Thanks for watching! Cozy games have been on the rise, which is your favourite so far? You should totally watch all the genre lists in the playlist! kzread.info/head/PLYVqUDxY6COh7bkuJoBb1koNRX7mAX2yp You won't find more upcoming games listed anywhere else.

I have a bad feeling that the Sims5 will be a lot like Overwatch2, it will basically turn it in to a subscription game with a lot more excessive and aggressive monetization. They stated it will be "free" which is always a super bad sign.

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

That's basically what The Sims 4 already is. The base Sims 4 went free a bit back and all the extra content is paid for. 70+ bits of DLC for Sims 4 to buy right now.

@animeyay4

9 ай бұрын

@@GamerZakh Very true, but imagine if they knew they had the money from players every month coming in through subscriptions? They'd put even less effort in to the content T_T

@moosedawg71

6 ай бұрын

Yeah, plus if Maxis is still with EA, there will be NOTHING "free" about it.

@r3ddead597

2 ай бұрын

But still free you can play and if you like it then you can support them

@mscapeh4451

9 күн бұрын

​@@moosedawg71maxis is gone its ea now they shut them down after sims3 and spore games

The problem with a lot of these games is that they announce their games so early with the promise of releasing in a few months or Q1 next year, only for it to be delayed constantly. Just announce the game without a release date! It gets tiring having to constantly google if theres any news on these new games

My Time at Sandrock has taken over all my gaming time recently. The setting is slightly unusual and charming which sets it apart from most farming sims, there's focus on more than farming (or rather eveb getting to farming takes work), there's an amazing amount of story content loooooong down the line and I just like the place and characters. Definitely my comfy game of the year.

Thank you so much for timestamps in these! I just fast forwarded through this list and, for me, all of these games looked very same-y or "seen before". Except for The Garden Path. That one stood out the most to me.

Concerned Ape is our daddy

@shortyylu

4 ай бұрын

He’s the best! He made the best game ever made.. the only game I can play over and over

Not everyone loves sand. My time in portia the other half of the map was all sand. I do not want to play an entire game in it. I love green. I agree with the rest though! Thanks for covering these!

Zakh, as well as being one of my favorite gamers (it might have something to do with your dry sense of humor 😄), you're my go-to for upcoming games. Thanks!

I love your roundups of new and upcoming games. I will always find something that interests me.

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

Thank you! I'm glad you find them useful.

@meme13100

7 ай бұрын

​@GamerZakh do you think you can add INZOI to your next sim list. I'd love to hear what you have to say about it.

@GamerZakh

7 ай бұрын

@@meme13100 It'll be in the next relevant list yeah.

@meme13100

7 ай бұрын

@@GamerZakh yay!

what a great video, I am saving for a new game and Coral Island looks awesome. I wish more games had demos!

Here's the thing about most of these 'Sims killers' - they're all realistic simulation games that while interesting, they are missing some of the charm the sims franchise has. That's fine if you're a simmer who's disappointed with the lack of realistic gameplay as you can now finally jump ship, but the reason I myself & friends of mine like the sims (and are a bit sad about 4 for) are the random sillyness that can & will happen. We love the occults, the slight dribblings of fantasy and non realisium in the game. We play it yo escape, not to replicate our lives. In one way 4 is the way it is because of players who demand more & more realistic gameplay when that stuff is actually VERY BORING to play. So when they've jumped ship hopefully we get some of the old classic wacky & fun stuff back into the main sims games again. I don't mind some realistic gameplay, but not when it is at the expense of actual fun which has unfortunately happened to the sims 4, the community has nurtured it and has had the series in a stranglehold since sims 3 (which hilariously isn't hated anymore but was vomplaned about as much when it was the current game pretty much telling anyone watching that the community is never happy and overall sucks.😅) Also they aren't calling it sims 5! Also they said they're keeping 4 alive along side it so it will be interesting to see how they go having both running side by side.

adding farlands to my wishlist after this vid. i want space themed

I hope those Sims clones are able to succeed. However, I am worried about the one made by Paradox. Paradox is likely to put in a ton of piecemeal DLC/expansions like EA.

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

At the very least I hope they threaten, so EA and Paradox can't get too carried away.

@jobbingtoaster1502

9 ай бұрын

​@@GamerZakh I hope so too. Even a small dent would be worth it.

@JustVizzing

8 ай бұрын

Not all life sim games are sims clone lol

@nooneeey

8 ай бұрын

If the dlcs are reasonable and not empty and bugged out for flirty dollars like the sims, I’m totally fine with extra content tho.

