The weather is changing, the leaves are falling and supermarkets have released their Christmas line, so you know what that means – tis the season to be cozy. As a perpetual hermit forced to be more sociable than I want to be, I get happier when the autumn season rolls around and I prepare for hibernation. What better way to socially hibernate than with a pair of your best pyjamas, your favourite warm drink (or cold, if you’re someone who has an iced coffee all year round like a maniac), and playing one of our recommended cozy games to play on Steam? 

Dearest console players, though this may be a list of the best cozy games on Steam, the majority of these games are also available to play on other platforms, so please don’t fret, there is something here for you too.

1. PowerWash Simulator

2. Stardew Valley

3. Disney Dreamlight Valley

4. Beacon Pines

5. Sims

6. Life is Strange

7. Cozy games to be released

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PowerWash Simulator

Image by FuturLab

On the surface, this may not seem like the coziest game on the market, and maybe to some, the idea of owning a power washer and blasting dirt clean from various locations sounds more like work than anything cozy. When I tell you though, there is something so incredibly satisfying about completing the jobs, to turn something so dirty into something that looks brand new, that you can easily play PowerWash Simulator for a couple of hours before realising the amount of time you’ve spent on it. 

PowerWash Simulator honestly has such a basic premise (step 1 – get a power washer, step 2 – clean, step 3 – profit), that it’s easy to miss the cozy aspect of it. The repetitive nature of it may turn others away from the game, but it’s strangely so much fun and so addicting once you’ve picked it up. You can switch your mind off for a few hours, clean some grime off of a house or two, before completing any other (slightly more) productive task on your real life To-Do list. PowerWash Simulator also releases DLCs of different locations fairly often, so there is always something new that may pique your interest. Recently an Alice in Wonderland DLC was released, and the next DLC Shrek has been announced and due to drop in the near future. There’s no real pressure to the game, aside from the power washer itself, and it’s honestly so much fun.

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Stardew Valley

Image by ConcernedApe

I’m not sure you can make a list of cozy games without mentioning perhaps one of the most well-known farming sim games out there, Stardew Valley. Though there are many successors to have been released that you may find you prefer (Sun Haven is a fairly similar game, with a more magical element to it), Stardew Valley has carved out a prominent position as one of the best cozy, indie games. 

The game begins with the character you create inheriting a farm in the town of, you guessed it, Stardew Valley. Upon arriving, you discover it’s completely overrun with weeds, boulders and fallen logs, meaning a tougher journey is ahead than expected. The joy of Stardew Valley though is that none of that really matters – you could clean your farm up, grow the bare minimum of crops and focus on going deeper into the mines if you wanted. You can interact with the villagers of the valley as often or as little you would like to. You could become proficient in  fishing or avoid it completely as many often do. Though there are some quests to complete or materials to find in order to move the game along a little bit, there is also a vast amount of freedom that allows you to play the game however you would like to play it. With its soothing soundtrack, there is nothing better than unwinding after a long day with this cute, cozy game.

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Disney Dreamlight Valley

Image by Gameloft

Though I’ve tried to avoid putting too many farming sims on this list, unfortunately, a lot of cozy games have become synonymous with this particular genre of game. A now over-saturated market, it’s almost impossible to get a new game of this genre remotely noticed, but I suppose it helps to have the full branding of Disney at the crux of the game. It also helps that it’s so easy to get hooked on the game itself, and remain hooked for at least six months straight (I am, of course, speaking from experience). 

Set within a magical world, Disney Dreamlight Valley follows your character trying to put the valley back together after The Forgetting has driven the valley’s residents away, replaced by Night Thorns. Alongside the player’s characters, there are familiar Disney faces, such as the usual gang of Mickey, Donald and Goofy, Pixar favourites like WALL-E and Mike Wazowski, and the classic characters of Merlin, Ariel and Simba, alongside so many others that pop up in the game. Unlike Stardew Valley, I would say pushing the plot forward is more beneficial in this game, as you can unlock more characters the more you play. However, you can also design the valley however you want it to look, rearranging villager houses and adding decor to suit your aesthetic needs, which means every valley is unique. Though I find Disney Dreamlight Valley to be inundated with fetch quest after fetch quest (chasing after a villager I just spoke to is such a frustrating aspect of the game), it still does bring a sense of nostalgia Disney often relies on these days. There is something so comforting about the game, like putting on a warm, cozy jumper when the weather starts to become cooler.

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Beacon Pines

Image by Hiding Spot

A game I’ve completed fairly recently, and one that you may not have heard of, Beacon Pines is such a cute and cozy indie game, I can’t stop shouting about it. The animations are reminiscent of classic animated movies, the character designs are adorable and while the way the characters speak is incredibly similar to that of Animal Crossing, this is where the similarities end. 

