Rest in Pixels: Cozy Games with a Deathly Charm

    It's October, and in the witchcraft sphere, that means working with ancestors and thinking about death in its many forms – passing of loved ones, death of greenery, spiritual changes. Well, as it stands, I also enjoy playing games about death, and that's not as morbid as it sounds, so I thought I'd highlight some cozy games on the subject. Now, I know most people don't think of “cozy” and “death” going together, but bear with me here. I've been surrounded by death from an early age, and while these games make me cry, they also bring comfort in a way only cozy games can. So let's explore my top 5, one to avoid, and a secret honorable mention at the end.

     Obviously, this post will touch on heavy subject matter and should be approached carefully. If you're feeling vulnerable about this topic, I recommend reading this later when you feel up to it, or watching the video if that's more digestible. Always take care of yourself first and foremost.

    First off, if we're talking cozy games, we have to mention one with that in the title. Cozy Grove is such a cute, wholesome, and comforting game about death. As a Spirit Scout, it is your task to learn about the spirits of the island. Help them with quests both big and small and, in doing so, learn their stories about their lives. Each has an interesting tale to discover, but they've forgotten most of their lives, and you have to help them remember. In your kindness, you help them come to terms with their actions and deaths, and they finally achieve peace. For those who may live with regrets regarding loved ones who passed, this game is a special comfort in finding happiness.

     Spiritfarer is, like Cozy Grove, a game about helping spirits find peace. However, it's different in the context and outcome: your character, Stella, knew all these spirits in life, and in helping them find peace and move on, you also find peace and comfort for yourself. I especially enjoy this game and how it handles the spirits' final journeys: you can take your time with each character and, once you've finished their stories, you can keep them around indefinitely until you're ready to say goodbye. As someone who's dealt with a lot of unexpected or untimely death in my life, it's important to me that this game gives me the choice of when to say goodbye.

      The First Tree is a story all about finding closure. As a mother fox, you face death in this simple walking sim as the narrator recounts his life and estrangement with his father. It's a fairly simple game, but the story hit close to home in a lot of ways. As someone who lost my father when I was just 15, I didn't have a lifetime of memories with him as the writer did with his, but the sentiments hit me in the feels all the same. The First Tree is a pretty short game, playtime-wise, but it took me a long time to complete it because it's not one you can just run through in one sitting. I took plenty of breaks when I needed them, and I'd recommend others to do the same.

        To the Moon is a different take on the theme of closure in death. As impartial scientists, you travel in the memories of an old, dying man to help him fulfill one wish – to go to the moon. What is normally an easy task for these scientists is hampered by one small detail – in trying to modify his memories, you discover that he never had any desire to go to the moon, despite his final wish. In helping this man, you discover long-forgotten memories and help him find closure on a life not-quite-fully lived. It's a beautiful story that reminds us that, even if someone appears to have had a perfectly happy life full of love, there are always things that we don't see. I dare you to play this whole game without crying. I knew it was sad going into it, but I still sobbed, and it was so good.

        In a completely different direction from the others, What Remains ofEdith Finch is an interesting take on the “cozy death” theme. As another walking sim, you – as the eponymous Edith Finch – explore the family home of the Finches, who historically have disappeared or died in mysterious ways. Learn the fates of Edith's ancestors and siblings through unique storytelling and visual styles as you come to terms with the family legacy. Haunting in the most beautiful way, I just had to include this in my list.

    Now, time for a disappointing review, but I want to be honest. In researching for this video, I came across a game titled Hello Goodboy. It sounded really cute and right up my alley – you're a little boy, accompanied by a dog, helping others out and doing good deeds in the afterlife. I was so excited to play this! But unfortunately, it fell really short of its promise; you're only given the smallest of hints that you're in the afterlife, and your actions, while simple enough, don't lend to any depth in the narrative or feelings about your own journey. You just do a couple good deeds – and I do mean a couple – and then you move on. That's it! So, unfortunately, if you're looking for more games of this niche, I'd skip this one. But if you have any others that you think I or others would enjoy, please let me know!

        Okay, I teased at the beginning that there would be an honorable mention on this list, so here it is: Animal Crossing. Now, this series isn't explicitly about death, hence only the honorable mention, but there has been, since its creation, a persistent fan theory about it. In this theory, your character is dead, which explains the childlike utopia of a town filled with animal friends, no disease, and virtually no aging – besides certain NPCs between games, but not in the games themselves. What's more, throughout your time, you get letters from your “mom”, one-way communication that suspiciously sounds like a mother talking to her dead child. These letters have brought a lot of comfort to people who have lost family – either by death or estrangement – and so, I wanted to include it here for that reason. While I don't necessarily subscribe to this theory myself, I did create my childhood friend Jenna in one of my towns upon her death, and the letters from Mom to her definitely have brought comfort.

    What do you think of this Animal Crossing theory? Are there any other games you'd recommend for this list? Let me know down below. Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful, magical day.

Finding Comfort in Gaming: Discover the Most Heartwarming Video Games

    Hey everyone! Today, I thought I'd talk about some of my favorite comfort games-- the ones I consistently turn to when my soul is heavy and I need a major pick me up. I just came out of a *really* rough month, so I thought it was time that I visited this topic. Games, particularly Animal Crossing, and the communities I've found from them have helped me out of deep depressions and traumatic experiences. And while there are plenty of games that are great for tuning out the world when I need it, today's topic is instead focused on those that help me re-find myself in the world when I need it most.

