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/

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.

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!

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 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 :)

You ATE up the video essay genre with this one. Very cool of you for not only making cozy game content, but also being able to step back and talk about cozy games as a phenomenon. I think a huge part of cozy games becoming popular is that many women who did not grow up gaming realize there ARE games for them. For so long games targeted at girls/women were seen as lame and childish. Pokémon and Minecraft were considered good games while fashion games, visual novels, and decoration games were not taken seriously by gaming communities. It's not until a few years ago that gameplay which used to be targeted at women/kids was being accepted due to advertising for them being more gender neutral. Creative, chill games are no longer seen as lesser. Anyone can enjoy them as there is such a RANGE of gameplay. Not just men can enjoy video games, and cozy games are not just for women. It's awesome to see this change! All games are for anyone. Gendered advertisement is so harmful to this idea and always has been.

"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.

My favorite cozy game series since I was little is Rune Factory. Its basically Stardew Valley but was made in the 2000's alongside Harvest Moon. I don't think enough people talk about Rune Factory :D ! Please try it there are many good RF games!

CLOSET MINECRAFT ENJOYERS WHO DEFAULTED TO CREATIVE RISE UP also one game i consider cozy that ive been really enjoying is potion craft alchemy simulator!! you brew up potions by using certain ingredients, almost like a puzzle, and sell them to townsfolk also, im not sure if it counts as a cozy game but ive had my eye on An Outcry for a while and i really want to play it, figure it deserves a shoutout too

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 think there was a big flood of formulaic uncreative cozy games recently, and now it’s just sort of returning to a normal rate of releases. Hopefully the ones that continue to come out tend to be of higher quality.

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.

The power gamers hold is immense. I can't stress as an indie dev how much I wish I could support other devs more but most stuff I share can only reach other devs, and not people in their target audience. Any normal person who shares are games online mean the world to us!

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 know it's been mentioned in a few comments but i really want to throw my hat in the ring for Ooblets! you get your own farm to manage, house to decorate, clothes to buy and wear for customizable outfits, creatures to collect and a card-based combat system that feels fun and fresh. it came out in early access in 2020 and has consistently been updating with more features and fun seasonal events also potionomics!! i rarely see it mentioned and it was such a comfy experience for me. it was published by XSEED (Story of Seasons/Rune Factory) but developed by an independent studio. the vibe is chill, the dating sim aspect got me truly emotional, and at the end of the day managing resources, making potions, and running a shop is always fun

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.

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.

as a cozy game enthusiast are you familiar with snufkin melody of moominvalley? Its a short game in the works about the titular character snufkin who is a very prominent character in Tove Janssons the the moomins books and related media. It seems incredibly sweet and as a swede who grew up with the moomins im very happy to see it made and it has enormus cozy vibes.

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! ❤

What about the Tycoon games like Zoo Tycoon or Rollercoaster Tycoon? They are also cozy and I love them. ❤

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

I have to recommend Cattails, specifically the 2nd game that just came out, Cattails: Wildwood Story. It's a bit like stardew valley mixed with warrior cats. It's so cozy, but also challenging at times. The characters are all very unique and feel like real people (or cats.) I would definitely check it out :)

cozy will never be over, the problem is the cozy games nowaday arent polish enough

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

Viva piñata was my favorite. Just a garden with living piñatas… paradise.

why are people annoyed that there are too many cozy games? there are too many shooters, battle royales, fighting games etc but no one is saying "OMG THERE ARE TOO MANY FIGHTING GAMES." not every game needs to reinvent genre. as long as there are people enjoying them, i dont understand why other people complain. If its not for you, then u can play other games.

I adore Teacup! It’s a short story based game with puzzles where you are a frog in search of tea for a party. I’ve played it through several times. Thank you for the suggestions, these look great!

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.

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.

Chicory is a game I love that has a coloring book gaming mechanic. I’m glad you mentioned a short hike because when I finished that game and swooped down the mountain, It was cathartic

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

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 many cozy indie games on my radar, but I'm looking forward to Tiny Bookshop the most! It looks so cute and relaxing ❤

Wonderful essay! Keep it up! would love to see you do more like this but maybe deep dive into specific games?

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 😅

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.

If you haven't played it, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, I would highly recommend it. It is an amazingly cute and cozy game about exploration and doing good for the environment. I thought it was going to be a straight up kids game but as someone who was in their late 20s at the time of its release, it has been easily one of the best games I have ever played.

I loved this video essay, very entertaining and your way of writing makes it so the video flows smoothly. you have so much talent!

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.

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.

I think the Rune Factory series is underrated as a cozy game.

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~

Amazing video! My favorite Indy names are: 1. hollow knight (probably my favorite game ever) v popular now but still indy as far as I know 2. A short hike

Superliminal is one of those games that's not cozy but cozy to me. As much as I wish I could wipe my memory of it and actually figure out the puzzles again, I keep going back to it just for the vibe.

