18 best cosy games on Switch, Steam, PlayStation, Xbox & more to play in 2024

Sometimes there's nothing better than kicking back and relaxing, so we've compiled a list of the cosiest games out there that are perfectly suited to slowing down and curling up with a blanket.

Games in this genre are a surefire way to unwind after a long day, with the likes of Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and The Sims all being mainstay titles that are instantly recognisable as having ultimate cosy vibes.

While these are fantastic for whiling away the hours, there are plenty of games out there you might not know about - so here are our top picks for some popular and lesser-known jewels within the genre.

Best cosy games in 2024

#18 - Garden Life

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• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
• Release date: 2024
• Key features:
  • Stylised graphics
  • Cultivate and decorate your garden
  • Simple to grasp mechanics

Is there anything more relaxing than a spot of gardening in the sun? Well if you find yourself hankering after some garden goodness and creating your thriving greenspace with a conservatory, tool shed and more, then Garden Life may just be the ticket.

With its easily accessible mechanics and gorgeous graphics, Garden Life lets you embrace your inner green thumbs and take some time out of the hustle and bustle of reality. We even gave it 4/5 in our Garden Life review.

#17 - Lightyear Frontier

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Image via FRAME BREAK

Lightyear Frontier details & key features:

• Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S
• Release date: 2024
• Key features:
  • Relaxing exploration and crafting
  • Co-op
  • Restore nature and feed wildlife

Mechs and farming seem like an odd combination, but Lightyear Frontier makes it work. Now available in early access, it's both relaxing and stress-free, allowing players to explore at their own pace.

You can build your home and add more decorations to improve your 'cosyness', giving you helpful bonuses. Farming is simple and satisfying, and you can team up with your friends to restore regions and clean up slime and weeds polluting the environment. We also gave it a 4/5 in our early access review.

#16 - Lake

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Image via Gamious

Lake details & key features:

• Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
• Release date: 2021
• Key features:
  • Ambient soundtrack
  • Cell-shaded graphics
  • Social simulator

If you’re looking for a cosy game that isn’t another farming simulator, Lake could be one for you. From the perspective of Meredith Weiss, Lake has you becoming a temporary mail carrier from 1986 who is tasked with delivering mail to the citizens of Providence Oaks.

Like Stardew Valley, Lake tackles themes of leaving big cities to pursue a simpler and more peaceful way of life. Meredith must fill in her dad's role as a mail carrier for two weeks, and during that time, you get to know the inhabitants of Providence Oaks, make friendships, and even pursue romantic connections.

At the end of it all, you must decide if leaving the big city was the right thing to do and if Meredith should return to her hometown permanently.

#15 - The Longing

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Image via Studio Seufz

The Longing details & key features:

• Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch
• Release date: 2020
• Key features:
  
  • Moves in real-time
  • Quality bonding time with your Shade
  • Unique animated art-style

If you're something of an introvert and the idea of cosiness is spending time alone, The Longing is a curiously satisfying option.

The Longing is an indie adventure-idle game where you play as a Shade waiting 400 days for your king to awaken from an ancient slumber. During those 400 days, you can explore, decorate your cave, or ignore the King's advice and venture into the darker, outer caves.

Whichever way you choose to spend your downtime, the game advances in real-time, meaning you can exit the game and revisit it weeks later to see the ending if you wish. Alternatively, you can spend the days with your Shade to alleviate their loneliness.

The game is more of an idle artistic experience, suited for those needing some space and quiet downtime, and less so for people wanting a more hands-on game.

#14 - Hello Kitty Island Adventure

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Image via Sunblink

Hello Kitty Island Adventure details & key features:

• Platforms: iOS
• Release date: 2023
• Key features:
  • Create a unique Sanrio-style character
  • Iconic adorable mascots
  • Solve puzzles and complete tasks

Crossing Hello Kitty with Animal Crossing seems like the ideal combination, as after creating your unique Sanrio-inspired character, you'll be thrown into cosy island life.

