Cozy Gaming Corner

Upd: ♬ the current up-to-date version of our cozy playlist can be found here ♬

Cozy playlist for the thread (semi-regularly updated)
Yasunori Mitsuda - Corridors of Time
Michael Stearns - As the Earth Kissed the Moon
DARKPYRAMID - Outside The Pyramid
Yo La Tengo - My Little Corner of the World
Gabriel Fauré - Pelleas et melisande suite, Op. 80, III. Sicilienne
Taeko Onuki - 横顔
Ichiko Aoba - おもいでカフェ
Toby Fox - Ruins
Koji Kondo - Dire Dire Docks

Feel free to recommend some cozy tracks.

Edit: Spotify playlist made by jesuswarjesus, which includes all of the above tracks and more.

I don't know if it's relaxing for most people, but I found this music relaxing for myself and I discovered it will watching a masterpiece short anime:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nXewrEwBJo

Thank you for the GA's!

One cozy game I found recently (actually, through the August edition of PAGYWOSG) is Calico. While the game is simple and somewhat fast to beat, the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic and I keep listening to it all the time. The game world is generally beautiful and diverse, both from a landscape as well as from a character perspective, and with character customization (which honestly is not great but works), easy progression, and no death, it's relaxing besides cozy. Recommended!

PS - I was unaware of Cozy Time before seeing your GA, but it reminds me a lot of Virtual Cottage

I really enjoyed Dorfromantik - beautiful, relaxing game with great sound design. It really frees the head from unwanted thoughts while playing. It feels like meditative painting, only much better. Grab one if you can :)

And since Fernandopa made an excellent promo speech and to support the cause - here is a gibeabay of a Calico game: https://www.steamgifts.com/gibeabay/~QcsGM~/calico (lvl3+ till October 7) :)

I don't have cozy games to add to the list as it's not my preferred genre of games (you can just tell what games I like if you look at my profile) or cute animal pictures (I don't own a companion pet), but I can add some soundtrack music to the list. So here are my picks which in my opinion may suit it well:
The Weeknd - Take My Breath
Blood Orange - Jesus Freak
RealestK - WFM

Bump!

Boy, do I have some to recommend! Will compile a list when I have the time

In the meantime, I’ll just drop this little video here :) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq5Aukfbz3M

Edit: There are some that others have recommended, which I'll second at the end of the list. For my list, I'll focus on games that no one has pointed out yet :)

Adventure/Sim

• Penko Park - photography-oriented; players have compared this with Pokemon Snap but with creepy-cute creatures as opposed to Pokemon. A delightful indie discovery IMHO
• Wayward Strand - gorgeous art and incredible storytelling where you learn the stories of the elderly (and the staff) aboard a floating geriatric hospital (there's a bit of mystery here as well that you may find by digging a bit). Love the setting too.
• South of the Circle - epic storytelling + breathtaking art + laidback gameplay. Touches on some "sensitive/controversial" topics though.
• Time on Frog Island - mostly simple tasks to complete, though you may need to think a bit about how to go around getting the quest items.
• Moonglow Bay - haven't had the chance to check this out (yet) but the game looks cozy enough I think :)
• Ikonei Island: An Earthlock Adventure - the entire focus of the game is on the restoration of various shrines around the island. Pretty relaxing gameplay with little combat.
• Slime Rancher 2 - if you like the original, this isn't too far off. Features a brand new island to explore with some QoL updates and new slimes. Minimal "combat" with the Tarr and aggressive Feral slimes. Thought, note that it's still in very early access.
• APICO - What's not to love here? From its charming pixel art to the fact that you get to manage and develop an apiary from the ground up, the game has plenty going for it... exploration, bee genetics, etc
• FixFox - A game about a little Fox who goes around fixing things using some unconventional items. Has some light puzzling here and there, but it's mostly an adventure game with lots of emphasis on exploration.
• Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between - the game gave me motion sickness (lol) but I really liked the night driving part of the game. It's very relaxing.
• Tiny Echo - deliver letters to various creatures.
• Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

