My Recommendations for Cosy, Story-Rich PC Adventure Games (Non-Gamer Friendly)

Whether you're new to gaming or just hankering after something to lose yourself in that isn't weighed down by complicated mechanics or repetitive grindfests, I've got the perfect list of adventure games for you. Crucially, these won't send your blood pressure soaring with jump scares or game over screens (just good old-fashioned emotional trauma). Many can even be – and are compelling enough to be – completed in just a few sittings (or even just one).

And, as much as I love the classic adventure games, I've opted for more modern titles where you're unlikely to be stumped for months on end by mind-bending moon logic puzzles involving, say, having to craft a fake moustache disguise using cat hair, maple syrup and the last shreds of your sanity. 

Night in the Woods

At first glance, I wasn't sure how I felt about this game's quirky art style featuring cartoonish anthropomorphised characters, but as soon as I started playing it, any misgivings quickly dissipated. You play as college dropout Mae as she returns to her hometown, Possum Springs, where she tries to recapture her aimless teen existence and reconnect with childhood friends. But things have shifted – her friends have changed and home feels slightly different. And what dark secrets lurk in the woods?

As someone who grew up in a small rural town and struggled with questions about my direction and where I fit in post-uni, this game resonated profoundly with me. As Mae, you explore a lush, vivid world, partaking in charming everyday activities like playing bass with your band, stargazing with your neighbour and, um... tossing pierogi in your friend's mouth. As a sense of creeping unease sets in, you also investigate bizarre goings-on that mirror Mae's discomfort at forces beyond her control. 

There's so much to rave about here: the well-developed and lovable cast of characters; the wonderful and often hilarious dialogue; the sweetly poignant music; the sympathetic treatment of mental health issues; the simplistic, quirky art style that belies the game's darkness and maturity (themes include 'underemployment, decaying cities and youth disenfranchisement').

The game's greatest strength, however, is capturing that bittersweet sense of change and uncertainty in that strange limbo between youth and adulthood, past and future – something that feels more relatable today than ever. 

Steam store page

Life Is Strange

If you haven't played this beloved episodic adventure game yet, it's not too late to make up for lost time – which, incidentally, is the subject of the game. You follow Max, a photography student who discovers she can rewind time, averting the death of her best friend, Chloe. But the rot in Arcadia Bay goes deeper than this, and she is soon drawn into the mysterious disappearance of Rachel, the most popular girl in school. 

Combining the magical and the mundane, this game captures the nostalgia of small-town life as a teenager, from grabbing pancakes at the local diner to listening to bangin' indie rock tunes with Max's best friend while sprawled on her bed. Beautifully written and compelling, with a haunting soundtrack that matches the narrative perfectly, you get to choose the relationships you foster as Max reconnects with her hometown and childhood best friend. The only downside? This game will destroy you as you face the inevitable consequences of tinkering with the past.

Steam store page (Episode 1 is free!)

Gone Home

In this interactive exploration simulator, you return to your family home after a year abroad to find the house empty. What happened, and where is everyone? While there is an air of unease, the game allows you to take in every detail – from notes and letters to the contents of drawers and cupboards – at your leisure to slowly piece together the personal stories of every inhabitant. But don't be fooled – while you're unlikely to get stuck, this game is surprisingly complex; nothing and no one are as they seem. Eschewing puzzles and combat, the focus here is immersion in the 90s domestic setting and the telling of an intensely heartfelt and intimate story (read my review here). 

Steam store page

Her Story

The concept and mechanics underlying this FMV detective game are amazingly simple: a woman is interviewed by the police about her missing husband; the player must search the police database for video clips from these interviews by typing in search terms (e.g., 'murder', 'love', 'secret'), gleaning key terms from each clip to reveal further videos and insights into her story.

As you begin to piece together her story, however, more questions emerge. Is she telling the truth or lying (or is her story simply what she believes to be true)? Is there one woman or two? For that matter, who exactly are you, the investigator?

The game's simple setup yields opportunities for creativity in thinking of new search terms and rewards the player with a rich, involving story. It also works brilliantly collaboratively – I began this without knowing what to expect and found myself playing it long into the night with my partner, both of us interjecting with our own ideas for new search terms. Even after finishing it, I thought about the narrative possibilities for days afterwards, turning the clues over in my head and subjecting my long-suffering partner to excessively elaborate theories – the unmistakable mark of a damn fine story.

Steam store page

Contradiction: Spot the Liar!

If the concept of Midsomer Murders: The Game intrigues you, then you won't be able to resist the charms of this live-action murder mystery. Set in a deceptively sleepy rural English village (where else?), Contradiction stars an eccentric detective whose facial contortions when delivering zingers like 'And another thing!' are a joy to behold.

The central mechanic involves interviewing the highly suspect cast of characters and catching them out in their lies, leading to highly satisfying reactions as they attempt to wriggle their way out of them. (One of my favourite characters is Simon, the resident stoner, who has an unhealthy interest in the occult and responds to every question with a tired yet haunted look that suggests he's seen things, man.)

Despite culminating in a disappointing final reveal due to budget issues, the story is otherwise well-crafted and engrossing, featuring intrigues such as illicit affairs, a cultish 'business course' known as ATLAS and demonic soul possession. Rural English villages are just the wildest. Best enjoyed plugged into a TV so players can work together to spot the lies, this game is an unmitigated delight.

