Can a video game feel like home? Certainly. We all have comfort games that we keep coming back to, even years after, searching for that spark of nostalgia that makes us all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Even gritty and dark worlds can feel like places we can call virtual homes if we spend enough time adventuring through them and shaping them into something after hours of hard work.
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While we might be tempted to name some iconic worlds, this article isn't about that. Today, I'm talking about worlds that will feel oddly cozy and homey after some time, as you slowly start to become an inseparable part of them. If you haven't revisited these virtual lands recently, hopefully, this dose of nostalgia will have you reinstall these titles again.
The Sims' Neighborhoods
You'll Remember These Premade Families And Their Stories For Years
The Sims franchise has seen the coming and going of many familiar neighborhoods, and if you've been around since the first game, you'll remember some of the more iconic ones. Pleasantview, for one, and Strangetown come to mind as some of the more timeless neighborhoods where the premade families are such an integral part of the world that they almost feel like family. As a life simulation, it's no wonder you quickly get sucked into these neighborhoods.
The welcome wagon comes to meet and greet you on your first day, giving you the opportunity to get to know your new friends. And as you go about your life, you'll inevitably start to make your mark on the landscape by building out your house. The NPCs will get to know you, for better or for worse, and it won't be long before you're a full-on citizen.
Cyberpunk 2077's Night City
Gritty And Dark, But Somehow Homey Nevertheless
With how the world is nowadays, it doesn't feel like real life is too far off from the craziness of Cyberpunk 2077's Night City. While the world has been justly criticized for looking full but essentially being a large set piece, it has improved a lot throughout the years, earning its place here. You start off with a simple apartment that gets decorated with memorabilia from your various quests, which is a really cool touch. You can shower, listen to the news, and even get yourself a cat you can come back and pet regularly.
If the apartment becomes too small for you, it's always possible to buy nicer ones scattered around Night City, and invite your beloved for a hangout to catch up and chat with them. It's a nice touch that allows V to recount any recent adventures to the characters they've fallen in love with. With bars and eateries to visit, clubs and joytoys to frequent, it's a taste of the mundane in a cyberpunk dystopia.
Stardew Valley's Pelican Town
After Years In Stardew Valley, It Truly Becomes Your Second Home
Initially, you might feel like an outsider and newcomer in Stardew Valley, but as you get settled into your new life as the farmer and spend years improving the town and the lives of the NPCs, you quickly become an integral part of its community. The locals of Pelican Town will start sending you all sorts of gifts in the mail, ranging from food to valuables like ingots.
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You'll build up your farm and your farmhouse, and see in real-time the fruits of your labor come to life. Once you get close enough to a local, you can also marry them and move them in, even get children with them. Moving around the Valley and Pelican Town, every nook and cranny becomes a familiar place, especially if you happen to run into someone's Heart Event. Then, it becomes truly special. If that isn't home in a virtual format, then I don't know what is.
Your Home Base In No Man's Sky
Wherever You Choose To Settle Is Home
Settling down might not be the first thing on your mind in a game like No Man's Sky that invites you to travel and explore first and foremost, but as you really get into the whole art of building space bases and pick the perfect spot, it will start to feel special. You can settle pretty much anywhere you like, build the kind of home you'd prefer, although there are a few considerations you'll probably want to take into account.
For one, building next to enough resources and on a planet that isn't completely hostile to you in every way possible. But even so, it's a gigantic space sandbox, and at the end of the day, it's your choice what kind of life you'd like to live. What makes this special compared to other homey games here is that you really get to shape your home from scratch. There's nothing more rewarding than appreciating the fruits of your labor over a vibrant skyline.
Project Zomboid's Knox Country
You Might Be The Last One Alive, But It's Oddly Cozy
I was debating whether to make this entry merely about Rosewood due to its iconic starting location status, but I firmly believe the whole of Knox Country deserves to be spotlighted for Project Zomboid. It's a massive open-world setting which you'll take hours upon hours familiarizing yourself with initially, but as you continue surviving through multiple runs, you'll eventually get a really nice overview of all the different and cool locations scattered around.
