Gaming

For me it's Stardew Valley, Hollow Knight and Rollercoaster 1. Just building up my farm and getting to know every NPC in stardew is fun and I haven't played a game that let me feel progress and level ups as much as this game. Hollow knight is just so chill, the music is awesome and even though the setting seems depressing it spark so much hope for me with every new NPC. And Rollercoaster is just the dream of a child building an amusement park.

Minecraft

For me it's Ridge Racer Type 4 for the PS1. I think what comforts me is that soundtrack (listen to it everyone), but also it's the nostalgia kicking in for me

Used to be Test Drive: Unlimited, then the second one. After that, I moved to The Crew 1 and later 2. A big open world and car/motorcycle to ride around is unmatched when it come to just kicking back and relaxing in a game.

honestly any shoot em up or bullet heaven game. its nice and cathartic to blow up a fleet of spaceships in super galaxy squadron or mow down a thousand monsters in vampire survivors.

Tetris is an all time go to for getting out of my head.

For me it's the original Wild Arms on PS1. The translation makes the game a bit of a slog to play through. But, the soundtrack alone puts me into a happy place.

A sad story, made lighter by the friends found along the way.

• Quest 64
• The Last Guardian
• Cookie Clicker
• Mario's Picross
• Nanashi no Game
• Silent Hill
• LSD Dream Emulator
• Diablo
• The Hubris Game house demo made for Ben Drowned
• The Father: Reboot

Slay the Spire and the digital version of Ascension, solo play. I guess I like deckbulders. Ascension especially is so comforting for me, chill gameplay, no time pressure and I can put it down anytime and resume later on. Or not and just start a new one instead.

Or Isaac if I am in the mood for some action. plop plop plop plop.

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

For me it’s definitely Pokémon. When I was a kid I used to spend so much time just going through a million sapphire playthroughs. Even now if I’m having a bad day I’ll boot it up and play it a little.

Also special shoutout to factorio and stardew valley. It’s so easy to just lose all sense of time with those games lol

Civilization 4. Incredible quotes, amazing sound track, deep mechanics

Depends, sometimes its a quiet peaceful game like Minecraft, as others have said. Sometimes its Civ, keeps my brain thinking the whole time usually. Sometimes its Postal 2 or a Saints Row or GTA. Depends ont he mood, do i want calm, do i want my brain to be forced to think, or do i just want to do awful things for a little bit to virtual people.

Spore. I love making little creatures. Gameplay is simple but it's still fun!

I like to throw on a Dynasty Warriors game and just mindlessly start cutting down swathes of enemies.

I simply cannot get over simcity 2000. forever in my heart

Lately, mine has been Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour on the GameCube.

Mirrors edge is a series I always go back to. Really easy to fire up catalyst or the original and just focus on running really fast while I have an audiobook or some music on in the background. There is so many speedrunning techniques for each game that there is an endless depth to explore.

Surprised to be the first one to name it: Europa Universalis 4. Nothing better than to paint the map listening to either the EU4 soundtracks or your playlists.

Slay the spire and BTD6 are games I play when I don't know what to play.

I always find myself coming back to Monster Hunter every time I wanna chill and relax.

Slime Rancher 2 is my more recent go-to. Failing that, Super Mario World or Yoshi's Island will always do it for me

I recently heard that a Skyrim was a comfy game and I'm one to agree. Now I haven't picked up the game in months, but I know I can go back and pick it up again knowing that I'll be able to get lost in the world of the Dragonborn.

Another one for me is Stardew Valley, and I've also started to play Veloren bit which could also go up there as a cozy game.

A Plumber of All Seasons Super Mario World romhack is super fun and beautiful game. One guy spent years to make it, it is a work of love.

Cozy endless games like Minecraft, Stardew Valley, or Sims 4, where I can just get lost in the gameplay and don't have to stress out over objectives or missions.

Kerbal Space Program and Rain World

RDR2 Ik it's a little intense at times, but between missions its relaxing to just ride your horse around, craft/cook, and enjoy the beautiful scenery

Skyrim, fire emblem(anything 3DS and up, I haven't played the older games) and Warframe ❤️ these games always make me happy and comfort me if needed

Probably FTL. The game and the soundtrack are enthralling. I completely lose track of time playing it. But in a good way.

Edit: also Stardew Valley is my newest obsession.

One that I can think of is Journey. Another one that is pretty nice to play is Rime. There's a mobile game called sky or something as well that's pretty pretty to play as well.

For me, it's Dragon Quest XI S. That game has been like a best friend since the day I got it. I never thought I would love a turn-based RPG more than Dragon Quest VIII, but 11 did it.

I found gaming exacerbated my feelings of loneliness after many years of gaming daily. I also found the FOMO nature of a lot of games I was playing really took the enjoyment out of gaming.

Took a break in April (To watch lots of Star Trek) and only recently have had a few urges.

Hunt: Showdown may get picked up again and there are a couple of games coming that could be fun but we shall see.

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.

A Short Hike might be my favorite peacefull one. Or death stranding on a lower difficulty.