What Happened to Cozy Games?
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- all games shown will be in the pinned comment! please check them ouuut
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no, cozy isn't over.
ALL INDIE GAMES SHOWN IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
Stardew Valley: store.steampowered.com/app/413150/Stardew_Valley/
Spiritfarer: store.steampowered.com/app/972660/Spiritfarer_Farewell_Edition/
Sticky Business: store.steampowered.com/app/2303350/Sticky_Business/
Cozy Grove: store.steampowered.com/app/1458100/Cozy_Grove/
Loftia: (not yet out but follow the devs)
The cosmic wheel sisterhood: store.steampowered.com/app/1340480/The_Cosmic_Wheel_Sisterhood/
Palia: store.steampowered.com/app/2707930/Palia/
Coral island: store.steampowered.com/app/1158160/Coral_Island/
Terraria: store.steampowered.com/app/105600/Terraria/
Undertale: store.steampowered.com/app/391540/Undertale/
A Short Hike: store.steampowered.com/app/1055540/A_Short_Hike/
Unpacking: store.steampowered.com/app/1135690/Unpacking/
A little to the left: store.steampowered.com/app/1629520/A_Little_to_the_Left/
Bear and Breakfast: store.steampowered.com/app/1136370/Bear_and_Breakfast/
Calico: store.steampowered.com/app/1112890/Calico/
Witchy life story: store.steampowered.com/app/1427340/Witchy_Life_Story/
Puffpals: Island Skies: (not out yet, follow the devs)
Fields of Mistria: store.steampowered.com/app/2142790/Fields_of_Mistria/
Paleo Pines: store.steampowered.com/app/1202200/Paleo_Pines/
Cult of the lamb: store.steampowered.com/app/1313140/Cult_of_the_Lamb/
Moonstone Island: store.steampowered.com/app/1658150/Moonstone_Island/
Little witch in the woods: store.steampowered.com/app/1594940/Little_Witch_in_the_Woods/
APICO: store.steampowered.com/app/1390190/APICO/
The Red Strings Club: store.steampowered.com/app/589780/The_Red_Strings_Club/
Melatonin: store.steampowered.com/app/1585220/Melatonin/
Bug and seek: store.steampowered.com/app/2265310/Bug__Seek/
Plant therapy: store.steampowered.com/app/2505120/Plant_Therapy/
Cat Cafe Manager: store.steampowered.com/app/1354830/Cat_Cafe_Manager/
Coffee Talk: store.steampowered.com/app/914800/Coffee_Talk/
Voltaire the Vegan Vampire: store.steampowered.com/app/1952540/Voltaire_The_Vegan_Vampire/
Lil Gator Game: store.steampowered.com/app/1586800/Lil_Gator_Game/
A Tiny Sticker Tale: store.steampowered.com/app/2322180/A_Tiny_Sticker_Tale/
Garden In!: store.steampowered.com/app/1953860/Garden_In/
Tiny Witch: store.steampowered.com/app/1740310/Tiny_Witch/
Slay The Princess: store.steampowered.com/app/1989270/Slay_the_Princess/
Mail time: store.steampowered.com/app/1607240/Mail_Time/
CULT OF THE LAMB !!!! I LOVE CULT OF THE LAMB
I got all of the achievements in Lil Gator Game and I'm so happy about it
I really like the title to this video, I find it creative use of "click bait" when really it's more a 'creative writing' twist in that it's not "Where Did Cozy Games Go?" but "What */Happened/* to Cozy Games?" as a genre economically & creatively. : )
👋 Hi btw, new to the channel.
You want Cozy? (Steam: LongVinter)
It's Animal crossing with Guns, it's Cozy Violence, you'll love it.
Holy cow you are awesome. Thank you so much for easily listing them all like this!
Oh! I just started wylde Flower! It’s amazing!
The problem with “cozy” games is that the games everyone associated with “cozy” weren’t made to be “cozy”, they were simply good games that happened to be very relaxing to play. Once people started to use the term, THAT is when game developers started to distill different qualities from them to condense into shallow and ultimately boring experiences.
