Cozy games are having their day right now, and 2025 looks set to continue the trend. Fans of farming and classic life simulators Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing you can look forward to a lot of games in the new year. There are games that stick to the classic formula, games that offer something new and innovative, new entries in beloved series, and brand new IPs that promise to make their mark on the cozy genre. Those looking to add some cozy games to their 2025 bucket list and hoping for something to recapture the magic Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley you should check out the following games:
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Hello Kitty Island Adventure is released on January 30th
Previously released as a mobile game, Hello Kitty Island Adventure releases on Nintendo Switch and PC on January 30, 2025, with a PlayStation release planned for later this year. This adorable life simulator brings a touch of classic to Sanrio Animal Crossing formula. After their plane crashes over a mysterious island, players are tasked with restoring the island to its former glory, unlocking its many different regions, and ultimately encouraging visitors to return – and perhaps even settle there permanently.
Working with Hello Kitty, Pompompurin, My Melody and other Sanrio friends, players can fish, catch animals, cook delicious recipes and decorate guest cabins and invite even more Sanrio characters to stay. There are also mini-games, quests to complete, and secrets to discover high in the sky and deep under the sea. Of course, in true Sanrio style, players can also customize their own adorable animal character and unlock different outfits and accessories to wear. This colorful tropical game comes out in late January and is perfect for anyone looking for a sunny escape from the winter gloom.
Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game – Releases March 25th
Anyone who's ever dreamed of being a hobbit and living in the cozy garden-loving, breakfast-loving community created by JRR Tolkien should check out Game Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings, a cozy hobbit-centric title from Weta Workshop. Players can create their own hobbit character and settle in a hobbit hole in the village of Bywater where they can garden, fish, decorate their home, get to know their neighbors and of course host elaborate communal meals and parties. enjoy the whole hobbit quarter.
Stories of the Region was created and designed lord of the ringsWeta Workshop, which sought to create a world and aesthetic exactly as Tolkien himself might have experienced in his lifetime. Hobbit holes are cozy, rivers are full of fish, food is plentiful, and no one ever forgets a second breakfast. Players will be able to meet and befriend many of the original Hobbit characters, and – as some of the game's trailers have hinted – they may even be visited by a few familiar faces and old friends.
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time – Released April 2025
In the latest entry in Fantasy Life series, players find themselves on an almost deserted island that was once a bustling paradise. The girl who steals time it has many of the classic cozy game elements like gathering resources, exploring and befriending your neighbors – but it does it with a unique time travel twist. To gather resources, players will have to visit the island's past, when it was still teeming with life. These resources can then be used to create furniture, buildings and other essentials needed to rebuild the island in the future.
Throughout the game, players will be able to choose between different professions called “Lives”, including farmer, blacksmith, alchemist and more. Each life has its own specialties, some focus on crafting while others focus on combat. Players can switch lives depending on what the island needs most. Along the way, they might discover the truth about what happened to the island. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time it will also feature a co-op feature that will allow up to four players to experience the game together.
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Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma releases in spring 2025
Rune Factory is one of the biggest names in the farming genre and one of the series that inspired ConcernedApe to be created Stardew Valley. The latest entry in the series takes players to Azuma, a brand new land far to the east. In Azuma, players will use their unique “Earth Dancer” abilities to grow crops, fight monsters, and even bring back the gods. It is a completely standalone title that does not require playing any of the previous ones Rune Factory games to understand.
Azuma's Guardians both honors classic farming simulators with crops to grow and villagers to befriend, and expands on the formula with a focus on combat, the ability to use magical powers to farm, and the inclusion of not just one farm, but multiple farms/villages representing different seasons. This rich adventure promises some of the most magical and comfortable gaming of 2025, as players strengthen their abilities and eventually restore not only villages and farms, but the gods themselves.
Tales of Seikyu Releases 2025
Seikyu storiesanother cozy game with a magical touch, appeals Animal Crossing fans for one main reason: the world of the game is not inhabited by ordinary people, but by changelings, yokai, talking animals and others. Drawing inspiration from Asian mythology, this enchanting game puts players in the shoes of a seemingly ordinary protagonist who suddenly discovers his own power: the power of transformation.
Using this power, players will restore the peaceful yokai sanctuary to its former glory, befriend all kinds of adorable yokai, and maybe even find love with some of them. Seikyu stories will also feature a combat and exploration element in a rich, colorful world reminiscent of the expansive vistas of titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Although Seikyu stories It currently has no set release date, with its debut slated for sometime in 2025.