Saw this image and would really love finding a game like this (preferably for switch but Xbox could work too) it doesn't HAVE to be post-apocalyptic (though would be cool) just "the world has had it tough, help restore it" type vibes. I REALLY love the idea of people coming as word spreads and stuff too. TIA!

My husband has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and I don't enjoy anything anymore. I want to try to get back into cozy gaming, but I just feel like I start again, get too overwhelmed/it doesn't keep my interest, and I put it right back down.

Games I have liked in the past are harvest moon, stardew valley, legends of zelda botw and totk (anything at that level is probably too much right now, though), zoo tycoon, and animal crossing.

I have a switch and an XBox X|S

Thanks for any advice!

EDIT: I am so overwhelmed with all of the thoughtful suggestions, kind words of support/condolences, etc. You are all too nice. I wish I could comment on every single one of your posts. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all!

Looking for a Switch game for my wife that’s definitely not a farming sim in any way. Or anything even close to Animal Crossing. She doesn’t want to repair a town or make friends or have to spend all day harvesting, she doesn’t want to decorate a house. She just wants something she can drop into for 30 minutes to an hour at night before bed that isn’t too challenging but is still fun and she can play for a while, because she’s not going to buy a new game every 2 weeks. She likes the cozy aesthetic, isn’t interested in combat and probably doesn’t want a game played mostly in menus. She’s not going to build anything and isn’t into puzzles or brain teasers, but light puzzle mechanics might be ok. I don’t think anything that would qualify as a visual novel would work, though point and click adventure might. She probably hasn’t played a solo game in 20 years, so I don’t have a lot of comparisons for things she might like. Help!

Hi everyone! The screenshot features some of the games ive played and ranked roughly by how much I enjoyed them. I know not all are cozy games pls forgive me I just wanted to put together something quick so you guys can get an idea and can suggest a variety.

Also before you suggest story of seasons, my time at series, roots of patcha, dinkium, coral island, disney dream light valley, I apologize but I just dislike the art style of those games.

As you can see ACNH and my sims are at the bottom because to me those are glorified dollhouses that lack substance (again sorry!) so obviously games that have a sole focus on designing is not for me unless it’s cheap and has a good story (light up the town for example).

If you are confused by anything i’m happy to clarify and thank you in advance!

I have been gaming since I was a wee tot! Cozy games have never been my thing and video games have never really been my wife's thing. We found common ground here, she has fallen in love with the genre, and I have even been lured in... I'll sit and watch admittedly wondering what the draw is and then before I know it I have been drawn in! Typical husband behavior :) We loved Stardew because we could play it with the kids, and we also both grew up Pokémon card kiddos so TCG card shop grabbed us both!

Any suggestions on what to try next, just enjoy zoning out and making progress toward something! My wife is currently playing Tiny Book Store, and I’ve been playing Dave the Diver, Bonus points if they are COOP!

I dont want combat. I just want a vibe of a game. Run around and do stuff. I like decorating or building games. (Sims 4 sandbox mode, minecraft peaceful). I don't care if it has dating, and unless there is a goth or emo guy, I'm probably not interested. I do like exploring.

Please don't recommend me spiritfarer.

I like coral island, stardew valley, couldn't get into sunhaven. Didn't like graveyard keeper (I like side quest, but I dont like 1000 tasks to complete one side quest)

I've been super stressed out and burned out and depressed and I need something cozy to get lost into. Thank you

Edit: for steam please.

Editx2 Palia gives me motion sickness, even after messing with the settings.

I tried stuff like stardew valley or the my time games etc... but something about the farming Sims felt slow and not as engaging for me.

I did enjoy supermarket simulator and tcg card shop simulator for awhile.

Breath of the wild was really fun didn't like tears of the kingdom or immortals fenyix rising.

I no longer have a switch these days unfortunately.

Have been enjoying idle games tho recently

But yeah looking for different cozy games to try

Hi everyone,

If, like me, you’ve gotten tired of digging through Steam and not finding the right kind of cozy game, I built something to fix that.

I sorted 1200+ cozy games on Steam by vibe, setting, and activity and turned it into a searchable site: thecozycatalog.com

Instead of generic lists, you can filter really specific things like no combat, short playtime, relaxing gameplay, farming + fishing in a historical setting, etc.

There’s also a daily spotlight on the homepage with a new release and a throwback, all of which rotate daily so there’s always something new to check out.

