this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2023
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Gaming

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From video gaming to card games and stuff in between, if it's gaming you can probably discuss it here!

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With gaming often bringing me into a really depressive headspace sometimes with how the markets are developing, whats a game you can always go to and just be lost in, or just be happy with?

Personally i would go for advance wars 1 and 2 on the gba (there is no remake and never will be)

the artstyle, the music, the game-play is just simple, yet effective, a sublime experience of very fun times.

Whats yours?

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

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

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

Minecraft and Stardew Valley.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago (3 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

I've been playing Slay the Spire recently for the first time and I've been having a lot of fun with it!

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

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

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago (3 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

Fallout: NV

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Factorio. The factory *must *grow.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

!!! 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
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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

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

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

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

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago (5 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

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

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Subnautica.

When I'm not running for my life from creatures trying to kill me then ambiance is actually very chill. Something about being in a giant ocean. Not to mention the soundtrack is pretty chill. And the environments are cool as heck!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

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

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (4 children)

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

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (3 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (8 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

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

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Journey (PS3, PS4, PS5)

A perfect emotional escape for a couple of hours, I have lost count of how many "journeys" i have done, and its made all the richer if you meet another traveller along the way and complete the journey with them.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)

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!

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

This is going to sound silly, but Clicker Heroes. There's nothing necessarily "comforting" about it in the classic sense, but I have ADD, depression, and anxiety. Putting that on and just mindlessly clicking and resource-managing allows me to focus just enough on that, without it needing my full attention, to be able to also sort through my otherwise incoherent strands of thoughts.

But going by art, music, experience, gameplay, etc, I guess I'd have to say Bastion from Supergiant Games. It's definitely up there as one of my favorite games of all time.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (2 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

My chill and waste time games.

  • Lego's Builders Journey
  • Sims
  • Untitled Duck Game
  • Gnome Mahjongg
  • Sonic 1
  • Mario Bros 3 (NES)
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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

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 its 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.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I agree with this. Theres something about the early Fromsoft games where they become pretty easy and rhythmic once you figure out how they tick. Parrying was a lot easier, and backstab fishing always works. When coupled with the great sound design and quiet atmosphere while in the open world, its very satisfying.

I also throw Hollowknight in that category of games that are a headache the first time around but relaxing on the second play thru. Maybe Ori as well

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

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

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

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

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago (3 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

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.

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