The girls both got Nintendo Switch Lites for Christmas in 2022, and we also have a ‘family’ Switch that, while being predominately mine, we all share – especially for multiplayer games using the TV.
Back during lockdown I got an Animal Crossing Switch for just myself to use, while the kids shared with James. We recently sold our other Switch to help fund James’s 40th birthday present to himself, which I’ll be blogging about soon, and also in preparation for the next generation Switch. It is reported to be coming this coming Christmas and, while I know that is still months away, being a four Switch household was a bit over the top when we have other consoles & handhelds in the house.
The girls (and I!) have been really enjoying ‘cosy games’ in the last few years. I love to unwind with a relaxing game, which often include puzzles that exercise your brain without completely frustrating you at the same time. Georgie & Lydia have both been enjoying some of the same games as me, especially now that they are old enough (at 10 & 12 years old) to play more than just the super kid friendly games. Some of these games are relatively old, but the girls were too young to enjoy them before now.
Here are some of our favourite cosy games suitable for pre-teens on the Nintendo Switch:
A Little to the Left
You will find this game mentioned on a lot of cosy game lists as it is the ultimate cosy game, in my opinion. There is nothing quite as relaxing as making order out of chaos and putting everything in it’s perfect place.
The aim of the game is simply to tidy up. Each level has different objects that have to be arranged, and some of them have multiple ways to win the level by tidying them by different factors – for example a collection of pencils could be arranged by length, sharpness, rubber size, etc.
Although it sounds such a simple concept, I really enjoy the game and have played through it twice already. I find it weirdly soothing to line everything up just so & I enjoy the puzzle aspect of working out the different ways to categorise the items. There is a bit of cat related humour in there too, and we all know cats in games make everything better.
Once you have completed the main game you can also play some bonus themed Archive level packs; Merry Mess, Trick or Tidy, Snack Pack, Something Eggstra, and Good Tidyings. If that isn’t enough to satisfy your urge to arrange objects, there is a daily tidy mode where you can come back each day for 100 days to complete even more levels – though these all seem to be a variation of levels included in the game.
In addition to the main game there is the Cupboards & Drawers DLC which, as the name suggests, gives you even more places & things to tidy up into orderly perfection. Everything has a place and it is ever so satisfying to put everything away just right. I only wish we could get the girls to tidy up so well in real life!
Yoshi’s Crafted World
Yoshi’s Crafted World is one that we bought for me to play on release back in 2019 when the girls were too young to really enjoy & be able to play platformers. I think it is a bit of an underrated game, especially as it isn’t super challenging, but I personally really enjoy it and have played through it a couple of times now. It’s certainly never been at risk of being put in the selling pile, though we go through our games fairly regularly to trade in those we don’t want.
The basic plot of Yoshi’s Crafted World is that the Sunstream stone has been broken up and stolen away, and Yoshi has to go on a mission to recover the gems. The environment is made up of everyday household objects like toilet rolls and tins that have been decorated to make the level – it looks like a kids craft project and is utterly charming.
You can also play each level through on the flip-side which opens up new secret areas to explore, as well as giving you a glimpse behind the decorations to see the back of the crafted world. There are hidden pooches to hunt, items to find, and secrets to uncover in this sweet platforming game. Yoshi’s Crafted World has some couch co-op multiplayer too, which is a lot of fun – especially as you can pick up, carry, and throw the other player around.
This game is cute & charming, and fun to play without being too frustrating for players of all levels. For a completionist like me it is a dream as there is so much to find and unlock, including cute hand made costumes for Yoshi to wear.
It isn’t really very challenging to complete the levels, apart from the bonus levels unlocked once you complete the story, but I think it is often a bit overlooked because of this. Yes, it won’t leave you throwing your controller across the room in frustration at not being able to kill the boss or make the tricky jumps, but it doesn’t try to be more than it looks – a rather sweet side-scrolling platformer with buckets of charm & plenty to explore.
Unpacking
Unpacking is another game where the appeal isn’t in the difficulty level, but rather in the process of arranging the items in each level, and uncovering the hints that tell the story of the main character.
The basic premise of unpacking is that each time the girl moves you have to open up her boxes and put them in the right places. You can’t move onto the next level until everything is in a suitable place, but there is a lot of latitude as to what places are good enough.
Stickers can be earned by putting items in specific places, or interacting with various objects – there is one for flushing every toilet in the game! In addition to the relaxation & satisfaction of organising everything to where it belongs (much like A Little to the Left), the appeal of this game is putting together the clues that tell you about the character and those she lives with.
You watch as she goes from childhood, through the university & young adult years, to settling down with a family of her own. You can discover her career and see how she collects souvenirs of her life which give you an idea of what she enjoys and how she spends her time. Even things like her clothing show how she develops her style as she gets older.
Like several games on this list, although this game isn’t particularly challenging it is very relaxing to play and one you can pick up to play for a short while when you want a hit of seretonin.
Powerwash Simulator
I actually played this one on the PS5 as it was one of the PS Plus games of the month recently, but I did find it weirdly relaxing to meticulously clean all sorts of weird, wonderful, or totally normal things with a virtual jet washer. To be fair, I find using our real power washer satisfying too, but I don’t like the faff of getting it out, or the uncomfortableness of getting cold, wet & dirty in the process!
