In 2024, the farm simulation and cozy game genres parallel other trends in PC gaming. While the major release calendar doesn't feature many obvious blockbusters, indie developers are still able to please with incredibly high-quality projects. PC Gamer Portal talked about the best cozy games of the past year.

Mistria Fields

While there are many farming simulations released every year, there is bound to be one that stands out from the rest. In 2024, it becomes Fields of Mistria, a game inspired by the first Harvest Moon series and the magical girl anime of the 1990s. Fans of the genre will find a lot to like, like the ability to jump over fences and a map marking the characters' locations – Stardew Valley fans had to add these with mods.

But the main success of the game is its excellent cast of characters and well-written dialogues. Fields of Mistria quickly made the town fall in love with its small events and gorgeous anime-inspired design. Even in Steam Early Access, the game is worth checking out for every farming simulation fan.

Sky: Children of Light

Sky: Children of the Light is clearly based on Journey: the hit 2012 adventure about pilgrims flying through the desert. This concept shouldn't work, but it does. Sky was released on mobile platforms five years ago but only appeared on PC in April 2024. And the release has attracted many new users.

At first, Sky seems small: the story takes just three hours to complete, in which players fly around the world and meet spirits who teach new gestures. Other players also meet, but here, unlike Journey, they can share valuable information – such as workarounds and shortcuts. However, the game only really reveals itself after the end: a vast, ever-expanding world with seasonal updates, many new quests and spirits, puzzles, platforming quests, new locations, and more. hidden point.

Infinity Nikki

Fashion brand Nikki has finally launched on PC. Infinity Nikki is a huge, exciting open-world game that lovers of fashionable outfits and beautiful landscapes will find hard to ignore. In addition to collecting clothing items, Nikki can perform various tasks, hunt for hidden treasures, solve puzzles, fish, take care of animals… There are many activities that will keep you busy. dizziness. And even if you're skeptical about gacha games due to their monetization potential, Infinity Nikki doesn't require you to spend real money to enjoy the game.

small glade

Tiny Glade is a balm to the soul of those who love cozy architecture. The game is for those willing to spend hours in The Sims' construction mode or plotting their future farm in Stardew Valley. Tiny Glade is compared to Townscaper because there's nothing else to guide it: the game's real-time procedural system reacts to how the player combines objects with each other. Painted paths through fences turn into domes, windows placed close to the ground turn into doors, etc.

Tiny Glade encourages creativity and always provides fun ways to place objects, no matter how small they are. It's amazing how much a game can expand on the micro-genre created by Townscaper. There will be more procedurally built games in the future, but Tiny Glade has set the bar for quality in terms of technology.

Rusty retired

Rusty's Retirement is contraindicated for people who have difficulty concentrating on work – it can completely destroy your productivity. It's essentially an idle farming game that sits at the bottom of the screen while the player does other things. You just need to periodically expand your collection of small robots working on the farm and periodically buy upgrades and decorations.

Rusty's Retirement puts perfect control in the hands of the player: you can choose the location of all the fields and decorations, and move through the upgrade tree your own way. That is, there is something to think about here. But it's worth noting that the farm won't be automated right away: planting robots are quite expensive. Additionally, Rusty's Retirement is a near-perfect iteration of the desktop pet idea with a modern style.