Game Groups > Gameplay feature: Day / Night cycle

Games that feature a day and night cycle, including specific time signifiers such as dawn, afternoon, midnight, etc., usually indicated by an in-game clock, graphical background, or any equivalent feature indicating the passing of time. Games that have this feature may also introduce time specific events, such as different monsters, sub-quests, or equivalent events which may only be accessible at a specified period of time.

Games in this game group must also introduce a direct gameplay consequence.

Examples

[For adventure and role-playing games]

Character A receives a sub-quest to hunt down vampires. Shops selling wooden stakes are only open during the day. Vampires do not roam during the day. Hence, character A must buy relevant equipment during the day and wait until nightfall to perform the quest.

[For strategy and simulation games]

Units are harder to detect, travel less frequently, and gain movement penalties at night. However, they are easier to make camouflage checks and can also commence ambush attacks at night more successfully.

Limitations

  • Games that may feature a day and night cycle, however do not additionally feature unique events related to the differences of time (e.g. only a graphical feature) should be excluded from this game group; the passing of time in itself is not enough to qualify for this game group. This also includes games where time is only presented as a deadline reminder or only a graphical feature of limited vision (which is more of a light/darkness feature than it is a day/night cycle feature).
  • Games where a day and night feature is only due to a trigger effect from a plot driven quest (e.g. time only advances when finishing a quest) or due to entering a specific location, should be excluded from this game group. A day and night cycle must always be in effect regardless of the player's actions, unless the game in mention is turn-based.

Related Groups

181 Games [ view in game browser ] [ add game ]

Title (Year ) Platforms Genres Moby Score
box cover thumbnail Afrika (2008) PlayStation 3 Adventure, Simulation
6.8
box cover thumbnail Ambermoon (1993) Amiga Role-playing (RPG)
7.8
box cover thumbnail Amberstar (1992) DOS, Amiga (+1 more) Role-playing (RPG)
7.5
box cover thumbnail Animal Crossing (2002) GameCube Simulation
8.0
box cover thumbnail Animal Crossing: City Folk (2008) Wii Simulation
7.0
box cover thumbnail Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020) Nintendo Switch Simulation
8.4
box cover thumbnail Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2012) Nintendo 3DS Simulation
8.0
box cover thumbnail Animal Crossing: Wild World (2005) Nintendo DS, Wii U Simulation
8.3
box cover thumbnail Aquatron (1983) Atari 8-bit, Apple II Action
n/a
box cover thumbnail Bad Blood (1990) DOS, Commodore 64 Action
7.0
box cover thumbnail Beasts & Bumpkins (1997) Windows Strategy
6.9
box cover thumbnail Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996) PlayStation, Windows (+3 more) Action
7.7
box cover thumbnail Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django (2004) Game Boy Advance Action, Role-playing (RPG)
7.7
box cover thumbnail Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand (2003) Game Boy Advance Action
7.6
box cover thumbnail Brave Fencer Musashi (1998) PlayStation, PSP (+2 more) Action, Role-playing (RPG)
7.1
Brave Fencer Musashiden: Square... (2000) PlayStation Special edition
n/a
box cover thumbnail Breath of Fire (1993) SNES, Game Boy Advance (+3 more) Role-playing (RPG)
7.2
box cover thumbnail Breath of Fire II (1994) SNES, Game Boy Advance (+4 more) Role-playing (RPG)
7.8
box cover thumbnail Brine (2016) Windows Simulation
n/a
box cover thumbnail Bugsnax (2020) Windows, Macintosh (+3 more) Adventure, Puzzle
7.4
box cover thumbnail Castlevania (1999) Nintendo 64 Action
6.9
box cover thumbnail Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (1987) NES, Wii (+2 more) Action, Role-playing (RPG)
6.8
box cover thumbnail Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness (1999) Nintendo 64 Action
6.8
box cover thumbnail Charumera (1999) PlayStation Simulation
n/a
box cover thumbnail Chulip (2002) PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 Adventure
6.4
box cover thumbnail Cities: Skylines - After Dark (2015) Windows, Linux (+1 more) DLC / Add-on
n/a
box cover thumbnail Dark Colony (1997) Windows, Macintosh Strategy
6.7
box cover thumbnail Darklands (1992) DOS, Linux (+2 more) Role-playing (RPG)
7.6
box cover thumbnail Days Gone (2019) PlayStation 4, Windows Action
7.2
box cover thumbnail Don't Starve (2013) Linux, Windows (+2 more) Action
7.7
box cover thumbnail Dota 2 (2013) Linux, Windows (+1 more) Strategy
7.9
box cover thumbnail Dragon Cave (2006) Browser Simulation
n/a
box cover thumbnail Dreams in the Witch House (2023) Windows Adventure, Role-playing (RPG)
n/a
box cover thumbnail Dune: Spice Wars (2022) Windows, Windows Apps Strategy / tactics
n/a
box cover thumbnail Dying Light (2015) Linux, Windows (+3 more) Action
7.8
box cover thumbnail Dōbutsu no Mori (2001) Nintendo 64 Simulation
n/a
Dōbutsu no Mori + (2001) GameCube Simulation
n/a
Dōbutsu no Mori e+ (2003) GameCube Simulation
n/a
box cover thumbnail Eastshade (2019) Windows, PlayStation 4 (+3 more) Role-playing (RPG)
6.8
box cover thumbnail Elkinloor (1995) DOS Adventure
n/a
box cover thumbnail Endonesia (2001) PlayStation 2 Adventure
n/a
box cover thumbnail Fable II (2008) Xbox 360, Xbox Cloud Gaming (+1 more) Role-playing (RPG)
8.4
box cover thumbnail Fallout (1997) DOS, Linux (+4 more) Role-playing (RPG)
8.2
box cover thumbnail Fallout 3 (2008) Windows, Xbox 360 (+2 more) Role-playing (RPG)
8.2
box cover thumbnail Fallout: New Vegas (2010) Windows, Xbox 360 (+3 more) Role-playing (RPG)
8.1
box cover thumbnail Far Cry 6 (2021) Windows, PlayStation 4 (+5 more) Action
7.4
box cover thumbnail Final Fantasy XI Online (2002) PlayStation 2, Windows Role-playing (RPG)
5.9
box cover thumbnail Final Fantasy XIV Online (2010) Windows Action, Role-playing (RPG)
5.7
box cover thumbnail Gaia (2020) Windows Action, Simulation
n/a
box cover thumbnail Ganso Saiyūki: Super Monkey Daibōken (1986) NES Action
n/a

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