@sempiternal_paula

20 күн бұрын

Aaaaaaand you were right 😂

I just started playing the free demo of a New Leaf because this video! I like it, except that the character moves a bit slow and you often don't know what's selected. (a cross in the middle like minecraft would help)

Thank you so much for this! So many good options! Btw, My Time at Sandrock, my favorite game atm, full release date is November 2nd. 😊

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! And also, they delayed it from the original date in September just a month before, so always a chance they delay it again haha. And the PS4 version seems to be coming later too. Either way, I'm starting to include late-year releases for the next year.

With all these types of games I'm surprised you missed Pallia, currently in open beta. If every I wanted to call something "Stardew the MMO" it's that game. Free to play with MTX Cosmetics currently. A bit rough on some edges but still an enjoyable time.

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

Palia is for the MMO list. I've listed it for a few years, but not putting it here because generally people who like The Sims aren't looking for an MMO. If this was just all cozy games, I'd include it.

Great vid as always.

Fantastic list! I don't have the brain capacity for much after I finish work for the day so I'm looking forward to playing some of these to unwind. I'd love a decent cosy tavern keeper sim too, but every one that's been released in the last few years seems to have predominantly negative reviews. Maybe there will be one on your 2025 list. 🤞

Thank you for the list. Not sure if I want some of them but I would enjoy watching someone play few of them for sure

I just wish The Sims 4 had something for if you wanted to have a rap career. Just not something stereotypical (money, women, etc.). The music stuff is geared more towards genre specific stuff. Like the main music career is more of a classical music thing. (Idk why they won't bring back the rockstar stuff. That was fun). Then the singer skill is more focused on stuff you would only do if you were singing as a hobby, but not really trying to make a career and the limitations on it make it not worth making it your main source of income.

Another game that looks really cool is Nivalis, a cyberpunk life sim by the makers of Cloudpunk.

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

Yeah I listed that in my Tycoon list that's out.

Nice games! The garden path is so beautifull, remembered me of a "Of Monsters and Man"... will show this video to my wife, she love this tipe of games!

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Not my cup of tea sim games ...but havendock looks nice and also ...The garden path...as always great to see what you show here .

I bought I am Future and I’ve already nearly completed what’s available as I’ve been addicted to it. I’m looking forward to what they’ll do as it hints to being rather expansive and having other survivors to meet. I loved Portia and still haven’t been able to complete it, but I love the look of Sandrock. I’ve held off getting it but I might get it as an Xmas treat for myself. Not sure but I think Everholm has a demo on Steam, so I might be giving that a try. I also tried the demo of Havendock and enjoyed it even though it was gindy and seems to need some balancing.

Many of these games look like just slight variances of other ones. I suppose the downside of everyone choosing between just two game engines these days is that it all can kind of blend together and looks a bit repetitive and "samey". Or maybe I am just old now.

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

I feel you, and yes it's age haha. Look at what happens when you make a list like this for the 90s: kzread.info/dash/bejne/iZ6YmMWfo5jIqrQ.html It's the same thing. All the games just look like slight variations and everyone is cashing in on the latest 'it' genre. It's just when we look back, we remember the extraordinary. When we look forward, we see everything.

Thanks for this video @GamerZakh. These are the type of games I really like.... and I for one am excitely waiting for the Stardew Valley Update & Haunted Chocolater.

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! I might actually jump back into Stardew in my own time when that update lands.

"You wake up in a foreign land, unable to remember anything" *looks at the most obviously Japan setting possible with a Mr. Fuji speaking to you* Well I think I can solve this mystery on my own!

For 2025 out and about. Out and about is an upcoming cozy and educational game, where you learn to identify plants and what you can make out of them such as herbal remedies, cooking dishes and crafts. They show you how to recreate them in real life! Expanding your gardening knowledge like teaching you companion planting, fishing, decorating, socializing and romancing is also a thing. Tey are now running their kickstarter campaign.

13:53 "polly wants a cracker" no way they wild for that

I'm excited by the prospect of a superior life and social sim in Life By You.

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

I hope it's really good and then EA has to make Sims 5 better to compete. It's win-win when there's competition.

Tiny Life is surprizingly addictive.

My Time At Sandrock is my favourite

Fantastic video

Honestly, I'm tired of "whimsy" in The Sims and looking for something more realistic. I'm also sick of Sims 4 since it's been out for so long, so looking forward to Paralives and Life By You.

