Summary
- Cozy games offer a unique style of gameplay focused on relaxation and feeling good, and they’ve found quite a fanbase in the last several years.
- Steam alone offers a variety of cozy games for PC with colorful gameplay and soothing soundtracks, some of which might even come for free, depending on the sales.
- From designing a café to managing a zoo to rebuilding a town, these games provide a range of heartwarming experiences to help cozy gamers unwind.
Cozy games are in a genre of their own, almost ignoring conventions of other genres to focus on relaxing, unwinding, and feeling good. While the term may lack a more specific definition, if it makes you feel good, congrats on finding such a cozy game!
With colorful and easy-to-grasp gameplay, a soothing soundtrack, and atmospheric worlds galore, PC players remain curious about the best cozy games on Steam – and there are plenty. If you’d like a little help parsing through all the cozy Steam games out there to find some of the best, check out our list below!
Updated on December 31, 2024: If you’re in need of a new cozy game on Steam for the cold winter months, consider some of our updated suggestions to keep your heart warm this season.
16
Calico
Cozy, Cute Cat Cafe
- Developer
-
Peachy Keen Games
- Publisher
-
Whitethorn Digital, Maple Whispering
- Release
-
2020-12-15
- Released
-
December 15, 2020
- Engine
-
Unity
- ESRB
-
e
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Weak
The first cat cafes first popped up in Taiwan back in the 90s, enjoyed by Japanese toursists so much that the practice went back home with them. Now, they’re everywhere – head down to the cat café that’s probably in your city for a cup of coffee and permission to pet as many kitties as you’d like.
In Calico, you’ve got the chance to design a cat café of your own. Interact with your cats in exciting ways, take control of your space’s design, and make recipes that keep customers coming back. More into magic? Check out the potion that super-sizes a cat, allowing you to ride it.
15
Dinkum
G’Day From The Outback
- Released
-
July 14, 2022
- Developer
-
James Bendon
- Publisher
-
James Bendon
- How Long To Beat
-
25 Hours
- Release
-
2022-07-14
Heavy on the Australian slang and direct in its influence from The Land Down Under, Dinkum, the adorable outback farming sim, is often too precious to put down, making it one of the best cozy games on Steam.
Reading as if Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing had an Aussie baby, you’ll find elements of both smash-hit series in Dinkum, this desert brush-based cozy game. Play alone or with friends to watch your area flourish with your improvements. You’ll farm, catch bugs, fish, find resources, and make plenty of precious NPC friends along the way.
Dinkum is also a multiplayer game, too, if you want to hear your friends do their worst possible Australian accents.
14
Slime Rancher 2
A Colorfully Unusual Farming Sim
You’ve probably gotten the vibe that the comforting farming sims are a big aspect of cozy games, but Slime Rancher seeks to turn that standard on its head. Follow Beatrix LeBeau who winds up 1,000 light years from earth, ready to start a new life out on the Far, Far Range.
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But, in a galaxy so far from our own, don’t expect any normal animals like cows or chickens in this cozy Steam game. Colorful little Slimes are your main livestock here, and you’ll be charged with feeding and caring for them as you expand, explore, and discover plenty of hidden secrets.
13
Bear And Breakfast
The Only Thing Cuter Than The Game Is Its Name
- Released
-
July 28, 2022
- Developer(s)
-
Gummy Cat
- Publisher(s)
-
Armor Games Studios
- Engine
-
Unity
- ESRB
-
E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Mild Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Strong
If your style of cozy Steam game is one that lets you open a bed and breakfast in a comfortable woodland town, make animal pals, and accept side-quests from deities? Bear and Breakfast is your chance to do all three at once, somehow.
Design a handful of quaint hotels in different locales, all with increasingly specific requests. Once you’re done, book in some guests and improve the area as humans slowly but surely return to it. This cozy game is just as much about ensuring ecological balance as it is about hotel empires, and we love a cozy game with a message.
