While at PAX West 2023, I had the pleasure of attending the panel “Cozy Games: Little Games You’ll Love.” The panel was held on Monday and boy-oh-boy was I tired by then, but I mustered all the enthusiasm and coffee I could manage and headed out. After all, this panel is what Cozy Game Reviews is all about!
The panel featured Victoria Caña (Riot Games, Cat Quartet Games), Victoria Tran (Among Us, Wholesome Games), Emily Kind (Game Raven Review), Jenny Windom (Kepler Interactive, Wholesome Games), Joe Tirado (Astroneer Game, Latinos in Gaming), and Clara Sia (Devolver Digital).
Each made a series of cozy game recommendations and extrapolated on what makes them great. I’ll outline the results of the panel here, including all their recommended games, honorable mentions, and even a few games just noted in passing.
What Are Cozy Games?
I really enjoyed that the panelists didn’t spend too much time trying to pin this down. Each game they recommended got a “What’s cozy about it?” summary, but they all ended up being something different.
Cozy games are leisurely. Cozy games are cute. Cozy games are nostalgic. Cozy games are emotional. Cozy games scratch an itch in your brain to create and fix things.
As one of the panelists, Cara, said: “Cozy is a vibe. It’s chill […] Something I would like to play with a warm blanket wrapped around me.” And I think that’s enough. More than enough.
However, in my own time, I have tried to pin down a more tangible definition of what makes a game “cozy.”
You can get my additional thoughts on this topic here: What Are Cozy Games? A Brief Introduction + Common Questions.
Where Each Panelist Got Started
The panel opened with each speaker recalling what cozy game was their first cozy game. What game got them into the genre. You’ll notice some common themes!
Victoria C. picked Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life and Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life. These games were from the PlayStation 2 and GameCube era, both much-beloved by fans. This was a timely mention, seeing as Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life just came out this year.
Victoria T. chose Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town, a GameBoy Advanced game. And boy, did I sure feel seen by all these old school Harvest Moon fans! She also called out browser-based fashion/dress-up Flash games as a much-beloved genre of that time.
Jenny said Harvest Moon 64 and it took all my resolve not to leap out of my seat with a hoot and a holler. As you may have read elsewhere, this Nintendo 64 game is where I got my start in the genre, as well.
Emily, Joe, and Clara all said Animal Crossing. They didn’t specify a game so I’m assuming they mean the OG. Clara also gave a nod to the Harvest Moon franchise as a whole.
The Cozy Game Recommendations
Here, the panelists jumped around a bit, each introducing a game they think is cozy and why they loved it. I noted who submitted the game as a slide and spoke on it, but many of the panelists had played one another’s game recs and pitched in where relevant to the discussion. Because of that, you might see some quotes from other panel members popping up beneath someone else’s presentation summary.
A Space for the Unbound
Recommended by: Jenny
A Space for the Unbound is a slice-of-life story about two high school sweethearts nearing the end of their school days…and the end of the world.
Why they loved it: One of the things that Jenny said about it was that there is “magic in the mundane.” I think that is a really profound summation of cozy games more generally. The game, like many cozy games, approaches heavy, heartfelt themes in a compassionate way. This was a common thread of the event, as many of the games mentioned do something similar.
Assemble with Care
Recommended by: Clara
Assemble with Care is a cozy puzzle game about repairing nostalgic electronics, accompanied by the ASMR-like sound effects of clicking and clacking items back together.
Why they loved it: The game has a super satisfying tactile feel as you reassemble old school broken electronics that 90s kids will remember fondly. You move at your own pace and explore themes of coming together through technology (phones, cameras). Clara brought up how “ASMR-y” the sound effects are, and I thought that was such a super interesting way to phrase it. Many cozy games have sounds that “feel good,” and she nailed it in her description.
Grow Home
Recommended by: Joe
Grow Home is a single player adventure that has you take control of BUD, a friendly little robot, as he climbs ever-upward on a journey to save the planet. Made by a small team at Ubisoft!
Why they loved it: Platforming, while not always “easy,” makes many appearances in cozy games. I think it’s because the stakes are still relatively low, so long as the game is generous with checkpoints. Saving the planet or restoring nature are common themes of the genre, and they are seen in abundance here. Joe described the game as “there is very little pushing back against you.” I really love that summation of certain cozy games that may not seem like they fit the genre otherwise.
He also spoke about the radical movement of a small team making cozy, small scale games within a bigger studio like Ubisoft.
Venba
Recommended by: Victoria T.
Venba is a narrative-based cooking game where you play as an Indian mom who just moved to Canada and who uses food to connect to her family.
Why they loved it: Actually, almost the entire panel had played and loved the game. Many spoke about how seeing the immigrant experience reflected in a cozy game package really touched them. Joe mentioned that “food connects you to the people you love,” which I think hammers home the appeal of cooking games in many ways. Out of all the games mentioned, this one seems to be one of the most universally beloved.
Palia
Recommended by: Victoria C.
A free-to-play MMO where you can explore, forage, craft, and create in a farm sim-like environment with other people online.
