Look, I wouldn't say I'm a cosy gamer. I'm more of a FPS or Soulsbourne gamer. Like, currently the games I play most often is Ultrakill and Bloodbourne. But, I wouldn't say I've never played cosy games like say, Stardew or early 2000s management sims.
Look, I understand the concept. You play a neat, cutesy sort of game, usually without the things some people don't like in games like violence or stupid high skill floors, which is understandble and then you chill out. And understand, I do not play Bloodbourne all the time, some days I'm too tired. I doubt anyone wants to get their ass handed to them in a game after a hard day of work.
So, by that logic, I fully see why people would like a calm game. You know? A lovely little game with cuteness and you know, famring or bubbly romances or bright and airy vibes.
And, I think that's where I'm confused. I get the bubbly fun stuff, but I just don't like it all that much. I like struggle and grit more, I suppose. Hence, fucking Bloodbourne. I feel like I'd understand it better if it felt like it had a point. Like, I get it, games are just digitial make belief anyways, but it just feels more, off with cosy games.
Like, why am I farming in Stardew valley? Like, I get it my grandad gave me the farm and the Mayor asked me to, but is there a real advantage to farm? I get money, cool, but to spend on what? More farming goods to uh... Get more money to get more farming goods to get more money to get more farming goods to get- You get the point. R-right?
Like, in Bloodbourne, there is a reason for you to farm bloodechoes or try to fight enemies. It's progress. You start the game, you find an enemy, you die. Okay, you start the game, you find an enemy, you survive a bit longer, you die. Okay, you start the game, you find the enemy, you kill it, you move on. You grow. You the player and your character get better. Stronger, faster, smarter, you name it. There's progress and a point to want to get better.
My problem in Stardew is, what is the point. I guess, to make industry. but that feels against the concept of a homestead type game. Why would my goal be to indutrialise my farm? It doesn't make sense. Best thing Stardew has is it's romance, and even that I have problems with. Why is my main way to get NPCs to like me bribing them with gifts?
It kinda breaks the fantasy if the end point is just, make another Jojo Mart. Like the fantasy in Bloodbourne is to be a hunter, either of men or beasts. So, the gameplay is based around that. Even as you get more powerful you're just becoming a more powerful hunter. THe gameplay matches that too. It would be pretty counter to that fantasy if could automate the hunting.
And the worse part is I fully get it why the automation is a massive point, with most of the upgrades being automative options. You know, farming gets redundent at some point. But than there's gotta be another solution than just rendering the fantasy of the game moot? Like maybe make there be certain crops everyone wants that changes ever few years, you know?
Like, The Sims, two and three, had this fixed. You are a god, more or less. So it makes more sense for your point. Your point, is what you want to do. Make a cute little couple and have them live fluffy fun and cute day to day lives. Or you could have two sisters in wildly different life paths to make a sort of funny sitcom set up. Or you just have a single no-body building up their life from scratch. Or you could lock some sims in a pool and delete the ladder to kill them? Or you could go ahead and help your sim acheive their life long goals.
My point is that it would be nice to have either a combernation of gameplay fitting the fantasy the game is meant to follow or full sandbox creativity like the Sims, two and three. The major problem is I don't know what the fantasy of most of these cosy games are.
Take, for example, A Little to The Left. The game is mostly just ordering people, either concert guests or resturant goers, in accordance to what they like. Which is fine. But good god, it has no real point. Why am I playing the game? What is the point? I mean the fantasy could be organising things but that wanes out after a bit. At least a little to the left is trying to be difficult, I'll give them points for that.
It's better than Unpacking. Ohh, good god, unpacking. I hate this game. I'm sorry if it's a game you like, but personally, I hate it. It's just... Annoying for annoyings sake. Like, if the whole plot twist part where the Main Character moves in with her boyfriend was the only part here we couldn't just place things willy nilly. You know? Like it doesn't feel like a big plot point because up until that point the game didn't let me set anything up at all! Not to freaking mention the whole point is supposed to be satisfying unpacking but the game ties your hands and wants things in very specific places which just... It frustrates me and kinda feel like a puzzle that doesn't make sense.
Look, cosy games are an interesting issue. What makes a game cosy depends on the person playing the game so making a genre around the concept of "cosiness" is interesting. I doubt every likes eating French Toast with powedered sugar, so a resterant which is trying to be cosy can't just default to selling french toast with powdered sugar as people have different tastes.
That's part of the problem with cosy games in concept. What is universally cosy? Cats? Some people don't like cats. Farming? Not everyone counts farming as fun. Bright colours? Somewhat but some people like more dim tones or don't see colours the same way as others. Romance? Some people don't feel romantic attraction and some people have different romantic interests.
Y-you get my point, right? There is no such thing as a universal "cosy" as people are beautifully diverse. Which means, making a "cosy" game is rather... Interesting. I think it would work better if games leaned into the concept of being a fantasy of sorts.
Ironically enough, I do have to give points to Unpacking. While it doesn't lean so much on a fantasy as a point, which it undermines, but at least it god that concept. Not like Stardew where completing the game fucks up it's own fantasy. Besides, I don't think it marketed itself as solely cosy but more of a character study through unpacking stuff.
Communities. The communitiy is a bit of my complaint. I get that most of the people selling the concept of these cosy games to people who want to buy a "cosy" game. but I feel like they could really drop the fixation on soly how "cutesy" a game is. Aesthetic and base fantasy does not a good game make.
My point more or less is. I think cosy games are best when they are made as proper games first and cosy second. Like, most media.
Now, my complaints end entirely when it comes to the actual cosy gamers. I have no complaints for them at all. I think people should be allowed to play whatever they want. Trust me, I don't even think that they're not hardcore gamer bros, mostly because... What does that even fucking mean? Games are for recreation. Regardless of if that recreation is having your ass beat by the Blood Starved Beast for the hundredth time, or getting a perfect headshot in a sniper game, or playing a visual novel, or fast paced action, or running a cute pizzaria, or building your dream home or... you get the idea.
Honestly, as long as the gamers aren't being preyed on by, EA for what should be base game features, like marriage. But is that the gamers faults? Fuck no. It's not. They just wanna have a cute wedding and adorable life. Nothing wrong there. The company that's making them pay extra for that on the other hand can get locked in a pool with no way out until they die.
Another interesting thing is cosy games that are good. God damn are they GOOD. Games like the Sims francise exsist because they appeal to damn near everyone and have a low barrier of entery meaning it's available to everyone too. Look, that's stuff my baby, Bloodbourne can't do if it wanted to. So it makes sense why "cosy games" even have this levle of popularity.
Stories are another good point. Look, I might not be the "plot enjoyer" sort, but I can not deny that some cosy games have good characters and fun, or heartbreaking, stories. Like, I still love all the romance options in Startdew valley, Abigail is my wife in cause you were curious, even if I think the romance could have been more fleshed out. But that's mostly because I wish I could've done more to wow her, you know? A date or too maybe. I'd say the heart events probably were the best parts.
Aesthetic is pretty good. I must say, I might prefer gothic stuff, but I can see the work going into making everything look so freaking good. Namely colour theory. Like, using bright colours seems easy, but than you put them next to eachother, and then it looks horrible and sparkledog like. So, you've gotta figure out how to mix them properly and damn does it look good. Like keep it as a wallpaper levels of good. I think I mostly am sad not all of these games have a photo mode to be honest. I mean, dear reader, I used solely green and black on my website for a reason. Colour theory and making cute things in general is just hard.