The cozy game launches of May are dominated by a bunch of hotly-anticipated sims
The winter doldrums are officially over and the cozy games release calendar is showing signs of serious spring downpour. I'm tracking a total of 27 swell-looking cozy games this month and, as always, that's definitely not everything that's out there. You can't blame me for missing a hidden object game or two when those things seem to spawn in by the dozens.
May cozy game forecast: Sim storm warning ⛈️
One way or another, this month is going to be defined by simulation games. Two of the most-wishlisted games are Outbound (crafting sim) and Paralives (life sim), along with other games specifically anticipated by us cozy gamers like shop sim Thrifty Business and narrative sims Coffee Talk Tokyo and Wax Heads. Notably, three of those mentioned have been delayed at least once. Not exactly uncommon these days, but it did ping my attention. It sure feels like the mood of May is going to depend on whether all these widely-anticipated simulation games fly or flop.
Paralives | May 25
Another Sims-like life sim is finally launching in early access, which is definitely going to be a big deal in the cozy games community this month—whether it goes over well or not. It's been hotly anticipated for years, delayed, and has landed at spot 37 on Steam's most wishlisted list (via SteamDB).
Our cozy game picks for May
Thrifty Business
May 18 | Shop organizing sim
Greenhearth Necromancer
May 11 | Balcony garden sim
Paralives
May 25 | Sims-like life sim
OddFauna: Secret of the Terrabeast
May 13 | Creature collecting and crafting
Wax Heads
May 5 | Record store narrative sim
May cozy games calendar
Game | Release | Genre | Demo? |
|---|---|---|---|
May 1 | Cozy train driving | ???? | |
May 4 | Casual roguelike citybuilder | ???? | |
May 5 | Record store narrative sim | ???? | |
May 5 | Casual automation sim | ???? | |
May 7 | Space garden idler | ???? | |
May 7 | Life Is Strange-alike | ❌ | |
May 7 | Repair shop sim | ???? | |
May 10 | Isometric visual novel | ???? | |
May 11 | Park sim idler | ???? | |
May 11 | Balcony garden sim | ???? | |
May 11 | Co-op base building | ???? | |
May 12 | Spacial puzzler | ???? | |
May 13 | Comedy murder mystery | ???? | |
May 13* | Creature collecting and crafting | ???? | |
May 18 | Shop organizing sim | ???? | |
May 20 | Silly shop sim | ???? | |
May 21 | Casual cooking roguelite | ❌ | |
May 21 | Narrative shop sim | ???? | |
May 22 | Quilt puzzling | ❌ | |
May 21 | Point & click puzzler | ???? | |
May 21 | Realistic farm sim | ???? | |
May 24 | Real-time rail strategy | ???? | |
May 25 | Sims-like life sim | ❌ | |
May 26 | Co-op farming city builder | ❌ | |
May 28 | Silly physics puzzler | ❌ | |
May 28 | Cozy 3D exploration | ???? | |
May 28 | Train puzzler | ???? |
OddFauna's store page on Steam lists a launch date in June but the date announced in the most recent communiation from the developers is still May 13. We'll see!