Steam store page

What Remains of Edith Finch

In this strange yet beautiful environmental exploration game (or, less flatteringly, walking simulator) you play as Edith Finch as she explores the colossal family house in search of an answer to the question of why she's the last surviving Finch. Each family member's unique life story up until the day of their death is represented by a different section of the house. As such, every section varies significantly in gameplay and tone, from comic-book-style horror to high fantasy and with stories stretching from the distant past to the present day. The house is a labyrinthine marvel, and each story is like plunging into the pages of a fantastical, spellbinding book. 

At its heart, however, each story is about real people and the very human problems they face: mental health struggles, broken relationships, family trauma. Things too painful to confront without the softening veil of metaphor (one dreamlike scene involving the soul-crushing monotony of a factory job haunts me in particular). The game's dark subject matter is counterbalanced, however, by the sense of wonder it instils at all the lives, hopes and dreams around us that we aren't normally aware of or don't always fully appreciate.

Steam store page

Firewatch

If you've ever felt the pull to leave everything behind and live among the trees, Walden-style, Firewatch is the perfect way to scratch that itch from the comfort of your home. You play as Henry, a man fleeing his complicated past for the peaceful solitude of life as a fire lookout in the Wyoming wilderness. When strange events draw you out from the safety of your tower, however, you must plunge into the unknown and explore the forest wilderness around you to uncover its secrets in this riveting first-person mystery.

The environment shifts from majestically beautiful to subtly menacing depending on the time and context, and, with only a handheld radio connected to one other person as your emotional lifeline, the game evokes feelings of awe and vulnerability in turn. Interestingly, despite its grand landscape, Firewatch concerns itself with stories on a domestic scale. It also features refreshingly adult conversations and a thought-provoking story shaped by your choices and the relationship you build. With its stunning setting, gripping narrative and top-tier voice acting, Firewatch draws you irresistibly into its expansive world (read what else I had to say about this here). 

Steam store page

The Blackwell Legacy

The first in Wadget Eye's spooky five-part Blackwell series, Legacy introduces us to Rosa Blackwell, whose quiet, isolated life is upended when the sardonic Joey Mallone breezes into her life. I mean this quite literally – Joey is a ghost from the 1930s, and Rosa, he reveals, is the only surviving member of a line of mediums who must now remedy the supernatural ills of New York by nudging lost souls into moving on. That is, if she can overcome her social anxiety and push past the boundaries of her comfort zone first. 

We don't see nearly enough leads flying the socially awkward introvert flag, so this instantly endeared Rosa to me. Meanwhile, sarcastic spirit guide Joey is her perfect foil, and, despite bemoaning the thankless nature of his job and liberally applying his dry brand of humour, he can't hide his genuine care for and protective instincts regarding his young charge.

The Blackwell series is a hugely rewarding experience; accessible though gently challenging, with a compelling narrative and well-developed characters brought to life by excellent voice acting and animated character portraits, the indie-developed series only improves with each episode as characters grow and the plot becomes more ambitious (and heart-rending).

Steam store page

Emily Is Away

If, like me, you're a child of the 80s/90s who came of age in or around the noughties, this interactive story game is sure to hit you right in the nostalgia. The gameplay couldn't be simpler – essentially a text adventure for a new (but old) age, choose from era-appropriate responses to your fellow teenagers to experience a branching narrative spanning five years of the protagonist's life. 

It's amazing how something as simple as the Windows XP start-up jingle or selecting a 'mysterious' AOL Instant Messenger username (sarahsometimes) and angsty away message ('I like pleasure spiked with pain, and music is my aeroplane') can transport you back to a formative time in your life – when your circle of friends and high school drama were your whole world but everything was also starting to come undone as people prepared for college and uncertain yet hopeful futures.

Clocking in at around an hour and a half of gameplay (the sequels are somewhat longer and more ambitious), this is a short and sweet yet surprisingly affecting experience, just like those heady high school days (it's also free!). 

Steam store page

A Case of Distrust

This stylish noir narrative mystery set in the roaring twenties, San Francisco, was a winning combination for me: noir and interactive storytelling, like the more adult, Raymond Chandler-inspired evolution of Choose Your Own Adventure books. The game has an important distinction from typical hardboiled stories, however: you play as Phyllis Cadence Malone, a female P.I., during a time when the ink on the amendment granting women the right to vote has barely dried. This defining obstacle informs the world you find yourself in, elevating this beyond a basic retreading of familiar yet comforting noir tropes.

The game doesn't flinch away from other issues of the day, either, including poverty, discrimination and emancipation, many of which come up in the stimulating conversations you can choose to engage in with cab drivers, the eyes and ears of the city.

With its Saul Bass-inspired art style and toe-tapping jazz/swing soundtrack, this is an exercise in how to build atmosphere and intrigue without fancy 3D graphics or complicated mechanics. The writing and dialogue are also highly enjoyable, evoking that characteristic noir style without feeling caricaturish. And, while the game may be 2D, the characters are anything but; their backstories had me concocting my own theories about the culprit, successfully throwing me off the scent of a twist worthy of the twistiest (and most frustrating) in the genre.   

Steam store page

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