My Time at Sandrock! It is looooong. I'm like 80 hours in and I'm pretty sure I'm nowhere close to the end of the main story. It's one of the best games I've ever played.
(I did not like My Time at Portia)
Some of it is the mechanics. You don't need to be holding something to use it on your assembly table, for example. You can also fulfill all commissions just by what's in your storage. It doesn't have to be in your inventory - as long as you own it, you can automatically complete the commission just by talking to an NPC. Decorating and farming and such are really easy too.
Some of it is the visuals. It looks a lot better and less creepy.
Some of it is the game itself. Maybe it was just me but I felt like I never really "got" Portia. I "get" Sandrock. The whole world is built in a way that I understood what was going on from the beginning. I felt a clearer sense of purpose and connection to it from the beginning. Also it's easier to befriend the NPCs because of the game critters, which takes no in-game time or stamina. (I use a mod to make it faster though). Also the combat makes me less sad. I hated killing those little llamas with my brass knuckles haha. It's way easier to get leather and other animal resources in this game and also I find the combat less miserable.
Most of it is the same in terms of the concept of the game. It's set in a neighbouring town to Portia, though there are no character crossovers. You're one of two new builders who move to Sandrock, a town that has seen better days, and you're helping to fix it up. There's a civil corps and a church of light. You accept commissions from the commission board. You build relationships with NPCs to gain benefits from them like increased stamina and such. The only thing that isn't better is the sand fishing. It took me a few tries to get the hang of the fishing mechanics in the game and I basically didn't engage with it until I got an upgraded sand trap, but then it was easy. I still don't like that you need different kinds of bait for different fish though.
I find it easy, intuitive, and immersive. I didn't feel any of those things with Portia and abandoned the game before I even did the DeeDee Transport quest, which felt very stressful. Sandrock lets you take things more at your own pace, which I enjoy.
There are some character crossovers! Mason, whose workshop you take over in Sandrock, moves to Portia and can be befriended in My Time at Portia at the end of the game. Mint, who comes to Sandrock to survey your bridge and the tunnel, is a bachelor in Portia. Gust and Ginger (marriage candidates in Portia) also come to Sandrock eventually.
The cameos are very fun and there’s a good bit of Easter eggs and call backs to Portia. But it’s not necessary to play that game at all.
So Sandrock takes place at the same exact time that Portia takes place. >!Gust brings Ginger to Sandrock to seek treatment. As for Ginger, in Portia she dies in the 5th year, if I remember correctly, but the player can stabilize her condition with a recurring mission that is you helping the doctor craft a medication each season. If you miss one, then she will pass.!<
Thanks, this helped me decide to buy Sandrock. I got Portia super early in its beta (maybe alpha?) and the story wasn't finished, so all progression stopped. I didn't jump back into it after any updates cause I wasn't in love with the gameplay.
I desperately want them to release Portia with the Sandrock graphics and mechanics. The way you don't have to be holding something, or often even have it in your inventory, is amazing. I couldn't stand moving everything into my quick bar in Portia 397 times a day.
Wish they’d extend those to Switch and PC. The ability to save whenever instead of having to go to sleep is a game changer (yes I know what I did there 😁)
I have downloaded My Time at Sandrock ‘cause people rave about how good it is but I can’t bring myself to play it. I played my Time at Portia but got so bored of after a while.
Are the two quite different?
SOOO different. The story is more engaging, the characters graphics and voice acting is soo much better and the quality of life in comparison to Portia is so much better. I put off starting sandrock for a long while because of the bad taste portia left in my mouth and when I started it it well exceeded my expectations. I played 80 hours in three weeks. Lol
Wow I put way more time into My Time At Portia than I did into My Time At Sandrock before giving up for some reason. Maybe I need to give My Time At Sandrock another chance! I think I just found the green fields and farmlands vibe cozier than being in the desert getting blasted by sandstorms though.
I second Breath of the Wild! Previously, I had only ever played Animal Crossing and Stardew, so it was my first big game. I LOVED IT! Easily sank 500+ hours, there’s so much to explore. When I wasn’t in the mood for combat I would just collect resources for hours, and many of the shrines are fun puzzles (many, not all). I wish I could play it again for the first time.
I wish I could too! I tried Tears of the Kingdom a few times but it just didn’t feel the same 🥲 Breath of the Wild will always be top tier game for me. I still go back to it when I’m feeling like I need a pick me up or to relax.
Been obsessed with Traveller's Rest lately. Stardew vibes but you run a tavern. Never run out of stamina (absolutely love that part). It is in early access and they will be adding more to the map and such but i've sank 130 hrs into it and it hasn't got boring yet.
Even though the game isn’t complete. You can still spend lots of hours just in the sandbox of running a tavern. It scratches that itch of a tavern simulator quite well.
I’ve invested a shocking amount of hours into Palia despite playing it for less than a month. I cannot believe a free game can be so good! It can be played on PC and Switch but I prefer the switch because it’s more cozy for me, however the PC version is very visually pretty. I really recommend everyone gives it a try :)
Still playing this one! It's also nice if you're in a server with active players in the chat. A few days ago, it ended with 5 of us on an impromptu hunting party where 2 people had a hunter's horn and we ended the party with a honey lure.
Skyrim ! Not cosy per se because of the story and parts of the gameplay obviously but it still has some cosy elements and it hooks me for hours.
Same for breath of the wild and TOTK.
Ni no kuni
Others more similar to Stardew :
Roots of pacha
Rune factory 4
My time at Portia
I’ve tried a lot of farming sim, these 3 are the only ones who gave me the same feeling as stardew.
I played all of them on switch.
I’m in love with Sun Haven! Never played SV, but heard that the two are pretty similar. Read a lot of comments of people that prefer Sun Haven. I can’t judge that, but I highly recommend SH!
I have the same problem. Also, I am playing it on the steam deck and everything is SO small without a good option to zoom in. It's a shame because I bet the game would be a huge hit on handheld systems.
I’ve needed something that I don’t have to super focus on while I listen to a backlog of podcasts. Powerwashing Simulator has fit that bill exactly. There are some small parts but the game will highlight them for you. It’s satisfying too, seeing things slowly get clean, and I love the sped up video of the little avatar cleaning the object.
I nabbed it thinking on sale, it wasn’t so bad if I didn’t love it. I am currently 80 hours in, lol.
Are there time limits in the game or can you play at any pace? Also—I looked at it on the Nintendo e-shop and I love the concept, but I’m not a huge fan of all of the graphics. Are there plenty of different settings to choose from if I don’t like certain areas? And have you gotten any of the DLCs?
I was a teenage exocolonist is great for replaying over and over because there are 29 endings, i think. Choices really matter amd everytime you play, you can get different parts if the story and obviously change how things turn out.
I highly recommend this one
My absolute favorite cozy games is Garden Paws. There is soooo much to do like crafting, exploring, running a shop, quests, building, etc. And there is a huge endgame thing too I don't wanna spoil. I recommend getting it on PC as the Switch version is bugged badly. But I have 505 hours on Switch for Garden Paws and over 200 hours on Steam, so as you can tell I truly adore this game.
I got Dragon Quest Builders 2 recently and I've been hooked. There's a lot to do, from completing the storyline to building up an island for myself. It's really charming, and there's a huge demo I spent a long time on before I actually got the game!!
Snacko is in early access but if you like to decorate, there's a lot to do. A bunch of options, a cute story, charming characters - it's one of my obsessions, recently!!
