Absolutely nails that cosy vibe; it's fairly short, and I played it a while ago, but it still stays with me because it has a lot of charm. The music, sound effects, and overall design definitely scratched an itch and were just a well-designed experience.

Super chill game that doesn't have complex mechanics. You place buildings on a street, tweak store recipes and change what items are being sold, to generate income. Also you place residential structures to increase foot traffic and parks to beautify the area. Higher happiness and more people = more buildings. There are only 5 missions with basic objectives, which will take about 2-3 hours to finish. Music is cool, art style is great, and it is satisfying enough when you get the recipes right and watch income increase and the street expand. Definitely worth the low price of entry.

Check out Catizens Curations for more cat (and other animal) games!

Minami Lane is a unique game that borrows mechanics from city builders but puts it on a micro level, having you merely manage one street. The cozy atmosphere is enjoyable to those that want a more relaxed type of city builder.

There is a separate sandbox mode, but the main gameplay is in a mission structure where the player is tasked with completing multiple objectives and an optional objective. Achievements are given separately for completing the main objective and the optional one, so there may be some small replay value if you're not able to complete the optional objective the first time.

The gameplay loop consists of building or upgrading your structures and then hitting 'Start Day' to watch the coziness unfold. Minami Lane keeps things on a small scale by only allowing you to build one structure per day, but you can upgrade as many as you can afford. Many missions task you with having a small amount of structures. If you get bored watching your little neighbors walk around and review your shops, though, there are semi-hidden objects to interact with by a mouse click, including picking up trash, finding the daily hidden Tanuki, and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ cats, among other things.

I recommend Minami Lane for players that are looking for a cozy management or city building simulation with low stakes and a cute atmosphere.