i already don't like "cozy games" because i'm a masochist that enjoys hurting and hurting others to gain a spot in the world
in terms of safety, comfort, and coziness though nothing will ever beat that time i carved out a small little farm for myself in terrafirmacraft
Seriously. Art in games does exist. And firelink is art. Especially when you discover the lift that takes you back there. And then the crow that takes you back there too. Art that is.
The wind howls eerily coming down the mountain. Its cold cannot penetrate this beef jerky skin I gained in undeath. Behind me, a bonfire quietly provides no warmth. I hear the quiet snicker of a man suited in gaudy armor, somewhere below me. I contemplate booting him in the chest.
If everything is cozy then nothing is cozy, I say breathlessly, stumbling back into firelink shrine after accidentally going to new londo ruins way too early and getting my ass handed to me by invulnerable scythe ghosts
Horror Games and Cozy Games are both genres that try to maximize a specific feeling as like, their core thing. I'm not really a big fan of either, I think because when the game focuses solely on one feeling it lacks the contrast to make that feeling really stand out
Tomb of the giants is super scary for this same reason. Dark souls isn’t a horror game, so a spooky dark tomb with skeletons + actual stakes (if i die to a jumpscare, i lose progress and souls) makes it way scarier to me than the average horror game.
This is why I really like Voices of the Void. It always keeps you wondering if the dev was trying to make you scared or laugh and it usually does both pretty effectively.
like, when the baseline level of creepiness and discomfort in a horror game is already a 6 or a 7, and you get a level 10 scary moment, its not a very big swing so it doesnt hit as hard as like, a game that ISN'T creepy at baseline going up to 7 or 8 for a bit
yeah pretty much, if you want to maximalize the feeling of Cozy you have to have a real threat out there to feel safe from, and you know to know and feel that it is a real threat
Some of my most memorable moments in games have been ones where a game that doesn't generally have horror vibes suddenly does something really unsettling. A bit of a niche example maybe, but Enderal (a total conversion mod for Skyrim) has some really incredible bits that you do not see coming.
Survival horror offering safe rooms or puzzle rooms helps to add the contrast, though. Resident Evil understands that without safe spaces, you never relax
The ultimate cozy game: a cutesy farming simulator, but the world around your farm is burning in eternal fire, while you sip tea and plant your carrots.
On my first playthrough I had undeads follow me back to the shrine and I also try to kill the gold guy for his armour and he kept attacking me every time I went there.
The very first time you take that elevator out of the undead burg and that music creeps back in and you realize where you are and that you’re safe and that elevator still works.
Very few things hit like that.
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So I agree that many of the current cotton candy cozy with zero contrast result in a limited exploration of rich human experience.
in terms of safety, comfort, and coziness though nothing will ever beat that time i carved out a small little farm for myself in terrafirmacraft
I feel cozy.
#Rawr
Majula be the coziest ☺️🌝
https://youtu.be/zVtZqFCm3cA
I approve
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1292500/Harvest_Island/
I like it cause its campy and funny, and its the contrast between that while presenting itself as "scary" that makes it work
I have firelink shrine PTSD
Very few things hit like that.