Are Cozy Games Even Real?

Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing might look like simple escapist time dumps, but they're actually shaping how we engage with digital worlds. From the rise of farm-sim fandoms to the quest for virtual respite, I talk about the history and surprising depth of cozy games! #cozygames #gamingcommunity #stardewvalley #animalcrossing

Chapters:

Introducing Cozy Games: 0:10
What Makes a Game Cozy?: 2:55
Stardew Valley: 11:40
Cozy Games in the Gaming Landscape: 16:00

THANK YOU for watching my second video (2 years late). I spent too much time on this so please like and whatever I’m supposed to say here ♡

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Extra special thanks to my bestie Alice for the Animal Crossing and Unpacking clips ♡

Check out her island tour:    • animal crossing town tour \\ welcome ...  

Moon Channel Video:    • Why Doesn't the Industry Make Good Gi...  

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Game clips in order of appearance (All recorded myself unless indicated otherwise):

★ Sayonara Wild Hearts (Play this games PLEASE)
★ Animal Crossing: New Horizons (provided by Alice)
★ Gris
★ A Short Hike
★ Gorogoa
★ Stardew Valley
★ Baldur’s Gate 3
★ Slay the Spire
★ Disco Elysium (This is a Kim Kitsuragi fanpage)
★ NieR: Automata
★ Overwatch 2
★ Palia
★ Alba
★ Houseflipper 2 (taken from trailer)
★ Sims 4 (taken from trailer)
★ Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (taken from trailer)
★ Pikuniku (taken from trailer)
★ A Little to the Left (taken from trailer)
★ Balatro
★ Assemble With Care
★ Alan Wake 2
★ Return of the Obra Dinn (taken from trailer)
★ What Remains of Edith Finch (taken from trailer)
★ Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (literally a still image, RIP Mia Fey beloved ♡)
★ Inscryption
★ Antichamber
★ Portal
★ Roblox (Dress to Impress)
★ Unpacking (provided by Alice)
★ Celeste
★ Here Comes Niko!
★ Loop Hero
★ Control
★ Journey
★ Hollow Knight
★ This War of Mine
★ Papa’s Freezeria Deluxe (😎)
★ Storyteller

Other Games referenced/mentioned:

★ Life is Strange
★ Pooptroit: Become Poopman
★ Harvest Moon
★ The Sims
★ Earthbound
★ Disney’s Dreamlight Valley
★ Fae Farm
★ Coral Island
★ Night in the Woods
★ Dark Souls II
★ Hamtaro Ham Ham Heartbreak
★ Cooking Mama Cook Off
★ Resident Evil 2
★ The Last of Us
★ Super Mario 2 Yoshi’s Island
★ Kitty Powers Matchmaker
★ Spyro
★ Staxel
★ Omori
★ Stray
★ Dorfromantik
★ Spiritfarer
★ Dredge
★ Coffee Talk
★ Strange Horticulture
★ Wytchwood
★ Papers, Please
★ Cult of the Lamb
★ Hades
★ Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
★ Pokémon Pearl Version (only one I played soz lol)
★ Kirby’s Dreamland

Music (in order of appearance):

★ Game Plan - Bad Snacks (Youtube Music Library)
★ Power Up - Jeremy Blake (Youtube Music Library)
★ Stardew Valley Overture - Eric Barone (ConcernedApe)
★ Dance of the Moonlight Jellies - Eric Barone (ConcernedApe)
★ Robots and Aliens - Joel Cummins (Youtube Music Library)
★ Future Girl - RKVC (Youtube Music Library)

Sources:

Kelly, M. (2022, December 27). In 2022, Cozy Games went from niche to video game fixture. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/27/2...

Morton, L. (2024, March 7). Even “cozy” gaming’s biggest fans can’t decide on its definition, but they aren’t worried: “there’s a whole lot of grey area, and that’s what makes it interesting.” pcgamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-si...

Short, T., Hurd, D., Forbes, J., Diaz, J., Ordon, A., Howe, C., Eiserloh, S, & Cook, D (2017).
Group Report: Coziness in Games: An Exploration of Safety, Softness, and Satisfied Needs.
The Twelfth Annual Game Design Think Tank Project Horseshoe. Retrieved, 2024
from https://projecthorseshoe.com/reports/...

Wäppling, A., Walchshofer, L., & Lewin, R. (2022). What makes a cozy game? : A study of three games considered cozy (Dissertation). Retrieved from https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn...

Waszkiewicz, A., & Bakun, M. (2020). Towards the aesthetics of Cozy Video Games. Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds, 12(3), 225–240. https://doi.org/10.1386/jgvw_00017_1

Special thanks to Alice, Casey, Pink, Cooksie, Chris, and Njeri

Contact:
(For inquiries: [email protected])