We love many things about violentRPGsand action games, including a well-written story and great combat mechanics. But, don’t you think a lot of them would also make excellent cozy games, focusing on the most mundane of things? Give the hardcore stuff a rest, and let’s imagine some of them with wholesome mechanics.
Action games can get frustrating, especially if you are on a losing streak in difficult games like Elden Ring. Surely, you’ve wished that things were a bit easier? Let’s take it a step further and imagine these games with farming, management, minigames, and other cozy gimmicks to help you relax.
10Grand Theft Auto Series
The Grand Theft Auto series revolves around Crime Syndicates, so a game focusing on the management aspects would make it less gory. You could scout and recruit members for your organization, take on job management, and focus on profit margins instead of pumping people full of bullets. Delegate the hands-on tasks without taking a direct part in them.
It would also work well as a driving simulator, as that’s what many treat the game as even now. Imagine if we could just drive our cars endlessly, enjoying the views without any destination in mind and with no fear of flashing sirens. It would be great if we could also visit more recreational places that we see in the cities.
9Resident Evil Series
Resident Evil is a world full ofdeadly virusesand violence. There are people affected by them who essentially look like zombies and other weird creatures. A cozy game in such a setting could surely take place in a hospital where you also search for the cure.
A cozy game set in the Resident Evil world could be similar to Two Point Hospital, but the illnesses are more hardcore.
People would come in with various viruses, and you would administer the correct treatment to them and conduct research to increase their effectiveness. In your lab, you would be making medicines by developing special plants and machines to process them.
8Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3 has ahuge number of classes, which is also the strongest feature in the game. It would be interesting to see how these classes could be helpful in daily activities and more mundane life, not just in high-danger situations.
For instance, the Druids could be excellent workers at the barn, where they can get along with other animals by speaking to them. The Mages could help improve the quality of crops which humans planted. Instead of waging wars, everyone could get along to make a wonderful empire.
7Sekiro
Sekiro is set infeudal Japan, when samurai used to wage wars, and there was a lot of bloodshed. But surely they don’t have to be so violent, and they could be doing some cozy activities instead, while still maintaining their honor.
They can farm and grow crops to feed the general population for a start. That feels very honorable to me. To increase the quality, they would use their tools with as much precision as their weapons. Like how you strive to get your attack timing right in the game for parrying. They can also take part in sparring competitions to claim more land.
6Nier: Automata
Nier Automata’s impressive open-world visuals are stunning, and just by casually taking a walk here, we would feel very satisfied. So what if, instead of Androids and Machine Lifeforms waging a war, they united to create a thriving metropolis?
There is also something very wholesome about machines taking care of the environment and growing plants. We would have loved to see some mechanical cows that refine oil for the robots to consume.
5Yakuza / Like A Dragon
The Yakuza franchise already has minigames, but an actual game which is nothing but cozy would be really great for the series. You could manage your own Yakuza clan and commit evil, but it would be all casual fun.
You will still visit places for fun activities, and you can also have a nice little farm in your office. Arranging events and planning parties would also be a fun aspect. After the Yakuza get disbanded, you can maybe try out different careers. Majima can finally focus on running his construction company, and Kiryu deserves a peaceful life with the orphan kids.
4Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 7 already has the protection of nature as a central theme, so it has the potential to be a cozy game, where you work to improve the environment. You could do that by farming, planting trees, and limiting the use of machines, so people can return to the earth one day.
Aerith can finally live as the Florist she aspired to be.
Shinra Electric Company can still be a villain and play a role similar to Joja in Stardew Valley. They won’t be killing anyone or doing questionable experiments; instead, you will find them thwarting your nature-replicating efforts by demolishing trees and setting up factories.
3Metaphor: ReFantazio
The world of Metaphor: ReFanatizo is pretty grim, as there is a constant struggle to gain power, which also causes the loss of many lives. Instead of trying to prove their strength to gain the public’s favour. The game could have taken a more casual approach, where, as a responsible candidate, you would try to improve the lives of the citizens.
It could be done by taking on some odd jobs, working part-time in some places. Completing more quests, where you could help people get the materials they need through exploration. You could also travel from one city to another to resolve the problems and eventually gain the crown.
2Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur has a lot of pain and deaths with so many adversaries lurking around. That said, the game also has some wholesome things, such as Esque, who is a tall and kind creature. Instead of fighting their way through the pain, they could have accepted their fates and instead worked on building the town for future generations.
This would keep the original tone of the game grim, but with a cozy touch to it. You could grow crops, set up structures, and perhaps collect resources to improve the town of Lumiere into a better place. People can live their lives to the fullest before death overtakes them.
1Elden Ring
Elden Ring has extremely difficult combat, which often requires multiple tries to beat a single boss. All this violence can get quite tedious, and so why not have a cozy option as well? It does have plenty of potential to be an open-world game where you work to restore the lands between.
You start as a Tarnished, but you get a piece of the Elden Ring by working to improve the lands. By visiting the lords, you could befriend them and work to fix the conditions of their areas. Imagine having a tea party with Malenia visiting all the way to her room and romancing her?
