30+ Dark Cozy Games For the Autumn Season
- Ellie
- Sep 23
- 15 min read
The nights are drawing in, the 'ber months have arrived, and it feels like the perfect time to talk about some dark cozy games, both those that are available to play right now and that we have to look forward to in the future.
And as always there's a video version of this list if you'd prefer to listen and watch some trailers:
Grimshire
After fleeing your hometown in the middle of the night, you find yourself in the small town of Grimshire where you quickly take on a new role as the farmer, ensuring the village has enough food to keep the root cellar stocked. But with a mix of herbivores and carnivores calling Grimshire home, you’ll need a range of crops, fish, and forageables to keep the townsfolk happy.
Before long though, you’ll have even more to deal with as the very plague that caused you to flee darkens your doorway again. Everyone in Grimshire must work together to keep the town alive but it’s possible that not everyone will survive…
Grimshire is currently in Early Access on PC and has a 98% positive rating! If you’re unsure about the gameplay, I’ve got an overview of the first season here:
Discounty
Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Switch
How do you feel about being the bad guy? In Discounty you’ve been called to the town of Blomkest to help your aunt run her supermarket. Spend your days stocking shelves and checking out customers, but things soon start to take a turn when you realise that there’s something darker going on here.
Between pollution, blackmail, and more, you’ll need to navigate the interesting dynamics of this small town, trying to stay on the citizens' good side or just going to work and try to make as much money as possible!
Just like Grimshire, I’ve got an overview of my first 30 days on my channel if you want to see what it’s like or you can try it yourself on PC, Switch, Xbox and PlayStation.
Bloomtown: A Different Story
Bloomtown: A Different Story combines the best parts of Stranger Things and Persona to create a surreal monster taming RPG.
Play as Emily and her younger brother Chester, who are sent to stay with their grandpa for the Summer. But while Bloomtown seems cozy and quiet at first, things quickly escalate as children start disappearing and your nightmares start coming to life.
It doesn’t take long for you to discover that there’s a dark underside to Bloomtown filled with demons created from the fear, anger and other vices of the townspeople. Capture weaker demons to use in combat, level them up and evolve them to create stronger entities to fight the town’s demons.
It’s available to play on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, iOS, and Android!
Easy Delivery Co
This next game is so fresh it was only released a few days ago Easy Delivery Co is a mail delivery game, where you've been hired to deliver parcels to a small, scenic mountain town that's constantly plagued by the worst snowy weather. You'll need to pack up your truck and carefully navigate the winding country roads to deliver your mail, but there may be more to this game than meets the eye - but not your wage, sadly that is just that low.
But the devs are definitely hinting at something as they promise that there’s nothing strange going on. No lore. Nothing at all. So, whether you want to solve the mysteries hidden in this strange, snowy, outpost or just deliver your mail, get your wage and go home, Easy Deliver Co. is out now on PC!
Harvest Island
Harvest Island may appear to be a simple farming game, but it has very creepy undertones suggesting that not everything is as it seems.
Initially you’ll enjoy typical farming sim activities like crafting tools, fishing, rearing animals, and foraging items from around the island. But unlike typical farming games, you’ll also need to make offerings to the gods for blessings to upgrade your farm.
But as you start straying from the safe boundaries of your homestead, you’ll soon realise that your island isn’t as safe as you thought… Harvest Island is available to play on PC!
Gloomy Eyes
Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Switch
Gloomy Eyes is a Tim Burton-esque adventure, where you alternate between controlling Gloomy, a zombie, and Nene, a human, on their quest to bring back the daylight. Your world has been plunged into darkness during the everlasting conflict between the living and the undead, but can these two unlikely allies save the day?
The game is fairly short at around 4-5 hours of playtime, but the art style and world looks incredible and it’s definitely on my list to play at some point in the future! Plus it’s available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox & Switch if you want to give it a try!
Strange Antiquities
While occult plant shop sim Strange Horticulture was on my previous list, it’s sequel wasn’t! Following in the footsteps of Strange Horticulture, in Strange Antiquities you run a store for arcane artefacts in the familiar town of Undermere.
From strange medallions to withered hands, all artefacts are carefully documented in tomes to help with identification. But be careful as a misidentification could be costly…
Just like in Strange Horticulture you’ll be able to make choices that shape the story. Will you help someone with their problem, or curse them with a new affliction? The decisions you make will change the overarching story and the ending and it’s out on PC & Switch!