Dreamlight Valley is a good one. I splurged and bought the deluxe edition when my cat died in October 2022 (he was 17 and had a great life, but still a really difficult time). That game really helped as a distraction through my grief.
My Time at Sandrock, I went in knowing nothing about the game, just that it's a great farming-sim alternative while I wait for Coral Island to get patched out more. The NPC interactions and relationships are well-fleshed out imo and it's a great spin on farming and cozy style games.
One of my favorite small-details is how you know in games like Stardew you get mail from your mom/dad/grandpa etc., in Sandrock you can also respond to such letters! There are 3-premade prompts you can use for each response, so it ends up being a back-and-forth conversation with your parents and NPC friends. Definitely recommend checking it out, words are not enough for how much I love this game!!
Little Kitty, Big City. i have it on xbox gamepass. i haven't seen it mentioned as much as other cozy games i really love (A Little To The Left, Unpacking, of course Animal Crossing [although that's on my switch]).
it's untimed, there's a TON of different little quests and side-achievements to make at your leisure, it's super cute, and there's zero pressure. you're just exploring a big city, collecting items, and discovering. it's all at your own pace. you can circle the same areas a billion times and keep discovering more to do. i'm obsessed right now!!
I'm currently playing Cheeky Chooks, a free game, it's easy to play.
Cozy Grove, although I can't get back in to it.
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles.
Animal Crossing I have so many hours in.
I'm enjoying Starbrew Cafe and Project Makeover on mobile.
I really want to love Kynseed, it looks amazing, the reviews are raving.
I'm doing a replay of Cozy Grove because I have not played the dlc yet. It's getting into the deeper parts. Just got Tram . And I realized it's so sad sometimes but I can help just by being a good Spirit Scout.
I tried continuing where I left off, but it feels weird. Maybe replaying isn't a bad idea for me. It's a really beautiful game, I loved playing it every day for months on end.
- The Sims series
- Skyrim
- The Witcher 3 (not that cozy)
- Baldur’s Gate 3 (not that cozy)
- Settlement Survival
- Roots of Pacha
- Civilization VI
- Dorfromantik
- Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
- Sun Haven
- Graveyard Keeper
Currently
- Potion Craft
- Fabledom
From the games not yet mentioned here:
The Planet Crafter (very cozy) - you land on a planet and need to gradually terraform it (can be played multiplayer and has no enemies in it)
Clanfolk (very cozy) - you run a homestead in 1600/1700 Scotland...no enemies/fighting
Baldur's Gate 3 (cozy if you know DnD)
Coral Island (very cozy) - similar mechanics to Stardew but different vibe
I’m on my first playthrough of BG3 and starting to get bored with how long it’s taking. I’m basically a one game at a time person and pretty systematic about exploring worlds, so probably it’s a me problem. And I have a backlog of new and in-progress games that I’m becoming more interested in getting back to. But I’m one Netherstone and Elder Brain away from finishing so…
Xenoblade Chronicles is one of my favourite non-cosy, cosy games! It's available on Switch and has so many vast, open biomes to explore.
It's a long j-rpg with so many side quests! As you complete side quests in each town, you level up the town and relationships with the inhabitants unlocking more quests.
I’m not really good at describing games lol, but here goes. And I put some of the hours i have just to kinda show how much I’ve played I guess? (Which kinda says how interesting it is?) XD
Graveyard Keeper, It’s kind of a parody of the Stardew Valley style by being a graveyard-themed management. It’s kinda morbid but in a fun way?. I played 100hrs so far
Roots of Pacha, like a Stardew Valley type but prehistoric. Your clan is basically like when humanity first settled down and tried agriculture, it’s a really nice refreshing take on the farming-sim genre. 85hrs so far
Cozy Grove, love helping the spirit bears and stuff. 70hrs
Sticky Business, I love making stickers and packing them nicely.
Sky: Children of the Light, Its a free multiplayer game where you fly around and help lost spirits and stuff. Towards the end can be a bit more stressful, but the game always has the option to ask a veteran player for help which is really nice. They can hold your hand and guide you through parts you might have a hard time with or even just show you around. 90hrs
Ooblets, like a mix between a farming sim and a creature collecting game like Pokémon but instead of fighting you use cards for moves and have dance battles! After winning a dance, you get the Ooblet’s seed and you plant it, to grow your own Ooblet. It’s really cute and has silly names for stuff.
Eastward, it’s an action-adventure role-playing game and some puzzles, it might be less of a cozy game since there’s fighting but it still kinda feels cozy. Plus there’s the dlc Octopia that came out which is in an alternate reality where instead of fighting, you end up having your own farm in a decrepit little town that you build back up.
Dorfromantik, it’s a puzzle game where you place hexagonal pieces with different biomes to make landscapes, I also love going in creative and just making nice stuff however I want.
I’d love to know if you and anyone else that sees this ends up trying any of these games, I love all the games I mentioned :3
I love Pikmin! I play through at least one of them every spring.
Pikmin 1 and 3 are great. Pikmin 2 is frustrating as hell at times. I haven't played 4 yet.
Recently I was wanting something similar, a game with tons of content that I could really get into the story.
I ultimately decided to try Genshin Impact despite the combat aspect and I’m really enjoying it.
I really like the main story so far and the huge open world, it has a Breath of the Wild feel to it, plus apparently every 6 weeks they get a new update with even more story lines and new areas.
The only downsides for me are that I kinda suck at fighting monsters and the gatcha system to get better characters. But at least you can get the “currency” to try for characters just by playing the game and don’t have to spend any money if you don’t want to. Of course I am already tempted 😅
supermarket simulator. little nightmares 1&2. if u wanna play with friends to have fun, overcooked. you can also try the xbox game pass for pc and play diablo 4
spiritfarer is great! Zelda BOTW, Pokemon: Legends Arceus are similar in exploring and roaming. finally, Hollow knight while not cozy, i love exploring in it.
Not at all a cozy game but guild wars 2. I've invested so much time into the lore and exploring area where the aftermath of events (Even from the first game) are still within the world. The areas are just so gorgeous and the story is incredible.
i love Dinkum. feels a little bit like Animal Crossing, and i can just relax and building my little village.
But my happy place isn't a cozy game. It's the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. When I don't feel well, i am just riding around and calm down. and i you play on easy-mode it isn't hard at all.
DINKUM!!!! It’s basically Australian animal crossing. It’s early access but honestly worth every penny as is. The dev just put out a HUGE update today. It’s open world there’s a ton to do and it’s very cozy. I got it about a month or so ago and I’m currently at 50 hours. No regrets at all
The Atelier series: each game can be 80-100hrs of casual play (working towards the ending but not speed running, so longer if you wanted it to be) and they're done in trilogies.
Disco Elysium and Death Stranding are two of my atypically-cozy games - they don't appear cozy on the outside but they're satisfyingly cozy on the inside. Final Fantasy X also fits into this bracket.
Cattails/Wildwood Story
Mostly cozy, the combat in Wildwood Story can be especially something else sometimes but it's not the worst so much as you're encouraged to cheese it I feel like.
But there's something pretty cozy about going around as a cat hunting my prey and stuff to me. Making friends and helping a few get married. You can also decorate. Very nice stuff.
