Games

Depending on what you mean by casual, I consider Dead Cells a casual game, because whenever I'm bored I pick it up and play for a while, but it's one of the hardest games I've played, however because it's rogue like it doesn't matter if you die a lot. Another similar example would be Factorio with enemies turned off, just go there, fix something, add something new and quit the game near the next thing you want to do so you remember it next time.

If you're looking for a more traditional definition of casual games I tend to play those in the phone, I really like mini metro and super hexagon (although again, this one might not fit your definition of casual)

I like TLOZ:BotW a lot. But I need to say that it is my favorite game so it could not be that relaxing for others. Forager is also a great casual game. I cab also genuinely recommend these:

• Shapez.io
• World Box
• Spaceflight Simulator
• Good Pizza Great Pizza
• Surviving Mars
• Before We leave (At one point it becomes very buggy and the save is basically useless)

If you're okay with demolition derby stuff, FlatOut 2, Ultimate Carnage, and also Wreckfest is decent arcade racer. FlatOut minigames also fun for couch play with 2-4 people.

Wrecking competitor is fun and you can set the difficulty as you wish.

Depending on what you mean by casual, Terraria fits the bill. I love sitting down with a journey mode character and taking the game at my own pace. For the first playthrough I would probably point people to softcore normal mode as it's the "proper" way to play, but once you've grinded out goals once then journey is a really nice way to take control of the game's difficulty on the fly.

The ones I've played of late are:

Disney Dreamlight Valley

Dungeons of the Endless (Casual, but a tad addictive)

Dungeon Defenders

I mean cyberpunk2077 you can by and large pause at any time and you can generally save but there are sometimes where it tells you saving is not allowed. So there are certain points in the story where you can be playing for awhile without a save but its not a super lot. Can be sorta annoying though when you get to them though. Still its not much of the game. Its been awhile but I thought harry potter allowed pausing. Don't recall it putting me in a difficult position where I could not put it down. Technically elden ring has a hidden pause if you go into a menu in a menu. There are youtube videos on it. Its stressful as heck though as a game. If you quite you are by and large fine to but any enemy that is damage will be at full health when you get back but dead ones will stay dead. Its really not much of an issue except for bosses. I think baldurs gate 3 and starfield allow saving pretty much at any time as well and pause, again its been awhile.

Stardew Valley is the embodiment of chill

Dave the Diver. I had put down gaming because of tiredness and this game was such an unexpected joy of exploration and cute story for me. Easy to pick up and do a quick dive, decent progression based on a mix of skill and leveling up your character, and the writing was excellent. First game I 100% in forever and it was while playing it 30 minutes at a time.

How has noone mentioned Powerwash Simulator yet. There is no pressure (pun not intended), you just walk around dirty scenes and start cleaning them. The amount of satisfaction this produces is incredible. This is mostly because the dirt is actually fairly accurate and washing does not feel like brushing dirt of where the only options is 100% dirt or 0% dirt. All of the intermediates and the complex geometry of the objects makes cleaning a really chilling experience.

Enter the Gungeon is another good bullet hell game. Slay the Spire if you like deck building. Both easy to pick up and stop.

I asked a similar question quite a while back. What ended up feeling good for me from the recommendations was Oxygen Not Included surprisingly. I thought it would be too much but just trying to figure things out on my own was fun, and I found myself falling asleep to thoughts of plans for my colony. Surprisingly addictive and chill, maybe because I could pause and think anytime things started going wrong.

But I also gotta recommend Outer Wilds if you haven't played it already. Exploration, mystery solving in a chill solar system environment. Go in blind is the best advice for that game but I found it super chill and relaxing.

Halls of Torment and Brotato are both similar to Vampire Survivors, but better in my opinion. Great art styles and the weapon system in Brotato is really fun.

Casual-wise, story-based games are nice, like Frog Detective, Florence and the like.

I play Hardspace Shipbreaker when I want to relax.

You are a worker in a spacedock and dismantle ships with a cutting and grappling tool and divide the components into resource bins. It has a chill soundtrack and it's fun to float around with thrusters and figure out how to separate the different parts.

UFO 50

If you enjoyed arcade or NES style games

Balatro. Can get it on your phone, Switch, Steam Deck. It's the poker-based rougelite. Sounds weird, but it works, and super easy to pick up for a hand or two and then back to work.

Factorio, it can be casual, but eventually it will steal your sleep

Dredge has been one of my favourites. Just be aware that the game starts harder than when it ends.

Try some cozy games, like Animal Crossing, or any of the dozens of other farming / crafting games. If you want 3D, Slime Rancher is a good option in this category.

Destide has already mentioned Stardew Valley, which is also a great choice.

You can also try some not-difficult side-scrolling game, like Rayman Legends, it has some difficult levels, but most of the game is very chill.

Tetris :)

I am running Tetris for the PSP on my Steam Deck and I love it!

Here's a slightly different spin on "computer games"

I have Boardgamearena.com in the background of my browser. I often have a few board games going at once. You take your turn, and it alerts you when it's your turn again. There are also games you can play solo if you don't wait to wait around for others.

HoloCure is another take on Vampire Survivors genre, but with slightly more complex mechanics (closer to a twin stick shooter) and VTuber themed characters. It's also completely free on Steam as it's a fan made project, but that does not detract from its quality in any way.

Project Highrise might fit the bill - it's pretty relaxed, and lasts forever.

I played through My Friend Pedro over the weekend when I had a few hours to chill. I can't promise that it'll keep you preoccupied for long but I really enjoyed it

Try some retro games as well, some beat 'em up & shoot 'em up games, zelda games, Shinning Soul I & II