Enjoy a relaxing Halloween with these nine cozy but spooky games
Cozy games exist in every genre and aesthetic. You can even find scary games made to be spooky and kooky to capture cozy vibes. We think the Halloween season is the perfect time to embrace that particular twist on the genre. Snuggle up with a blanket and a warm beverage while diving into any (or all) of these cozy, scary games this fall.
Universe for Sale
Take to the skies in Universe For Sale, a hand-drawn adventure game set in Jupiter’s clouds. A colony filled with personified animals, crazy cultists, and mysterious shops awaits the protagonist, known simply as the Master. The game opens with them meeting Lila, a tea brewer who can create universes according to the customer’s wishes.
The Master and Lila both have intriguing stories that are told interchangeably. Players take control of them both, exploring the story in a nonlinear fashion. While this can sound confusing, it’s charming and mysterious enough to keep you wanting more for the roughly five hours of gameplay it has.
Universe For Sale has a dark, mysterious setting that’s perfect for Halloween. Plus, the gameplay is relaxing, telling the story in a visual novel format with some point-and-click adventures. If you let it, Universe For Sale can drag you into the universes being sold.
Camp Canyonwood
Camp Canyonwood might be set in the summer, but the mysterious management life sim is perfect for rainy fall days.
Taking control of a summer camp, players teach their campers about the wild outdoors while investigating the mysteries around the campgrounds. They’ll need to build and manage the camp well to make the most money possible to use in the next camp session.
Each camper has their own quirks, and ensuring they have a good time is part of running a successful camp (that and making sure they’re all accounted for—bears can come out of nowhere, after all).
Even if sims aren’t your favorite genre, Camp Canyonwood adds intrigue with spooky-themed mysteries. The appearance of ghosts, UFOs, and other surprises make the game feel less like a sim and more like a cozy adventure with hilarious antics. It’s got the vibes of Halloween mixed with low-stakes, cozy gameplay, making it a great choice for the fall season.
The Inner World
Sometimes relaxing means checking out a point-and-click adventure that’s full of hilarious charm, full-drawn aesthetics, and unpredictable and wacky twists and turns. That adventure is The Inner World.
The Inner World follows Robert and Laura, a musician with absolutely no clue what he’s doing and a mysterious thief respectively. They’re trying to discover why the wind has suddenly stopped to bring it back and save their world.
The game itself plays out through puzzles, and it’s simple enough with optional hints that any player regardless of skill level can enjoy it. The experience can be as relaxing or as stimulating as you want it to be, which is the perfect formula for cozy games. Plus, the art style is quirky and charming, keeping you intrigued through the roughly seven hours of gameplay.
While the game itself isn’t dark, it definitely has a darker aesthetic, which sets up for a great fall playthrough. Plus, there’s a sequel to enjoy when you’ve finished called The Inner World—The Last Wind Monk.
Restless Soul
What’s more in the Halloween spirit than becoming an adorable, pixel ghost? In Restless Soul, players take control of a ghost trying to escape the afterlife. To do so, they have to survive in pure manic shooter fashion while searching for keys to open a portal.
Restless Soul also has puzzles, enemy battles, and top-tier comedy to keep players entertained. Plus side missions and minigames abound, helping slow down the relentless pace that manic shooters are known for. Because of this, it’s perfect for shorter cozy gaming sessions. This also helps the constant jokes from becoming overwhelming and for the no-thoughts-only-action gameplay to feel relaxing.
For a light fall play, Restless Soul is great—especially for players who might want to laugh more than fight.
Spiritfarer
Spiritfarer is all about cozy management combined with dying souls. The player takes control of Stella, a ferry master who spirits the dead to the afterlife, managing the boat and finding wayward souls along the way.
Stella has to build a boat, set sail to find new spirits, and even befriend those spirits. Their stories are incredibly touching and emotional, contributing to the cozy aspect. It’s easy to get attached to the characters, as they’re lovable and engaging.
Of course, Stella is only ferrying them to their afterlife—saying goodbye to the characters (and crying in the process) is part of the appeal. And somehow, it’s cozy and relaxing, letting you sit with your emotions as you go through the more mundane management tasks.
Given the subject matter, it’s a prime choice for fall-themed coziness.
Homestead Arcana
Become a farmer in Homestead Arcana and create the ultimate farming haven while freeing the surrounding area of Miasma.
Miasma has poisoned the land, and it’s up to the player to heal it through farming and magic. Farming helps level up the player’s nature magic, which can be used to take down enemies that live in the Miasma, combining the different systems in the game.
It’s unique for a farming sim, focusing on the different ways to care for your plants and mixing in combat as a central theme in the game. It can be a bit slow-paced and require some grinding, but some people find that relaxing. If you’re someone who enjoys fully completing games, then Homestead Arcana is a shoo-in for a Halloween-themed farming game you’ll enjoy.
TOHU
TOHU takes players on an adventure through planets full of fish. The player takes control of a girl who’s on a quest to repair the Sacred Engine. Her secret? She can turn into her robot alter-ego, Cubus.
The game centers around exploring these aquatic planets while solving puzzles. You encounter all sorts of characters to meet and help by completing puzzles or mini-games. Between the whimsical world and the outstanding soundtrack, TOHU has a way of charming players with aesthetics and keeping them for the long run with the gameplay and story.
The controls are simple, and combined with the unique setting and music, it’s very relaxing.
Alchemist: The Potion Monger
Have you ever wanted to run a cozy alchemy shop in a fantasy world all while adopting adorable pets? Then Alchemist: The Potion Monger may be up your alley.
The shop simulation game lets players create potions to sell and give away to help townspeople and keep enemies away. With RPG elements and a first-person perspective, Alchemist: The Potion Monger stands out and offers a unique experience for veteran cozy gamers.
Plus, adopting pets and designing the perfect home make the game feel more personal than other shop simulators. Alchemist: The Potion Monger’s a terrific blend of genres that are great for settling down with, making it an ideal cozy fall game.
Beacon Pines
A spooky narrative adventure is best enjoyed near Halloween, and Beacon Pines doesn’t disappoint. Players take control of Luka, who’s trying to find the truth about weird things happening around her hometown of Beacon Pines.
The game plays as an interactive storybook, letting players experience different storylines to get the full story. This is the only way to get the full scope of what’s happening in Beacon Pines, and it’s one of the things that makes the game special.
Experiencing different stories is fulfilling, and it rounds the game out in a way that not many other games can do. Plus, the art style and characters are adorable, making Beacon Pines feel good to play.
I’m getting a PS Vita in April, and one of the games (Doki Doki Universe) reminds me of TOHOU. 🙂 Maybe you’ve seen or played DDU??
I have not seen or played that game.