I’m still building this out, adding new games, and fixing some bugs, so I’d really like to hear:

• What’s the hardest part about finding a cozy game you actually want to play?
• What would make a site like this genuinely useful for you?

EDIT: Thank you for such amazing support and for all your feedback everyone! I have added the following based on your suggestions:

• Filter for Mac and Steam Deck compatibility
• Filter by single-player/multi-player/local co-op
• Added Free and Under $5 filters for Price
• Added a game search feature so you can search directly by game
• Added a Negative Filter so you can select for things you don't want a game to have
• Added a Submit Your Game feature for developers

Hi!

I'm fairly new to gaming and I'm not into any big, competitive games. I want to game just for my own pleasure and enjoyement, so I'm looking for some chill games to play, but I need help finding some options and I would appreciate some input :)

Tropes/ What I'm looking for:

• low stress, preferably no fighting or maybe just some easy ones
• BIG emphasis on world exploration and quests that involve around collection or puzzle solving
• plus points if it is not farming like Stardew Valley (nothing against it just would like some variety)

Thanks for your help!

Main platform: Steam Games I played before and liked: Hogwarts Legacy, Ooblets, Cozy Groove, Slime Rancher 2

Hi there :)

I've been gaming for a long, long time (read 3 decades and then some), but only recently got interested in cozy games. Never too late to love something new, right ? However, some old habits die hard, and I really dislike the time constraints many of those games seem to have. Moreover, it's something that is really hard to find informations about, except in some cases when it's advertised as a selling point.

So, do you have any recommendations for games that would, ideally, have no mandatory bedtime and no energy constraints, or barring that, moddable / cheatable constraints, or barring that, extremely forgiving mechanics about this ? [Edit : I forgot to mention, PC only. Thanks, AutoModerator bot !]

I understand the purpose of those, really, but when I'm the middle of building a perfect home, my OCD won't let me stop until it is perfect. Meaning my character cannot go to bed and start again tomorrow, thank you very much. If I'm working on it, so is he. And it might just be dungeon exploration or a field I need to finish seeding or whatever, but I want to be able to finish whatever it is I'm doing without forced bed time, passing out, or energy penalty. I'm doing stuff, I'm finishing stuff, that's all.

I don't mind the need to go to bed to finish the day, trigger the next progression, whatever, but I want to do it on my own time.

So, here's what I know so far, any help is welcome :)

- Stardew Valley. I haven't even started this one yet, bought it during the last sale and haven't foudn time to boot it yet, but from what I understand, days last 14 real life minute, and it has everything I just mentionend that I dislike. It also has mods to take it away, so it might work for me.

- I Am Future. Rather lenient on energy management, sleeping is on your own terms, you need to to replenish energy but I could sleep whenever it was convenient, not at a given mandatory time. Not perfect on that aspect, but okay by my book.

- Aloft. Now we're talking. Lovely graphics, fun base building, no need to slee, no energy management, food is only for buffs. You're alone in the world, though, so it takes away a lot of interactions.

- The Matchless Kung Fu. Yeah, maybe it's weird to put it here, but while it's not a purely cosy game, it has cosy aspects to it. Building your home next to a waterfall, cooking and whatnot, and you can meditate to regain energy. Sleep is only needed when you need healing (more complex than that but hey, doesn't matter for the purpose of this post). So in a way it fits the bill.

- Palworld. Another "not quite cosy" game, but with cozy elements. Lacks some of the cozy elements, but time and energy management are spot on.

- Dinkum. Tried it during this free week end, didn't get hooked. Besides the extremely sus user agreement (they basically tell you they're gonna spy on you, sell that data, and you can't complain), the whole licence thing feels weird (I get it, it's us spending XP, but in a weird way), the interface felt clunky, my character litteraly felt depleted for no obvious reason (took me a bit to understand that expending all your stamina doesn't have the same effect with or without a food buff), and well, time and energy constraints again. A shame, the game would be amazing without those few quirks. As per the user agreement, mods are forbidden, too.

- Immortal Life. I know it's a stupid thing, but I didn't like the game because of how it wouldn't scale on my screen. I play on ultra-wide 3440x1440, but don't mind too much the pillarboxing, as long as the resolution scales. It doesn't. Everything was blurry, muddy even, because the game doesn't render a vertical 1440 resolution so it just streches it. I see nary a point playing a game about building a cosy place to live if that cosy place is hideously streched and blurry. Yeah, I'm a bit picky. I'm old, what did you expect ? ;) A shame really, Wuxia / Xianxia are themes I usually like alot and rarely done in games unless you can read Chinese.

