Head Back To School With The Best Games Set In Student Life

Another summer is drawing to a close, and it’s time for the kiddos to head back to school . Whether that makes you want to celebrate or cope, there are plenty of video games that can help deal with the end-of-summer blues, and we’ve picked out the best.

All the highs and lows of student life (and the angst and drama in between) are pretty universal themes in media, so it’s no surprise that video games have drawn from this well liberally over the years. The best games set in schools may either offer us the fantasy of doing things over again, defying the system in ways we couldn’t in real life, or add some whimsy to the daily grind.

Whether you’re about to heading back to school, welcoming a new cohort into your classroom, or feeling nostalgic for the simpler days of your youth, these five games revolving around the school experience will set the tone for fall.

5) The Sims 4: Discover University / High School Years

Maxis’ flagship series set the bar for life simulations, and since The Sims 2 , it’s been inevitable to see a new expansion pack take players back to schoo l. The franchise’s current iteration, The Sims 4 , took this a step further with a double-whammy: 2019’s Discover University for the postsecondary experience, and 2022’s High School Years .

Both drill into their specific life phases and truly enrich your Sims’ experiences—making school more than just an off-screen task, and giving players the chance to truly help the children in their families turn into more developed adults. Playing both packs can truly give Sims a head start, with their performance in high school informing their chances for university, and university fast-tracking their careers with a degree.

Of course, the series’ signature sense of humor permeates the whole student vibe, as well. All of this, with the game’s inherent time-eating nature, makes it a great way to unwind, either from the early stresses of heading back to school, or from those late-semester cram sessions.

4) Pocket Academy

So often students will boast that they could run the school much better than their teachers. Well, here’s your chance, kids!

KairoSoft is the king of smartphone sim games, one of a few studios who can evoke the same charm and replayability that RollerCoaster Tycoon achieved way back at the turn of the century. This makes their Pocket Academy games a perfect back to school distraction on mobile.

Players manage their own schools from the ground up, choosing the facilities, faculties, and initiatives that will lead to the best possible education for their students. Good grades and high stats are rewarded with new facilities, and placing those rooms optimally increases both their effect and the school’s popularity–thus drawing in high-quality applicants.

With multiple maps/scenarios, no microtransaction s, and the timeless pick-up-and-play fun of older sim games, any of the three Pocket Academy games are a much better way to spend a few idle minutes with your phone than doom-scrolling or stressing over your homework.

3) Bully

The cherry on top of Rockstar Games ‘ PS2 golden era is Bully , which brought some of the studio’s irreverent Grand Theft Auto philosophies to a private school setting. Players step into the sweater vest of James “Jimmy” Hopkins, a delinquent forced to attend a prestigious New England boarding school. Jimmy must unify (or exploit) the academy’s various cliques to combat the nefarious bullies that rule the roost.

You also spend a lot of time delving into mind-blowing dungeons to save your fellow students from their own crippling insecurities. You know, the usual stuff students are stressing as they head back to school.

Bully engaged with, and at times subverted, some of the worst clichés or stereotypes of school life. Unfortunately this led some to misconstrue it as a complete endorsement of bullying and harassment (or much worse, as alleged by the infamous Jack Thompson ).

Nonetheless, Bully is a great game to prep for back to school, as its GTA inspiration led to a robust open-world-ish environment (well before open worlds became commonplace) and a wealth of minigames to keep the experience fresh.

2) Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy VIII isn’t just one of the games I replayed ad nauseum in high school, with its original release seared into some of my own back to school memories—it’s also a perfect encapsulation of the school experience.

Play card games on spare periods! Drive into town to blow off some steam! Pressure other students to join your event committee! Fight a dinosaur in the on-site training ground, distressingly close to your dorm room! Turn the school itself into a boat and sail the seven seas! Become a teenaged mercenary and fight sorceresses from the future to prevent them from making time into a singularity! Compete with other students to get hot dogs at the cafeteria! The only thing it’s missing is an overfunded sports team with a horrible record.

At the heart of one of the most misunderstood entries in its storied franchise is Balamb Garden, a military academy that feels like home to many gamers who played Final Fantasy VIII back in the day. It’s a constant in this epic adventure, not just a gimmick for the opening hours like many other JRPGs rely on.

1) Persona 4 Golden

There’s no shortage of games set in Japanese schools, and just about any Persona title could top this list, but at the end of the day Persona 4 Golden takes the crown for back to school vibes.

Persona 4 Golden is a murder mystery and a surreal exploration of the human psyche, but it all revolves around the student experience. Like Bully , it takes place over a school year, and it touches upon all the essential teen hallmarks, like part-time jobs, learning to drive, joining teams, getting called on in class, keeping your grades up, and maybe falling in love along the way. And much like academia, learning how to manage your time is critical to your success.

You also spend a lot of time delving into mind-blowing dungeons to save your fellow students from their own crippling insecurities. You know, the usual stuff students are stressing as they head back to school.

Jokes aside, Persona 4 Golden is one of the best JRPGs of the modern age, and it’s built upon the foundation of an interesting and rewarding education system. Like FFVIII , these elements are more than just a mechanical gimmick or diversion; they inform the plot and grant it emotional resonance.