Fall brings with it one last burst of outdoorsy activities for the year. Everywhere you go is another harvest festival, another pumpkin patch, another cozy bonfire. While that’s all well and good, if you’re anything like me, seasonal changes are best experienced indoors.
This autumn, here are just a few games you can best enjoy with a warm drink and a blanket:
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Night in the Woods
Why is Mae Borowski back in Possum Springs when most of her friends have gone back to school? Simple – she’s a college dropout. In this game, you join her as she clumsily, messily navigates her relationship with a place and its people. The only thing keeping this game from hitting too close to home for college students is its character designs, where everyone is a different animal.
Set in a suburb during autumn at its peak, the tone is set with colorful leaves that Mae stirs up in her path, calming background music in every area, and just a light, persistent hint of a terrifying murder mystery afoot.
Night in the Woods is available on PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo systems. Check out official reviews for it on Steam, IGN, and GameSpot.
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Persona 5
A kind-hearted student with a criminal record gets his last chance at a normal life through moving to Tokyo for a year. This game, while spanning multiple seasons, puts you in the driver’s seat during the most life-changing year of his life. Depending on your choices, you’ll develop different skills, different friendships, and ultimately – a different ending.
While autumn’s distinct changing leaves don’t get much screen time in this city-based RPG, its jazzy music, dreary days, and cafe-centric scenery more than make up for it. Living in the attic of a coffee house (the dream), gaining the shop owner’s trust will bring your knowledge of coffee worlds beyond pumpkin spice lattes.
Persona 5 is available on the PlayStation 3 and 4. Check out official reviews for it on Metacritic, IGN, and Gamespot.
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Life is Strange
Max Caulfield is a quiet high school student. She loves photography, but doesn’t have confidence in her work. Also – she can turn back time at any moment.
This graphic adventure game is one of the most story-driven on this list, again giving you the choice to choose Max’s words and actions. Set during Oregon’s autumn, the setting puts you smack into the feeling of starting a brand new school year. While you might not have to write Max’s history papers, you’ll get to have all of the fun negotiating her complex relationships for her.
Cozy game lovers beware, while this story starts innocently enough, in its latter half it deals with increasingly serious topics.
Life is Strange is available on PC, Mac, PlayStation, and Xbox systems. Check out official reviews for it on Steam, IGN, and Gamespot.
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Monster Prom
If you’re just looking for a lighthearted, fun Halloween story, Monster Prom is the name of the game. This visual novel is as Halloween-based as it can get, since you attend what you might imagine as the real Monster High.
The premise is simple: you have three weeks to find a date to Monster Prom. Through a series of hilarious and heartwarming dialogue choices and events, you might find more than you bargained for. Will you able to win the heart of your favorite monster, or be turned to stone (okay, maybe that’s just for Medusa)?
Monster Prom is available on PC and Mac systems. Check out official reviews for it on Steam, Rock Paper Shotgun, and Metacritic.
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Stardew Valley
Exhausted by a dead-end corporate desk job, your protagonist decides to turn over a new leaf (pun intended) and repair their grandfather’s farm.
This simple farming game, reminiscent of Harvest Moon, provides the ultimate stress relief. You plant, care for, and harvest whichever and however many plants you want, and slowly integrate yourself into the life of this cozy farming town. With JoJo Corp, a massive supermarket chain, threatening to overtake the whole village – will you choose to save them, team up with the corporation, or live an independent life?
Stardew Valley is available on PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo systems. Check out official reviews for it on Steam, IGN, and Gamespot.
