Gaming

For me it's Terraria. When I don't feel like fighting bosses, I just go explore and dig or build a new settling for my NPCs. I can also set my own goals and try to collect as much as I can for example.

BOTW for sure. The expansive open world is just great to get lost in. Not to mention the soundtrack can be calming when you're out riding your horse in the fields.

I've been really enjoying the We Love Katamari remaster.

Breath of the wild has some chill situations, just going about in nature, or walking through the villages. It can also go absolute bonkers when you're unprepared.

Audiosurf for me. Just listening to my favorite mp3s and not really caring if I set a new world record or not.

In the same vein, doing a job in American Truck Simulator or Euro Truck Simulator 2. Just chilling out, driving across the map to deliver cows or whatever.

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!

Either Stardew Valley (for the chill vibe and calming soundtrack) or Old School RuneScape (for the massive nostalgia bomb)

Any of the Yakuza games for me! I love the feeling of walking around Kamurocho or Sotenbori and just trying different arcade games, karaoke, food, baseball etc 😊 the ambience and overall vibe is so nice (even if you do have to beat up random thugs every few minutes). Also, there are so many (very long) games in the series that there's always something new for me to try

!!! Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Easily in my top 3 games holy shit they're so good

!!! Hogwarts Legacy

!!! Control (if you're into 3rd person shooter with powers and a neat story)

!!! 7 days to die is probably my most addicted to game. (it's zombies) but imo way more fun with friends

Age of Empires II HD is a classic if you're into RTS (but I go brainless overpowered farming mode lol)

Any of the Assassins Creed games (I like 2,3,origins,odyssey,and Valhalla the most) if you want some stealth and fun combat

Walking sims:

• the first tree
• !! lost ember
• spirit of the north

Cozy adventure/puzzle games:

• !! rime
• !! the last campfire
• pumpkin jack (super fun gameplay)

I always prefer to play with people. If I do:

• 7 days to die(as mentioned)
• valheim
• portal 2
• it takes two
• ibb & obb
• shift happens

Symphony of the Night. I've beaten it more times than I can count. Played it for the first time on my dad's old PSX. Probably my favorite single player game ever.

In addition to RimWorld, I would say Deep Rock Galactic has never even once left me in a worse mood after playing it. Every time I boot it up, I cannot stop admiring the love and care GSG has put into their game and almost all of it for free. The only monetisation in this game is purely cosmetic, but they make sure that the stuff you can get through gameplay alone doesn't look worse than the stuff you pay real money for. Add on top of that the awesome gameplay, atmosphere and community and you got a game that pretty much never fails to lift you up.

If shooting native lifeforms as an exploited space miner isn't quite your mood right now, you could also try Tchia. Super pretty and lovely game, although I suspect it doesn't offer too much replayability, once you completed it. But the same could be said for Okami and that is the game I first say when asked what my favorite game is.

Trackmania! So many user made maps you never have to see the same map twice, and every map looks unique. You have a simple task: go from start to finish after collecting all checkpoints. Endlessly trying to get random bounces on "LOL" maps just never gets old.

Of course the right answer will alway be Roller Coaster Tycoon! Combined with this: https://openrct2.org/ ... calm and peaceful bliss.

Elite Dangerous in VR. I can really disconnect from the real world and just enjoy being a space-pirate bounty hunter.

Morrowind and Mario Maker 2.

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.

No one has said it yet, but I find Raft to be incredibly relaxing. Especially if you just ignore objectives and just sit there collecting debris. It can be so tranquil and a ton of fun

Minecraft and Stardew Valley.

Wind Waker for me. I love the game, but it's more that it brings me back to cozy weekends when my sister would ask me to "play the boat game" so she could watch.

Rimworld- I can and have lost hours managing my little space colony. You can make it as action oriented as you want, so if I want to focus on building my base and farming then I can switch off the raids for example.

I also love Two Point Hospital - so relaxing as there's no firm end point to levels, you can keep going if you want.

rimworld - so many different things to make your pawns do - endless mods as well. recently picked up factorio, still getting used to it but it looks like a fabulous timesink

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.

lately: against the storm. making a city builder into a roguelite was genius.

My first go to games for this would be Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow. I played those so much as a kid, and the nostalgia is wonderful.

