Double, double, toil and trouble!
A cosy cauldron of witchy wonders and whimsical woes.
Sometimes you just want a game that lets you stir a cauldron, talk to ghosts, and maybe curse a villager or two, all while staying wrapped in a cosy blanket and sipping a herbal tea that may or may not have a dash of magic in it.
This week, we’re looking at a lovingly brewed list of games where the witchy aesthetic meets gentle gameplay, dark themes are delivered with charm, and the only real danger is getting completely hooked.
Wytchwood
Wytchwood has all the elements I love in a whimsical-but-dark game. The graphics are gorgeous, with an atmosphere that's a perfect blend of witchy, magical, and just the right amount of eerie. The cosy background music wraps the whole thing up like a mossy blanket.
There’s a big world to explore, ingredients to hoard, and a delightfully long list of items to craft. Every recipe you unlock leads to more discoveries, and the whole thing is basically one long chain of very satisfying fetch quests that somehow never get old.
The storylines are dark in the most charming way, quirky and just a little twisted, yet still manage to feel warm and comforting. It feels like a bedtime story written by someone with a suspicious number of skulls on their bookshelf, but you’re smart enough not to ask about them. You never know.
This game is equal parts cosy and cursed - blursed, as the kids say.
👍 Love this wytchy game, wood absolutely recommended!
Cult of the Lamb
Cult of the Lamb is one of my most favourite games ever and the epitome of “creepy and cute” to me.
It’s a cult-building action roguelike where you play as an adorable possessed lamb, brought back from the dead to serve a mysterious deity. By day, you manage your little cult village by cooking, building, farming, and gently encouraging your followers not to poop everywhere. By night (or whenever really), you head into dungeons to smite the non-believers (*cult shants in the background* “smite, smite!”), gather loot, and rescue new recruits who will gladly join your cult and serve you going forward.
It balances disturbing themes and cuddly visuals with wild confidence, making ritual sacrifice somehow feel cosy. It has adorable yet creepy ways of implementing all the different boosts and power-ups you need, without it ever feeling forced or like it doesn’t fit the theme. This game is a masterclass.
75 hours into it and there is still content I haven't 100%ed yet.
👍 wah-dibbi-WAH-dibbi-WAH-boogalaba, yes.
Cozy Grove
Cozy Grove is one of the first and few PC games that gave me that "Animal Crossing" feel. It’s not exactly the same kind of gameplay, but the entire “help the villagers, collect bugs and decorate the island” vibe is present and extremely well-done.
You're dropped on a haunted island as a Spirit Scout, tasked with helping the local ghost bears move on by fulfilling their daily requests. As you explore, gather resources, and decorate your little camp, the world slowly comes to life with colour and warmth.
The days are real-time, encouraging a slower pace, and the hand-drawn, storybook art style gives it that slightly eerie but still extremely comforting vibe. The ghosts all have their own backstories, some surprisingly emotional, others just delightfully odd.
The whole scouting aesthetic really hits the mark for me, collecting badges and scouting all the collectibles really had me in a mood.
I also know there has been added a lot of content that I haven't even seen myself, so I desperately need to get back to this game!
👍 Definitely earned its spirit badge.
Don’t Starve Together
Don’t Starve Together is one of the first games my best friends (meanwhile husband) and I ever played together, so it holds a special little place in my heart by default. ♥
On top and aside of the sentimental value, it really is just an amazing game.
A gloomy, gothic survival game where everything wants to eat you, haunt you, or drive you insane, but somehow it still manages to be charming.
Don’t Starve Together is the multiplayer version of Don’t Starve, retaining the same core survival mechanics, but with added emphasis on cooperation and shared survival. While Don’t Starve focuses on single-player, where you manage resources, hunger, and sanity alone, Don’t Starve Together allows you to team up with others to tackle the game's challenges.
With its papercut art style, creepy sound design, and ever-expanding world of strange flora, fauna, and seasonal chaos, there’s always something new to discover (or shit your pants about, it’s 50/50 really). Whether you're cosily huddled around a fire on the first night or running away from shadow monsters while desperately collecting flowers to keep your sanity, it’s the kind of game you keep playing. The game might be called Don’t Starve, but starving is the least of your problems. Trust me.
I'll be honest: I am terrible at this game. I die a lot. But it’s the kind of dying that feels weirdly fun, like you earned it. Deserved it. Would like to do it again. There's just something magical about scrambling through the wilderness with friends, helping each other, sharing berries, and screaming about hounds - or just going the complete opposite way, losing each other and then dying apart together.
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