All the leaves are brown...

I'm just going to get this joke out of the way: Fall Guys is the most autumnal video game. There we go. You may chortle and guffaw to your heart's content, and then we'll start the rest of this extremely niche, very specific article. You done? Good. Okay.

So! It's Autumn, or Fall, depending on whether you're in Blighty or 'Murica, as of the 22nd September. For some of you, that means crunching your way through crisp orange leaves on the way to school; for others, it means getting the warm duvets out of storage; for me in particular, it means that I get to eat a ton of pie and drink hot chocolate, and no one gets to judge me. (Seriously, people are weird about having hot drinks in warm-ish weather! I ordered a hot toddy at a bar the other day and they laughed at me! IT'S ON YOUR MENU, MATE.)

It's easy to get in the autumn mood with music, movies and TV — just stick on Hocus Pocus or Over The Garden Wall, get the fireplace roaring, and put Neil Young's Harvest on the speakers. Mmm, cosy. But can video games evoke that same sweater weather vibe? Yes, they can. Hence this list.

This is probably the one that immediately jumped into the minds of many — a kart-based jaunt through the falling leaves of wherever Maple Treeway is. It's not one of the courses that's based on a particular area, although the presence of Wigglers makes it clear that it's somewhere in Super Mario Land, but there's something special about this course all the same.

Driving through leaf piles, winding through tree trunks, and getting fired out of a gigantic cannon — is there anything more autumnal?

Pumpkin Hill has it all when it comes to the spooky season, which is basically synonymous with Autumn. Sonic's frenemy Knuckles has to explore around this Halloween-themed level, with pumpkins, ghosts, graves, bats, and skeletons, but the most memorable thing about Pumpkin Hill is, of course, the rap. Let's take a look at some of those lyrics:

Let it get to me? I'm just gonna creep, Down in Pumpkin Hill I gots to find my lost piece. I know that it's here, I sense it in my feet, The great Emerald's power allows me to feel. I can't see a thing but it's around somewhere, I gotta hold my head, I have no fear. It probably seems crazy, crazy, a graveyard theory, A ghost tried to approach me, he got leery.

You know in Star Trek how there are planets with One Defining Characteristic, like "we're the planet that hates water", or "everyone on this planet only eats worms"? Well, Super Mario Galaxy built on that idea with galaxies like this one.

In Gold Leaf Galaxy, the One Defining Characteristic is "Autumn", and we aren't complaining. This galaxy is populated by bees, which is a common theme in Super Mario Galaxy for whatever reason, and features multiple orange-hued planets. Much like Maple Treeway, Wigglers are featured as a sort of autumnal enemy, as well as Cataquacks, Undergrunts, and Flipbugs.

The Origami King does interesting things with colour, creating a world that's deeper and richer-toned than past Mario games. Autumn Mountain is no different, swapping the usual orangey leaves for a much darker red and a buttery yellow. Even the collectibles in this level are a little more autumnal than usual, with Toads being folded into maple leaves and bugs, and a hidden Fallen Leaves treasure under the stairs.

Fun fact: The French name for this area is Mont Évermeil, a play on the words for bright red, vermeil, and "to fill with wonder", émerveiller.

Autumn Heights is the second world in Tropical Freeze, modelled after the cuckoo clocks and rolling hills of Switzerland with an extra helping of decaying leaves. DK and pals will traverse through minecart tracks, air balloon platforms, and multiple cheese-related levels before reaching the final boss — a big, angry owl called Skowl.

Autumn is a secret unlockable alternative colour palette in Super Mario World, which you can get after completing the final level of the Special Zone — or, in the sequel, Super Mario Advance 2, but completing all 96 exits.

This colour swap doesn't just change the green of the grass and trees to a lovely orange, though. Some enemies will also change appearance: Piranha Plants become little pumpkins on stalks, Bullet Bills turn into black birds, Koopas turn into orange versions of Mario for some reason, and in Super Mario Advance 2, Goombas turn yellow and wear sunglasses.

