Letter #39: My Top Cozy Games of 2023

My favorite cozy games I played in 2023

Dear reader,

These games come in no particular order (I tried, but that stressed me out 😅), nor are they all actually from this year! (I think I only played about 3 games that came out this year.) These are just games I played for the first time this year and thought were cozy and wholesome!

Please note that this isn’t a Top Five or Top Ten list in order. It gave me anxiety just thinking about ranking these, so they’re all just here in the order I could think of them when planning out this outline.

Hope you enjoy… and maybe find a nice game to play if you’re looking for one!

If you’re not someone who plays video games usually but you generally like my vibe, you could always try one of these if you’re considering getting into playing chill games as a new hobby or de-stressor the way I do. I tend to play casual games to de-stress and have fun, so many of these will have calm music, point-and-click interactable gameplay, and generally pleasant themes. I’ll specify below what type of games these are so you have more details, but *no spoilers* for the story-driven games!

Also, a quick disclaimer/note: I am not sponsored or affiliated with/by any of these games, studios, or creators. I have either bought these games myself, played the free game version, or played the free demos and enjoyed each of these games so much that I wanted write about them.

I have played some of these games for only about 30 minutes, while I’ve played some for 20+ hours. I’ve finished some of the games, but not all of them, so these are my thoughts based on what I have played thus far. I’ve included my playtime for each game below for full transparency.

**All images are screenshots in-game, taken by me, as examples of the gameplay and style. (Visuals are very important for me personally!)

The Block

[In-game screenshot of one of my favorite completed towns.]

Description: Very tiny (musical) city builder

Tags: Casual, city builder

Hours played so far: Just under 1 hour

A city builder meets a music box? Sign me up! There’s something very pleasant about the combination of the musical note and punchy, typewriter-like sounds that play when you place a block down. The art and lighting are both very pretty!

This is a nice game to play for a few minutes to build a tiny town or two, or to build countless towns for a few hours. Because you can build a little city very, very quickly, I’ve built a lot of cities in the little bit of playtime I have in this game.

Find it on Steam here.

Moonstone Island

[In-game screenshot of player character standing outside of the wizard and his house on legs, with several spirits in tow. I love when I see the house start marching up to me!]

Description: A new alchemist’s journey in a new town on a floating island

Tags: Creature collector, deckbuilding, 2D

Hours played so far: 7 hours

Kiki’s Delivery Service meets Stardew Valley? Stardew Valley, but possibly… better? I’m not sure if “better” is quite the term, but… more like “more” maybe?

The game has the same qualities I first loved about Stardew. Stardew was one of the first games I tried when getting back into games in my adult life around 2020, as I hadn’t really played anything since I was a teenager. (I have about 120 hours sunk into Stardew at this point, since I played a lot when I first got into it.) I’ve branched out a fair bit since then! I played 30+ games in 2023!

Similar to Stardew Valley, Moonstone Island has it all: a cohesive story, beautiful pixel art graphics, pleasant music, an overall cozy and charming atmosphere, fun and easy-to-understand mechanics, and a variety of paths/quests/activities to pursue.

To me, Moonlight Island has what Stardew has, plus more. Other islands to explore, dungeons (not just mines), basically Pokemon battles(!), deckbuilding and card mechanics(!), skill trees, and more dynamic characters and writing.

Also, the character designs for the spirits are *adorable!* I kept trying to befriend the bosses in dungeons because I thought they were cool, but apparently you can’t do that. 😭

There’s really so much in this game and I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface at 20+ hours of playtime. If you like the aesthetics, music, and charm of Kiki’s Delivery Service, Cozy Grove, or Stardew Valley, you’ll probably enjoy this! If you like deckbuilding games like Slay the Spire, you might like this! If you like Pokemon, you might like this!

An aside: I had trouble deciding on what type of screenshot to use here, since this game has a lot of different aspects. I decided to go with this one because I love the little house on legs so much! 😅🏠🔮✨

You can find it on Steam here.

Power Wash Simulator

[In-game screenshot from the Mini Golf Course in the Bonus Jobs section.]

Description: Power wash all kinds of different locations

Tags: Casual, relaxing, sim, first-person, 3D

Hours played so far: 22.5 hours

As you can see, of the games on this list, this one has the most hours spent playing it.

Maybe needless to say but, I love it. It’s a very simple concept: you power wash things. That’s it.

But it’s wonderful. You have a long day at work and you come home and power wash an entire house exterior or the Mars rover or a putt-putt golf place.

This is absolutely one of my go-to relaxing comfort games of this past year. (I totally didn’t get distracted and keep playing when I loaded the game up to get a screenshot to show you here.😅)

Also, I like that the loading screen says “loading dirt” while you wait for the map to generate. I thought that was a nice touch!