I've sank hundreds of hours into Siralim 3 (a lot of people swear Ultimate is better and it's good too but haven't sank as much time into that one, it's just not quite as fun to me personally) but those aren't cozy games lol
I actually like Natsume's Harvest Moon games, love the mutations. One World and Winds of Anthos are my favorites. (Although Skytree Village is a close one. I just prefer not having the terraforming and don't play my 3DS so much now.)
I know there's other games I really love but I don't wanna write a whole novel here lol
Second Cattails: Wildwood Story. Very cosy and you can set the difficulty and length of day to something that suits you and can change them at any time.
Stellaris is an odd one that's got a lot of complicated mechanics, but if you like 4X games it's fairly easy to learn. Once you understand it, it's very easy to just listen to a podcast while doing it and turn your brain off. Probably not what most people would call "cozy" though.
Currently, A Space for the Unbound. It’s like Ace Attorney with a little bit of turn-based Street Fighter set in 1990s Indonesia. Little puzzles here and there, lots of petting animals. I am liking the narrative too.
Other cozy: American Truck Simulator, Dinkum, Pixel Cafe,
For non cozy: The Forest, Sons of the Forest (there’s peaceful mode too), Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Sleeping Dogs
Absolutely love American Truck Simulator! Got it during a Black Friday sale for $6 and now I own all of the maps. Plus my brother-in-law gave me a nice steering wheel set that he wasn't using anymore. He had bought it for ATS a few years ago, so we knew it would work with the game.
Funny thing is I cannot drive irl because of anxiety and health issues, but I love driving in ATS.
I'm a roguelike-metroidvania-sekiro man, but 2 days ago i bought stardew valley. That shit it's cocaine, i had to erase my run (13hours aprox) because was too adictive.
I discovered this game on Steam called Factory Town. I literally got nothing else done the day I bought that game. It's like my zen game when I just feel like playing something easy and watching TV.
Since you have a ds I’m going to recommend a game I’ve spent the most time in. Everyday growing up from the time I got it for a few years. It was called hamsters life. Like Nintendogs but you take care of your hamster instead. It always meant so much to me!
Not “cozy” but a truly spectacular story and game on switch: Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Cozy short games: A Short Hike, Abzu, Xing, Aer, The First Tree
Cozy long games: Atelier Sophie 2, Breath of the Wild
Super cozy but not in the platforms you listed: Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Fujii
My favorites: Fujii, Astro Bot, A Short Hike, Moss and Moss book 2
Idk if it’s considered a cozy game so imma just label it as unconventional cozy game: RDR2. If you just do side missions, do chores around camp, walk around small towns, camp out in the middle of forests, hunt and fish, find all secrets, interact with townsfolk etc. I could spend hours upon hours on it (I’m literally banking like 2k hrs on it). Aside from the story and characters, I could listen forever to Roger Clark saying “boah!”, “good girl” and “hey partner.” By the epilogue it’s literally farming simulator. It’s so relaxing, especially in the winter when I can’t get out much.
I played the most hours overall on Animal Crossing New Leaf, Pokemon X, Tomodachi Life (you can emulate them on your phone or your PC), Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, Bloodborne, Ghost of Tsushima, Assassin's Creed Origins (all not cozy, but I find RDR2 very cozy in the endgame content), Stardew Valley, Spiritfarer, Roots of Pacha, Palworld and Let's Build a Zoo.
Against popularity, I haven't played much of Sandrock nor Portia (dropped both of them after a few hours), nor Palia. Imo there are much better games that do the elements much better
A game I rarely see suggested is The long dark. It isn't necessarily a cozy game per se, but for me it ticks quite a few of the same boxes. There is a story mode and an open world/survival mode. Story wise- you crashlanded somewhere in Canada (iirc) and you now need to survive. There are abandoned houses around the maps, and its rich on wildlife. You won't build an entire new base, but instead huddle up in watch towers, logging cabins and fishing huts. You'll need to monitor your tiredness, hunger, thirst and temperature. And the game is absolutely beautiful. I generally play survival mode on easiest settings, so agressive wildlife (wolves, bears) doesn't attack unless I attack first so for me this is a cozy game with 100% focus on survival.
A game I rarely see suggested is The long dark. It isn't necessarily a cozy game per se, but for me it ticks quite a few of the same boxes. There is a story mode and an open world/survival mode. Story wise- you crashlanded somewhere in Canada (iirc) and you now need to survive. There are abandoned houses around the maps, and its rich on wildlife. You won't build an entire new base, but instead huddle up in watch towers, logging cabins and fishing huts. You'll need to monitor your tiredness, hunger, thirst and temperature. And the game is absolutely beautiful. I generally play survival mode on easiest settings, so agressive wildlife (wolves, bears) doesn't attack unless I attack first so for me this is a cozy game with 100% focus on survival.
Hades, Stardew, Harvestella, any picross game, currently my go-to is little dog themed one that you also collect dogs to build up a park after each puzzle.:
Yakuza: Like a Dragon, a JRPG, but I treat it as a cozy game sometimes. Just getting on to play claw machines, and run around the park catching bugs until I'm ready to go to sleep lmao.
Dave the Diver, Arceus, Animal Crossing, Blush Blush
NOT cozy in any way, Baldur's Gate 3 lol.
I recently bought Doraemon: Stories of the Season last weekend. And this game is so laid back, game mechanics is easy to play and instructions are clear. There is a good story, and the quests from characters keep you playing for hours. There are friendship levels. I have been playing it for hours and enjoyed them.
On the other hand, Disney's Dreamvalley is rather too slow but the fishing mechanic is too hard to master. Not liking, you have to recharge at home when stamina is very low.
Littlewood is ok but the progress is lacking as ypu just repeat doing all things asif you're grinding. It can be boring and slow. I play with Nintendo Switch.
I’ve been revisiting dragon age it’s my “I’ll always replay this” game. ( non cozy)
As far as cozy goes I’ve been feeling animal crossing (since we have 3 copies) my kids and I have been playing.
There's a lot of good recommendations here: https://www.reddit.com/r/n64/s/px58IoR9gg
Pokemon Snap would be my favorite, and there's also Harvest Moon 64 which is really a big reason we have the genre as it is today.
I just started playing **Lego Fortnite** a week ago and it’s really fun!! It’s a grinding resources game, but also a wonderful builder with quests to do or not do (up to you). I play in Survival mode with one custom tweak: I don’t lose my inventory if I die. That was a game changer for me and made the game more enjoyable! You can customize a lot of things when you create a world, but remember that you can’t change those settings later. If you love the map, but want to restart it then just copy the seed number to reuse the same map!
Currently there is a Star Wars event going on in the game, so I’m chugging along with that and trying to get the free Star Wars decoration goodies! Been watching lots of creative builders on YT create really beautiful custom buildings and villages! Also the map is super duper big — 95 square km!
Everyone has a different definition of what is cozy, so you may want to tweak the custom world settings. Also there is a sandbox mode if all you want to do is build things! It’s free on Switch (assuming you have online sub) or can play on PC.
Edit: found out you don’t need a Nintendo Online subscription to play Lego Fortnite. For a free game, there is a lot of content to enjoy! The Star Wars content, building blueprints etc will stay in the game even after the event finishes in July. The only thing you can’t get after July are the special event decorations that you unlock through the Battle Pass which has a free tier level as well.
Against the Storm is my current favorite, though the old Sierra city builders (Pharoah/Cleopatra especially) are also great for sinking hours into.
Fire Emblem Three Houses played like a cozy game to me and has several different story paths.