The Sims + Harvest Moon = coral island

27:13 to skip past the farming games and get to the meat & potatoes lol

There's another game I recommend called Sun Haven! Take a look :D

My Time At... series is awesome

Im generally enjoying Coral Island, but on Series X this game has a number of crash issues. I do also wish they incorporated more QoL features instead of trying to port over many of the things Stardew Valley did.

ok, yes, cool and ill certainly try some but for some reason im looking more for games like mon bazou where you can sell drugs if you wanted to

I'm wondering how Vivaland isn't being sued. It's SO close to Sims, though with potentially better design features. I can't believe Maxis isn't trying to sue them, tbh.

@GamerZakh

6 ай бұрын

Sue them for what though? You (mostly) can't copyright game mechanics. They didn't steal any assets. There's nothing to sue. EA is very litigious, if there was even a tiny thing they could sue they would.

Us stardew valley fans have been waiting for haunted chocolatier

A lots of good games.

most of these game look more like survival/construction games rather than simslike though. Thanks for the list anyways... some interesting ones here

@GamerZakh

8 ай бұрын

Technically speaking, The Sims fulfils a lot of criteria for survival games haha. Glad you found some new games!

thanks forget niivalis has a potintal love this

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

Nivalis isn't a cozy game, but I did list it in my Tycoon list.

I backed Coral Island. and i really like it. However even though it's now officially out of EA... it's not finished. The devs seem ontop of it and it's getting regular updates. But i'm putting off playing it more for now. Gameplay wise it is in many ways a clone of Stardew and knows it. with new characters, story and beautiful graphics/art. As well as diving, mermaids, and local folklore. (from what i've played so far the combat is somehow even more basic than stardew, idk if that's due to change) Also super looking forward to paralives. Looks amazing. Hope the gameplay stands up... i notice it's followers are asking ALOT of them... i worry they're going spreading themselves too thin and creating an impossible hype.

And now Inzou a korean one that just popped up

Coral Island comes out of early access on November 14th.

@GamerZakh

8 ай бұрын

Ah they just announced it, that's good.

I noticed INZOI isn't on here. I'd love for you to do a look on it.

@GamerZakh

7 ай бұрын

That was announced after this video was made.

Are these all getting released on nintendo switch next year?

@GamerZakh

7 ай бұрын

Good question, I added platforms to the description but it's always hard to predict console release dates.

I flicked through the time stamps. Thanks for those. With these games I like to know if they’re single player or not. But that requires watching more of each section. With these really helpful compilations I like to flick through what may interest me. And some I may have seen already. Not great for your viewing statistics maybe, but great for me. Rather than marking every game as multiplayer or not, would it be possible to add (SP or Singleplayer) at the start next to the game name? I mainly play these games with friends and knowing if it’s SP means I can ‘write it off’

I think you forgot about INzoi :)

@GamerZakh

5 ай бұрын

That was announced after this video, so it's gotta be in the next one.

The Ranchers contain pagan evil stuff

@GamerZakh

4 ай бұрын

Yeah, lots of games contain evil stuff.

I just want an updates makin magic sims 😭… but noooo the sims won’t make a real magic world with magic money, spells , with dragon cart seller things and so on …

@meikahidenori

3 ай бұрын

Because too many fans atm want nothing but realistic stuff. Once they jump ship maybe we can ask For all the fun stuff back. I keep asking for steam punk, dragons & some into the future stuff 😂but loosing out to laundry & knitting makes me realise those of us who use sims to escape and tell fun stories are fewer and fewer in the minority. I'd love the occults to have full potentate back and special NPCs too. Werewolves was decent (they're my faves) but i feel we need to fix spell casters, aliens, plant sims & mermaids really REALLY badly. In 3 they fixed vampires (they were in two expansions!) So they can certainly fix the occults in 4 if those of us who are left really want them And please give me zombies back. They where absolutely ridiculous and hilarious when you had random zombie occults like fairies (another i wanna see back) show up at night clubs😂

Can someone explain to me why there are games for Commodore 64 releasing in 2024? I just don't get that graphic phenomenon

@GamerZakh

29 күн бұрын

Oh you mean why there are games with older looking graphics? That's always been the case. If you think of 1982 games (Commodore 64), there were many games that looked like they were made for the Magnavox Odyssey. It's not a phenomenon, it's just not every game is always going for, or able to go for, "next-gen" graphics. I know what you're thinking because you're the thousandth person to ask me this. When you think back, you're thinking of old games that were actually AAA huge blockbuster multimillion dollar games, then comparing them to 100K indie games today. They look 'indie' today but at the time they had insane graphics. Then you see the same graphics 25 years later and get confused but you don't realise today those graphics costs 100X less than 25 years ago. We can test, which new game are you referring to and which old game are you comparing it to? I can tell you the contexts of the two games and give you a specific explanation.

almost all of these games have the exact same art style

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

That's true of any genre from any year.

