10 games you can play all summer long

Summer is always a good time to be outside and enjoy some fresh air, meet friends and bask in the sunshine. But if you'd rather crack a window, turn on the fan and fire up a good video game instead, then you're probably looking for something durable and engaging with a fun summer feel to keep you busy indoors.

Whether you're into JRPGs, simulation games, sandbox titles, or other expansive genres, we've got ten titles you should check out this summer that will keep you hooked until the leaves finally start turning in a few months.

10

Grand Theft Auto 5

For the last decade of summers

While we should technically already have GTA 6, there's still plenty of merit in sitting down and playing Grand Theft Auto 5 before it finally comes out next year (assuming there aren't any more delays in the works). Whether you check out the main story of Michael, Trevor and Franklin's efforts or play online, you'll find your money's worth.

The story takes a little over 30 hours to complete, if you're interested in playing, and from there your possibilities are endless. Jump online to do all sorts of things with friends and online foes alike: have street races, go on a bank heist or even do something as zen as stopping on the green for a round of golf.

9

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

For endlessly adorable Island Fun

There is perhaps no cozy game more cozy than Animal Crossing: New Horizons, set on a dreamy island paradise that you will move to with a handful of cute animal friends and work to build something magnificent. And what “magnificent” means is up to you in this cute sandbox title!

You can invite a rotating cast of ten animals to live on this island with you, customizing everything from the shapes of the waterways to the interior of your house (or the homes of your villagers) to the exterior decorations that longtime Animal Crossing fans were excited to finally get. The game moves in real time too, so you literally have all summer to enjoy the goodies available during the summer!

8

PowerWash Simulator

For pure summer fun

If you want to sit back with a seemingly endless number of levels to play through in PowerWash Simulator, a game that involves throwing on some powerful washing equipment and moving pixel by pixel around a dirty environment to clean it, then summer is the best time to invite your friends to help you digitally clean the neighborhood.

There are all kinds of maps and expansions for PowerWash Simulator too. It's a great way to keep your hands busy while you and your friends sit around chatting, but it's also a great way for yourself to spend some time feeling zen if you pop on some music or a podcast and wash away your worries.

7

Stardew Valley

For the gold you earn from summer's star fruits

via mandamelon/Steam

We almost dare you to find a list of cozy games that not includes Stardew Valley in one of the top spots. You start out as a burnt-out corporate employee who moves out to grandpa's farm in the small village of Pelican Town, and through digital sweat and toil you'll transform the once dilapidated farm into a lush, green money-making machine.

Along the way to your riches, there's plenty to see and do in Stardew Valley. There are a number of lovable NPCS, and you can even court and marry several of them. Head out to one of several mining areas to dig for gems and ores, cast your line into the plentiful fishing spots around town, run errands for the townspeople, and so much more.

6

Pokemon Sun and Moon

For The Island Vibe Of Alola

While we think any Pokemon game would be a good choice for a summer game, Sun and Moon is probably the most summery of the entire series so far, taking place on the Hawaiian-inspired island region of Alola. You get your first partner Pokémon and set off on a mission to catch them all on four large islands, with a trainer trial to complete on each.

Generation seven had dozens of unique Pokémon, from tropically inspired originals like Comfey the flower lei or Paloss and the sandcastle all the way to – shall we say – creative takes on the original Kanto Pokemon. We'll never forget the first time we saw an Alolan Exeggutor, nor will we ever see Alolan Dugtrio's sick surfer hairdos.

5

Date everything!

For a flirty summer fling

They say everything leads to love, and if you're feeling a little flirty this summer and looking for a fling, why not consider having a hundred of them at once? I Date Everything! put on your Date-viator sunglasses and see your household furniture in a new light – a sexy, sexy new light.

You'll have more than 100 characters to romance in Date Everything!, and each one is a personalized version of your furniture. Your hangers are a quintet of extreme sports brothers, your candlestick is a pompous gossip, your toilet is a rapping Frenchman and so many more that we can't possibly fit into a list. The game has the best humor of any dating sim on the market, and we bet it will take you most of the summer to work your way through all the dating sites in it, anyway.

4

Persona 5 Royal

For Long Distance JRPG fun you'll never see coming

While we recommend playing one of the best JRPGs of all time at any time of the year, summer is a good choice for when you finally dive into Persona 5 Royal and embark on a dense journey through a year in Tokyo as a probationary teenager trying to change the hearts of corrupt adults everywhere with his damn friends.

In traditional JRPG style, you'll spend dozens of hours working your way through the calendar as Joker, the protagonist of P5R, befriending everyone from your classmates to the owner of a gun shop, brushing up on your five personal skills, and fighting your way through some of the most stylish dungeons a JRPG can offer.

3

The Sims 4

For the Titular Simulation Sandbox Game

Even though Paralives is out now in early access and giving the Sims a run for its money, there's still a lot to love about the game that almost defined the life simulation genre. It launched more than a decade ago but still holds up for the most part today, and best of all, the base game for The Sims 4 is completely free to play.

However, you are encouraged at every opportunity to check out the ever-growing list of paid DLC for the game, including expansion packs that add new worlds and features to the game, smaller kits that bring clothing or building materials into the mix, and so much more. There's a reason The Sims is still touted as the king of the genre after all.

2

Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream

For whatever your weird little heart desires

One of the latest entries on our list of the best games for summer 2026, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream launched back in April to massive fanfare and has more than delivered on fun times and memes ever since. You can create anyone (or anything) as a Mii and move them to an island of your own design, allowing them to live out their somewhat independent lives.

Create your family and friends and see how everyone interacts, what their favorite foods are, what clothes they like and more. Make celebrities and see what kind of drama you can stir up. Do little freaks and have fun with it. The world of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is indeed your oyster (even if you haven't unlocked the Oyster at the grocery store yet).

1

Super Mario Sunshine

To clear Mario's name

Perhaps one of the most iconic summer games ever made, Super Mario Sunshine is drenched in fun, warm, colorful vibes that scream summer even before you hear the fun island-themed soundtrack. You'll play as Mario on a mission across Isle Delfino to prove that there's an evil doppelgänger painting graffiti over the quaint town, not you.

The game is, as Mario games tend to be, divided into levels with all sorts of themes and game mechanics, but Super Mario Sunshine is oversaturated with color and summer feelings right through. Fill up your water tank, deliver some fruit and chat with Delfinos between levels and you'll be enjoying some solid summer fun.