Gaming is an important part of my life that keeps me sane during every season. However, fall is extra special because of the cold mornings and the welcoming of holiday months. With school picking up, sometimes we need a little break from work, classes, and extracurricular activities. There’s no better way to chill out on a cold fall evening after a long day of schoolwork than with a blanket, some snacks, and an adorable and cozy video game.
All of these games are relatively affordable and can be played on a variety of platforms, so whatever console you like to play on, there should be something for you here! Here are five comfy and cozy video games I’m looking forward to playing this fall.
- Animal Crossing
Whether you are an avid gamer or not, most of us went through an Animal Crossing phase at one point. These colder brisk months coming our way have always inspired me to break out Animal Crossing and start working on my island again. Get to work and start picking those weeds crowding your beautiful island!
This game has endless possibilities. From decorating, organizing, socializing with your island residents, building your landscape, art, and even fashion, the list truly goes on. When the semester begins to get chaotic, Animal Crossing is such a lovely game to boot up because of its stress-relieving gameplay and cozy environment. Even if you’re not a gamer, it’s easy to get started as the controls and mechanics are simple to understand and learn.
Rather than picking up my phone and scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, I can find fossils and be a good citizen to Blathers, the games museum owner and curator, by declining his reluctant offer to tell me about the bugs I catch. Pro tip: Blathers hates talking about bugs.
- A Little to the Left
A Little to the Left is a single-player, organizational puzzle game that can be played on Nintendo Switch, Mac, and PC. This game is super easy to pick up on because of how simple the controls are but presents a plethora of fun challenges within the gameplay. Each level can be solved in multiple ways and it’s your job to play through all of them! This game is so satisfying and stress relieving, which makes it the perfect game to pull out when you’re feeling a little too overwhelmed with the fall semester.
Throughout the game, you are also visited by a little furry troublemaker who looks to disrupt your organization and make messes!
- Hollow Night
Hollow Night is an adorable single-player 2D sidescroll game. In this indie game, you play as a cartoon ghost in a dark and spooky landscape. With cutesy 2D graphics, this game seems very relaxing and simple, but do not be fooled by its adorable exterior. Playable on basically every platform including PC, Mac, Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo Switch, this affordable game is definitely worth all the hype it has gotten. The controls and mechanics make the game more difficult to complete and have commonly been compared to other difficult video games such as Dark Souls. These games are known to be very taxing, but it doesn’t make them any less addicting or brilliant. The puzzles, combat, and adventures keep players engaged by offering a real challenge. Not to mention the music in this game is beautiful!
- We Were Here
We Were Here is a multiplayer puzzle game where you and one other player find your way out of a huge haunted castle before time runs out. Communicating solely through a walkie-talkie, this game is like walking through a real-life escape room and with Halloween coming up, We Were Here is sure to get you in the spirit of spooky season. Currently, there are four games in the series and the first one is completely free to play. The rest of the series can be bought in bulk for a discounted price, so there’s really no reason not to give this one a try!
- Palia
Palia is currently still in Beta but is free to play. I haven’t gotten a chance to play it myself, but I’m really looking forward to the cozy, open-world gameplay it provides. Palia can be played on Nintendo Switch and PC in its open-beta format. This game is vibrant and beautiful, allowing you to play at your own pace either solo or with friends. Similar to other open-world games, you are able to interact with other players in the community, making it a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game. The game takes you through an adventurous story where you grind to develop a farm, create a cozy home, and of course, explore the beautifully crafted biomes and landscapes the game offers with other players.
If you like games that you can easily pick up when you have a free 30 minutes, this game is for you – however, it may be hard to actually put down.