With gaming often bringing me into a really depressive headspace sometimes with how the markets are developing, whats a game you can always go to and just be lost in, or just be happy with?
Personally i would go for advance wars 1 and 2 on the gba (there is no remake and never will be)
the artstyle, the music, the game-play is just simple, yet effective, a sublime experience of very fun times.
Whats yours?
Minecraft. It’s just a nice game to get lost in.
Old school point and click adventures. They tend to be lighthearted, you can’t really “lose” in the sense that would generate anger/stress, and the stories tend to be quite good. LucasArts adventures in particular are good for this
Stardew Valley is amazing for this. Minecraft was it for years and years, but Stardew is just like a nice hug. I adore it.
Hogwarts Legacy has also fallen into this category for me now.
+1 for minecraft, but i tend to go through phases where i play it 24/7 for a few months and then i never even think about it for a few months
My days with Minecraft seem to be behind me though. With the account migration, I was unable to complete it due not using the email registered with the account for like 5 years. The email needs me to verify by SMS, of which I’ve not had that number for 6+ years. With them reportedly deleting accounts that aren’t migrated, looks like I’ll be done for permanently. So, RIP Minecraft, my old friend.
oh wow that’s insane. I’m sure you could figure out a way to recover it before they purge but that sucks to hear though.
super Mario galaxy for sure
When I was very young I had something wrong with my nose and I couldn’t breathe so I had to get surgery
When I left the hospital my parents said I could get a game to play while I couldn’t go to school for a week and I chose super Mario galaxy
I played the shit out of that game and it just has such a calming positive vibe, like everything is gonna be ok
That game is a part of me, I love it so much
… that or left 4 dead 2
Love Super Mario Galaxy.
Incredibly nostalgic game.
Anyone of my simulation/management games. Whether it’s running a hospital, creating an auto manufacturing assembly line or helping some brave adventurers find oxygen I’m always more at peace with a single player goal driven experience.
Cities: Skylines.
Have you ever tried Dwarf Fortress?
I have not. I looked at it when all the hype was going around towards its new release on Steam. I should probably pick it up at some point. I’ve been holding off on getting many new games since my kiddo was born. Not much time to play them anymore! Haha.
Valheim’s pretty great especially when you spend long hours just gathering resources. I like to put on long form video essays in the background while chopping down trees and mining ore.
Absolutely love Valheim, it is so relaxing pottering around and building whatever takes your fancy. +1 to the longform videos too!
I’ve been playing a lot of Valheim lately. I run a small server for my family and a couple friends that get on occasionally. We just made our first visit to the mountains, but we made it to the plains first. That was pretty brutal.
Stardew Valley is my go-to. I found Firewatch really easy to get lost in too.
Yeah, definitely Stardew Valley with some mods. It’s pretty close to endless things you can do in that game. Thinking of Stardew Valley have me wondering about the state of the Haunted Chocolatier game.
I forgot about this! Now I’m wondering too haha.
Firewatch is great! Since you liked that, also check out Life is Strange: True Colors
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll check it out!
Star Wars: Racer - I know every track by heart at this point, have it on my Switch and still play quite a bit. Amazing flow state game.
Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 - absolute classic and the nostalgia I get from playing is unmatched
Age of Empires 2 - the music is just muah
KotoR - Best Star Wars game ever made next to Dark Forces 2 and Jedi Outcast
Star Wars: Racer is better than it has any right to be. I still sometimes play it and Rogue Squadron on my old N64.
I’m half way through another light side KOTOR2 run and it just never gets old to me. Such a great series.
Oh man I remember playing Roller coaster tycoon 2 on my mums old PC years ago. Such a blast.
Im gonna be “that guy” and say dark souls 1. Subsequent playthroughs of the game are surprisingly relaxing, when you know where everything is and you’re just putting together a build and steamrolling bosses.
Stardew Valley or Borderlands.
Portal. I’ve played through it enough times that I can complete it in a little under 20 minutes. I’m not very good at games but there are a lot of fun and easy tricks to run through it quickly. Playing it a bunch of times is relaxing and fun for me.
Nethack. I first bought it in a floppy in a mall in the 90s for my 486 and it’s still the same today.
Thank you. Yes. Nethack is a great comfort game.
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is fantastic for me, too. You can play it through your browser (or download it) here.
I have to say, though, there’s nothing quite like a game of Rogue. When I play it I’m instantly transported back to childhood. Rogue was my first real video game obsession as a kid. I found it on my grandfather’s Apple IIgs and was just blown away. I remember being so enthralled by how deep it felt at the time. I had transcribed the commands to a piece of paper so I didn’t have to consult the in-game docs constantly. I was terrible at it, and never got anywhere close to beating it back then, but even dying was fun. You can play it online here. Type ? (or F1) to see the list of commands.
No Man’s Sky is a good mix of nice scenery, low stress, and engaging without requiring a lot of mental capacity that can be comforting.
also worth mentioning: No Man’s Sky (or NMS) has lots of settings to tailor the experience to the difficulty you want. It can be a walk in the park, just building with limitless resources, and it can be permadeath.
I have multiple save games in NMS which I pick up based on my mood. A Survival save game when I don’t want to mindlessly wander but don’t want consequences, a Permadeath savegame when I want to be thrilled and a Normal savegame if I just want to soak in the beautiful planets.
Excellent point. I keep meaning to try a permadeath run but its hard with a 2 year old running around to find the time for something like that.
I’m surprised Katamari Damacy hasn’t been mentioned yet. Both that game and its sequel, “We Love Katamari,” have been remastered in recent years (in fact, the sequel just came out last week) and they’re a joy to play.
The game has all that OP mentions… Quirky art style, awesome music, simple tactile gameplay, and just overall a relaxing and fun time.
As others have already touched upon, I think the Zelda series is masterful (pun semi-intended) at this.
I can’t count how many times I’ve replayed through Ocarina of Time just to relax and vibe. These games really excel at creating little moments of catharsis.
I used to spend hours in OOT just hanging around Kakariko or Lon Lon Ranch or soaking in the ambiance of the Forest Temple.
Or hanging outside the Stock Pot Inn in the morning, waiting for it to open in Majora’s Mask.
Or floating around on the Great Sea in Wind Waker.
Or taking Marin down to the beach in Link’s Awakening.
And so on, up through the BotW/TotK era.
