A cozy game sounds soft, steady and familiar: rain, a river, a fire, distant chatter and gentle music that stays in the background. Some of the most relaxing game soundtracks are in A Short Hike, Donut County, Coffee Talk, Strange Horticulture, Stardew Valley and Unpacking. Below, we explain what game designers say about cozy sound, then give one game for each idea.
At a glance
| Game | Best for | Length | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Short Hike | Anyone who wants a soundtrack that follows them around a small world | About 1.5 hours (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Mac, Linux |
| Donut County | Players who want laid back music with a handmade feel | About 2 hours (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Mac |
| Coffee Talk | Players who want a café, a warm drink and soft music late at night | About 4.5 hours (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Mac |
| Strange Horticulture | Players who like their calm with a little mystery | About 6 hours (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Mac |
| Stardew Valley | Players who want music that changes with the seasons | About 53 hours for the main goals (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Mac, Linux |
| Unpacking | Players who love small, satisfying real sounds | About 3.5 hours (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Mac, Linux |
| A Short Sail | Players who want to make the music themselves on a cozy sea | Not shared yet | PC (Windows), Mac, Web, Steam Deck |
The short answer
A cozy game sounds like a safe place. The sound is soft and steady. It does not jump out at you. Most of it comes from things you can see: water, fire, wind, a cat, people talking in the next room. The music sits in the background and lets you think.
In 2017, a group of game designers at the Project Horseshoe think tank wrote a report on coziness in games. Its section on sound starts with one line that sums it up: “Cozy audio is continuous, soft, and non-intrusive, with an element of familiarity.”
We explain the bigger idea of coziness in What is a cozy game? This guide is only about the ears.
What designers say about cozy sound
The Project Horseshoe report gives three simple rules.
Real sources. “The sources of both music and audio should ideally be diegetic to allow the players to connect concretely or even intimately with those sources.” Diegetic means the sound comes from inside the world. A radio on a shelf, a fire in the hearth, a cat on the rug. You can see where the sound comes from, so it feels like part of the place.
Danger far away. “Any hint of external threat or danger should be muted and distant”. A storm can rumble outside. It should not crash in your ear.
A little imperfect. “Humanity in music can also be increased through small, subtle imperfections, such as recorded aspirations, fingering mistakes, etc.” A breath before a note, or a finger that slips on a string, makes music feel played by a person, not a machine.
The report also lists sounds that feel cozy:
- Waterfalls, rivers and rain
- A gentle fire
- A cat purring
- Indistinct chatter, like voices in a café
- Non-violent storms (the report says this one is a matter of taste)
- ASMR
- White noise, or a steady hum from a fan or machine
The report says white noise helps because it washes out single noises and “becomes easily ignored”. That is the goal for most cozy sound. You notice it when you stop to listen, and you forget it when you are busy.
What developers say
In 2025, the Epic Games Store asked cozy game developers how they make their games feel calm. Dave Tach’s feature, The Rise of Cozy Games, has a whole section on sound called “Easy listening”.
Tobias Schnackenberg of Square Glade Games, who is making the camper van game Outbound, leans on the outdoors: “We use a lot of natural ambience, like birds, wind, and the rustling of trees.” He adds: “Classical music also enters at the right moments to support that mood rather than overwhelm it.”
Ben Esposito, who made Donut County, calls Daniel Koestner’s score the glue of his game. “His music relies heavily on samples that he creates himself that have a textured and handmade feel,” he said. “Please find the imperfections charming!” That is the same idea as the Horseshoe rule about small imperfections.
Kyle Keersemaker, who is making Cosmic Coop, wants music that stays out of the way. In his game, “the music is whimsical yet gentle enough to stay in the background. Composer Simon Wood did an incredible job capturing that balance.”
Zeno Colangelo of Tmesis Studio describes the music of Universe for Sale in a way that sounds a lot like the report’s steady hum: “The music hums like a fan on a summer evening.”
And Rob and John Donkin of Bad Viking, who made Strange Horticulture, show that calm music does not have to be sunny. They describe “a minimalistic soundtrack that is moody, mysterious, yet quietly contemplative”.
Epic described Cosmic Coop, Outbound and Universe for Sale as upcoming games, so we leave them out of the list below.
Six games with relaxing soundtracks, and ours
Here is one game for each idea above. We listened for calm music, real sounds and nothing that jolts you.
A Short Hike
Who it is for: anyone who wants a soundtrack that follows them around a small world.
You hike up an island mountain at your own pace. Steam describes the music by Mark Sparling as “a lush original soundtrack” that “progresses dynamically as you explore the wilderness.” So the music grows and changes with the places you find. The downside: it is short, so the soundtrack is over in an evening.
Developer: adamgryu | Year: 2019 | Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux | Length: about 1.5 hours (HowLongToBeat) | Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive | Steam page
Donut County
Who it is for: players who want laid back music with a handmade feel.
