Reading Time: Less than 10 min
I am listing here 23 wholesome and cozy games to look forward to in 2023 in no particular order consisting of different art, topics, and game styles.
These are estimated dates and the games could/should release this year.
I have also added their summary and linked their respective websites and trailers to share all the necessary info.
Summary from Mika's and the witch's mountain's trailer description:
Meet Mika, an aspiring witch with a half-formed set of powers. In order to complete her training, she must help out the townspeople living at the bottom of the mountain, bringing them packages on her magic broom. It’s time to make some friends and take to the skies!
Help Mika earn her stripes, roaming around the island and earning upgrades with each successful delivery. Along the way you’ll get to know each of the quirky characters in town. But be warned - flying is a dangerous business, and packages are easily damaged in transit!
A combat-free game for curious hearts. Soar with the wind and discover a bewitching open world with secrets hidden in every nook and cranny.
Available for the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox and on Steam
Summary from Mr Saitou's trailer description:
Return to the world of Rakuen, where a new adventure awaits!
Mr. Saitou is a short game about an average white-collar worker who struggles to find meaning in a life full of constant overtime and social isolation. After an accident lands him in the hospital, Mr. Saitou is spirited away to a strange fantasy world where an unexpected friend takes him on a life-changing adventure.
Find more information on the game's website.
Available for the Nintendo Switch and on Steam
Summary from Sopa Steam's page description:
When Miho steps into the pantry to get a potato for his grandmothers' soup, he's pulled into a distant fantastical land where he must retrace the steps of a mysterious great traveler before him.
He must venture through a world of endless deserts, floating mountains, and talking beasts, outsmarting thieves and meeting quirky characters along the way. But each time he returns to the kitchen with an ingredient, he's a little bit taller, and his grandmother a little bit older…
Emotional narrative adventure about the things we pass along. Inspired by Miyazaki, Coco, and The Little Prince.
Find more information on the game's website.
Available for Xbox and on Steam
Summary from Venba Steam's page description:
Venba is a narrative cooking game, where you play as an Indian mom, who immigrates to Canada with her family in the 1980s.
Players will cook various dishes and restore lost recipes, hold branching conversations and explore in this story about family, love, loss and more.
Find more information on the game's website.
Available for Nintendo Switch and on Steam
Summary from Tchia's trailer description:
A Tropical Open-World adventure. Climb, glide, swim, and sail your boat around a beautiful archipelago in this physics-driven sandbox.
Use Tchia's Soul Jumping ability to take control of any animal or object you can find, and Jam on your fully playable Ukulele. A game inspired by New Caledonia.
Find more information on the game's website.
They have documented some behind-the-scenes inspiration used for the game in a 3 part series.
Available for the Playstation 4, Playstation 5 and Epic Games.
Summary from Mail Time Steam's page description:
Mail Time is a relaxing, cottagecore adventure set in a peaceful forest, far, far away. It's your first day on the job as a newly minted Mail Scout. Equipped with a mushroom hat, a pack full of letters, and unbridled enthusiasm, it's time to deliver letters and packages across the Grumblewood Grove.
Their recipients eagerly await the sight of your mushroom hat, so don't tarry! Run, jump, glide, and make your way across the forest to deliver parcels and joy to the cute critters that inhabit these woods.
A special demo is now available on Steam. Find more information on the game's website.
Available for the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and on Steam.
Summary from Kamaeru's trailer description:
Breed and collect frogs in Kamaeru! "Your mission as a carbon farmer and frog protector is to restore drained wetlands to their former glory. This will allow you to practice paludiculture, the culture of wetlands!"
Find more information on the game's website.
Available for PC and mobile devices.
Summary from Blanc's trailer description:
Blanc is a beautiful co-op adventure that follows a stranded wolf cub and fawn. After getting lost in a sudden snowstorm, they will have to work together to return to their families.
Team up with another player to guide them through the harsh environment and journey back home.
Find more information on the game's website. It is beautiful to visit!
Available for the Nintendo Switch, Epic Games, and on Steam.
Summary from Way of the Woods Steam's page description:
A Deer and Fawn must embark on a journey through an abandoned world of the unknown to get home. A third person adventure game solo developed by ant tan.
Featuring soundtrack from aivi & surasshu, composers for the show Steven Universe.
Find more information on the game's website.
Available for XBOX, Game Pass, and on Steam.
Summary from Mineko's Night Market Steam's page description:
Mineko’s Night Market is a narrative-driven, social simulation adventure game that celebrates Japanese culture while encouraging players to craft, eat, and ultimately enjoy all the cats.
Find more information on the game's website. It is a super cute website layout!
Available on PC/MAC, Nintendo Switch, and on Steam.
