Guide
The best games you (probably) didn't play in 2024
by Philipp Rüegg
The 20 best cosy games
16.5.2025
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Cosy games are booming, so I’ve picked out 20 titles that allow you to slow down a bit while farming, hiking or fishing.
Video games can captivate with exciting stories, craft puzzling brainteasers or challenge competitive spirits in multiplayer. It’s all entertaining, but not necessarily relaxing. Fortunately, there’s now a separate genre of so-called cosy games that encourage you to switch off with their comfy content.
Since I always enjoy firing up a farming simulator or philosophising about anything and everything over virtual coffee and cake, I’d like to introduce you to my 20 favourites. The selection should be especially relaxing, easily available and show the variety in this young genre. It’s also why this list of cosy games follows no particular order.
Stardew Valley
The 2D farming simulator from solo developer Eric Barone is a prime example of the quality and popularity of cosy games. It contributed significantly to the success of farming games. Stardew Valley has sold over 41 million copies across all platforms since its release in 2016. All deserved: the game is easy to get into and can be played for hours on end.
In the game, your deceased grandfather bequeaths you his farm, where you start a new life. You carry out typical farming tasks such as growing crops or managing livestock, but can also quench your thirst for adventure in mines full of monsters. You might even find the love of your life among the villagers, starting your own family with them. The cherry on the Stardew Valley cake is the numerous free updates that have filled the basic game with content since release. Since spring 2024, for example, I can finally drink mayonnaise instead of just selling it or using it for cooking.
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
My Time at Sandrock
The start of My Time at Sandrock sounds anything but cosy. You, a craftswoman, find yourself in a post-apocalyptic world 330 years after the Day of Calamity. Your aim is to spruce up the run-down, eponymous town. In addition to life on the farm, you build machines to drive dangerous monsters out of Sandrock. The game’s ability system gives the battles more depth than Stardew Valley, for example. The side quests various residents give you are different too. Through them, you get to know their interesting personalities better.
My Time at Sandrock goes in a similar direction to Stardew Valley, but moves the gameplay into the third dimension – and does so successfully. Indie studio Pathea Games has released the game as a successor to My Time at Portia and polished the principle that already worked. This is also the reason why many fans of coziness are eagerly awaiting the next instalment, My Time at Evershine, which the developers have scheduled for release in spring 2026.
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Slime Rancher 2
Slime Rancher 2 is a farming simulator with a twist. Instead of plants and farm animals, cute slime creatures await breeding. To do this, you explore different areas in search of new specimens, capture them, lock them in an enclosure and feed them so they produce lumps of slime – so-called Plorts. You sell these in turn to buy better equipment and optimise your slime breeding.
What puts Slime Rancher 2 from indie developer Monomi Park on the same level as farming icon Stardew Valley is the simplified gameplay, which feels more chill than other representatives of the genre. Happy hormones are guaranteed, because you don’t need a complex sprinkler system or a well-planned yard for rewarding results. Instead, working directly with the slimes takes up a lot of time. I spent fewer hours in Slime Rancher 2 than in Stardew Valley, but I enjoyed them all the more. One big bonus was the cute slimes that I enjoyed exploiting raising. Slime Rancher 2 is in Early Access and constantly receiving new content.
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Fields of Mistria
Fields of Mistria is already so promising at the beginning of its Early Access that I’m excited about the future of the game from NPC Studio. As a classic farming simulator with monster fights in mines, it impresses with its anime look, colourful village life and satisfying level options. You can talk to the villagers individually to get to know them, then go to the tavern on Friday evenings and experience unique stories. For example, some children will try to involve you in their plan to snoop on the local supplier to see what kind of goods he deals in. Of course, I’m in!
At 30 hours, the scope of Fields of Mistria is currently manageable compared to Stardew Valley. Nevertheless, this game just clicked and found a fan in me.
Platform: PC
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
When discussing which game brought the cosy genre to life, the name Animal Crossing: New Horizons is often mentioned. On release at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, Nintendo’s life simulator was a welcome change during a time of uncertainty and quarantine. The adventure begins on a remote island. Anthropomorphic animals become your neighbours, and your only goal is to earn money to pay off your ever-expanding house.
You decide for yourself how to earn money. You can catch new insects or fish at any time of the year, either selling them or donating them to the museum. Alternatively, invest your savings in turnips and wait for a particularly good selling price in the village store, just like share prices. In New Horizons, you can design your island as you wish and create a park or decorate the village square your way. All those animal neighbours aren’t exactly profound, but they’re super cute. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is full of classic Nintendo charm and makes life on a desert island cosier than ever before.
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Disney Dreamlight Valley is a childhood dream come true. In this official (!) Disney game, you find yourself in a magical valley inhabited by heroes and villains from Disney films. Completing different quests with their own, sometimes truly intriguing stories, you attract more inhabitants to your village so they can run a café or sell tools, for example.
