Cozy gamesare typically experiences that allow players to turn their brains off, kick back, and let the cute pixel graphics and jaunty soundtracks whisk them away to a place free from adult responsibilities and the trials and tribulations of life.
10 Best Cozy Games With Rewarding Exploration
Cozy games have evolved over time, with some of the best cozy games offering rewarding exploration among other new features, but not all succeed.
However, there are occasions, even in the super-accessible, cozy community, where we see games that are a little more obtuse, expecting the player to work things out for themselves.
Granted, it’s not a super-common occurrence, but when it does happen, it tends to be a pretty engaging and immersive experience for all involved.
So, with that in mind, we want to highlight a few standout cozy games that refuse to hold your hand like all the others.
10Stardew Valley
From Parsnips To Perfection
Stardew Valley
Let’s kick things off with a classic. A game that many tout as thebest and most popular cozy game of all time. Yet, when you think about it, it’s also a game that unashamedly drops you in the deep end with few tutorials and no guide rails.
Aside from some parsnips to plant and the open-ended task of saying hello to everyone in town, you are never really given much more direction than that.
Sure,there are next to no fail statesin Stardew Valley, but you still need a lot of know-how to excel, complete major tasks, and unlock the many secrets dotted around the map and the archipelago beyond the valley.
The good news is that, with time and avid exploring, you’ll eventually gather the info you need to become an agricultural success story, but it’ll be because of the hard work you put in, not the game spoon-feeding you the answers.
9A Short Hike
Baby’s First Open World
A Short Hike
Cozy games are usually simple affairs that revolve around one clear and easily understood goal. Which is exactly what A Short Hike proposes, asking you to simply find a way to get to the top of Hawk Peak to get some cell phone reception.
It’s all very straightforward on paper, but in action, getting to the mountain’s peak requires the player to explorethe pocket-sized open worldof their own volition with no guide rails and find a way to make the impossible possible.
This requires talking to NPCs and helping them with tasks around the island, finding hidden feathers and secret items that make your path to the top a little easier, and from the word go, the game is more than happy to let you find that path for yourself.
It’s such a pocket-sized game that it’s hard to ever feel lost or overwhelmed, but equally, player discovery and agency are at the forefront of this plucky little indie’s design.
So, if you want an open world where you can go as far as your little wings can take you right from the off, this is the one for you.
8Don’t Starve
Spoliers: You Will Starve
Don’t Starve
It always feels a little odd placing Don’t Starve on a list of cozy games, mainly due to the unrelenting survival mechanics. But, thanks to the cartoonish, Tim Burton-esque art style and repetitive and addictive gameplay loop, I think it just about makes it in there.
Don’t Starve is a cute and cartoonish game, but as mentioned, it is more than happy to teach you a lesson in the harshest way imaginable. But, equally, it isn’t all that keen to teach you the lessons needed to avoid these inevitable deaths, as trial and error reigns supreme in this survival epic.
You’ll need to experiment with the tools you have, build a solid base of operations, explore the world around you, and take calculated risks to get ahead in this game. Of course, you could always consult a wiki, but the fact that doing that is the best way to get ahead shows just how obtuse this game can be.
In short, if you want a survival game that drops you into a hostile and alien environment, Bear Grylls style, this game will be right up your street.
Coming Of Age
I mentioned recently in a separate list that Breath of the Wild is a classic example of a game that doesn’t hold your hand, and, by extension, that makes Sable a prime candidate as a cozy alternative.
You see, Sable is essentially Breath of the Wild minus stakes and fail states. You’ll be asked to head off from home and go on a journey of self-discovery, and what that entails is purely up to you.
you may go off in any direction, engage with as much or as little as you like, and when you have a mask that suits your tastes and feels like your calling, you can wrap things up.
The world is your oyster; exploration and discovery are at the forefront of this experience, and the game will never tell you where to go, what to do, or which path is ideal.
Instead, you simply take your glider and go where the wind takes you. But, no matter what, I assure you that you’ll have a blast, whatever you choose.
60 Seconds Or Less
Minit is a game that sets its stall out as a title that you’re able to literally finish in one minute, hence the name. However, the game drops you into the action with little to no indication of how to make that happen.
So, inevitably, you’ll run around like a headless chicken for the first few loops, trying desperately to make sense of the world. However, once you find the first piece of the puzzle, things start to snowball from there.
