I’ve never considered myself much of a gamer. Most video games heighten my anxiety instead of calming it. I’m the type of person to white knuckle the controller as I speed down Rainbow Road, gritting my teeth as my stars are stolen in Mario Party. (I’m fine . . . no really!) But when I stumbled upon “cozy game” recs on TikTok, I felt seen . . . and uncharacteristically inspired to pick up the controller. “Here are some cozy games to play on those days where you’re not feeling well physically or mentally,” creator Cozy K said in a TikTok with over 400K likes. But can these games actually improve your mental health?
In essence, cozy games (usually played on Nintendo Switch or iPhone) are designed to help users relax and unwind. Instead of racing, battling, or competing, you’re tasked with exploring beautiful worlds, cooking virtual meals, and tending to adorable creatures. Leave all urgency and anxiety at the door – these games are just about losing yourself in the moment. “Spiritfarer gave me the peaceful escape I needed. Haven’t been able to move on to a new game yet since finishing it,” one commenter wrote on TikTok. “Some of my top cozy games are puzzle games! I could just get lost in them tbh,” another said.
Cozy gaming isn’t exactly a hard sell – but as it turns out, there might be some real mental health benefits to games like these. To learn more, we asked experts to explain how cozy games impact the brain (and why they might be worth trying yourself). Read on to find out what these games do, how they work, and how to go about picking the best cozy game for your mental health.
Experts Featured in This Article:
Vanessa Kennedy, PhD, is director of psychology at Driftwood Recovery.
Mikal Bailey, DMSc, PA-C, MT(ASCP), is the CEO of mental health and wellness company Stillwater Health.
What Are Cozy Games?
Cozy games are a bit different from typical video games. “Cozy games are low stress, enjoyable, and often wholesome online games that are designed to calm your mind and reduce your stress level,” explains psychologist Vanessa Kennedy, PhD. “They typically involve soothing colors and aesthetics, positive reinforcement, nature or animals, and community interaction.”
One major thing to note is that these games typically limit elements that could be considered stressful, including violence, fear, and high-stakes competition. That doesn’t mean you won’t encounter the occasional creepy cozy game (to each their own), but it’s something to keep in mind when getting into cozy gaming.
Cozy Gaming Benefits
It’s clear that people on social media are using cozy games to relax. But what are the actual mental health benefits to cozy gaming? “There is growing data to support the use of video games that promote feelings of well-being for adults and youth,” says researcher Mikal Bailey, DMSc, PA-C, MT(ASCP). Additional benefits may include:
- Safe social interactions
- Positive sense of accomplishment
- Cognitive stimulation to help you strategize and problem solve
- Mental recovery from stress, trauma, depression, or anxiety
- Temporary respite from daily stressors
- An opportunity to cope with failure in a controlled environment
Ultimately, “cozy games can improve mental health symptoms by reducing stress and anxiety,” Dr. Kennedy says. “These games are designed to help you relax and slow down, perhaps at the end of a busy and rushed day.” She adds that activities like interior design, looking after plants or animals, farming or gardening, and interacting with characters may also help you connect with your own positive attributes (like creativity, love for nature, social skills, and the ability to nurture).
How Do Cozy Games Help With Mental Health?
“Early research into cozy games suggests that they can have positive mental health benefits on par with meditation and mindfulness practices,” Dr. Kennedy says. To her a point, in a 2021 study with 80 undergraduate students, participants who played a cozy game for 20 minutes experienced lower blood pressure and heart rate to a similar degree as students who completed a 20-minute meditation. Why exactly is that?
- Meditative elements: “Cozy games can promote relaxation through meditative elements such as growing flowers in a garden or crafting, building homes, farming or fishing, soothing colors, and music,” Dr. Kennedy explains. “Meditation allows the brain to focus on one thing in the moment without negative judgment, such that external distractions and negativity are tuned out, and the brain can relax without noise, lowering cortisol levels.”
- Distractability: If you’re dealing with high levels of stress or anxiety, cozy games serve as a nice distraction – and that can benefit your mental health. “[By] providing controlled levels of cognitive stimulation, we can ‘de-stress’ our nervous systems by entering into gaming environments that provide us a greater sense of control,” Dr. Bailey says. “This allows us to detach from other stressors for a period of time, allowing our fight-or-flight response to lessen.”
- Sense of accomplishment: By completing small tasks (be it fishing, cooking, or looking after a virtual farm), cozy games boost your sense of accomplishment. This kind of creativity and self-expression is also just downright fun. “The player can engage in a simpler, more child-like curiosity and wonder, activating a lighter, more joyous set of emotions,” Dr. Kennedy says.
- Social connection: “These games also encourage participation with other players online or non-player characters (NPCs) in the game, who are often
grumpy, funny, or give clues to solve puzzles or mysteries,” Dr. Kennedy says. “The positive emotions cultivated by this social connection can lead to a mood boost and sense of belonging.”
How to Pick a Cozy Game
The best cozy games for mental health will vary from person to person. Dr. Kennedy suggests games that promote your sense of relaxation, creativity, and connection (whatever that might look like for you). “Cozy games should also be easy to engage with in terms of accessing them on your phone or gaming device, with easy-to-accomplish tasks,” she says. “Avoid games with high-pressure elements
such as intense competition or group battles, time limits, [or] violence.”
It’s also worth noting that cozy gaming is not a replacement for actual mental health care, and too much gaming can have negative effects. “The only thing that research consistently seems to convey is that there is a level of too much gaming that may not be healthy for us,” Dr. Bailey says. Studies put this number at around 10 hours or more a week, but if your gaming starts to affect your work, sleep, or relationships, you may want to consider dialing back.
When in doubt, remember that cozy gaming should leave you feeling better than you did before. “The activities should be fun, low-stress, and soothing to the nervous system, allowing you to breathe more deeply and recharge your batteries,” Dr. Kennedy says. And with that in mind – kindly pass me the controller.
Chandler Plante (she/her) is an assistant health and fitness editor for PS. She has over four years of professional journalism experience, previously working as an editorial assistant for People magazine and contributing to Ladygunn, Millie, and Bustle Digital Group.
