My wife is in love with Disney Dreamlight Valley! It’s like animal crossing but with Disney characters and in full 3D. She dresses her character up differently every few weeks. She looked like a reindeer for December/January, and it was so cute! They’re very heavy on the fairy/cozy decor aspect, and while the expansions are paid, they do have free updates every 3-4 months.

She also recommended Calico, which is an indie cat cafe sim at heart, but you also get to dress like a magical girl, design your home, ride around town on animals like giant foxes, dogs, red pandas, more cats, etc. Very cute and relaxing.

On Your Tail is a cute mystery game set in an idyllic Italian seaside town with beautiful storytelling and character development.

She seconds other comments encouraging Haven, pulls the heartstrings and relaxing with minimal combat.

There are also the HerInteractive Nancy Drew games, which are older but fun female-centered mysteries. She recommends Phantom of Venice and Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon.

Oh I think I know a good one! Haven, and it’s currently 60% off. You play as a couple who escaped a controlling society to a foreign planet. (Three gender combinations can be chosen for the couple)

There is a combat element, and I don’t think you can avoid it, but what you do is essentially clean the corruption off the local wildlife, instead of killing. Don’t know if that works for you, but it’s worth giving it a look I think.

If you like puzzles, and greenery instead of pink:

Botany Manor, which is fundamentally about the feminine urge to go alone into a giant manor and grow some cool flowers

Terra Nil, which is about going to a desolate planet and using the power of technology to grow some cool flowers

A lot of !cozygames@lemmy.world and !lifesimulation@lemmy.world games would fit. !otomegames@ani.social are romance visual novels aimed at women interested in men and a lot would fit too.

!infinitynikki@discuss.tchncs.de is an open world dressup game very marketed at women and has that soft pink color scheme, warning for being a F2P gacha game although you can progress without ever spending money. I usually avoid gacha but gameplay is legitimately good and “good gameplay,” “high budget,” and “for women” is a combination this game hits that I do not see too often in video games. (Other commenter is right there is a lot of girly shovelware.) There is combat, but it’s definitely not the main focus. Very soft and pink. You might also like Beglitched (DEFINITELY pink and soft), and Style Savvy for Nintendo DS. I have been meaning to play both of those so I can’t offer perspective on if they fill the romance ask, though Beglitched has combat. You might also enjoy Slime Rancher, also lots of pink and soft. Although it’s also not combat-free it’s not the main point either. Cattails was fun, kind of like Stardew but with cats instead, although as with Stardew combat does exist (though if I recall correctly it’s optional and not the main focus).

Now probably my recommendation least like what you are asking for: I love the Touhou Project series. Don’t let the male-dominated fandom and the tons of sexualized art of the characters fool you, the games don’t sexualize the characters at all—I would feel very comfortable showing them to a 5 year old or Grandma. It is basically a bunch of superpowered women from Japanese mythology/folklore shooting very pretty lasers at each other. The focus is actually combat here, but I figured I’d give it a mention. Not specifically aimed at women but it’s not not aimed at us either. Lovely music too.

Source: am girly girl who also plays video games

Peggle! It’s a very fun and unique brickbreaker with lots of silly and cute characters, art, and music.

Not super girly/pink overall, but can be enjoyed by pretty much anyone.

Check out Flower by ThatGameCompany

A nice Slice of Life gane I recently enjoyed is Midnight Ramen.

Another I found excellent that might touch closer to Stardew is Potion Permit

Another that can be emotional is Spiritfarer

• Fields of Mistria
• Roots of Pacha

Easy recommends if you liked Stardew Valley.

Weird recommends would be My time at Portia/Sandrock. They absolutely have combat, but have romance systems and a cuter aesthetic. Even the enemies are derpy/cute.

If you’re open to the idea of ditching a Microsoft product, I’d suggest Vintage Story as a Minecraft alternative that I think has a nicer aesthetic. It’s meant to be a sort of slow, “grindy” game, but if you sort of rewire your thinking to it being a slice of life game, akin to Stardew, I think it’s very fun. Fair warning the early game can be very punishing if you’re brand new to it, so explore the world and difficulty setting when you make your first save.

Somewhat cozy game with a femme lead I’m excited for is Cairn. It’s got a demo at the moment, but I’m very much looking forward to the full game. It’s technically a survival game about rock climbing, but if I had to guess the story will center the main character going through a lot of personal growth while attempting to scale a mountain (a la Celeste, also a great game) and overcoming a lot of adversity to regain some self confidence.

While there are combat aspects of it, you can play the fuck out of Stardew valley without ever even seeing the cave. Definitely slice of life, with open relationship options(open as in mf, mm, ff, makes no difference. Not screwing everyone).

My daughter loves A Short Hike and Wobbly Life.

And on her phone Toca Boca World. Though it has a tendency to crash every few months, taking her progress with it.

She also likes Spider-Man but I guess that’s not very “girly”.

My wife loves Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing, and she’s been way into Hello Kitty: Island Adventure lately. It seems to split the difference between those things and add some of its own spice on top.

Unpacking

Spiritfarer

Oh, also the Life is Strange games are great.