The loop of Disney Dreamlight Valley is similar to other cosy games. While completing orders made by Mickey, Donald and the like, you can decorate the village or mine resources such as precious metals. The highlight of Disney Dreamlight Valley is clearly the beloved childhood characters and replayability. As a live service game, it regularly receives new content, most recently the Alice in Wonderland update in April 2025, which added a brand new area with its own events and quests, Alice and the Cheshire Cat.
If you like the idea of a live service cosy game but don’t like the Disney brand, the two alternative games Hello Kitty Island Adventure and Infinity Nikki are worth a look.
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Spiritfarer
Spiritfarer is a cosy game that’ll conjure a tear or two. In the role of ferrywoman Stella, you accompany ghosts on their way to the afterlife. To do this, you pimp your boat to make it a comfortable place of transition.
You complete typical cosy tasks such as growing plants, fishing, cooking and adventures in the form of mine visits. All this in a cosy atmosphere with a certain melancholy always resonating. The spirits you accompany into the afterlife set tasks. Fulfil them, and get to know them better. This in turn makes a later, final farewell all the more difficult. Spiritfarer achieves an impressive balancing act between coziness and the sadness that comes with loss, particularly suitable for cosy gamers who want to be emotionally involved.
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android on Netflix
Coffee Talk
There are few things cosier than relaxing with a cup of coffee or tea and chatting about whatever. And that’s exactly your job in Coffee Talk – in addition to providing the coffee in question. As a barista, you listen to your customers’ problems and, ideally, solve them with the right drink.
Coffee Talk follows everyday human life closely, despite the café’s supernatural visitors such as elves and aliens. From dramatic love stories between different species to an alien who wants to understand us humans better, the clientele is a colourful mix.
My only criticism of the game is its presentation as a visual novel. Reading stories takes up most of the playing time. Studio Toge Productions released the sequel Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly in 2023, and another spin-off of the cosy café simulator, Coffee Talk Tokyo, is set to be released this year.
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Dorfromantik
In Dorfromatik, you line up hexagonal tiles and use them to build a constantly growing world. Your aim: to place the fields with rivers, forests and villages in such a way that you’ll receive points for completing missions and thus beat your high score.
The strategic gameplay is wonderfully relaxing. In addition, the board game look evokes nostalgic memories of childhood days and makes for cosy hours of tile laying. It’s all the more ingenious as a result that Dorfromantik has now also been published as a real board game.
The developers at Berlin studio Toukana Interactive didn’t expect this at the start of Early Access. Fellow editor Philipp found out how the success story of this cosy game from a neighbouring country has progressed since then in his interview.
Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, physical board game
Wanderstop
The fact that Davey Wreden is the director and writer behind The Stanley Parable and The Beginner’s Guide is noticeable in Wanderstop – albeit differently. This cosy game questions genre conventions. «Is it really so relaxing to plan the optimisation of a farm down to the smallest detail and implement it with hours of grind?» That, or it simply removes your fancy decorations. After all, all beauty is fleeting, no?
Despite criticising familiar conventions, the gameplay loop in Wanderstop consists of the usual cosy elements. You support store owner Boro by serving tea to guests. To do this, you slip into the role of Alta, who suffers from burnout after years of success as a fighter. Boro supports her by giving her a job where she plants and processes tea leaves. When she serves tea to customers, she listens to their stories and takes on tasks. In the process, she gets to know herself and learns that she shouldn’t always take everything so seriously. Davey Wreden has drawn on his own experiences with burnout, which makes the story all the more relatable.
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
The Sims 4
Released in 2014, The Sims 4 is the oldest game on this list and was released long before the rise of cosy games. Nevertheless, the life simulator is still up-to-date despite competition such as Inzoi. The base game has been available as a free download since 2022. Expansion packs, sets, bundles and the like are also still being released on a regular basis.
In The Sims 4, you play out real life. You create human Sims characters and decorate their houses down to the smallest detail. That’s not all, you also lead their entire lives. You can create Sims who choose a career as an astronaut and fly to the moon. Alternatively, they can experience running their own restaurant. You can build it all yourself as you wish.
The simulation is full of humorous elements such as Santa Claus and the Grim Reaper. It’s what makes the probably most popular life simulator with over 85 million sales so charming.
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
PowerWash Simulator
PowerWash Simulator is representative of the many simulator games where you pursue real professions and activities and which have an almost meditative effect. In this game, you take on jobs and use a pressure washer to remove dirt from a wide variety of locations. You invest money earned in better equipment that allows you to pressure wash even more efficiently.
That’s it. The systematic spraying away of dirt, uncovering houses, interiors, playgrounds, etc. is immensely satisfying. It’s even more fun when you use the DLCs to clean up well-known locations from works such as Shrek, Spongebob Squarepants or Back to the Future.
