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?
Stardew valley. Its not the type.of game I usually play, but for some reason whenever I feel down, just the sinple game play and music is very soothing.
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.
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.
i tried the remake of the first one and personally, i didnt like it, it felt like they added minutes to the timers and generally feels off, but im glad you like the remakes
Interesting. I played the original ages ago (like, as a Japanese bootleg before it got localized for Western markets) and only played the remake last year… Can’t say I noticed a difference in difficulty, and hunting down 100% Achievements was QUITE the challenge.
“We Love Katamari” DOES feel off to me, though. Like, I get kind of frustrated at the density of objects, and it’s never a feel I’ve experienced with the original or its remaster.
i see, let me give you an example than, in the original, as we are surely both familiar with, one very early level has you transition from a room to a garden and than the outside of the house. In the ps2 version i have roughly, a minute between finishing the level and it actually ending most of the time. In the remaster, on my first try i sat there for several minutes before it actually ended, so idk what they did, but they changed something.
Minecraft. It’s just a nice game to get lost in.
Fallout: NV
Definitely minecraft. It’s a great game to relax
I’m working myself backwards from Valheim to Minecraft…
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.
Diablo games. It’s nice being able to slay demons and not put much thought into it.
GTA, online friends mode, cruise on my motorcycle checking out scenery, ride the coasters.
Elite Dangerous in VR. I can really disconnect from the real world and just enjoy being a space-pirate bounty hunter.
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.
Everquest, Rimworld and Final Fantasy Tactics.
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Tactics advanced remake couldn’t come soon enough. Love that game.
Slay the Spire for me. Got all the characters to A20 with multiple heart wins, 700+ hours in across phone and steam deck, still having a blast with every run. The awesome thing is that every run is so distinct, every card in the game can be good in the right scenario.
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I love playing Spire on my iPad! It’s such a fun and strategic game!! I love how every run is different and getting OP feels so fun!
Super Mario kart and the original doom. I can play either of those games at any point and always have fun. There are newer games in both of those series, and I do love them too, but if I want some comfort gaming it’s the originals for me.
Pure comfort? Pokemon Crystal Clear - it’s like healing for the soul after a long day of marking.
Less pure comfort? Darkest Dungeon - because sometimes you need to feel pain to really relax!
Boy, time to relax from my incredibly stressful job! boots up exceedingly difficult game Why are we like this? lol
Me: boots up game to de-stress Game: “My name is Malenia, blade of miquella”
Man the brutal rng in darkest just makes me never want to touch it again. I know that’s a huge part of those kinds of games but in that game in particular in just feels extra painful
It’s a hard game to play if you’re playing a story about the lives of your characters. What got me over the hump was a change in view - it’s not a story about a party of heroes that save the world, it’s a story about the price paid before people can become heroes (and at least try to save the world before having a heart attack because a tiny pig man squealed too loud).
As soon as I started thinking of it as a horror game rather than an rpg, things just clicked more.
This is going to sound silly, but Clicker Heroes. There’s nothing necessarily “comforting” about it in the classic sense, but I have ADD, depression, and anxiety. Putting that on and just mindlessly clicking and resource-managing allows me to focus just enough on that, without it needing my full attention, to be able to also sort through my otherwise incoherent strands of thoughts.
But going by art, music, experience, gameplay, etc, I guess I’d have to say Bastion from Supergiant Games. It’s definitely up there as one of my favorite games of all time.
