Braxton Taylor
I’m going to be honest for a second: I was sick, then I got better just in time for a grueling work trip, and then I got sick again on the way home. So I’m currently drinking tea sweetened with cough syrup and praying for the sweet, sweet release of Friday. If I still had release formation, this is what I would play after it.
Since I don’t, I’m going to start playing these games as soon as I finish writing this. I would hope all of you are having a better month than me — but I also remember the toils of active duty, so I honestly doubt it.
1. ‘Chillquarium’
“Chillquarium” is the definition of a chill-out game. Fill your tank with fish, watch them slowly grow, trade your fish, grow some more and slowly profit. That’s all of it. You’re literally watching fish in a tank. The only way to make a game more chill would be a paint-drying simulator.
The only problem is, this one can sometimes get a little boring, even for a cozy game.
2. ‘Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator’
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
It’s exactly what it says on the tin: This game asks you to take over a quaint garden and old-school greenhouse in a quiet town. Interestingly, all the flowers and their needs are real. No ash creep clusters here, just daffodils, roses, jasmine and more. And the needs of the plants in-game mirror their needs in real life.
Oh, and the former gardener is still there as a ghost to help you get started. A nice ghost with a friendly tone and good advice. All you have to do is choose where to put your frog statues.
3. ‘PowerWash Simulator’
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
You know that feeling of a job well done when you finish cleaning something to perfection? But you think it might be frowned upon by your barracks mates if you fire up a pressure washer at 2000 on a Friday night? Well, fire up the ol’ console instead and play “PowerWash Simulator.”
This one has been around for a while, and so there are plenty of great expansion packs to let you clean everything from a house to a cruise ship to Santa’s Workshop. For an extra cost, you can even clean equipment from “Warhammer 40,000” or “Shrek.”
4. ‘Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends’
- Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
The ultimate cozy: Start a cozy restaurant in a cozy village in a cozy world. You play as a friendly robot running the newest sushi joint in Rolling Hills. You buy ingredients, make sushi, sell it to your friends and upgrade your restaurant. As you do so, you make the whole village better.
The route to a village’s heart is through its stomach, and the whole village will love you long before you unlock all the recipes.
5. ‘Bear And Breakfast’
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4|5
This may be my days as a beartank main in “World of Warcraft” talking, but bears make everything better. So what about a bed and breakfast run by you, a kindly bear? You cater to human tourists visiting the spooky, spooky woods. Add in a lot of funny moments and hilarious dialogue, and the whole thing honestly has a delightful “Gravity Falls” feel to it.
6. ‘Two Point Campus’
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Did you watch “Community” and spend the whole time thinking that you could do better than Dean Craig Pelton? Now’s your chance to prove it. Take over a university, build it up and usher students into the world. You can even get into the nitty-gritty, if you like, choosing where each tree is planted and column erected. But you may have more fun with adding in unconventional classes, such as witchcraft and astronaut school.
7. ‘A Little to the Left’
- Platforms: Google Play, iOS, MacOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
If you like cleaning up but thought “PowerWash Simulator” seemed a little too intense for you, try “A Little to the Left.” This puzzle game is all about tidying up. Organize screws and bolts, sort books and get all your sports gear in order, preferably before the cat interferes with your progress.
8. ‘House Flipper 2’
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S
Hopefully we all know that those house flipper shows are unrealistic. House flipping is crazy hard to do profitably and ethically … unless you’re talking about the video game “House Flipper 2,” where you can totally just pick properties that you like, renovate them according to your own vibe and then flip them for a profit.
And you can now build your dream house from the ground up rather than as a reno. So yeah, you can actually play a cozy game in order to build your cozy house and escape your not-cozy (we’re assuming) barracks life.
9. ‘BlackForge: A Smithing Adventure’
- Platforms: Meta Quest, PC VR
So I don’t typically include a lot of virtual reality content, because very few gamers indulge in VR, but this is the game that inspired this list, so I’m sneaking it in. “BlackForge: A Smithing Adventure” sees the player run their own forge in a fantasy village. Get weapon requests from clients, make custom weapons for them and then deliver the product to the customer. This includes plenty of work with a hammer and anvil, but also turning wood, carving, working with antlers and caring for the fiery animal that lives in your forge.
10. ‘Dungeons of Hinterberg’
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4|5 (coming March 13), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
This one is a bit odd and pushes the barrier on “cozy.” It has very cozy vibes, fun puzzles and a great art style, but it’s also a bit of a dungeon crawler. Basically, you play as a former law student who was vacationing in the Alps when magic suddenly reappeared in the world. Now you pose with tourists between dungeon dives.
“Cozy, but let me kill monsters. With magic. And swords.”
11. ‘Lil Gator Game’
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S
Imagine a “Legend of Zelda” game if all of the enemies were made of cardboard and you didn’t need a health bar. Alright, welcome to “Lil Gator Game.” You, Lil Gator, and your friends imagine adventures and then try them out together on your playground.
You can bop the cardboard enemies with your cardboard sword, but you shouldn’t experience much stress as you turn your shorts into a parachute, fly with the aid of a balloon or explore the nearby lake.
Want to Know More About the Military?
Be sure to get the latest news about the U.S. military, as well as critical info about how to join and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox.
Story Continues
Read the full article here