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

Only problem i have with cozy games is that sometimes they focus too much on the "cozy" and not the progression.

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.

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

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.

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.

You have the perfect voice for discussing cozy games love it

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

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

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!

I just started working on a cozy game, It's something I did not see yet ( if you know of a similar game please let me know :) ) where you are basically a shepherd taking care of a growing herd of sheep with your dog of course. It's about exploration and making them eat and drink and breeding. I have no idea if it will work well or not but I'll do it anyway as I find it relaxing almost ^^.

like two days ago a video came out called best cozy games coming 2024. they didn’t go anywhere.

A very cute game I started playing is called “Smushi Come Home” it’s on the switch but it’s probably on other platforms as well. You play as a little mushroom who got separated from his friends and have to go on an adventure to find your way home. Doing little quests and meeting new forest friends/other mushrooms along the way.

What is the mushroom character game at the end of the video called!?? Looks so cute

I've been obsessed with a short hike, little gator game, unpacking, and so many other indie titles. Please play FE. Its a beautiful 3d platformer where you save the forest and its gods. It can be scary at times but i love it so much

"an absolute fuck ton" that killed me

Dredge is a cozy game about catching disturbing fish, you fish, you organize your RE4 grid based inventory, you sell, upgrade you’re little boat, go out and fish again It has a relaxed core at its base but the setting is intentionally unsettling And I love it

I love cozy games! I'm a sucker for animal crossing. They don't necessarily require the same skill set for gaming as some other games out there that maybe I would enjoy playing if I was good at them but it just takes me way to long to learn how to actually play the game and honestly i just dont have the mental capacity to spend the time to learn. I feel like cozy games typically are simple enough to open up gaming for "noobs" so to speak. That being said, I feel like games like Stardew Valley, and Animal Crossing (even tho I love it) can get very very boring very quickly. Honestly I just want an open world game with cute customizable characters/world, beautiful scenery, and maybe some weapons and fighting, with good animation and graphics that doesn't make me want to barf five minutes in (looking at you minecraft)- or at least something new and different happening every day. (if anyone knows of ANYTHING LIKE THIS PLEASE HELP)

Salem this is one of my favorite videos in recent times I absolutely adore it

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 👀

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.

I'm so confused why Cult of the Lamb is between the farm sims it has a tiny farm but, it's not even 10% of the game 😭

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

Used to play that first Harvest Moon SO MUCH when I was a kid, never really felt like playing the other ones (the 3d looks ugly?), but i remember when I first saw SV i said "this looks like harvest moon", and no one knew about that game.

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)

Cult of the lamb is still getting uodates, it actually just Got one recently! (Also i just realized that COTL is in fact a cozy game even though it isnt overly Nice and cute but pretty Dark in theme’s and aesthetics.)

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

I’m looking forward to Loftia, Paralives, Haunted Chocolatier andddddd Witchbrook (might never come out? Who knows).

my love for “cozy games” definitely started as a kid with Facebook games like restaurant city and petville since we had a computer but no gambling counsels. I love cute aesthetic games but it’s more about the relaxation and the way they make you feel

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!

I love that you mentioned Terraria. It is my kind of cozy. Like a cozy adventure game. 😅

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!

Wylde Flowers is one of my favourites at the minute. It's a cosy farming sort of sim with witches. It's nice because you have to work for everything, it's not as easy to do as some others. Recommend it to everyone.

I saw that brief moment of SpiritFarer in there. great game. very cozy. made me cry a few times.

I like collectathon games and cozy games,harvest moon/story of seasons and animal crossing,I never want cozy games to be over

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.

Abzu was one of my favorites!

Great video! We're making a cozy soccer game and do often feel the worry of not being in the typical cozy trend so thanks for talking about games that are not in the typical purview of cozy. If anyone is interested in knowing more it's called Button City Soccer Days, it's a sequel to our game Button City. The first game is a narrative adventure about a cute fox trying to save the local arcade and in Soccer Days they go on a little soccer tournament arc with calendar mechanics. I hope you all find great cozy games that you love!

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

i really love sunhaven (even though its technically a farming sim), but the magic elements, the story, the dating… all so so so good!

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.

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)

cozy i feel is over-saturated with games that seemingly fit the vibe, pastel hues, calming music, but they market them in such a way that makes them not cozy. trying to craft them so you spend pointless hours for just small progress. (palia is an example of this) a cozy game should be something you want to spend time in because its gentle and enjoyable letting you just do the various things as you want to. the need to extend playtime artificially and filling games with politics, leave a fake and unauthentic feel to them.

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

Moonstone Island is genuinely delightful and I 100% recommend it to anyone who likes chill games and the collecting side of pokemon games

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.

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…

A game I'm really looking forward to is Gourdlet, the demo is currently free to play on steam. It's basically a cute game when you build your own mini village

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

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.

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!

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.

this is a great video, and a really like the cursing throughout while you talk about family friendly games haha!

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.

There’s too many cosy games these days with lack of content

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.