You are a raccoon who moves a hole around town, and everything that falls in makes the hole bigger. There is no way to lose. Daniel Koestner’s score is built from samples he made himself, and its little flaws are on purpose. The downside: the game is very short, and swallowing the whole county is more silly than calm.
Developer: Ben Esposito | Year: 2018 | Platforms: PC, Mac | Length: about 2 hours (HowLongToBeat) | Steam: Very Positive | Steam page
Coffee Talk
Who it is for: players who want a café, a warm drink and soft music late at night.
You run a small café and listen to your customers’ problems while you make their drinks. Steam promises “jazzy and lo-fi music to accompany the late night warm drinks and conversations.” It is a warm room late at night, made for slow talk. The downside: it is mostly reading, and you stay in one room the whole time.
Developer: Toge Productions | Year: 2020 | Platforms: PC, Mac | Length: about 4.5 hours (HowLongToBeat) | Steam: Very Positive | Steam page
Strange Horticulture
Who it is for: players who like their calm with a little mystery.
You run a plant shop in a dark, Victorian-style town, identify plants with your trusty encyclopedia and pet your cat. The Donkin brothers call its music moody and mysterious, but quietly contemplative. The danger lives outside the shop, which is exactly the “muted and distant” threat the report talks about. The downside: the story is occult and sometimes uneasy, so it is not for players who want only sunshine.
Developer: Bad Viking | Year: 2022 | Platforms: PC, Mac | Length: about 6 hours (HowLongToBeat) | Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive | Steam page
Stardew Valley
Who it is for: players who want music that changes with the seasons.
You take over your grandfather’s old farm and build a life in a small valley. All the music is by ConcernedApe, the developer himself. The Project Horseshoe report points to the game’s resume sequence, with its visuals and music, as a cozy moment that resets your mood when you come back to play. The downside: the day clock keeps moving, and the mines have monsters, so not every minute is calm.
Developer: ConcernedApe | Year: 2016 | Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux | Length: about 53 hours for the main goals (HowLongToBeat) | Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive | Steam page
Unpacking
Who it is for: players who love small, satisfying real sounds.
You take things out of boxes and find a place for each one in a new home. Each plate, book and towel makes a small, soft sound when you put it down, and the score is by Jeff van Dyck. Steam promises “no timers, meters or scores”, so the sound is never there to rush you. The downside: it is short, and once you finish, there is little reason to play again.
Developer: Witch Beam | Year: 2021 | Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux | Length: about 3.5 hours (HowLongToBeat) | Steam: Very Positive | Steam page
A Short Sail
Who it is for: players who want to make the music themselves on a cozy sea.
You are a little tabby cat with a sailboat, and you sail between little islands, deliver mail and fish. Along the way you find instruments and tunes and play music, and islanders may join in as a little band. Rain and storms roll in over the sea, and your lantern glows after dark. There are no timers, and you can play alone or online with friends.
Developer: Yos Riady | Platforms: PC (Windows), Mac, Web, Steam Deck | Length: not shared yet | Free demo at play.ashortsail.com | Play the demo
How to choose
- If you want music that follows you: A Short Hike.
- If you want a handmade, quirky sound: Donut County.
- If you want jazz and lo-fi: Coffee Talk.
- If you want calm with a little mystery: Strange Horticulture.
- If you want a long game with seasonal music: Stardew Valley.
- If you want small, real sounds: Unpacking.
Read next
Sources
- Tanya X. Short, Daniel Cook, Chelsea Howe, Jake Forbes and others, Coziness in Games: An Exploration of Safety, Softness, and Satisfied Needs, Project Horseshoe 2017, group report section 3. The source of the cozy audio rules, the list of cozy sounds, the white noise note and the Stardew Valley resume sequence.
- Dave Tach, The Rise of Cozy Games, Epic Games Store, 24 November 2025. The source of the quotes by Tobias Schnackenberg, Ben Esposito, Kyle Keersemaker, Zeno Colangelo and Rob and John Donkin.
- Each game’s Steam page (linked in each entry), for the quotes from store text, the composers of A Short Hike and Unpacking, and platforms and ratings. The Steam soundtrack page of Stardew Valley says it was composed by ConcernedApe (Eric Barone).
- Game lengths are from HowLongToBeat, and platforms from Steam. Checked on 17 October 2026.
Questions
What makes a game soundtrack relaxing?
It is soft, steady and does not demand your attention. Designers at Project Horseshoe add that the best cozy sounds come from things you can see in the world, like rain, a river or a fire.
Which cozy game has the most relaxing music?
It depends on taste. For gentle acoustic music, try A Short Hike. For jazz and lo-fi, try Coffee Talk. For a quiet, slightly dark mood, try Strange Horticulture.
Why do cozy games use rain and fire sounds?
They are steady, familiar and safe. Rain outside also reminds you that you are warm and dry inside, and that contrast makes a place feel cozier.
Can a cozy game have storms?
Yes. The Project Horseshoe report lists non-violent storms as cozy sounds, though it says this one is a matter of taste. A storm is fine as long as it does not threaten you.
