This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 14, 2025 - April 20, 2025

Ever played a game that just feels like a warm hug? While some gamers thrive on competition and high-stakes action, others find comfort in laid-back social games for a chance to unwind, connect and take a breather from the chaos of everyday life.

Cosy games are generally identified as casual and often slow-paced gameplay. Popular titles such as Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing have gained traction for their warm colour palettes and soothing music, while life simulation games like The Sims offer social experiences such as allowing players to build their own homes and engage with others within the city.

Animal Crossing is a social simulation game where players can create and decorate their own island, grow crops, visit friends and bond with a community of friendly animal villagers. Within just six weeks of its release, it sold over 13 million copies in Japan, the US and Europe, making it the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch game at the time.

Beyond aesthetics and their cute packaging, cosy games can also bring a fun childlike approach to tackling serious topics. Here are some titles that will enable those who need a break from life to relax.

Death can be scary, but Spiritfarer tells a heart-warming story about dealing with grief and love. This cosy management game will have players as a ferry master to the deceased, transporting spirits to the afterlife.

Players will pick up spirits on a ship and help them fulfil their last wish, while collecting materials to build amenities on the ship to help the spirits feel more at home.

Each spirit has its own story to tell, with players giving them each their own farewell. Notably, the storyline has up to 90,000 words and the stories told in Spiritfarer are inspired by the developer team’s own experiences with loss.

The narrative-driven farming simulator is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, iOS and Android via Netflix.

Minami Lane is a small, wholesome management game set in a Japanese-inspired street. Players can create and manage their own street with housing, parks and businesses while making sure their villagers are happy.

The game allows players to take their time to progress in the game. Instead of maximising profits, players can focus on the aesthetically pleasing game experience.

This is suitable for those looking for a cosy game to unwind by decorating buildings and making customised bouquets.

Minami Lane is available on PC and Nintendo Switch.

Work can be a chore but not if there is a cute cat involved. Play as a supermarket cashier at a konbini (convenience store) and earn income to care for your cat, Meowjiro.

Players will have to complete all sorts of tasks, from replenishing the shelves, heating up food to making soft-serve ice creams for customers. All this hard work will enable players to bring food home for their cat and purchase furniture for their small flat.

As the game progresses, players will be able to unlock new cats and become an all-can-do clerk. Meowjiro is available on PC (Windows).

For those who have dreamt of becoming a barista, check out Good Coffee, Great Coffee, which takes players into an immersive world where they manage their own cosy cafe.

The mobile game retains the same engaging humour and simple, endearing art style as its predecessor, Good Pizza, Great Pizza, offering players a fun and cosy gameplay experience as Coffee City’s newest barista.

Players will need to meet specific goals each day and learn new products with certain new chapters. Players will be judged on their work, such as their latte art skills and their coffee-to-milk ratio in customers’ orders.

Learn how to make the perfect cup of joe while interacting with funny, eccentric characters as the story develops. Good Coffee, Great Coffee is available for free in the Playstore on Android devices and App Store on Apple devices.

Think Sim City but in a wholesome fairy-tale world. Fabledom is a laid-back city builder where players can start a new kingdom either as a prince or princess. Over time, players will rule their villagers — the Fablings — expand their territories and make deals with other rulers and realms within the game.

Everyone’s land is different as the game runs off “seeds”, which are randomly generated lands. The countries have varying degrees of statistics such as access to certain terrains and sizes.

Players will also be able to choose their own coat of arms and play as a lord, lady or highness, and pick who they wish to favour in romance events. Players will get letters from non-playable characters (NPCs) in requests for aid or order fulfilments for missions and many more other quests.

The game features both a standard mode, which allows players to explore the realm, and a creative mode, which encourages them to focus entirely on their creativity. Fabledom offers a guided gameplay experience and teaches players mindfulness when designing their village to keep their Fablings happy.

Players who are fans of colony building sim games can check out Fabledom, which is available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.