10 Cozy Games You Should Be Playing Right Now

Once again, it's the time of year when the sun shies away while moonlight and darker days take over as the Norhtern Hemisphere succumbs to winter. Following the annual inundation of beloved pumpkin spice and apple cider in fall, the perfect escape from the colder weather can lie within the comfort of cozy video games like Cozy Grove and Bear and Breakfast. There's a variety of games to choose from that feature autumnal and winter themes or simply have a cozy vibe, and plenty that don't include farming mechanics.

The perfect cozy game should feature enough challenges in the gameplay to make the experience somewhat challenging for the player, but not so much that it excites. The goal of a cozy game is to ultimately provide a relaxing experience so that the gameplay is suitable for winding down after a long day at work, or simply provides an easy escape from everyday life where one can switch off their brain and engage in some basic gameplay mechanics that feel rewarding.

10 Critter Crops

Cute Creatures, Cozy Farm

Critter Crops is an adorable, hand-drawn cozy game inspired entirely by Halloween, perfect for this time of year. In the game, you play as an amateur witch called Sylvie, who has been exiled from her hometown upon the locals discovering her powers. Sylvie arrives at the beautiful island where it becomes her purpose to grow magical crops that evolve into creatures who help her restore the island. The game features a mixture of farming sim mechanics alongside exploration and management elements, making this a cute RPG with many different exciting gameplay avenues.

The uniquely hand-drawn aesthetic of Critter Crops is absolutely charming and mystical as it features all the right colors that one would expect from an autumnal and spooky Halloween-inspired game with vivid purples, lilacs, and oranges. For those who have been patiently anticipating the future release of fantasy farming sim Moonlight Peaks, which would be a bit like Animal Crossing if it featured life as a vampire with supernatural features, Critter Crops could be an excellent recent cozy game release to try that falls into a similar enough category to Moonlight Peaks. Definitely a game for fans of Halloween, with spooky vibes and an overall autumnal theme, Critter Crops is currently available on PC.

9 Reka

Peaceful River Journey

A brand new cozy game with a vividly autumnal theme is Reka. Still in early access, the game features a rich storyline based entirely around Slavic folklore. This exploration game is set in a sunset, autumnal land. Create a witchy character who becomes an apprentice of the legendary Baba Yaga, a character from Slavic folklore who lives in a wooden hut atop chicken legs. Explore the scenic world while living in said legendary hut while foraging for ingredients, solving puzzles and watching the heartwarming story of Baba Yaga unfold as secrets of this beautifully spooky, scenic world unravel. The game is currently available on PC and will hopefully become compatible with Steam Deck at some point during its early access period.

8 Love, Ghostie

Cute Ghost Dating Sim

Recently released on PC and Mac is a matchmaking and management game called Love, Ghostie. Extremely cozy and adorable, this wholesome game features a ghost who haunts a haunted manor as the playable character. As the ghost, the primary purpose of the game is to match the manor's residents with others as an aspiring matchmaker.

An excellent cozy game option for those who enjoy romance as a gameplay feature, learn to match the residents according to clues about each of their personalities to figure out who might be compatible with each other. The game's combination of its cute animation style and spooky theme make it a perfect game to cozy up with during the cold months.

7 Little Misfortune

Quirky Kid's Dark Tale

An interactive story with a dark but humorous twist, Little Misfortune is a well executed horror - but cozy - game to curl up with during a rainy or snowy and dark night. Play the game as an eight-year-old child called Misfortune Ramirez Hernandez, whose mission is to pursue Eternal Happiness to gift to her mother. As the story develops and its dark humor unfolds, navigate Little Misfortune's adorably illustrated world while enjoying the clever wit of the game's storyline as well as its charismatic narration. A truly unique interactive story experience, the game is available on PC, Mac and console.

6 Cozy Grove

Magical Island Adventure

Imagine if Animal Crossing met storybook-style animation and the result would be Cozy Grove, an adorable life simulator game with a spooky twist. Create a character who becomes a scout whose role is to navigate life on a mysterious island. With quests based almost entirely around crafting, participate in casual farming sim activities like foraging and fishing while restoring the island - but there's a twist. The island is haunted by adorable little ghosts of bears who require various tasks to be completed to help them enter the afterlife. Cozy Grove is available on PC, Mac, consoles, and mobile devices.

5 Beacon Pines

Interactive Storybook

Beacon Pines is an interactive, endearing, storybook-style game featuring adorable animal protagonists. Categorized utlimately as a horror game, Beacon Pines sees the story of Luka, a twelve-year-old deer whose father has passed away and whose mother has gone missing. Navigate life among fellow young animals through a very well-written story as the party investigate the strange noises and lights coming from the old local warehouse. The game allows a delightfully creepy, immersive storyline to unfold that is absolutely perfect gameplay to experience around the end of the year. Beacon Pines is available on PC and consoles.

4 Bear and Breakfast

Cozy Forest Inn

For fans of management games, Bear and Breakfast is a cozy management game that revolves around running a bed and breakfast in the middle of a forest, but as a bear, otherwise known as Hank. The teenage bear takes the notion of brushing up on his entrepreneurial skills and starting the business in order to make money, which leads to an interesting story with all sorts of characters along the way. Customize and personalize the bed and breakfast, manage the satisfaction of its customers and explore the wonderful surrounding woodlands. Bear and Breakfast is available on PC and console.

3 Unpacking

Relatable Moving Sim

Although there is nothing autumnal nor holiday-themed about the game, Unpacking encompasses the very essence of a good cozy game, especially one that a player can truly snuggle up with during the colder weather. A very popular game with a simple premise, Unpacking is a puzzle game that offers an experience that involves exactly as its title suggests: unpacking. Peacefully unpack belongings and find the right places for them in each room that is assigned while uncovering a heartwarming and moving story which requires no words to be said. Unpacking is available on PC and console.

2 Sun Haven

Cozy Farm RPG

If Stardew Valley more overtly featured supernatural creatures and magic, it would be Sun Haven. This adorable fantasy, pixel-art-style game has become popular on PC while many cozy game players anticipate its future release on console.

Experience all the charm of a farming sim but with a sprinkle of monsters and dragons and create a magical character with unique powers to explore the immersive fantasy game. The world in Sun Haven is rich with lore and riddles to be solved while offering a fantastical storyline. The game is perfect for fall, especially in the lead up to Halloween.

1 Garden Witch Life

Witchy Farming Life

Recently released on PC and console, Garden Witch Life is a cozy farming sim experience with a wholesome vibe. Customize and create a character who flees a busy life after losing their job to live in a beautiful, fantasy town. Befriend the local NPCs, forage for ingredients, unlock recipes and restore the land through gardening skills to bring the world back to its former beauty. The game features some very fun cooking mechanics as well as excellent exploration experiences, so the player can feel fully immersed in this adorable, magical world. Garden Witch Life has a perfect autumnal vibe to it while also keeping things a little bit witchy for Halloween.

It is worth nothing that Garden Witch Life experienced a number of unfortunate bugs upon its release, particularly for Nintendo Switch players, but has received some patches for bug fixing and stability. Garden Witch Life is a charming experience regardless. Garden Witch Life's Discord server has grown a community of fans of the game where concerns about the running of the game can be addressed, and as it continues to improve, it will hopefully become a well-loved cozy game alongside the likes of Cozy Grove and Bear and Breakfast.

Source: GameTrailers/YouTube