Yeah it caused a lot of devs who only wanted to follow hip new marketing trends to jump onto the scene. The same thing happened after Dark Souls got popular. Suddenly everyone wanted to make a hardcore medieval dark fantasy game with tough combat. Good games did come out of that but for every Lies of P there's two or three games like Lords of the Fallen that do the absolute bare minimum and miss the point as to why people liked these types of games to begin with. There are still good "cozy games" coming out all the time but a lot of them get drowned out by the millionth cute farming sim that adds nothing new to the genre but somehow shows up in a Nintendo Direct anyway.
Animal Crossing Gamecube was the most cozy of all of the titles imo. idk if it was the music, it not being in HD, or nostalgia
@@koifish835same with "open world dream game" I guess
A movement or genre term (or whatever it is you kids are doing here) like cozy is never going to hold together for long, it's too subjective
I’m someone that’s been playing cozy games for most of my life, even before we had a word for it. I started at age 12 (arguably much earlier depending on your definition) and I’m in my late 20s now. I honestly couldn’t agree less with the idea that cozy games are dying. Cozy gaming is in a better place now than it ever has been. Just that we have a word we use for it now is enough to tell me we’re in a much better position.
One thing I’ve noticed (and I’m not calling out you specifically) is that people will play indie games for 60 hours and then claim there wasn’t enough to do. When they only paid $15 to $20. I can’t wrap my head around not thinking you got your moneys worth for that price. I just think with the amount of games there are, people have gotten a lot more picky and negative. Again, not you. Just the community in general.
I agree with this comment so much. I think there are growing expectations that just aren't realistic. I also started playing some cozy games pretty young with the Nintendo DS. It was like cozy game heaven before there was a name for it. Nintendogs, Professor Layton, Style Saavy, and so much more. I'm glad to see these kinds of games making a comeback!
I agree with this. Currently I play ACNH AND Disney Dreamlight. A lot of people rush the storyline then complain when they have to wait for the next update. I like playing games slowly, so I find these games very fun.
definitely AGREE as someone who is also is their late 20s and ive been playing "cozy" games since i was a little kid. i think a lot of the online "cozy gaming" community should try a new genre because its not the games, its them
@@Drstrange3000prof layton is SO GOOD
100% agree with this comment! I’ve been playing “cozy” style games since I was a kid and if anything, we have more games now than ever!! And an amazing community too! 🫶🏻
i'm actually planning on making a cozy/psychological horror game! (and no, it's not a classic "cute game with a dark secret" thing, it's clear that it's horror from the start) it wont have farming, mining, or chopping down trees, but instead it'll have basic jobs like being a waiter, a doctor, an author, or even join a band or idol group. (they'll all be mini games) this is the WAY future, so who knows what will change, but game developing is my dream job, i hope that if cozy games are still dead then, that i'll revive them!
Is there anything we could do to help? Or even artists here
I will be here to support!
I hope its pixelated~
(But it depends on u ofc❤)
@@kitox9117 the graphics will be pixelated, but it’ll be 3d! sort of like the indie game “mushy come home”! and you can turn off the pixels if u want :)
@@sweatingfrommyeyes767 do you have discord? i may start a discord server soon for the development (it’ll still be long till i can afford a computer to start modeling on, and im a kid sooo)
@@Carcassbits11 thank you!!!
I don't think they are over, just got a bit oversaturated with everyone going after AC New Horizon's popularity. I think there is still a sizeable and growing market for cozy/non-combat focused games. I would like to think so anyways :)
agreed. when something gets popular the market gets saturated with cheep knockoffs, it makes it look like its gotten bad, even if their are actually more good ones hidden amongst the bad ones.
"Cozy" games as a "genre" has always been in a very nebulous place. I feel like some people focus on the cutesy aesthetic over the actual chill or comforting gameplay. Some people prefer the term Comfort games to describe games that might not be a "cozy" game to everyone, but bring them some form of comfort and they always return to it to destress. I see some cozy gaming youtubers so focused on coming out with a video every week of the "upcoming cozy games" that they are throwing anything with a cute art style in it even if its some kind of violent action game or stressful fast paced platformer.
also I feel like games with chill non stressful gameplay get left out if they don't have a cute cartoony art style. 2 games I love to refer to people are power wash simulator and snowrunner.
power wash sim is just so chill, you just clean everything. some even find the no music ambient sound of the washer super calming.