Farming sim/life sim

• Song Of The Prairie - tried the demo and really liked it. Might be up your alley too :)
• Hokko Life - pretty standard farming+life sim where you can build houses for new animals to move into the village.
• Epic Chef - really liked this one. It adds cooking sim to the combo.
• Sprout Valley

Puzzle/HOG

• One Line Coloring - simple-enough puzzles where you draw lines to connect them, but the trick here is that none of the lines can intersect another.
• Voxelgram - one of my favourites :) Some objects can be a bit challenging to solve but I'd say that the game is mostly relaxing.
• A Building Full of Cats - well you find cats and there's no time limit :)
• A Little to the Left - This is what I call the OCD simulator :P
• Sophia the Traveler - Only tried the demo but I already like what I see :)
• Harmony's Odyssey - another game that I can recommend based on the demo, but don't be fooled by the cutesy graphics, the game can be quite tricky at times :)
• Cloud Gardens - not sure if this should even be under this list. Haven't played it myself but it's a game that I'm keeping a very close eye on.
• Bubble People - You pop stuff here. It has that kind of meditative effect similar to popping bubble wrap. Plus, it's FREE to play :)
• Summer Paws
• for those who owns a Switch, Snug Finder

Casual/relaxing city-builders - for those who enjoy playing Dorfromantik

• Sky Tale - much simpler but equally as fun :)
• Islanders - This should be on your radar, enuf said!
• Magna Graecia - Only tried the demo; not the full game but the game made a strong impression.
• First Days of Atlantis - another relaxing hex-based city-builder that I've enjoyed. It's quite underrated I think.
• Terra Nil - tried the demo and love it! It has an environmental theme too.
• Tinytopia - probably not as relaxing as some may expect but personally, I've enjoyed playing this. Might not be in the same vein as Dorfromantik but it fits the labels well enough I think :)
• Pan’orama - upcoming title but it looks good

Most point-and-click adventures and visual novels would likely fall under "cozy games" definition too I think :P

Recent finds at Steam NextFest

• A Castle Full of Cats - the sequel!
• AKA

Seconding these games: Haven Park, Unpacking, Dorfromantik

GA pending!

Here's my little addition: Tiny Lands

(Level 3)

Those aren't really the type of games that I usually play. I kinda need... stuff to be happening in order to keep myself busy and focused on something so I wouldn't constantly keep thinking about how dead I am inside. Aka, I'm a min-maxing try-hard.

Here are the games I've played which I guess come closest to those definitions:
Reus - A rare god game. It's pretty simple- you're a planet, you control four elemental giants, and you tell them to create biomes and resources so little people would move in. Then those little people ask for more resources and you have the giants make/upgrade them. There is some planning involved and playing it for the achievements is definitely not "chill". But otherwise it's pretty cozy... I guess.

Pikuniku - A silly lighthearted little platformer where you mostly goof around. It's quite simple and funny.

VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action - Cute story with lots of interesting and relatable (and sometimes funny) characters. While it does tackle some heavy themes from time to time it keeps everything wholesome. Gameplay consists of mixing drinks as the name implies. :P

This Starry Midnight We Make - Ok, when I think about it, this is probably the one that falls under "Cozy Game" the most. And also the one that I'm sure barely anyone has heard of. You basically have this magic basin thing where you can create celestial objects by mixing smaller objects. It's fun in that "playing around with Lego and other toys to see what you get" kind of way. Story is cute and wholesome and the game is localized by Carpe Fulgur (the guys who localized Recettear and Chantelise) so you know it's an amazing (and funny) localization. :D

I've found Unpacking brings about cozy feelings. It's a great puzzle game to play when one needs to unwind. Spring Falls is also a chill puzzle game. It doesn't ask for twitch reflexes, and gives unlimited undos.

Kind Words is a neat little game which has you writing letters, or replies to others' letters. It's got a wholesome community full of folks happily writing away. It also has content moderation, which is great. And it's got stickers! You use them to decorate your room.
There's also Clouzy!. Though I only recently heard of it, Clouzy! has such a place in my heart. It's currently in a Fanatical bundle, for those wanting a copy.

