It’s Friday and we’re gathered here to take a gander at the cozy games that were released this past week. There are quite a few games here that I’ve been excited to see get released and I’m happy to say one of the games on this list is free to play!
We do our best not to highlight games that use Generative AI at any level of development or marketing. At the time of posting, these games have not reported or disclosed using Gen AI. Likewise, all articles are written and edited by humans… as evidenced by our occasional errors.
Cozy games released on May 9th
Farm to Table
Farm to Table is a farming and restaurant management sim with base-building elements. Build your restaurant from the ground up and tend to your garden out back. You’ll grow crops, raise animals, and go fishing to source the ingredients for your restaurant. As you grow, you’ll be able to build machines to help you on the farm and hire staff to help around the restaurant. In between, you’ll make recipes and serve customers.
CD-ROM
CD-ROM is a puzzle game set in the 1990s, where you’ll find hidden messages and clues on CDs to figure out a password. Starting with just one CD, you’ll decipher images, unscramble coded texts, and gain hints by completing mini-games. By besting a CD, you’ll get an 8-digit code that unlocks the next CD in the line.
Aquanore
Aquanore is an idle game where you’ll fill an aquarium with fish. Collect different species and breed them to sell off high-value offspring. With income, you’ll be able to buy upgrades and decorate your tank. Over time, your fish will grow, gain XP, and level up to become more valuable.
Cozy games released on May 11th
Greenhearth Necromancer
Greenhearth Necromancer is a farming sim that has semi-idling elements to it. You play as a young necromancer tending to your late grandmother’s garden. Since you don’t have a greenthumb like she did, you’ll need to tend to undead plants instead. Manage what the plants need with water, fertilizer, and fending off pests. While you figure out your flow, you can bond with your grandmother’s familiar and get to know your neighbors.
Boardwalk Builders
Boardwalk Builders is a management game where you’ll run and operate a boardwalk. You’ll build it from the ground up, adding rides, food stalls, and stores to accommodate your customers. There are several different shops to choose from, VIPs to attract, and festivals that you can hold. Be mindful of the weather and when you run out of space, combine where you can to create something bigger and better.
Outbound
Outbound is an open-world survival craft game that you can play solo or with up to 4 players. Start with an empty camper van and build it up through scavenging materials and crafting things yourself. By advancing technology, you can be self-sufficient! Oh, and most importantly, you can adopt a pet!
NOOK FALL: West Town
NOOK FALL: West Town is an isometric visual novel game. You’ll explore West Town during a time when a festival is about to take place. As an outsider, you’ll learn more about the people, the area, and a story from over 30 years ago. You’re free to explore in any direction and take the train to different districts. By visiting a place at a different time, you’ll be exposed to new things and when you’re not making discoveries, you can tend to a little shop where people’s stories will be brought to you instead.
Spell Alchemist
Spell Alchemist is an incremental game with resource-gathering and crafting elements. Go out digging for resources and find rarer things the deeper you dig. Along the way, you’ll unlock blueprints to build out your alchemy lab. Craft powerful spells as you strive to create the ultimate healing spell to cure a mysterious disease that is threatening humanity.
Boat on Desk
Boat on Desk is an idle fishing game that puts a boat on your desktop. While your fisherman will automatically collect fish, you’ll need to populate the ocean by typing or clicking your mouse. This gameplay model encourages you to get work done while your little boat idles alongside you.
Puzzle Park 2
Puzzle Park 2 is a puzzle game with exploration elements. You’ll wander around a park filled with puzzles to find patterns in the world around you that can help lead you to solutions. By conquering challenges, you’ll open up more of the park and by the end of it, you’ll have solved 50 puzzles.
Chill & Reel
Chill & Reel is an idle fishing game that puts a little alligator angler in the corner of your desktop. As you work on other things, your little gator will passively catch dozens of unique fish species across several rarity tiers. You’ll be able to maximize his efforts by trying out different rods and baits or dropping him into different locations to catch different types of fish. As you play, you’ll unlock outfits to allow your gator to fish in style!
Cozy games released on May 12
Elfie: A Sand Plan
Elfie: A Sand Plan is a geometric puzzle game where you play as a little elephant named Elfie, building sandcastles. Your goal is to build up a sandcastle to exact specifications for each level from a set of different blocks available to you. There is no timer or fixed solution, so long as it matches the front, top, and side views, you’ll have solved it. There are 186 different levels, three difficulty modes, and swimsuit cosmetics to unlock.
