Stardew Valley has a lot to answer for. It may be an excellent game and the pinnacle of the farming sim genre, but it kicked off nearly a decade of every indie developer under the sun trying their hand at a cozy farming sim game. Now don't get me wrong, there's a lot of great stuff that's come from that, but it's also been quite tiring seeing every Nintendo Direct filled with at least four of the things.
Besides, in the years since Stardew, the cozy game scene has expanded beyond the need for farming, and plenty of other cute concepts have charmed their way into our hearts. We've put together a list of cozy games with high ratings on platforms like Steam and review score aggregators like Metacritic that focus on something other than farming as their main gameplay.
Coffee Talk
While running a real coffee shop may be a tad more stressful than this, in this fantasy world you get to sit back, pour some drinks, and chat with your patrons in a shop that will make you feel warm just looking at it. Alongside some fun brewing stuff, you get to learn the stories of some wonderful characters who all have interesting tales to tell.
Unpacking
It's hard to find unique ways to tell stories, but Unpacking is one of the most creative examples in recent years. Unpack a person's things every time they move house throughout their life, from their childhood bedroom, to their college dorm, to their forever home with the love of their life. Through the process of taking their stuff out of boxes and organizing it all nicely, you slowly learn the story of this person's life, and there are a few moments that can hit you hard in a way you'll never see coming.
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Driving big trucks may not sound cozy on the surface, but when you're cruising along, low-fi beats in your headphones, and just the small patter of rain coming from outside the truck, you'll quickly come around. Aside from the AI traffic occasionally going mad, you'll be able to sit back and relax on long-haul journeys while you let your audio of choice wash over you in the background.
Coin Pusher Casino
I don't care how niche this is, I adore it. Coin Pusher games in arcades are great, but the requirement to constantly put real money in the machine is heavily limiting. Putting it in the digital space is perfect then, as I can keep going forever, and have fun with all kinds of weird and wonderful machines, the likes of which real arcades would never dream of building. It's a great way to pass the time and you'll be hooked for longer than you realise.
Spiritfarer
Sailing the seas will always be a peaceful experience, especially as you grow your ship over time to go further and further into the beyond. What makes Spiritfarer special though is the stories of the people who join you on your boat, all of whom are on their final journey. It's your job to see them through their final business and eventually guide them to where they can pass on into the afterlife. It can be a sad game at times, but the sweet stories you'll encounter along the way are worth it.
A Short Hike
A nice walk on a bright summer's day can soothe the soul, but if you don't have anywhere nice to walk to nearby, this game will do instead. You'll slowly wander up to the peak in this park and along the way you'll encounter all sorts of friendly faces, giving you just a small peak into their lives. It may not be super in-depth, but it has a nice soothing sensation as you play it like all is right in the world.
My Time At Sandrock
Ok, I'll admit this game does have a bit of farming in it, but it's almost entirely optional. Instead in Sandrock, you're a builder who's moving into a desert town to try and make it better than ever. You'll be helping out the residents, fixing problems that arise, and building grand new projects to put this little town on the map.
Haven
Love is often presented as a very complex thing in video games, and it is, but Haven takes a more optimistic approach. The couple that takes center stage in Haven is an idealized, yet still fairly realistic depiction of what a mutually beneficial and loving relationship is like, and it uses that idea to tell a really heartwarming story. It's not always smooth sailing between them, but you come away really feeling their connection as they wander this strange world together and clean it up of the pollution that's harming it.
Sayonara Wild Hearts
Sayonara Wild Heart's upbeat pop track might be a bit of a step away from low-fi beats to study to, but it still feels cozy with its bright visual style and catchy tunes. The gameplay can get intense at times, but it's in a no-pressure environment, the consequences of failure are minimal and you still get to move along and experience the excellent story of overcoming heartbreak it presents.
House Flipper
House Flipper and its sequel are cozy games in two ways, depending on how you prefer to play. In one respect, you can switch your brain off and simply fulfill tasks as you renovate these run-down shacks into nice houses for people to live in. Alternatively, you can let your creative muscles flourish as you design the home of your dreams thanks to all the great tools the game gives you. Of course, there's a happy middle ground in there as well, and once you sink into it, hundreds of hours will have passed without you noticing.
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