the cuteness as they too push boxes around. What’s not to love?
Available for: PC
8. Mineko’s Night Market
The developers call this game a “narrative-driven, social simulation adventure game that celebrates Japanese culture.” There’s a variety of mini games, crafting, hours of exploration on the island of Mt. Fugu, puzzles, and (of course) an in-depth story.
Available for: PC, Switch, with planned releases for Xbox and PS 4/5
9. My Dream Setup
My Dream Setup is a bit like Moving Through Life, but even simpler. All you really do is decorate your perfect room as you like. There’s a huge selection of furniture, pictures, plants, and other interior details. There’s also a large selection of computers and peripherals. You know, for people like me.
Available for: PC
10. My Time at Sandrock
My Time at Portia feels like it was only released a little while ago… What do you mean it’s been more than 2 years since 2018? Oh God.
Anyway, the long-anticipated sequel, My Time at Sandrock, was released in early access some time ago. The 1.0 version is set to release on November 2nd 2023, but I’ve already been playing it for months. It’s an upgrade in every way: the graphics are better, the writing is better, the farming and crafting have been streamlined… and most importantly, it’s just fun.
I admit it. It’s my favorite cozy game. It also has a multiplayer mode, so you might want to pick out a fast VPN before you dive in. Once you’re ready, jump in there and help a struggling town get back on its feet.
And remember: Conserve Water!
Available for: PC, with planned releases for Switch, Xbox, and PS 4/5
11. Paleo Pines
So take the usual farming/building formula, and add a twist: dinosaurs. That’s right, Paleo Pines has you building a dinosaur sanctuary. It’s like Ark, but without all of the betrayal and violence, and a lot more cuteness. If you’re looking for cozy games for PS5, you don’t want to miss it.
Available for: Switch, PC, Xbox One/Series X/S, PS 4/5
12. Palia
Palia’s a multiplayer home-building and farming sim that can have up to 25 players in a server instance. Hunt, mine, farm, cook, and hang with friends. You can even build multiple houses. This game shows great promise, and is free to play, but will likely be in beta for a little while yet.
As this game is still in beta, you may want a bit of extra protection. You can hide your IP address with a VPN for extra security. But hey, a free cozy game for PC. What’s not to love?
Available for: PC, with a planned Switch release
13. Potionomics
I had a great time with this game in particular. Here’s the gist: you inherit your uncle’s potion shop, and you must restore it to glory. Craft potions, sell them in a deck-builder minigame, engage in potion-making competitions, and make friends over several long story arcs. It’s definitely one of the best new(er) cozy games for PC.
Available for: PC
14. Re:Fresh
Re:Fresh is a cozy platformer, in the vein of… I’m gonna show my age and say Mario 64. Make friends and become the town hero in this solarpunk adventure. Also, you’ll be doing a lot of double jumping.
Available for: PC
15. Tiny Witch
Tiny Witch is another game that has you managing a potion shop, but with more of an emphasis on real-time play. If you’re looking for a fast-paced management-style cozy game on Steam, this is the one for you.
Available for: PC
16. Stray
Stray is an award-winning exploration game where you play as a cat on a quest to get back to his friends. On the way, you’ll make friends with the robots that humanity left behind when they all, well… they’re not here anymore. Who cares? We have cats and robots.
Available for: PC, Xbox One/Series X/S, PS 4/5
17. Little Friends: Puppy Island
This is literally just a puppy collection and minigame sim. Don’t ask questions, just play with puppies, maybe dig up some treasure. At least, that’s my personal plan.
Available for: Switch, PC
18. Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire
Unlike most of the games on this list, Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire will have you testing your skills to some extent in roguelite action. But it’s also an adorably spooky farming sim? Anyway, you get out there and show your dad (who is literally Dracula) that vegan vampires rock!
Available for: PC
19. Wayward Strand
Wayward strand is an interactive story game where every decision counts, and your time management matters. Over a dozen characters live and work on the airship around you, and the stories you experience will depend on with whom you spend your time.
Available for: Switch, PC, Xbox, PS 4/5
20. Wylde Flowers
Wylde Flowers is a life and farming sim where you follow Tara on her journey to become a witch. Essentially, it follows the usual life sim formula, but with a fair bit of magic and a strong narrative focus. This is one of the best cozy games on iOS, so you’ll want to give it a whirl.
Available for: Switch, PC, iOS
Find Comfort in the Best Cozy Games
This isn’t a comprehensive list of all the good, new cozy games out there. It’s a growing genre, with new fans coming to appreciate a nice, chill sort of game every day. But if I’ve gotten you to try even one of the games on this list, and it made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, then I think I’ve done a good thing.
If you’re going to play any of these games with friends or strangers online, you should grab yourself a good gaming VPN like CyberGhost. This will help you (and potentially, your family) stay safe as you play, and it can help you check up on your virtual farm at work if the game servers just so happen to be blocked.
Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go check up on my own virtual building projects and in-game pets, and make some more office furniture for Catori. (That one’s for the MTaS fans. They know what’s up!)
FAQ
Well, that is entirely up to you, though I personally recommend My Time at Sandrock (and its prequel My Time at Portia) with a passion I usually reserve for big-budget RPGs. It all comes down to what makes you feel a sense of calm and ease as you play.
Many of these games are cheap and you can even find some free cozy games on the list, so by all means, try a few and see what you like. You might find joy in the simple pleasures of tending a garden or running a shop in a fantasy land. You might prefer mining resources, or building elaborate homes full of random knick knacks and personal treasures. Or maybe running around as a cat is right up your alley.
That’s hard to answer. Stray is a game that’s sure to put a smile on almost anyone’s face, but perhaps the robot-filled post-apocalypse doesn’t appeal to you. Every game based on the Animal Crossing / Stardew Valley formula might appeal to your desire for a simpler life, but might have too much micromanagement for your taste.
For sheer coziness, I think it’s hard to beat Little Friends: Puppy Island, because what on Earth is cozier than a puppy? Well, Paleo Pines does have my interest with all those adorable dinosaurs.
Personally, I think cozy games are designed first and foremost to warm the heart. There might be chores, intense mini games, or even combat, but the overall vibe of a cozy game is one of peaceful living and exploration, with a dash of adorableness. Drama is optional, or at least toned down from the norm.
In essence, these games are playful, not competitive. They’re designed to be purely joyful experiences, as opposed to a test of skill. Most of the time. There are certainly a bunch of cozy-themed puzzled games out there. Lastly, I do not think that a game needs to follow the Animal Crossing formula to count as cozy.
They’re certainly good for my own mental health. While actual studies on the mental health benefits of cozy games are few and far between (some are ongoing), there are plenty that extol the mental health benefits of gaming in general.
For the moment, the evidence we have is largely anecdotal. Fans of cozy games (like myself) all over the world will tell you at length about how cozy games make us feel better, ground us, and give us a sense of achievement as we build these virtual lives.
Let’s use a hypothetical: if I was suddenly a total jerk and I wanted to take a video game away from a gamer, forever, who would I target? The CoD kid, or the cozy gamer?
I would target the CoD kid because I want to live. They’re both “real gamers,” of course. Anyone who likes to play video games of any kind is an Official Gamer, the rest comes down to the severity of the addic… I mean a matter of degrees. And cozy gamers? Oh, don’t you ever doubt the level of obsession they can exhibit.
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