Snowrunner is so great to me. my gf likes to watch me play it when shes winding down for bed. its not fast paced. Its trucks so people assume its just some kinda guy game. I don't like trucks or cars or racing, but i live this. You're just hauling stuff from place to place, but theres lots of mud and snow. The scenery is super pretty and you're driving at like 2mph sometimes. lots of snowy mountains, summertime greenery, and my favorite to play during autumn is the Michigan maps which take place in the fall and everything is fall colors and I love it. I don't live somewhere that the trees change color and I miss it so I live it through this game. you're just winching your truck thats stuck in the mud. its even coop. just drag each other through mud and snow and rivers. its so pretty.
Palworld
i get what you mean about non-cutesy games being able to be cozy but i never understood power wash being a cozy game. ive seen a few people say it now. i can understand house flipper but the power wash one ur just cleaning dirt i don’t get it 😅
Most simulators are basicaly not so cute cozy games, Eurotruck, Snowrunner, Farming sim... they are all very chill games
SLIME RANCHER I will die on this hill, it's the ultimate cozy, anxiety-curing game for me. Impossible not to feel better when you have happy, cute slime balls jumping on your face cheerfully with those happy grins
Also I like My Time at Portia, I think it has likeable NPCs and it's a nice twist on the farming gimmick, basically replacing it with building. You build stuff for the town, the town expands and progresses, it feels rewarding! It's not perfect tho, feels incomplete imo, but I like the story a lot and see a lot of potential. The concept art is gorgeous btw, doesn't translate to the 3d as much as I think they were hoping for tho lol
I feel like there can be cozy games that aren't farming sims. I'm still playing sims and I'm still waiting for a multi-player sims release. There is a huge hole in actually decent fashion games as well. How many pet care games aren't riddled with ads? Farming sims are definitely overdone. I'm not done playing animal crossing or stardew. Palia was never finished and prolly won't be for a long time if ever. Cozy games aren't supposed to be copy paste stardew with one thing changed. For example, there is currently a small indie developer who has a game in alpha who deeply cares about its game: A Kinder World. It's a phone game, but the point is improving your mental health. It feels like a game and it has community events with other real people. I love it.
This is it. Farming is easy: the Sims has been needing competition for decades. Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is the only game I've seen where the town ages with you. Even for farming, everyone started chasing Animal Crossing's success without paying attention to what made it great. I've yet to play another "cozy" game with that many character personalities, 24 hour clock, variety of gameplay tasks and customization, etc.
I wouldn't say i'm a fan of cosy games as they vary so widely in quality. For every Stardew Valley, there's a thousand Moondrop Mountain Holes
If anyone's looking for a unique cosy game, I recommend Wobbledogs. Imagine Nintendogs but you can breed them into little genetic abominations 10/10 game imo 😁👍
the same could be said about any genre though. theres a thousand garbage tier puzzle platformers, FPS, monster collecting games, etc. For every handful of good ones theres a bunch of people making garbage ones.
@@Zectifin So true!! I'm just glad that in 2024 we have a wealth of community knowledge to help navigate the trash pile to find the gems
Moondrop Mountain isn't so bad. I'm not sure it's trying to be a cozy game though. The focus on planting seeds near the appropriate seeds would seem like a possible cause of that. It's more akin to a roguelite I would think.
@@tiacool7978 WAIT ITS REAL LMAO? i just did all the opposite words to stardew valley's title 💀
I honestly can't wait for Tiny Glade to come out! It's a "diorama" builder that is just getting cuter and cuter with every development update! You can build moody castles and idyllic cottages, have fluffy sheep roaming around, and so much more! ❤
Is tiny glade going to be on ps4?
@@borderline_sunshine as far as I know for now they're only developing it for pc sadly
Unfortunately I love farming sims and while there is seemingly a large variety of them out these days, I can't ever find any that scratch my brain the same way games like Harvest Moon did. I find a lot of cozy games to be bland for the sake of relaxation without actually making it simultaneously entertaining to play. I'll check out the games you shared... Maybe ill find something that I like.