Oracle of Seasons has all the seasons. One of those seasons is Autumn. In fact, it's the final seasonal spirit that you get, after completing the Tower of Autumn (which is where all the Autumn is kept). This season lets you pick Rock Mushrooms and Pegasus Seeds, as well as covering up holes with fallen leaves.

Breath of the Wild doesn't have seasons, but the glorious colours of the Akkala region, where Tarrey Town and the Ancient Tech Lab can be found, are reminiscent of everyone's favourite time of year. When it rains in Akkala, you just want to take shelter in the nearby stable and drink hot cocoa until the rain subsides. It's lovely.

Click Clock Wood is a deciduous forest, and you know what that means: Red leaves, baby! Banjo and his backpack buddy Kazooie will have to enter Click Clock Wood during all four seasons to complete the area, and many of the puzzles within revolve around how the environment changes in each season. In Autumn, you'll get the chance to meet Gnawty, the helpful beaver, visit the Tree House, and witness the blooming of Gobi's beautiful flower. It's the best season. Obviously.

As its moniker suggests, Golden Grove is a fiery-orange wooded area within the Summerlands, where dappled light filters through soft yellow and orange leaves. It makes for a restorative glade where you can take a breather between the beginning of the game and the much more difficult Shimmering Sands, as well as add some cute little Familiars like the Napcap and the Pom Pom to your party.

Bellchime Trail, which is a short path between Ecruteak City and the Bell Tower where Ho-Oh used to live, is described as "bathed in sunset" — a beautiful description for a beautiful place. It may not be big, but it's serene, with no wild Pokémon encounters and plenty of hidden items to keep you snuffling around its golden leaves.

Since this is an autumnal level that you can only visit in actual Autumn, barring time-travel shenanigans, it's worth making the most of. It's much quieter than Spring and Summer, with fewer fish and bugs to catch, but it still provides warmth and cosiness in the form of Mushroom furniture, acorns and pine cones, Turkey Day, and, of course, Halloween.

In your first year of Stardew Valley, this might be the season where you start to feel like things are going your way. Spring is usually spent learning the ropes; Summer is all about profit; but Autumn is a great time to invest in Winter-proofing your farm with animals and a greenhouse. Corn, cranberries, yams and pumpkins are all perfect for creating that harvesty vibe, and to top it all off, Stardew's trees turn gorgeous shades of purple, maroon, and burgundy.

Okay, yes. Firewatch is apparently set in the Spring of 1989. But you can't fool us, Campo Santo. Orange is the colour of Autumn, and Firewatch is very orange. Who cares if it's technically not actual Autumn if it makes us feel the way Autumn feels?

Night in the Woods' environmental decay is a mirror to the social and economic decay of its setting, the former mining town of Possum Springs. Trees shed their leaves as a backdrop to this story of loss, grief, confusion, and disassociation — of all the games on this list, NITW is the only one that really explores the dark side of Autumn.

Autumn also happens to be the start of school for many countries, and that's the case for Max Caulfield, a young woman returning to her hometown, getting reacquainted with old friends, and discovering her ability to rewind time. Life is Strange draws a lot of its inspirations from the small-town nostalgia and discomforting claustrophobia of Twin Peaks, and its Pacific Northwest setting helps the game feel suitably autumnal to match.

Mmm, we're really in the mood for a cosy Autumn now. While we go put on a nice knitted jumper, make ourselves a cup of mulled cider, and try not to think about how Winter (and 2023) is just around the corner, tell us in the comments if you've got any favourite Autumn levels or games — or if there are any games you like to play whenever October rolls around.

Formerly of Official Nintendo Magazine, GameSpot, and Xbox UK, you can now find Kate's writing all over the internet. She moved to Canada a few years ago, but gets tea imported from England, because she has good priorities.

Fun list! Thanks for putting this together. Might give a few of these a run this week so I can enjoy the colors and atmosphere inside as well as outside.

