Confetti’s Cozy Corner: Best Indie & Cozy Games of 2025
2025 was a year where we saw many incredible games released! As the year winds down and 2026 is nearly here, I wanted to recap my 2025 indie and not so indie but comforting game releases this year.
Discounty
Steam | PlayStation 5 | Switch | Xbox
Discounty was the game of the summer for me. You arrive in the quaint yet quirky town of Bloomkest, to reconnect with your very ambitious Aunt Teller who hires you as the new shopkeep of Discounty! You will be taking over the only grocery store in the entire town, stocking shelves, getting to know the townsfolk and solving mysteries that arise around Bloomkest.
As you get acquainted with your new surroundings you will learn that there is more that meets the eye in this town, and that there is a cost to expansion. The constant jabs at capitalism while you play as an active participant, was a fun plot point in the story.
There is no romance in Discounty and with all the tasks you have to complete, the shopkeep honestly would not have the time. Also, as far as romantic prospects in Bloomkest, most of the townsfolk’s personalities and drama is not something you’d want to get caught up in.
It was really amazing seeing that there was queer representation on the developer team. While on screen queer rep is VERY important, it is also just as important to have that representation behind the scenes. Discounty has had many content and quality of life updates since release, and it is a game I still recommend.
A Pizza Delivery
Steam
A Pizza Delivery is a walking simulator with beautiful ambient environments and a compelling narrative about finding oneself and connecting with others. You play as B, who wakes up in an unfamiliar place and is tasked by her boss with delivering pizzas.
This game is on the short side but compacts so much heartfelt content that I believe its messages of slowing down, intentionally getting to know others, and enjoying life in the moment, will stay with players for a long time.
A Pizza Delivery feels like a shorter version of a deep meaningful game I enjoyed called Season: A Letter to the Future. So if you enjoy slower more heartfelt indie games with queer representation, I recommend A Pizza Delivery.
Date Everything!
Steam | PlayStation 5 | Switch | Xbox
With a star-studded cast of voice actors, incredible artwork and drama, Date Everything is an introvert’s dream when it comes to dating (probably). After losing your job to AI, you go on the ultimate homebody journey after being given a pair of glasses that bring inanimate objects to life. In Date Everything you can practically date almost every object in your house. With over 100 datable options, and each datable being unique in personality, style and needs you will have endless fun with this game.
Ray Chase, famously known for his work in voice acting, made his directorial debut with Date Everything and it was a major success. Date Everything is a dating simulator that has great romance mechanics. If a character may talk about triggering topics or have triggering habits you have the ability to skip the interaction without being penalized as a player. Date Everything is hilarious but also a dating simulator I personally felt abundantly safe playing.
After Love EP
Steam | PlayStation 5 | Switch | Xbox
After Love EP is made by the creator of Coffee Talk and What Comes After, so I instantly knew I was in for a great story and to be in my feels. After Love EP is a visual novel with a rich story about love, loss and finding the way forward from grief. The levels of creativity, world building and characters made me fall in love with this game instantly.
Set in the vibrant city of Jakarta, Indonesia, the story centers on a struggling musician, Rama, who is having a tough time coping with the loss of his girlfriend Cinta. With an important gig coming up in a month, he must spend the next 28 days making intentional choices to find a way to live with his grief and continue making music.
While the game’s core is about dealing with grief, there are light and funny moments in the game as well. More people should play this game. It is incredibly well made and could also help anyone who may be experiencing grief and may need a holding hand on how to take that first step forward through processing deep feelings.
Bookshop Simulator
Steam
Bookshop Simulator is a shop sim where you own and run your own bookshop in various places in the world. As a book girlie, this was a fun and relaxing shop sim that not only centered on one of my favorite hobbies but allowed me to live out my dream of being a bookshop owner.
The books you stock in your store are all plays on books that exist in real life. For example, ‘The Bad Batsby’ in game is a play on ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A lot of the play on book names was funny, and getting to decorate my space to how I wanted was also great!
The BEST part about this game is that you can have a bookshop pet, which for me I chose to have a Black cat named ‘Ink’. For all the cozy folks who love books, cats, and shop simulators, I recommend this game!
Is This Seat Taken?
Steam | PlayStation 5 | Switch | Xbox | iOS | Android
I was beyond excited and honored to get to introduce Is This Seat Taken? at the Wholesome Direct this summer. Is This Seat Taken? is a logic puzzle game where you play matchmaker for groups of people with particular interests and needs in seating arrangement scenarios such as restaurants, a crowded bus, a wedding reception, and more! The goal is to find the perfect spot for each person with the challenge increasing as you conquer each level.
This is a great game I particularly love to play on my phone to pass the time and challenge myself. The personalities of the characters we meet and their stories are interesting. After solving a tough puzzle I felt SO accomplished and ready to take on the next challenge. I recommend this game for anyone of any age, and this is a great game to have on your phone.