Uncle Lee’s Cookbook: Five Recipes for Disaster
Uncle Lee’s Cookbook: Five Recipes for Disaster is a point-and-click adventure game where you play as Ines, a teen who has to deal with the fallout of her Uncle Lee’s shenanigans. Play through five episodes filled with puzzles, weird characters, and witty dialogues as you try to put things back together. If you get stuck, there’s a built-in hint system to put you on the right path. Enjoy a pixel art style and a voice cast for the characters.
Mining Goblins Idle
Mining Goblins Idle is an idle clicker game that is fairly straightforward. You hire goblins and set them to work mining. You can mine actively by clicking, or let the goblins do all the work. With resources, you’ll be able to upgrade stats and hire even more goblins! There’s a prestige system for endless progression waiting for you.
The Wilds of Dacrima: Field Notes from a Poorly Supervised Alchemist and his Unruly Clockwork Companion
The Wilds of Dacrima: Field Notes from a Poorly Supervised Alchemist and his Unruly Clockwork Companion is not only a game with an insanely long title, but an exploration puzzle game as well. You’ll play as Alchemist Professor Edric Tayte, who is working on a cure for a plague known as “The Great Rot.” With your sidekick robot, you’ll explore the world of Dacrima to collect resources to brew up potent potions. With each new potion you unlock, you’ll gain new abilities and discoveries that may just lead you to the cure.
The Door in The Skybox
The Door in The Skybox is a free-to-play puzzle game about manipulating door frames to gain access to other areas. Solve puzzles based on spatial relationships and experience a dreamlike and surreal atmosphere inspired by 19th and 20th century art. Explore and solve 15 different levels, each with a distinct vibe.
Cozy games released on May 13
Feline Forensics and the Meowseum Mystery
Feline Forensics and the Meowseum Mystery is a puzzle game where you play as a detective working in the Feline Forensics department. You get a call about a case where an artifact has been stolen and an innocent guest has been murdered! It’ll be up to you to search out clues, interrogate witnesses, and figure out the mystery. You’ll get to use a conspiracy board to track your notes and get exposed to a ton of cat-related puns.
Cozy games released on May 14
Whirlight – No Time To Trip
Whirlight – No Time To Trip is a point-and-click graphic adventure where you primarily play as Hector, an eccentric inventor, but eventually team up with Margaret, a determined artist. Together, you’ll be sucked into a wild adventure through time where you’ll visit different eras and complete puzzles that challenge your logic and creativity. There are over 100 explorable locations waiting to be discovered.
Nova Patria
Nova Patria is a Roman steampunk colony sim where you’ll build up a thriving empire in an alternative history where Rome never fell. What would Rome look like if it could have developed steam technology? Expand your city across the land by placing buildings, creating trade lines, and balancing the needs of production with the needs of your citizens. Take development down a branching tech tree and see what kind of Roman Empire you can create.
Memories of the Pinewood Islands
Memories of the Pinewood Islands is an exploration walking sim with hidden object elements. You play as someone seeking a position with King Harold’s court, but to be granted that wish, you’re sent out to explore Pinewood Islands to find the missing Viscount Eklund. Explore the islands to find clues and hidden treasures, then return to the king when you’re triumphant for a title in his expanding kingdom.
Hexart City
Hexart City is a strategic city-builder that you build up using hexagonal tiles. Starting with just a few tiles, you’ll slowly create a thriving medieval city by placing homes, markets, and resources that can be gathered for use. Manage your economy and be rewarded with new buildings and resource nodes as you expand. There are no timers and you’re free to take the time to plan out your city at your own pace.
Cozy games released on May 15
Steel Artery: Train City Builder
Steel Artery: Train City Builder is a train-city building simulator with a steampunk fantasy setting. Your goal is to create a city on wheels and in this game, your workers are completely autonomous. They’ll take care of their own needs and make their own choices; you just provide the opportunities for them. You’ll bring together several different species and benefit from their cultures; you just have to balance resources. Straddle the edge of expansion with what you have and what you need so that you don’t deprive your citizens of key resources.
Service Area Simulator
Service Area Simulator is a shopkeeper simulator where you’ll take over a chain of businesses that you’ll need to manage and revitalize. You’ll be responsible for a store, a gas station, a restaurant, and a motel. At first, you’ll be expected to do everything on your own, but as you earn some income, you can hire staff to help lighten your load. There’s a ton to juggle and the customers will decide your rating depending on several factors like wait time and cleanliness.
That’s all the cozy games I’ve got for you this week. If you didn’t find something that caught your attention, you can check out the Cozy Games Today tag for more recently released games. Otherwise, let me know what you’re excited for and stay cozy!
