Massive Monster

Cursed Coziness: Cursed Mechanics in Dark Cozy Games

This research introduces "cursed" as an analytical concept to explore the tension between "soft" aesthetics and dark narrative elements in "dark cozy games," using Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster 2022) as a primary case study.

• The paper argues that coziness is not merely a counterpoint to darkness but an active enabling condition that lets players engage with themes of power, control, and exploitation in a comfortable setting.
• Using Cult of the Lamb (2022) and its Sinful Pack expansion as its primary case study, the authors introduce "the cursed" as a provisional analytical concept for describing how soft aesthetics carry and normalize socially transgressive content.
• The authors read follower mechanics as treating followers as manageable resources, with humanizing them being an optional, conscious player choice rather than the default.