I recommend Cobalt Core. Super cute characters and story, and very satisfying even after completing the main quest. It and Balatro are currently my standing "twenty minutes on a lunch break" games.
this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2025
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Steam Deck
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Or, you might want to go to the studio's original title, Sunshine Heavy Industries. It's pretty much just building spaceships out of legos.
Monster Hunter series.
I should preface this by saying I don't actually have a steam deck yet, so I haven't tested these on there. So I'm only commenting on the games themselves. These are listed as deck "verified" in the steam store, though.
One I haven't seen mentioned yet is Yoku's Island Express. Breezy summer vibes, not much difficulty. It's kind of a pinball metroidvania.
Tinykin is another game with a very cozy/low stakes feel. It's an exploration/collectathon platformer with cute environments made up of household objects.
Littlewood is a life sim sort of game, kind of like Stardew Valley, but it's extremely chill. There's no time limit or anything like that.
And others have mentioned these, but Toem, Alba, and Donut County are all very good and gentle games too.
Oh, and Tchia. That one has some dark moments at times, mostly in cutscenes, but when you're actually playing it's mostly gentle and island-y.
Maybe also Wuppo? It's a strange one. The story and humor and animation are pretty great in that one, but there are some boss fights that can get a little frustrating. It's mostly a fairly chill platformer, but then it's got kind of bullet-hell-adjacent bosses. I still really like the game, but it's not quite as purely relaxing as some of the others here.
Pikuniku is kind of in the same position as Wuppo, but I liked it a bit less. The humor feels a little more forced or stilted, and the frustrating bits are because the controls are kinda floaty. My niece really liked it when she was 8, though, so it had that going for it.
Hope this helps! I've been looking for this kind of game a lot the past few years
Spiritfarer, it's the most chill game I've ever played.
Oh, yeah and Dredge, one of my favourite games.
helltaker
Awaria is the second game by the same dev. I won’t lie, it is kinda high energy. Enemies chase you in real time around the tile board rather than it being a turn-based puzzle game. But I still find it fun and it has a lot of the same story vibes. Also there is an easy mode if you want a truly chill experience.
The Last Campfire is like being read a bedtime story - its delightful
20 mins till dawn Mario Mario kart Desk Job(it's more of a deck tutorial but funny)
I expected to open this thread and see 30 recommendations for stardew valley but I don't see any. So stardew valley.
Check out Natsu-Mon: 21st Century Summer Kid. It’s not Deck verified, but it’s platinum on ProtonDB, so it should work. I played it on Linux (albeit not on Deck) with no issue.
You just get to be a kid in the summer in a small Japanese town. I grieved when it was over because I wouldn’t get to see all the friends I had made anymore or go fishing or hunt treasure or catch bugs…
So wholesome!
What I've played on my Deck over the last months and would consider more of the type of games you listed:
- Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip
- Paper Trail
- Smushi Come Home
- Little Kitty, Big City
- Slash Quest
- Haven Park
- Loddlenaut
Edit: Formatting
Try out Loddlenaut or Toem!
My list of endorphin-boosting games:
Dorfromantik
Unpacking
A Little To The Left
Tiny Glade - though this one barely qualifies as a game
If you want something a little more gamified: Balatro is amazing and addictive.
Don’t think I saw these mentioned so here ya go:
- Little Kitty, Big City
- Any of the Atelier games if you don’t mind anime, though the upcoming one may not be as relaxing in terms of its story.
- Timberborn, though some might feel stressed about handling droughts. You can turn the difficulty down and it’ll just be a cute diorama where you build a city (or cities) with beavers.
And this is extra but grab your friends and family and play some couch co-op. It can help get your mind off things and just enjoy being in company of loved ones.
Aand if you want to eventually find something that will keep you hopeful in the face of despair, in a healthy way, I recommend the first part of Honkai Impact 3rd. It’s long, has lots of depressing moments, enough to make fans call it Depression Impact. The story touches on themes of existential horror, suicide, duty, death of loved ones, humans who have no morals and believe that all rights and wrongs as transient, cosmological threats, etc. Despite all that, I’d actually say that it’s a story about hope, and what can lay the foundations for hope. It’s definitely fan-service-y, and it’s a gacha game, but very much ignorable and playable without investing any money in it. It’s also made by a Chinese company, but maybe that can help with recalibrating perceptions on Chinese people, instead of what we’ve come to know through their government. Of course, if you’re susceptible to gambling addictions, please feel free to ignore this recommendation.
I've been playing Keep Driving quite a bit. Fun game and great on deck.
- terra nil
- what the golf
spec ops the line (just kidding)
I'm imagining someone cozying up with a blanket, a lap kitty, some tea, and the horrors of mankind.
Casually dropping white phosphorus to relax
Night in the Woods felt very comforting to me. Its not really the "cozy game. For me it felt more like the movie Juno. Cool and funny characters getting along with some everyday and some harsh toppics. Combined with a cool artstyle and soundtrack.
Night in the Woods is so god damn good. Heartbreaking what happened with the dev, though.
Yeah :. A real tragedy
The rookie
Smushi Come Home is a good one. You play as a little mushroom trying to find the way back home. It kinda has a similar vibe to A Short Hike
I'm a huge fan of Mice Tea (nsfw), it's more comic than game (it's actually a choose-your-own-adventure) but I read it on my Deck <3
It's an erotic romance about a nerdy girl, a bookstore, and some magic tea that turns you into a furry. Tons of literal and metaphorical aftercare.
Update: 15ish hours in, I’m voicing like four characters and my partner is voicing all of the others. We are absolutely loving it so far. Thank you for the recco!
hell yeah! don't forget to wishlist Coffee Buns and Crossed Signals, a couple of other stories being worked on by the same team :)
TF me into a furry? Uhhhh how have I not played that yet
- Cult of the Lamb
- Vampire Survivors
- Halls of Torment
I didn't think of survivors games but they fit perfectly, thank you!
TOEM is usually the game that I suggest for this sort of genre. I got it from someone who had an extra key from a humble bundle, and in hindsight I wish I bought it because they deserve the money.
Unpacking (if mouse control via touch pads is ok for you)
UFO 50 and Star of Providence!
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