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Meta Quest (VR)
Tiny Glade
Tiny Glade makes constructing buildings and villages feel both cosy and aesthetically pleasing. There’s no goal in this debut title from two-person studio Pounce Light. In the free game, you build castles and other buildings from the Middle Ages. The landscape adapts to your wishes. If you raise ground under a castle, a slope with a staircase is automatically created underneath. If you draw a road through a fence, an arch automatically appears above it. Tiny Glade adapts to your ideas, and your creations will look fancier than ever before.
With Tiny Glade, expect a pure building game and no simulator à la The Sims 4, no story and no missions. Simply switch off and conjure up a beautiful castle. If you want to do anything else, you’ll be disappointed. The limited scope is my only point of criticism.
Platform: PC
Sticky Business
Relaxation doesn’t always have to take place on a farm or on faraway islands. Sometimes it’s relaxing to pursue creativity. That’s the principle behind Sticky Business: you run a sticker business. You fulfil your customers’ orders by preparing their requests and designing custom stickers. You’re given complete creative freedom, unlike in real life.
If you also scribbled in far too many notebooks during your time at school, Sticky Business could be the ideal creative way to relax. The creative freedom is supplemented with rudimentary management elements. It’s just missing some interesting characters and varied gameplay mechanics.
Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch
Dredge
In Dredge, you play a fisherman who earns his daily bread by fishing for sea creatures and treasures. You invest money in better equipment for your boat, allowing you to travel further and discover new islands. As befits a fishing game, the fishing mini-game is fun and offers variety along with exploration and managing your inventory and equipment.
As a horror fan, what I particularly like about Dredge is the slightly menacing undertone of the fishing simulator. If you don’t dock at a harbour in time before sunset, your mind will play tricks on you and conjure up sea monsters that want a piece of you. Still, lacking any shock moments or scary scenes, Dredge always remains creepy in a cosy way.
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, iPad
Untitled Goose Game
When Untitled Goose Game was released in 2019, the fun goose simulator spread like wildfire through the gaming landscape. The whimsical sandbox idea of a goose terrorising its surroundings struck a chord with players and the trade press alike.
Even the description by the developers at House House is delightful. You play a horrible goose who lives in a town full of people it hates. In the game, you complete missions and steal a child’s remote-controlled aeroplane, for example, or let all the rainwater run out of a gardener’s barrel. Since Untitled Goose Game is a sandbox, you can try out a lot of things. The best thing about it: there’s a dedicated button to make your goose honk to annoy or scare people. Guaranteed feathery fun!
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Lil Gator Game
For me, 3D platformers are among the most enjoyable games of all. Playfully exploring new areas by means of cool jumping interludes, coupled with hidden items, is easy and satisfies the collector in me. Lil Gator Game is an extra cosy 3D platformer.
Playing a cute, anthropomorphic alligator, you want to attract the attention of your big sister and explore islands whose inhabitants give you various quests. This provides variety between the platform sequences with one or two mini-games.
Incidentally, Lil Gator Game also scores points with the little ones. At least fellow editor Philipp and his children had a good time with it:
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Hidden Folks
Hidden Folks is Where’s Wally? in video game form.
Only in Hidden Folks, you’re not looking for Wally, but different people, animals or objects within 32 hand-drawn areas. The more than 2,000 custom sound effects that trigger with your clicks are particularly charming. Its two developers Adriaan de Jongh and Sylvain Tegroeg recorded every one themselves.
Some spin-offs such as the 100 Hidden Cats series are also free.
Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android
Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation
When Animal Crossing is mixed with a classic anime and summer vacation atmosphere, the result is Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation. Young Shin-chan is a real brat and regularly drives his parents crazy. In 2002, he started showing his butt on TV with a so-called butt boogie-woogie. In the Japanese original, Shin-chan is a little more harmless and has a lot of cosy and slightly supernatural adventures.
Same goes for Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation. Shin-chan and his family visit an old friend in a rural region of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Suddenly, dinosaurs appear and it’s up to Shin-chan to find out how this is possible. In between, he gets to enjoy the summer holiday and do everyday cosy tasks such as collecting insects and fish, as well as doing morning exercises with the family. Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation makes you feel like you’re on holiday in Japan as a kid.
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch
Firewatch
The creative minds behind the first The Walking Dead from Telltale Games have joined forces for the first title from twelve-person development team Campo Santo. The result is a walking simulator with rudimentary gameplay and a profound, captivating story.
You control Henry, who takes a job as a fire warden in a national park in the summer of 1989. You’re alone in the wilderness, except for your contact person, another Firekeeper named Delilah. At least until a stranger vandalises your watchtower one evening and you track him down with Delilah’s help via walkie-talkie. You learn more about Henry and the reasons why he voluntarily chose to work far away from civilisation. The plot may not always be cosy, but the walks in the forest in the evening at sunset are all the more so.
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Cassie Mammone
Freelance Editor
cassie.mammone.freelance@gmail.comI wrote my first text about video games when I was eight years old. I haven't been able to stop since. The rest of my time is spent on my love for 2D husbandos, monsters, my cats and sport.
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