As you solve puzzles and embark on solo island sojourns in Hello Kitty Island Adventure, you'll be able to befriend iconic characters like Chocokat and Aggretsuko and join them for an assortment of adorable adventures in a sprawling game world, making this a great contender for the best cosy games on the market.

#13 - The Wandering Village

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Image via Stray Fawn Studio

The Wandering Village details & key features:

• Platforms: PC, Xbox One and Series X|S
• Release date: 2022
• Key features:
  • City-building on the back of a giant animal
  • Develop and protect your villages
  • Unique Ghibli-esque art style

The Wandering Village is a city-building sim with a twist: the city exists on the back of a giant land mammal named Onbu that looks remarkably similar to a dinosaur.

It's not for the faint of heart, though, as not only will you need to recruit villagers, construct buildings and farms, and generally keep your people alive, but also direct Onbu and keep them from harm.

Every so often, Onbu will wander into a poison patch or earthquake, which will have detrimental results, forcing you to re-prioritise your goals.

It's an incredibly cosy game, featuring stunning music, and gives you the choice to meander at a pace which suits you. The gentle nature of Onbu and the mixture of 3D and 2D animation art styles feel reminiscent of Studio Ghibli films - with stunning results.

#12 - Potion Permit

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Image via MassHive Media

Potion Permit details & key features:

• Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
• Release date: 2022
• Key features:
  • Gathering ingredients and brewing potions
  • Loyal dog companion
  • Uncover mysteries

Potion Permit is a charming fantasy RPG that puts you in the shoes of a chemist in charge of diagnosing and fixing the ailments of the residents of Moonbury.

Followed by your loyal dog, you must explore the wilds and gather ingredients to heal your patients. You can do this by foraging for ingredients or getting materials from defeated monsters.

Whilst steadily becoming the best potion brewer in the country, you can explore the town of Moonbury and relax in the slower activities like getting to know the residents, fishing, and uncovering mysteries.

#11 - Bear and Breakfast

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Image via Armor Games

Bear and Breakfast details & key features:

• Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch
• Release date: 2022
• Key features: 
  • Animal protagonists
  • Build up your B&B
  • Improve your reputation in the woods

Bear and Breakfast is wonderfully weird. It features a roster of anthropomorphic animals who set out on the journey of opening their B&B for visitors, whilst dropping gloriously cheesy puns along the way.

You play as Hank, a cute brown bear who discovers an abandoned shack in the woods. With help from a loan shark – an actual shark – you open your B&B and slowly work your way up to financial success.

The game is delightfully earnest in its gameplay loop, as you build up your reputation you can venture further into the woods for materials or to uncover mysteries if you so choose.

#10 - Slime Rancher 2

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Image via Monomi Park

Slime Rancher 2 details & key features:

• Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S
• Release date: 2022
• Key features:
  • Adorable designs
  • Intriguing upgrades and smiley slimes
  • Sequel builds on the success of the original

Fifth on our list of the best cosy games, Slime Rancher 2 is the sequel to the hit success that lets players farm Slimes for a living. The music, vibrant art style and intriguing mysteries of the previous inhabitants of Rainbow Island are enough to keep you wanting more.

Alternatively, you can concentrate on upgrading your farm and collecting the many different types of Slimes that roam wild on the island in Slime Rancher 2.

The Slime designs are cute and unique and the gameplay loop of raising money for upgrades to traverse more of the island is enough of a hook to keep you playing for hours at a time.

#9 - My Time at Sandrock

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My Time at Sandrock details & key features:

• Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
• Release date: 2023
• Key features:
  • A fun character creation system
  • Romanceable NPCs
  • Sandy the camel

All aboard - we're going to Sandrock, y'all. This farming-based life sim has it all, from cosy vibes out on the open plains as you decorate and expand the interior of your abode to building, to a frankly iconic town mascot, Sandy, who's a camel (no, really, she's amazing).

If you've played My Time at Portia, Pathea Games' previous title, you'll be right at home here in Sandrock - which we scored a 3.5/5 in our review - as you work to develop and expand your workshop whilst fulfilling all sorts of different commissions and tasks. The NPCs here all have quirky personalities to go with their unique appearances, and some can even be romanced (and married, if you so choose and they accept) - you can even spar with them, too!