@iamdopeasfcuk

9 ай бұрын

@@GamerZakhthe fps games you showcased were a lot more unique though. almost all of them had their own unique art style.

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

@@iamdopeasfcuk Well I did list almost 40 games there haha, twice as many as here. And FPS wasn't that diverse, most of them just go photorealistic and a bunch of them are basically Doom in another setting. Like a third of the FPS I listed were middle poly because that's the trend now. Much like here, only a couple of the FPS games were truly unique styles.

Why is there no cool AI NPC in all these examples? We already have Minecraft about construction, Sims - about the reaction of the NPCs to the decor!

@GamerZakh

8 ай бұрын

Because the legal status of AI is still unclear. How 'AI' learns today is by copying a lot of existing works and if it's found that the AI accidentally plagiarised something everyone could get sued. Only big companies with large legal teams or those willing to take the legal risk are messing with AI right now.

@joevonash3699

8 ай бұрын

@@GamerZakh Good answer! But, let's take a lower level: let's ask the AI you're talking about to make an optimal algorithm of actions for the NPC (SCRIPT!) so that it simulates life and responds adequately to events. How about this option?

@GamerZakh

8 ай бұрын

@@joevonash3699 If you ask AI to write scripts, it might accidentally reuse too much script from an existing program and you can get sued. Or it might just copy from open source projects, in which case if discovered it would be bad PR if nothing else. There's just a lot of risk using AI right now, especially because laws are only just being formed. The US is implementing AI laws, the EU are legislating, and unions are getting AI limitations in their agreements. If you start a project right now with AI, it might be fine and legal now but next year your development might have to change because of a new law. The uncertainty is unappealing.

@joevonash3699

8 ай бұрын

@@GamerZakh Thanks, I get it. It's much more complicated than I imagined. It will be necessary to study the topic! :3

@GamerZakh

8 ай бұрын

@@joevonash3699 Yeah generally right now it's a big mess haha. I think it needs another 5-10 years before we're sure how things will be.

Does anyone know what the game at 0:13 is called?

@GamerZakh

Ай бұрын

That's My Time At Portia.

@POpcoRN2220

Ай бұрын

Thank you

play rome total war best game ever i had played

@GamerZakh

9 ай бұрын

I have a video on that: kzread.info/dash/bejne/eYChyaiwlcjTg6w.html

No mention of inZOI?

@GamerZakh

7 ай бұрын

That was just announced, this video is older.

If only "cosy" games would up THEIR game with much better graphics. The graphics in most of these are just so....1990's. Three decades later, and we still can't do better, unless it's a first person shooter or car/football game? Really?

@GamerZakh

8 ай бұрын

Well as you say, we got amazing graphics in shooter games. That's because amazing graphics cost money, typically millions of dollars. So most games can't afford those. Also, cosy games usually don't have super amazing realistic graphics because realism isn't cosy. Cartoons are cosy, so cosy games are cartoony.

Except for Sims 4, they ALL look like Mobile games.

@GamerZakh

5 ай бұрын

People say Sims 4 looks like a mobile game too.

5 years ago I would have been so exited for most of these games. Now half of them look like extremely generic and bland copies of Stardew Valley, with less content and everything is more slow and cumbersome. A new leaf was the worst offender (so far). Just watching the slow farming mechanic was enough to turn me off forever.

@MisogynyMan

9 ай бұрын

To be fair, there were some tempting little nuggets in there, ironically, Farlands got me.

I guess if sims5 comes out as bad as simcity 2015 then something else could destroy it..

This video should have been called "The Best NEW Life Sim Games In 2024 If You Like Stardew Valley". Looks like ConcernedApe could have saved some folks some work and made a little money on the side if he'd sold a Stardew Valley clone development suite. Like, c'mon folks, put at least a little effort into giving your game an original look.

@GamerZakh

8 ай бұрын

Haha well these life sim games are all copying each other now. It happens whenever a game blows up. Stardew copied it's fair share from Harvest Moon, it's just no one expected 10 million sales. I expect Sims to keep going deeper with gardening and farming too because every life sim fan loves farming right now.

Damn, there's never a single game on these lists for deep or challenging content. These games don't stimulate the brain at all. I get that's the point for a lot of people, but can we at least have one game where you have to think and put effort into developing your sims. Depressing.

