This Is Not A Cozy Game

There is no such thing as a cozy game, not really. Like with art, it’s impossible to define the label comprehensively. There’s hardly a game that fits unanimously into the category. And even a few creators and players outright refuse to be associated with the term.

If that wasn’t enough to make your head spin, the definitions begin to break down and expand simultaneously as time and new generations embrace the concept. The newcomers bring with them unexpected trends and meta-dialogues that examine our current, tenuous understanding of cozy and further evolve it.

That uncertainty doesn’t mean it isn’t real, though. It doesn’t mean cozy games aren’t important for the industry. The increasingly popular concept is like a movement within a movement, bucking traditions found in the broader gaming sphere and – both intentionally and inadvertently – creating a space for those who may not have felt welcomed in the hobby elsewhere.