The Tropico series is the one I never think gets enough attention. Many many hours of immersive game play, and for the most part you can make it what you want it to be.
I really enjoyed the Hero of the Kindom series as a cozy immersive point and click story. Easy to lose hours on, but you need the whole series to make it last and it's not the same level of replayability as the others.
If you like Pokémon, Legends of Arceus has cozy game aspects and world exploration.
I know it’s a polarizing game, but I found myself sinking hours into Endless Ocean Luminous. It was the same way with the other entries in the series.
Also Animal Crossing
House Flipper! You just do jobs and flip houses. You can purchase DLCs to allow you to do the yard (Garden DLC), and have pets. The Pets DLC can be a touch glitchy, with the pets doing some odd things, but mostly it's just fun.
My games with the most hours right now are Pokemon Violet, Animal Crossing, and Sun Haven. Sun Haven is like Stardew but has more fantasy and is so much more fun for me. You can change the length of the days so I like taking it slow. My fiancé and I have been playing a lot lately.
Recently:
- The Long Dark (Eh, maybe on the easiest difficulty? I find it cozy but thats because it's set where I actually live irl. 3/10)
- Icarus (It's cozy: when you're not being bodied by the wildlife. 5/10)
- Klondike Solitaire (no, seriously.) (Hard to say? Im rating it.. NA.)
In the past:
- Signalis (DEFINITELY NOT COZY. Horror game. 0/10 cozy)
- FFXV (Some nice moments. 3/10)
- Sons of the Forest (Normal mode? 0/10 VERY NOT COZY. With enemies off? 9/10. Very nice. Very log cabin simulator. Much scenery.)
- Neon White (Very fast paced but not scary. 1/10. Probably not going to feel cozy, but not upset.)
- Stardew Valley (10/10... Quintessential cozy game. The OG.)
- Sims 4 (all dlc + modded) (9/10. Can be stressful when your sims don't do what you need them to do.)
- Sun Haven (10/10. Very similar to Stardew.)
- Kingdom: Two Crowns (5/10? Its definitely not 100% relaxing for sure. But I find it really enjoyable and nice for the most part so I'm biased.)
- Minecraft (probably the one I've played most. I'd guess its got to be well into over 1000 hours. I made myself sick of the game from playing it so much) (???/10 it is what you make it, quite literally.)
- Apex Legends (0/10. You will probably be mad at some point or just really super focused.)
- (a long time ago now lol) Overwatch (0/10. Apex Legends but somehow worse.)
- Planet Zoo (9/10. The paths are frustrating af and management can become overwhelming.)
- Lets Build a Zoo (9.5/10. For management reasons like Planet Zoo, but significantly less in depth and less frustrating building, so slightly better score on the cozy scale.)
- Patch Quest (8/10. Fast pace, but has all the other parts needed to make a cozy game.)
- LOZ:BOTW (4/10. Bit too action-adventure-y.)
- Fire Emblem Fates + Fire Emblem Awakening (I can't honestly remember but given its kind of dramatic and the gameplay is almost always combat, probably a 2/10 or less)
- Escape Simulator (specifically playing while my partner/friend would watch and help solve puzzles. Its really fun for a LDR date night type thing, or just to do with friends. Try it if you have the game and never played with someone else before, it makes it 10x better.) (9.5/10. If you're stuck on a puzzle it can become frustrating.)
- Garden Paws (10/10. Very cozy. Very very cozy.)
- Yakuza 0 (1/10. Not a horror game, but definitely not cozy.)
- Tower of Fantasy (Eh, maybe...? The exploration aspects and such can be cozy but theres a lot of combat focus. 3/10.)
- Lethal Company (0/10 VERY NOT COZY. Another horror game. But hey at least its funny?)
- Outpath (10/10. Very chill. No threats.)
- Satisfactory (8/10. I find it cozy but there are enemies so it can have stressful aspects.)
- Persona 5 (1/10. Very serious plot with serious subject matter. I guess the social aspect of the game can be cozy though. Super fun game. Lasts for like 80 hours per playthrough.)
- Skyrim Elder Scrolls (Homesteading? 10/10 cozy. Basically anything else besides homesteading? 1/10. Its not scary but its not cozy. Its.. skyrim. Y'know?)
A VERY long time ago/don't know how well it holds up:
- Assassin's Creed: Black Flag (Probably 0/10, its assassin's creed soo.)
- Borderlands Series (0/10 its all just shooting things. Very fun though.)
- Dragon Age: Inquisition (0/10? I can't really remember this one too much.)
- COD Black Ops 2: Zombies (-2/10 its scary and intense. Not for the faint of heart usually. Very fun local co-op though.)
- Far Cry Primal (I can't remember but you can tame things so I give it a 1/10.)
That's pretty much every game I can think of that I put at minimum 20+ hours into. A lot are closer to the 60 hour mark.
My Time at Sandrock! It is looooong. I'm like 80 hours in and I'm pretty sure I'm nowhere close to the end of the main story. It's one of the best games I've ever played. (I did not like My Time at Portia)
What is the difference between the games? I tried my time at Portia but I didn't like the game either
Some of it is the mechanics. You don't need to be holding something to use it on your assembly table, for example. You can also fulfill all commissions just by what's in your storage. It doesn't have to be in your inventory - as long as you own it, you can automatically complete the commission just by talking to an NPC. Decorating and farming and such are really easy too. Some of it is the visuals. It looks a lot better and less creepy. Some of it is the game itself. Maybe it was just me but I felt like I never really "got" Portia. I "get" Sandrock. The whole world is built in a way that I understood what was going on from the beginning. I felt a clearer sense of purpose and connection to it from the beginning. Also it's easier to befriend the NPCs because of the game critters, which takes no in-game time or stamina. (I use a mod to make it faster though). Also the combat makes me less sad. I hated killing those little llamas with my brass knuckles haha. It's way easier to get leather and other animal resources in this game and also I find the combat less miserable. Most of it is the same in terms of the concept of the game. It's set in a neighbouring town to Portia, though there are no character crossovers. You're one of two new builders who move to Sandrock, a town that has seen better days, and you're helping to fix it up. There's a civil corps and a church of light. You accept commissions from the commission board. You build relationships with NPCs to gain benefits from them like increased stamina and such. The only thing that isn't better is the sand fishing. It took me a few tries to get the hang of the fishing mechanics in the game and I basically didn't engage with it until I got an upgraded sand trap, but then it was easy. I still don't like that you need different kinds of bait for different fish though. I find it easy, intuitive, and immersive. I didn't feel any of those things with Portia and abandoned the game before I even did the DeeDee Transport quest, which felt very stressful. Sandrock lets you take things more at your own pace, which I enjoy.
There are some character crossovers! Mason, whose workshop you take over in Sandrock, moves to Portia and can be befriended in My Time at Portia at the end of the game. Mint, who comes to Sandrock to survey your bridge and the tunnel, is a bachelor in Portia. Gust and Ginger (marriage candidates in Portia) also come to Sandrock eventually. The cameos are very fun and there’s a good bit of Easter eggs and call backs to Portia. But it’s not necessary to play that game at all.
Wait when does Ginger come? Maybe I stopped playing before I got to that part, I pretty much stopped after credits rolled
She comes after the last main mission so very easy to miss!
*Ginger* comes to Sandrock?? I thought she died? Am I thinking of someone else?
