Club Benefits
Pokémon Pokopia is probably the biggest cozy gaming release in years. A bunch of cozy gaming holdouts on the Tom’s Guide team have been converted — and I’m betting a lot of you guys have, too.
If you can’t get enough of Pokémon Pokopia, there are a ton more awesome cozy games I love on Nintendo Switch. Maybe you’ve finished Pokopia already, or you haven’t been able to get your hands on a game key card in stores yet? Or, you don't own a Switch 2 yet and are looking for alternative Switch games to play.
Whatever the case, you’re at home here because I have a bunch of cozy gaming recs you should check out.
If you love the cozy vibes of Pokémon Pokopia most, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is definitely the next game you should play — like Pokopia, you’ll move onto a sparsely populated island you can customize, decorate and share with your friends.
Meanwhile, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is the game I’ve played that’s most similar to Pokopia. It’s made by the same development team, after all! Dragon Quest Builders 2 features the same block-based building and decorating system as Pokémon Pokopia, as well as an excellent story, memorable characters and lots of quests to fulfill. It’s a spin-off of the Dragon Quest RPG franchise, so it also includes enemies and bosses to fight with action RPG combat.
If you want to branch into the main series Pokémon games for the first time, Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu (or its twin, Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee) is my recommendation. This game is a Switch remake of the original Pokémon Game Boy games, Red and Blue. They feature turn-based RPG combat, like all the main Pokémon games — but the battles are generally easier than other Pokémon titles, and you get to interact with the super-cute Pikachu as your main companion over the course of the game.
Did you enjoy growing veggies in Pokémon Pokopia? You should try out a farming sim. I can’t get enough of farming simulator games, because they’re both relaxing and satisfying. Stardew Valley is one of the most popular cozy games out there, and it features retro-style pixel graphics and an extremely memorable cast of characters. I also love Rune Factory Guardians of Azuma: it includes lots of farmland you can decorate as you like, as well as action RPG combat.
Meanwhile, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is the best cozy game for The Legend of Zelda fans. Another cozy spin-off, it’ll take you on an adventure across Hyrule with an adorably cute chibi art style. You’ll need to copy magical objects to solve puzzles, similar to how you can copy your Pokémon friends’ abilities in Pokémon Pokopia.
Disney Magical World 2: Enchanted Edition and Hello Kitty Island Adventure are a pair of games that I couldn’t stop playing. Both feature a big world to explore, lots of decorating and customization options and familiar faces to meet. If you like Disney, pick up Disney Magical World 2; if you like Hello Kitty and friends, you can’t miss Hello Kitty Island Adventure.
Miitopia is a bit of a rogue pick for this list, but the game’s sense of humor reminds me of Pokémon Pokopia. It’s a turn-based RPG where you can create your own cast of characters — fill out your adventuring team with your real-life friends and see what shenanigans they get up to.
MySims Cozy Bundle is the last game on this list I’ve played myself. Both MySims games in the bundle feature super-cute characters and lots of spaces to decorate. In particular, MySims is cool because you can build custom furniture exactly as you like, block by block — you can’t do that in Pokopia.
I’ve also added Tiny Book Shop and Dinkum to this list. I haven’t played them yet, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about them both. Tiny Book Shop lets you run your own book shop, as the title suggests — you’ll need to chat to customers to figure out what books they’ll like best. And Dinkum is a life simulation game with an Aussie flair. You can build, decorate, farm and customize the land similar to Pokopia. Just watch out, as some of the wildlife in the outback isn’t so friendly.
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