Cozy games: about the games
Disney Dreamlight Valley is a relaxing life-simulation adventure in which you fish, mine, craft and take on quests. The Valley was once an idyllic land where Disney and Pixar characters lived in harmony, until the Forgetting came: Night Thorns spread across it and severed the memories tied to the place. Its inhabitants withdrew behind locked doors of the Dream Castle, leaving you to uncover their stories, customize your own Valley and bring the magic back alongside more than 50 heroes and villains.
DAVE THE DIVER is a casual singleplayer adventure RPG: you explore the deep sea and fish by day, run a sushi restaurant by night, and help Dave and his quirky friends uncover the secrets of the mysterious Blue Hole. Combat and gathering have rogue-like elements: you hunt creatures with a harpoon and other weapons and upgrade and forge gear with gathered resources and restaurant earnings, while running out of oxygen means leaving your catch behind. Pixel and 3D art combine in the visual style, over 200 kinds of sea creatures fill the ocean setting, and minigames, side quests and extra storylines add variety.
DREDGE is a single-player fishing adventure with a sinister undercurrent. You captain a fishing trawler through a group of remote isles and the depths around them, uncovering what lies beneath the surface. You sell your catch to locals, complete quests, and learn about each area’s troubled past. You improve your boat with better equipment to trawl deep-sea trenches and reach distant lands, but you must watch the clock, since the biggest threats hide in the fog over night-time seas.
Amber Isle is a shop management and social sim set on an island of prehistoric animal islanders called Paleofolk. You run its only shop — gathering materials, crafting goods and selling them to customers whose needs and preferences you learn, haggling your way up the Shop Rankings. Profits unlock decor and more floor space and help rebuild the island, opening new areas you can decorate. Its 48 Paleofolk have their own personalities, dialogue and quests; befriending them earns recipes and upgrades, and they go on to build their own stalls, cafés and gardens. You also design your own Paleofolk from five body presets.
Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg is a leisure adventure RPG in which Marie, a failing student at the Royal Academy of Magic, is given an atelier by her professor as part of a special graduation exam. To graduate within five years she has to make an item that will impress him, which first means improving her alchemy skills, gathering ingredients and earning money to hire adventurers and buy recipes and utensils, all on top of synthesis, battles and quests. The remake of the series’ origin brings revamped character designs and event illustrations, 2D animations and 3D models, a smoother tutorial and navigation, and the Unlimited Mode for a more relaxed pace.
The game takes place in the desert community of Sandrock, where you play as a fledgling Builder. Using your toolset, you gather resources, construct machines and turn a run-down workshop into a production facility meant to pull the town out of economic ruin. Set in a post-apocalyptic world 330 years after the Day of Calamity, it lets you get to know residents, defend the town from monsters, explore deserts and ruins, and play with up to three other players.
This farming and cozy-life simulation has you grow crops, raise animals and get to know the people of Zephyr Town, then sell your goods at your own stall during the weekly bazaar to bring back its former glory. Windmills are used to craft new products, while a glider and new jumping skills make getting around town and working the farm easier. Inspired by the classic handheld title, the game offers a larger world, new characters, an expanded story and full voice work in story events, a first for the series.
Date Everything! is a sandbox dating simulator set in the comfort of your own home, offering 100 fully voice-acted characters you can pursue. After losing your job to AI despite holding a BFA in customer service, you receive magical glasses called ‘Dateviators’ from a mysterious stranger, which bring the objects in your house to life and make them datable. Each one has its own story and can become a lover, friend, or enemy. A detailed Who’s Who of voice actors accompanies the game.
House Flipper 2 is a casual renovation simulator where players buy, repair and sell houses while becoming a well-known figure in the local community. Set in the town of Pinnacove, between mountain peaks and an endless sea, the residents entrust players with their homes, and your old friend Tom knows everyone in the neighborhood. Story mode offers long renovation projects and quick jobs, while Sandbox mode lets you build houses from scratch, whether recreating real buildings or designing your own. A free Co-op DLC lets two to four players team up in both modes across PC and console, and designs can be shared on mod.io.
PowerWash Simulator is a laid-back simulation game in which you use a high-pressure washer to strip away dirt, moss, mould and graffiti from patios, pavements, vehicles and public parks. In Career Mode you build up your own power-washing business, take on a variety of dirty jobs across the dusty town of Muckingham and unlock new tools, upgrades, nozzles, cleaners and extensions, with no time pressure and no final score. You can play solo or team up with friends in online co-op, revisit favourite jobs in Free Play, or take on Challenge Mode scenarios that test your speed or your accuracy with as little water as possible. Washer skins and gloves can be customised as well.
Little Kitty, Big City is an indie adventure with simulation elements in which you play as a curious kitty with a big personality. Its goal is to find the way back home, though exploring the city may come first. The game offers an open world that you explore at your own pace, and you befriend stray and chatty animals along the way. You complete quests, help your animal friends or cause plenty of chaos, dress your kitty in a variety of hats, and take a nap in the sunshine.
This sequel to Slime Rancher follows Beatrix LeBeau as she crosses the Slime Sea to Rainbow Island, a land holding ancient mysteries and unfamiliar natural resources. There she meets a crowd of wriggling new slimes, including the bouncy cotton slime and the aquatic angler slime. Players gather, ranch and farm these creatures inside a glass-walled conservatory, using newbucks earned from slime plorts and materials collected on the island to upgrade their vacpack, build gadgets and expand the site. Meanwhile Beatrix tries to unravel the island’s secrets and find out what it is really for.