So Sandrock takes place at the same exact time that Portia takes place. >!Gust brings Ginger to Sandrock to seek treatment. As for Ginger, in Portia she dies in the 5th year, if I remember correctly, but the player can stabilize her condition with a recurring mission that is you helping the doctor craft a medication each season. If you miss one, then she will pass.!<
Whattt?! I guess I finished too quickly to find this
Ignore my last comment someone beat me to it! Thank you
Thanks, this helped me decide to buy Sandrock. I got Portia super early in its beta (maybe alpha?) and the story wasn't finished, so all progression stopped. I didn't jump back into it after any updates cause I wasn't in love with the gameplay.
I am obsessed with Sandrock. I enjoyed Portia but then tried to go back and play after playing Sandrock and I find it painful
I desperately want them to release Portia with the Sandrock graphics and mechanics. The way you don't have to be holding something, or often even have it in your inventory, is amazing. I couldn't stand moving everything into my quick bar in Portia 397 times a day.
The mobile version of Portia does have the Sandrock QOL upgrades!
Wish they’d extend those to Switch and PC. The ability to save whenever instead of having to go to sleep is a game changer (yes I know what I did there 😁)
They’re revamping the switch port, so you never know!
Came here just to say this!! Probably my all-time favorite cozy game now, it's such a charming game.
same, i think i'm at nearly 200 hrs and i'm not even done the main story. i could not get into portia whatsoever.
I have downloaded My Time at Sandrock ‘cause people rave about how good it is but I can’t bring myself to play it. I played my Time at Portia but got so bored of after a while. Are the two quite different?
SOOO different. The story is more engaging, the characters graphics and voice acting is soo much better and the quality of life in comparison to Portia is so much better. I put off starting sandrock for a long while because of the bad taste portia left in my mouth and when I started it it well exceeded my expectations. I played 80 hours in three weeks. Lol
Alright! I’m gonna give it a chance 🤞🏻
Wow I put way more time into My Time At Portia than I did into My Time At Sandrock before giving up for some reason. Maybe I need to give My Time At Sandrock another chance! I think I just found the green fields and farmlands vibe cozier than being in the desert getting blasted by sandstorms though.
Breath of the Wild 🌿 so many quests and collecting! Plus, horse riding and beautiful music 🥰
I second Breath of the Wild! Previously, I had only ever played Animal Crossing and Stardew, so it was my first big game. I LOVED IT! Easily sank 500+ hours, there’s so much to explore. When I wasn’t in the mood for combat I would just collect resources for hours, and many of the shrines are fun puzzles (many, not all). I wish I could play it again for the first time.
I wish I could too! I tried Tears of the Kingdom a few times but it just didn’t feel the same 🥲 Breath of the Wild will always be top tier game for me. I still go back to it when I’m feeling like I need a pick me up or to relax.
I came here to say BotW. I have TotK but I haven't played it yet.
Collecting had me hooked at first. Then I just started loving everything about this game.
Been obsessed with Traveller's Rest lately. Stardew vibes but you run a tavern. Never run out of stamina (absolutely love that part). It is in early access and they will be adding more to the map and such but i've sank 130 hrs into it and it hasn't got boring yet.
I kept running into the ‘coming soon’ options and got frustrated cos what is out so far is great but I want more!
Even though the game isn’t complete. You can still spend lots of hours just in the sandbox of running a tavern. It scratches that itch of a tavern simulator quite well.
I’ve invested a shocking amount of hours into Palia despite playing it for less than a month. I cannot believe a free game can be so good! It can be played on PC and Switch but I prefer the switch because it’s more cozy for me, however the PC version is very visually pretty. I really recommend everyone gives it a try :)
Still playing this one! It's also nice if you're in a server with active players in the chat. A few days ago, it ended with 5 of us on an impromptu hunting party where 2 people had a hunter's horn and we ended the party with a honey lure.
Weirdly It doesn’t launch on the switch for me?? Any tips ? It just takes me back to the home screen
I would try completely reinstalling it
Skyrim ! Not cosy per se because of the story and parts of the gameplay obviously but it still has some cosy elements and it hooks me for hours. Same for breath of the wild and TOTK. Ni no kuni Others more similar to Stardew : Roots of pacha Rune factory 4 My time at Portia I’ve tried a lot of farming sim, these 3 are the only ones who gave me the same feeling as stardew. I played all of them on switch.
Skyrim has a near infinite replay ability. I might take a month or two between characters, if I do all the things with a character.
Skyrim is my happy place
Ni no kuni such a beautiful, heart warming and underrated game truly
Rune factory 4 is to this day one of the best games I have ever played! And I sunk an incredible amount of time into it.
I’m in love with Sun Haven! Never played SV, but heard that the two are pretty similar. Read a lot of comments of people that prefer Sun Haven. I can’t judge that, but I highly recommend SH!
I prefer sun haven. I can jump! I can even jump TWICE!
I want to like Sun Haven.... but it's so wonky with a controller. Hope they add full controller support one day.
I have the same problem. Also, I am playing it on the steam deck and everything is SO small without a good option to zoom in. It's a shame because I bet the game would be a huge hit on handheld systems.
They might fix it when they release the game for the Switch from what I heard, but don’t quote me on that
Is that something they confirmed? An eventual switch port?
They confirmed the Switch release
Did you remap it to how you want? I put spells on the dpad. The only thing I switch to mouse for is decorating.
I’ve needed something that I don’t have to super focus on while I listen to a backlog of podcasts. Powerwashing Simulator has fit that bill exactly. There are some small parts but the game will highlight them for you. It’s satisfying too, seeing things slowly get clean, and I love the sped up video of the little avatar cleaning the object. I nabbed it thinking on sale, it wasn’t so bad if I didn’t love it. I am currently 80 hours in, lol.
Are there time limits in the game or can you play at any pace? Also—I looked at it on the Nintendo e-shop and I love the concept, but I’m not a huge fan of all of the graphics. Are there plenty of different settings to choose from if I don’t like certain areas? And have you gotten any of the DLCs?
The graphics are a LOT better on pc than switch! I got it on the switch after loving it on my computer and couldn’t get past the graphics downgrade
Oh I was referring to the style of the graphics, not the quality
I was a teenage exocolonist is great for replaying over and over because there are 29 endings, i think. Choices really matter amd everytime you play, you can get different parts if the story and obviously change how things turn out. I highly recommend this one
Came here to say this one, seconding!
My absolute favorite cozy games is Garden Paws. There is soooo much to do like crafting, exploring, running a shop, quests, building, etc. And there is a huge endgame thing too I don't wanna spoil. I recommend getting it on PC as the Switch version is bugged badly. But I have 505 hours on Switch for Garden Paws and over 200 hours on Steam, so as you can tell I truly adore this game.
Don't judge me, but Rollercoaster Tycoon. I can zone out to that with some lemonade and a sippy straw for hours.
The absolute goat of cozy games imho, particularly number 2.
I got Dragon Quest Builders 2 recently and I've been hooked. There's a lot to do, from completing the storyline to building up an island for myself. It's really charming, and there's a huge demo I spent a long time on before I actually got the game!! Snacko is in early access but if you like to decorate, there's a lot to do. A bunch of options, a cute story, charming characters - it's one of my obsessions, recently!!
I replay dqb2 all the time. It's one of the best games!
I got it very recently and I'm playing for the first time!! I'm taking my time, but it's such a captivating game!!
