We all know how great it is to get home, get into your comfies, grab a blanket and cosy up with your favourite games. The Nintendo Switch is the console that allows me to do this as there are so many addictive and equally as cosy and relaxing games to choose from. Here are ten of my favoruites that I have ranked in order of cosiness (not in which game is better because that is WAY too hard to do especially when I am exploring several different genres throughout this blog post)
10. Gris I really wanted to include this game even though disclaimer I still have not completed it myself. Gris is developed by Nomada Studio and you can find the all information and updates on the game at www.grisgame.com/ You play as a young girl named Gris who is lost in her own world, dealing with all her life experiences. Nomada describe the game to be a journey through Gris’ sorrow that is manifested in her dress, which in turn grants you new abilities to better traverse through the beautifully drawn and portrayed world that is in fact her faded reality.
As the game unfolds you will witness and feel Gris grow emotionally and you will see her world and experiences displayed in different ways which reveals new paths, secrets and light puzzles. The way they have used colours on this game is so interesting and cleverly done. The colours inflict the feelings to you as the player that Gris is experiencing in the story, whether that is danger, frustration or joy and happiness. It is a side-scrolling platform game which I am always wary of; one I am terrible at platform games and two my favourite genres that I often play are third person RPG but I had to include Gris as this game is an exception due to how beautiful and original it is. If you are like me I can almost guarantee you will be screenshotting HEAVILY whilst playing through this game.
9. Fire Emblem: Three Houses just HAD to be in this list. I feel lots of people may be surprised that I have put this game into a cosy game ranking but hear me out and I am certain you will agree, and if you have not played this game or debating whether to pick it up, I hope this helps you in deciding. Fire Emblem is such a large and popular game franchise however Three Houses was my first experience with a Fire Emblem title, and I can confirm I was not disappointed. Developers Intelligent Systems describe their game as a turn-based tactical RPG with strategic gameplay with serval story twists to overcome. You are invited to teach one of the three mighty houses at the prestigious officer’s academy, maintained by the church. Each house has a diverse case of student characters each with unique traits and personality. As their professor you will teach and lead them through the entire story and several battles you shall have to win and defeat.
The house I chose for my first playthrough was the Black Eagles. I was drawn to this house simply because I found the characters to be super interesting and at that moment, I still was not sure what game I was about to dive into. Little did I know that I would adore the game, grow bonds with the characters and surprisingly enjoy the strategic thinking it takes to defeat the battles. There are several different ways you can alter the difficulty in this game like choosing whether to rewind your turns in battles or deciding if when you lose your students in battle, if they are gone for good of come back after a good nap and some plasters. I personally do not think I could cope if I lost my characters every time they fainted in battle. I loved this game from start to end, I loved the management aspect where I could spend my time teaching and levelling up all my characters (this is the cosy part) then defeat one battle each time I played. Above are a bunch of images from the FETH press kit but if you want more Fire Emblem content you can just take a scroll through my Instagram. This was my first game that was turn-based and this genre so if you are like me and this game is not your usual cup of tea I urge you to give it a try.
8. When The Past Was Around a simple point-and-click puzzle game about love, moving on, letting go and everything in between. This lovely illustrated game is developed by Toge Productions and Mojiken Studio. I downloaded the demo for this game when I saw that it became available on the Nintendo E-Shop and I loved how minimal it was. The beautiful illustrations grabbed my attention right away from the moment I saw the thumbnail and that was quickly partnered with the lovely music and relaxing gameplay.
When The Past Was Around is a story of young girl called Eda and just like anyone at her age she feels lost. You can find all the information on the creators and the story about the game here www.chorusworldwide.com/when-the-past-was-around/ where they have described the games story so beautifully.
A feature I really admire about this game is that you experience the games story through pictures not words, everything from the games narrative, music, art style and characters has a romantic theme which is portrayed so wonderfully. Fun Fact the games art is all hand-drawn by the amazing Brigitta Rena, an incredibly talented Indonesian artist. If you are looking for a new game to snuggle up with I highly recommend When The Past Was Around.
