Rejoice! I have remembered to do the cozy game roundup from last month! I wish I could say that I had been batting 1000 and kept on top of it, but it’s the little victories, right?

June was a busy month for everyone. Not only did we do 10 reviews, but the Wholesome Direct brought us a ton of news about cozy games coming soon and the Steam Summer Sale kicked off!

In terms of reviews, we had some high points and some low ones as you can see by the addition of the scores to our formating below. Thankfully, the percentage of wins to meh ratio is a passing score!

June Cozy Game Roundup

Reviews

Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping - Cozy game roundup

Tiny Aquarium

Score: 8

Quick Verdict: Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping is a cute, social fishing game that allows you to keep fish in a tank for passive income. While it’s fun to decorate, there are several quality-of-life improvements needed. 

Review | Steam

Squeakross: Home Squeak Home

Score: 10

Quick Verdict: Squeakross: Home Squeak Home isn’t just a nonogram puzzler; it takes the fun of figuring out the correct image and gives it a purpose. Each puzzle you correctly complete yields that specific item that you can use to decorate your space or your rat. It’s a lovely little way to wind down while expressing creative freedom.

Review | Steam

Squeakross: Home Squeak Home
Aquarist

Aquarist

Score: 6

Quick Verdict: Aquarist had a lot of promise early on. I really enjoyed getting to go to people’s houses and installing aquariums to their specifications, but once the shops opened up, a level of grinding was introduced as well as… Aquatic Store Simulator. Like, the entirety of that game is inside of this one…

Review | Steam

Date Everything!

Score: 7

Quick Verdict: Date Everything! was fun until it wasn’t. It’s a really cute game with amazing voice actors and incredible art. I enjoyed getting to meet new characters, but it’s a bit hard to keep up with, and it’s hard to reverse damage you didn’t know you were doing. Plus, some of the characters put a hard line on friendship that you’re meant to push the boundaries of, which feels a little icky.

Review | Steam

Date Everything!
Idle Waters

Idle Waters

Score: 9

Quick Verdict: Idle Waters may be an idle game, but you can damn near play actively. There’s a ton of fish, items, locations, and NPCs and I had such a good time managing them all. 

Review | Steam

Camper Van: Make it Home

Score: 9

Quick Verdict: Camper Van: Make it Home is a cozy environment where you place down items to make your camper van more homey. It has the whisper of a story underneath, but the focus is on placement. The only thing I wish were more fluid is the initial camera angle setup in each level.

Review | Steam

Camper Van: Make it Home
Bathhouse Creatures

Bathouse Creatures

Score: 8

Quick Verdict: Bathhouse Creatures is a short and sweet game about managing a bathhouse. While there were some issues with controls and the game closing, the game as a whole was a delight that I had a good time with.

Review | Steam

Previews / Demos

Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk

Quick Verdict: Right now, things are fairly chill and relaxed, which is great since that’s the vibe Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk is going for. Whether you want to set and forget it or watch each purchase as it happens, you’ve got the freedom to play your way.

Review | Steam

Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk
Bus Flipper Simulator

Bus Flipper Simulator

Quick Verdict: Bus Flipper Simulator is the tried and true formula of taking something run down, giving it a spit-shine, and flipping it for a profit. I had a good time playing the demo for Bus Flipper Simulator and I’m looking forward to trying out the full game when it releases. 

Review | Steam

Cozy Holes

Quick Verdict: Cozy Holes is a first-person adventure game where you take on the role of Digby, a magical shovel. As you explore, you’ll learn more about the lost shovel tribe, earn ways to upgrade your digging ability, and spend a few hours digging holes. It’s a cute concept and there are five achievements that you can earn through the demo.

Review | Steam

Cozy Holes

Lists / Guides

News

Other

Tobacco Shop Simulator

I guess we’re bringing back the blurbs on this one. As a simulator, Tobacco Shop Simulator is a perfectly serviceable game. There’s nothing terribly new about the genre presented here, but for a way to pass some time, it’s alright. You grind your way through the days until you can open up workers and repeat. I don’t really have much to dunk on Tobacco Shop Simulator for, so why is it here?

It’s a sinner, that’s why! Just kidding, but not really. While Generative AI doesn’t appear to have been used in the actual game, Tobacco Shop Simulator decided to go the way of most assest flip games and use Generative AI in their promotional images. Womp, womp.

My dudes, may I introduce you to a little thing called a screenshot? It’s FREE and an excellent way to not be a total dillhole. You’ve heard it here first. Gen AI users = Certified Dillholes.

Anyway, I’m being harsh because Comfy Cozy Gaming doesn’t support the use of Generative AI in any form and yet there are countless times where simulators are concerned that I’ve gotten myself into agreeing to content only to realize — fuck, this shit again.

Which integrity should I stick to? My word that I’ll create content in exchange for a game code or my word that we won’t highlight a game using Gen AI? For now, this blurb is my happy medium and the promise that I’ll try and vet things better in the future.

Our stance is that Generative AI doesn’t belong anywhere, especially not games. If you want to know more about our ethics and review policies, you can check that out here.