Beyond Cozy: Which Beloved Indie Game Should You Try Next?
6 questions to find your next game as a cozy gamer who wants to branch out — PowerWash Simulator, Outer Wilds, Tunic, or Return of the Obra Dinn.
1. What do you want your brain to do while you play?
2. How do you feel about games that give you no instructions or tutorials?
3. What kind of ending do you want from a game?
4. Which setting sounds most interesting?
5. How much challenge or frustration are you comfortable with?
6. Which of these feelings most describes why you play games?
Cozy games teach patience, the joy of exploration, and attention to detail. Those qualities are exactly what the best indie games ask for too.
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Beyond Cozy — Indie Games FAQ
Is Outer Wilds worth playing? Should I go in blind with no spoilers?
Outer Wilds is worth playing and you must go in blind. This is not an exaggeration or a preference — it is the only way the game works. Outer Wilds is a mystery game where the discoveries ARE the content. Every planet in the solar system hides information about a civilization that vanished 280,000 years ago, and the process of finding that information and understanding what it means is the entire emotional arc of the game. If you know what is on each planet, the game is reduced to navigation. If you discover it yourself, the game is one of the most powerful experiences in any medium. The game received near-universal critical acclaim in 2019 (94 on Metacritic), appeared on dozens of decade-end lists, and is available on Xbox Game Pass. Length: 15-25 hours depending on how thoroughly you explore. There is some simple flight physics to learn (not hard) and some moments of time-pressure, but no combat is required. The Echoes of the Eye DLC adds a separate horror-adjacent experience — play it after the base game, and only if you have a high tolerance for tension.
Is PowerWash Simulator worth it? Is it actually relaxing or is it tedious?
PowerWash Simulator is genuinely relaxing for most players who try it, but whether it is tedious depends entirely on your relationship to repetitive tasks. If you find tasks like folding laundry, washing dishes, or arranging objects satisfying — the kind of physical repetition that lets your mind wander — PowerWash Simulator is extremely relaxing. If you find repetitive tasks boring regardless of audiovisual feedback, it will feel tedious within an hour. The game's appeal is almost purely sensory: the hiss of the pressure washer, the visual transformation of objects from filthy to clean, the completion ping, the before-and-after color recovery. There is no story, no enemies, no fail states. The main campaign offers 25-30 hours of varied environments (backyard, playground, treehouse, fire station, van, garden shed, and more). Available on Xbox Game Pass. Has co-op multiplayer for cleaning with others. Won multiple awards for Most Relaxing Game. A great choice for people who watch cleaning videos on YouTube for the same reason.
Is Tunic worth buying? What makes it different from other Zelda-like games?
Tunic (2022) is worth buying for players who love the feeling of figuring something out completely on your own. What distinguishes it from other Zelda-like games is its central conceit: the game's instruction manual — the physical booklet that used to come in the box with 1990s video games — is scattered as collectible pages throughout the world. The manual is written in a fictional runic language you cannot read, with diagrams that you can interpret. Over time, you piece together the game's mechanics and secrets not through cutscenes or tutorialtext but through finding pages of a document that someone else left for you. The world also hides a secret — not just a map secret but a system secret, a deeper layer beneath the game's surface that most players discover accidentally. The combat is difficult (genuinely Dark Souls-adjacent in challenge), but accessibility options let you remove the death penalty entirely without touching the puzzle content. Available on Xbox Game Pass. Won IGF Nuovo Award, BAFTA nomination. Created by one developer over six years.
Is Return of the Obra Dinn worth it on Nintendo Switch? How does the deduction work?
Return of the Obra Dinn works well on Nintendo Switch and is worth every cent of its $20 price. The deduction system works as follows: you have a magic pocket watch that, when placed near human remains (a body, a skull, bones), shows you the moment of that person's death frozen in time, plus the audio of the last minute leading up to it. You write your deductions in a ledger: the person's name, how they died, and who or what caused it. You have sixty crew members to identify and sixty fates to determine. The game gives you enough information to solve every case through logic, cross-reference, and careful observation — no guessing required. When you have three correct answers in a row, the game confirms them. The 1-bit black-and-white dithered art style is immediately striking and completely iconic. Length: 8-15 hours for a first playthrough, depending on how systematic you are. Won BAFTA Best Game 2018. Created by Lucas Pope (Papers Please) as a solo developer. One of the most acclaimed indie games ever made.
What are the best indie games for cozy gamers who want something different?
The best indie games for cozy gamers who want to branch out, organized by what cozy quality they keep: (1) For maximum relaxation with zero challenge: PowerWash Simulator (PC/Switch/Xbox/PS, ~$25 or Game Pass) — the most mindlessly satisfying game ever made; (2) For cozy games that love exploration: Outer Wilds (PC/Switch/Xbox/PS, ~$25 or Game Pass) — no combat required, pure curiosity-driven discovery in a solar system; (3) For cozy games that love finding secrets: Tunic (PC/Switch/Xbox/PS, ~$30 or Game Pass) — Zelda-like with accessibility options to remove combat difficulty; (4) For cozy games that love puzzles: Return of the Obra Dinn (PC/Switch/PS/Xbox, ~$20) — pure deduction with no reflex challenge; (5) For cozy games that love atmosphere: Cocoon (all platforms, ~$25 or Game Pass) — wordless, alien, beautiful puzzle adventure; (6) For cozy games that love music: Gris (PC/Switch/iOS, ~$17) — wordless watercolor journey, no fail states. Take the Beyond Cozy Quiz to find which of the top four fits your specific mood.