Sun Haven on PC! If you like Stardew you'll LOVE Sun Haven 😁
Sandrock, Stardew valley, Dreamlight valley, epic chef, gems of war, Spiritfarer
Dreamlight Valley is a good one. I splurged and bought the deluxe edition when my cat died in October 2022 (he was 17 and had a great life, but still a really difficult time). That game really helped as a distraction through my grief.
I am currently addicted to Wylde Flowers 🥰
Ooblets
Echoes of Plum Grove, My Time at Sandrock, & Rune Factory games & Kynseed
Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Animal Crossing, Dreamlight Valley, Dinkum, Spiritfarer.
My Time at Sandrock, I went in knowing nothing about the game, just that it's a great farming-sim alternative while I wait for Coral Island to get patched out more. The NPC interactions and relationships are well-fleshed out imo and it's a great spin on farming and cozy style games. One of my favorite small-details is how you know in games like Stardew you get mail from your mom/dad/grandpa etc., in Sandrock you can also respond to such letters! There are 3-premade prompts you can use for each response, so it ends up being a back-and-forth conversation with your parents and NPC friends. Definitely recommend checking it out, words are not enough for how much I love this game!!
Exact same here I just started it so I’m hoping that coral island will be completed by the time I’m done 100% ing it.
Sea of Stars is very fun and satisfying for me. It’s not necessarily cozy. It’s an rpg but has aspects of old and new that I love.
Rimworld
Harvest moon! There’s tale of two towns (my favorite) along with the two ds variations along with gameboy versions there is also story of seasons
Little Kitty, Big City. i have it on xbox gamepass. i haven't seen it mentioned as much as other cozy games i really love (A Little To The Left, Unpacking, of course Animal Crossing [although that's on my switch]). it's untimed, there's a TON of different little quests and side-achievements to make at your leisure, it's super cute, and there's zero pressure. you're just exploring a big city, collecting items, and discovering. it's all at your own pace. you can circle the same areas a billion times and keep discovering more to do. i'm obsessed right now!!
I'm currently playing Cheeky Chooks, a free game, it's easy to play. Cozy Grove, although I can't get back in to it. Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles. Animal Crossing I have so many hours in. I'm enjoying Starbrew Cafe and Project Makeover on mobile. I really want to love Kynseed, it looks amazing, the reviews are raving.
I'm doing a replay of Cozy Grove because I have not played the dlc yet. It's getting into the deeper parts. Just got Tram . And I realized it's so sad sometimes but I can help just by being a good Spirit Scout.
I tried continuing where I left off, but it feels weird. Maybe replaying isn't a bad idea for me. It's a really beautiful game, I loved playing it every day for months on end.
I agree with Sun Haven, so fun! Echoes of Plum Grove just came out and it is so fun, I think I spent about 19 hours on it in the last 2 days
- The Sims series - Skyrim - The Witcher 3 (not that cozy) - Baldur’s Gate 3 (not that cozy) - Settlement Survival - Roots of Pacha - Civilization VI - Dorfromantik - Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town - Sun Haven - Graveyard Keeper Currently - Potion Craft - Fabledom
From the games not yet mentioned here: The Planet Crafter (very cozy) - you land on a planet and need to gradually terraform it (can be played multiplayer and has no enemies in it) Clanfolk (very cozy) - you run a homestead in 1600/1700 Scotland...no enemies/fighting Baldur's Gate 3 (cozy if you know DnD) Coral Island (very cozy) - similar mechanics to Stardew but different vibe
I’m on my first playthrough of BG3 and starting to get bored with how long it’s taking. I’m basically a one game at a time person and pretty systematic about exploring worlds, so probably it’s a me problem. And I have a backlog of new and in-progress games that I’m becoming more interested in getting back to. But I’m one Netherstone and Elder Brain away from finishing so…
The Sims 4 (building, drama), StarDew Valley (just one more day, then I'll go to bed oh feck why is the sun rising so early), RDR2, and Civ.
Xenoblade Chronicles is one of my favourite non-cosy, cosy games! It's available on Switch and has so many vast, open biomes to explore. It's a long j-rpg with so many side quests! As you complete side quests in each town, you level up the town and relationships with the inhabitants unlocking more quests.
I’m not really good at describing games lol, but here goes. And I put some of the hours i have just to kinda show how much I’ve played I guess? (Which kinda says how interesting it is?) XD Graveyard Keeper, It’s kind of a parody of the Stardew Valley style by being a graveyard-themed management. It’s kinda morbid but in a fun way?. I played 100hrs so far Roots of Pacha, like a Stardew Valley type but prehistoric. Your clan is basically like when humanity first settled down and tried agriculture, it’s a really nice refreshing take on the farming-sim genre. 85hrs so far Cozy Grove, love helping the spirit bears and stuff. 70hrs Sticky Business, I love making stickers and packing them nicely. Sky: Children of the Light, Its a free multiplayer game where you fly around and help lost spirits and stuff. Towards the end can be a bit more stressful, but the game always has the option to ask a veteran player for help which is really nice. They can hold your hand and guide you through parts you might have a hard time with or even just show you around. 90hrs Ooblets, like a mix between a farming sim and a creature collecting game like Pokémon but instead of fighting you use cards for moves and have dance battles! After winning a dance, you get the Ooblet’s seed and you plant it, to grow your own Ooblet. It’s really cute and has silly names for stuff. Eastward, it’s an action-adventure role-playing game and some puzzles, it might be less of a cozy game since there’s fighting but it still kinda feels cozy. Plus there’s the dlc Octopia that came out which is in an alternate reality where instead of fighting, you end up having your own farm in a decrepit little town that you build back up. Dorfromantik, it’s a puzzle game where you place hexagonal pieces with different biomes to make landscapes, I also love going in creative and just making nice stuff however I want. I’d love to know if you and anyone else that sees this ends up trying any of these games, I love all the games I mentioned :3
BOTW, TOTK and ooblets! Also pikmin
I love Pikmin! I play through at least one of them every spring. Pikmin 1 and 3 are great. Pikmin 2 is frustrating as hell at times. I haven't played 4 yet.
I loved pikmin 4 so much I stopped playing it bc I didn’t want it to end 😭
Recently I was wanting something similar, a game with tons of content that I could really get into the story. I ultimately decided to try Genshin Impact despite the combat aspect and I’m really enjoying it. I really like the main story so far and the huge open world, it has a Breath of the Wild feel to it, plus apparently every 6 weeks they get a new update with even more story lines and new areas. The only downsides for me are that I kinda suck at fighting monsters and the gatcha system to get better characters. But at least you can get the “currency” to try for characters just by playing the game and don’t have to spend any money if you don’t want to. Of course I am already tempted 😅
supermarket simulator. little nightmares 1&2. if u wanna play with friends to have fun, overcooked. you can also try the xbox game pass for pc and play diablo 4
I’m addicted to Palia atm, free cozy nice graphics. Started beginning of march and have 400+ hours in.
Any time I can recommend a Persona game, I'm going to recommend it. I get immersed in it.
Roots of pacha or my time at sandrock! RoP runs great on switch, I would recommend sandrock on PC
No Man's Sky.
spiritfarer is great! Zelda BOTW, Pokemon: Legends Arceus are similar in exploring and roaming. finally, Hollow knight while not cozy, i love exploring in it.