Great list! It helps that autumn, especially late September- Halloween is my favorite season and weather of the year. Twilight Town+Trail+Steeple in Paper Mario TTYD has a fantastic autumnal+eerie atmosphere and should be on here! Idk if this is autumn per se, but I'd also include World 4 in SNES Yoshi's Island.

Fun Article! I feel like Animal Crossing New Horizons has the comfiest Autumn of all but my many hundreds of hours of that game are behind me. I had forgotten, but I agree Paper Mario: Origami King does have some really beautiful Autumn atmosphere; now I'm tempted to go back to that game.

Which of Autumn or Fall does the UK use? I feel like in the US we flip a coin and say one or the other each time.

And the sky is grey.

I've been for a walk.

I’ve been playing Sakuna: Of Rice And Ruin lately. It has a season rotation, and I think most levels look the best in Autumn. Unfortunately, it’s the one that you get to see the least of, due to how much time the rice cutting and hulling takes.

Great list! For me, it's the Oak Manor course in Golf Story.

Night in the Woods and the first Life is Strange have a very strong autumn/fall vibe. I care for Halloween, but I love the months of October and November for what nature does (I walk a lot) and how this is reflects in games.

Really nice list! I love to revisit Night in the Woods around this time of the year. The soundtracks (especially "Possum Springs") never fail to lift me up.

The park/graveyard area in the original Resident Evil 3 definitely has a spooky autumnal atmosphere. I'm actually still disappointed that entire section was cut out of the remake, huge missed opportunity.

I would 100% buy a game for its autumnal vibe. I'm just going to take note of Night in the Woods (on my list but just got bumped up.)

Coffee Talk takes places in the autumn as well. You don't walk around in forests with colourful leaves, but I would say it does have an autumn vibe for the urban PNW.

I never knew about the pallette swap in super mario world! That's mind blowing.

Luigis mansion is my yearly Autumn/Halloween fix! Thought it was a banker for this list lol

Now I want to play animal crossing again! @FishyS We don't use fall at all in the UK. It's just autumn here. I honestly thought you guys just used fall in the US.

Thanks for the list! Definitely all autumn vibes. My favorite game, Owlboy, always gives me feelings of the world turning from summer to autumn. Definitely one I recommend.

@Ooyah What's it like out there?

Every October in NiGHTS into Dreams, they change the costumes of the main character, but only in the Mystic Forest level. The girl will wear a Witch costume on October 1-30, and the boy will wear a Vampire costume on Halloween. Sure, the level is green, but it's still a "spooky" forest, and you change into the appropriate attire for the season.

Even NiGHTS themselves wears a ghost-white jester outfit.

Check it out if you have the game. It's one of my personal favorite games ever.

@KateGray Firewatch takes place during summer actually.

Luigi’s mansion here…. I still have not finished it but I fire it up in October and play till Halloween-thanksgiving every year . Probably will finally complete it this season. Didn’t the game come out on Halloween even… day before perhaps?

Living in a forest, having acorns fall on my cabin's roof, cold hands, and keeping warm collecting fallen branches and dead trees, sawing them by hand, and burning them in the wood stove and drying the next batch on the stove, making pumpkin soup for me and the dogs, sleeping many more hours, going for long walks in the low sun with a hand axe and saw and old bicycle inner tube to collect more fallen branches among fields (because it's a little warmer and dryer there and it's still not the city) and forest, and having all the dogs sleep with me again to preserve our body temperature,... Fall mood is already here. But I still go barefoot and purposefully step in every mud pool and river I come across, it's not winter yet and I love every season for its own reason, but summer, I already miss you. Fall and Winter are kind of tough the way I live. My cabin isn't much more than a roof to keep rain out and walls to keep wind out. It's a summer home I use all year around. Luckily I named one of my rescue white huskies "Lente" (meaning Spring, the season, because she's so full of warmth and life and got me over a winter depression instantly when I decided I'd adopt her and her brother from the kill shelter), so Spring is never far away.

