Summary
- Oddworld: Strangers' Wrath is a nostalgic summer pick with an alien bounty-hunting adventure theme.
- Subnautica offers a cooling oceanic escape for hot summer days, blending beauty with terror.
- Assassins Creed: Origins immerses players in ancient Egypt, perfect for a lengthy summertime adventure.
With summer upon us, there rises the desire for video games that elicit that summer feeling from within. Whether it’s a yearning of nostalgia for something older that holds endless replayability, or a game that encapsulates the sensation of unending heat, or conversely, the desire to cool down!
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Certainly, many gamers will have memories of spending sunny days indoors and games they have lost the summer season to playing more than they meant to. Or, conversely, a shorter title that defines a summer gone by for them due to the impact it had, perhaps a title they return to every other summer to relive the past for a moment. While there are a couple of big hitters coming out soon, summer is still the best season for gamers to live out their nostalgic urges before autumn comes along and everyone's wallets get emptied trying to keep up with all the major games releasing!
To qualify, a game has to be at least 5 years old to qualify. Different generations, consoles, and genres will also be covered, just to provide as wide a net as possible.
8 Oddworld: Strangers' Wrath
Hitting The Dusty Trail
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
- Released
- January 25, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Crude Humor, Language, Mild Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Oddworld Inhabitants
- Publisher(s)
- EA Games, Oddworld Inhabitants, Microids
- Franchise
- Oddworld
- Genre(s)
- Shooter, Action-Adventure
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Perhaps an odd pick (HA!) But there is something about this alien bounty-hunting adventure that feels like prime-time summer action. Perhaps it is something to do with the high and dry setting, obviously meant to elicit the archetypal locations of the Western genre with its one-horse towns, dusty canyons, and disused mills and factories.
While Strangers' Wrath won't take up a lot of time to complete, players will still find themselves thinking about it for the rest of the summer, and for some, even twenty summers onwards.
7 Subnautica
Cool Down With A Dip In The Ocean
Subnautica
- Released
- January 23, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Unknown Worlds Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Gearbox Publishing
- Engine
- Unity
- Franchise
- Subnautica
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 30 Hours
The perfect game for escaping a boiling-hot summer's day by simulating a dip in the beautiful and endlessly expansive ocean waters. If the player sticks to the early areas and doesn’t delve too deep, they could pretend that they were on a snorkeling holiday.
The only concern is that venturing further into the deep, dark waters of Subnautica may cause profuse sweating from the sheer terror of the surroundings and knowledge that there are some significantly less friendly, and larger, creatures hidden in the abyss.
6 Assassin's Creed: Origins
Feel The Burn
Assassin's Creed Origins
- Released
- October 27, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
- Engine
- AnvilNext 2.0
- Franchise
- Assassin's Creed
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 4, Stadia
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 30 Hours
For those who defy the weather in every way they can, staying indoors to play AC: Origins is a perfect way to spend the summer. There is certainly enough content to last the summer, as it is a huge game and the map is filled with stunning deserts and details to discover.
Sailing the Nile, uncovering the many mirages of the desert, or taking refuge in the tunnels of the tombs under the pyramids, and so much more on offer, it's like an ancient Egyptian holiday! For increased immersion, play while wearing a winter jacket.
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5 Firewatch
A Summer Job
Firewatch
- Released
- February 9, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
For a much more bite-sized experience that is completable in a couple of sessions or so, Firewatch is a great pick to feel some summer vibes and enjoy a quick narrative-driven experience. The forest environment and sleepy, deep orange lighting and color schemes all lend themselves fantastically to the romanticization of a short-term summer escape from normal city life into the wilderness.
A smart character-driven piece of entertainment that will make the player both wistful and wary, peaceful to paralyzed, all in the space of a few hours.
4 Zelda Series
Nostalgic Fantasy
- Created by
- Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka
- Video Game(s)
- The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap , The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess , The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Creation Year
- 1986
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
A bit of a pick your poison one here, but really, so many of the Zelda games could be the right one for summer, depending on the gamer, or on the summer. While obviously very varied, they all carry that same sensibility that just fits the Zelda brand of fantasy with some summer gaming. There is just a certain vibrancy and a gentleness to the series that lends itself perfectly to the season.
While there are always elements of darkness, it never overbears the pervasive feeling of wide-eyed discovery and joy-filled fantasy.
3 The Sims Series
Summering In Sim City
The Sims
While Sims can be enjoyed all year round and has an appeal for all seasons, there is just something that feels particularly right about spending more time than realised micromanaging the lives of the little woohoo people and designing houses as a summer's day passes by.
Whether by yourself or with friends, it is an easy game to get lost in for hours on end, and while sometimes it can feel like not much has happened in the time spent, there can be something quite pleasantly therapeutic about the time spent there.
2 Super Mario Sunshine
Daylight Savings
Super Mario Sunshine
- Released
- August 26, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E For Everyone due to Comic Mischief
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Franchise
- Super Mario
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
- Platform(s)
- GameCube
- How Long To Beat
- 15 Hours
Is it possible for a game to have a more summery title? Or a more summery notion than literally bringing back the sunshine? While certainly a game for all ages to enjoy, Sunshine is the perfect kids summer game, an adventuring platforming classic filled with bubbly characters, bright beaches and easy-going cheery vibes that could bring brightness to any gamer's heart on the darkest day. Though it should be mentioned, like a lot of kids' games at the time, just because it is child-friendly doesn't mean it is easy and there can be some pretty sudden difficulty spikes!
1 Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Community, Ingenuity, And Peace
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Released
- March 20, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Everyone / Comic Mischief, Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Expansions
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise
- Franchise
- Animal Crossing
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 100 Hours
A game that saved lives; hyperbole, possibly. It certainly boosted the popularity of the Switch if nothing else! It kept many people at home and sane during the pandemic while allowing for the kind of social interaction many desperately needed when it was all but impossible. The creation and maintenance of one's own island is a very therapeutic and calming task to focus on for a couple of hours a day, and easily a task that can keep the mind busy for the duration of a summer.
New Horizons is one of those rare games that players will find themselves thinking about suddenly, mid-conversation or while at work, an experience that drifts into everyday thought and is always a treat to pick up and play.