10 cozy autumnal games to play on Switch this fall season
With autumn fast approaching, there’s no finer way to spend an evening than being curled up on the sofa, with a hot drink at the side of you, and a cozy game in hand. The Switch is the perfect console to get comfy with; thanks to being able to play handheld, you can snuggle up in bed or go full goblin mode underneath a blanket if you need to, with your gaming not being interrupted.
Not every game on this list is necessarily set during the fall season, but many of them give off cozy, autumnal vibes – and they’re exactly the type of games we want to be playing on a cool autumn day as the leaves are falling off the trees. We’ve played and loved all of the games on this list, and we hope you enjoy them too. Happy cozy gaming!
1. Life is Strange: True Colors
If you’ve never played a Life is Strange game before, True Colors is a good place to start because it’s a completely standalone adventure. While much of the series revolves around Max and Chloe (with the exception of Life is Strange 2, another standalone), this story-driven game focuses on Alex, a young woman who has strong Empath powers that allow her to absorb the emotions of the people around her.
While Life is Strange: True Colors deals with many emotional themes, its setting of Haven Springs, a beautiful Colorado town, helps give it a cozy vibe. You’ll spend time exploring, getting to know Alex and her friends, dressing Alex up in autumnal outfits, and listening to a standout soundtrack that features Radiohead, Phoebe Bridgers and more.
Read our full review of Life is Strange: True Colors
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
It would be remiss of us to put together a list of cozy autumnal games on Switch and leave out the ultimate of cozy games, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. While the game features all the seasons, it most resonates with fall thanks to the game’s themes of gathering, harvesting, and making a cozy home for your in-game character.
The joy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is that it can be played completely at your own pace, and you can partake in whatever activities you want. Growing pumpkins? Sure! Hunting down spiders with a net? If that’s your thing! You can also collect bugs and shells if you want, or simply hang around chatting to your fellow villagers. It’s the epitome of relaxing, laid-back gaming, so consider it a must-play this autumn.
Read our full review of Animal Crossing: New Horizons
3. A Short Hike
Just take one glimpse at the gorgeous autumnal colours of a screenshot of A Short Hike and it will tell you everything you need to know. As its name suggests, this is a short game that can be played in one or two settings, with the goal being to hike to the summit of a mountain.
You see, your character, Claire, needs to make a phone call – and reaching the summit is the only place she’ll get a signal. But getting there isn’t straightforward, and before you can make it, she’ll need to gather up golden feathers that will give her the ability to jump and climb further. To get them, you’ll need to interact with characters, complete small challenges and generally explore the small world in which A Short Hike is set. You can tackle most things however you see fit, and simply exploring this lovely little world is a joy – a perfect way to spend an evening this autumn if you ask us.
Read our full review of A Short Hike
4. Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit
Sequel to Cozy Grove, Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit simply oozes autumnal vibes. Rather than being a straightforward sequel, it feels like a bigger and better expansion of what the first game offered: a cozy sandbox spent helping campers, listening to their story, and collecting up items from the forest that surrounds you.
It’s a very simple game, and it’s one that’s designed to be played for small sessions every day – it’s not the type of thing that you can play for hours at a time. You’ll eventually run out of tasks to complete and until you come back the next day, there’ll be nothing new to do. It can be annoying when you’re fully in the swing of things, but it makes it the perfect experience for those looking for a short bit of cozy escapism every day.
Read more about Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit
5. Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley
Are you a Moomins fan? If so, you need to play Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley – a wonderful little adventure game that puts players in charge of Snufkin in a quest to save Moominvalley from the Park Keeper, who seems intent on ruining everything. Free of any violence and peril, this is the type of game that’s simply a pleasure to exist in. You’ll meet characters, come up against simple puzzles to solve and can explore at your own pace.
It’s a short experience, taking roughly four or five hours to complete, but you’ll love every moment you spend with it. Music plays a big part here, with some puzzles being music-based, and a gorgeous soundtrack that really helps you relax into the beautiful world of Tove Jansson’s Moomins. You don’t need to be a Moomin fan to enjoy this, but if you are, you’re in for a real treat.