@Purgatorium It was a failed attempt to spark off a singalong. 😆

Soon, there will be a sort of Autumnal-Zone in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, in the northwest of Paldea!

There is also a route in Pokémon XY!

Seeing Heartgold/Soulsilver featured brought back lovely memories of those Autumnal areas, and it also made me sad that I no longer have any way to revisit the Johto region

@Purgatorium good choice. Night in the Woods has not only a really good fall atmosphere, the mood of the game feels also fall-like. Can recommend playing it.

Definitely the Akkala region from BOTW. Just watch out for that Lynel!!

And nice that Neil Young got a mention.

A short hike felt like autumn to me

@Kiwi_Unlimited The quickest and easiest way to experience it is by playing the "Special version" of SMW in the SNES/Super Famicom app, if you have a Switch Online subscription. It starts you out with autumn unlocked. (But then you miss the fun of playing all the way through the game 😉)

Came here to make sure night in the woods made the list 😀

Bellchime Trail is actually kind of disappointing. Areas that are nothing but scenery are kind of pointless, and there is so much more they could've done with the autumn themed scenery there (like maybe a forest behind Ecruteak City where you can find Ghost types and stuff like Murkrow and Misdreavus earlier in the game).

Also, there's a much better autumn themed Pokemon level in the form of Rt. 16 in XY. Its leaf piles are endlessly fun to run through and (unlike Rt. 15 which is similar) it has Halloweeny Ghost types like Pumpkaboo and Phantump.

Besides ACHN, I'm not sure about the others. but Pumpkin Hill is definitely one of my Favorite Sonic Adventure 2 levels (along with Metal Harbor and Green Forest) Edit: I didn't see Maple Tree until now. that one is okay too.

After you finish in Origami King's Autumn Mountain, your next stop is on Shogun Studios, a theme park based on old Japanese towns.

That whole chapter/area is something else.

I knew Kate wrote this the second the joke about fall guys came in, nice list!

I've had the pumpkin hill rap stuck in my head since 2001

Pumpkin Jack and Luigi’s Mansion….

"So! It's Autumn, or Fall, depending on whether you're in Blighty or 'Murica, as of the 22nd September"

Apart from in the southern hemisphere!

But really lovely list, very cosy - all those golden glows and orange leaves:-)

Thank you for this article. I enjoyed reading about your ideas/choices for games in the fall, and had a good time reading about it.

I was born autumn(Mid September) , my wife was born autumn(Mid october), my son was born autumn(September also).We have so much love for that season and the brown/orange colors of all the trees and leaves as we have a house in a mountain/forest area. As for video games, these levels are my favourite (with snowy winter ones). Most of Donkey Kong Country games have excellent autumnal stages (like Tropical Freeze that mentioned in the article-Donkey Kong country trilogy on Snes has many of them also). Top class and fantastic article @KateGray. This article will remain on our mind and we return every autumn for an enjoyful read!

Night in the Woods though… 😍😍

Outside of Nintendoland I'd give a big shut out to Forza Horizon 1 for bailing the feeling of the early autumn Colorado. The music sits really well too.

I'll also see your Akkala Region and raise you The Embrace from Horizon Zero Dawn.

I’m somehow only just now playing through DK Tropical Freeze (despite owning both a Wii U and a Switch), and man Autumn Heights put me in the fall spirit earlier!

@Patendo I think she mainly wanted to stay away from spooky, and just focus on the other things autumn?

Hope we get a spooky list too Kate! ❤️😁

@g_ruz I can hear the song in my head now, love the soundtrack and actually w everything else! ❤️😂

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Autumn Heights; this is maybe one of the greatest levels in J&R history. The way the soundtrack interacts with gameplay and the ideas implemented here... so great!

There are no wigglers in Sarasaland where Super Mario Land is set.

I don't remember The Mamas and the Papas singing that line.

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