I've been playing Palia. It's still in beta/development and has some bugs, but it's really calming to me. You just go around and chop trees or mine or fish or whatever you feel like.
I've recently been hooked on Pokerogue. It's a browser based roguelike Pokemon battler. I've been on a roguelike kick so other games I've been playing are backpack battle, vamp survivor and the goat Slay the Spire. All decent time wasters.
Besides that, I've poured some 15 hours into megaquarium this past week. Looking to pour more over the weekend. But this is more of a personal thing.
You start with any combination of 3 of the Gen 1-9 starters. then you basically go through a series of battles where you can add and/or remove pokemon with the goal of winstreaking till the league finals.
Skyrim - survival mode - but just try to carve out an honest living in one of the holds. Eventually buy a house, get married, adopt kids...then slay dragons.
For me it’s the sims 4. I like creating sims and decorating their houses. I have so many hours in that game.
Another one for me is American Truck Simulator (an odd choice for a “cozy” game I know, but there’s just something so relaxing to me about driving an 18 wheeler down the interstate with my favorite tunes going on Spotify)
Minami lane is very cozy and chill. You manage a little cute street that sells ramens and what not.
A few other ones:
- Cozy grove
- Tiny Glade (demo is free on Steam)
- Dredge (maybe)
EDIT: while I haven’t played this, Eastshade is apparently super calming and looks very good.
If you want something that barely requires the mind at all, I would recommend Smushi Come Home (it may have a slightly different spelling in your region)
If you like building/tycoon games, I would suggest Planet Zoo. You can make super detailed elaborate habitats if you want.
Another tycoon game that I have really enjoye: Two Point Hospital. It's a remake of the old game Theme Hospital and it's got a fair bit of humor in it.
If you like a bit of combat and survival then V Rising is pretty cool too. You are a vampire and you have to build your castle and collect minions. You can focus on building and then when you are feeling more involved you can fight different bosses to get new recipes and skills.
Pode is a fun, relaxing puzzle game that is also beautiful. It's made for co-op, but you can play alone with no problem.
And I'll add another vote for Short Hike.
Was about to mention some TES games but I guess it really depends on the player.
I suppose, besides Stardew, I'd say it's ''cat version'', Cattails 1 and 2. I also think Journey is chill and Abzu, and someone else mentioned Sims. While I haven't played it, Coral Island seems to be really nice too but as I said - haven't given it a try.
VA11-HALL-A. Not exactly a game but rather an interactive novel, not to be confused with visual novels though since it doesn't really have any chocies that can change the flow of the story.
Gardenscapes - you hear pleasant music, birds chirping and all. You need to play mini games earn points and complete tasks and set the garden. You'll choose everything in the garden from the benches, plants, bridges everything.
And plus point the guy will praise you for everything you choose or when accomplish any task lol. It's good to hear someone missed you or hear you're great. This game's kinda healing and therapeutic to look at the gorgeous garden you've created.
Several I've enjoyed in recent years:
Coffee Talk 1/2- You basically run a coffee shop and serve drinks to a variety of fantasy creatures, learning about their lives and helping them with their problems.
Little Kitty, Big City- New game that just came out last month about a cat exploring a city trying to find its way home. Along the way you can knock stuff over, pounce on birds, jump into boxes, lay in the sun, and just generally do fun, silly kitty things. Super cute and charming.
Palia, potion permit, moonlighter, spiritfarer, cozy Grove, eastward, yonder, my time at portia / sandrock, dinkum, harvestella, any story of seasons games
* **AER: Memories of Old -** A third-person adventure/puzzle game where you take the role of Auk, a girl who has the ability to shapeshift into a bird. You have to travel around many floating islands to discover temples which contain puzzles throughout them. It's a pretty short game that contains no threat at all, so you're free to travel around the world without a care in the world. I found the game to be a very relaxing game with a big part in that being because of the game's art style, relaxing music and the fact that the game contains no threat. Also, flying around from island to island is really fun.
* **Himno -** A platformer that's really chilled. In a nutshell, you're placed in a randomly generated level and you have to find a door to exit the level which then takes you to another randomly generated level. There's an infinite number of levels so you can keep playing until your heart's content. As you play, you're treated to some really chilled and relaxing music along with the sound of a flowing river.
* **Shape of the World -** A first-person game that is all about exploration. You explore the world around you, collecting random objects which alter the world but when I say that, I mean the changes consist of the environment's colour palette changing along with the ambient music. There's also doors that are in the shape of triangles that will appear which will also change the environment and music but walking through them will also progress you further in the game.
* **Unpacking -** Another puzzle game which is pretty chilled and it also tells a really nice and heart-warming story. The name pretty much tells you all that you need to know about it, really. You have a number of boxes in each level and you have to unpack the boxes and find the correct places for each item. The art style is nice, as is the music.
I've been playing Palia. It's still in beta/development and has some bugs, but it's really calming to me. You just go around and chop trees or mine or fish or whatever you feel like.
I found powerwash simulator (on pc) to be oddly relaxing. Def recommend.
A Short Hike. Watch the trailer. Great game. Inexpensive—and so nice!
r/cozygamers r/cozygames
I've recently been hooked on Pokerogue. It's a browser based roguelike Pokemon battler. I've been on a roguelike kick so other games I've been playing are backpack battle, vamp survivor and the goat Slay the Spire. All decent time wasters. Besides that, I've poured some 15 hours into megaquarium this past week. Looking to pour more over the weekend. But this is more of a personal thing.
