If your Christmas is anything like mine most years, then the 24th and the 25th are days that are, while quite fun and enjoyable, rather busy and even frantic. There are places to be, presents to transport, side dishes to prepare and all manner of other chores to be done in preparation for either hosting the yearly family gathering or going to attend it.

Once it’s all over though and you’re back in the peace and quiet of your own abode, there is time at last to just sit back and enjoy those precious few hours of tranquility as Christmas comes to a close. Should you want to fill a couple of those hours with some relaxing game time, then any of these would definitely help you to make the most of it.

Donkey Kong Country

This one, I think, will really only apply to those who had the chance to play this one when they were kids. See, Donkey Kong Country has a reputation for being difficult. In fact, I distinctly remember it being notoriously difficult back during the heydays of the SNES and N64.

Once you conquer it though, it quickly goes from “trying” to “comforting,” and that’s thanks in very large part to David Wise’s fantastic atmospheric soundtrack. There’s just something about these tunes ; they’re able to draw you in like its the most natural thing in the world. And once you’re in, you can just drift your way through each level. If you can do it in the quiet of the late evening, there’s nothing else quite like it, I think.

PowerWash Simulator

This is one that I’m actually a little surprised to be recommending at all. I mean, powerwashing things is work. It’s a an often diffcult chore that would hardly be relaxing in real life, much less “cozy.” Even so, PowerWash Simulator has a real “zen” quality to it.

There’s jus something about focusing in on whatever surface you’re working on and just blasting away all the dirt and grime that’s just so..satisfying. Seriously, if you’re looking to relax and have a bit of time on your hands, putting this on with a bit of ambient music is just…nice.

Overcooked 2

While a bit more hectic than Powerwash Simulator, Overcooked 2 compensatesfor it by just being a downright cute game. The characters have a puppet quality to them, and the “food kingdom2 setting is played so straight that you can’t help but be charmed by it.

The game’s zany challenges and crazy kitchens make actually preparing orders both fun and frantic, and the silliness of it all draws out laughs between you and your friends in a way that only the best co-op multiplayer games can. This might not be a “sit alone and enjoy the peace” kind of game, but then it doesn’t need to be thanks to the sheer amount of warmth it generates between players.

Unpacking

This one is very much in the same vein as PowerWash Simulator. Though, instead of washing away copious amounts of dirt and grime, you instead have to take empty rooms and transform them into livable spaces.

It’s the same kind of satsifaction you’d get on the tail-end of a move: where you just gotta put those last few items into place and then you get to sit back and take in the new room you’ve painstakingly crafted. If you like having everything in its proper place, then you’re sure to get a lot out of this one.

Animal Crossing

Animal Crossing is, I think, the ultimate cozy game. All you have to do is…nothing. There are no objectives to meet, no challenges to conquer, no quotas to fill, no time limits to be mindful of; there’s no pressure at all. You just boot the game up and do whatever strikes your fancy. Decorating your house, fishing, pulling weeds, shopping or even just wandering around and seeing what all of your villagers are up to are all equally valuable uses of your time. I personally like Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii for this.

It doesn’t have as many features as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, yet I still feel as though it somehow still has more going on as far as chill things to do. In particular, the rainy days of spring and the snowy days of winter are the best. There’s just something so quiet and peaceful to them that, for me, they seem to just make all those IRL worries just melt away. Really, there’s no game better for those time when you want to just settle into your house for a time and enjoy some nice peace and quiet.

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And with that we’re now squarely into the latter half of Listmas 2023 everyone! Please make sure to check back for Duck and Cary’s final lists and make sure to add to them with ideas of your own! Beyond that, we’ve got our Game of the Year and Most Anticipated posts coming soon! For now though, Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all are enjoying it to the fullest!

Image captured from Animal Crossing: New Horizons