Hii cuties! I am currently going through quite the amount of evil disgusting and bad dysphoria, so I would really like to distract myself from myself right now… Even though I am not a fan of consumerism, this is the one time I feel it is appropriate to consume some media. I do have a homebrewed switch and a computer running Debian (with wine, so it can run windows games). I am a fan of rhythm games and cozy games like stardew valley (not a shooter kind of person).

EDIT: I am also a huge fan of games like outer wilds, cuz like wow that game is good. Also I like the magical parts of Terraria aaaaand floating islands are cool… Also I do have a VR headset. There, my infodump is completed now.

  • I assume you already played it but since it hasn’t explicitly been mentioned I definitely have to call out Celeste, basically one of the most iconic transfem games out there!

    Terraria can be pretty comfy if you’re in the mood for it, and Clone Hero is the perfect rhythm game if you have Guitar Hero nostalgia!

  • I recently discovered this adorable little indie point and click adventure game called Read Only Memories. The basic plot is that you’re a struggling freelance journalist living in a crappy apartment in Neo-San Francisco in the year 2064. Human genetic and cybernetic modification is widely available, and some jackasses have decided to spend their time protesting outside the clinics that provide it. They claim it strips away the very things that make us human, whatever that may mean (editorialism mine – the game, strangely, goes to great lengths to allow the player to choose either, or neither, side in this conflict through dialogue options, although the vast majority of characters you meet will have the same opinion I did). Also, ROMs (personal voice-activated robots – think ChatGPT with legs) are fairly commonplace and can be seen everywhere from individual households to the police force. They’re highly conversational though not particularly human.

    Anyway, one day, you wake up, and one of these robots is standing at the foot of your bed. You’re somewhat surprised by this, since you’re way too broke to afford one. The robot introduces themself as Turing, a top-secret project to create a truly sapient ROM, who has just witnessed their creator being kidnapped and broke into your apartment during the night to ask for your help to solve the case.

    I’ve only gotten to the second chapter so far, but I’m loving it. It is very cute and very queer and does not shy away from the gritty realities of its subject matter. I don’t want to spoil too much, but there’s one conversation where you find out why the genetically modified person who’s been a bit of a dick to you got genetic modifications and the major struggles they went through to get it, and I do not think the allegory could have been more obvious if the entire screen turned into a giant trans flag.

    Also Turing is adorable. And you can hug them. Also the music is incredible.

    It’s an incredible game and you should totally play it ^^

    • Oh my god yes.

      Seconding A Short Hike, and it’s 3D cousin Lil’ Gator Game, those games are the epitome of cute n’ cozy games.

      (And just now seeing Haven Park, it looks like I’m buying another game soon haha, thanks.

      Also, if you have 10 minutes, play Six Cats Under, a free little itch.io browser game, that is relaxing, point n’ click, and cute as all hell.

  • Hey! Sorry you’re feeling shitty. I just finished Cassette Beasts while I was down with COVID. It’s a fun, different take on the Pokemon formula with a cool aesthetic. Perhaps not the absolute coziest, but still cozy in my book.

  • I haven’t played it in years, but I remember getting really cozy vibes from “VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action”. You basically just talk to customers and hear their stories while serving drinks. I didn’t end up playing all the way to the end, but I remember it being really chill and laid back.

    Come to think of it, since I didn’t know I was trans back when I played it, I’m now wondering if some of the cozy vibes came from diffuse, unrecognized gender euphoria via the female protagonist. Been meaning to play it again to see how it strikes me now.

    Actually, this is getting me kind of hype to play it; I think I’ll fire it up.

  • If you’re a fan of rhythm games, have you ever played Rhythm Heaven? :) RH Fever for the Wii, and RH Megamix for the 3ds are some of my faves in the genre. They’re standouts and somewhat unconventional rhythm games based around animations. Very cute and fun and towards the end of the games challenging. I believe emulators are available for both on Debian. Dolphin for Wii emulation, Citra for 3ds. Citra has officially been discontinued by the original dev team, but forks are around for it.

    On switch there’s Animal Crossing, Yoshi’s crafted world, Super Mario 3D world and Odyssey are both fantastic and cozy. Let’s go Eevee and Pikachu are incredible and have a very warm idyllic vibe imo.

  • Townscaper is a good one for just sinking yourself into mindless building. No resource limits, just making a city in an ocean. It’s also a fairly cheap game - About Five bucks if I recall?

  • Cozy:

    • Slime Rancher is super cute.
    • Forager is pretty nice, but the controls suck on anything other than keyboard/mouse.
    • Outpath is kinda like a 3d Forager with a dev who doesn’t have staff he can’t pay.

    Rythm:

    • Geometry Dash is great.
    • ADOFAI is awesome.
  • Not sure if anyone mentioned it already, but The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is really cozy and nice. You play as a witch that got exiled and is mentally not in a good place but then you get to do all kinds of badass witch stuff. It is inclusive of trans women and I had to cry a lot when I found out midgame.

  • Maybe not what you’re thinking about but I quite like playing crusader kings 3 when I’m feeling like that and maybe you will too. It’s kind of expensive with all the dlcs though so you should just get it here for free instead: https://fitgirl-repacks.site/crusader-kings-3/

    if you haven’t torrented anything before (I’m assuming you probably have though since you’re a transfem with Linux) you’ll need this to download it: https://www.qbittorrent.org/download