And as a bonus on top of my recommendations, here's a Jigidi of my little fuzzy buddy, Frisky. 🥺

The only cozy game that I've played and comes to mind is Coffee Talk because its a VN with a relaxing atmosphere and a perfect cozy game to just chill and hear about the stories of various characters without any stress

Also started Octopath Traveller recently, can't say that its a cozy game but the artstyle is nice and soundtrack is incredible.
Here's a great soundtrack from the game - The Sunlands - Octopath Traveller

Blacklisted but still bump

Most of time I am too cozy to even start game. That counts?

A game I tend to go back to from time to time is Cozy Grove, it's even got cozy in the title :D

And I got Potion Permit lately, which is pretty cozy, too, if you don't mind some light (rather easy and potentially avoidable) combat when you're out looking for ingredients ^^

Thanks for creating this thread! Bookmarked it right away :D

Would a game like My Time at Portia count as "cozy"? It's tagged as relaxing and I would generally agree with that... although there is also some pressure to complete tasks.

I find Megaquarium to be very relaxing as well.

It occurs to me that I am treating "relaxing" and "cozy" as synonyms but that may not quite be correct.

I can highly recommend Dorfromantik, it's a great game (although it gets a bit less cozy if you desperately try to make the absolute most optimal play with every single tile; I try not to do that).

Quite some while ago I have created a "Relax" tag in my Steam library, where I have put in quite a few games that are either cozy or at least turn-based and without time restraints (like Battle Brothers) and thus help me relax. :)

Several of these games have already been mentioned above, but there are some more I enjoy and can recommend:

• Islanders: A very relaxed puzzle game akin to Dorfromantik (which has been mentioned earlier)
• Gorogoa: A lovely, hand-drawn puzzle story. ;)
• Playne: A game that helped me get into meditation. I don't use it anymore nowadays but it was really helpful to create a certain mindset (and made me realise how much I am still in "competitive" mode even when trying to relax - it took me some time to learn to accept letting the fire go out sometimes).
• Potion Craft: A relaxed and slow game about, well, crafting potions. Simple but lovely.
• Tsuro: A very relaxing and nice game, especially with friends. It is a bit bare bone in regards to UI or UX, but the gameplay itself is really nice and mellow.

I'm looking forward to Lego Bricktales, and I'll be getting it for myself when it comes out next week.
Depending on the price and if I actually like it there might even be a giveaway in store 😁

My favorite cozy game is probably Placid Plastic Duck Simulator. I found it on accident and enjoy it a lot. I am waiting for the update this month that includes a save feature so I don't have to restart when turning it off and on again. It is incredibly relaxing, and I can sit for a while just watching the ducks do their thing.

Ooooh great thread! and great timing!

I literally just started playing Lay which is free to play and it's already giving me tons of cozy feelings, though not much of a story so far, and Humble's Coral Island is coming next week in EA.

Spirtfarer is my go-to cozy touchy feely game.
I loved Spiritfarer so much that I haven't "finished" it yet. I just can't bring myself to end the story so I just cruise around with my buddies, growing food, cooking, chatting and fishing, and sailing around.

Another one I keep replaying because it gives me those cozy vibes is A Short Hike. If you're looking for a cute world, relaxing gameplay and a wholesome melt-your-heart story, and you haven't played it, you should totally give it a go!

Looking forward to Petit Island which gives me similar vibes.
And I recommend playing the demo for Naiad which is very different but super chill and colorful

Man, I realize I have tons of those on my wishlist that aren't released yet but I'll wait until I play them to see if they're worth recommending

Nowhere near release, but I'm watching this one: PuffPals Island Skies

Refunct is a chill platform / time attack with good vibes

Great idea for the forum. Love it. Thanks for the nice gibabays. :)

I don't think I have a lot of experience with "cozy" games. I'm sure A Short Hike fits that bill, and I really liked that one.

Here's a couple gibs:
(Level 2+) https://www.steamgifts.com/gibeawayy/l`FL`kO/aquarium-designer
(Level 5+) https://www.steamgifts.com/gibeawway/`v9hs`G/haven-park

Thanks for all the game recommendations so far.

✦ Cozy deals alert ✦
Songbird Symphony [-85%]
Down in Bermuda [-90%]
Aspire: Ina's Tale [-70%]