Hello there! I’m Cozy Bear! 🐾

It wasn’t until recent years that I really started exploring gaming, and found myself a huge fan of what are often categorized as “wholesome” or “cozy” games. These titles are often life and farming sims. My favorite cozy games include Animal Crossing New Horizons, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Necesse, Grow: Song of the Evertree, Song Of The Prairie, My Time at Sandrock, No Place Like Home, Everdream Valley, Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles, Bear and Breakfaast, Luna’s Fishing Garden, Haven Park, and Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. I primarily play PC games via Steam, and as you can tell, I am a big supporter of indie games, especially when it comes to the cozy genre.

I was drawn to cozy games, and games in general, during covid. My Steam Library grew exponentially over the course of covid, and I found myself exploring so many different types of games and genres, but ultimately, finding myself bundled up in a blanket playing Animal Crossing on the Switch, or at my desk with a mug of tea playing Disney Dreamlight Valley. Soon cozy gaming became a part of my self-care routine and something I could add to my mental health tool belt. I found how much these games were helping create balance in my life, and a time to decompress and focus on myself when I needed it.

Additionally, what I really love about cozy games, which I intend to speak more about in future posts, is how accessible this genre really is. Cozy games is truly for everyone. These are games that can often be enjoyed with families, by all ages, regardless of ability as well. Cozy games makes gaming accessible to all and I’d love to see more inclusive gaming. I am always so appreciative of developers who design games to be flexible in this way, especially when it comes to difficulty. One of my favorite games, that offers so much of this kind of flexibility, is Necesse, where you can design your gaming experience within the settings to best fit your needs. As someone with disabilities, such as dyspraxia, I’ve always had to use “training wheels” to play Mario Kart (and still roll in last place…), who can’t do jumping puzzles to save her life, who can’t “stay out of the red” no matter how hard she tries, being able to adjust settings in a game, at any point, is a really big deal to me, and it is to a lot of people as well!

Cuppa’ Cozy hopes to provide helpful guides, reviews and recommendations on a wide variety of cozy games, beyond popular titles, such as Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

More than that, my hope is, through cozy games, and building a soft and gentle space, we can find calm and comfort in this otherwise chaotic and difficult world, and make friends to play games with along the way.

Ⓒⓞⓩⓨ Ⓑⓔⓐⓡ