An Among Us character holds up a finger to shush the viewer with a dead character in the background — Gameplay in Among Us VR Credit: Image courtesy of Schell Games

It’s really cold, which has encouraged me to stay inside playing video games even more than I normally do. (A nasty cold teamed up with the weather during my winter break to make me play 80 hours of Metaphor: Refantazio, an incredible RPG that I’d highly recommend to anybody not instantly turned off by a massive RPG game called Metaphor: Refantazio.) Pittsburgh has a neat, humble community of game developers making worthwhile, often off-the-beaten-path video games. Some prominent games also offer a digital recreation of Pittsburgh or a distinct Pittsburgh milieu.

Read on to find some games with Pittsburgh connections to keep you company as you take refuge from the frigid world outside.

Full Quiet

Retrotainment, a small Pittsburgh-native indie developer associated with the now-online-only retro resale shop Cash-in Culture, makes new games playable on the original 80s console the Nintendo Entertainment System. Its latest, Full Quiet, may be its most unique and ambitious yet. It has side-scrolling action like the developer’s previous effort Haunted: Halloween ’86 but adds open-exploration and puzzles. For those who don’t want to get an actual NES cartridge, the game can be purchased for PC or Nintendo Switch.

Among Us VR

Among Us has become an incredibly popular online multiplayer game, especially among youngsters. For the uninitiated, it’s sort of like Mafia or Werewolf – a group of squishy, cute astronauts have imposters in their ranks, and it’s up to the non-imposters to suss them out. Among Us VR, developed in part by Pittsburgh-based game developer Schell Games, brings the game to a first-person, virtual reality perspective. If you have a VR headset for Playstation, PC or mobile devices, don’t be sus: check this out.

Art Sqool

When City Paper profiled local artist Julian Glander, he admitted that the scores players received in his video game Art Sqool are made-up “bullshit.” In this odd game, players explore an abstract world made with Glander’s iconic three-dimensional computer-animated art style and complete simple 2D drawings based on quirky art prompts. It’s not about winning – it’s just a vibe. You can play on PC and draw with a mouse or get it on Nintendo Switch and use the touch screen – just make sure, for the latter option, that you get a rubber-tip stylus for full enjoyment.

Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Mega Cat Studios

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit

The subtitle of Pittsburgh-based Mega Cat Studios’ Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit may seem like an intentional reference to Pittsburgh, but the name came from a young adult spin-off novel. And the game’s setting has not been confirmed, even if it has a Pittsburgh-adjacent rust belt atmosphere. This entry in the mega-successful FNAF series, available on PC, Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch, swaps 3D graphics for 90s style pixel art, resulting in a charming, scary and fun adventure that meets or maybe even exceeds the heights of the franchise. Kiddos, horror fans, and nerdy adults alike will love this game.

Fallout 76 and The Last of Us: Part One

City Paper once created a list of games that take place in Pittsburgh, and the two most prominent games have since received worthwhile follow-ups. In order to take advantage of Playstation 5 and modern PC hardware, Naughty Dog re-released its 2013 classic as The Last of Us: Part One, with its chunk of the game featuring a post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh still intact. Fallout 76, an online multiplayer-focused entry in the beloved RPG franchise available on Xbox and Playstation consoles in addition to PC, also returns to its own post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh setting first introduced in Fallout 3.

A tangle of streets and buildings on a colorful virtual landscape — Gameplay in Mini Motorways Credit: Image courtesy of Dinosaur Polo Club

Mini Motorways

You ever get stuck in some horrible Pittsburgh traffic and find yourself indignantly looking around, telling yourself you could arrange the roads and direct traffic better than the City of Pittsburgh? Well, this game is your chance to test that theory. Available on mobile, PC and Nintendo Switch, this minimalist puzzle game tows a line between cozy and stress-inducing gameplay — without the actual risks that come with driving in the ’Burgh.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD

There’s really nothing Pittsburgh-related about this game, but stick with me. This latest release from Nintendo, one of the last games to be released on the Nintendo Switch before the Nintendo Switch 2 debuts later this year, rocks. It’s a modest remaster of a roughly 15-year-old Nintendo Wii game and provides creative and challenging level design with rock-solid, satisfying controls. There’s a “modern mode” for those intimidated by the challenge and a helpful little piggy that will straight-up have another Donkey Kong do the level for you if you’re stuck.

And when you leave the controller still for a while, Donkey Kong will look cautiously over his left and right shoulders before pulling out his own Nintendo Switch to get some gaming in, and I just think that’s lovely. I’m confident my Pittsburgh neighbors will also find it lovely, so I’m recommending it here. If you need an additional local connection, play the late Jimmy Wopo’s song “Donkey Kong” while you watch the necktie-wearing ape button-mash.