Gaming

Euro Truck Simulator/American Truck Simulator

It quickly just becomes a virtual road trip simulator, and as someone who generally enjoys driving and road trips its very chill

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.

Minecraft. It's fun to see what new mods or mod packs come out every now and then. I tend to like the magic based ones like Thaumcraft, Botania, Ars Magica, etc. My partner prefers the Tech ones and together we build a massive base that's a fusion of the two.

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.

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.

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.

Deep Rock Galactic and (believe it or not) Crusader Kings

GTA San Andreas brings back so many memories for me. There was a specific summer, when I was 12 years old, that I spent hours just driving around listening to music. I really wish rockstar would do an actual remaster of this game instead of whatever they crapped out.

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!

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.

Factorio. The factory must grow.

!!! 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

Morrowind and Mario Maker 2.

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.

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.

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

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.

Hardspace: Shipbreaker can be a super relaxing game. You sit back and slowly disassemble massive spaceships in a salvaging yard. I love playing it when I want something mindless but relaxing. It's nice sitting alone in the salvaging yard with the catchy music and slicing apart a bulkhead.

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

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

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

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.

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

Harry Potter PC games. Particularly the first two - I played them a lot when I was younger so there's a nostalgia about them that I love. Fliiiipendo!

Minecraft and Stardew Valley.

Me and my wife just finished It Takes Two. What an incredible game and story!

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.

There are a lot of games I've spent a lot of time in, but none come close to Fallout New Vegas.

I left my heart in the Sierra Madre.

This might sound weird but Dark Souls 1 does give me a certain level of comfort, not sure what that says about me lol. I haven't played it in a while but back then, creating new builds and trying out new weapons was really fun, and I got very accustomed to the game's mechanics and it's general progression and pathing. I could run through the whole game without even thinking about it. I'll still go back to it every now and again and it still gives me that comfortable nostalgic feeling.

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

The binding of isaac (still working out my skill issues)

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

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

My chill and waste time games.

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

Fallout: NV