Titles like “Harvest Moon,” “Animal Crossing,” and “Stardew Valley” have shaped the cozy games genre. Feel-good games are currently experiencing a boom – and more and more of them are coming from Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. Ten game tips.
“Stardew Valley” is a classic. More than 30 million people have taken a break in the tranquil farming game since 2016 – making it one of the best-selling Cozy Games at all. In other computer games, you fight or puzzle, race or kick – Cozy Games, however, offer a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere. Decades ago, game series such as “The Sims”, “Animal Crossing” and “Harvest Moon” established the feel-good genre. What is striking, however, is how many new titles of this type have come onto the market in the last two to three years. And the number is increasing: every day new games are released that are somehow “cozy”, “cute” or “wholesome”. Statistics from the SteamDB website, which examines all new releases on Valve’s download platform, can also serve as an indicator of the boom. According to this, a total of 143 titles with the tag “cozy” were released in 2023 – This year, however, there are already significantly morenamely 180. In online showcases such as Wholesome Direct New cozy games are regularly introduced – and short “cozy clips” also achieve enormous reach on TikTok.
Cozy classic: Stardew Valley
But why are cozy games so popular? Well, let’s ask psychologist Jessica Kathmann: Together with two colleagues, she runs the consulting firm Behind the Screensto make psychological knowledge available to the games industry. “Games like ‘Stardew Valley’ or ‘Animal Crossing’ tell of an ideal, simple life with a return to nature and friendly relationships,” says Kathmann. “The virtual, romanticized life is manageable and slowed down, offering a strong contrast to the mostly complex, stressful and conflict-laden reality.” Whether it’s worries about war, Corona or climate change: Cozy games can block out the stress, at least temporarily. “Times of crisis present us with great challenges,” says Kathmann. “We are often unable, especially as individuals, to cope with them with the means at our disposal. Times of crisis therefore trigger a feeling of inability, powerlessness and hopelessness.”
Cozy games, on the other hand, serve our basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and connection, says Kathmann. “They give players a lot of freedom in game design, offer manageable challenges – combined with a feeling of self-efficacy – and provide worlds with many friendly virtual characters with whom you can build relationships.” Multiplayer games such as “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” also offer contact with real people – this was especially important during the Corona period, for example. “If our basic needs are met, this contributes to Resilience “This can strengthen us to deal with the private and social crises.”
The Behind the Screens team: Benjamin Strobel (l.), Nicolas Hoberg and Jessica Kathmann. Photo: Maria Manneck
Of course, you can also play cozy games simply because they’re fun: not everyone wants to use them to actively reduce stress. In any case, it’s exciting to see cozy games becoming more and more differentiated – and even incorporating elements that actually seem incompatible. Would you like some examples? In “Fall of Porcupine,” animals romp around in a rural hospital and have to contend with a dilapidated health system. In “Cult of the Lamb,” a cute little lamb becomes the leader of a sinister sect and takes quite a beating. And in “Spiritfarer,” you build yourself a cozy houseboat, which not only serves as a mobile home, but also to transport the souls of the deceased to the afterlife.
In short: Cozy games are exciting and diverse! This is also shown by the many releases from development studios in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. For example, we recently conducted an interview with Flawberry Studio from Zurich, which is working on the cozy game “Projected Dreams”. In this listicle we present you ten more cozy games from the DACH region that have either been published recently or are due to be published soon. Have fun!
