Cosy games
Cosy games are games which promote relaxation through mechanics such as building relationships, farming, cooking and gathering resources for crafting. They tend to not contain violence and offer are serene ways to enjoy gaming at a slower pace compared to other genres. Although cosy games are not an official genre, they are increasingly gaining recognition in the wider gaming industry as a style of gameplay which players are looking for following the pandemic. Some popular cosy games include Animal Crossing, The Sims and Stardew Valley.
What makes a game cosy?
At their core, cosy games are non-violent and promote kindness, peace and nurturing behaviour from the player. Traditionally, games have a hack and slash mentality to solving puzzles - if there is a guard in the way, the natural inclination is to run toward them with a sword in hand, or maybe to load ammo and shoot. In cosy gaming puzzle solving is more amicable. A character may warn you a guard is in the way and suggest you look for a way to make him sleepy, so off you go to find a pan flute that’s perfect for the job!
Building friendships is also seen as incredibly important in cosy games and is increasingly becoming recognised as a core mechanic. If you have to interact with residents or neighbours, the expectation from cosy gamers is that you can become friends with them or develop romantic relationships. Typically this is done through giving gifts and talking to the characters every day until they begin opening up to you and revealing their backstory.
The focus of a cosy game is on having fun and keeping the gameplay experience stress-free. As part of that, cosy games will typically remove anything which is considered too hard. If you think back to older games having long and complicated puzzle sequences, those have all but been removed from cosy games. Instead now, cosy games focus on mechanics which you can enjoy quickly so you can get back to the story. This helps to promote a relaxing atmosphere and encourage you to turn off the game at the end of a good play session rather than continuing to play long into the night.
What you will also find is that the kindness seen from characters in cosy games goes beyond the limits of the game itself. The communities which surround long service cosy games also promote the comfy vibes from the games they play. Where traditional gaming communities were closed off and fairly dismissive of new players, everyone is welcome in cosy gaming. Players within these communities will go out of their way to encourage and and assist others when they are struggling. If you are finding a large, open community around the game you are playing, the likelihood is that it is a cosy game.
When did cosy games start?
There’s debate among this. But, the first official cosy games started with life simulation games, which started becoming more popular in 2000 with the launch of The Sims on PC.
Since then, cosy games have expanded to include other game genres which have elements of life simulation games. Games such as Stardew Valley introduced farming simulators into cosy gaming, but by still having relationship building being a core mechanic, it returns back to the life simulation roots.
Cosy games really became a style in their own right with Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Although it’s not the first game in the franchise, players flocked to Animal Crossing during the pandemic when players were looking for life-like games where they could reenact spending time with others.
That popularity and need for relaxation in games continues today. Now, more games are adding in cosy elements or are being developed. We now have everything from massive multiplayer online (MMO) games like Palia, all the way to puzzle games like A Little to the Left.
Is Fortnite a cosy game?
Despite this, there is often debate on what makes a game cosy and since the scope of the market has become wider, there are more people defining games as cosy because it has cosy elements to it, such as Fortnite.
Fortnite is mostly not seen as a cosy game and this is because of the third person shooter mechanics on which it is based. However, many who play Fortnite are seeing it more as a cosy game because the developers, Epic Games, expanded the reach of Fortnite by introducing a Lego world which does not contain the same player on player aggression which is associated with the typical gameplay.
As cosy games typically do not show any form of violence in the main gameplay loop. I would not consider Fortnite a cosy game, but that doesn’t mean that if you play Fortnite on a regular basis you cannot enjoy the cosy elements that are found within the game.
Are cosy games “girl games”?
“Cosy games can be played by everyone!”
Credit: A Little to the Left - Max Inferno & Secret Mode
Like it or not, games from the 90’s and into the early 00’s typically fell into two categories: games and “girl games.” Anything you could play that you weren’t ashamed of showing off to your friends was considered a normal game. However, if the game involved some kind of dressing up or horses, it was typically considered a girl game and, by extension, wasn’t something you should be playing without running the risk of your fellow gamers thinking you were really uncool.
Girl games still exist and there are plenty of horse games available if you enjoy those. But, girl games now typically fall into the cosy gaming category. This is mostly because the mechanics which are typically associated with those games - simple gameplay, relationship building and a focus on character customisation - exist within the cosy gaming category.
Fortunately for everyone the use of the term “girl game” has fallen out of fashion largely because gendered language doesn’t help anyone, and also because cosy games can be played by everyone!
How I rate cosy games
Cosy game reviews are incredibly helpful to make sure that you are getting the best experience possible from your game time. I am open and transparent in how I rate cosy games because I want you to play the best games out there and enjoy your time with them regardless of whether that is a life simulation game, a puzzle platformer or a strategic game.
I make a point to play every game I review for as long as possible to form an opinion and really understand everything about the cosy game before giving a final verdict.
From time to time I may receive free copies of cosy games or take a sponsorship. However, I will never accept either of these in exchange for an overly positive or negative review. My opinion on a cosy game will always remain my own. Any time I do receive a free game or a sponsorship, I will clearly disclose it in the content itself.
Cosy games are warm, friendly and encourage collaboration
Credit: Spirit City: Lofi Sessions - Mooncube Games
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