I am quite tempted to keep this one on my wishlist in the hope that I can pick it up on sale on the eShop sometime as I think it would be a nice one to play handheld in bed as you can easily pick it up for a few minutes of relaxing gameplay and then save the rest of the job for another time. Some of the in game jobs are so complex & large they take multiple sessions to complete so it is easy to save & continue where you left off.
Storyteller
Georgie, Lydia & I have all been playing this game on our iOS devices, but it is also available on the Switch. Storyteller is a puzzle game that lets you build stories by moving around events and characters to tell the tales within the pages.
It is worth noting that if you have a Netflix subscription, you can play this free on iOS & Android devices.
Suika Game
You can actually play this weirdly addicting fruit dropping game for free online, but I do prefer the gameplay and the graphics on the Switch version (not to mention the lack of ads), which is very reasonably priced at only a few quid.
It is a simple game but, as I said, totally addictive. The aim of the game is to drop pieces of fruit and merge them to get ever bigger fruits, aiming for the huge watermelon and the highest score you can manage. This is one of those games you can pick up to amuse yourself for five minutes – but do be warned as time can quickly slip by without you realising while you play just one more go!
Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition
Spiritfarer is a rather sweet & poignant game where you take on Charon’s duty of ferrying lost souls after their death, though each soul has some last wishes or unresolved issues you need to help them with.
As a home base you have a ferryboat which you develop to suit each spirit and accommodate everything you need to do in the game. You travel round to different islands, collect resources, garden, and craft items & cook meals, all while meeting and helping the different characters to find peace. It is quite moving when each lost soul moves on at the gates, and you slowly uncover more of your own story in the process.
Spiritfarer has some platforming elements with various islands and mines to explore in the game, quests to complete, and secrets to uncover. It is fairly emotional story-wise as you get to know each spirit and help them, before having to say goodbye.
The Farewell Edition of the game includes three updates that came out after the initial release on Steam, so there is plenty to do in the game & it is definitely good value for money – it is often discounted on the eShop too.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
This one is an obvious choice and a game we all relied on for much needed mental health breaks during lockdown! Animal Crossing is still a great game 4 years after release and the girls really enjoyed the Happy Home Designer add-on that allows you to design a community of holiday getaways for various characters from your island.
If you are new to Nintendo Switch (or somehow missed this one completely despite its massive lockdown popularity) and don’t know what Animal Crossing is, then let me explain it for you. Basically, you create a super cute character and land on a deserted island where you pitch a tent and begin to create a mini village for you & your fellow islanders.
It’s super chill and you can garden, fish, gather resources & expand and decorate your house to your heart’s content. The in game characters are all rather adorable – even if Tom Nook is a bit of a mobster – and there is a huge world of customisations & really beautiful islands on the internet which you can visit.
Although I personally don’t visit my island too much these days, this is a game that we have two physical copies of so that both girls can play together in multiplayer mode on their switches to visit each other’s island. We only have a few games we love enough to have multiple copies of, and this is one of them!
Terra Nil
Terra Nil is a simulation game with some puzzle like elements to it, as you have to reclaim a wasteland of a planet to regrow the plant life and encourage nature to flourish. You can get stuck if you do things in the wrong order or make a wrong move somewhere, but the game makes it easy to restart an area completely or in stages.
It’s quite cool from an eco standpoint (especially for me with my rather rusty Renewable Energy BSc degree) as you reclaim the barren landscape using various renewable energy technologies, and end up recycling all your equipment to leave no sign of technology behind once the ecosystem has been restored.
The levels are procedurally generated so it does have some replay value to it, although I found once I knew how an area worked I could generally complete them fairly easily – though I did opt to play it on one of the easier modes as I just wanted to chill out & not be too challenged by dwindling resources.
Like Storyteller, Terra Nil is available on iOS and Android devices free to play for Netflix customers, so I have been playing it on my iPad recently. If the game was longer to complete, however, I would probably buy it on my Switch too as I really enjoyed playing it, despite the iPad version having some annoying bugs.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Originally released on the Wii U, this game is actually one we re-bought when we upgraded to the Nintendo Switch. I really enjoy this fun little puzzle game, where you control Captain Toad as he waddles his way through each level.
Toad can’t jump or climb, so you are restricted as you explore each level, hunting for treasures and safe passage through to find the stars. By manipulating the environments themselves as well as rotating the camera angle to discover hidden secrets you have to solve each maze.
As each level is fairly small, this game is another one that is fun to pick up and play for a short period of time when you fancy it. For completionists like me, you can replay levels to find absolutely everything possible including a pixel toad hide & seek that the girls loved to help with when they were small.
If you want to give it a go and see if you would enjoy the game, you can download a free demo to see what it is like for yourself.
As a bonus, here are a few that we have on our ‘to play’ list that I have heard great things about:
- Eastward
- Dave the Diver (James is playing this and enjoys it)
- Bear & Breakfast
- Wylde Flowers
- Let’s Build a Zoo
- Potion Craft
- Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
Well, you should be able to find something up your street with that list! My tip is to add games to your Nintendo Switch wishlist and then you should get notifications when they go on sale, which happens fairly frequently especially with some of the older titles. With multiple switches in the house we try to buy physical games when we can too, so for those that come on a cartridge it is worth checking out prices for those if you have a multi switch household.
I’ve put together a list over on Amazon of the games that can be bought as physical editions – check that out here.