Have you played Rune Factory 4/5? the rune factory games are made by the original harvest moon dev who wanted to make a more jrpg farming game with more to do. It was exactly what I needed after being a bit bored with farming games. Rune factory 4 is the best, 5 is the newest game and is good but not as good as 4.
if you find stardew valley entertaining id recommend roots of pacha! its like stardew but a bit more puzzle focused and set in the stone age (roughly) and is very much about advancing your civilization, and as you advance, you get new mechanics. Ive played for about 80 hours so far and im just now getting towards the "end" of the plotline but still have plenty more to explore! My only complaint is that it's very strict with where you can and cannot farm, but honestly its a lot of space so it's not bad at all. I really can't recommend it enough as a farm simulator. If you wan't something thats just pure cozy and no stress, Id recommend paleo pines, which was showed briefly in this video. It's kinda like pokemon in the befreinding creatures way, but with dinos! There's also lgbt characters as well if that's something youre looking for, which I honestly haven't found a lot of in farming games! I find it enjoyable because the farming is very low stress as you can get dinos to help you, but you have a huge amount of space to farm if thats your thing! My biggest complaint is there aren't a ton of non-farming and gathering related tasks besides collecting dinos, but its so adorable that I think it's worth a go to support the company since it's their first release (at least on steam).
cozy will never be over, the problem is the cozy games nowaday arent polish enough
🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱
One of those games that I absolutely love recently is little goodie two shoes, it’s stylistically gorgeous and the game mechanics are really cool, and the puzzle elements where frustrating at first but after I got a hang of it they where very fun, and the story (though I haven’t finished it) is plagued with mystery and suspense in such an amazing way, definitely recommend if you are even slightly interested in games reminiscent of late 90’s anime and fantasy with a bit of horror.
I really liked this look at the state of cozy gaming. If anyone is looking to support an indie game that is a break from farming, I cannot recommend Moonlight in Garland enough. It is still in early access and has way less love than it deserves imo. It is made by one lovely person who takes community input on how the game is being updated.
What about the Tycoon games like Zoo Tycoon or Rollercoaster Tycoon? They are also cozy and I love them. ❤
yeah I feel like a lot of games with chill or calm gameplay get left out because they aren't farming sims or have cartoony gameplay. I always recommend snowrunner and power wash sim.
literally, i’ve been addicted to planet zoo recently. my favorite way to destress
u are so real i loved the original as a kid
Viva piñata was my favorite. Just a garden with living piñatas… paradise.
My newest favorite cozy game is Ete. You live as a painter and literally paint the world from black and white to color. Grow Song of the Evertree is a really nice cozy game I never hear anyone talk about. No Place Like Home has a pretty unique spin on the farming game too.
I remember my dad being into gaming while I was growing up and we had each iteration of Nintendo machines through the years. I’m so sad to say that I always thought animal crossing sounded like a lame game and I never even gave it a shot. ACNH was my gateway back into gaming as an adult and I’m so happy about that. To be able to share a hobby with my dad and lots of others in my extended family is so fun. I’ve even gotten my non-gamer cousin into ACNH and now she’s slowly branching out to try other stuff!
As someone who can handle zero combat, cozy games are life and I’m so happy it’s a more popular genre so I can branch out of my Minecraft box on occasion 😅
I have many cozy indie games on my radar, but I'm looking forward to Tiny Bookshop the most! It looks so cute and relaxing ❤
I backed a game last year that should be out this year and I'm very excited for it. It's called Out and About and it's a game about foraging and you'll get to learn about real life plants and what they do and make tonics and food and paint and all kinds of things for the friends you make.
As someone who's been playing cozy games for a while now, devs just tried to capitalize on a trend instead of focusing on making a good game
Only problem i have with cozy games is that sometimes they focus too much on the "cozy" and not the progression.
ANOTHER SALEM VIDEO ESSAY YESSSSS WE WON and istg each one is better than the last and becomes my new favorite video on the internet YOU ARE AMAZING ILYSM
I LOVE U SO MUCH!
Something I see a lot with these games is that they just kinda get pushed out while no one seems to have played it past the first or second season in development. Oftentimes the gameplay is charming enough for the first few hours, and then quickly goes off the rails as unbalanced or frustratingly repetitive mechanics take over the game. With Moonstone Island in particular I got very frustrated with how useless money was, how underdeveloped the farming was, the fact that anything worth building was gated by the seasons changing, how flat the characters were, etc. But the first 8-10 hours were charming enough. Great way to avoid Steam refunds I guess.
