Best On-Budget Obscure Cozy Games

Although I'm not usually one to play cozy games, last year I decided to give a good number of them a chance, and I must admit I was missing out on many gems.

When I stopped seeing it as a closed mechanical concept and started understanding it more as a feeling conveyed through a calm, colorful, or exploratory approach, I began to broaden my horizons and stumbled upon many remarkable titles of all kinds.

Some are more entertaining than others, some have deeper themes, and others are more focused on gameplay, but they're all always based on the premise of relaxation and contemplation, fundamental elements of their design.

Therefore, today I celebrate the eradication of my ignorance about games in this genre, specifically inviting you to read this list of the ten best on-budget obscure cozy games.

10 Candleman: The Complete Journey

Beware of Melting

While I understand how the possibility of your protagonist melting if you don't manage your resources well can be worrying, the truth is that Candleman: The Complete Journey is one of the most beautiful and calming platformers I've played in a long time.

Instead of being mechanically complex, it focuses heavily on using the light emitted by our candle to set the mood for the adventure and, at the same time, justify it in terms of gameplay, feeling like a little fable like the ones we were told as children.

The atmospheric music does a great job of conveying tranquility, with a very emphatic yet relaxing sound design that, while often appearing in dark areas to help guide us without the need for light, ends up feeling very comfortable.

Above all, Candleman: The Complete Journey is a beautiful title with great art design and tremendous levels, and it's that beauty that allows it to transmit a sense of peace that isn't so common in a genre that usually prioritizes speed.

9 A Dream About Parking Lots

A Therapeutic Session

Venturing into somewhat more unusual territory in terms of recommendations, A Dream About Parking Lots is more of an autobiographical adventure in which the author discusses the creative process.

Feeling lost, experiencing impostor syndrome, or avoiding our projects to bypass the disappointment of not completing them are themes the title addresses from the perspective of video game development, but it resonated with me from the perspective of writing.

In a very abstract way, the artistic expressions of each individual, born from a passionate impulse, stem from the same starting point, which allows A Dream About Parking Lots to connect with all kinds of people around the world through its deeply introspective dialogues and rich atmosphere.

It's just a game where you walk through various parking lots looking for your vehicle while answering questions like in a therapy session, though it's also an experience that, if it resonates with you, can make you rethink many things about your life.

8 Everdeep Aurora

A Metroidvania Without Fighting

Everdeep Aurora, on the other hand, is a much more conventional journey, presenting a Metroidvania heavily inspired by 16-bit Game Boy Advance games where combat isn't a playable concept.

Breaking with the standard set by the genre's pioneers or even icons like Hollow Knight, this is a resource-gathering title where you destroy blocks to continue digging in a captivating world with eccentric and wonderful characters.

Instead of dealing with enemies or fighting bosses, the goal here is to explore, be mesmerized by the soundtrack, feel moved by the story, and enjoy the clever design of its campaign, which leads you to solve puzzles without you even realizing it, thanks to how naturally integrated it is with the exploration.

With its short length, multiple endings, gorgeous pixel art, and very friendly dialogue, Everdeep Aurora is the perfect alternative if you want a familiar game that, at the same time, goes the extra mile to try to surprise you.

7 Desvelado

Platforming to the Sound of Tango

Many modern platformers base their gameplay on motor skills, but Desvelado focuses much more on problem-solving, almost like a puzzle.

Instead of having to complete sequences that are impossible for your fingers, it's a simple and ephemeral title where you revel in the curious applications of basic movement mechanics, including great visual personality and a fantastic soundtrack.

You're not here to revel in high speeds or inexplicable jumping challenges, but to enjoy the tango music playing while you audibly shout “Eureka!” when you realize the motor/auditory combination you need to perform to advance to the next level.

If we're talking about games to play on a Sunday afternoon, titles that leave you with a good feeling and make you feel like your time was well spent, Desvelado is a charming option that even strikes me as a great video game for those venturing into the interactive industry for the first time.

6 SOPA - Tale of the Stolen Potato

When Imagination Takes Control

Although SOPA - Tale of the Stolen Potato is an adventure with a deeply Latin American background, it's the kind of game for all ages that's easy to connect with thanks to its familiar and fantastical story.

While mechanically it only involves moving around and making small jumps here and there, as well as combining items and solving puzzles, the game's greatest appeal lies in its setting, which is so colorful and charismatic that it draws you in easily, paired with its fairytale-like structure.

You're not there to have fun in the traditional sense of the word, but to experience a story that will teleport you back to when you were a child and did favors for your grandmother, worried about breaking a vase, or spent every afternoon fantasizing about magical worlds and experiences.

SOPA - Tale of the Stolen Potato feels primarily like a time machine, settling you into the ever-comfortable armchair of nostalgia to give you what we all long for: to enjoy the old days when everything was simpler but felt more special.

