Hey! Hallie here!
The winter season is bringing a lot of rain to my house right now, which happens to be my favorite type of weather. I love relaxing indoors while it’s raining. Usually that means I’m reading some kind of book, but there are several video games that fit the perfect, relaxing, gloomy vibe I enjoy when I hear rain outside. This is my list of games that you should play when you’re in the rainy mood. To be clear, these aren’t games meant to make you forget that it’s raining outside. These games are meant to be relaxing while keeping the ambiance cool and gloomy. In short, the perfect games to help you lean into the weather. Let’s get into it!
‘Undertale’:
This game has a nice, relaxing feel to it for most of the game. However, the reason why I bring it up is specifically the section of the underground called Waterfall. Waterfall is a very wet, marshy place with a lot of nice ambiance. It has a slow soundtrack complete with light piano notes that sound like rainfall. The level is decorated with dark blue and purple scenery as well as plenty of beautiful waterfalls and rivers. There are even several sections where it’s pouring rain and your character is given the choice of picking up an umbrella. One of my favorite pieces of the level is a completely dark room where you must find the lanterns hidden on the walkways to help light your path. Waterfall has some of the best rain ambiance I’ve seen in any game. And if you get sick of it, there’s a hidden pathway to Temmie Village. I should prewarn you, though, that Temmie Village is the opposite of relaxing.
‘Stardew Valley’:
‘Stardew Valley’ is even more relaxing than ‘Undertale’. Where ‘Undertale’ manages to give you plenty of puzzles in between fights, and isn’t prone to stress you out (Unless you’re playing the genocide route of course), ‘Stardew Valley’ doesn’t have any of that at all. It’s simply a farming game where your priorities are to take care of your farm and make some friends. This game gets especially relaxing, though, when rainy season comes in. Rain happens the most during Spring and Fall, but sometimes it will just come out of nowhere for you to enjoy. The rain isn’t just relaxing, it also means that you don’t have to water your crops for the day. You can go about your business, visit your friend’s warm homes, and enjoy a day off from one of your daily chores. And it makes everything on your farm look gorgeous.
‘Animal Crossing’:
This really goes for any ‘Animal Crossing’ game. Once again, you will only come across the rainy segments of this game once in a while and most often during Spring and Fall. But when it does rain, it’s so adorable. Nearly every villager will be unreasonably excited by the rain. You’ll even see a few out with their umbrellas. The rain waters your flowers and provides the only time where some rare items can be found. Plus, if you’ve never been able to catch the inside of one of your villagers homes because they like the outdoors, you’re way more likely to be able to see it in this weather. If you’re lucky, you might even catch a full thunderstorm. But this game isn’t just relaxing when you’re experiencing it’s rainy weather. There’s a ton of things to do in your village and all of them are relaxing. You can get to know your adorable villagers, customize your village or island, and go shopping for new items for yourself or your home. ‘Animal Crossing’ is relaxing to play anytime, but the rain only makes it better.
‘Assassins Creed: Syndicate’:
This game takes place in London, so of course it’s going to be raining seventy percent of the time. Exploring the rooftops of tall, gorgeous, Victorian buildings while seeking out a new adventure is always fun. What’s nice about this game, though, is it has a very action packed storyline with a pretty relaxed open world. It gives you a map between all of it’s major locations so you can pick what you want to do. Of course, some of that will include assassinating people. But each mission you attempt can be easily left with little to no consequences. Meaning if your assassination starts to go wrong, or if you simply walked into the wrong area without meaning to, you can leave. The entire area that can be explored is large but well connected, so it doesn’t take too much effort to move from place to place. Plus, the game provides you with your own cozy train that is constantly moving around the map to help you get where you need to go faster. And, on top of all that, no suddenly appearing enemies. Enemies will only appear in areas where missions take place, aside from a rare few that will leave you alone when you upgrade your reputation. I enjoy not having to worry about fighting a mass of people when all I want to do is explore.
‘Persona 5’:
This game, surprisingly, has some of the best rainy day necessities. Rain is one of the common weathers you’ll encounter in the game, but before you even see rain the game has you living above a café. There’s no better feeling than loading up a ‘Persona 5’ save on a gloomy day and finding yourself inside a warm café to enjoy it all. The game also has a jazz-based soundtrack that’s both relaxing and enjoyable. During in-game rainy days you’ll get some bonuses in Mementos if seeking out some action is your style. If it isn’t, there’s plenty to explore in it’s regular-world map without stress. You can get to know your friends better, go shopping, or watch a movie. Some locations are blocked off when it’s raining. After all, you won’t want to go to an amusement park while all the rides are closed. But you can still take your date to a restaurant or on a large Ferris wheel where you’ll still see the rain hitting the windows of the ride. This game doesn’t have randomly generated enemies in these areas either, so no need to worry about something sneaking up on you while you’re exploring.
That’s my list! These are only games that I’ve played so I’m sure there are plenty more to enjoy on whatever game console you own. Some of the games on this list are definitely surprising suggestions for a relaxing time, but don’t write them off. There are so many games with relaxing segments that can be enjoyed just as much as their action-packed storylines. You’d be surprised how many games take advantage of foul weather to give players a cozy environment to explore. Whether you prioritize fighting enemies or casually exploring your environment, I hope you found something on this list to play during all this rain.
Don’t do anything fun until I get back!
Hallie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 