There’s too many cosy games these days with lack of content
This was more of video focused on the gaming industry jumping on a trend and milking it dry.
Currently it's side scrolling beat'em up's, souls likes, survival games, farming sims, vampire survivor likes, assymetrical multiplayer games, survival horror, boomer shooters, rogue likes and extraction shooters.
I can think of many genre's that haven't been touched in years or rarely get a new installment.
This might be a hot take but 90% of cozy games made nowadays are ugly… Like they look like they’re made a decade ago. Like I want a jaw dropping beautiful farming sim, where the trees look full of life and not a green blob with slight details for the leaves, or flowers that look breathtaking and majestic, instead of blobs of colors mixed together. And vibrant colors too, idk why so many cozy games nowadays (mostly farming ones) have such washed out colors…
I wouldn't say animal crossing became huge with new horizons when the 3ds animal crossing sold 13 million and the ds one sold 11 million
While animal crossing was already popular, I would still say that ACNH made the series completely “mainstream”. It’s the second best selling switch game with over 42 million copies sold .. crazy numbers!
I think the problem with cozy games is the same problem the rest of the gaming industry has. A lot of genres have become too formulaic which isn't very fun long term. I have 3 genres I rotate through which is mostly MMOs/MMOFPS games, Competitive games and Cozy games. I think there are definitely unique ones out there but you don't see them super often. It also doesn't help that the genre is starting to get oversaturated. I swear every year 10 more cozy games come out which means a lot of people don't' have the money to give most of them the time of day
Great video essay, love the humor as always!
Thanks for the recommendations, some of these look really phenomenal and I'm excited to give them a try :D
I have a cozy game I’m planning on making! It’s heavily story 1-2 played based and there’s also a rogue like multiplayer mode. I haven’t got the plot figured out quite yet but it’s based around elements, the main character is a Tiefling girl with fire powers and her playable (only if multiplayer) companion, Venus who is a little Venus fly trap plant.
I love that you mentioned Terraria. It is my kind of cozy. Like a cozy adventure game. 😅
Wonderful essay! Keep it up! would love to see you do more like this but maybe deep dive into specific games?
I really appreciated the nuanced view you took here, and how you looked at all sides of this topic. I watched another video recently on a similar topic that just left a bad taste in my mouth. And it was fun to see some new to me games - I'm checking out voltaire the vegan vampire right now just because the name interests me lol
Nothing happened to cozy games because cozy isn't a genre, it's subjective to the player. My cozy game is Rimworld and be a cannibal in it.
"an absolute fuck ton" that killed me
First of all, love the whole vibe around the video. I couldn't live without indie games, so I appreciate coming across stuff like this, and would like to request a steam group or something to see what other games you recommend.
Also, can't wait for Fields of Mistria.
I’m looking forward to Loftia, Paralives, Haunted Chocolatier andddddd Witchbrook (might never come out? Who knows).
I wish Unpacking would get more light! I think the story is beautiful and that's without having used any text.. the game itself is so incredibly unique.
Love the message of this! The only way we get new ideas in the spotlight is shedding more light the actual passionate people and risk takers~
Sun Haven is a BANGER indie farming and RPG style game that, to my knowledge, has flown under the radar but it’s incredibly good, detailed and full to the brim with content! I would even put it at the same tier as Stardew in terms of Quality and sheer Innovation
One of my favorite "unconventional" cozy games is House Flipper. You are starting your own house flipping/house reno company. People reach out to you for you to reno/clean up their house or you can find houses on the market and flip them. The graphics aren't anything to write home about but it's so relaxing being able to just focus on getting a wrecked house looking pretty. The dev company that made it just released a 2nd one now too this last December!
I loved this video essay, very entertaining and your way of writing makes it so the video flows smoothly. you have so much talent!
You gave me so many recommendations - thanks!
Not sure, if it would actually count as a cozy game, but my boyfriend published a game called "Ghostist", where you have to find out what kind of ghost is hunting a place. Even though it can be a little scary, depending on the ghost, I still think that the pixel art style and some other details make it cozy, but I'm probably a little biased.
