The right setting can help build that sense of calm. When it comes to creating a relaxing game, it’s not just about what you do. There’s a lot of freedom and time built into cozy games, which fosters that laid-back environment. There’s often not an overarching sense of needing to complete a particular mission or take part in combat. One of the biggest elements to be found in the appeal of cozy games is the fact that they’re just so chill. Those games just so happen to be some of my recent favorites. From developer Glumberland’s farming and life simulation game Ooblets garnering a large following on Twitter to developer Gamious’ most recent release Lake, indie developers are a prime provider of cozy games.
On the developer side, indie game studios have played a large part in the cozy game space. Entire communities have formed around cozy games, including the online community Wholesome Games, which started on Twitter and has since grown into more than 200,000 members across various platforms that aim to curate different games “according to their feelings of comfort, compassion, and coziness.” Why cozy games?Ĭozy games have a lot to bring to the table, and that’s very clear to see in both player and game developers’ responses to the cozy game outpouring. Elements like aesthetics, player freedom, and a focus on calmness all pair together to help turn these games into a true escape in a hectic world. That rang especially true for me as I started to play more and more of them over the course of the last two years amidst a very chaotic time period going on around us. It’s safe to say that cozy games, no matter the larger genre that they may fall into, offer players a chance for a relaxing escape and a touch of lightheartedness that might not be found elsewhere. But it wasn’t until the pandemic that I became much more interested in these particular kinds of games that are often more contained (in an extremely pleasant way) than high-level AAA titles tend to be with their expansive open worlds and storylines. Spurred on by well-known titles including Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and Harvest Moon, cozy games especially became a point of focus during a hectic 2020.Ĭozy games had been on my radar for literal years, from playing Animal Crossing on GameCube back in the early 2000s to building an endless number of small towns in Townscaper in 2020. Games that ditch high-octane action for more laid-back gameplay have come to be collectively known as wholesome or cozy games in recent years.
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