The 15 best cozy games for relaxation

Sometimes, you don't feel like saving the world by frantically pressing buttons. You just want to relax and play something calm, heartwarming. Fortunately, developers create not only epic titles but also cozy games that can captivate us for many hours.

Image: Ensigame

Our readers can find collections of survival games, where you constantly have to push yourself, or strategies, where players need to use their brains. Now it's time for relaxing games. We've selected 15 such options for our readers.

Stardew Valley

Image: primagames.com

Opening our list is an incredibly charming pixel art game, in which I have played almost 130 hours in just three weeks. Unfortunately, I discovered this project only this year, but it captivated me from the first time.

You play as a character who inherits a farm from their deceased grandfather. You need to put the farm in order, develop it: grow various crops, raise animals + collect their products, brew wine, beer, and fish in the backyard (if the farm allows it). Additionally, you can meet and interact with townspeople, each of whom has their own personality + story. For example, Alex seems like a selfish and vain jock, but in reality, he's a vulnerable guy.

Here, you can start a family with one of the bachelors, uncover mysteries, improve the town, explore mines to gather valuable resources, fight monsters, or simply fish, relax, collect vegetables, fruits, berries. Players can also complete small (and sometimes large) quests posted on the bulletin board. Don't forget to give birthday gifts to the residents — they love it.

The Sims Series

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The Sims series offers players the relaxation they seek after a hard day. It's nice to spend a few hours creating a character, setting up a home, and building a life (but first, spend a few days downloading mods). Here, you can create yourself and an ideal life.

Personally, I love the second part because it seems the coziest, most well-thought-out, and closest to real life. However, the others aren't bad either. The concept is the same: play as a character, advance them in their career, start a family, develop a dynasty, or kill everyone in the pool or fire. Or simply populate the town with beautiful buildings.

The Sims offers a lot of space, possibilities. That's why players love these games and are willing to relax here for hours, days, years…

Travellers Rest

Image: 3game.info

Another Stardew Valley? That's the first question that comes to mind when looking at this title, as it resembles the previously mentioned game. But here, the player has to run a tavern, develop it, serve customers, and sweep out the rowdiest with a broom, ensuring everyone is satisfied.

Additionally, the character will gather resources, grow necessary components for making drinks + food, raise animals, fish, and expand their collection of caught fish, and earn money to improve the tavern. Doing several tasks simultaneously isn't that hard; the main thing is to get into the groove.

The atmosphere is very cozy, relaxing. You just want to step into the tavern through the monitor screen and drink a mug of fresh, cold beer.

Farm Together

Image: instant-gaming.com

Another farming game, but this one focuses solely on the farm. No extra townspeople (although there is a cooperative mode), no tavern development, no mines with monsters. Just growing various crops, raising animals.

There are also quests that reward you with coins or diamonds, which can be used to purchase new territories + items. Each level unlocks something new for the character, such as a money tree, pumpkins, chickens, and more. The large territory can be divided into zones, such as a pirate zone, beach, orchard, and whatever else your imagination can create.

Personally, I return to this game every summer, autumn to further develop my already enormous farm. The graphics are pleasant,cartoony, and the game never gets boring, even on a low-end PC or laptop.

Little Kitty, Big City

Image: youtube.com/@NintendoAmerica

Welcome to a sandbox where you play as a mischievous cat who was peacefully sleeping on a window, slipped, and started falling. Along the way, the pet snagged a crow, who will remember this incident. The cat landed in a trash can. Returning home quickly is impossible, so the pet, accustomed to a quiet life, has to run around a cartoon version of Tokyo and seek help from other animals.

The player is given an open area full of secrets. The exploration process is engaging, mainly because you play as an adorable animal. The kitty deftly jumps onto external air conditioner units, tables, and boxes, runs along wires, climbs onto roofs, and of course, knocks everything that isn't nailed down to the ground. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Stray, but the projects have significant differences.

There's also humor. For example, if you want to catch a bird, you might knock over a person eating a sandwich during the hunt. The user needs to pick up the sandwich to lure the birds, but catching them is impossible — they always escape. Players also need to complete quests given by townspeople. They aren't too difficult, so they won't stress anyone out.

Euro Truck Simulator 2

Image: youtube.com/@SCSSoftware

Long roads, beautiful scenery outside the window, quietly playing music — all of this relaxes and makes it feel like the player is on a long but interesting journey, delivering various cargoes across European countries. These can include fragile items, animals, heavy equipment, and more. The atmosphere of endless travel is what matters most here — road romance.

Initially, you'll take orders from an agency, then buy your own truck, hire several workers so they can also enjoy the long journey, earn money. ETS 2 is designed so that the player can relax after a hard day by taking on one order after another. This way, you can visit different European countries, find beautiful viewpoints.

My Time at Portia

Image: Epic Games

After playing as a cat + a truck driver, it's time to return to the tough life of farming. Well, it's not that tough because we're here to relax and unwind, not to stress out. My Time at Portia is perfect for this.

Here, the player once again develops their own farm, and in addition, builds relationships with townspeople, who will reward the player for friendliness. Complete their quests, chat frequently, start romances, go on dates, participate in festivals. All of this is unlimited here.