12
Ooblets
For Those Torn Between Farming And Dancing
We’re definitely fans of intriguing, unique concepts in our cozy games, and this one delivers in spades! In Ooblets, this 2022 release is a vibrant farming sim that sees you raise a bevy of “weird little pals” to assemble an all-star team of dancers to participate in dance battles instead.
Complete with intricate character design, peculiar townsfolk, mini-games galore, and more to discover as you weave through the region of Oob unlocking the secrets of the land. It’s finally on Steam after a long time of waiting, meaning PC players can jam to their hearts’ content.
11
Coral Island
In Love With The Islands
We’ll admit to being suckers for adorable farming sim titles, and Coral Island fits the bill to a tee. It’s the usual fare of foregoing city life to begin someplace new and more simplistic than before, but there’s enough subtle charm to make the story stand out.
With more than two dozen romance options (not all of them human) in Coral Island, several community projects that contribute to the island’s restoration, farming, diving, and more, it’s easy to enjoy your easy, breezy new tropical life on Coral Island – especially now that it’s out of early access!
The game continues to receive updates, too, so it’s never a bad time to jump in (water pun definitely intended)!
10
Fae Farm
Both You And The Game Take Off Once You Get Your Wings
- Released
-
September 8, 2023
- Developer(s)
-
Phoenix Labs
- Publisher(s)
-
Phoenix Labs
- Multiplayer
-
Online Multiplayer
- Engine
-
Unreal Engine 4
- ESRB
-
E For Everyone due to Fantasy Violence
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Strong
Farming sims are always a natural addition to lists of the best cozy games on Steam, and Fae Farm is a 2023 release that fits in well among other titans of the genre. With the first wave of DLC for the game releasing in December 2023 to bring players back again, plenty of fans have fallen in love with the world of Azoria all over.
Though you’ll initially be farming and questing in town like normal, Fae Farm has its own touches, too. Prepare to get your fairy wings and help the region of Azoria with its natural disaster problem by clearing three dungeons, collecting the loot to upgrade your gear, performing odd jobs for the townsfolk, and so much more.
Fae Farm only recently received its second DLC pack in under a year since its launch, the Skies of Azoria DLC, for which I’ve written a more detailed look if you’re curious!
9
Potion Permit
Like Tetris, But For Potions
Though it may sound just a little stressful to be recruited to a new town as a chemist, charged with helping the sick townsfolk where herbal medicine has proven repeatedly that it cannot, Potion Permit delivers a colorful, endearing experience regardless of how your chemist is spending their days.
There are plenty of charming folks in the town of Moonbury – about 30, to be more precise – and a bevy of ingredients to find in the wilds outside of town as you work with the locals to expand the region and slay the monsters and upgrade the town.
8
Planet Zoo
Can You Feel The Love Tonight?
- Released
-
November 5, 2019
- Engine
-
COBRA
- ESRB
-
E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Crude Humor, Mild Blood, Mild Violence
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Strong
Planet Zoo allows you to design, populate, and manage a zoo, all without the risk of actual human or animal welfare endangerment! Design the park of your dreams and fill it with exotic animals, tasty food stalls, tantilizing gift shops, and more, then watch the customers stroll in from there.
While Frontier Developments nails the cozy games genre every time they try, with Planet Coaster being similarly fantastic, with the wholesomeness of animals and the childlike wonder of a day at the zoo at the forefront here, Planet Zoo takes the cozy cake.
7
Cozy Grove
Ghosts Can Be Cozy, Too
Fans of Animal Crossing are bound to fall in love with Cozy Grove, a cozy Steam game so cozy that it’s got it in the title. The gameplay is centered on daily check-ins and creative hobbies, with the real-life flow of time factored in as you run errands, dress up, and bump into the ghosts.
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Wait, what? Yeah, turns out Cozy Grove is haunted, but even the spooky spirits are there to help. The game’s slogan is, “Come for the view, stay for the friends.” And we definitely did just that.