Others that are high on my list would be Stardew Valley, Valheim, and one I don’t think I’ve seen mentioned yet - Satisfactory.

Slay the Spire is a big one. Casually smacking out wacky runs during a lunch break is the bee knees.

Brotato is good for this too, even if the game can be a bit repetitive. I wish it would grow even bigger with more items, more deep mechanics, more everything. Thank goodness there's modding.

As a kid, Alien versus Predator co-op survival maps were a big one. Mindless mayhem clears the mind like nothing else.

Deus Ex, Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines, and Cyberpunk 2077. Like you said, they are games I like to get lost in, just walk/drive around in, soak in the ambience. I like to pretend I'm there; it's a great escape, like you said, comforting.

Death standing has been that game for me, I'm happy to just collect material to build or maintain roads.

The binding of isaac ^^still working out my skill issues^^

Spelunky 2, Streets of Rogue, Angband (open source and runs on most systems!).

OG Star Wars Battlefront I & II.
Easy to just put on, play a few rounds and clear my head.
Simple & fun to play.

Hmmm probably civilisation is the one that I always go back to… but for pure comfort warm fuzzies - animal crossing.

As well as just being a nice, no pressure game it’s also associated in my mind with when my little boy was born. Spent many sleepless nights & mornings with our newborn snoozing in my lap while I played to keep myself awake. It was perfect as it’s such a nice gentle game.

Recent ones I come back to a lot are Sable and A Short Hike, both have great atmosphere and are nice to just amble around. Sable had a fishing update recently which I haven't tried yet, so that'll be nice when I need something chill.

Transport Tycoon, using OpenTTD. If you've never played it you can download OpenTTD and use their graphics, sounds, and music replacement sets to play it for free. However as I own the base game I like to keep the original music as it helps to drive the nostalgia.

I love Doom, and I've been playing it since I first got hold of the shareware episode, but when I really need a comfort game it's almost always Transport Tycoon.

Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect, and the NHL/MLB games are always my go-to when I just want to chill out and be comfortable. There's lots of comfort in being "with" some of your favorite characters time and time again. There's a different comfort (more of a zen feeling) in booting up my favorite sports games, turning off my brain and just letting instinct and reflex take over. Most Friday nights at the end of a tough week, I play MLB with some beers until late in the night after my friends log off.

My chill and waste time games.

• Lego's Builders Journey
• Sims
• Untitled Duck Game
• Gnome Mahjongg
• Sonic 1
• Mario Bros 3 (NES)

Psychonauts. Amazing style, level design, gameplay, and top notch humor.

Rimworld, honestly. I've logged 3k hours already. Probably have closer to 4k, if I had had the moolah for the game when I pirated it. It's the game I play when I don't really feel like playing something sweaty, just load up my latest colony and drink coffee or have my breakfast while watching my colonists go about their work. I just ended a 23 year colony based on aztec, kemetic, hellenic and solarpunk themes, due to mod conflicts making advancing a hassle. I've since cleaned up my modlist and I'm running a... Hm, dunno how to describe it. Monastic bounty hunters colony ig. Rootin tootin prayin magic cowboys in the desert.

Recently I picked Tunic as well as a chill game. It's pretty fun!

Probably strange to call them comfort games but I've played them so many times they've become comfort games: Mass Effect trilogy, Dragon Age games, KOTOR and KOTOR II, and even SWTOR.

Yes, I recognise I have a BioWare bias but honestly no games feel like theirs. I hope they stick around for a long time and manage to claw their way back to being a trusted RPG maker.

I think the familiar world building, the fantastic characters, the cinematic conversations, dialogue options all make it comforting to me. And they're my happiest gaming memories.

Definitely minecraft. It's a great game to relax

Trombone Champ,

The game is a bit of a challenge at first. But even if you screw up, it's so fucking hilarious. I just love it. My wife hates it when I play it. But I adore the game.

PowerWash Simulator is another one that is actually pretty relaxing for me. Some of the DLC coming looks fun too.

This may sound odd as a comforting game, but I fired up Fallout 3 a year or so ago, and it really made me feel good to be back in the Capitol Wasteland.

Minecraft and No Man’s Sky. Explore a little; build a little; shoot a few baddies; chill; repeat 😊