Every so often I poke my head into the subreddits dedicated to life sims and cozy games and farming sims to see what people are recommending, and one game keeps coming up over and over again: Travellers Rest.
(Yes, Stardew Valley comes up a lot too, but everyone knows that one: these discussions are usually started by people who have already played Stardew and are looking for a recommendation in the same vein.)
In Travellers Rest you've inherited a run-down old tavern and set to work turning it into a cozy inn, where you cook meals, brew drinks, and serve customers, using the gold you earn to expand your tavern, farm crops, and unlock new recipes. As you build your business you can design and decorate new rooms, hire servers to help out, and employ bouncers to keep order, all while experimenting with new drinks and dishes to keep your visitors happy.
Travellers Rest launched into early access on Steam in 2020, and it's been steadily adding new features since then like beekeeping, farm animals, and fishing, along with regular patches and fixes. Back in 2023 it added support for local co-op, and now online multiplayer is now underway, too: you can try out the new multiplayer beta and start running your pub with up to three other pals right now.
I've only just started playing Travellers Rest myself, but online co-op feels like the perfect addition to the busy (but still chill) sim, and now I'm hoping to convince a couple friends to join me so we can manage an inn together. As a bonus, the game is great on Steam Deck, so it's a good one for chilling on the couch after a long day.
Here's more on the multiplayer beta, including instructions on how to back up your saved game to avoid any issues.