Why they loved it: The game was described as cozy and cottagecore, which instantly piqued my interest. You can engage in farming, hunting, crafting, and cooking, so it overlaps thematically with many other games on this list. A good point was made, too, that as cozy games catch on more, they are receiving bigger budgets to do cooler stuff. For example, a free-to-play MMO like this one!
The Spirit & the Mouse
Recommended by: Emily
The Spirit & the Mouse is a puzzle platformer where you play as a mouse trying to help restore power to homes during an outage. It takes place in the small, French town of Sainte-et-Claire. Featuring a photo mode with stickers!
Why they loved it: Cute animals are a staple in many cozy games so The Spirit & the Mouse fits right in. It was made by a 2-person indie game studio in Canada, which is an impressive feat. Games where you help people with their problems tend to have quite a wholesome feel, and this one is no exception.
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles
Recommended by: Jenny
Yonder is a thoughtful, meandering open world adventure game where you explore a natural island paradise at your own pace, interacting with flora and fauna as you go.
Why they loved it: Open world elements in many games can feel endless, dangerous, and overwhelming. But games like Yonder reframe the open world environment to feel like something more safe and leisurely. You can explore at your own pace, befriend NPCs, and interact with elements of nature in a aesthetic and colorful world.
Strange Horticulture
Recommended by: Clara
Strange Horticulture is an occult puzzle game where you, as the owner of the local plant store, use the mysterious properties of your greenhouse to influence the town inhabitants in mysterious ways.
Why they loved it: Clara described this game as “cult cozy,” and I just loved that description. Not every cozy game has to be sunshine and rainbows. Dark undertones are allowed, nay, even encouraged. The coziness comes from never feeling in danger and having some semblance of power over the direction of the game. Victoria T. summed it up nicely: “there is comfort in the strange, mystery, and unknown when you experience it somewhere safe.”
Ooblets
Recommended by: Joe
Ooblets is a deck-building, monster collection game where instead of fighting your opponents, you dance battle them! Full of color and wit, Ooblets is one of the funniest cozy games I’ve played.
Why they loved it: Something about “Pokemon…but with dance battles” really seems to speak to people. Plus, you grow your critters from seeds, which adds some farming elements to the game, too. It’s fun and silly, and has a unique take on “combat” through the dance battles, which are played out like a card game. As Joe says, “Not everything has to be super adversarial.”
The Companion
Recommended by: Emily
The Companion is a narrative-driven, exploration game where you play as an animal in the spirit realm, collecting Essences and locating Artifacts. Through this, you’ll uncover the emotional story of a family who has been here before you.
Why they loved it: Emily is a self-proclaimed animal protagonist lover, and so am I. There is a cute, coziness that comes with playing as a four legged friend. There is no time limit, seven cinematic landscapes to explore, and a beautiful soundtrack deeply interwoven into the progression of the game.
Wilmot’s Warehouse
Recommended by: Victoria T.
Wilmot’s Warehouse is a puzzle game where you decide how to organize a warehouse full of goods. Organize by icon, color, function, or anything else you can think of. The complication being that you need to remember where you put everything when it comes to retrieving it.
Why they loved it: There is nothing more satisfying than organizing a mess. Multiple panelists describe it as “scratching something pleasurable in their brain.” You can turn chaos into order, and take your time putting everything exactly where you want it. Joe added that there is a “quieting of your mind as you start to figure out where things go.”
Bonus Boardgame: Flamecraft
Recommended by: Victoria C.
Flamecraft is a cozy boardgame that got its start on Kickstarter. Play as a dragon with a business specialty: food, metal, potions, and more. Compete to earn achievements and increase your reputation around town.
Why they love it: Boardgames can be cozy, too! Just take a look at the game’s tiny meat and toast tokens to see what I mean. Adorable! The game is quick to explain, has a ton of cute designs, and is family friendly.
Honorable Mentions
The games listed above were the “not to be missed” entries, according to the panelists. But because we had some extra time, they flipped through a few more slides of additional cozy games to consider.
Wanderhome
A pastoral fantasy tabletop RPG about traveling animal-folk and the way they change with the seasons.
Artisans of the Splendent Vale
A cooperative adventure game set in a magical land of beauty, adventure, and magic.
Pikuniku
Pikuniku is an absurdly wonderful puzzle-exploration game that takes place in a strange but playful world where not everything is as happy as it seems.
Potion Permit
With your trusty tools, a brewing cauldron, and a canine companion at your side, you’ll need to diagnose symptoms, gather ingredients, brew potions, and cure ailments in this open-ended sim RPG.
Carto
Carto is a charming adventure game wrapped around a unique, world-altering puzzle mechanic. Use this power to explore mysterious lands and guide Carto back to her family.
Potionomics
Customize your store, hire heroes to gather ingredients, befriend (or romance) fellow vendors to learn new haggling strategies, and go head-to-head with competitors in this narrative-driven, deck-building shop simulator.
Mentioned in passing…
A few games didn’t get a presentation slide at all, they just happened to be mentioned in passing. But, why not, let’s include them here!
- A Little to the Left: Fix items that are just slightly out of order. Super satisfying!
- Fae Farm: Cute farming sim for 1-4 players. They had a cozy booth at PAX, too!
That about rounds up this article. I hope you found some new cozy games to love!
Stay cozy, gamers!
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