Summary
- Sims 4 High School Years add-on focuses on adolescent life, letting players experience social pressure and routine.
- Hogwarts Legacy offers a unique tale at Hogwarts, focusing on big adventures rather than daily student life.
- Persona 4 Golden captures the essence of high-school life by blending friendships, studies, and supernatural elements.
Walking down hallways, dealing with classes, homework, making new friends, and above all facing problems that seem to shape the future is common during adolescence, and many games use this high-school setting to tell their stories. However, only a few titles truly catch the feel of that unique time, and those that do give players great experiences across different genres.
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So, the best games that feel like high school are the ones that turn the feelings of that age into a game while also building a solid setting around the theme. Although not all of these titles put the player in a student’s shoes, they still tackle insecurity, social bonds, and growing up in fun ways. These titles remind players of chatting before class, stressing over tests, and cheering at school events.
The Sims 4 High School Years
Expansion Focuses On This Stage Of Teenage Life
The Sims 4
- Released
- September 2, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
Every DLC for The Sims 4 uses a clear theme: while some go for fantasy, others stick to everyday life, and High School Years lets Sims live the ups and downs of adolescence. Players who want to dig into that phase find a deep add-on that shows the era’s social pressure, routine, and quick wins.
Instead of school acting like a portal that hides each Sim for hours, the pack lets players walk into the campus lot and join many activities. They can study hard or cause trouble during free time, from pulling pranks on classmates to joining the Prom, which shows up in the list of events.
Hogwarts Legacy
Game Is A True School Fantasy
Hogwarts Legacy
- Released
- February 10, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
Hogwarts Legacy’s best part is that it lets Wizarding World fans experience a new story at Hogwarts as their own hero instead of going back to the movie plot. The story happens many years before Harry Potter, giving a brand-new adventure in the well-known castle.
Although the game does not focus much on classroom lessons, a few classes pop up during the main quest or side missions and help the hero gain new spells. So, while the setting nails the high-school mood, the story leans more on a big journey with high stakes for fantasy fans than on day-to-day student life.
Final Fantasy 8
JRPG Blends Magic With Teen Worries
Final Fantasy 8
- Released
- February 11, 1999
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
A school setting is not exclusive to Final Fantasy 8, since Type-0 does something similar, yet Squall Leonhart’s adventure was the series’ first to use it and delivered a unique and memorable ride. Classes, combat drills, and dangerous missions shape the cadets’ days and work as tests that measure each member’s skill.
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Final Fantasy 8 mixes big world wars and the threat of Ultimecia with a small, personal look at the daily fights students face at that age. The story also shows that these trainees must grow up fast, because the world is dangerous, and players watch that growth through Squall.
Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
Franchise Took Players To School
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
- Released
- November 18, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
The journey in Pokemon Scarlet/Violet revolves around the characters’ school lives, and although the academy is not a standard high school, students of all ages fill its halls. From the start, the hero signs up as a student, and even though most of the adventure happens off campus, the school stays the main hub, and taking a few classes is always an option.
Talks with teachers work well, and if players pause the Treasure Hunt quests to study, they get useful items as gifts. The three main story paths each tell a detailed coming-of-age story, fitting the school theme of Pokemon Scarlet/Violet and driving home the idea of growth.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
First Part Of The Game Is A High School Simulator
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Released
- July 26, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, RPG
The first part of Fire Emblem: Three Houses ranks as one of the most unique arcs in the tactical JRPG series, putting players in a military academy where they spend lots of time with the main cast. Although Byleth, the hero, is not a student but the teacher who sharpens each cadet’s combat skills, the game captures a believable high-school feel.
Along with the usual battles in Fire Emblem: Three Houses,some life-or-death, others just drills,the monastery calendar forces the teacher to split each week between lectures, seminars, and sending students on field missions that test their skills. Although the routine keeps going after the time skip, the tone moves away from campus life and toward a continent-wide war, throwing the cast into the bigger fight their earlier lessons prepared them for.
Life Is Strange
A Traditional Teenage Drama With A Supernatural Twist
Life is Strange
- Released
- January 30, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
Even though it brings several supernatural parts into its plot, especially the heroine’s power to rewind time, Life Is Strange shows the reality many high-school seniors face. Blackwell Academy, where most of the story happens, gives a believable backdrop for nervous students who struggle to choose their future path.
Working more like an interactive novel than a standard adventure, the game lets players see each character’s drama and shape their fate through the time-rewind power, seeing results before making a choice. Many of those choices mirror the usual problems teens face in high school, boosting the realism of the experience and making players care more.
Bully: Scholarship Edition
Game Is A Satire Of American High Schools
Bully
- Released
- October 17, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Crude Humor, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox
While many games show the high-school setting with serious drama, Bully uses Rockstar’s well-known satire, turning the everyday grind at Bullworth Academy into a strong parody of student life and school rules. As Jimmy Hopkins, players mainly try to survive the school year and climb the strict social ladder that rules the boarding school’s cliques.
As the story moves on and Jimmy meets Bullworth’s many people, players find nonstop jokes about familiar clichés, from preppy elites to nerd groups, each shown with exaggerated stereotypes. A solid class system adds to the satire by giving items for showing up in class, making the student role stronger and pulling players into the trouble-making school routine.
Persona 4 Golden
One Of The Best Games That Feel Like School
Persona 4 Golden
- Released
- December 9, 2008
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Persona games have often looked at student life, but Persona 4 Golden probably captures the heart of being a high-school teen better than any other entry, thanks to its focus on the friendships the hero builds while solving murder cases in the small town of Inaba. Players must balance study sessions and hangouts with dungeon runs, reminding them that school duties stay important even when supernatural danger looms.
Unlike Persona 5 Royal, where many main characters see school as a burden, especially Joker, Ann, and Ryuji,Persona 4 Golden treats Yasogami High as an important part of everyone’s day. Social Links build on that by showing each friend as a real person whose worries slowly appear as they look for their true selves.
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