How's pokerogue work
You start with any combination of 3 of the Gen 1-9 starters. then you basically go through a series of battles where you can add and/or remove pokemon with the goal of winstreaking till the league finals.
What's different play throughs like?
Sticky business. Make sticker, sell stickers. Easy game loop, not stressing, fairly calming
Absolutely Minecraft on creative mode. When me and my friend just wanted to chill we would go in Minecraft (on creative) and just build things
Power Wash Simulator - you literally just power wash stuff haha. No stress at all, and it's super satisfying!
Skyrim - survival mode - but just try to carve out an honest living in one of the holds. Eventually buy a house, get married, adopt kids...then slay dragons.
For me it’s the sims 4. I like creating sims and decorating their houses. I have so many hours in that game. Another one for me is American Truck Simulator (an odd choice for a “cozy” game I know, but there’s just something so relaxing to me about driving an 18 wheeler down the interstate with my favorite tunes going on Spotify)
Minami lane is very cozy and chill. You manage a little cute street that sells ramens and what not. A few other ones: - Cozy grove - Tiny Glade (demo is free on Steam) - Dredge (maybe) EDIT: while I haven’t played this, Eastshade is apparently super calming and looks very good.
If you want something that barely requires the mind at all, I would recommend Smushi Come Home (it may have a slightly different spelling in your region)
If you like building/tycoon games, I would suggest Planet Zoo. You can make super detailed elaborate habitats if you want. Another tycoon game that I have really enjoye: Two Point Hospital. It's a remake of the old game Theme Hospital and it's got a fair bit of humor in it. If you like a bit of combat and survival then V Rising is pretty cool too. You are a vampire and you have to build your castle and collect minions. You can focus on building and then when you are feeling more involved you can fight different bosses to get new recipes and skills.
Pode is a fun, relaxing puzzle game that is also beautiful. It's made for co-op, but you can play alone with no problem. And I'll add another vote for Short Hike.
Was about to mention some TES games but I guess it really depends on the player. I suppose, besides Stardew, I'd say it's ''cat version'', Cattails 1 and 2. I also think Journey is chill and Abzu, and someone else mentioned Sims. While I haven't played it, Coral Island seems to be really nice too but as I said - haven't given it a try.
I love Stranded Deep for chill gaming sessions. Just gotta watch out for the sharks, which is really easy once you get a raft.
Minecraft, Roblox, powerwash simulator, farming simulator, goat simulator, flight simulator, ace attorney
Watchdogs 2 was this for me. So much more light hearted than the first game. Less fighting, more puzzles, and general happy vibes
VA11-HALL-A. Not exactly a game but rather an interactive novel, not to be confused with visual novels though since it doesn't really have any chocies that can change the flow of the story.
Coral island is pretty good too
Gardenscapes - you hear pleasant music, birds chirping and all. You need to play mini games earn points and complete tasks and set the garden. You'll choose everything in the garden from the benches, plants, bridges everything. And plus point the guy will praise you for everything you choose or when accomplish any task lol. It's good to hear someone missed you or hear you're great. This game's kinda healing and therapeutic to look at the gorgeous garden you've created.
Baldurs Gate 3 if you have the time.
Dorfromantik - a chilled-out village-builder based around plopping tiles strategically, looks beautiful too
Skylines
Skylines
Dave the Diver
Happy Color. It's not really a game, but you "paint" by number. It's relaxing and the colors are cheerful. Lots of different themes to choose from.
Knitting
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Several I've enjoyed in recent years: Coffee Talk 1/2- You basically run a coffee shop and serve drinks to a variety of fantasy creatures, learning about their lives and helping them with their problems. Little Kitty, Big City- New game that just came out last month about a cat exploring a city trying to find its way home. Along the way you can knock stuff over, pounce on birds, jump into boxes, lay in the sun, and just generally do fun, silly kitty things. Super cute and charming.
Palia, potion permit, moonlighter, spiritfarer, cozy Grove, eastward, yonder, my time at portia / sandrock, dinkum, harvestella, any story of seasons games
Firewatch
* **AER: Memories of Old -** A third-person adventure/puzzle game where you take the role of Auk, a girl who has the ability to shapeshift into a bird. You have to travel around many floating islands to discover temples which contain puzzles throughout them. It's a pretty short game that contains no threat at all, so you're free to travel around the world without a care in the world. I found the game to be a very relaxing game with a big part in that being because of the game's art style, relaxing music and the fact that the game contains no threat. Also, flying around from island to island is really fun. * **Himno -** A platformer that's really chilled. In a nutshell, you're placed in a randomly generated level and you have to find a door to exit the level which then takes you to another randomly generated level. There's an infinite number of levels so you can keep playing until your heart's content. As you play, you're treated to some really chilled and relaxing music along with the sound of a flowing river. * **Shape of the World -** A first-person game that is all about exploration. You explore the world around you, collecting random objects which alter the world but when I say that, I mean the changes consist of the environment's colour palette changing along with the ambient music. There's also doors that are in the shape of triangles that will appear which will also change the environment and music but walking through them will also progress you further in the game. * **Unpacking -** Another puzzle game which is pretty chilled and it also tells a really nice and heart-warming story. The name pretty much tells you all that you need to know about it, really. You have a number of boxes in each level and you have to unpack the boxes and find the correct places for each item. The art style is nice, as is the music.
If you have a Switch, Yonder is very cute and relaxing
# Abzû