Soon enough, you’ll find new checkpoints, useful items, handy shortcuts, and carve out a clear run to the finish in a minute or less.
But every discovery and small win is earned, not given, and only astute, perceptive, and determined players will be able to make sense of this compact, blisteringly paced Zelda-like adventure.
5Chants of Sennaar
Life Of A Polyglot
Chants of Sennaar
We’ve already had a game that forces you to learn a cryptic in-game language, but I would argue that Chants of Sennaar makes this a much more primary focus. To the point that the game is more than happy to stunt your progress until you crack the code.
It’s essentially a cute and cozy puzzler that feels like an extreme evolution of Duolingo, forcing you to use logic, clues, and the surrounding environment to expand your vocabulary and learn the native language of the people of Babel.
The game gives you some starting phrases to get the ball rolling, but from there, you’ll be on your own to effectively learn a whole language, and sadly, doing the inherently British staple of just shouting in your own language louder doesn’t help one bit.
It’s one of the most clever, cozy, and meticulously crafted puzzlers in recent memory, but fair warning, don’t expect the traits of a polyglot to come easily.
A Lovecraftian Mystery
Again, thematically, you could argue that Dredge is far from cozy in many respects, as the game is a Lovecraftian horror game at heart. However, when you get used to the surreal horror gimmicks at play, the game slowly but surely becomes a more focused, cozy fishing experience.
However, the game only spends a short time showing you the basics of fishing, upgrading your ship, and making cash. Then, you’re left to your own devices to explore the four corners of the archipelago, uncover the secrets of the deep, and work out how to make your bucket of bolts make it out to the furthest islands before nightfall.
Each distinct biome is a puzzle to solve in its own right, and only through exploration, trial and error, and careful time-keeping will players be able to make sense of this Lovecraftian mystery. It’s a slow burn, but one that burns bright.
Zelda Meets Dark Souls
Standing tall as one of the most beautiful andwell-designed Metroidbrainia games on record, TUNIC boldly asks players from the outset to work things out for themselves with no guidance whatsoever.
At its core, it’s a typical top-down Zelda clone, making it relatively accessible, and even more so if you use the in-game settings to dial back the Souls-lite aspects. However, no in-game settings will help you solve the intricate puzzles and mysteries of the realm you inhabit.
To do that, you’ll need to solve environmental puzzles, defeat bosses, and find pages of an in-game manual that slowly but surely allows you to learn the in-game language of this world, and make sense of all the answers that were right under your nose the whole time.
It’s a game that you could easily finish in two hours with all the knowledge at hand. But, going in blind, you may expect something closer to twenty hours, showcasing just how willing the game is to put you in the driving seat for better or worse.
2Animal Well
A Magical Menagerie
Animal Well
It’s rare that you actually get a Metroidbrainia that doubles as a Metroidvania as well, but Animal Well is a game that makes that moniker make sense.
Its unique pixel art style makes it one of those games that looks cute and inviting at a glance, but you’ll stick around for the unique puzzles and unique tweaks on traditional metroidvania power-ups.
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as using bubbles instead of a classic double jump, or rolling a slinky down a slope to trigger a switch. It’s familiar yet completely fresh, and every discovery feels like a genuine a-ha moment.
The only caveat is that there is a dark and sinister underbelly to Animal Well that perhaps makes the closing stages a bit hard to call cozy. However, holistically, this is an enigmatic,charming, and cozy Metroidvania, and an essential indie for fans of the genre.
1Outer Wilds
Supermassive Black Hole
Outer Wilds
It’s one thing to drop you into a farmstead or a forest and ask you to fend for yourself. But it’s an entirely new level of unhinged to drop the player on a tiny planet and ask them to explore an entire solar system with little to no guidance.
Yet, thanks to this bold approach Outer Wilds takes, this solar expedition is one of the most immersive, rewarding, and therapeutic experiences in gaming history.
The driving force pushing you to your next discovery is an insatiable hunger for knowledge, and with each little crumb of info, you suddenly have several lightbulbs appear overhead as more possibilities occur to you.
Combine this with gorgeous folksy music, cute characters, and a world that allows you to explore at your leisure, and you have a game that won’t hold your hand, but it will take up residence in your heart forever.
Top 10 Cozy Games With Satisfying Progression
An in-depth list of The Top 10 Coziest Games With Satisfying Progression.