Great games, I think everybody can find some of their fav titles here. ❤
We're also leaving a small hint, that another cozy game is on the way - our Hotel Galactic is coming to Kickstarter very soon 👀
These types of games are going strong. It is also fun to watch on twitch, I watch msmaravel and love seeing newer games in this genre
One game I went and started over completely after finishing it was 'Fix Fox'. You're a repair person stranded on a planet of almost entirely robots, all of whom need something fixed, BUT you've lost your tools and have to make do with whatever you can find on the planet.
The game play is enormously fun and has a terrific story as well. I HIGHLY recommend it if you love the cozy game genre.
(I'm also on my fifth playthrough of My Time at Sandrock, which is 'cozy' in the way it makes me feel, although there's a fair amount of combat so may not fit the definition of 'cozy', but it's part of a world (begun in My Time at Portia) that I want to spend more time in)
WIshlisted all your recs. I really like the My Time At games because they're cozy but with a slightly different focus than farming. Also recently played Wylde Flowers, and absolutely loved it. I find myself searching for a game that's actually cozy--may even include farming--but doesn't focus on farming. Put me in the "I am sick of watering cans: camp!
The games that, while farmijng, try to switch things up have the right idea IMO. Why not more games in a science fiction environment, for instance? Underwater? I'd say magical, but there are many games with either a magical focus or magic elements. You're absolutely right that money talks. The big developers never take risks anymore, & indie developers have to be careful because the success of their studio and livelihoods of employees and creators alike depend on success. I wish it was easier to learn about kickstarters. I almost always find out about them when it's too late.
loved this video so much and love the push to try more indie games. some of my favorite gaming experiences have been random, low budget games that stick with me years later
i had no idea undertale came out before stardew lmao but tbf i wasnt on the internet at that time and knew of undertale from game grumps
Wylde flowers is such an amazing game! It has a great spin on the farming sim idea. And the voice acting is really the cherry on top!
Scarlet Hollow is also made by Black Tabby Games and is an amazingly cozy visual novel-esque choice-based game that is the absolute perfect mix of wholesome and horrifying. The choices you make definitely do hold weight and add to the seemingly infinite replayability.
Can't find anything that I enjoy more than Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing
The simplistic slice of life can be relaxing in a stressful fast paced life but once life becomes cozy, it becomes repetitive and you just desire a change.
this was an incredible analysis, Salem! kudos for shining light on so many brilliant games. crossing my fingers that nintendo DOESN'T do all the talking this year 💀
"is cozy over?"
Only if you let it be.
I'm enchanted by Coral Island. It's kind of Stardew Valley 3D, and that's a good thing. Add the diving mechanic, and bug catching (which other games have) add to the classic formula. Since I lived on the Gulf Coast during BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster, the premise of Coral Island definitely resonates. I'm not a fan of pixel art, but I'm not having a problem with Stardew Valley because they don't bob up and down (which makes me a bit queezy). It's a great game, and I'm happy Coral Island takes it's roots from that one. Kinda like Factorio -> Satisfactory, or Dwarf Fortress -> Rimworld -> Stranded Alien Dawn. Evolution of the genre. And Coral Island's dev team is Indonesian, not a giant company.
i like that there are different cozy games even though they are essentially 'the same' - different players enjoy different aesthetic, game mechanics etc… everyone can find THE game for them.
I can also highly recommend looking into visual novel type indie games! I've recently finished playing Venba on my Switch. A game about the experience of an Indian family living in Canada. A very comforting, cooking puzzle!
Abzu was one of my favorites!
@crimsonhollowgame posts devlogs and has some options to support the process of developing their cozy game. the atmosphere is already to die for and i shout about it anytime i can
You did awesome with this essay!
I especially appreciate how you went into depth about the market conditions going on in larger culture at the time. And how after something really catches on, corporations are always trying to latch onto the next big thing. You’ll inevitably get inundated with games chasing what was popular. And each one won’t always be the same quality as Stardew Valley.
There was that Nintendo Direct where they had a million farming sim games and I knew we were on the other side of the trend.