Equinox: Homecoming
I feel like this one really went under the radar when it was first released, which is surprising because it seems like the perfect game.
In Equinox: Homecoming, you find out that your mother has vanished and return to your hometown to find out what’s happened. But shortly after you arrive, a body’s uncovered and you find yourself mixed up in a huge conspiracy.
Together with your friends both in-game and IRL, you’ll explore the trails and beaches of this idyllic island, searching for clues to work out what’s happened. Will you be able to uncover the mysteries hidden in this small town?
Equinox: Homecoming is currently in Early Access on Steam.
Shinehill
We’ve done death and capitalism, but what about aliens? Are they dark? Well this one is trying to deceive a small town by pretending to be one of them.
In this weird life sim you play as an alien sent on an undercover mission to Earth. Posing as a new neighbour in the town of Shinehill, you need to try to blend in by participating in village life, while also trying to complete your mission.
This game just sounds so out there, but also I’m kind of intrigued by its wacky premise! Like any normal farming game, it also promises your typical fishing, cooking, and dungeon escapades, as well as the option to befriend and romance your neighbours and you can check out the first week of gameplay here!
It’s currently out in Early Access on PC and you can see the first week of gameplay here:
The Roottrees Are Dead
This was one of my top games last year and I recommend it to EVERYONE.
In The Roottrees are Dead, you play as a private detective who’s been tasked with outlining the Roottree family tree. The Roottrees are a rich family and the current president of their namesake candy company has just died along with his wife and children. Now their money must be redistributed to the rest of the family, but who’s actually a blood relative and deserving of the fortune?
That's where you come in. Scour the 1990s internet, library books, and public newspaper archives to find out everything you can about the Roottrees and their extended family in this fantastic detective game. And the best thing is that when you finish, there’s a whole second mystery to solve!
It’s out on PC and I would definitely recommend picking this up!
Whisper of the House
Next up is Whisper of the House, an Unpacking-like, where you work as a “Home Service Worker” to help residents of Whisper Town with moving, organising, and decorating their homes.
It starts very innocently with you cleaning up houses, unpacking boxes, and decorating in return for money that you can use to buy furniture for your own home. But as you play through the game you’ll uncover some sinister secrets in the homes you’re decorating and may even discover some ghosts and glitches in the world around you.
It’s available to play right now on PC.
Arctic Awakening
Steam | Xbox | PlayStation
What’s cozier than a walking simulator? Arctic Awakening is like Firewatch with no combat, light puzzles, and a lot of atmosphere, dialogue and exploration.
After crash landing during a storm, you find yourself stranded in the wilderness with just your therapy bot Alfie for company, but as you explore the wilds you’ll begin to stumble across abandoned buildings that are definitely more sci-fi in nature. What is going on out here and can you find your way back home?
This one was also just released and is available to play on PC, Mac, Xbox, and PlayStation, but it’s also worth being aware that there are some survival mechanics like a hunger meter that you have to manage while playing.
Echoes of the Plum Grove
Of course I have to mention cozy with a hint of murder game, Echoes of the Plum Grove. A new life awaits in Honeywood! After washing onto the island's shores, you'll find yourself the new owner of a humble plot of land, which you will nurture through generations!
That’s right; pull up your sleeves, grab your tools, and get to work building a farm that will be passed down through your family tree from parent to child every time your character passes away. Unlike other farming games, this also has much darker mechanics to tackle like disease, harsh winters, and poison.
It’s available on PC, Mac, and Switch and will be launching on Xbox on the 30th of September 2025.
Cabernet
Steam | PlayStation | Xbox | Switch
In this narrative RPG, you play as Liza, a recently-turned vampire who is struggling with the morals of her new situation.
Will you hunt animals to quench your thirst or consume the blood of the townsfolk? Cabernet is a game of choices where every decision you make affects the outcome of the story. From the moral choices you make to the skills you learn and the neighbours you decide to manipulate.
I’ve heard so many incredible things about this one and it’s available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox & Switch.
Gleaner Heights
Next up is another farming sim that combines typical farming games with the darker themes of Twin Peaks. After moving to a small town, you discover its dark side, uncovering the townsfolk’s hidden secrets and facing the supernatural horrors that call the town home.
I haven’t tried this one yet myself, but I love the sound of it and I’m intrigued to discover what’s going on beneath this town’s cheery exterior.