You can find it on Steam here.

Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator

[Screenshot of the Iceland location. I thought the glaciers were really pretty in this location!]

Description: Clean up nature for cute woodland animals after natural disasters

Tags: Sim, 3D, first-person

Hours played so far: Just under 3.5

It’s kind of like Power Wash Simulator, but you’re helping nature! You essentially clean up after natural disasters like mudslides to get the environment and habitat back for animals by spraying water on dirt piles, sucking up trash and mud, and watering plants. It’s very relaxing. Plus, you can pet the animals!

(Though it does look a bit cursed and hilarious when you pet the animals, as your gloved, disembodied floating hand just appears out of nowhere to pet the cute bunny munching on the grass you just watered.)

Find the game on Steam here.

Living for Plants

[Screenshot after achieving 11 plants and the FROG PLANTER! Look how cute everything is!]

Description: A skeleton waters and tends to indoor plants

Tags: Sim, 2D

Hours played so far: Just over about 5 hours (I don’t have a tracker for this since I played in the browser)

I spent a solid 5+ hours playing this my first time around. It’s a totally free game this creator made to see if they could make a game using the Godot game engine. (Here’s a link to the video about the process of making this game in 5 days.)

And it’s *so charming!* The concept is pretty simple but so well executed: You are a little skeleton who grows plants by watering and pruning them as necessary. You can earn different planter/pot styles the more plants you have.

That’s it! I love it!

You can play in-browser online on the creator’s Itch.io page here.

Teacup

[In-game screenshot of Teacup walking through the market. I love all the character designs, especially the badger at the vegetable stall!]

Description: A frog just wants to have a tea party for her friends

Tags: Exploration, narrative adventure, story rich

Hours played so far: About 2.5 hours

💖💖 This is absolutely the cutest game I played this year, and probably the cutest game I have ever played! 💖💖

I played through the whole game and got every achievement in one sitting, an incredibly rare feat for me. It’s a really, really lovely game. The art is precious, the characters are sweet, and the music is so peaceful that I will play through the soundtrack on repeat sometimes when I’m drawing.

You spend the game solving small puzzles, walking around to get to the puzzles, and talking with the other characters. The story is not groundbreakingly incredible; it’s just a shy little frog who goes on an adventure to get everything she needs to set up a tea party for her friends!

Find it here on Steam.

Oxytone

[In-game screenshot of the holiday edition version of the game that has been up the past few times I’ve gone to play the demo version on Opera GX Games.]

Description: Pathfinding puzzle game

Tags: Abstract, 2D, puzzle

Hours played so far: About 2-4 hours? (I don’t have a tracker for this since I played in the browser)

This game was recently released this year and I’ve really enjoyed playing the demo for several hours! I’ve gotten so much playtime just from the demo alone and would absolutely recommend starting there, but you can also purchase the game on Steam to support the creator and unlock other maps, etc.

The demo is available in-browser on GX.games here and Steam here. (You can also purchase the full game there as well!)

Venba

[In-game screenshot of making dosas in Chapter 7.]

Description: A narrative cooking game about a mom who immigrates from India to Canada

Tags: Casual, cooking, narrative, puzzle

Hours played so far: Just under 1.5 hours

There’s a reason this was nominated for both the “Best Debut Indie Game” and “Games for Impact” categories at the 2023 Game Awards. The art is unique, stunning, and vibrant. The narrative is compelling, with characters and their struggles that resonate and feel very real.

It’s a short, rather sweet game about cooking and family that I’d definitely recommend giving a go. Some of the puzzles can be a little tricky and the controls for a few puzzles can take some trying to get right, but I was still able to complete the game in under an hour and a half.

You can find it on Steam here.

Mail Time

[In-game screenshot of player character talking with one of the townspeople characters.]

Description: Deliver mail to the woodland inhabitants of a cozy forest town

Tags: Exploration, platformer, 3D

Hours played so far: Just over 2 hours

If I hadn’t already played Teacup earlier this year, this would probably be up there as the cutest game I played this year. I played through the whole story in one sitting and just need to go back to finish the last few achievements.

💖💖But oh my gosh, this is such a charming game! 💖💖

You play as a new Mail Scout on your first delivery mission throughout an adorable woodland town full of cute critters with letters to send to each other. Uncover mysteries, love stories, and neighborly quarrels! Unlock achievements in your sticker book!

You can find the game on Steam here.

Thanks so much for reading! Here’s to a lovely start to your 2024! ✨💖✨💖

Best wishes and happy reading (and playing)!

Works Cited (MLA 9th Ed.)

Nothing to cite!