I like collectathon games and cozy games,harvest moon/story of seasons and animal crossing,I never want cozy games to be over
Salem this is one of my favorite videos in recent times I absolutely adore it
If you like minecraft, perhaps you'd like vintage story. However, that game is much more focused on survival
A game I would consider cozy are two games called squid lit and super squid lit, they’re really short NES and SNES style 2d platformers that exude the same style of old Kirby games. And they’re so adorable with cute little stories. I know they don’t fit the farming type of cozy, but it’s a little breeze of a game. It definitely worth checking out imo.
Moonstone Island is genuinely delightful and I 100% recommend it to anyone who likes chill games and the collecting side of pokemon games
I wish there was a game where you can just design a house and the interior in the way that animal crossing new horizon does and its 3d and has a large selection of furniture and more
Beyond the games being very similar nowadays, I think a lot of these cozy games lack story and directions or goals. I know for some that's exactly why they like it but as someone who enjoys "checking things off the list" (without pressure), I need something more. I think that's why ACNH was a huge flop for me...at some point it became an AFK game. I'm excited to try Spiritfarer, as I heard it's quite different than other games and has a good emotional story to it
Slime Rancher and the devs Monomi Park are awesome, and I feel like no one talks about Slime Rancher 2
like two days ago a video came out called best cozy games coming 2024. they didn’t go anywhere.
Chef RPG is the next best thing coming out for a cozy game
This doesnt even touch on the other value of an abundance of games in this genre
There always reaches a time where you've explored a world to its fullest, and theres nothing more to do or experience
More games in a genre means when one is played out, you can find a new one
As someone who has been playing cozy games for almost 2 decades now, I'm sick and tired of crafting and customization being core game mechanics. I don't mind some crafting, and opportunities for customization are always fun -- BUT I just don't think those are fun enough on their own. I know not all cozy games are based on those mechanics, but so many of the most popular ones are now. What I love most is a good story/characters or an interesting world. Hopefully more games focus on those things and less on copy and paste farming/crafting/customization farm sims.
Cozy everything seems to be a limited commodity, despite new indie work coming out all the time I find hazbin hotel and digital circus to be loud and too high stakes to truly settle in. I find myself returning to bee and puppycat and stuff like adventure time/steven universe, asking myself “what happened to shows that existed to just have fun?”
Both have their time and place, it’s just harder and harder to find, especially in video games.
I'm looking to do a bit of both, have fun but have story and lore in relation to a project my fiance and I are working on. Have the adventurous show but also have a calm for fun show. I love things like steven universe and bee and puppycat. Steven universe did have story but it was more easy going and didn't ramp up til the end but was hinted at. So it was more eased into.
But like we need more shows and games and movies even, that show both adventure but have those fun easy going moments.
Ooblets has been out in early access for a while and that's an indie cozy game. I wasn't apart of the kickstarter but bought it once it was available and I really love how cute that game is!
And I know The Sims franchise is AAA, but the custom content and modding community is absolutely amazing for those games! Simblr (Sims Tumblr) is my favorite cozy game space!
Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood mentioned!!
I really like the idea of cozy games but i'm not a fan of farming heavy games which make up the majority of that genre.. 😭
I love Animal Crossing, Jenny LeClue (it's like a spooky cozy mystery game), Dordogne and Lake.
I've heard about Songs of Glimmerwick which is a cozy adventure game with minimal farming and i really like the art style, so i hope to see more games like that in the future.
Omg same! I have tried so many different games with farming elements and i cannot for the life of me get into them.
That's partially why whenever I'm playing Stardew Valley, I focus more so on the community/collecting aspect, and pretty much focus on using fruit made into wine etc for money sources, cuz long term wise I don't care for farming much.
Casual games are more abundant than ever before. Nothing happened to them besides they got more popular and more abundant.
You know which indie cozy game used the popularity of farming sims to do something innovative and unique? OOBLETS!!! That game was so fun, soundtrack 10/10, incredible graphics and art style. I hope they do a DLC soon or a bigger content update cause it has been my fave cozy game in the past couple of years
Right, like Pokemon should do cozy with a pokecenter game or a gym designing game but they’re done taking risks.
Cozy suggestion: AIA's upcoming Mana Valley. Been following his progress on his RUclips channel, it looks SO GOOD (come on, it's got fishing! And FISHING ON BROOMS!)!
soooo accurate-i am definitely sick of farming sims. i love collecting type/organizing games, hidden object, potion-making, etc. please drop recommendations if you have any, especially those with longer playtimes and cute aesthetics!