Guided by a narrator trying to find an appropriate end to their book, you’re tasked with guiding Luka VanHorn, a recently orphaned deer-boy being looked after by his quietly compassionate grandmother, through the events of the plot. Through exploring the atmospheric world around Luka and his friends, the player must find trinkets containing words that can change the course of the story for better or for worse. I wish I could describe it more, but it would probably spoil more than I intend to spoil. The story itself I find to be well-written, with the narrator doing a great job adding voices to the otherwise voiceless characters. It’s a fairly short game, and can be easily completed within a few hours if you play it quick enough, and the ending destination of the game isn’t your choice as it can be in other games, but the journey to get there is so much fun.

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Sims

Image by Electronic Arts

Choosing The Sims as a cozy game is as basic as grabbing a pumpkin-spiced latte and lighting a cinnamon scented candle the first day you feel a little chill in the air. I am exactly the kind of person to do that, and so I am exactly the kind of person to recommend this game, sorry for leaning into expectations. A classic choice before I even realised what a cozy game is, The Sims is probably the gateway game into the cozy gaming world. Before you know it, you’ve got on your comfiest clothes, downloading mods to create the most bizarre world for your Sims to live in. 

The Sims is a life-simulation game, where you design and create a life for either your own personal Sim(s). With many DLCs available for each game, and more mods available for the most recent instalments, there are so many different ways to create a life you dreamed of. Or, alternatively, you could throw your Sim into a drama-filled existence. Or, if you’re so inclined, creating different ways for the Grim Reaper to show up on your Sim’s doorstep. I’m not one to judge, honestly. Whatever gets you through the darker evenings and the colder days.

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Life is Strange

Image by Dontnod Entertainment

Life is Strange? Cozy? I’m going to defend myself here and say, yes, on some level, Life is Strange emulates cozy vibes, while also presenting us with some pretty horrific situations. The environments are often beautifully presented, with one of my favourites being the town in True Colours. The soundtrack creates a wistful atmosphere, especially in those long journey scenes. Though the plots often drop us in the deeper end emotionally, the games are often easy to play, that despite the stressful moments throughout, it doesn’t feel stressful to play. 

With a new game to be released this October, there is probably no better time to play the series from the start. Life is Strange follows Max Caulfield, the main protagonist, struggling with using her new found powers of time travel and visions of the end of the world (or at least, the end of Arcadia Bay) as tries to navigate the trials and tribulations of attending a new school. With the help of her best friend Chloe Price, the pair investigate the disappearance of Rachel Amber and how all these strange occurrences are connected. Though perhaps needing a lot more time and effort than the others on the list, I personally love playing Life is Strange and watching the plot unfold when unwinding at the end of the year. I can’t explain it, but I hope I’m not alone on this.

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Cozy games to be released

Tales of the Shire

Image by Wētā Workshop

Now, would it really be one of my lists if it didn’t involve the world of Middle-Earth in one way or another? As a fan of the Lord of the Rings series, I am often starved for content and just find myself admiring new variations of the books (catch me adding any and all illustrated versions of the books onto my wishlist). Though there have been games set in the world of Middle-Earth before (and the less said about the Gollum game, the better), they are so few and far between, that when the teaser for Tales of the Shire dropped, I was so excited.

Though quite similar to other games on the list in that you curate relationships with your fellow Hobbits, grow and tend to plants, fish (of course), and decorate your own Hobbit hole, I don’t think I’m shocked by the choice to go in this direction. Aside from a few, Hobbits choose to live a comfortable life, so why not lean into the cozy aspects of Middle-Earth for the first time? Do I wish to have more of a RPG-type game set in this world? Absolutely. However, I have often been pining to live the life of a Hobbit (majority of my social media names reflect this), and this is probably the closest I’m going to get. It’s due to be released later this year.

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Tiny Bookshop

Image by Skystone Games

Who amongst us hasn’t dreamed of dropping everything to open their own cozy dream? Well, in the recently released demo of Tiny Bookshop that I’ve played fairly recently, you’re able to do just that and I’m so excited for the full game to be released. A management sim that was due to be released this year, though I’m not sure this is the case any more, this game looks so calm and lovely. 

In Tiny Bookshop, your character gives up life in the city, dropping all their savings into opening a bookshop on wheels in a close-knit community of a town. The aim is to order and stock popular genres of books, keeping in mind your customers needs. There are times when a customer is looking for something specific, and so you need to choose the correct book, which you’ll hopefully have in stock. The animation style is so unique, and the background setting is so pretty. There wasn’t a lot of time to get to know the townspeople, but hopefully they have interesting personalities and provide equally interesting relationships to the character, as often in games like this, it can make or break it.

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Conclusion

I hope within this list, you find something new to play or look forward to, or at the very least a new genre to explore for the approaching autumn and winter months. Cozy games have a variation of sub-genres within it, and with most games offering multiplayer, there are many options to play with friends too. Are there any games you would recommend we play? Let us know in the comments!

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