Casual games are becoming all the rage. In recent times, many people who weren't gamers have turned to games for an escape. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of the best-selling Switch games, and since then many charming games have been released that are less about the action and more about the mundane. Virtual Cottage is the latest in this trend of calming games. With no actual gameplay involved, Virtual Cottage asks players to work on a task of their own choosing (be it studying, getting some work done, or chores) and sets a timer for said task. Lo-fi music plays as the cottage changes in real-time to reflect the time of day.
Garnering overwhelmingly positive reviews, Virtual Cottage is gaining fans, but some would like gameplay added to the relaxing task manager. Players have suggested adding customizable options for the cottage as a reward for completing tasks, from the furniture to the colors of the wallpaper. Whether someone is looking for a quick jolt to get their day started or a cozy commitment to a game for a few hours, there are plenty of games like Virtual Cottage to choose from.
Updated September 15, 2021 by Erik Petrovich: Virtual Cottage is quite unlike most games on the market, in fact some are hesitant to call it a video game at all. The game is a relaxing experience that just about anyone can appreciate, especially those who want something relaxing to watch in the background while completing other tasks. Finding games like Virtual Cottage, then, is a little bit of a strange task – does one look for games with similarly cute and detailed aesthetics, or games that instill the same sense of relaxation and "vibes"? The answer is both – fans of Virtual Cottage will still appreciate games that ask for a bit more engagement from the player, though some are harder to play while doing other things.
13 The Original Animal Crossing for Gamecube
The original Animal Crossing is a far cry from the franchise today. While Animal Crossing: New Horizons is certainly a fun game in its own way, it inundated the player with things to do, tasks to complete, and people to meet. The original version for the Gamecube, though, was simple, cozy, and didn't ask too much of the player.
The player's fellow villagers are a bit noticeably... ruder... in the original version compared to nowadays. Although Resetti yells at the player for not saving their game, the low-poly aesthetics and gentle music, plus its extremely simple gameplay, make it one of the most relaxing games similar to Virtual Cottage out there – it just might take a bit of effort to track down a copy and for that matter a Gamecube.
12 Night in the Woods
Night in the Woods is a beautiful, anthropomorphic exploration game with a heavy focus on the world's characters and providing a sense of adventure. It's a very casual experience, with well-written dialogue and meaningful interactions throughout that make one feel truly a part of its colorful world.
It's a game absolutely packed with details, from the intricately detailed backgrounds of each area to the throughlines of the game's engaging narrative. It's well worth playing, though it's a little bit different than Virtual Cottage.
11 Slime Rancher
The colorful, cheerful world of Slime Rancher is a bit different than Virtual Cottage, as it has lots of mechanics, things to do, exploration to pursue, and of course slimes to take care of. While it's not one of those games like Virtual Cottage for its minimalism, it captures the same sense of aesthetics and vibes that one can't help but love.
Slime Rancher is receiving a sequel soon after being announced at E3, but that doesn't mean the original isn't worth playing. While it's not a game that one can leave running and enjoy similar to Virtual Cottage, the Venn Diagram for Slime Rancher and Virtual Cottage's audiences is practically a circle.
10 Kind Words
Kind Words developed by Popcannibal is a letter-writing simulator. Players write letters to other real people and can trade stickers in a cozy room listening to calming music. New rooms and stickers are added frequently to the game, making collecting all the stamps and experiencing all the different rooms exciting.
Letters range from heartwarming to hilarious requests seeking advice or simply a virtual ear to hear their tales.
9 Good Morning!
Need some energy before starting the day? Good Morning! has that covered. A quick and cozy browser experience from Tiffany Wang has players open their eyes, brush their teeth, and clumsily make a cup of tea among other bite-sized mini-games about starting the day.
Good Morning! is one of those apps like Virtual Cottage that will get players on their feet ready to start the day with its charming illustrations and lovable mini-games.
8 Sizeable
From Business Goose Studios and the mind of Sander Ambroos comes Sizeable, a fun-sized puzzle and exploration game about finding hidden objects. The miniature dioramas in the game may be small, but they're full of so much life and energy.
Players are giving the power to shrink or grow items in each diorama which will help them find the hidden objects. With a beautiful soundtrack and adorable low-poly visuals, Sizeable is a treat for anyone looking for a cozy get-away.
7 FurnCap
A mysterious world, a dog with a space helmet, and lots and lots of furniture! FurnCap is a low-poly, open-world exploration game about making furniture inside teeny tiny capsules. Explore a colorful world full of strange structures and locals obsessed with furniture.
If players fulfill the needs of the NPCs, players will be fulfilled as well. Pet the dog, make some furniture, and explore a world unlike any players have seen before.
6 The Library Of Babble
The Library Of Babble, an exploration game from Demi, tasks players with exploration a strange labyrinth inside a computer composed of other players' writing and works. The goal is for players to leave their own stories inspired by their experience with the game or the stories they encounter in order to inspire other players to write.
Sadly, the servers were closed last summer, but all stories are archived for players to read and enjoy. Whether players are looking for a warm-up for their long day of writing or looking to read a large collection of short stories and prose, The Library Of Babble is a game for readers and writers everywhere.
5 A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build
Truer words have never been spoken with this title. Players take control of an adorable character attempting to build a new friend in A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build.
This winter wonderland of a puzzle game is full of maze after maze of areas the player can make snowmen in. Rolling a large ball of snow around has never been so calming as in this game from Draknek.
4 Cats Organized Neatly
From DU&I, the same developers and publishers of Virtual Cottage, comes the furry puzzle-solving, feline-organizing Cats Organized Neatly. Players must arrange their feline friends (or fiends) into the appropriate tiles in a grid for them all to fit nicely and neatly together.
Players who love cats, a cozy experience, and a minimal color palette will get loads of fun out of Cats Organized Neatly. Just make sure the cats have enough room to nap.
3 Townscaper
Published by Raw Fury and developed by Oskar Stålberg, Townscaper is self-explanatory. Players build towns, villages, even cities at the click of a button. Townscaper is a customizable and robust city-building game that lets players' imaginations run wild.
Whether players are looking to build their own fantasy worlds, plot out locations for their own games, or just have fun, Townscaper is a slightly more involved, yet just as calming, game similar to Virtual Cottage.
2 A Short Hike
If players are looking for a calm game with some story thrown in then A Short Hike is the perfect game. The game follows a young bird on a, well, short hike. Traverse a colorful world developed by Adam Robinson-Yu, and fly by mountains and above trees in order to get to the topmost point of the trail.
With plenty of quirky characters and side quests to encounter, A Short Hike may be quick but will stay with players for a long time.
1 Manifold Garden
Players looking for an artistic and abstract escape can't miss William Chyr's Manifold Garden. Part puzzle game and part exploration, Manifold Garden presents infinite, ongoing structures so pleasing to the eye players can't look away.
The illusions contain puzzles for players to solve, but getting lost in the world can be a calming and rewarding experience all in itself.