Do No Harm
This game is kind of like Strange Horticulture, but instead of selling plants you're brewing potions to treat your patients. Each patient that comes to your store will share symptoms and you’ll need to diagnose their illness by consulting your book of medicine and giving them the correct medicine. Or try your best, cross your fingers, and hope it works.
Do No Harm is Lovecraftian though and probably the scariest game on this list as nightmarish entities will warp your reality and cause hallucinations as you go about your day. But the medicine puzzle gameplay may appeal to some of you!
Crime Scene Cleaner
There’s nothing more cozy and relaxing than a cleaning game, but what if you’re cleaning up after some unsavoury characters?
In Crime Scene Cleaner, you’re tasked with cleaning up crime scenes and removing any trace before the police show up. It’s not easy work, but it pays well and you’ve got a daughter to look after. So grab your sponge, mop, and power washer in this unconventional cleaning game that’s available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
Grave Seasons
If you haven’t heard of this dark farming game then you are missing out!
Grave Seasons has everything you love about farming games, like farming, mining, fishing, and romancing and befriending the villagers. But nothing is quite as it seems in this small town and soon after you arrive, bodies begin to pile up.
Search for clues and investigate your friends and foes to work out who is doing this, earning their trust and learning more about them by completing their quests. But you also need to try and work out who the next victim is and use your supernatural affinities to craft wards to protect them when Grave Seasons launches on PC and Consoles in 2026.
Bookbinding
If you’re a book lover who enjoyed Tiny Bookshop, but are looking for even more book games then you may like the look of this one.
In Bookbinding you work as a bookbinder who takes in old books and gives them a new lease of life. You’ll get to decorate them to your heart’s content, choosing the colours and design that suits your customer’s preferences, or yours if that’s what you want to do instead!
But as you play through the game, an old friend will appear and soon you’ll be tangled up in a murder with your choices dictating the outcome of the game…
Bookbinding is due to launch on PC in Q4 2025, so hopefully we don’t have long to wait for this one!
Vampire Rancher
We’ve got another vampire game up next and this one is set in the Wild West! By day you’ll be working the farmland, raising animals, and trying to improve the condition of your rundown village.
All in the name of improving the tourist trade so that by night you can hunt for a stranger to quench your thirst. But that’s not all because you’ll also be at the beck and call of Vampire Council, and there’s ancient vampiric ruins to investigate too when Vampire Rancher launches on PC in Q4 2025.
Bloody Hell Hotel
Do you know the film Hotel Transylvania? Well this is like a game of that film! In Bloody Hell Hotel you play as a vampire who has just woken up after a long sleep and found themselves in a modern world with no way to feed. So, they decide to open up a hotel to entice the food to them!
Renovate and decorate your hotel, farm for food for your customers, and then farm on them to regenerate your powers. There is honestly so much going on in this game, it’s kind of chaotic but it sounds like fun and I can’t wait for it to release next year.
Winter Burrow
Play as an adorable little mouse, who returns from the big city to find their childhood home in ruins in this woodland survival game. To make matters worse, your Aunt (who was supposed to be looking after it) has gone missing.
Brave the elements and journey out into the frozen wilderness to collect vital resources for both yourself and your new home. Beware of the insect wildlife and remember that nobody survives on their own; find new friends, expand your survival handbook, restore your burrow, and solve the mystery of what happened to your Aunt when Winter Burrow launches later this year.
Crimson Hollow
In magical life sim, Crimson Hollow, you take on the role of an artisan trying to master your craft. From mining to blacksmith, fishing to herbalism and alchemy, there are lots of skills for you to master and lots of magical ingredients for you to experiment with.
But the heart of the gameplay is the villagers that you can get to know by befriending them and completing their quests. Each character has a hidden backstory for you to uncover and by earning their trust you can discover their secrets and unlock perks to help you with the game!
There’s no release date yet for Crimson Hollow, but you can follow along with the devlogs on YouTube!
Mandrake
In this Eldritch farming game the act of farming is actually forbidden. But you’re the last of a long line of herbology sorcerers and you’ve just returned to your family’s abandoned home to put down roots. Practice the forbidden arts and nurture your talents by growing mundane vegetables like turnips or beans, before trying your hand at stranger plants like a goose growing tree and a plant that summons thunder!