Alongside a levelling system and enemy mobs to battle, you're also able to team up with a bunch of pals to explore this frontier together. 

#8 - Coffee Talk

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Image via Toge Productions

Coffee Talk details & key features:

• Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Mac, PC, PlayStation, Xbox
• Release date: 2020
• Key features:
  
  • LoFi soundtrack
  • Pixel art style
  • Visual-novel-meets-barista-simulator

With a dual entry for the fourth entry on our list, we've got Coffee Talk and its sequel, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly. These entries are the perfect games to curl up and play on a cold rainy evening, making the Coffee Talk series one of the cosiest games out there.

In both games, you assume the owner of the eponymous Coffee Talk café, which is unique in that it only opens late at night. Each night, customers will pop in to request certain drinks that you'll need to brew while regaling you with tales from their lives.

It's a visual novel through and through, and its wonderful pixel art style is an absolute treat as you uncover the game's narrative and the stories of your patrons. If you're only in it for the brewing, there's also an Endless Mode in both games that allows you to make drinks until your heart's content.

#7 - Wylde Flowers

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Image via Studio Drydock

Wylde Flowers details & key features:

• Platforms: Mac, Mobile, Nintendo Switch & PC
• Release date: 2022
• Key features:
  • Befriend, romance, marry (or break up with) residents
  • Grow materials to craft and unlock clothes
  • Spells, farming, and crafting
  • Fully voiced cast of characters
  • Whimsical art style

If you’re a fan of games like Animal Crossing, or Disney Dreamlight Valley, Wylde Flowers is perfect to while away the hours. A farming sim through and through, you’ll be tending to your crops while meeting and befriending the (fully voiced) cast of characters residing in the town of Fairhaven.

As Tara - who also happens to be a witch - you’ll experience a wonderful story as you micromanage collecting resources, growing crops, and fulfilling farming quests while also learning about the secretive magical world. With a wonderful art style and fantastic voice acting that brings the town’s residents to life, Wylde Flowers is the cosiest of cosy games, best suited for those lazy nights spent with a cup of coffee in hand and Lo-Fi music playing in the background.

#6 - Pikmin 4

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Image via Nintendo

Pikmin 4 details & key features:

• Platforms: Nintendo Switch
• Release date: 2023
• Key features:
  
  • A large array of Pikmin to choose from
  • Character creation
  • Engaging puzzles and characters
  • Gorgeous graphics with unique scale
  • Oatchi

Arriving ten years after the previous mainline entry, Pikmin 4 initiates something of a soft reboot for the series. By introducing Ice Pikmin and Glow Pikmin into the mix, you and your custom-made character will be sent on a cosy quest to save Captain Olimar.

If that hasn't sold you already, then your canine companion Oatchi just might. With unique abilities of his own, along with the feature that allows him to carry you and your Pikmin around the map, he may even beat out Final Fantasy 16's Torgal for best doggo.

#5 Disney Dreamlight Valley

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Image via Gameloft

Disney Dreamlight Valley details & key features:

• Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch
• Release date: 2022, Early Access ended on December 5, 2023
• Key features: 
  
  • Character customisation
  • Classic Disney characters
  • Cooking, mining, farming and more
  • Decorate your own home and the wider world
  • Paid DLC

Disney Dreamlight Valley brings the usual cosy vibes that you'll know and expect from this list by now but with the bonus of interacting with some of the most beloved Disney characters.

You can customise your own house and decorate an entire village with unique Disney-themed furniture and clothing. New items are available daily via Scrooge McDuck's store, as it's one of the most exciting parts of the day to see the new stock on offer.

Most of your playtime will revolve around restoring memories and completing tasks for the various villagers. Slowly accruing friendship by completing tasks, giving favourite gifts, cooking all manner of recipes - or even completing restaurant orders at Chez Remy to earn different rewards.

This nostalgia trip down memory lane isn't slowing down, either, as there are plenty of updates, including a paid DLC pass that adds a new area, characters to interact with, and Scramblecoin, an in-game board game.

