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Cozy, Wholesome, and Aesthetic Games to Play for Autumn

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Vic chapter.

If you’re looking for some fun and cozy games to play during this autumn season, then this article might just be for you! Here are four wholesome (and kind of “spooky”) PC games that might just fit into your cozy autumn aesthetics. All of which can be found on Steam!

Rakuen ($10.99)

Rakuen is a heartwarming (and equally heartbreaking), story-rich adventure game about a little Boy who’s been hospitalised, and slowly comes to terms with his own story by traveling between reality and the fantasy world of his favourite story book. The little Boy has one wish and only the Guardian of the Forest, Morizora, can grant it for him. But before the little Boy can make his wish, he must first obtain fragmented pieces of music to wake the Guardian by completing a set of challenges. These challenges revolve around helping his fellow patients find closure as the little Boy learns to walk a mile in their shoes.

If you’re one to deeply admire a heartwarming story with beautiful art and an amazing soundtrack, then Rakuen might be the one for you! However, if you do decide to play this game, I highly recommend a box of tissues and perhaps a weekend to yourself where you can burrito-up and contemplate life in peace—it can get emotionally heavy.

Little Misfortune ($22.79)

Little Misfortune is an interactive story game that focuses mainly on exploration and characters. It’s a cute-looking point-and-click game that follows an imaginative 8-year-old girl by the name of Misfortune, who’s seeking the prize of Eternal Happiness as a gift for her mummy, but remember, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. As sweet as the art style and story may seem, it’s just as equally dark and disturbing where your choices have consequences. 

From the artwork to the story to the aesthetics, this game has cozy and spooky autumn vibes wrapped up nicely in a pretty bow. Perfect for if you’re looking for something easy to play, but still able to give you those Halloween chills.

Cozy Grove ($17.49)

Cozy Grove, as the title suggests, is a little more wholesome game that is also story-rich, but more on the relaxing side. You play as a Spirit Scout in this life-sim game, where you camp on a haunted and ever-changing island. Each day you wander through the island’s forest, finding new hidden secrets and helping soothe the local ghosts and spirits along the way. With a bit of time and a lot of crafting, you’ll bring life, joy and colour back to your island.

If you were to frankenstein Animal Crossing with Don’t Starve, then you’d get Cozy Grove as a result. Cozy Grove is synced into real world time and has the same world-decorating aspect as Animal Crossing, with a bit of the forging aspect and similar (but “cuter”) artwork as Don’t Starve. This is a great relaxing game to play where it paces you, and you only ever spend 30-40 minutes per day to play through the new quest contents before having to come back the next day for updated content.

Tukoni (Free to Play)

Tukoni is a beautiful and straightforward point-and-click puzzle solving game, where you play as Tukoni, a forest spirit, as you encounter other unique characters, craft new items from ones you’ve forged, solve unusual puzzles to help the forest animals, and explore a magical world filled with kindness. 

Not so much with the “spooky” vibes, but Tukoni definitely checks off the “cozy,” “wholesome,” and “aesthetic” boxes that’s more or less fit for our autumn season. This is also quite a short game to play, where it will most likely take you half an hour or so to complete, so if you’re just looking for a quick relaxing game, Tukoni might work perfectly well for you!
I hope some, if not all, of these games have piqued your interest, or perhaps gave you some idea of what kind of cozy games you’d like to play or see more of. If you do decide to play through any of the games mentioned above, then I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. Happy gaming!

Michelle Ha is a second-generation Chinese Canadian whose main interest lies in art and writing. Although she enjoys staring at a blank canvas and page every now and then, she also indulges in other interests that include photography, calligraphy, reading, and archery. She is currently studying English with a minor in Professional Journalism and Publishing at the University of Victoria, and interning at Room Magazine.