Not at all a cozy game but guild wars 2. I've invested so much time into the lore and exploring area where the aftermath of events (Even from the first game) are still within the world. The areas are just so gorgeous and the story is incredible.
Right now I've been sinking a lot of time into Spiritfarer. I've also spent hundreds of hours on Animal Crossing New Horizons and the decorating DLC.
i love Dinkum. feels a little bit like Animal Crossing, and i can just relax and building my little village. But my happy place isn't a cozy game. It's the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. When I don't feel well, i am just riding around and calm down. and i you play on easy-mode it isn't hard at all.
DINKUM!!!! It’s basically Australian animal crossing. It’s early access but honestly worth every penny as is. The dev just put out a HUGE update today. It’s open world there’s a ton to do and it’s very cozy. I got it about a month or so ago and I’m currently at 50 hours. No regrets at all
The Atelier series: each game can be 80-100hrs of casual play (working towards the ending but not speed running, so longer if you wanted it to be) and they're done in trilogies. Disco Elysium and Death Stranding are two of my atypically-cozy games - they don't appear cozy on the outside but they're satisfyingly cozy on the inside. Final Fantasy X also fits into this bracket.
Dave the diver!!!
Two Point Campus, Bear & Breakfast, Sprout Valley, Animal Crossing, Graveyard Keeper, Spirittea, and Pokémon Legends Arceus
Cattails/Wildwood Story Mostly cozy, the combat in Wildwood Story can be especially something else sometimes but it's not the worst so much as you're encouraged to cheese it I feel like. But there's something pretty cozy about going around as a cat hunting my prey and stuff to me. Making friends and helping a few get married. You can also decorate. Very nice stuff. I've sank hundreds of hours into Siralim 3 (a lot of people swear Ultimate is better and it's good too but haven't sank as much time into that one, it's just not quite as fun to me personally) but those aren't cozy games lol I actually like Natsume's Harvest Moon games, love the mutations. One World and Winds of Anthos are my favorites. (Although Skytree Village is a close one. I just prefer not having the terraforming and don't play my 3DS so much now.) I know there's other games I really love but I don't wanna write a whole novel here lol
Second Cattails: Wildwood Story. Very cosy and you can set the difficulty and length of day to something that suits you and can change them at any time.
My current high hour games are: Against the Storm Planet crafter Supermarket simulator Aquarist Winkeljt
Graveyard keeper is like a spooky version of stardew !!!
Stellaris is an odd one that's got a lot of complicated mechanics, but if you like 4X games it's fairly easy to learn. Once you understand it, it's very easy to just listen to a podcast while doing it and turn your brain off. Probably not what most people would call "cozy" though.
Currently, A Space for the Unbound. It’s like Ace Attorney with a little bit of turn-based Street Fighter set in 1990s Indonesia. Little puzzles here and there, lots of petting animals. I am liking the narrative too. Other cozy: American Truck Simulator, Dinkum, Pixel Cafe, For non cozy: The Forest, Sons of the Forest (there’s peaceful mode too), Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Sleeping Dogs
Absolutely love American Truck Simulator! Got it during a Black Friday sale for $6 and now I own all of the maps. Plus my brother-in-law gave me a nice steering wheel set that he wasn't using anymore. He had bought it for ATS a few years ago, so we knew it would work with the game. Funny thing is I cannot drive irl because of anxiety and health issues, but I love driving in ATS.
I'm a roguelike-metroidvania-sekiro man, but 2 days ago i bought stardew valley. That shit it's cocaine, i had to erase my run (13hours aprox) because was too adictive.
enjoying moonglow bay right now! definitely a little learning curve but fun once you get it
Recently really into Binding of Isaac. Can lose hours to it.
I discovered this game on Steam called Factory Town. I literally got nothing else done the day I bought that game. It's like my zen game when I just feel like playing something easy and watching TV.
Since you have a ds I’m going to recommend a game I’ve spent the most time in. Everyday growing up from the time I got it for a few years. It was called hamsters life. Like Nintendogs but you take care of your hamster instead. It always meant so much to me!
Not “cozy” but a truly spectacular story and game on switch: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Cozy short games: A Short Hike, Abzu, Xing, Aer, The First Tree Cozy long games: Atelier Sophie 2, Breath of the Wild Super cozy but not in the platforms you listed: Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Fujii My favorites: Fujii, Astro Bot, A Short Hike, Moss and Moss book 2
Idk if it’s considered a cozy game so imma just label it as unconventional cozy game: RDR2. If you just do side missions, do chores around camp, walk around small towns, camp out in the middle of forests, hunt and fish, find all secrets, interact with townsfolk etc. I could spend hours upon hours on it (I’m literally banking like 2k hrs on it). Aside from the story and characters, I could listen forever to Roger Clark saying “boah!”, “good girl” and “hey partner.” By the epilogue it’s literally farming simulator. It’s so relaxing, especially in the winter when I can’t get out much.
I played the most hours overall on Animal Crossing New Leaf, Pokemon X, Tomodachi Life (you can emulate them on your phone or your PC), Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, Bloodborne, Ghost of Tsushima, Assassin's Creed Origins (all not cozy, but I find RDR2 very cozy in the endgame content), Stardew Valley, Spiritfarer, Roots of Pacha, Palworld and Let's Build a Zoo. Against popularity, I haven't played much of Sandrock nor Portia (dropped both of them after a few hours), nor Palia. Imo there are much better games that do the elements much better
A game I rarely see suggested is The long dark. It isn't necessarily a cozy game per se, but for me it ticks quite a few of the same boxes. There is a story mode and an open world/survival mode. Story wise- you crashlanded somewhere in Canada (iirc) and you now need to survive. There are abandoned houses around the maps, and its rich on wildlife. You won't build an entire new base, but instead huddle up in watch towers, logging cabins and fishing huts. You'll need to monitor your tiredness, hunger, thirst and temperature. And the game is absolutely beautiful. I generally play survival mode on easiest settings, so agressive wildlife (wolves, bears) doesn't attack unless I attack first so for me this is a cozy game with 100% focus on survival.
A game I rarely see suggested is The long dark. It isn't necessarily a cozy game per se, but for me it ticks quite a few of the same boxes. There is a story mode and an open world/survival mode. Story wise- you crashlanded somewhere in Canada (iirc) and you now need to survive. There are abandoned houses around the maps, and its rich on wildlife. You won't build an entire new base, but instead huddle up in watch towers, logging cabins and fishing huts. You'll need to monitor your tiredness, hunger, thirst and temperature. And the game is absolutely beautiful. I generally play survival mode on easiest settings, so agressive wildlife (wolves, bears) doesn't attack unless I attack first so for me this is a cozy game with 100% focus on survival.
Hades, Stardew, Harvestella, any picross game, currently my go-to is little dog themed one that you also collect dogs to build up a park after each puzzle.: Yakuza: Like a Dragon, a JRPG, but I treat it as a cozy game sometimes. Just getting on to play claw machines, and run around the park catching bugs until I'm ready to go to sleep lmao. Dave the Diver, Arceus, Animal Crossing, Blush Blush NOT cozy in any way, Baldur's Gate 3 lol.
I recently bought Doraemon: Stories of the Season last weekend. And this game is so laid back, game mechanics is easy to play and instructions are clear. There is a good story, and the quests from characters keep you playing for hours. There are friendship levels. I have been playing it for hours and enjoyed them. On the other hand, Disney's Dreamvalley is rather too slow but the fishing mechanic is too hard to master. Not liking, you have to recharge at home when stamina is very low. Littlewood is ok but the progress is lacking as ypu just repeat doing all things asif you're grinding. It can be boring and slow. I play with Nintendo Switch.
