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The First-Ever Cozy After Dark Showcase Brought Creepy Cute Into the Spotlight With Over 50 Games, Plus Steam and Humble Bundle Deals

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Read time: 5 minutes

Compared to veteran gaming genres, cozy gaming remains the baby of the bunch. As gamers, we love a challenge and thinking outside the box, so defining a game genre like it’s a group project seems like a welcome undertaking for those up for it. Though often tied to what the masses consider “girly games,” cozy titles have a unique malleability that we routinely overlook when we’re sorting games and placing them next to their counterparts in our Steam libraries. 

With its official title still in its infancy (some of us have been playing casual, low-pressure simulations, puzzles, narrative-focused games for decades, thank you very much), cozy gaming is being defined in real time. Mechanics that are typically found in your run-of-the-mill cozy titles—cooking, cleaning, gardening, collecting, decorating and building, slow traversal through environments, and dialogue loops, to name a few—aren’t all packaged the same, which makes their place in the cozy bracket a stickier call. 

But despite what the internet refuses to admit on a near-daily basis, multiple things can be true at once. A game can have the makings of a cozy game and come in a package that’s darker in theme and design, creepier in storyline, and still deliver the relaxing gameplay experience we love from the youngin of the genres. 

In what’s sure to be a staple presentation for cozy gamers annually, the first Cozy After Dark Showcase is where these “cute and creepy” titles get the chance to step into the spotlight and show off their unique contributions to the cozy community. 

Dark doesn’t have to mean scary. Cozy After Dark celebrates games that pair strange, mysterious, dark, or unsettling themes with moments of comfort, curiosity, and calm. These are games that might offer you a warm cup of tea before casually suggesting you probably shouldn’t look out the window.

Dames 4 Games  

Hosted on Oct. 12 by the nonprofit Dames 4 Games, in partnership with indie game publisher Draknek & Friends and creative agency CONTINUE, alongside Muxy.io and Player.gg, Cozy After Dark highlighted over 50 games with trailers and developer spotlights, including never-before-seen launches, demo drops, and surprise announcements from publishers and studios, many of them indies. 

The showcase also kicked off the Cozy After Dark Steam event, running Oct. 12 through 19, where players can discover featured games, try new and updated demos, take advantage of special discounts, and wishlist upcoming titles revealed during the 60-minute show. Cozy After Dark also partnered with The Yetee for themed merchandise including T-shirts and pins, now available via the official Cozy After Dark website. Humble Bundle is also offering special bundle deals for showcased games. 

The presentation was sectioned off by theme—Atmospheric Horror and Surreal Journeys; Environmental Puzzles and Mysteries; Action RPGs and Dungeon Crawlers; Town Building and Management; Cards, Strategy, and Turn-Based Roguelikes; and, of course, Narrative Horror, Adventure, and Story-Driven—and was presented by a few fan-favorite content creators, including AyChristene, BaronJ67, KalesDad, and Mr Midas Games. 

Cozy After Dark Showcase
Mutter, courtesy of DeadlyCrow Games

Check out the games below and don’t forget to wishlist and follow the devs of titles that make you want to snuggle under your blankets on a foggy autumn night, and maybe keep a flashlight handy for those shadowy corners. 

*Games marked with an asterisk have demos, prologues, or playtests available.

Atmospheric Horror and Surreal Journeys 

Environmental Puzzles and Mysteries

Cozy After Dark Showcase
Private Psychic, courtesy of Pazazz!

Action RPGs and Dungeon Crawlers

Town Building and Management 

Cozy After Dark Showcase
Adopt Me Please, courtesy of Joyever Studio

Cards, Strategy, and Turn-Based Roguelikes

Narrative Horror, Adventure, and Story-Driven

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