5 PancitoMerge

Let's Explore Mexican Gastronomy

Given how recently it all started, I imagine we haven't forgotten the phenomenon that was Suika Game, the logic game where you stack and combine fruits to increase your score as high as your skill allows.

Therefore, the team of Sketchy Ceviche decided to take said premise but give it a Mexican twist, creating PancitoMerge, which, let me tell you, is as addictive and appetite-inducing as you could imagine.

With various levels, numerous sweets to combine, wonderful art design, and the same addictive mechanics as Suika Game, the result is a product that is as commendable as it is entertaining, justifying its gameplay in the best possible way.

You might believe you're just stacking food, but actually, you're creating the dessert combinations needed for the customers who are coming to your shop, creating a rather pleasant feeling, even when you realize the 'board' is a bag for delivering the products and not just an invisible excuse to dump food.

Although they may sound like simple elements, PancitoMerge stands out for its love of detail and cultural care, justifying every one of its playable elements to generate the most immersive atmosphere.

4 Venba

The Pleasure of Cooking

Sticking with the theme of food-related games because I'm hungry, and because it's among the best visual novels of recent years, Venba's inclusion on this list is inevitable.

Not only is it an important reflection on cultural heritage and the importance of family, but it's also a charming cooking game that opens you up to a new culinary world while telling a great story.

I'll admit it loses its cozy feel at times, as it also delves into heavy themes like xenophobia, but Venba knows perfectly how to balance things out, specifically through a simple yet commendable mechanic that turns cooking a dish into entertaining puzzles.

It boasts a wealth of symbolism, a beautiful color palette, and a deep affection for its Indian history, which I think is more than enough to consider it, overall, among the generation's finest cozy games.

3 Vendrán las aves

Giving You the Opportunity to Heal

I've mentioned on several occasions how Deconstructeam is one of my favorite studios for its ability to analyze our current reality through a fantastical and profoundly philosophical lens, but with Vendrán las aves (The Birds Will Come), they did something incredible.

Precisely, they took an extremely simple concept, made it free on itch.io, and released the most uncomfortably cozy experience of 2025, creating a dichotomy I honestly believe only they could pull off.

It's not a pretty game because it displays beautiful colors, tells a magical story, or has calming mechanics, but because it shows the harshness of our contemporary lives, where energy is a resource, and it costs much more to invest it in improving ourselves than in doomscrolling until we fall asleep.

It doesn't sound cozy at all to pick up a title that reminds you how much you hate not having the vitality to cook, and thus you order takeout, or that makes you feel bad for not having felt like exercising all week. But that's precisely what's cozy: seeing the everyday struggles of your existence recognized and felt by someone else.

I don't know if this is a far-fetched approach to the genre we're discussing here, but when it comes to feeling comfortable, Vendrán las aves touches a part of my brain I don't think has ever been touched before in this medium.

2 Donut County

Swallow the Whole World

I think we can all concur that there's something strangely cozy about the possibility of destroying and throwing things without consequence, watching them fall and break, which is why Donut County is a perfect choice for this article.

If a game where you control a giant hole that expands as it consumes things in a town full of anthropomorphic animals doesn't sound great to you, maybe you and I are just on different wavelengths.

However, if you do agree that it's wonderful, you'll find a hilarious story that will make you laugh with every animal absorbed, every line of dialogue, and every sequence of events that unfold, because the game doesn't take anything seriously.

There are also puzzles and moments where you have to think about what you're doing, but they're just a contrast to what truly matters in Donut County: watching a raccoon control supernatural technology that cracks you up while you revel in the game's physics engine.

1 LAN Party Adventures

It's Time to Build Your PC

It's utterly cynical of me to say this about a game where one of the protagonist's young friends has disappeared, though I have to say I've never played anything more relaxing and enjoyable than LAN Party Adventures.

It might have something to do with my nostalgia for internet cafés and how much I enjoy seeing 17 references to video games and movie pop culture in every room, but the game captures such a powerful 2000s vibe that I can't help but feel charmed.

Nevertheless, this isn't just Y2K vibes, as it's also a mystery-adventure game where you solve computer puzzles while organizing LAN parties in various locations, making sure you have an internet connection, that the CPUs are properly paired with the monitors, that the games are downloaded, and so on.

It's a geek paradise for those of us who spent countless hours of our youth marveling at everything the internet brought us, tinkering with whatever hardware we had at home, and developing a serious obsession with everything from Doom to The Matrix.

If you haven't lived through those years, LAN Party Adventures might not be fun or soothing for you, but for those who are a bit more senior, this creation is a blessing disguised as a video game that didn't bring me to tears of nostalgia only because its soundtrack kept me hypnotized.