7. Good Pizza, Great Pizza who remembers playing cooking games when they were younger? Cooking Mamma or all those computer games you could find on the internet at school and home where you decorate all the cakes and make all the pizzas. Well, here is some cooking game nostalgia created in the best way. TapBlaze introduce their game by asking you if you have ever wanted to know what it feels like to run your own Pizza shop? Throughout the game you do you best to fulfil your customers pizza orders each day and as you earn money you can gradually upgrade the interior of your pizza shop along with kitchen upgrades like new and quicker equipment and new toppings to compete against your pizza rival, Alicante. The art style of this game is so charming, I absolutely adore the colour choices; they help in creating a perfect cosy space when playing. You will meet a large number of different characters each day and I would just like to take a moment to applaud the diversity on this game, they currently have over 80 different customers which also helps in keeping the game surprising and a little less repetitive. Grab your pizza oven mitts!
6. Cozy Grove if you love cosy games on the Switch, I am almost certain you have heard of this game by now. When this game released it started to receive so much love, I adored the concept of the game and the art style looked cosy and beautiful so of course I just had to pick it up on the E-Shop. Cozy Grove is developed by Spry Fox and they describe their game to be a life-sim about camping on a haunted island. Camping is big cosy yes from me and the haunted island aspect seemed original and interesting. The games art style is so charming, and it is all hand-drawn which really adds such a unique look to the whole game. There is character customization (can I hear a big YES) which offers a really nice number of diverse options, which we know by now I am always looking out for on this blog.
With a 40 hour + campaign filled with side quests that is designed to span over months of playtime I think this game offers a super refreshing insight to real-time gaming. I do not know about you, but I am someone who loves to get addicted to a game and then loses track of all time, dates and seasons whilst I rank up the hours. However Cozy Grove has an interesting concept where from the beginning the game it is designed for you to pick up the game for a small amount each day then put the game back down until the next day. I think this game would be perfect for someone who likes to pop on a game for a short while and check-in each evening after a long day at work or school. As you craft, discover hidden secrets, interact with all the local ghosts you will bring colour and joy back to Cozy Grove.
5. Animal Crossing New Horizons the game I think I can confidently and safely give the reward for the ‘Game that helped us all through lockdown’. I bought this game on release just as the world was becoming a crazy whole new experience and atmosphere for us all. Animal Crossing Wild World is one of my oldest and fondest game memories from my Red Nintendo DS Lite as a child. So, Animal Crossing New Horizons was a MASSIVE step up from my last animal crossing playing experience.
I played this game every day from the day of release which was March 20th all the way through to June. I loved logging in each day and seeing what I could achieve on my island, I will say however from June I returned to work and have not been back off work since, so my morning log ins to animal crossing did become non-existent. (I did play a little when Autumn arrived on the game mainly because I wanted ALL the cute and cosy mushrooms) Over a year later since this games release I still see people enjoy and love the game just as much as they did on release and I myself have been thinking about returning to Animal Crossing which by the time I am putting this blog post live I have done on a few occasions where I began to re-make my island (ish).
If you are looking to escape to a deserted island and create your own entire home, exploring and creating then this game is for you. You can fish, dive, catch bugs, dig for fossils all whilst terraforming all aspects of your entire island. I will also mention just in case you are a complete newbie to Animal Crossing that this game is a real-time game that matches the day, time and current season you are living in plus there are so many adorable villagers.
4. Spiritfarer I first feel like I should admit that this game sat in my wish list for way too long. I am so pleased that I finally purchased and began to play this magical, beautiful and cosy game. Thunder Lotus describes their game as a cosy management game about dying. You play Stella a ferrymaster to the spirits. You get to build a boat to explore the wonderful and beautiful world where you then befriend and care for all the spirits before releasing them to the afterlife.
Farming, mining, cooking, fishing and ofcourse a bunch of crafting and designing, all whilst you are sailing the mystical seas that have bundles of treasures and secrets to find. This game is so relaxing because the music is so incredible, the colour choices and art style are wonderful and all the characters and narration just warms your heart, and you develop such bonds with each of them. I know you might be thinking, a game about dying, how miserable. This is the reason this game sat in my wish list for such a lengthy time however I am here to assure you that this game is cosy, beautiful, relaxing and heart-warming. If this game makes us sad, its in the best way possible. They have approached the narrative in such a charming way that it avoids any miserable, grey-scale tone. Spiritfarer deserves to be high on any cosy game ranking. You can find more information at their website.
