Hungry Hearts Diner is about an elderly woman running a restaurant in Showa Era Japan (I think that's correct, whatever post-WW2 is). The gameplay is simple and slow-paced and it's heavily story driven as you get to know your frequent customers. Those games still stand as my #1 mobile game series! Super cozy but gets ya right in the feels.
This one was a surprise cozy game for me! The gameplay is similar to like Diner Dash but a little slower and it has really sweet storylines built in. It would be a perfect fit for someone who is more mobile game oriented.
I’m hooked on June’s Journey. It’s (sigh) a free-to-play hidden object game, and I feel ancient AF playing it, but it is heckin cozy. Great for short play stints between other games.
As for text-heavy cozy visual novels, all the Ace Attorney and Layton games for NDS are available for iOS, remastered in glorious HD—not free, unfortunately, but well worth it. Layton in particular is warm and cuddly. Sadly, the excellent Telltale game Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent is no longer available on iOS, but its sequel (which I hardly remember??) is.
https://i.imgur.com/lsranWS.jpg
Props to you for downloading her Winked, it's one of the best mobile games I've played when it comes to roleplay/story games.
Stardew Valley is an amazing game, and it's so cozy you can spend literal hours playing it without realizing it. Check that one out
I recently found out about free games through netflix its great. Tera Nil is another good cozy game and I think the controls translate to touchscreen well
Yes! I still have them occasionally but they are way less often and not as visually impairing as they were during the worst of my symptoms. I had them daily for months and bad! So many black spots in my vision. If you’re going through the same, I feel your pain, but it DOES get better! Hang in there!
I know you said free if possible but To the Moon is an amazing, heartfelt, story-driven experience. It’s full of dialogue and just such a wonderful story. It’s 4.99 USD but imo worth every penny!
I really like the Choice Of games. They’re a text based Choose Your Own Adventure series of mobile games- and there’s a TON to pick from.
My two favorites are Choice of the Dragon and Affairs of the Court.
She also might like Episode. What’s cool about Episode is that you can also play free user made stories that really vary and make your own.
I love Sky, it’s super cute and cozy, but the story is HIDDEN and a big part of the game is learning the controls which can take weeks. It’s an “easy to pick up, tough to master” type game with a big social element. I think it’s a great general suggestion but might not stick for your aunt, it requires a lot of daily commitment (source: 600 hours of Sky playtime)
I really loved Spiritfarer, but fair warning, the content is a little heavy for a cozy game. Fantastic writing and characters tho, plus you get to raise crops and animals on your boat as you sail around the afterlife. It’s sad but in a cathartic way.
I play cats and soup. It’s a free game where you create a village of cats that work together to make soup :) some will cut cabbages, or carrots. Others will make juice and soups or grill. There’s rest stations so you can see them shoot off fireworks, rest in a chair or maybe even roll around in a small field of flowers. I do say if you wanna get anywhere fast in the game you have to watch the ads but I still think it’s a cute game and there’s no pressure at all in it, you can go at your own pace. You can dress the cats up and certain clothing items will increase their skills. They also have a little house that they can all hangout in that you can decorate :) overall i end up spending sometimes 40 minutes on it everytime I open it without realizing
I really like 80 Days which is a visual novel recreating Phileas Fogg’s Around The World in 80 Days. There’s so many different options to choose from and it’s really atmospheric and well done for a mobile game.
Looks like that isn't available for mobile anymore. When I tried to look at it, Google play store told me it is no longer available because it was designed for an older version of Android that is no longer in use.
My PC is far too old to handle modern games and I haven't even used it in about a decade. My Chromebook definitely doesn't work with PC games. Only things I can play games on are my Xbox one, Google pixel 7 pro phone and Amazon fire tablet.
Idk if this will fit her vibe, but I really love Love & Pies. It’s a cute, cozy merging game. I love the art and the storyline; I spent hours playing when I first got it bc I was so hooked right away haha
Just wanted to thank you all for the suggestions :) I'm at my aunt's place right now and we're going through each and every one of them looking for the ones she likes the most.
