2022 is quickly coming to an end and with all the celebrations and social activity about you might be looking for some downtime during this festive season. We’ve been spoiled for choice in the last couple of years with Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing and now Disney Dreamlight Valley. But there are a couple of games that might have slipped under the radar.
Here are a bunch of cosy games to end the year with that you might have missed in 2022!
Pupperazzi
Sundae Month, Kitfox Games
The cosiest of games begins with a job that we all want, being a photographer of cute dogs. In Pupperazzi you’ll get requests from people in town to snap some specific photos of their pets. Whether it’s from them having a snack or catching a frisbee. But be sure to give them a pet after! They are all very good bois.
In this relaxing game, there isn’t really any end goal. Just the wholesome and calming process of taking pictures of puppies. It’s whimsical and delightful and if you had fun with games like Alba – A Wildlife Adventure or Pokemon Snap, then you’re going to love this.
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC – Steam, Mac
LumbearJack
FinalBoss Games, Armor Games
Jack is a humble bear with a simple dream: to return nature to its former glory with the help of his trusty axe and his animal friends. Slice and dice through machinery, slap some sense into wasteful humans and work with wacky woodland critters to thwart the sinister plans of up-and-coming industrial giant Evil Works.
In LumbearJack you’ll be swinging your axe but instead of cutting down trees, you’ll be cutting down the buildings of an evil corporation that wants to bulldoze your forest. Save your home and all the friendly forest critters that live in it! Work hard and upgrade your axe, as you smash objects and solve puzzles.
What’s more relaxing than that?
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC – Steam
Dorfromantik
Toukana Interactive
Dorfromantik is German for “village romanticization”, which perfectly sums up this city-building puzzle-based game. In this peaceful building strategy and puzzle game, you’ll create a beautiful and ever-growing village landscape by placing tiles.
In Dorfromantik you start with a stack of procedurally generated tiles. One after the other, you draw the top tile of the stack, place it on one available slot and rotate it for the best fit. Explore a variety of colourful biomes, discover and unlock new tiles and populate your biome with villages, forests, and railways.
With the cheery tunes and the picturesque visuals, Dorfromatnik feels more like a meditation than a game. Whether you play it for five minutes or two hours, you will feel completely cleansed afterwards.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC – Steam
Aka
Cosmo Gatto
Find inner peace in Aka, a small, open-world game. On these carefully handcrafted islands, you can take a nap on a giant monster, feed baby dragons, and take care of the fauna and flora. Set across hand-crafted islands, you’re free to explore and do all sorts of delightful activities. Such as farming, crafting a home, relaxing and helping people around the islands.
In Aka, you play as a red panda who has just returned from the war, and who is looking to move on with his life. He gets an invite to from one of his war buddies to come and stay at his home in Pine Island, which Aka agrees to. Once there, he gets his own home and can begin exploring the rest of the island. Aka is a nonlinear game, so finding his path to inner peace is up to you.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC – Steam
Endling: Extinction is Forever
Herobeat Studios
Will the last mother fox on Earth be able to save her three little cubs?
Experience what life would be like in a world ravaged by mankind through the eyes of the last fox on Earth in this eco-conscious adventure. Discover the destructive force of the human race, as they corrupt, pollute, and exploit the most precious and valuable resources of the natural environment.
In Endling you’ll need to defend your cubs, feed them, watch them grow, notice their unique personalities and fears, and most importantly, help them survive. Use the cover of the night to stealthily guide your litter towards a safer place. Spend the day resting in an improvised shelter and plan your next movement carefully since it could be the last for you and your pups.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC – Steam
Coral Island
Stairway Games
While not exactly a new game, Coral Island launched in 2022 on Early Access. And if farming and life sim games give you comfort then Coral Island is definitely one you’ll want on your list of games to play. What sets this game apart is the environmental conservation focus of the game.
On this gorgeous tropical island, you play as a farmer that’s helping to save the island from big oil. There are so many things you can do every day, there are fish and bugs to catch, crops to grow and townsfolk to befriend and fall in love with. Coral Island is such a beautiful and charming game that improves from the classic Stardew Valley mould.
Platform: PC – Steam
Ooblets
Glumberland
Ooblets is an adorable farming and creature-collecting game where you help a town in need, grow Ooblets and have epic dance battles. There are plenty of areas to explore, people to help, types of plants to grow and of course, Ooblets to collect. If you’re a fan of Animal Crossing, then this game should be exactly your jam.
In this absolutely charming life sim, there are about 45 Ooblets to collect. In this town dance battles are the way to go and each Ooblet you get comes equipped with its own special dance abilities. They also come in different variations from original coloured to unusual and the very special Gleamy Ooblet. Collect them all!
Platforms: Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC – Steam
We Are OFK
Team OFK
We Are OFK is a music biopic that’s set in the format of an episodic narrative series. It follows four friends who form a band and try to make it in the music scene in LA. Made up of five episodes, you’ll send texts, make choices, and perform debut indie pop songs from OFK in interactive music videos.
Itsumi Saito just moved Downtown and broke up with her long-term girlfriend, leaning into her dream of making it in music. But juggling practice, friends, a brutal commute to the west side, and a full-time job… Itsu is struggling to establish herself in the cutthroat music scene of LA. When she talks her way into a shmoozy Hollywood party and makes friends with a rising music producer, she sees a chance to bring her dreams a little closer.
Featuring a diverse cast of characters, an utterly dreamy, distinctive art style, and debut songs like Follow/Unfollow, We Are OFK is a cosy indie gem.
Platforms: PlayStation 4|5, Nintendo Switch, PC – Steam, Mac
Wayward Strand
Ghost Pattern
Wayward Strand is a unique interactive story set in the summer of 1978. As teenage journalist Casey Beaumaris, you board an airship hospital where your mother works over a long weekend. The hospital has many different patients who all have their own stories to share, as well as their own motivations and desires.
As you explore the ship, time will pass for everyone and life will go on around you as you choose which patients you interact with and who you get to know. By following characters, eavesdropping, learning schedules, and interacting with them, you can learn more about them, and perhaps even uncover ways to help them.
Platforms: PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC – Steam
Bear and Breakfast
Gummy Cat
Bear and Breakfast is an adorably charming management sim game. I know I say this about a lot of games but this one has talking animals and a curious happy little bear in the woods. It’s SO CUTE. *soft bear noises*.
In Bear and Breakfast, you run a little R&R establishment in the woods. It’s extremely relaxing and easy to play through. Maybe too relaxing for some of you more hardcore management sim players. Guilty. But what the game does offer is a set of adorable characters and a pretty hefty storyline running through the game.
With a hand-drawn art style and delightful animations, you can create and personalise your very own inn by building and decorating rooms with furniture items. Along the way, you can also complete quests, meet a variety of characters, and uncover secrets in the woods as you try to make your bed and breakfast thrive.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC – Steam
Let us know in the comments below if we’ve missed out on any of your favourite cozy games this year! And from all of us at Unpause, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and have a very happy new year! Game on.
