8 AAA Games That Need A Cozy Spinoff

The Cozy Games scene has been largely dominated by indies and Animal Crossing, with very little in the way of triple-A companies capitalizing on that space.

This has led to quite a few game series having some missed potential for cozy spinoffs that run outside the status quo, offering something for fans of the series and people who just want to chill.

These picks are just a few of my general concept pitches for spinoffs in series that don’t already have a cozy spinoff to call home or series that do have a cozy spinoff but missed its full potential.

Most of these game ideas stem from series that could apply incredibly well to existing cozy games, or have parts in them that would lend incredibly well to a cozy spinoff.

Nordic Librarian Simulator

The Elder Scrolls is a series enjoyed by many, including a pretty sizable audience that prefers chilling and roaming about the open world, not caring for the dark tone and combat.

Thats why I think it’s prime material for a cozier spinoff, whether that be a less combat-focused title with the same kind of exploration, or something entirely new to the cozy games space.

You could have a middle-age librarian simulator where all the lore from across the series is compiled into one space, or just go the Stardew Valley clone route, either way.

I think this idea would be both great as a cozy game for those looking for something different from this series, and a pleasant time for people who like the vibe of Skyrim but not the gameplay.

7 The Legend of Zelda

Proper Farmer Link

The Zelda series spans across a massive amount of titles, with a massive amount of Links, and none of them are particularly cozy, despite having a ton of potential.

You’ve got a potential farming game, riffing off the opening of Twilight Princess, or you could have Zelda furnishing homes with her wand that spawns an endless abundance of tables.

There’s really an endless number of angles you can go at in this series, and it’s a shame we’ve only gotten a few spinoffs that tend to air on the action-oriented gameplay.

I’d say fishing like in Ocarina of Timeshows that this series works really well when you’re allowed to slow down and do a fun thing just for the vibes, and I’d love to see a cozy title from it.

6 Kirby

A Full-Course Meal

Kirby is already a pretty cutesy franchise, though it frequently dips into the horrific and difficult side of things, making it a series I wouldn’t exactly call “cozy” per se.

Every Kirby spinoff more or less follows that same heavy-on-the-action style as the main games do or a full-on Smash Bros. clone.

I think it’d be really great to explore this pink puffball’s full potential, especially since we’ve never seen a Kirby cooking game, despite his tendency to eat everything.

Really, Kirby is about as malleable as you want him to be, and you could throw this marshmallow in any situation and I’d be happy, especially since Kirby fishing is adorable.

5 Portal

Custom Turret Designer

When I was younger, I played the Portal games and was particularly enamored by the screens that showed Turrets with custom patterns and designs on them.

This stuck in my mind and blossomed into an idea where you’re playing as an overworked Aperture employee, coming up with a bunch of marketable designs for deadly inventions.

I think the full potential for more games in the Portal universe hasn’t been explored, with us only really getting a taste of it in Aperture Desk Job, which is more of a Steam Deck demo than a game.

You could have painted custom designs onto turrets, make inventions to meet the demands of your wild boss, and relax at the end of the day with no moon poisoning.

4 Dragon Quest

Metal Slime Rancher

If one series is known for Slimes, it’s Dragon Quest, with a few slime-focused spinoffs, but none of them like the cozy monster-farming game Slime Rancher.

Square Enix is really all in on these cute little guys, and I think it’s kind of weird we haven’t gotten a cozier title related to them, despite the easy ideas that are all right there.

You could include standard blue slimes, Metal Slimes, She-Slimes, Bubble Slimes, and King Slimes into a farming game, or just have them all bumbling about together in a Tamagotchi-like game.

Really, with a massive fantasy series that has a few hundred awesome or cutesy designs, there’s unlimited potential for cozy monster-taming games as well, and it’s weird it’s been ignored.

3 Super Smash Bros.

A Cozier Crossover

The Super Smash Bros. series reeks of untapped potential, being used exclusively for fighting games, and never having all these incredibly iconic characters doing anything else together.

I’ve thought about a Dreamlight Valley-esque Smash game where you just run errands for Nintendo characters, or Animal Crossing, with your villagers being critters from all over gaming history.

It’s really just strange they’ve never done a single Super Smash Bros. spinoff, ever. This series is one of the biggest, most iconic crossovers of all time, and would serve wonderfully for a more relaxing game.

I’d even take some relaxing puzzle games or really chill adventure games where we get subspace-styled character interactions, and I really hope we see a Smash spinoff like this sometime in the future.

2 DOOM

Rabbit Raising

This is a bit more of a funny one, but the DOOM games, and especially the team behind them, are known for contrasting their gorey, intense series with cutesy, fun stuff, so it’s pretty fitting.

I think it’d be really funny to see a full-on rabbit-raising DOOM game, where the Doomguy gets to relax among his favorite critters, given that’s how the conflict of these games starts anyway.

You could do just about anything, and as long as it’s being done against the backdrop of brimstone and hellfire, it’d feel pretty appropriate in this franchise.

I’d kill to see Doomguy fishing, farming, and just having a good time on his off days when he’s not absolutely tearing into whatever hellspawn is in front of him.

1 Sonic the Hedgehog

Give Us Chao or Give Us Death

If you’re a long-time Sonic fan, you’ve surely at least heard someone begging SEGA to bring back the Chao Garden, either as a full spinoff or another Sonic mobile game.

The Chao Garden was only in Sonic Adventures 1 and 2, and it had you using the animals, and chaos drives you found in the main levels to feed your chaos and give them better stats.

This led pretty much every Sonic fan to want the return of the Chao Garden or something similar, and I think it’d only be appropriate for a full-on, cozy game involving the Chao.

Whether it’s a Chao Garden mobile game, or just a fun time with Sonic and the gang raising the little dudes, it’s a long overdue bit of missed potential that SEGA is surely tired of hearing about by now.