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?
Nethack or DROD
Just starting to get into genshin impact, though, and it seems pretty cool.
I play farming games on emulators on my phone usually.
But when I’m too stressed or tired, I don’t really have the energy to play games, just lay on my bed, put something on in the background, and sleep.
Stardew Valley, Rune Factory 4, Friends of Mineral Town, and that’s pretty much it.
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.
Why are there so many suggestions of Zelda BotW over TotK imo this thread? I’ve only played the latter but my understanding is it’s pretty much the same game with more to do. And since Nintendo games rarely go on sale you are probably looking at a very similar price tag.
Maybe everyone’s a completionist and would rather play the games in order rather than jump into the story halfway through ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
TotK is literally the only Zelda game I’ve ever completed and I understood the story perfectly fine.
Well yeah you can understand most stories without reading/hearing the first part and it’s not like Legend of Zelda is exactly Moby Dick.
Since everyone has already said more well known games, here are my Indie/small games
Islanders
Race the Sun
Skye
Superflight
Basically Loopy in Simon Tatham’s Puzzles, available on Linux, Windows, and Android (F-Droid), when I don’t want to be stressed.
Otherwise I just play some retro/old school games like Final Fantasy (started IV a few days ago), (Free)Doom, AssaultCube or Cave Story when on my laptop.
Shattered Pixel Dungeon. Which is weird because it’s actually quite frustrating, but super rewarding if you win.
I played this a bit on mobile and really enjoyed it, not sure why I stopped in retrospect, I was never able to beat it even once. Another one where dying isn’t a big deal cause replaying is part of the fun. Been thinking of checking it out on PC but just never got around to it
Hit me up if you ever need any tips. I’m not the best out there, but I’ve won with all 5 classes. Currently working on winning with all 9 challenges on.
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup has a similar feel to it. It’s a lot more involved if you want way more variables to play with. There’s and Android port from PC that takes some getting used to, but is pretty fun to play over and over.
I need to check this one out again. A friend of mine highly recommended it.
I find the boss battles in Pixel Dingeon too difficult when I am forced into them before my character is ready.
Pathos Nethack is a better mobile dungeon crawler with no time pressure for the fixed encounters.
I’m check it out!
Cities Skylines and Civ
As a veteran of the game I keep coming back to it from time to time it’s a really nice way to relax.
I stopped at L1, I play on and off nowadays.
Well I’ve been playing since closed beta so like 10y and something at this point, but you can definitely go over my MR fairly easily, MR is about collecting things not really skill related, of course there’s still some time invested.
Easiest way would be to go to your codex, select a category, melee for example and make and level up every single weapon there, sentinels, warframes you get the idea, anything you can level up gives mastery, even completing the star chart by unlocking every mission, somethings will be harder or expensive to get or behind multiple days of farm aka most of stuff in open world but that’s how everyone does it.
iOS / iPad game called “Flight Pilot”. Dumb, not even a simulator, just get off the ground and hit hot air baloons for points kind of game. It’s just a mindless time for me to relax a bit. You can run “missions” if you want, but you don’t have to, and if you’re patient, you can level up without making any purchases using real money. It’s really great.
I can’t name a specific game because they all get old, boring, and unsatisfying after a while. However in terms of genre, it tends to be roguelites and poker.
Brotato
It is a chill drug
burnout paradise. I’ll just put on a podcast and drive around. Sometimes I’m seeking out races, or new best times on roads. Sometimes I’m just driving around more or less obeying traffic laws like a reasonable citizen.
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