You’ll also have to explore small dungeons to gather resources. But they aren't too challenging, so you won't even break a sweat. If someone is put off by Stardew Valley's pixel art, they might like this game due to its very pleasant, cute graphics.

Garden Paws

Image: mypotatogames.com

Another farm simulator in our selection, but here the player gets to play as an adorable animal living in a world of equally cute critters. This could be a colorful kitten or a fox with an unusual pattern. Focusing on gameplay can be difficult due to the kawaii design. There are 10 characters and 400 different skins to choose from.

You need to grow various crops on the farm and gather resources to sell at a market stall. Other residents will come to buy what they need. By earning money, the main character can visit townspeople to purchase items from them.

Fishing, mining, and crafting are also available. The user can compete with others to become the best farmer. The game features around 700 quests that you need to complete to improve the virtual town.

Mineko's Night Market

Image: nintendo.com

It's time for a charming adventure with an interesting story. Players will create many items and influence the world around them, but most importantly, they’ll enjoy the company of fluffy cats. As soon as you open the game, you'll be immersed in a cozy atmosphere.

Mineko's Night Market is, above all, a relaxing project. This is facilitated by various elements, from thoughtful improvements like unlimited inventory and no tool switching to the overall difficulty level. Resource gathering is one of the simplest parts of the game, with each resource having its own mini-game. Fishing is also incredibly easy — there's no reel-in mechanic. After gathering resources, the heroine can start crafting other items.

The story begins with the main character + her father arriving at their new home on a small island. Recently, old tales of a giant magical cat have resurfaced, and there have been more frequent sightings of this mythical creature. Mysterious agents claim to be investigating this animal, and the heroine gets involved in the investigation to uncover the agents' true intentions.

House Flipper 2

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For me, cleaning is real torture, but virtual cleaning brings a lot of pleasure, relaxation. In House Flipper 2, I can also be a designer, bringing my boldest ideas to life.

I've already explained the essence of the game: you take on client orders to clean or renovate rooms. The player needs to complete the order 100% to get paid, unlock new opportunities, and take on more orders. This is how you progress from an ordinary cleaner to a top-notch designer. The simulator is relaxing, and you create a cozy environment for virtual people.

Spiritfarer

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Spiritfarer begins with an introduction to Charon, who ferries souls across the river. However, he leaves his post and appoints a girl named Stella as the new ferrymaster. She must visit islands to find lost spirits and guide them to the eternal gates. But first, she has to get to know them and fulfill their last wishes. Only then will they be ready to leave this world.

The developers call Spiritfarer a "cozy game about death", but it actually addresses much broader themes. It's a story about saying goodbye to close friends, the different lives people have lived, and their varied final wishes.

Stella gets her own ship to travel across a large map. Each passenger gives tasks, sometimes involving building rooms or objects on the ship. These tasks don't provide traditional rewards, but they unlock access to new locations with many interesting things to discover.

The project combines several genres perfectly. It includes farming elements, a touch of Metroidvania, and the exploration of islands reminiscent of games in that genre.

Cozy Grove

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This isometric adventure welcomes players to a haunted island. The unique aspect of gameplay is its synchronization with real-time. There are numerous tasks, challenges dependent on the time of day or day of the week. Completing quests typically takes 30 to 60 minutes. The hero can engage in many secondary activities such as fishing, gathering, crafting.

Players will explore a constantly changing continent as a ghost scout. Each day, the character roams mystical groves, forests, uncovering local mysteries, secrets. The main mission is to help ghosts, lost souls find peace. After an hour or two, activities end, and the user is prompted to return the next day. This limitation makes Cozy Grove ideal for short sessions.

For certain missions, players receive ghostly logs, which can be fed to the campfire companion and advisor to unlock access to new characters.

Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator

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This game immerses you in the world of gardening, where you play as a gardener creating a small paradise. Players can plant, grow, decorate, cultivate a variety of plants. The charm extends beyond the personal plot, as you interact with friendly neighbors, sharing knowledge, gardening experience.

The gameplay cycle is divided into days, each requiring players to remove dead plants, water flowers, spray for pests, and fulfill requests left by townspeople in the mailbox. The gameplay consists of daily routines, but these are calming rather than annoying. Some actions, like watering plants, can be automated. There is a story mode + a sandbox mode.

Sun Haven

Image: thegamer.com

Another pixelated Stardew Valley-like game, but with a fantasy twist. The place you arrive at is filled not only with humans but also various mystical creatures, including a cute cat-girl.

You’ll help residents, complete story missions, furnish your home, grow crops on the farm, and constantly save them from summer fires, pesky squid. There are also skill upgrades, challenging dungeons with bosses, and, of course, the beloved fishing. The character can form romantic relationships with other residents, go on dates, and give cute gifts.

The game captivates with its fantasy setting, beautiful characters, and various events held in the town, such as the lantern festival when dozens of lanterns rise into the night sky.

PowerWash Simulator

Image: theisnn.com

Ending our top list is an unusual game where you clean surfaces with a powerful stream of water. This can include a car, a playground, or a yard. What's so interesting about that?

While some might find this title boring, I found it pleasant to dive into the game after a hard day at work and clean various objects. It was soothing and a great way to distract from negative thoughts. So grab the hose and head to a virtual job.

This has been a selection of 15 of the best relaxing games that will bring you peace and comfort.

Main image: Ensigame by DALL-E