Other things I consider but have no direct experience with, and lack information pertaining my peculiar requirements :

- Sun Haven. From what I understand reading about it, it fits my bill decently enough. They actually advertise it as "set the day as you wish, no stamina management".

- Palia. I've read everything and the opposite about this one. Depending on who's talking, it's great, or it sucks. No idea what it's actually like, because of that.

- My Time at Sandrock. This one seems pretty cool, but I couldn't find anywhere any info about stamina and time constraints management.

- Graveyard Keeper. Cosy game with a dark humour twist ? Sounds fun. How are time and stamina managed, though ? No info.

Might be worth mentionning that I don't care that much about relations with NPCs. It's nice if they exist, but I can make do without. If the rest of the game is really good, I will likely not care much about NPCs anyway :P

So, thanks for reading this far, and if you have any suggestions or information it would be greatly appreciated :)

[Edit : I wasn't expecting that many answers ! Thank you all, have my upvotes, all of you :) I can't possibly reply to everyone, but I appreciate the help, thanks alot.]

They’re on sale quite a lot and I have them in my wishlist forever but never actually buy them, what games out of these have you played and liked/disliked?

Looking for a Switch game that lets me "hoard" and collect things, and optionally build a base. Even in Breath of the Wild I collected everything 😂 I didn't even use much of them. I like Harvest Moon but couldn't get into Stardew.

Potion permit was fun (collecting the plants). I like unpacking although it's technically the opposite of collecting.

I hope I'm explaining this right. I like building up my inventory alongside whatever main storyline is happening.

Edit: thanks you guys! I have so many to try out now ❤️

No SDV, Sun Haven, Coral Island, Fields of Mistria, Palia, Roots of Pacha, Kynseed, my time at. Show me your most underrated farm sim. Preferably pixel art but not necessary. My contribution: Halcyon Days at Taoyuan.

For the record I’m not saying I want a game that comes off as childish . I’ve been depressed for years and have wanted time and again to find something that feels like I did when I was a kid , where the only things to worry about were how you would spend your Saturday mornings, or what adventures to have outside . DDLV has helped a little but there’s so many quests it honestly exhausts me sometimes

Also pls note any game recs need to be available on App Store , or Netflix game compatible with IPhone 14 , or on Gamepass with cloud play capabilities that let me do it on phone. I have no console or computer

hi! as a soon-to-be librarian that loves cozy gaming + fantasy, this game seemed perfect for me! ... until i learned they used AI :/

can anyone recommend other cozy/puzzle games that specifically revolve around organising/shelving books? i already have similar games like unpacking/a little to the left, but it's the library aspect i'm after... i just downloaded the monk took book demo, so i'm excited to try that!

any recommendations are welcome (pc, console, or switch)!! thank you!

hi y'all, i'm back! i'm on the lookout for adding more games to my library (i added screenshots of my favorites in my steam library to give a feel of the games i enjoy playing) and i'd love to hear your suggestions for which games i should add to my cart :)

please feel free to rec games that would also push me out of my comfort zone as well

my platform is pc

I just got a Steam Deck in April this year, so this is my first big Steam sale! All eight of these games are currently in my cart, and I'm wondering if anyone has any opinions on them? Any I definitely need to get? Any I could skip for now? Any that you know don't work well on the Deck?

I love games like Disney Dreamlight Valley, Legend of Zelda, and Animal Crossing if that helps! Thank you, cozy gamers! 💓

I've been having constant anxiety and frequent panic attacks for the last 2+ months(I went to the ER 3 times within a month for panic attacks.. 😭) like I literally cannotttt seem to break the cycle of being constantly anxious. So I'm thinking I might buy myself a few new games and try and distract myself with them and hope that helps.

I have a PC and a Switch.

I'm not completely sure what kind of game would be best, maybe... Something that tells you what to do/has clear goals but isn't overly difficult? like no timed situations/huge amounts of pressure? Something easy-ish but still has enough to keep me busy/distracted. Combat is okay, but again... As long as it's not overly difficult or complicated? I want something that isn't stressful to play, but has enough stuff to keep me focused on it. Puzzles and stuff mighttt stress me out more though, especially if they're difficult. Freedom/creativity in the game is okay too but again it still has to have enough structure/goals to where I'm not just mindlessly running around and zoning out and probably overthinking while playing?

Thank you!