Summary from Botany Manor's trailer description:
Welcome to Botany Manor, a stately home in 19th century England. You play as its inhabitant Arabella Greene, a retired botanist.
Explore your house and gardens, filled with research, to figure out the ideal habitat for a collection of forgotten flora. Grow each plant to discover the mysterious qualities they hold…
Find more information on the game's website.
Available on the Nintendo Switch
Summary from The Garden Path Steam's page description:
A slice-of-life sim about the joy of gardening, and the small pleasures that follow. Whether you're fishing, growing, trading or just hanging with new friends, a wonderful and wistful adventure awaits when wandering The Garden Path.
Find more information on the game's website. There is a demo on Steam.
Available on itch.io and on Steam.
Summary from Sea of Stars's trailer description:
Sea of Stars is a turn-based RPG inspired by the classics. It tells the story of two Children of the Solstice who will combine the powers of the sun and moon to perform Eclipse Magic, the only force capable of fending off the monstrous creations of the evil alchemist known as The Fleshmancer.
Find more information on the game's website.
Available for the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and on Steam.
Summary from Loddlenaut's Steam page description:
Loddlenaut is a creature-raising survival game that takes place on an ocean planet. Play as an interstellar custodian who is sent to clean up an abandoned planet polluted by a mega-corporation as you get it ready for the next company to move in.
Find more information on the game's website.
Available on Steam.
Summary from Bayonetta Origin's trailer description:
Turn back the pages of the Umbra Witch's story to learn where it all began. Take control of Cereza and her first demon Cheshire to fend off faeries and solve puzzles when Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon releases March 17, 2023.
Find more information on the game's Nintendo store page.
Available for the Nintendo Switch.
Summary from Fae Farm's trailer description:
Escape to the fairytale life of your dreams in Fae Farm, a farm sim RPG for 1-4 players. Craft, cultivate, and decorate to grow your shared homestead—and use spells to explore the enchanted island of Azoria!
You’ll forge new bonds with residents, discover fae magic, and trek across mysterious realms. And as the seasons change, you’ll use all you've learned and discovered together to restore the world around you.
Find more information on the game's website.
Available for the Nintendo Switch.
Summary from Distant Bloom's trailer description:
From a world in ruins to a world in bloom! This serene management game lets you explore an alien planet where things have gone amiss. Harness the power of plants to restore the environment and build a flourishing community with your crewmates.
Find more information on the game's website.
Available on Steam.
Summary from Coral Island's trailer description:
Coral Island is a vibrant and laid-back reimagining of farm sim games. Developed by the talented multinational team at Indonesia-based Stairway Games, Coral Island invites players to be who they want and experience enchanting island living at their own pace—living off the land, nurturing animals, building relationships with a diverse cast of townsfolk, and making the world around them a more vital and harmonious place.
Find more information on the game's website.
Available for XBOX, Game Pass, and on Steam.
Summary from Europa's Steam page description:
On the moon Europa, a lush terraformed paradise in Jupiter’s shadow, an android named Zee sets out in search of answers. Run, glide and fly across the landscape, solve mysteries in the ruins of a fallen utopia, and discover the story of the last human alive.
Find more information on the game's website.
Available on Steam.
Summary from Puzzles for Chef's Steam page description:
Join Clef on an adventure set on a magical sky island where her family once lived. Solve puzzles, discover secrets, and experience a story of sisterly love – and something more, if you are willing to dig deeper…
Find more information on the game.
Available on Steam.
Summary from Oxenfree 2's Steam page description:
Five years after the events of OXENFREE, Riley returns to her hometown of Camena to investigate mysterious radio signals. What she finds is more than she bargained for.
Find more information on the game's website.
Available for the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and on Steam.
A paragraph extracted from Haunted Chocolatier's website:
"Chocolate represents that which is delightful. The haunted castle represents the allure of the unknown. The ghosts represent the imprint of the past. All of these things are important. However, don’t think for a moment that, because this game features ghosts in a haunted castle, it is an evil or negative game. On the contrary, I intend for this game to be positive, uplifting and life-affirming. However, if Stardew Valley mostly channeled the energy of the sun, Haunted Chocolatier channels the energy of the moon. Both are vital."
Find more information on the game's website.
Available on Steam and maybe more.
Summary from Hollow Knight: Silksong's trailer description:
Hollow Knight: Silksong is the epic sequel to Hollow Knight, the epic action-adventure of bugs and heroes.
As the lethal hunter Hornet, journey to all-new lands, discover new powers, battle vast hordes of bugs and beasts and uncover ancient secrets tied to your nature and your past.
Find more information on the game's website.
Available on PC/MAC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox, Game Pass, Nintendo Switch, and on Steam.