Item — HN Reader

You’re referring to a lot of mainstream games, but it’s not hard to find relaxing (cozy) games.

Also, many of Nintendo’s first party titles still have the same charm as their old school titles.

I’m not a fan of a lot of the gory, hyper, crazy games you’re referring to, either, but there are no shortage of games that stick to the traditional charm, and I can always find something to enjoy.

I’m playing through Unicorn Overlords right now, and while I wouldn’t consider it “cozy”, it’s none of the adjectives you use, and reminds me a lot of Ogre Battle on SNES, or Final Fantasy Tactics on PS1.

Having said that, I’m also a huge fan of breaking out a deck of cards or board game and enjoying a quiet game with family/friends.

Heck, I’ll even spend a couple days playing through a solo game of 1862. [1]

[1] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/66837

1 comments

The Reuters article might be conflating some game design philosophies (relaxed, unrushed, non-competitive, no penalty for failure) with some game themes (farming, building, social relationships).

Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley - yeah for sure these are some of the original and most iconic "cozy games" out there.

But personally my favorite game in that genre is Graveyard Keeper, mechanics feel reminiscent of Stardew Valley, but when you're not burying bodies you're out looking for booze to keep a talking skull inebriated.

And frankly the coziest game experience I have these days is with a title that no one ever would have associated with that term a few years ago: World of Warcraft. Nostalgia probably has something to do with it but they've now added a solo player mode (Delves) which is relaxed, unrushed, non-competitive etc. You can die five or six times before you fail, and penalties are light, but frankly, they're not very hard. If you have a spare half hour you can just Delves'n'chill by yourself and come out with a gear upgrade or two.

So, I think it is not the theme, not even the mechanics but a set of game design principles that makes a game cozy. What were not cozy were the competitive FPSes and fighting games I played when I was younger, where we were all screaming at each other - that stuff can be fun but these days my emotional energy is directed elsewhere and I game to recharge.

I couldn't find if this was linked to a study or was anecdotal, because of the scroll.

A common issue with studying the effects of gaming is most studies are studying 1-2 blocks or light gaming schedules. I think most of the population is doing that, but there are people playing 4+ hours a day, most days. When articles are shared about the positive effects of gaming, a lot of people read them as though the effects must apply to them. Maybe they do! I don't see a lot of studies on this population.

I feel the same with this article, because I don't find Stardew Valley super relaxing. I think it's aesthetically relaxing, but mechanically stressful. Trying to complete the quests on time or get a certain item before the season ends is stressful. I could go into it with a more relaxed attitude, but then how is the game cozier for me than others? I could go into Skyrim with that attitude. Maybe I am too rushed in my professional life to play games in a relaxing way.