10 Best Games to Make You Feel Outdoorsy

In this world full of pop-up notifications, limited-time live-service events, and short-form video entertainment, it's easy to lose track of what really matters that's sitting right outside your window. Sometimes, when we're done grinding for some battle pass, we really should take the time to step out and enjoy the shining sun and singing birds. If you think I sound like a boomer right now, congrats! You've just proved my point!

I will admit it's very hard to go outside when there are so many games to play. I've got a backlog of JRPGs on my PC that are a mile long, and they won't play themselves. In times like these, we need a little push. Maybe playing some games that give us gorgeous, natural environments to explore will give us similar feelings to stepping outside, if they don't encourage us to leave the screens behind outright. At least for a little while.

10 Death Stranding

Nothing Wrong With A Good Temperate Zone

Don't look at me like that. Death Stranding is a good game for this list! As Sam Porter Bridges, you'll be moving across a disenfranchised world, meeting all sorts of people and connecting them along the way. All the locations in Death Stranding are very beautiful in their own way, with the cloudy sky and mossy texture of it all feeling relaxing and isolating in the best way. Most of the game sees Sam using any method at his disposal to deliver packages across the land, and that means you get to do whatever you want as long as the packages are safe.

It's not the most environmentally positive game out there. It certainly doesn't invite you to sit on the grass and stare at the sky or anything idealistic like that. I put it at the top of the list for that reason, and because the BTs will just ruin the mood at any chance they get. Even with all of that, though, I think the particular atmosphere it gives is worth a mention here if you want something not so sunny and bright. There's also a feature in this game that goes great for people who like to rough it. Or if they're immature. You know what I mean.

9 Hey You, Pikachu!

Let's Go Camping With Pikachu!

Getting to adventure with Pikachu and exploring places like Vridian Forest, Ochre Woods, and Cobalt Island made up a good part of my childhood when I wasn't running around in fields at my Grandma's house or playing on my trampoline. I really feel like the environments in Hey You, Pikachu did a great job at feeling lived in for a Nintendo 64 game. The way that you could crinkle the leaves in Ochre and have Pikachu send them flying as he ran past was a great sound that helped with immersion. You know, when the mic wasn't frustrating me.

All the locations in Hey You, Pikachu were just fun to look at and go through. I may have remade Springleaf Field in Pokopia, if that gives you any idea about how much I played this game and its impact on me decades later. There's even a special area you get to visit where you go camping with Pikachu, tent and all, and I'd have loved to have done that with my buddy more than once.

Wait, what's that? You don't have a way to play Hey You, Pikachu? At all? Aw, shucks.

8 Ghost of Tsushima

A Great Game That Encourages Traveling

Alright, enough jokes. Here's a bit more of an honest suggestion. Ghost of Tsushima is a game starring samurai Jin Sakai. Using his katana and masterful stealth, you have to fend off the Mongols from invading your island home. This game is also an open-world adventure, giving you breathtaking locations to see on your journey every step of the way. Of course, it's also about the choices we make in regard to self-defense, violence, and personal honor. It's a very sobering game, but it's also a very beautiful one.

It might be hard to feel at one with nature with Ghost of Tsushima considering it features locations that aren't exactly outside your front door, like traditional shrines and Mt. Fuji in the distance. On the flip side, no one said you can't take a break by exploring Japan. Whether you decide to do that by going physically or traveling back to 1274 with Jin is entirely up to you. Please take me with you if you actually go.

7 Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Protect Nature With Cute Critter Companions

Another action-adventure game that lends itself well to its environments is Kena: Bridge of Spirits. As titular character Kena, you'll spend your time exploring a large, open world full of enemies to defeat and secrets to discover. Kena is a spirit guide, meant to help troubled souls move on to the afterlife, and she discovers that a powerful entity is corrupting the land. It's up to you to put this spirit to rest, but it won't be easy.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits heavily encourages exploration. You travel on foot around a huge, natural world to clear quests and find little Rot creatures. The Rot creatures can be found anywhere, and they follow you and serve as ways to help your attacks grow in strength. It serves as a great gameplay loop that managed to be relaxing and challenging in its own right. The game's environmental themes are great for helping you get invested in the world and its nature, too.