6
Story Of Seasons: A Wonderful Life
A Wonderful Remake
Originally debuting as Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life in the West, this almost completely faithful 2023 remake of a 2003 GameCube classic maintains all the charm you want in a cozy Steam game, while being different enough from the rest of the herd (pun intended) to differentiate it from the rest.
Like many cozy farming games, you’ll assume control over your family’s old farm in the quiet town of Forgotten Valley and spend your days working the fields, caring for animals, and making friends with the bevy of unique villagers in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life.
This game is one of my all-time favorite farming games, so getting to play it all over again as an adult the same way I did as a kid was a really special experience! A must-play for nostalgic GameCube kids.
5
Journey
So Much Said In Silence
- Released
-
March 13, 2012
- Developer(s)
-
Thatgamecompany
- Multiplayer
-
Local Multiplayer
- Engine
-
PhyreEngine
- ESRB
-
E For Everyone due to Mild Fantasy, Violence
- How Long To Beat
-
2 Hours
- Metascore
-
92
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Journey is a unique cozy game in that, while you play with other people, you never actually speak to anyone. You can communicate with others through a series of dulcet chimes, working together to solve puzzles and progress on your – well, journey.
This game sometimes feels more like an art piece than anything, with infinite landscaping that leaves you feeling comfortably small. The music swells and recedes as you travel, and the gameplay itself is smooth and easy. It’s no wonder Journey took home so many Game of the Year awards and has even earned a place in the Video Game Hall of Fame.
4
Disney Dreamlight Valley
A Disney Kid’s Dream(Light) Come True
Described on the entertainment juggernaut’s site as “a hybrid between a life-sim and an adventure game,” Disney Dreamlight Valley exploded onto the cozy game scene in fall 2022 and players have been hooked since, especially with consistent updates keeping things fresh.
Where once Disney and Pixar characters shared memories in the Dreamlight Valley, The Forgetting changed everything. Your job is to wander the enchanting world and restore the magic for which it was once known, unlocking new realms and challenges as you befriend iconic characters and save the realms once and for all.
The game just received an update at the end of June 2024, so there’s never been a better time to start playing!
3
PowerWash Simulator
“Pshhh”
With over 30,000 positive reviews, we’d be remiss not to include PowerWash Simulator as one of the best cozy Steam games! Step into your rubber suit and grab your tools, because you’re about to make this world shine – even if it takes a while to find that last speck of dirt keeping you from your 100 percent.
PowerWash Simulator delivers exactly what it promises – it’s a multiplayer game that lets you and your friends step into any kind of environment from homes to helicopters to legendary locales from other series. Take your time, clean the grime, and let your worries be (power) washed away.
2
My Time At Sandrock
A Diamond In The Desert
While this list of the best cozy games on Steam previously had My Time at Portia in this spot, with My Time at Sandrock out of early access and out on full release in late 2023 and still receiving updates well into 2024, we can definitely appreciate all the improvements the devs made between the titles!
You play as a builder moving to the fledgling desert town of Sandrock on a mission to help rebuild it better than ever. Befriend quirky characters, go on missions, and watch as your efforts help the town flourish like never before.
1
Stardew Valley
One Of The Most Iconic Farming Sims
Eric Barone was seeking to improve his computer skills out of college, and his project culminated in maybe the most beloved cozy game to date – Stardew Valley. With colorful graphics, endearing soundtrack, and characters that make it impossible not to pick favorites, this cozy game is iconic for a reason.
Your grandfather had died and left you the family farm located in small, coastal Pelican Town. In this game that still sees somewhat regular updates and new features added (especially with the well-received 1.6 update on PC in March, soon to come for console and mobile as well), you’ll grow crops, raise livestock, plan harvests, befriend the townsfolk, and more. Live out your days in cozy, farmstead bliss.
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