(And once the season changes to winter, you can look forward to playing the equally wonderful Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth!)
Read our full review of Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley
6. Tiny Bookshop
Is there anything more cozy and autumnal than getting lost in your favourite book? How about, instead of reading books, you’re selling books? Tiny Bookshop lets you live out your bookselling dreams by managing a tiny, on-wheels bookshop that you can park up in various locations in the picturesque seaside town of Bookstonbury.
Set largely during autumn, you’ll travel to the beach, the waterfront, a university campus and more, all with the hope of selling as many books as you can. But like other sim/management games, you’ll not be under pressure to make endless money. Instead, Tiny Bookshop runs on vibes, and simply decorating your shop, making recommendations of books based on a customers’ likes and dislikes, and otherwise enjoying the ambience of the game, is the best way to get the most out of the experience.
Read our review of Tiny Bookshop
7. Spiritfarer
For a cozy game, Spiritfarer deals with some rather sad themes. It’s essentially all about death: your character, Stella, has the job of guiding the recently departed into the afterlife. And while it sounds rather grim – it’s a game about death, after all – that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s incredibly heartwarming in the best way possible.
Stella will visit random locations around the world to collect a new spirit to take them on their final journey. That journey will see them come stay aboard Stella’s boat, an ever-growing vessel designed to cater to the whims of the on-board spirits, and Stella will need to make sure everyone on board is happy. That means caring for them and completing various tasks. But there’s more to this than just being a management game: you’ll also explore gorgeous environments, engage in some platforming, complete missions and a whole lot more. It’s such a varied experience, and every moment of it is a joy.
Read our full review of Spiritfarer
8. Strange Horticulture
If you like your autumnal cozy games a little more spooky, then Strange Horticulture is for you. Here, you’re the new proprietor of a plant shop like no other. Set in the fictional town of Undermere, a gothic-feeling place deep in the Lake District, your shop stocks plants and flowers with… mysterious properties, shall we say. Some might be poisonous, some might be magical. It’s your job to gather new plants, figure out what each one is, and serve your customers with the plants they need.
The puzzle elements in Strange Horticulture are wonderful, and you’ll need to pay close attention if you want to ensure you correctly label all of your plants. But there’s also a great story element here, with some dark undercurrents that we absolutely love. When you’re done with this, there’s also a sequel, Strange Antiquities, to jump into too.
Read our full review of Strange Horticulture
9. The Wild at Heart
Few games are as utterly charming as The Wild at Heart, a puzzle adventure that puts you in the role of Wake, a boy who’s running away from a troubled home. Along the way he stumbles upon a mysterious world inhabited by woodland sprites – creatures, it turns out, that will be a huge help to Wake as he tries to find his way through the woods.
This is a beautiful-looking game that simply oozes style and personality from every screen. Its colour palette of autumnal greens and browns make it the perfect game to play during the cozy season, but its gameplay with cleverly designed puzzles and a story about friendship and resilience is what really shines.
Read more about The Wild at Heart
10. Fall of Porcupine
It’s right there in the title: Fall of Porcupine is the ultimate autumnal game. Set during the fall season where you play as an anthropomorphic pigeon, you’d expect this to be a whimsical, fun adventure. But actually, Fall of Porcupine has far more depth than it’s given credit for, dealing with emotional themes such as depression, loneliness, work/life balance and, of all thins, a broken healthcare system.
Your pigeon character, Finley, is a doctor at St. Ursula’s hospital, and over the course of the game, he realises that not everything is as it seems. He deals with people being dishonest, hiding the truth, and struggling through life. He’s struggling too, but always putting his patients first, he does his best. It sounds pretty heavy, and it is, but it’s delivered in a cozy, clever way that makes Fall of Porcupine a pleasant way to spend your time – and one that carries some important messages, too.