When you’re not farming, head out into Chandley to discover a world inspired by British folklore. From the complicated villagers, to the spirits, gods, and bogles that also call this world home, there’s lots of people and creatures for you to meet and befriend, but there are also those who may wish you harm…
Mandrake is created by Failbetter Games, the team behind Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies and Mask of the Rose so I have no doubts that the storytelling will be phenomenal whenever it releases.
Haunted Paws
Grab your player two for this co-op adventure where you play as two puppies. Your human has been kidnapped by evil creatures and imprisoned in a haunted mansion and it’s up to you and your player two to save her!
Explore the mansion together using all of your puppy skills to dig, sniff, and bark your way through every puzzle you come across. But when it comes to the enemies, you may need to take a different approach. Each scary creature has a secret past and you’ll need to learn about it to uncover their weaknesses!
I’ve had my eyes on this one for a while and love that you can choose the breed of your puppy and dress them up too! Hopefully we won’t have long to wait until Haunted Paws releases.
Dream Hollow
This game has been all over TikTok and I’ve loved following its story. Created by a team of artists, Dream Hollow is an eerie storybook adventure, where you play as a small child who’s gotten lost in the middle of the night.
Trapped in a forest filled with storybook creatures and terrifying nightmares, each day you need to explore further and further and face the horrors that hide in the forest. But you’re not the only one trapped here - there are other storybook characters that need saving as well and you can decide whether to help them or leave them to the darkness.
The art of Dream Hollow is by far one of the biggest selling points of the game and I’m cautiously intrigued by it although it may be a bit too scary for me.
Welcome to Elderfield
In this next game, you’ve just finished your studies and decided to start a farm to make a little money by growing crops and raising animals, but this town isn’t as normal as it pretends to be… Welcome to Elderfield, a town filled with odd townsfolk and plagued by eldritch horrors.
It’s got all the cozy hallmarks of farming, fishing, exploring, and making friends, but with the additional perks of pleading with the Old Gods, talking to the dead, and more! There’s a demo up for this one right now if you want to try it out but sadly there’s no release date yet.
Moonlight Peaks
Our final vampire game is up next and this one is called Moonlight Peaks! You’ve probably heard of it already, but if not you play as the child of Count Dracula, who is determined to prove that a life of compassion is possible, even for a vampire.
So you move to the magical town of Moonlight Peaks to start your new life. Of course you’re running a farm, but this one is a little more magical with enchanted plants that glow and sustain you without the need for blood! Which is a good thing too, because it would be a shame not to use your vampire powers of shapeshifting!
There’s so much packed into this game from potion brewing, to flower arranging, pottery making, cross-stitching and more and not to mention all of the gorgeous townsfolk! Moonlight Peaks will be launching at some point next year and I know I’m going to disappear from society when it does.
Fortune Teller Simulator
Take on the role of a fortune teller in this aptly named Fortune Teller Simulator, when you use tarot cards to read the past, present, and future of your customers. From reading tarot cards, to consulting the night sky, studying the laws of the zodiac and harnessing the essence of crystals, there are several ways to tell their fortune, or not if you’d just like to tell them what they want to hear…
And the best part is you don’t need any prior knowledge to do so as there’ll be various books to coach you through the fortune telling experience when Fortune Teller Simulator launches in Q4 2025.
HABROMANIA
Our penultimate game may be a little bit on the scarier side but it’s inspired by Coraline and the dev has said the scary aspects of the game are more the uneasy, dreamy kind that liminal spaces have. So, I added it to this list!
HABROMANIA is a dreamy Alice in Wonderland-inspired RPG that follows 19-year-old Alice as she tries to escape the surreal, cozy hellscape that is Wonderland. Make your way through Wonderland, meeting the familiar characters that you know and love, although they may not be quite as you remember them…
Will you be able to make your way out of Wonderland unscathed? Sadly there’s also no release date for this one but it’s going firmly on the wishlist for now!
Pumpkin Woods
Our final game is Pumpkin Woods, which I think has a lot of fun ideas and they just released a demo!
Pumpkin Woods is a witchy survival crafting game, where you travel the world with your fancy wagon discovering the magical creatures that live here and uncovering the secrets that these mysterious lands are hiding.
Along the way you can collect ingredients to brew into potions to make money, find unicorns to tame and befriend, fly around on your magical broom, and more! This one also doesn’t have a release date.
I hope I’ve managed to introduce you to at least one more dark cozy game in this list! Let me know which one you're looking forward to the most and don't forget to add them all to your wishlist!