Cozy gamesset in the afterlifebring a comforting or lighthearted tone to what is traditionally seen as a heavy theme. These games focus on empathy, companionship, and the beauty of moving on, often combining management elements, soothing art styles, and gentle narratives.
A surprisingly large number of games have tackled the topic of what comes after we die, bringing a certain amount of catharsis to what is a difficult subject for many. For those tackling grief or other tough emotions, sometimes an outlet is necessary to help with the process, and these games may serve as a conduit for being able to experience these difficult emotions in a safe or less direct way.
A pinnacle of the genre,Spiritfarercenters around Stella, a young woman who takes over the ferry to the underworld for Charon as the new Spiritfarer. In this new role, players must help fulfill the final requests of spirits until they become ready to move on.
Full of emotional moments, this game also features all the traditional underpinnings of a cozy management game, including farming, mining, exploration, crafting, and building. It even has a hugging mechanic. A mollifying soundtrack works to put players at ease while they attempt to heal thesouls of the departed.
Another mainstay of the cozy game genre,Cozy Grovehas players become a spirit scout and collect spirit logs as they come to the aid of ghostly bears on a remote island. As players perform tasks for them, these bears open up and reveal some of their earthly regrets and memories in an often touching and sometimes humorous manner.
Players may also decorate the ever-changing island and their own campsite with seasonal items, plants and animals as they perform their duties. With daily tasks like fishing, collecting resources, and crafting, this game offers a peaceful blend ofafterlife explorationand resource management.
3Bear’s Restaurant
A Real Heartbreaker
Despite its cute pixel art style,Bear’s Restaurantdeals with some heavy themes. Clocking in at around 3 hours of play time, this title packs a poignant story in such a short timeframe, delivering a heart-wrenching narrative. Players control a cat who has started a job at a cafe catering to the recently deceased.
The little cat works with Bear to find the most satisfying final meal for patrons of the restaurant, delving into their memories to see what would mean the most to them before they pass on. Having lost their memories, the cat tries new foods in an attempt to recover themselves and find their own final meal.
Billed as “the most inaccurate medieval cemetery management sim of all time,”Graveyard Keeperfollows the caretaker of a cemetery after an untimely death sends him to a strange afterlife world.
Chock-full of dark humor and wit, this game showcases a refreshing version of cozy gameplay mechanics like farming, crafting, and exploration, and provides a relaxing, quirky take on managing the afterlife. Players face ethical dilemmas as they decide whether they want to cut corners on their way to building their business, and of course,cannibalism is an option.
5A Mortician’s Tale
What Comes After
This version of the afterlife explores how the living deal with what remains, as players learn the basics of what goes into preparing bodies for their final rest. InA Mortician’s Tale,players run a mortuary where they can embalm, cremate, and care for cadavers as they consider the role of corporate monopolies in the business of death.
This game is short but informative, aiming to increase transparency about the practices of the modern funeral industry. Players can interact with the living family members of the deceased and attend their funerals in this moving and thoughtful depiction of what happens in the wake of passing on.
6Necrobarista
Caffeinated To Death
Set in asupernatural cafelocated in between life and death,Necrobaristapresents a unique blend of visual novel storytelling and cinematic 3D visuals. The game follows the lives of patrons who are allowed to stay in the cafe for 24 hours before crossing into the afterlife.
Each character’s story touches on unresolved issues or relationships, adding emotional depth to the narrative. With its quippy humor and anime-inspired art style,Necrobaristabrings a reflective, yet cozy, view of the afterlife where conversations with the dead are filled with heart and empathy.
InAfterparty, two recently deceased best friends find themselves in Hell and must out-drink Satan to secure their return to the land of the living. While the premise is humorous, the game has an underlying message about the choices we make in life and how they affect what comes next.
The cozy aspect comes through its witty dialogue and party atmosphere, making the underworld feel less like eternal damnation and more like an eccentric night out. Its combination of engaging banter and clever puzzle-solving adds a fun, social twist to the afterlife nestled among neon lights.
8Cats and the other lives
Interactive Cat Fiction
Cats and the Other Livesoffers a unique narrative-driven adventure where players experience the afterlife through the eyes of a family cat named Aspen. After the death of their owner, the cat wanders the house and witnesses how the family members deal with their loss, revealing secrets and memories along the way.
The story touches on themes of grief and reconciliation, blending melancholic moments with the warmth of familial bonds. The soft, hand-drawn art style and poignant storytelling create a peaceful yet thought-provoking afterlife experience.
9Elsinore
To Be, Or Not To Be
Elsinoreis an adventure game that explores the story of Hamlet from the perspective of Ophelia from within a time loop four days before her tragedy.Social simulation elementsallow the player’s decision to weave the story in whatever direction they’d like it to go in as they try to avoid death for the umpteenth time.
Originally nothing more than a victim of her fate, this version of Ophelia can be almost anything you want her to be, and features a diverse cast of characters with their own timelines to follow within the narrative.
10A Guidebook of Babel
The Butterfly Effect
InA Guidebook of Babel,players find themselves in a bizarre purgatory world where they must help guide lost souls from aboard a cruise ship called the Babel. With its colorful, surreal art style and engaging puzzle mechanics, the game presents an imaginative take on the afterlife, offering players a relaxing and thought-provoking narrative journey that is based on the idea that small choices can have big impacts.
The quirky characters and creative world-building make this acozy, exploratory adventurewith philosophical undertones, leaving players to ponder life’s biggest questions in a visually stunning setting.
