Best Autumn Settings In Games

Key Takeaways

• Underrated autumn settings in games are worth exploring for the scenic beauty and unique atmospheres they offer.
• Games like Firewatch, Night In The Woods, and Stardew Valley effectively highlight the beauty and charm of the autumn season.
• Crow Country and DUSK showcase the end of summer and fall settings in haunting and captivating ways, creating a perfect autumn mood.

Games that use various seasons to tell a compelling story or deliver engaging gameplay should definitely be commended for the same. Winter, summer, and spring are easily three of the most popular seasons where a game takes place, which is a shame since the vastly underrated setting of autumn ends up taking a backseat more often than not. It’s quite odd since the beauty of falling leaves and orange hues should ideally be quite apparent.

That being said, it’s not like autumn has been completely ignored in video games. Certain titles use aspects of this setting to great effect, creating a rich backdrop for their games. Here are some of the best games where the season of autumn has been represented well.

13 Firewatch

For its Emphasis on Nature

Firewatch is an immersive walking simulator with a pretty gripping story of its own. The idea of playing as a park ranger should be anything but exciting, but it’s the amazing narrative of Firewatch that places it in a class of its own.

It helps that the game uses the season of autumn to great effect as well. It makes for a somber backdrop as players slowly uncover what’s going on in the title.

12 Night In The Woods

For Nailing the Human Interaction

This charming adventure game should be played by any fan who loves down-to-earth stories featuring memorable characters. The player controls an anthropomorphic cat named Mae who comes back to her hometown only to find out how much it has changed.

It’s a delightful story that can get really emotional and impactful at times, with the autumn setting lending itself to some scenic locales as well. Players who want to check out examples of great writing in video games should look no further than Night in the Woods.

11 The Sims 4

For Being The Digital Equivalent of Decorating

The Sims is a series that has packaged Seasons with its games as content packs, and this applies to The Sims 4 as well. The game covers all the seasons in a calendar year, including autumn.

Watching the leaves fall and a shade of brownish orange take over for a while makes for a fresh change of pace indeed. Since snowfall means that players need to wear warm clothing, players should relish the original look of their Sim in this season until winter comes.

10 Stardew Valley

Get Ready to Harvest

Speaking of charming games, it would be impossible to not mention Stardew Valley. This game took the world by storm when it was released and continues to be one of the most popular farming simulator games around.

It helps that the characters of Stardew Valley are a joy to interact with as well. The fall season is arguably one of the game’s strong points, letting players farm and sell some of the most valuable crops in the game.

9 Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Running on the same Clock

The Animal Crossing series has some of the most fun social simulation titles ever made, with New Horizons being the latest and greatest entry to the series. Customizing an island as players see fit makes for a great time and lets players show off their creativity too.

Animal Crossing uses a real-time clock to simulate the game’s seasons. During autumn, the game becomes pretty beautiful indeed, allowing players to enjoy a fresh set of visuals that will eventually lead to players sinking more hours into this title.

8 Life Is Strange

Impactful Choices in a Beautiful Setting

Life is Strange is one of the best adventure games anyone can try out, courtesy of a wide cast of amazing characters. It helps that the rewind mechanic present in this title also alleviates a ton of frustration players might generally experience in a genre where each and every choice matters.

It helps that the game takes place in the fall, making it look more beautiful than it has any right to be. It’s easy to see why this game has spawned a franchise of its own, although the first Life is Strange title still has a charm that is pretty hard to replicate.

7 Alan Wake

West Coast Creepy

Alan Wake is an excellent action-adventure title made by Remedy Entertainment, the mastermind behind the Max Payne series. The engaging gameplay of this title is further enhanced by a beautiful cinematic story that is a joy to uncover.

Remedy Entertainment has always been a master of what it does, and Alan Wake is no exception. Players will definitely get hooked while they control this author and uncover the pieces of the puzzle that have led him to such a predicament in the first place.

6 Bully

Back to School Season

Bully to be remade shows just how many people love this title. Controlling Jimmy Hopkins in Bullworth Academy and seeing the shenanigans he can get up to makes for a fun time indeed.

It helps that the story of Bully is great and the world slowly expands as players uncover more of it. Rockstar should be commended for using the setting of a school to make such a riveting video game, even though it might’ve faced its fair share of controversies when it launched.

5 Marvel’s Spider-Man

A Realistic Depiction of New York in Autumn

Swinging around the streets of New York as the iconic webcrawler is enough for most people to be convinced to check out Marvel’s Spider-Man. However, the fact that this game takes place in autumn makes the title even more of a joy to look at.

Places like Central Park end up looking almost otherworldly in this season, showing just how beautiful Marvel’s Spider-Man really is.

4 DUSK

For Nailing Rural Horror

DUSK is interesting in that it takes place at the tail end of fall when everything has already fallen, which is really unseen in games. The game is set in the fictional Dusk, Pennsylvania, and it’s astonishing how well it is able to encapsulate the feel of America’s rural rustbelt with so few polygons.

It’s a creepy game, and the choice of setting is perfect; where the unkept ruins of industries long gone stand rusted amongst the trees. It builds off the depressing reality of the area, with the paranormal twist that these neglected areas have become home to sinister creatures, and the cult that summoned them. It’s also a boomer shooter where players can backflip, so bonus points.

3 Slender: The Arrival

For Putting the Forest First

Slender: The Arrival is another game that takes place in the rural North American continent with a creepy fall aesthetic and is a must-pick for those who want a horror experience alongside their seasonal sightseeing. Just like DUSK, this game has a lot of abandoned houses and industrial structures that make eerie dwellings for the antagonists of the game, but with a higher definition art style and a way higher fear factor.

Part walking simulator and part horror, Slender: The Arrival tasks players with uncovering the location of a missing friend, piecing together stories of other missing people, and seeing how The Slender Man ties into everything. It’s a good spook, and even if it’s a little older its commitment to atmosphere helps it to stand out against other horror games that didn’t age as nicely.

2 The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

For the Attention to Detail

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a hard game to pin down just by looking at screenshots, so here’s the elevator pitch: It’s a puzzle game where players take on the role of a detective in a world where paranormal phenomena can be picked up on by a select few, and players are investigating one Ethan Carter who is showing signs of having these extrasensory abilities.

The character is one of these select few, and the mystery of Ethan Carter and the town he lives in unravels as the player’s character manipulates time to view past events. It’s a cool premise that blends standard detective intrigue with a creepy supernatural twist.

1 Crow Country

For Nailing the End of Summer

Crow Country is a game that’s great for autumn, not only because it takes place in the fall, but also because it takes place in a perfect post-summer location: an abandoned theme park. Because of this choice of setting, Crow Country really feels like a reflection on the end of summer as much as the existence of autumn.

Rides sit abandoned, water stagnates, and leaves clutter the main walkways. Players are not supposed to be there, and the game does a great job at portraying that. It’s akin to being in a school or store after dark, it’s uncanny. On top of this, it’s also just a really short and good game, easy to complete; perfect for a night or two to get in that autumn mood.