Soon, you'll always refer to that same farmhouse away from everything else as your go-to stop, and recognize where to go for specific items and resources. Knox Country is your oyster as its sole inhabitant and survivor, even with the deranged infected swarming you from every direction as soon as you step out. The 90s retro vibe and the survival elements that force you to do mundane things to stay sane and breathing all play into this strangely homey vibe.
Minecraft's Overworld
The Music And Familiar Sounds Are A Nostalgic Call To The Past
We've all been there at least once: watching the Minecraft sunset while the nostalgic music plays in the background, taking in the sight of our ugly dirt and cobblestone house, pig farm, and wheat farm. This is a core memory for so many gamers who grew up playing Minecraft as their main game, a true sandbox experience that continues to dominate with its simple formula.
There's something about vanilla Minecraft that feels so familiar and so homey, even just a few hours in, that it's hard to put it down. Worlds become your own as you leave your mark in them, cutting down forests, building great mountain houses or tree huts, and connecting all your little encampments and mines with a redstone-powered railway system. Try returning to one of your older worlds from years ago, and you'll know exactly what I mean.
Red Dead Redemption 2's Fictional Southeast
Camp Talks, Hunting, And Exploring Make The World A Familiar Beauty
Considered one of the most beautiful video game worlds to date, Red Dead Redemption 2's take on a fictional southeast is one that will stick with you for a long time. The detail and love injected into this game shine through at every turn as you explore the game from Arthur's perspective.
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The towns feel lived-in, your buddies in camp have realistic reactions and chatter that will draw you into them and make you truly care, and the wilderness is breathtaking in a way that invites you to stop and stay. Sure, you might not be able to build a house, because it's not a sandbox, but it's impossible not to care about this world and its people due to how real and dynamic it feels. In that sense, you feel like a big part of it, like it's your second home as Arthur Morgan.
Destiny's Tower
Returning After A Raid Always Feels Like Coming Home
On the MMO side, as a fan of the Destiny franchise, I need to give a special shoutout to the feeling that some of Bungie's incredible worlds and vistas inspire. Destiny 2 may not be at the top of its game as of late, but no one who has ever played this game can deny the gut-punch it is to visit familiar locations and truly appreciate them.
As the nameless guardian, you return to the Tower over and over again in the Last City, a place iconic for its events, vendors, and interactions with other players. After a long day of grinding or a tiresome raid, nothing beats flying in with your ship and transmatting to a familiar environment. I know there are many veterans who miss the old Tower, too, which just goes to show that the game's locations are beloved, much like a second home would be. I could go on about some other spots, like the farm in the EDZ or the Steppes of Cosmodrome, but I'll keep it simple.
The Province Of Skyrim
Marry, Settle Down, And Build A Legacy In The Cold North
Not only is Skyrim nostalgic for anyone who was around when it first released, but it actually does allow you to settle down and have a home life. It's not just a feeling, it's part of gameplay. Several of the cities have houses you can buy, and subsequently furnish by paying a bit more. With Hearthfire, you also get an extra plot of land to design however you like into a whole unique home. You'll always have a place you can return to when you're weary, equipped with all the amenities you could need once they're all upgraded.
And if that isn't enough, yes, you can get married in the game, and it has a huge selection of bachelors to pick from. With Hearthfire, you can even adopt a child, and thanks to recent re-releases, you also have access to farming. Skyrim doesn't want you to just be the Last Dragonborn; it clearly also wants you to settle down and call it your home, and you most certainly can.
Your Island In Animal Crossing: New Horizons
You Start With Debt And Turn The Island Into Something Wonderful
Back to games that really let you shape your surroundings to your liking, we have Animal Crossing: New Horizons. What's really cool about this title is the fact that it takes place in real-time, meaning a day is actually 24 hours, and seasons shift according to the real passing of time. Already, that gives it a very homey feeling, and that's without touching upon what the game's about: starting a new life on a new island. You'll begin with a small camp home, and as you make more money, you can upgrade it to a bigger and bigger house with infinite design and style options.
This goes for the whole island; once you unlock terraforming and more tools, which gives you the ability to style the whole place however you like. You won't be alone either: you'll have a set few neighbors at the beginning, and more will move in as your island improves. It's easy to start seeing your character as the real reflection of you, in this adorable world full of animals. The island is essentially a home that invites you to check up on it regularly, to tend to it as well, to ensure you have no weeds or roaches tarnishing your abode.
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