My criteria for a 5/5 cozy game 🌱🍄
TL;DR: I’ve been building a scoring system to figure out what actually makes a good cozy game, I’d love to hear what you think!
Ever since I picked up Stardew Valley I’ve been hooked on cozy games, which was pretty surprising being an avid JRPG player. As much as I loved Stardew Valley, finding a game that hit the same was honestly a bit of a struggle, so I thought I’d sit down and try to break down what I actually value in a cozy game.
This is the list I came up with. These aren’t features that every cozy game needs to have, more like my idea of what a 5/5 looks like in each category when a game chooses to include it.
Is there anything glaringly obvious that I’ve missed? I’d love to know if you feel the same or if you’d have a completely different list to me!
The List:
Character Development 🫂
An actually diverse and varied set of NPCs that you can build relationships with and unlock new story moments or dialogue as you progress
Customisation 🎨
I genuinely enjoy being able to decorate and set out landscapes exactly the way I want to. I love that no two people who have played the same game have completely the same world.
Pacing 🧘♀️
To me, the point of cozy games is being able to relax whilst playing them. I hate having to grind for stuff or feeling rushed through the story.
Story 📖
Similar to character development, I like stories to be well developed with genuine character and story arcs.
World Design 🌍
This is a huge one for me. I'm a lot less compelled to pick up a game that doesn't look or sound good. I want it to be inviting, warm, and with areas I genuinely enjoy spending time in.
Gameplay 🎮
It's a game after all. I want every activity it offers to feed into something else in the game. Another thing I love is the excitement of new things to unlock and recipes popping up all the time; it makes the game fun to play.
What do you think? Again, this list isn't exhaustive but I think I've managed to narrow it down to aspects of cozy gaming that I think are genuinely important!