Wanderstop
Steam | PlayStation 5 | Switch | Xbox
Wanderstop is a tea shop management, cozy narrative game that masterfully balances an emotionally written story that centers on burnout with tea making gameplay that will keep you playing until the end and then replaying almost immediately. As a tea lover this game was a dream come true, since there are SO many shop management games that center on coffee. Tea lovers deserve more representation!
Wanderstop was a game that probably had the most impact on me this year because it made me realize I was burnt out. And not a type of burn out that could heal from taking a few days off, but on a deeper level. This game really helped me take the steps to get the support I need and adjust some habits in my life so that I can show up for myself in a healthier way.
Tales of Seikyo
Steam | PlayStation 5 | Switch | Xbox | Mac
Tales of Seikyo is a farming and dating sim that centers on the protagonist and their younger sibling Kon. They return to their ancestral land, a magical place full of Yokai, charm, and beauty to find community and discover the truth behind the disappearance of their parents.
A charming aspect of this game was the farm sim mechanics and how they revolved around Yokai abilities. With the release of so many farming simulators each year the gameplay can sometimes feel dull and repetitive, and in Tales of Seikyo I enjoyed how imaginative the mechanics were and also how those abilities could be used outside of just farming.
The romantic options in this game will make it hard for any avid lover of dating sims to narrow down who you choose. I chose Hephaestus because he is very nice, warm and not pushy when it comes to romantic gestures. Seeing Tales of Seikyo go from Kickstarter to a full fledged game was a great journey to witness.
Cinnabunny
Steam | Switch
Cinnabunny hopped its way into my heart and never left. This is a cozy life sim that centers on the main character bun who must find a new place for his family to live, as his home burrow is experiencing an endless drought and is not uninhabitable. That’s when Bun goes to Sugar Creek Burrows, an up and coming burrow full of bunnies, and gets a job as a baker to start being in money. The more money you make means that you will eventually be able to afford to bring your family members to Sugar Creek Burrows.
Cinnabunny has SO many options to customize your bun that I can promise will have you spending so much time making the perfect and cutest bun ever. Once you move to Sugar Creek Burrow, you will meet the mayor and other bunny citizens who will make you feel welcome.The baking mechanics are fun and getting to learn the bunny citizens preferences when it comes to baked goods was challenging but fun!
Cinnabunny is a wholesome game created by a solo developer, Patrick Gauthier/Reky Studios. This game gives those looking for a chill experience life and baking sim exactly that.
South of Midnight
Steam | Xbox | PlayStation [soon]
The games industry definitely has favorites when it comes to showcasing certain countries’ folklore and culture. South of Midnight felt like a breath of fresh air in seeing Black culture and Black women centered and handled respectfully. A game that is rich in Black Southern gothic culture, executed with respect and much love is why South of Midnight is such an important game for me.
The award winning South of Midnight is a beautiful love letter to not only Black culture but specifically Black women and the love that embodies our entire beings. The winner of the 2025 Games For Impact at the Game Awards is very deserved. I am glad that the unnecessary racially-fuelled hate around this game did not stop its shine.
South of Midnight is a beautifully woven piece of art that encapsulates the true meanings of representation, magic, and folklore. I am excited for PlayStation players to finally get the chance to experience South of Midnight soon.
Story of Seasons Grand Bazaar (Honorable Mention)
Steam | Switch | Switch 2
Story of Seasons Grand Bazaar is a remastered experience from the Harvest Moon series. However, this game was not simply a remaster but an upgraded experience from what we remember from the Nintendo DS game. We got new game mechanics, new characters, and voice acting along with incredible graphics.
It was during the release of this game that I gained more interest in looking into why we were getting remasters, reimagines and releases of these titles which sent me down a rabbit hole of corporate breakups, copyright and localizations. This game was executed wonderfully on both Switch and PC, although I prefer playing on Switch.
What truly stood out to me was how receptive the developers were to feedback concerning the lack of shade ranges when it came to character customization. Within fifteen minutes of giving the feedback, folks on the Marvelous Team responded, which was great to see. Not sure what is going to be redone next for the Marvelous, but I cannot wait.
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma (Honorable Mention)
Steam | Switch | Switch 2
In this fresh take on Rune Factory, you use your powers as an Earth Dancer to restore the land, its people, and its gods. Along the way, the protagonist will battle corrupted monsters, rebuild seasonal farms and form bonds with the locals. The power of an Earth Dancer was fun to use in and out of combat and made this Rune Factory experience memorable.
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma was a fun and ambitious Rune Factory that took risks I believe will move the Rune Factory franchise in a good direction. The graphics were not only great but the big focus on combat and exploration felt like a big step.
Farming and town-building were put mainly on the back burner which at first felt like an odd choice but ultimately made me feel like this was an experimental choice. The town-building mechanics reminded me of Dark Cloud 2, and since I enjoyed it I wish we had gotten more of that; but we will see what the future of the franchise will give us.
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