Nowadays I find a lot of games feel like too much work and/or anxiety when I just want to relax for like, 30 minutes to an hour after a long day. On the other hand, the games specifically designed to help you unwind just feel boring imo.
In the past I’ve felt like Outer Wilds scratched this itch, cause the whole experience was engaging but generally relaxed. There was a mystery that kept me hooked and the exploration and movement was fun in and of itself. I also felt like Subnautica filled this role since it was very much at my own pace, with anxiety producing portions which could for the most part be avoided or minimized, and also there was a clear objective to fulfill, get off the planet.
So what games do you play when you just wanna relax?
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It’s my bike, I ride my bike.
Indoors, I’ve got Zwift, which looks a bit like a game.
Outdoors the resolution is better, but the NPCs can be belligerent.
Lol
I like to play any type of horde clearing game where I can shut my brain off and just swing/shoot my way through a bunch of enemies. Some examples of this are deep rock galactic and vermintide 2. One scratches the shooty itch and the other scratches the swingy itch
If I ain’t shooting or swinging I like to play roguelites. Slay the spire and faster than light are classics I keep returning to. Interested in trying out cobalt core soon which looks like a mix of STS and FTL
I’m glad someone knows ftl I really like that game. Played it for a lot of years and is nostalgic to me. Recently tried the multiverse mods for it which revitalized it for me
Huh. Never occurred to me to try out modded ftl. Didn’t even know it had a modding scene. Will definitely check out this multiverse mod you mentioned
It’s really polished and expansive. New races and new ships and quests weapons and everything. It’s pretty sweet!
Outer Wilds
I will always shill for Outer Wilds, simply because it’s such a niche that only 2 games have come out in its unnamed genre: Majora’s Mask and Outer Wilds.
Yes, Outer Wilds is a spiritual successor to Majora’s Mask.
And the worst part is that talking about the game would probably spoil half of it. All I can say that it’s an adventure like Majora’s Mask.
If you ever were to trust an internet stranger to buy a game blind, now is the time. If you loved MM, you’ll at least like OW.
Happy adventuring, stranger ;)
Thanks for the reminder, I’m gonna go straight in with the VR mod. Haven’t even seen the trailer.
I’m really lucky that I didn’t cave in and watch any videos at first. (I think I watched the game’s version of a tutorial, but that was it.) Its fantastic.
I’m really in the same boat. Lately it’s been these:
Dorfromantik
Mini Motorways
Halls of Torment
Vampire Survivors
Brotato
Firewatch was great but it’s really a one or two sitting game. Same with Unpacking.
What I’m REALLY looking for but having trouble finding is something like a city builder or house builder that there is no money, nothing like that. Just creativity in building. Way back when I first tried the Sims, I loved the house building part more than anything.
I’ve been searching for something new though. I tried Satisfactory but really just wish it had a creative mode. I tried Terraria but I can’t get the Minecraft allegory out of my head so this game infuriates me.
There was a neat city builder a year back that had no end goal - just the building itself. I can’t remember what it was called. You could pick like three themes: medieval, modern. ,or renaissance (?). I wish I remembered the name.
I’d be interested if you wind up remembering the name.
What I’m REALLY looking for but having trouble finding is something like a city builder or house builder that there is no money, nothing like that. Just creativity in building.
Not sure if it’s quite what you’re looking for, but building in Valheim is quite fun, and it has a creative mode, so you can just go crazy without having to grind for materials.
Minecraft, Doom (first two), Cities Skylines, and more recently, Unpacking.
unpacking is great.
How’s Minecraft as a singleplayer chill game? Been debating on getting it, just to explore and survive pretty much.
Seems like it can go a long way.
It’s an almost perfect chill game. If you want to be creative, you can build all kinds of cool stuff. You can work from a homebase that you build up over time, or stay on the move. Or dig a big hole, just because.
It’s become one of those games that I go back to every couple of years.
I’ve seen quite a few mods making it even more immersive. Also seems to be quite playable on the steam deck even with mods.
Thanks for the reply.
I used to mess with mods, but even just vanilla it’s a great experience. But whatever floats your boat :)
I really liked playing Talos Principle 2 the past days. makes you think not just about logic but also some aspects of philosophy. which, at least to me, is pretty relaxing.
No Man’s Sky.
After the mildly stressful intro (which isn’t bad, just uses more sticks than carrots in the tutorial section), you basically just pick a direction and go.
If you wanna quest, there are quests available in (almost) every system.
If you wanna farm, pick a nice planet and get to building.
If you wanna fight, go find a planet with hostile Sentinel presence.
