10 Balatro

The Singular Song Goes Hard

Not the thing you might expect upon hearing the words "Cozy Game", but I can speak from personal experience in saying playing Balatro on the Steam Deck in bed for hours until it's suddenly 6 am is an experience to behold, since it's such a meditative game.

It's a poker roguelike where you can take advantage of a bunch of unique jokers with unique attributes that make every run completely different. It's not the most traditional cutesy game or anything, but if you're looking for an incredibly relaxing, super in-depth game, Balatro is the best.

9 A Short Hike

Peaceful and Lovely

If you're looking for a short, cute, and incredibly good game, A Short Hike is one of the best out there. It has you scaling up a big mountain, talking to a ton of really silly Animal Crossing-esque characters, using a barely functional boat, and gliding around freely through the air.

It's not gonna last you forever or be a game you can come back to every single night, but if you want a cozy, fun little time that'll leave you feeling way better than you were before, this game is where it's at. It also runs perfectly and looks great on deck, so that's a plus.

8 Moonstone Island

Several Games In One, All Great

First of only two farming games on this list because I'm capable of showing restraint, Moonstone Island is an incredibly cozy mashup of card games, Pokemon, and Stardew Valley, and it works surprisingly well. Not only is it a cozy, cool experience, it's also just a good time.

It's open-world, with a ton of different islands to explore, and can last you a ton of time just exploring around, collecting creatures, or farming and decorating. It's one of the most in-depth Stardew-likes out there, and an easy recommendation if you're looking for something more chill.

7 Little Kitty, Big City

Causing Chaotic Cat-tastrophes

If you've ever played something like Untitled Goose Game and went "this is cool, but it'd be better if I could cause chaos as a cat", then Little Kitty, Big City is exactly your kind of game. It's pretty much just a cat behaviour simulator, where you go around and mildly inconvenience everyone.

This game is super chill, silly, and just fun to run around a big world getting collectibles and doing tasks as a funny little kitty. It's a great time if you want something that'll be incredibly entertaining while not being super stressful, and just an all-around cozy time.

6 Here Comes Niko!

A Cozy, Silly Platformer

Here Comes Niko is a fun little 3D platformer where you go around and solve people's problems, and also talk to a lot of frogs for some reason. It's a super chill game where you just dash and run around big open worlds and find little sidequests to go on, under zero pressure.

One of the best parts is the super fun movement. Dashing every time you hit the ground is just really fun to do and makes this game have quite a bit more substance than other cozy games that are content to be completely surface level. In essence, very good game, highly recommend it.

5 Unpacking

Comfy Sorting Simulator

If you want potentially the most chill game of all time, Unpacking is definitely up there. It's not got too much to it gameplay-wise, it's pretty much just unpacking stuff (if you can believe it), then putting everything in its proper place in your empty home, with a nice narrative going on.

Not much else to it, though I do think the trackpad on the Steam Deck makes it especially nice to play here, since this game involves a lot of clicking on things and dragging them to different places. Still looks lovely and will leave you feeling better after playing it though, which is great.

4 Kind Words

Writing, Vibing, And Feeling

If you're looking for an incredibly chill game that's one part calming vibes, one part talking to strangers on the internet, and one part room decoration, Kind Words is where it's at. It's pretty much entirely a game where you can talk to people anonymously, but suprisingly more in-depth than you'd think.

When you send messages or receive them, you get stickers that can manifest as objects to decorate your room with, and that plus incredibly good Lo-Fi beats to study/relax to makes this an incredibly chill time, though I'd recommend plugging in a keyboard first.

3 A Little To The Left

Sifting, Sorting, And Re-Aligning

If you're in the market for little puzzle games about sorting and organizing things that aren't Unpacking, then A Little to the Left is for you. It has you aligning picture frames, making sure everything in a chaotic scenario is nice and tidy, and generally fixing up rough situations.

It's pretty charming for its flat color, pastel aesthetic, and is overall just a super breezy puzzle game that has quite a lot of content to dig your teeth into. It's not the most intricate of puzzles, sure, but that simplicity is what makes it so nice to zone out to as you try and figure things out.

2 Melatonin

Snoozing Along To The Beat

If you're a fan of Rhythm Heaven and have been consistently disappointed by Nintendo rarely supporting the franchise, indies have got you covered. Namely, Melatonin is a chill game about dreams forming rhythm games, and hitting rather wild things to the super nice beat.

It's not the most casual game ever, but a pretty lenient ranking system and fun songs to play along to make this a very satisfying title, regardless of your skill level. It's also just got great vibes, and is just a super comfy and fun game to play if you're feeling down.

1 Stardew Valley

The Coziest Dungeon Crawler Ever

You've probably heard of it and played it already, but Stardew Valley is one of those games I just can't help but love, and it never fails to make me feel better after a rough day. You can play the game to min-max and do everything efficiently, but just slowing down and enjoying your time in Stardew feels lovely.

You can farm, forage, and talk to the townspeople all while taking in the sweet vibes and great atmosphere that Stardew's always had, and if you're looking for something with a bit more tooth, you can delve into the mines, which have some insanely good music to boot. Great time all around, can never recommend it enough.