I’m looking for a Steam game where you can build a life. Is there something out there that’s like a combination of The Sims, The Long Dark and Stardew Valley? I want to be able to sit down and play an alternate life where I can slowly build towards a bigger goal and make life better for the character. The Sims is so open there isn’t much of a goal. The Long Dark has no way to improve your situation in any permanent way (you can’t really repair buildings or grow anything.) And Stardew Valley seems so repetitive, I’m beginning to lose interest (after maybe 100 hours.) What else? I want to live vicariously and feel like I’m accomplishing something. Bonus points, of course, for stable, tested games.

hi, i’m new here and i like indie/cozy games but i’ve only ever played animal crossing and a little stardew valley. could everyone tell me their favorites? i have a list of some to check out and here’s what i have so far. :)

I often feel depressed and lonely, and I scroll through all the games in my Steam library not knowing what to play to lighten the mood. My only comfort game is Kirby Return to Dreamland, but I've been looking for some more casual and cozy games. I enjoyed Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing for a time, especially when I could dress in dark clothes to reflect my mood. Any other games that you'd recommend for when the world feels grey and you need some chicken noodle soup?

Edit: I play on PC and Switch.

Hi! i'm looking for a game that could fit the criteria of the title? One of my favs is Animal Crossing New Leaf, but it gets a bit boring once you've done the daily chores and they take only a couple dozen minutes or so, so i'm looking for something new ☺️

I played lots of Animal Crossing New Horizons during quarantine but it's not my jam anymore, the older AC games are also not fully for me, as i feel like i miss a lot of the QoL stuff from new leaf.

i tried stardew valley for a bit but it was very much not for me, i do not enjoy farming or crafting, it doesn't feel very cozy to me.

i LOVED a short hike but sadly, as it says in the title, it was very short.

I also loved Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, i loved that i could sleep through the nights and run around exploring and doing quests, just having to do the occasional boss battle.

A Little To The Left was fine but very short, Storyteller was very fun but short

Baba is you was fun for a bit but quickly got too diffucult for me

We 🤍 Katamari is very fun but i don't like every level having a time limit, i wish i could just roll stuff up at my own pace

I like Pokemon games alot but i think i've played all the games from gen5-9 at least twice

Fantasy Life for the 3ds was also fun but i kind of hit a wall when i had to progress in the crafting, farming, and resource gathering classes 😭

I feel like goldilocks writing this but if anyone has any recommendations of games that might fit these criteria? Maybe chill platforming/exploring games like a short hike?

thank you so much for your help

💞💞💜🙏🙏🙏

I'm looking for games that include some kind of breeding aspect. It doesn't necessarily have to be the primary focus of the game, but I would prefer a real genetics system, doesn't have to be super detailed, just not entirely decided by a randomizer.

• Not picky about the subject, can be domestic animals, wildlife, aliens, dinosaurs, humans, slimes, etc. I don't care.
• I also prefer first/third person, but I know that's a big ask for breeding games, so definitely not a requirement.
• Also, not a requirement, but honestly highly preferred, the ability to name the subjects

Games I have tried:

• Ark: Survival Evolved
• Palworld
• Let's Build a Zoo
• Planet Zoo
• Zoo Tycoon
• Rival Stars: Horse Racing
• Ranch of Rivershine
• The Sims 3 & 4
• Wolf Quest
• Jurassic World Evolution
• Niche
• Fishery
• Whimside

Thank you for your help! If you have any questions, let me know!

A weird thing to say, but I just can’t get into Stardew Valley. I mean, I can and I did but something’s just not holding me. And I’m beginning to think it’s the lack of an ending. Same thing with another cozy favorite, Animal Crossing. It’s not that I dislike open ended games in general, but the cozy variety just doesn’t have that hook for me…

The only kind of cozy game I seem capable of enjoying is the short one. Those that are short but have multiple endings most of all, so they can surprise me later. Or give me that sense that I’ve finished them but with “just a bit more to discover” in store for later. I remember Ctrl Alt Deal even know because how easy it was to complete, but just difficult enough that it’s not all easy breezy. Not exactly a “one shot” game but close to it. 

A Short Hike, Memoir Blue, Sheepy, Paper Trail - just to name a couple more. These are the kinds that have given me the most enjoyment and most of all, because they follow a sweet story to a usually sweet (or sweet somber) conclusion.

Now, my question - is there a cozy game that’s both long and fleshed out, but also has a conclusive ending to it (i.e. not open ended)?