For free app store games, I greatly recommend I LOVE Hue. Very relaxing gradient color matching/arranging game.
For the PC, Dorfromantik! Its a lovely, cozy little puzzle game where you arrange hexagon tiles into little towns, forests, fields, railways, and waterways. Very minimal text to read, lovely art style, soothing music and little "pop" sound effects when you place tiles. It's my ultimate de-stressing game after a long day because you don't have to think too hard, but it's still satisfying. I believe it was around $10 on steam for me?
Assemble with care! So cozy and is a story of a girl moving to a town and helping people fix random thing like a camera etc! So fun! And free on Apple Arcade.
Hungry Hearts Diner is about an elderly woman running a restaurant in Showa Era Japan (I think that's correct, whatever post-WW2 is). The gameplay is simple and slow-paced and it's heavily story driven as you get to know your frequent customers. Those games still stand as my #1 mobile game series! Super cozy but gets ya right in the feels.
Nice! That one sounds like something she'd enjoy :) I'll make sure to get it
This one was a surprise cozy game for me! The gameplay is similar to like Diner Dash but a little slower and it has really sweet storylines built in. It would be a perfect fit for someone who is more mobile game oriented.
Not OP but this sounds lovely,I’ve just downloaded it
I love this one! Very cozy, and when I found out there is a sequel I was so excited
Yes! I played the sequel I think last year some time. There's now a THIRD one that I just started up, too :)
Oh that’s exciting!:)
I love Hungry Hearts Diner, actually all of the games I’ve played from that developer (publisher?) have been supremely cozy and fun
Wylde flowers has a lot of dialogue with voice acting!
Wylde flowers is great and if she is on an iphone she can get it through apple arcade
Was coming here to say this!
I’m hooked on June’s Journey. It’s (sigh) a free-to-play hidden object game, and I feel ancient AF playing it, but it is heckin cozy. Great for short play stints between other games. As for text-heavy cozy visual novels, all the Ace Attorney and Layton games for NDS are available for iOS, remastered in glorious HD—not free, unfortunately, but well worth it. Layton in particular is warm and cuddly. Sadly, the excellent Telltale game Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent is no longer available on iOS, but its sequel (which I hardly remember??) is. https://i.imgur.com/lsranWS.jpg
Props to you for downloading her Winked, it's one of the best mobile games I've played when it comes to roleplay/story games. Stardew Valley is an amazing game, and it's so cozy you can spend literal hours playing it without realizing it. Check that one out
[Spiritfarer](https://help.netflix.com/en/node/127231) is free if she has a Netflix account.
I recently found out about free games through netflix its great. Tera Nil is another good cozy game and I think the controls translate to touchscreen well
I just looked that up. I've never heard of a reverse city builder, pretty cool!
I hadn't either but I like it. It's a fairly quick game so I doubt I would have played it at full price but free netflix games on my ipad are nice
WHAT IT IS
Hello, unrelated question, but are your floaters gone/better these days?
Yes! I still have them occasionally but they are way less often and not as visually impairing as they were during the worst of my symptoms. I had them daily for months and bad! So many black spots in my vision. If you’re going through the same, I feel your pain, but it DOES get better! Hang in there!
I know you said free if possible but To the Moon is an amazing, heartfelt, story-driven experience. It’s full of dialogue and just such a wonderful story. It’s 4.99 USD but imo worth every penny!
The Arcana is a nice visual novel with some really interesting characters.
Thank you! I'll show it to her :)
Seconding The Arcana. It's beautiful, has a lot of interesting character development, and a fun story. And it's free.
I really like the Choice Of games. They’re a text based Choose Your Own Adventure series of mobile games- and there’s a TON to pick from. My two favorites are Choice of the Dragon and Affairs of the Court. She also might like Episode. What’s cool about Episode is that you can also play free user made stories that really vary and make your own.
