Cozy Game Restoration is about the quiet satisfaction of restoring something that matters. You’ll unwrap carefully sealed packages to discover old, battered video game cartridges. They'll be covered in stickers, marker, dust, and all the accumulation of time. Each one is different, each one flawed in its own way, and each one waiting to be brought back to life.

RESTORE FORGOTTEN CARTRIDGES

Every cartridge is procedurally dirtied. Some have clean labels but cracked shells. Others are scuffed, drawn on, or covered in adhesive residue. Grime is layered. Dust, ink, discoloration, stickers, and scratches each require a different tool to remove. Surfaces stretch, smear, and lift as you work. It’s slow, tactile, and satisfying.

UNWRAP AND DISCOVER

Cartridges arrive inside mystery packages neatly wrapped and sealed with tape. You’ll peel them open by hand, lift the flaps, and reveal what’s inside. Each game has randomized condition stats and visuals, with 108 distinct titles inspired by classics from the 1980s to early 2000s.

Some are common finds. Others are rarer. Regional variants on stickers, Japanese carts, developer-exclusive models, or rare editions with golden shells (or better). Every game you open brings you closer to completing a genre collection, but there’s always a chance something unexpected will show up.

COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION

As you restore games, you’ll complete collection-based quests. This might be simple stuff like “collect three puzzle games”, or “two rare platformers”, but you’ll also see more unique things which work with the game’s in-game calendar like “Have 4 sci-fi games on your game shelf on November 7”.

Each finished quest will reward you with a gift. Inside will be a decoration or cosmetic for your collection room that you can use to make it a little more like your own.

BUILT FOR THE FEELING

There’s no timer, no currency and no fail state. The game is about the quiet joy of seeing each game you find restored and shelved, and all the cool games you played which connected with you.

If you’ve ever carefully peeled a sticker, dug through 2nd hand store games for a gem, or reminisced about your old collection, this is for you.

The game runs great on desktop, but it is being built from the ground up for Steam Deck. I’m planning on making this performant on a pretty wide range of systems.