Gaming

World of Warships. It is the game I play for years with friends. In times that is hard for us to meet face to face we jump on the game for some battles, during which we share our news and chat. It's almost like a coffee or a beer.

Factorio. The base must grow

Believe it or not, Warcraft 2. There are three scenarios I like to play through. They are pretty mindless, have varying degrees of challenge, and are very low stress.

Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and puzzle games like Myst, Riven, or The Witness. I love these escape-type games.

I get the headspace thing. It's been really hard for me to devote my mental energy and time to playing games recently. I've picked up the new Zelda game and have barely touched it.

Oddly enough I go through phases where I just level up a character on WoW. It's mindless for me and I can just zone out and watch TV while playing.

Through the years the one game I keep going back to when I just need a place to lose time

Elder Scrolls Online

Man I wish I had better tastes

I have several comfort games to put my mind at ease sometimes.

At least once a year it is Skyrim with mods to improve the scenery.

But I love playing the Atelier series too. Crafting and optimizing stuff in these games is great.

And then there are puzzle games like Baba is You where I often just close the game and think about solving the problems for a long time. Helps to keep your mind occupied.

I'm playing The Big Con at the moment and it's loads of fun! I love the quirky graphics and witty humor.

My classic go-to is The Witcher 3 - honestly I beat this game like 4 times at least. The story (apart from the main quest which is a bit lacking to me) is absolutely amazing. The music, setup and dialogues really help you to sink in the world.

Oh! And GTA San Andreas - always a blast!

Just cruising around some cars listening to the radio in Forza Horizon. Fishing in Shadowprey Village in World of Warcraft. Improving flow of traffic in City Skylines or Transport Fever 2.

Streets of Rogue.. I don't know what it is about that game, but I always find myself picking back up and getting lost in all the different ways you can play. I can't wait for the sequel, definitely, the game I am anticipating the most.

Black Ops Zombies games.... at least until I found out every game has very well known hacks that allow for remote code execution of your PC. Yikes! Not touching those games anymore sadly

For me it's Final Fantasy VIII, the first game I bought with my own money. Gaming was hard back then, I had no allowance or any sort of income. I bought games with money I got from Christmas and birthday. My friends all loved final fantasy VII and bragged about it but I just could not afford it when it launched. I bought Final Fantasy VIII on launch after reading glowing reviews on a local gaming magazine and I loved the game. I know the junction mechanic is flawed, I know the draw system is bad, I know the story isn't the best. I still loved it and played it to 100% a ton of times. Bought it in pretty much all platforms I own (including twice on Steam, even tho it was a ripoff). The game really makes me realize how far I've come in life and how fortunate I am on how everything turned out.

Destiny. Been my favorite game since launch day in 2014.

Edit: made Destiny for any other Destiny fans to join!

For me it's the binding of isaac, I'm not sure that it woukd work for everyone, but the game is just so large that it never gets old. 1500hrs, 100% the game and I still find myself diving into it after a stressful day.

Microsoft Flight Simulator. Flying Cessna around my town.

Cities Skylines tends to be the game I return to when I just need to chill for a bit. I'll come up with some silly idea for a city, fire up a map I haven't built on yet, and see what I can make work. There's no endgame, no goals aside from what I feel like doing, just a sandbox and some toys to play with.

Everquest, Rimworld and Final Fantasy Tactics.

Persona 4 or 5. Love them.

Not so much any one game, as a genre: action adventure games. Games like Tomb Raider, God of War, stuff like that. I love playing through a really immersive, well-told story.

MS Flight Simulator (Xbox Gamepass) - I often fire it up, pick a place in the world I've never been but would like to go and fly around. I never take off or land, just get low to the ground and buzz.

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