The Rogueies: Best Cozy Game nominees
Our picks for Best Cozy Game of 2025
In a world that's getting more stressful to exist in by the day, cozy games are a safe place where we can escape from life's pressure and chaos. Sometimes, they're about tending a garden. Sometimes, they're about making friends. Mostly, cozy games are there to remind us to chill out and take our time instead of rushing around and worrying.
Let's talk about why each of these games got nominated for Rogue's Best Cozy Game of 2025:
Is This Seat Taken?
Being in public spaces has its complications, like stinky commuters, rude seatmates, and dealing with folks who refuse to stop chatting. Is This Seat Taken? is a brilliant little puzzle game that tasks the player with being a sort of social czar of movie theaters, subway trains, and concerts. Each stage introduces a handful of characters, represented by friendly little shapes. Some want to chill quietly, others want to socialize, and there are only so many places for them to go.
The end result is a charming little cozy game that’s easy to play through, but offers a challenge for players who want to pursue every star. The more complex the social situation, the tougher each seating chart becomes to crack. Someone might want to sit with their buddy, but have a sensitive nose for smells. An extrovert might be the life of the party, but they cause chaos in their immediate orbit. Every problem can be solved with the power of organization, and it’s a deeply satisfying yet low-key experience.
— CM
Plan B: Terraform
Plan B: Terraform isn’t what you’d usually think of when you picture a cozy game. Colony sims where you’re managing the health and happiness (and ability to breathe) of your colonists are usually taxing and stressful. In a game like Surviving Mars, you’re constantly juggling resources, supplies, happiness, oxygen, and food — usually to disastrous results. But Plan B decouples the stress of survival from the logistics, and that allows for a much more relaxed experience.
It means that the challenge is not racing a clock or constantly barely averting doom, but instead becomes a puzzle of increasingly complex supply chains and new technologies. Puzzles that your citizenry will patiently wait for you to figure it out instead of starving or suffocating all the damn time.
— JP
Strange Antiquities
Building on the strong foundation established in 2022’s Strange Horticulture, Strange Antiquities puts you in charge of an occult store in a sleepy New England-esque town. Your job is to supply the townsfolk with the correct trinket to cure what ails them based on inference, except you have no idea what any of the items on your shelves actually do. But, by using a collection of bizarre reference material, you’ll slowly discover what each of the strange antiquities in your store does, and add to your collection by exploring the surrounding town. Strange Antiquities was near the top of my list for cozy game of the year for its excellent puzzle mechanics and great rainy day vibes. Also, it gets bonus points for not just being another farming simulation. I highly recommend this title for anyone who enjoys slightly dark deduction puzzles in the vein of Return of the Obra Dinn or Case of the Golden Idol. For more on Strange Antiquities, make sure to check out our impressions piece by Nicole Clark.
— AJ
Tiny Bookshop
Another undeniably cozy game from this year, Tiny Bookshop also adopts a different approach to the genre. Clearly developed as a love letter to literature in its various forms, this adorable title replicates the feeling you get when you recommend your favorite thing to a friend, who ends up loving it too. Clients will come to your store asking for book recommendations based on slightly obtuse references, and you’ll then have to select from a diverse collection of IRL published works that you’ve brought to market that day. With an undeniably satisfying gameplay loop that will speak volumes to any bibliophile, cozy game fans should definitely consider trying Tiny Bookshop.
— AJ
Wanderstop
I’ve been stretched thin the last couple of years, dealing with the demands of work, a lay-off, and the struggle of figuring out what I want to do with my life after that. Things have largely worked out, but the circumstances of the year and the stresses they caused meant I found a lot of meaning in Wanderstop. I’ve connected with Davey Wreden’s work before, specifically in The Beginner’s Guide, and Wanderstop does an excellent job of cloaking uncomfortable questions under the guise of a cozy tea shop.
Cozy games often include a loop where the player can break out of the idyllic, slow-paced lifestyle and go sicko mode. In Stardew Valley, I’m able to create a carefully controlled garden laid out to create maximum product. In Palia, I’m in charge of a bustling jam industry that means my coffers are always stuffed with gold. Wanderstop does nothing to reward this intense, results-focused play. Instead, it creates a meditative experience that requires the player to surrender a degree of agency. Only once you take your time will you uncover the nuanced, personal story beneath the surface.
— CM