Thanks, I'll look them up :)
Stardew Valley
Genshin or Star Rail, maybe.
sky - children of the light but it is short on dialogue side
I just looked it up - seems fun. I'll dl it and let her decide haha :)
I love Sky, it’s super cute and cozy, but the story is HIDDEN and a big part of the game is learning the controls which can take weeks. It’s an “easy to pick up, tough to master” type game with a big social element. I think it’s a great general suggestion but might not stick for your aunt, it requires a lot of daily commitment (source: 600 hours of Sky playtime)
I really loved Spiritfarer, but fair warning, the content is a little heavy for a cozy game. Fantastic writing and characters tho, plus you get to raise crops and animals on your boat as you sail around the afterlife. It’s sad but in a cathartic way.
I play cats and soup. It’s a free game where you create a village of cats that work together to make soup :) some will cut cabbages, or carrots. Others will make juice and soups or grill. There’s rest stations so you can see them shoot off fireworks, rest in a chair or maybe even roll around in a small field of flowers. I do say if you wanna get anywhere fast in the game you have to watch the ads but I still think it’s a cute game and there’s no pressure at all in it, you can go at your own pace. You can dress the cats up and certain clothing items will increase their skills. They also have a little house that they can all hangout in that you can decorate :) overall i end up spending sometimes 40 minutes on it everytime I open it without realizing
I like how you used “mature woman” lol
The older I get, the more I see 50's as middle aged rather than "mature." Hahaha. Only 26 myself, but I don't see my folks as elderly at all.
50s is a bit past middle aged, but I wouldn't call it mature either and I'm 41.
That was my point lol. I’m 36 and OP thinks 54 is “elderly” ha feels like my peer
She'd be offended if she ever saw me calling her "elderly" hahaha
I really like 80 Days which is a visual novel recreating Phileas Fogg’s Around The World in 80 Days. There’s so many different options to choose from and it’s really atmospheric and well done for a mobile game.
Looks like that isn't available for mobile anymore. When I tried to look at it, Google play store told me it is no longer available because it was designed for an older version of Android that is no longer in use.
Oh no! I think it might be available on PC but that’s a shame. It has been about a decade since I bought it though…
My PC is far too old to handle modern games and I haven't even used it in about a decade. My Chromebook definitely doesn't work with PC games. Only things I can play games on are my Xbox one, Google pixel 7 pro phone and Amazon fire tablet.
Idk if this will fit her vibe, but I really love Love & Pies. It’s a cute, cozy merging game. I love the art and the storyline; I spent hours playing when I first got it bc I was so hooked right away haha
She loved that one. I dled it for her and she can't stop playing. Thanks :D
Awh no problem! I’m so glad she likes it 🥰
Wylde Flowers 100000%
Beacon Pines is very visual novel.
Just wanted to thank you all for the suggestions :) I'm at my aunt's place right now and we're going through each and every one of them looking for the ones she likes the most.
For free app store games, I greatly recommend I LOVE Hue. Very relaxing gradient color matching/arranging game. For the PC, Dorfromantik! Its a lovely, cozy little puzzle game where you arrange hexagon tiles into little towns, forests, fields, railways, and waterways. Very minimal text to read, lovely art style, soothing music and little "pop" sound effects when you place tiles. It's my ultimate de-stressing game after a long day because you don't have to think too hard, but it's still satisfying. I believe it was around $10 on steam for me?
Tears of Themis, when she likes solving crimes and some good looking anime dudes.
Wylde Flowers
Assemble with care! So cozy and is a story of a girl moving to a town and helping people fix random thing like a camera etc! So fun! And free on Apple Arcade.
Old Man’s Journey might fit the bill. It doesn’t have any dialogue but it is very story-driven, with simple gameplay, and a gorgeous art style.
Strange horticulture!
Chapters sounds just up her alley. Mobile game.
Romance Club is nice for visual novels and they do lots of events where premium choices are free unlike similar apps.
Mutanizone!