    As a content warning, while this discussion and these games are positive and focused on the uplifting, there will be vague mention of depression, death, and other heavy subjects. That said, I'll try to keep things fairly light, but if you're feeling vulnerable, feel free to come back to this when you feel ready. I've also got this up in a video if that format is easier.

 

    First on my list is Spiritfarer, a calm story about ferrying the spirits of the dead to the afterlife. In this game, you help spirits with tasks as you learn their stories -- and slowly remember yours. Meanwhile, you travel between islands, gathering various resources and expanding your boat. You can choose how you want to outfit it -- whether that's heavy on gardening, carpentry, or just making your guests comfortable. There are plenty of activities to do, and fun little minigames like catching lightning in a bottle or flying jellyfish are great events that you can trigger at will when you want a break from the narrative.

 

    This game is all about accepting death, saying goodbye, and all that comes with it. It's about enjoying the moments and memories we do have, and not dwelling on the end of it. You can take each character's story at your own pace, so there's no rush to say goodbye until you're ready. That's an important part to me -- as someone who's dealt with a lot of unexpected or untimely death throughout my life, having time to say goodbye is a luxury I've often wished for. This game provides that, and it is a comfort that can't be understated.

 

    On a similar note -- and sorry for the continuing theme of death -- next on my list is Cozy Grove. In this game, you slowly bring color back onto this island by helping ghost bears day by day. Learn their stories, help them process their lives and deaths, and support them in finding peace. Unlike Spiritfarer, your character in Cozy Grove has no previous connections with these ghosts -- although they do to each other. Still, despite initially having no attachment to the other characters, you quickly come to care for these spirits and their intertwined stories.

    Harmony is a big aspect of this game -- not just to help the bears achieve peace, but to also bring harmony to the island. There are numerous items to place around the grove, but there's a catch -- all the decorations have styles, and certain plants and animals like and dislike different styles. So decorating your island is more than just putting things where you like them -- if you want to maximize harvests from flowers, trees, and animals, you have to strategize placement so everyone enjoys it. It's an optional mechanic, and you can definitely ignore it, but it adds another layer of bringing peace to the island. And that's ultimately what this cozy game is all about -- finding peace, even if it seems unlikely.

 

    Now let's talk about games that aren't about death! Sorry, I guess you can kinda tell what I've been dealing with lately with those two games. Well, for my third choice, I wanted to highlight Cartomancy Anthology, a collection of short games that explore the major arcana in tarot. If you haven't seen it, I have a review of this anthology that you can read here or watch here. And if you're not familiar with tarot, it's a tool that I personally use a lot to heal my soul and receive messages from the universe. The Cartomancy Anthology is a great extension of this, as a lot of the games explore the cards' themes in calm, uplifting ways. If you need a pick-me-up for your soul, cards like the Star, Strength, and the Magician are great experiences to open yourself up to.

 

    Fourth on the list is the Sims. This has been a staple in my gaming catalog since the very first release, and has provided both an escape and a comfort as needed. The Sims has it all for when the real world gets too tough: affordable housing, steady jobs with actual career progression, easy relationships. You can build the house, or family, of your dreams, or just recreate your current living space to plan out redesigns before committing actual money. Sure, all this freedom means you can also play in a completely different direction, taking your revenge out on the world, but let's keep this wholesome, shall we?

    Unlike the other games here, I tend not to get attached to the characters -- Simlish means there's a disconnect, and no explicit uplifting dialogue like in the other games on this list. And that's why it's great as an escape when I need it -- but this isn't a list about escapism, that can come later. But rather, this game is great because it lets me envision the life I want, the house I can hope to have one day, and the money cheats that millennials can only dream of. And, okay, sorry to mention death again, but after recently losing my beloved cat Avocado, having him in the game with a pet immortality mod is absolutely priceless.

 

    The fifth and final game, to no surprise if you're familiar with my content, is Animal Crossing. This series, primarily New Leaf, got me through so many struggles in my life. When I was in my deepest depression and feeling alone in the world, it was invaluable to boot up the game and be met with villagers who were always happy to see me. Their cheerful messages and nuggets of wisdom were, and are, a comfort to me. I've unfortunately abandoned my "Comfort Crossing" project over time, but if you ever need some cute villagers to lift your spirits, take a scroll through its twitter or tumblr tag.

    I'm keeping my commentary on Animal Crossing brief here, but only because it's a subject that I've talked about at length through the years and in many places. It could be, and has been, its own video, in all the ways it cheers me up and has positively impacted many people. So, if you're feeling down, I always recommend Animal Crossing first and foremost. And if you're about to say, "but New Horizons has less varied and more shallow dialogue", I urge you to play again and become better friends with the villagers. The game did add a ton of great, new dialogue, but they're hidden within friendship levels and between more common pleasantries.

 

    So, there you have it. My "Chicken Soup for the Gamer's Soul" list, if you will. Each of these games offers a great pick-me-up when the world just wants to drag you down, and I encourage you to check them out when you need a little comfort. Do you have any other games that I should consider for this list? Let me know in the comments below! And keep an eye out for more cozy gaming content, including my top video games to escape the world in. Have a wonderful, magical day!