#4 - Palia

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Image via Singularity 6 Corporation

Palia details & key features:

• Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch
• Release date: TBD, Currently in open access beta as of August 10
• Key features: 
  • Character customisation
  • Classic RPG quests
  • Make and customise your own home
  • Multiplayer
  • Romance options

Palia manages to achieve what many games beforehand have failed to do, which is implement a cosy game loop whilst having the option of multiplayer in a hub-like world.

You can strive outwards and interact with other players in Palia, or return to the warmth of your home lot, away from other people where you can focus on farming, crafting, upgrading your home and decorating it to your heart's content.

Whether you choose to explore the rich lands in Palia with friends or solo, at its core it operates like many other RPGs. Learn about the unusual inhabitants of Kilima village, complete quests for them, gift them items, slowly build up friendship and trust, and maybe even romance them along the way.

Amongst the backdrop of collecting, gathering materials and levelling up skills - to unlock more mechanics in the game, is an interesting story imbedded in RPG roots. You play as a human, one of the first to return to the fae populace of Palia. Other than traces of artefacts and mythical stories left behind, the ancient humans that once inhabited the world are long gone and it is your job to discover the lost secrets of the past.

If you enjoy the usual cosy game tropes of fishing, gardening, hunting and crafting resources whilst having the option to do it all with friends then Palia is a great option for you. 

#3 Fae Farm

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Image via Phoenix Labs

Fae Farm details & key features:

• Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch
• Release date: 8 September, 2023
• Key features: 
  
  • Customise your own home
  • Fantasy-themed quests
  • Grow crops and keep animals
  • Romance options
  • Up to four-player multiplayer

Fae Farm is a cosy farming sim set in the world of Azoria where humans and fae trade with each other. Arriving at the village during a storm, you'll find it is cut off from the rest of the world due to an infestation of dangerous whirlpools, making travel almost impossible.

As you progress through the main story and learn more about fae kind, you are given the choice to romance from a list of options, including both humans and fae. You'll be provided with your own farm to customise how you like by crafting and buying furniture, growing crops for profit, and keeping your adorable animals.

Whilst the farm is taken care of, you can progress through the mines, collecting valuable resources for crafting and uncovering more of the secrets beneath Azoria. If you love Stardew Valley, Fae Farm will scratch that same cosy itch.

#2 - Stardew Valley

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Image via ConcernedApe

Stardew Valley details & key features:

• Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PS4, Mobile
• Release date: February 26th, 2016
• Key features: 
  
  • 4-player farming
  • Community and relationships
  • Dungeon exploration
  • Fishing and cooking

One of the most iconic cosy games of all time, Stardew Valley still holds up today as one of the best relaxing games to play if you want to unwind.

You can create a huge farm, raise animals, go fishing, cook meals, explore dangerous caves to find rare treasures, and even get married. And you can do it all in co-op with up to 3 other players!

Be careful though - you might get addicted after trying it, and you might not be able to put it down. Don't say you weren't warned.

What is the best cosy game?

#1 - Unpacking

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Image via Witch Beam

Unpacking details

• Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
• Release date: 2021
• Key features:
  • ASMR-style soundscape
  • Create delightful living spaces
  • Enjoy a nuanced story

Coming in at number one on our list of the best cosy games, Unpacking is a game that embodies the idea that less is more. Each level takes place in a room or house as the player goes through the process of unpacking their moving boxes.

While the game sounds very simple, there is so much more to it than that. Through the process of unpacking furniture, a nuanced story is told of the life of the main character you are playing. The choices they have made, the objects they have chosen to keep with them and the ones that have been left behind, tell a heart-warming story of love and loss.

The gameplay loop is immensely satisfying, as the process of organising furniture is deeply pleasing and the individual foley sounds of picking up and placing objects are almost ASMR-worthy. Unpacking is both cosy and a complete experience that everyone should play through at least once.

Now that you know the cosiest of cosy games, for more recommendations, check out our lists homepage, where you'll find the best card games, games like Baldur's Gate 3, games like Red Dead Redemption 2, and more to jump into this year.