6 Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

By The Gods, Someone Actually Made Retro JRPG Graphics Modern

Do you like JRPGs? RPGs in general are some of the longest games on the market, with sprawling worlds and stories to tell. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is one of these games. It's well-known for going the extra mile to make every NPC feel like a real person, and there are hundreds of quests to do that might extend your playthrough. It's also eye candy for anyone who appreciates the general art style of the genre.

Older JRPGs tend to use pixel art or textures in a way that gives it a unique vibe not found in other games. The original Trails in the Sky was one of these, and somehow they managed to capture that feeling in a modern entry. Liberl has never looked better. If you decide to get into this series because of its scenery, I might have to warn you that this series is massive and every game in it takes place in the same world and general timeframe.

Thinking about it, I think the recommendation alone might encourage you to stay inside for hours on end instead of going out. Oops.

5 Tales of Arise

Gather 'Round The Campfire

As another excuse to stay inside for over 30 hours, Tales of Arise is yet another JRPG that will stun you with how beautiful it is. It features large, open areas — perfect for its real-time battles — that have a watercolor painting feel to them. Even as the world of Dahna is torn apart from an occupation, the way it all feels painted makes it all fantastic to explore.

On top of that, you can set up camp for the night, fire and all, and use it as an opportunity to have some special one-on-one chats with your party members to strengthen your bonds. Tales of games are very linear, so these chats don't impact the story too much, but they certainly made me feel like getting out some marshmallows and chocolate to make s'mores while I played. Maybe it will for you, too!

4 Stardew Valley

A Green Farm Is a Happy Farm

After experiencing the familiar feelings of being fed up with an office job, you decide to read a letter from your departed grandfather. In it, he tells you that you've inherited his farm in Stardew Valley. Aiming for something different, you move on down to give farm life a shot, getting to know the townspeople and bond with any animals you decide to raise. Stardew Valley attracts tons of players thanks to how open-ended it is, so you can basically run your farm any way you see fit.

If you're going in to be surrounded by nature, I suggest playing in the Forest, Wilderness, or Meadowland Farms. Your former employer is trying to encroach on the neighboring town, and you get to team up with little jelly-like creatures known as Junimos to help boost the overall morale. Or you could sell out and let them take over. All up to you, but how can you say no to those little squishy faces?

3 The Forest

One of the Best Ways to Go Camping Despite Distance... And the Genre

A lot of people these days don't go camping or anything like that often because their friends are often halfway or completely on the other side of the planet. What if I told you that there was a way to enjoy the great outdoors together? The perfect game for your friend group would be The Forest. You can invite up to 7 players to join you to explore a fantastic and natural peninsula full of resources to craft wooden bases and more.

I should probably admit that the catch to this is that The Forest is a survival horror game. You'll encounter cannibals while you're out exploring the land, but the game is so open-ended that you can take your time and encounter the story whenever you feel like. It makes it easy to just enjoy the beauty of the game's world, and that's why its co-op aspects are what I like to highlight about this game the most.

2 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

A Modern Day Classic

We've discussed a ton of large maps filled to the brim with nature to appreciate, but when it comes to roughing it, few games capture it like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild does. The title suits the game perfectly as you start the game with hardly anything, and you have to scavenge for food and resources to get strong enough to defeat Calamity Ganon.

There are plenty of moments where things you'll naturally be encouraged to take in your surroundings. You've got no choice when running long distances in Hyrule, and your eyes might still wander to take in sunsets and flowing grasslands when you have your horse. You'll have to cook to regain health, and a lot of areas use ambiance to get across how important it is to immerse yourself in this kingdom to fight for it. Compared to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Breath of the Wild was just the right kind of down to Earth before throwing us deeper into fantasy. It's great to revisit.

1 Deltarune

That's It, I'm Forcing You to Go Be a Person

The games I've put on this list are visually impressive in their own ways and do wonders at letting you sit back and enjoy the nature they portray. Deltarune might not be in the same visual tier as the rest of these titles, but this humble RPG has something going for it all of these other games lack. One of its main settings is a small, close-knit town that you have to explore at certain points to go to the next chapter or to just progress the story.

That's right. If any of these other games haven't made you step outside and get some fresh air, I'm at least making you socialize with a town full of heartfelt NPCs. Every conversation with them changes between chapters, and a lot of them have more than one string of dialogue. There's even one NPC that only appears if you sit by the side of the lake for long enough. It's one of the optional ambient moments in the game that's a great touch and an extra Easter egg for Undertale fans.

Wait, what? You can skip most of these sections? Aw, come on!