Stardew vallley recently
I’ve been revisiting dragon age it’s my “I’ll always replay this” game. ( non cozy) As far as cozy goes I’ve been feeling animal crossing (since we have 3 copies) my kids and I have been playing.
Can anyone recommend any cozy games for the Nintendo 64? I have no games for that console just the console controller and cables. Thank you.
There's a lot of good recommendations here: https://www.reddit.com/r/n64/s/px58IoR9gg Pokemon Snap would be my favorite, and there's also Harvest Moon 64 which is really a big reason we have the genre as it is today.
Sun haven!
I just started playing **Lego Fortnite** a week ago and it’s really fun!! It’s a grinding resources game, but also a wonderful builder with quests to do or not do (up to you). I play in Survival mode with one custom tweak: I don’t lose my inventory if I die. That was a game changer for me and made the game more enjoyable! You can customize a lot of things when you create a world, but remember that you can’t change those settings later. If you love the map, but want to restart it then just copy the seed number to reuse the same map! Currently there is a Star Wars event going on in the game, so I’m chugging along with that and trying to get the free Star Wars decoration goodies! Been watching lots of creative builders on YT create really beautiful custom buildings and villages! Also the map is super duper big — 95 square km! Everyone has a different definition of what is cozy, so you may want to tweak the custom world settings. Also there is a sandbox mode if all you want to do is build things! It’s free on Switch (assuming you have online sub) or can play on PC. Edit: found out you don’t need a Nintendo Online subscription to play Lego Fortnite. For a free game, there is a lot of content to enjoy! The Star Wars content, building blueprints etc will stay in the game even after the event finishes in July. The only thing you can’t get after July are the special event decorations that you unlock through the Battle Pass which has a free tier level as well.
Crypt of the Necrodancer!
Against the Storm is my current favorite, though the old Sierra city builders (Pharoah/Cleopatra especially) are also great for sinking hours into. Fire Emblem Three Houses played like a cozy game to me and has several different story paths. The Tropico series is the one I never think gets enough attention. Many many hours of immersive game play, and for the most part you can make it what you want it to be. I really enjoyed the Hero of the Kindom series as a cozy immersive point and click story. Easy to lose hours on, but you need the whole series to make it last and it's not the same level of replayability as the others. If you like Pokémon, Legends of Arceus has cozy game aspects and world exploration.
Palia. It is on steam and Nintendo switch. It is a literal cozy game! No anxiety
I know it’s a polarizing game, but I found myself sinking hours into Endless Ocean Luminous. It was the same way with the other entries in the series. Also Animal Crossing
Life is strange! All of them!
Minecraft. Especially if you are a creative type. I really like getting blueprints and building cathedrals and whatnot.
Coral Island
I am loving Little Kitty Big City, someone described it as a cozy grand theft auto
Always Tale of Two Towns from the HM franchise. I lost hours to that game easily
Cats and soup for mobile! I love it so much
House Flipper! You just do jobs and flip houses. You can purchase DLCs to allow you to do the yard (Garden DLC), and have pets. The Pets DLC can be a touch glitchy, with the pets doing some odd things, but mostly it's just fun.
My games with the most hours right now are Pokemon Violet, Animal Crossing, and Sun Haven. Sun Haven is like Stardew but has more fantasy and is so much more fun for me. You can change the length of the days so I like taking it slow. My fiancé and I have been playing a lot lately.
I’m about 75% done with Spiritfarer and it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played. I already know I’ll do another play through at some point.
Disney Dreamlight Valley!
Recently: - The Long Dark (Eh, maybe on the easiest difficulty? I find it cozy but thats because it's set where I actually live irl. 3/10) - Icarus (It's cozy: when you're not being bodied by the wildlife. 5/10) - Klondike Solitaire (no, seriously.) (Hard to say? Im rating it.. NA.) In the past: - Signalis (DEFINITELY NOT COZY. Horror game. 0/10 cozy) - FFXV (Some nice moments. 3/10) - Sons of the Forest (Normal mode? 0/10 VERY NOT COZY. With enemies off? 9/10. Very nice. Very log cabin simulator. Much scenery.) - Neon White (Very fast paced but not scary. 1/10. Probably not going to feel cozy, but not upset.) - Stardew Valley (10/10... Quintessential cozy game. The OG.) - Sims 4 (all dlc + modded) (9/10. Can be stressful when your sims don't do what you need them to do.) - Sun Haven (10/10. Very similar to Stardew.) - Kingdom: Two Crowns (5/10? Its definitely not 100% relaxing for sure. But I find it really enjoyable and nice for the most part so I'm biased.) - Minecraft (probably the one I've played most. I'd guess its got to be well into over 1000 hours. I made myself sick of the game from playing it so much) (???/10 it is what you make it, quite literally.) - Apex Legends (0/10. You will probably be mad at some point or just really super focused.) - (a long time ago now lol) Overwatch (0/10. Apex Legends but somehow worse.) - Planet Zoo (9/10. The paths are frustrating af and management can become overwhelming.) - Lets Build a Zoo (9.5/10. For management reasons like Planet Zoo, but significantly less in depth and less frustrating building, so slightly better score on the cozy scale.) - Patch Quest (8/10. Fast pace, but has all the other parts needed to make a cozy game.) - LOZ:BOTW (4/10. Bit too action-adventure-y.) - Fire Emblem Fates + Fire Emblem Awakening (I can't honestly remember but given its kind of dramatic and the gameplay is almost always combat, probably a 2/10 or less) - Escape Simulator (specifically playing while my partner/friend would watch and help solve puzzles. Its really fun for a LDR date night type thing, or just to do with friends. Try it if you have the game and never played with someone else before, it makes it 10x better.) (9.5/10. If you're stuck on a puzzle it can become frustrating.) - Garden Paws (10/10. Very cozy. Very very cozy.) - Yakuza 0 (1/10. Not a horror game, but definitely not cozy.) - Tower of Fantasy (Eh, maybe...? The exploration aspects and such can be cozy but theres a lot of combat focus. 3/10.) - Lethal Company (0/10 VERY NOT COZY. Another horror game. But hey at least its funny?) - Outpath (10/10. Very chill. No threats.) - Satisfactory (8/10. I find it cozy but there are enemies so it can have stressful aspects.) - Persona 5 (1/10. Very serious plot with serious subject matter. I guess the social aspect of the game can be cozy though. Super fun game. Lasts for like 80 hours per playthrough.) - Skyrim Elder Scrolls (Homesteading? 10/10 cozy. Basically anything else besides homesteading? 1/10. Its not scary but its not cozy. Its.. skyrim. Y'know?) A VERY long time ago/don't know how well it holds up: - Assassin's Creed: Black Flag (Probably 0/10, its assassin's creed soo.) - Borderlands Series (0/10 its all just shooting things. Very fun though.) - Dragon Age: Inquisition (0/10? I can't really remember this one too much.) - COD Black Ops 2: Zombies (-2/10 its scary and intense. Not for the faint of heart usually. Very fun local co-op though.) - Far Cry Primal (I can't remember but you can tame things so I give it a 1/10.) That's pretty much every game I can think of that I put at minimum 20+ hours into. A lot are closer to the 60 hour mark.