Open any social media app these days, and you’ll likely run into someone posting their “cozy gamer aesthetic” alongside content about all the cozy games they love to play. And yet, as cozy games become more popular, they’re also getting harder to define.
When we think of cozy games, many of us have a Stardew Valley–esque image in mind. Core gameplay features include farming, cooking, and decorating your space. For many cozy gamers, an element of romance is also involved, marrying off to your favorite NPC to start a family together.
And yet, even the archetypal Stardew Valley breaks the cozy mold for some. If you’ve ever tried to explore Skull Cavern, you know what I mean — that combat gets intense, and you’ll find yourself in Harvey’s clinic if you’re not careful. So, what exactly is a cozy game, anyway?
This question came into sharp relief after the 2024 Nintendo Direct when gamers on the Cozy Gamers Reddit forum began sharing the cozies they were most excited to see. Browsing the list clearly shows that not all of us have a shared definition of cozy gaming anymore.
Of course, most gamers would agree that the Tales of the Shire spin on Lord of the Rings is a clear effort to pull Middle Earth into the cozy genre. What’s more wholesome than living your best Hobbit life, serving second breakfast to your friends? Similarly, games like Hello Kitty: Island Adventure are incredibly low-stakes, featuring familiar and beloved cartoon characters. But after these obvious choices, some interesting and debatable titles came into the mix.
Let’s take Stray as an example here. In this game, you play as a cat, which many people might define as cozy gaming at its finest. And yet, I found myself incredibly stressed out watching the trailer. A lonely, stray cat who has been separated from their family? Oh, and they’ve fallen into a dystopian wasteland? No amount of being a cat will make that feel cozy for me, personally.
Similarly, many gamers are calling the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom a cozy game. Is this because we’re finally stepping into Zelda’s shoes or because the core mechanic involves summoning household furniture? Perhaps the adorable, chibi-style animation lands this game in the cozy genre.
Or maybe it’s because many gamers consider any of the Legend of Zelda games cozy because they’re a core childhood memory. Yet for me, they bring back memories of furious hours unable to solve intricate puzzles in the days before you could easily refer to an online guide for help.
But what if it does feel relaxing and soothing to someone else? Do I get to say it’s not a cozy game just because it wouldn’t be comforting to me? The fact is, the concept of a cozy game isn’t as simple as it seems at first glance.
There are many people — myself included — who consider Skyrim a cozy game. On its surface, this RPG game with combat and quests, death and destruction, shouldn’t qualify. And yet, there’s a comforting nostalgia to the game for so many of us.
The beautiful open world, full of characters and landscapes we’ve grown to know so well over the years, feels like coming home. Sure, it might be a home where you’re under constant threat of dragon attack or getting hopelessly lost in a Dwemer ruin, but it’s home nevertheless. I don’t know about you, but sometimes after a hard day, all I want to do is settle into roaming around as the Dragonborn, causing chaos and setting things on fire without any real fear of the consequences.
I know some of you are reading this and thinking, it can’t be cozy if you’re constantly getting killed because you stumbled across some high-level Draugr. But if it feels comforting and soothing, who is to say Skyrim can’t be a part of your personal cozy gaming rotation?
When it comes down to it, it almost seems like there are actually two definitions of a cozy game. There’s the standard fare farming and life sim version that most gamers agree upon. Where stakes are low, combat is nonexistent or minimal, and you spend most of your time cultivating crops and relationships with NPCs.
And then, there’s the personally cozy game: those comfort games we come back to again and again because of nostalgia, or because there’s just something about them that soothes us, personally, for whatever reason.
I may not agree that anything with Legend of Zelda in the title can do anything but give me stress flashbacks, and you may not agree that absorbing the souls of dragons is a good, wholesome time. But as long as we understand the difference between marketing a game as broadly part of the cozy genre and referencing our own personal idea of cozy, is that really a problem?