There’s always something interesting to do, but you can also just find a nice view on some planet, build a couch and just watch the iridescent grass blow in the wind for a bit.
The more I hear about No Man’s Sky now the more I’m thinking that perhaps this will be one of the games I can chill out to. I generally love space games, and the idea of just kinda flying around doing random stuff is already appealing.
As someone with almost 500h in NMS, get in fully aware that things get repetitive fast. Once you get off planet and can visit other stars the first time, it’ll likely take 2 hours to see all different kinds of planets.
Unlocking (“learning”) the 3 aliens’ languages is the absolute worst slog in the whole game.
Another ultra tedious chore is doing the daily missions for Quicksilver (special currency) to unlock some nifty cosmetics.
Also, combat sucks. It just plain sucks. The most annoying thing to me is: if you don’t fire your weapon for 1 or 2 seconds, your dude will put it down, which will create a small time window where you’ll have a significant delay between pressing the fire button and actually firing, because of the animation.
Minecraft. Sky Factory 3 - a void world modpack. Nothing exists without my having created it. I can allow mobs to spawn on my platform or not, depending on how I feel.
I find most games can be relaxing if Ive already played them a lot, even comp shooters. Quake Champions is relaxing for me at this point
Dorfromantik
This is my favorite chill game.
I can’t suggest this game enough.
Recently got back into my childhood favorite, Simcity 2000.
It’s just a classic for me. Amazing city builder with a chill soundtrack. Super rewarding planning out your city and watching it develop across the map. And it’s super stress free if you just play with disasters off
I’ve gotten really into Grand Theft Auto San Andreas for unwinding after a long day. Something about the low poly graphics while I can just be a menace in the game feels right.
Played it on my switch a few months ago after many years, still holds up beautifully. The radio stations are spot on and, just like you said, the low poly graphics (even on the DE) are so easy on the eyes.
Age of Empires 2 custom games. Can’t beat a classic, and you can save whenever you’re done
Forza Horizon 5. I like to just drive around the map for a while, and maybe do a race or two, until I inevitably get bored after an hour or so. Repeat every week.
(until I bought a real life motorcycle to scratch that itch, and no, I’m not racing or being dangerous on my motorcycle)
Ah, but which one do you have? Because you know, there’s this other motorcycle that can do X…
Slightly kidding, but “the correct amount of motorcycles is N+1, where N is your current amount” mentality is a real thing.
I currently have a '06 Suzuki GZ250. I got it 3 months ago and already have put 1600 miles on it.
I’m already getting the itch for a faster motorcycle, though. I first test rode a Harley Davidson Sportster 48, which was fun and tourquey but kind of heavy and not as comfortable as I expected (Harley = cruiser = comfortable so I thought). I then made the decision (mistake?) of test riding a Triumph Trident 660, and holy crap that was so much fun, I need it in my life lol even though I can’t afford it.
I also had an unexpected “adventure” getting stuck in the mud recently when trying to go off the beaten path. Dual sports have way too high seat heights for me but maybe I should get an ADV bike?
God help me the day I try a supersport bike. Make sure I don’t submit to squid-dom…
Lol, fast is nice, but my favorite bikes are smaller. My 125 scooter is my current favorite if I don’t need to go above 50mph, and I sorely miss my ninja400. As for the comfortable issue with cruisers, it’s supposedly an issue because of the leaned back, pressure-on-tailbone seating position. Neutral (upright) seems to be the most comfortable for the majority, and you know what’s king of those right now? ADVs ;) They’re basically the luxury bikes right now, with all the fancy electronics on the newer models, lots of suspension, and fast enough to do anything highway/street. Your goldwing types might technically be plushier, but ADVs are popular for a reason.
I have a supersport-lite: an older sport tourer with waaaay too big of an engine for what I want to do with it, but unless you find yourself acting silly now, you won’t have much to worry about. The occasional urge to catch that stupid muscle car blowing past with an exhaust tuned to sound loud passes you by just as quickly as you pass them by…
The uncomfortable part about the Sportster was actually how unexpectedly aggressive the riding position was. I expected laid-back similar to my GZ250 which is also a cruiser.
I am starting to think of ADVs as the SUVs of motorcycles. Usually, big, tall, off-road capable, comfortable, not particularly sporty, expensive, and trendy.
At the moment I am extremely budget-conscious so I’ll be sticking with my 250 unless I find a smoking deal for another motorcycle. Currently I’m a college student that doesn’t really need a motorcycle, but I really wanted one. Where I will be able to get a nice motorcycle is if I can spend my future car budget on a motorcycle instead…
Cities Skylines 2 has been great for this. Just log in and tinker with your city! Very relaxing creative problem solving…
