Steam getting a little cozy

Settle in for a chill weekend: Cozy Quest, the Steam festival hosted by Secret Mode, runs from today until 18 November. Cozy Quest is a major celebration of all things cozy, featuring a heap of comforting games, sales, developer interviews, let’s plays, and livestreams.

The event begins at 18:00 GMT with a dedicated showcase of cozy highlights (and even some trailer premieres) airing on the Cozy Quest Steam page, available from the Steam homepage or by searching "Cozy Quest" in Steam, and the Secret Mode YouTube channel. But if that’s too long to wait, a live Cozy Quest preview stream begins at 16:00 GMT on Secret Mode’s YouTube and Twitch channels.

One of the headline games is upcoming café management/creature raising game Critter Café from Sumo Newcastle, launching on PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch on 26 November. Prospective café owners can jump into a Steam demo right now to start building their own cozy café, and tune into a special stream on 16 November with original creator Eleanor Gregory, who will take viewers through an extended preview of the game.

Cozy gaming fans can coo over select Critters right now, with a handful of previously unseen creatures shared over on the Critter Café social channels. New blogs are being released each week on the game's Steam page, showcasing its game jam origins and highlighting how you'll care for the Critters.

Other highlights for Cozy Quest include a special stream by A Little to the Left developers Max Inferno, with co-creators Annie and Lukas providing a developer's commentary as they play through their game. Cozy gaming fans can also expect developer Let's Plays for Minami Lane, Pine Hearts, Tiny Bookshop (featuring exclusive new gameplay!), Grimoire Groves and many more, plus a dedicated Mental Health Panel in conjunction with Safe In Our World, a Lightyear Frontier developer interview, and even some new announcements... Keep an eye on the Secret Mode social channels for a full schedule.

Cozy Quest runs on Steam from 18:00 GMT today until 18:00 GMT on 18 November, with themed streams taking place every day from 12:00 GMT. Friday's viewers will catch some hidden gems, with Saturday's streams turning to upcoming games and Sunday's events encouraging self-care. There will also be a Cozy Awards ceremony held on Monday 18 November to celebrate the games featured across the festival.