I really thought this video was going a different direction, and I'm so glad I watched till the end - such a great balanced opinion, and completely agree - INDIE GAMES ARE COOL 🥰 (also I adore your voice, so relaxing)
A little game i would recomand is Vintage story. It's a survival game (you will compare it to minecraft at 1st) but it's really unique and you can sculpt blocks with a tool and you can make insane creations with it. I didn't expect much at 1st when i played it but now i'm around 100h of gameplay and i still love it.
Games worth checking out, both as antecedents to the current Cozy Game trend, and just as neat titles in their own right; are
• MOON: RPG Remix Adventure: A big influence on Undertale, this one got a long awaited rerelease a few years back. A little obtuse, but was subverting Classic RPG Tropes way back in the 90s.
• The Boku no Natsuyasumi series. I think these are still Japanese only, but they're a total vibe. Each one follows a kid's summer vacation somewhere in Japan, ranging from rural countrysides to seaside beach towns.
• Chulip: Probably not the coziest at many points, but still perennially a Vibe.
Stardew Valley & modded versions are not COZY! The game is a big puzzle, not soft play & many times not relaxing, but great to play & play & play & play & mod & play on & on!😌😻
The harvest moon to Minecraft to undertale to animal crossing to Stardew valley pipeline is real
The main two I play, are
- Cult of the Lamb (it's, kinda cozy, kinda not. Depends on what you think)
- Animal Crossing Pocket Camp (yes, I still play that mobile game. I do own New Leaf, but I honestly prefer Pocket Camp)
You didn’t play “my time in Portia “ ?
That is the ultimate cozy game
My problem with cozy gaming is that I don’t enjoy farming which doesn’t leave much for me. I love Zelda games, but I wish they were less intense. I want Botw/totk but without enemies. I just want to be a little Boy Scout and run around helping people. Or I’d also LOVE to have a full game version of Pokemon-Amie, like nintendogs but with pokemon.
I think the secret is to strike a balance. I'm all for something that for sure to work because it's worked in the past with the audience, but it's important to give a challenge and at the same time be a little bit original and not too dependent on trends. and the hype can help and people on RUclips talking about it
I think just a lot of cozy games are still in development. Ive been seeing a lot of kickstarters and itchio games that will come out this year probably. We'll see another wave of cozy games, dont worry
Cozy games are my type of games!! I love building stuff in Minecraft and just letting all my problems fly away like the wyvern's i hatched :3 nothing beats comfy games! :D
I know cult of the lamb is not a cozy game but often times ill find myself staying at the cult for hours, not even going out to do battle or story until i really feel like it.
Like ill get sucked into it and it just mmm. Its nice. It hits that code of cozy and combat that i enjoy personally. I can be cozy if i want to or be violent if i want to.
Ill be checking out the other indie games mentioned by you and others though as i want to get more into them. As well as understand them and potentially make my own someday.
This video was really nice for showing that there's more to these games than meets the eye. And introduced me to titles I hadn't heard of before
You know what cozy farming sim genre has been essentially untouched? Herding.
at present I'm still waiting for a couple of indie games to release. Eiyuden chronicles hundred heroes releasing later this year. Nekojishi Lin and partners, Glyde the dragon, Wolf among us 2 all still in development
huh I've only ever heard Undertale talked about in the "subversion of RPG games + love letter & subversion of JRPGs" but viewing it through the cozy game perspective is interesting too
Its so scary to make indie games these days, thank you for makin this.
it's not that cozy games are going away. it's that after stardew valley, everyone basically wanted to rip off stardew valley, because of how many copies it sold. so developers were just thinking in terms of money. and that's why the games after stardew valley don't hold a candle to stardew valley. eric barone made the game because of the games he loved. he had no idea it would be as successful as it was, and he put in 4 years working like a madman to create the game all by himself, and he put everything he had into it. the farm games who ripped him off were made by people without the same level of passion and originality, they just figured people like farm games, so they'll make another farm game. it would be better if people thought of something original, something they're truly passionate about that hasn't been done, and develop that.