Blitzians, I'm not sure about you, but during the term, I struggle to cope with lengthy and complex media. Don't get me wrong, I love story-rich games with complex fighting mechanics and quests. I was obsessed with Hogwarts Legacy and The Last of Us this term break. However, when I'm fighting the Moodle battles, trying to be an academic weapon, I want mindful games that will make me feel relaxed. Thus, with this list, I aim to provide some of the best cozy games I have gathered. Allowing you to spend more time relaxing than stressing, because the key to being a good student is maintaining your hobbies!

Blitzians, this game is genuinely my Roman Empire. I think about Stardew Valley every waking moment during the term. Stardew Valley is a farming simulator game, but it's different from your average Hay Day. From framing, to combat, to mining, to fishing, to foraging, Stardew is less farming, more everything else! The personal reason I love Stardew so much is its RPG element, which allows you to interact with and build relationships with the NPCs, including the option to marry them. My personal favourites to marry are Haley and Sebastian, but that's just me. The best part about this game is that it can be played with friends! The multiplayer function allows you and 4 of your closest friends to farm in Pelican Town as well. As you go through the game, you interact with the town and attend their holidays, events and festivals. There are so many fun secrets to discover. Who doesn't want to decorate their own farm?

I stumbled across this game, and I'm so glad I did, because it scratches an itch I didn't know I had. Unpacking is a relaxing puzzle game where we follow our main character and all of her moving trials. Each level represents a different stage of her life, unfolding before our eyes as the game progresses from her childhood bedroom to college and back to her family home. For someone who finds organisation and cleaning EXTREMELY satisfying, this game has everything for me. It’s also cute to see how items from her childhood make it through every single move in her life. I cry.

The tiny bookshop warms my heart so much. We play as a bookstore owner who travels around the town selling literature to its residents, completing quests for the characters and decorating your travelling bookshop to your heart's content. Similar to Stardew, you get to attend town events, weekly flea markets and holiday festivals. The art style is also incredible. I'm still blown away by just how pretty the game is! My absolute favourite part of the game, however, is the game mechanic that lets you recommend REAL books to characters. Nothing makes my reading heart soar quite like recommending my favourite book (The Bell Jar) to an unsuspecting NPC. It genuinely pulled me out of a 2 month reading slump because I got so excited about fiction again. 

Unsolved Case is an online co-op escape room game. You play as two detectives who are locked in a room trying to solve the mystery to escape. Being a co-op game, both players have completely different scenes with interlinked puzzles. The puzzles are always so clever that I don’t even get frustrated if it takes a while; I'm just impressed at how the developers come up with them in the first place. The best part about this game is that there are two sequels - more mystery, more fun. Grab your bestie and settle in for hours of brain-teasing

A Little to the Left is a puzzle game all about organisation. Getting to sort through puzzles of household organisation, all while a pesky house cat is making a muck. Some of the puzzles genuinely rage-bait me, but they are so smart. The best part of this game is that there are multiple ways to solve the puzzles, allowing for various thinking styles. It also uses household objects like batteries, mugs and bread clips, which has given me serious thinking to do about my own organisation.

Madeline Kahl is a student studying for a double degree in Commerce and Media. When she is not in Blitz land, you will most likely find her knee-deep in Pinterest planning outfits to stun on the Main Walkway.