@GamerZakh

6 ай бұрын

What kind of game are you thinking of that's challenging?

@surg23

6 ай бұрын

@@GamerZakh Hey Zakh, hope you don't think that was directed at you. It was more a gripe about the industry and genre. For the longest time I have been searching for a sim-based game that is balanced more on the premise of requiring optimal strategy to get the most out of it. At the moment these games don't put any pressure at all on the players ability to govern or manage sims and properties with any degree of finesse which feels very unrewarding to me. I like games like sims 3 and This war of Mine, but they are completely devoid of any meaningful learning curves. Essentially you prosper no matter what your approach is. I kind of understand how that might be inclusive and accommodating for the average player, but there are really no exceptions to that rule. Even combat orientated sim games are incredibly vapid with braindead AI and superficial difficulty/adversity. I'm just looking for something of substance in the genre- A game that demands effort and incentivizes optimal gameplay strategies, where the rewards are proportionate to what you put into it. I understand my chances of seeing something like that are pretty slim being that I seem to have a rather unpopular opinion regarding what qualifies as a fulfilling experience. Just venting I guess. Appreciate your videos man. Very articulate and poetic commentary.

LIFESIM with STATIC npcs... are you laughing or mocking? I really hope that this is a local misunderstanding, and not a global trend.

@GamerZakh

8 ай бұрын

Which game are you referring to?

Absolutely NONE of those are "like the Sims" I keep seeing people say these pixeled farming and animal games are like Sims" and makes it clear to me they (YOU) have never played Sims. Ever. 😅it's ridiculously obvious.

@GamerZakh

10 күн бұрын

I have a bunch of videos of me playing the Sims, so what's ridiculously obvious to you is just wrong lol. As a creator I tend to have proof of the games I've played. My personal favourites are Sims 1 and 2, my wife likes Sims 3 the most. You don't think Vivaland, Life By You, Tiny Life, or Paralives are like the Sims? Maybe you've never played Sims before.

@GamerZakh

10 күн бұрын

Oh fun side note by coincidence, I'm literally watching Bouphe play Sims 1 on Twitch right this second.

I play EA sims for the mods. Without modding cc there is no point.

You say cozy too many times im getting suspicious !!!

@GamerZakh

Ай бұрын

Suspicious of what? Life sims are specifically made to be cosy, and this is a list of life sims. It's gonna come up a lot.

@kaligath6616

Ай бұрын

@@GamerZakh That your leading me into a false sense of security so you can steal my pokemon card collection...

@GamerZakh

Ай бұрын

@@kaligath6616 Haha that's just EA luring you in for more Sims 4 microtransactions.

@kaligath6616

Ай бұрын

@@GamerZakh If i had the know how i would create a game similar to the sims but base it in the cyberpunk era where you can augment your sim to affect the status bars and have everyone in apartments that you need to work your way up the corporate ladder.

Sims is not a game anymore. It`s just a tool for mode makers and architectural studies.

holy heck, stardew valley should sue farlands, what a rip off of the game, even the same sprites!

@GamerZakh

8 ай бұрын

Is it the same sprites? If it's not actually stolen, you can't sue. And it's better to let games copy each other as long as it's not copyright infringement. Some game publishers have copyrighted styles or gameplay mechanics, and it only stifles the industry.

@seanp4098

8 ай бұрын

@@GamerZakh Im sure you know more than me, but I saw the clip and thought "that looks exactly like stardew!"

@fransmith3255

8 ай бұрын

@@GamerZakh Yes, for example big gaming companies getting away with copyrighting the 'idea" of push and pull character creation, so that nobody else can develop any type of push 'n pull directly on a character creator. I wonder if a small developer could have gotten away with copyrighting something so ridiculously generic. Wallets and ears in the right places never hurts, does it? Next someone will copyright the fill-the-bar concept...

@GamerZakh

8 ай бұрын

@@fransmith3255 Yeah, famous example is the 'Nemesis system' in Shadow of War. They successfully copyrighted that and now no other game can have a 'Nemesis system', meaning only 2 games in all of existence have that system and we're not gonna see it again until the copyright expires.

@fransmith3255

8 ай бұрын

Yes, it's supposed to be not possible to make sweeping patents like that, but if a big company has the money, possibly one day they could patent handles on cups, too...

Sims 5 does not exist in my mind, and Project Rene is likely going to be a micro-transaction-esque game. Sadly Life by You has been cancelled too :(