3. Littlewood I have been writing this blog post from game number ten working my way down to the number one spot and I have been so excited and impatiently waiting to mention Littlewood! This game is adorable. It was developed by Sean Young and brought to life from kickstarter which I immediately just LOVE. I am going to leave a link to the kickstarter here just in case you would like to see how this game was supported and brought to life in the incredible way it was. You play as the hero that has saved the world and Solemn is now finally at peace, but at what cost? You cannot remember, but as you play through the campaign maybe you will discover all the secrets of the past.
I am sure by this point you have noticed just how adorable and beautiful the art style, colours and animations are on this game. As you play throughout the in-game year, the seasons change and the game just continues to look so cosy and aesthetically pleasing, especially autumn. (HUGE lover of autumn and the orange tones here) Explore the vast world of Solemn through enchanting forests, towns and dark caves, whilst collecting rare items and materials that you can use to craft and upgrade your town. Littlewood provides you with all farming simulator and management goodness you would expect from, gathering, mining, woodcutting, bug catching, fishing, cooking and crafting. This game is super relaxing due to is theme and rather simple playing experience. The challenges in this game are so easy that playing almost becomes mindless which does not bother me at all it just means it is even simpler to sink many hours into the game. If you are looking for a new charming and relaxing RPG on your Nintendo Switch, then I would HIGHLY recommend this game.
2. Zelda: Breath Of The Wild what an amazing and incredible game that alone is a big enough reason to pick up a switch. Breath Of The Wild was the reason I bought my first Nintendo Switch because of how incredible it looked, I just had to dive into this world. BOTW is a 3D open-world entry in the Zelda series where your journey begins in the Kingdom Of Hyrule after you have awoken from a deep sleep where you have forgotten all your past memories. Your main quest is to defeat the ancient Calamity Ganon and that in some ways is your only main quest. This game offers so much freedom, you can play the story in any order you like right up until the very last moment. With several different biomes each as beautiful as the last, many side quests for you to lose yourself amongst and treasures to be found in every single corner, this game provides hours of relaxing, charming, cosy and adventurous gameplay. It is for sure my all-time favourite game on the Nintendo Switch and I personally cannot wait for the sequel release. As I am about to finish this segment, I cannot help but have this feeling that I have just not spoken about this game enough, I cannot express how wonderful this game is during this post, maybe I will talk about it more in depth on another post or on a game review. In the meantime, though you can take a scroll on my Instagram for a large amount of Zelda content.
1. Stardew Valley My all-time favourite farming, management and just all round cosy incredible game. I have spent many hours on this game, but I still feel and know there is so much more to explore and discover. I am currently on my second farm that I have fallen in love with so much more than my first. You can play online co-op AND local co-op which plays nicely! It has basically meant my boyfriend was forced to play Stardew with me but now has a not so secret BIG obsession with the game too. To attempt to summarise this game, your grandfather sadly passes away and leaves you his entire farm where you decide to escape the busy routine city life to come live and work. You work on decorating, organising, building coops, sheds, barns all whilst expanding your own home. You have full control of the entire design of your farmland and the interior of your house. I also recently discovered you can now place items around the town! Which I am super excited to try out.
I miss Stardew Valley as I am typing this, it has been a couple of months now since I was working on my farm.
What I have mentioned above does not even scratch the surface to what this game has to offer. Fishing, mining, fighting in the caverns, meeting all the townsfolk, repairing a boat and sailing off to a WHOLE other island, not to mention all the adorable animals you can take care of, crops you can grow and hidden secrets you can discover all over.
Overall, this game has my heart. The art style is just perfect, the music is beautiful, and all of this was created by one person. Yes. You heard me correctly. Thank You to @concernedape for creating the perfect, addictive game we all need. You can play on Nintendo Switch, PC and even Mobile. I really hope I have inspired you to start your new farm.
Guaranteed cosiness.