Finals are (already!) right around the corner, and with that comes a lot of additional stress. When things get tough in college, especially before the end of the semester, I always try to make it a priority to set aside some time for myself, relax, and think about something totally different than homework and exams without actually thinking too much. One of my favorite ways to wind down or take a break from school is to play games that I find relaxing, fun, and all-around cozy. Here are some of my favorite cozy games (mostly for computer, but some for tablet/phone too) that I use to unwind.
1. Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley has to be one of my favorite games of all time, even outside of stress relief. With both a PC and a tablet/phone version, it starts with a typical character creation process in a cute, pixel style and farm theme, and then moves to a cutscene about your character being tired of city life and moving to a small town (Stardew Valley) to inherit your grandfather’s farm and get away from the noise of the city. Once you get to Pelican Town, the name of the small town your farm sits in, you begin farming, meeting the other villagers, and going on quests.
The thing I love most about Stardew Valley is it’s exactly what you choose to make it. If you want a challenging, fast-paced gameplay style, you can go for ambitious quests like completing the community center or romancing your favorite villager by finding and giving them their most loved gifts. If you want a more relaxed vibe like what I tend to go for, you can take your time advancing, planting whatever crops you feel like, exploring the town, mining, fishing, and doing quests at your own pace. There’s definitely never a shortage of things to do; the farm is your oyster!
This game has been one of my favorites for years because of how cozy it really is. It has great music and sound effects as well as a colorful, creative, immersive art style. The characters are endearing and loveable, and there are just so many fun things to do. But Stardew Valley manages to balance being cozy and fun perfectly by offsetting it with adventure and other risk factors, like passing out if you run out of energy. These things don’t tend to get in the way of the coziness, though; they just make it appealing to more people and play styles!
Stardew Valley tends to be absolutely perfect for me in high stress situations because of its time mechanic: instead of playing indefinitely, the game splits itself up by days, requiring the player to go to bed after every day they play where the game saves and recaps what you did that day. If I’m really struggling with homework and need a quick break, I can play a couple of days in Stardew Valley. This way I don’t get sucked into the game and forget about my other responsibilities, since the day mechanic makes it easy to find a stopping point and walk away.
2. Minecraft
I know Minecraft is being memed on a lot right now with the recent release of A Minecraft Movie, but there really is a reason why this game is as popular as it is. Continuing with the choose-your-own-adventure theme, Minecraft is truly whatever you make it. You spawn with nothing, in a random world, at a random location. From there, you have to gather wood, stone, and other materials to complete different milestones in the game, like building structures and exploring caves.
Similar to Stardew Valley, Minecraft has almost endless things to do. While a little less guided than the farm simulator game above, Minecraft allows each player to explore their creative side, which I find especially helpful when I’m taking a break from homework or studying.
One of the really cool things about Minecraft, namely on its PC “Java” edition, is the ability to log onto servers and play with friends. There are many servers out there with fast-paced multiplayer games that you can easily hop onto with a friend to kill some time and keep your mind away from any stress. I will say that Minecraft is a much easier game to get sucked into if you’re not careful, but this does mean it’s more immersive and I find that it provides the perfect distraction when I really need it.
3. Animal Crossing
To me, Animal Crossing is what usually comes to mind when I think of a “cozy game.” Additionally, I’ll be focusing mainly on Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo’s 2020 version of a game that has had many different popular versions over the years. In New Horizons, you create your character and find yourself on an island with a few other villagers. Your general objective is to make friends with the villagers, clean up and develop the island, and (eventually) build a house, a museum, and more.
Similar to the other games on this list, there’s a lot to do in this game, and it’s very easy to take things at your own pace. Sometimes chatting with the strange yet loveable villagers, picking fruit, and catching fish is exactly what I need to unwind a little. This game is only on Nintendo devices (i.e. the Switch) which is a bummer for me meaning that it’s hard to use it as a break between study sessions since I don’t always have my Switch with me, but for a relaxing night in and taking my mind of any other stressors I’m facing, it’s perfect.
The style and sound design are both really important aspects of a cozy game in my opinion, as you may have been able to guess so far with my other top choices. There’s something so calming about a fun art style and good game music or sound effects. I love the music in Animal Crossing, and that really makes the game in terms of coziness for me.
4. Untitled Goose Game
Moving onto another Nintendo Switch game (that’s also available on PC) that I have been loving recently, Untitled Goose Game. You may know this game, art style, or very memorable goose from the memes circulating a few years ago that read “peace was never an option” and featured the goose from this game with a knife in its mouth. And this game is popular for good reason; it’s an interesting puzzle game with a lot of funny elements to take my mind off any stress.
In Untitled Goose Game, you play as a goose, and your main objective is just to cause chaos for the people around you. The game happens in levels and there are specific tasks to complete that are essentially just pranks on the people around you, like stealing a boy’s glasses or getting on TV. This game really plays into all the pranks and funny aspects as well, featuring a button that all it does is make the goose honk.
Whenever I need to wind down and laugh a little bit, this is the game I have been turning to recently. The puzzles are fun, and it doesn’t really feel like a “puzzle game,” because it feels so much cozier than the typical puzzle game. This is another game with fantastic sound design, which ultimately makes it so much more enjoyable and perfect for taking a break from homework.
5. Hay Day
This game is the only one on my list that is exclusively on mobile. I played this game as a kid (since it was released in 2012 which is crazy!), but I downloaded Hay Day again when I got my iPad for Christmas a few months ago. Since then, it has become one of my favorite ways to take a break when I’m working on my iPad.
Especially as a music student, I spend a lot of time on my iPad looking at sheet music and using a lot of brain power. Taking just a few minutes between rehearsals to check on my Hay Day farm has actually ended up being a really effective way for me to take breaks and relax for a little bit during my endless hours at the music school.
I feel like Hay Day is one of those games that has been out for so long that so many people, especially in Gen Z, know what it is, but may have forgotten about it. If you’re at all on the fence about downloading a mobile game like this one to pass the time because it seems like a thing for kids, I promise it could be really worth it! It’s not exactly what comes to mind when thinking of a cozy game, but it accomplishes the same thing as all of the games above: stress relief and fun.