My Favourite Cosy Games!
After playing Coral Island a lot this past week I thought I might take some time to reflect on some of my favourite cosy games and share my thoughts with you! Or with myself... With whoever is reading this!
Cosy gaming is a big favourite pastime of mine and takes up the bulk of my game library. Expect to see a lot of farming simulators in the list since they're so saturated in the genre LOL... But first, let's start with Coral Island since I already mentioned it!
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Coral Island
A farming sim at heart, though I like to describe it as a bigger and better Stardew Valley. At its core is inclusivity, I think. For gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality... There's such a huge cast of characters and they're all so different and uniqueβ I really love that about the game! It's also the only farming sim that I've managed to play past year one and still enjoyed it, as well as had so much more stuff to do in the game, sooooo... I honestly feel like I've barely scratched the surface of it and I have 58 hours of game time in it currently!
The art style is also so gorgeous, both in the character portraits (as well as the chibi versions on the map!) and the in game assets! The cows are my favourite, they really remind me of the classic fat ones from harvest moon! It also has an interesting premise while remaining faithful to the well known farming/dating sim formula, making it easily accessible to fans of the genre while still remaining fresh enough to be new and interesting.
Speaking of the dating sim aspect, the characters are amazing, and I have so much fun talking to all of them! It's rare I care for non romanceable characters in games like these, but I truly love and care about all of the characters in this game! Also I want to gush a little about the festivals and customisation aspects of the game (like clothes and furniture)! The festivals are so well thought out and engaging, and every festival has something (if not multiple things) for you to do! The graphics tied to the festivals are so cute and all of it combined really makes showing up to them a genuine joy versus a boring chore coughcough-stardewvalley-coughcough. And the customisation in the way of clothing items and furniture is so GOOD, it's all so cute and fun and rewarding seeing as some of the items are locked behind specific "Town Ranks"!
If you're looking for a more story driven, deeper dive content wise, and more diverse and inclusive cosy farming simβ then Coral Island is for you!
Note: The game is still in early access as of posting this entry and often gameplay results in crashes or bugs. They aren't common in my experience, but I thought I should say so regardless!
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Stardew Valley
Since I mentioned it above I thought I should mention this game next! Truthfully, I don't play Stardew Valley any more. Its run its course and I've done everything I can in the game for now, including playing and experiencing most of the well known mods the community has to offer. It's a good game. A really good game. I'm still involved in the community and love the characters enough to still be writing fanfiction of them two years in a row!
I also like this game for the sheer achievement it stands as knowing that CA (Concerned Ape, the developer) made it all by himself! That's so cool to me, and the amount of work and dedication he's put into Stardew Valley is clear for anyone to see.
This game feels like a must play for fans of farming sims/cosy games. It's really easy to get into while also allowing players to go much harder if they'd prefer, and the content is plentiful! A well established and deserved spot on this list despite my current inactivity within the game.
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Rune Factory 4
You might be wondering:
"Hey, isn't there a 5th Rune Factory game? And you're right. There is. But I don't recommend it LOL. It's not a bad game per se, but I truly believe that Rune Factory 4 is the better of the two titles, and this is my blog and my recommendations!
For real though, this was my introduction to the Rune Factory series and I highly recommend it as such if you haven't played any before! It's a bit of everything rolled into one, in that it's a farming sim, a dating sim, an rpg, and even a little bit more in one title! The game also rewards you for levelling up... Well, everything. And I mean everything. Walking, eating, sleeping, bathing, as well as your more "normal" expected skills like specific weapon skills, defence, magic, etc! I find this to be really rewarding and engaging while playing, like a constant dopamine hit.
The gameplay itself in regards to fighting is also surprisingly difficult and has a steep curve to it which I wasn't expecting, so I used cheats LOL but it's okay because it's a single player game! My romance of choice was Dylas and you can nickname him Big D and I think that's a good enough selling point. Check it out if you want something more than your typical cosy comfy game but still want elements of the genre!
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Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Again with the older titles, but New Horizons just doesn't live up to my expectations. As a die hard fan of Animal Crossing (I even have the leaf tatted on my leg!) I must admit that New Leaf excels where New Horizons fails.
There's still plenty to do on the game too, though admittedly less in the realm of decorating. You can only decorate your room really, but it makes up for the lack of customization seen in New Horizons in other ways! Such as the quite frankly rude villagers, Curt being by far my most favourite. I was devastated to learn that he wasn't anywhere near as rude in New Horizons because that's the main reason I love him! None of the villager personality types are as watered down in New Leaf as they are in New Horizons, and it makes for a more lively game experience. The flea market event is also a big fav of mine from New Leaf, and I loved having villagers come into my mayoral house to buy all my unwanted furniture items LOL. The little charity shop space with the llamas, the funky comedian guy, GRACIE GRACE?
I highly recommend playing New Leaf if you're a fan of New Horizons. The vibes are different, but in my opinion, they're better in the older title. ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
Chillquarium
There's not much to be said about this game, but that doesn't make it any less deserving of a spot in this blog post! It's your usual idle/clicker title about fish in an aquarium, but it harkens back to the classic popcap Insaniquarium without the weirdo aliens, or even Fish Tycoon! It's so fun to buy all my fish, customize their tanks, and either leave the game running like a screensaver while I do chores and reap the benefits when I return or to forget about the game for a week and come back loaded!
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Any Kairosoft Gameβ But Specifically: "Convenience Stories" and "Forest Camp Stories"
Kairosoft make mobile games. I play their PC ports. They're not the best by any means, and at times can even be annoying, but God damn their gameplay loops are so addictive! Every game typically follows the same pattern of buy, upgrade, unlock, upgrade, complete, new game+, and I appreciate the consistency because it means the next Kairosoft title you pick up will be super easy to get into!
And while I recommend picking a few and trying out whatever appeals to you most, I've found that the above two titles hit the nail right on the head for me personally! They're the most engaging, straight forward, and visually appealing titles I've experienced (and I've played a lot of Kairosoft games...)!
I recommend just searching the appstore or steam for Kairosoft and picking 3 game premises that sound interesting. Like an apartment manager, or a school head teacher, or a sushi restaurant owner, or anything else! The world is yours to decide in Kairosoft...!
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And... I think that'll do for now! I had a lot of fun diving into some of my favourite comfy games, and maybe you'll find your next favourite title here? I'm away to go play more Coral Island now :D!