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?
Try not to have an overly rosy retrospection about this. There were plenty of crappy, cash-grabby games in decades past. We just don’t remember them because they were crappy, cash-grabby, and not worth remembering. They hadn’t invented microtransactions yet, but that’s just one more flavor of crappiness.
I haven’t seen anyone mentioning this gem:
Vampire Survivors
Morrowind and Mario Maker 2.
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.
super Mario galaxy for sure
When I was very young I had something wrong with my nose and I couldn’t breathe so I had to get surgery
When I left the hospital my parents said I could get a game to play while I couldn’t go to school for a week and I chose super Mario galaxy
I played the shit out of that game and it just has such a calming positive vibe, like everything is gonna be ok
That game is a part of me, I love it so much
… that or left 4 dead 2
Oh yes! SMG was the game we bought the day we bought our Wii back then and it is a masterpiece. It is also the only Mario Game I ever “finished” (all Stars with Mario, not Luigi tough). We loved everything in this game. The Music, Level Design, Controls… and whenever we thought that we have seen all, they came up with a new game mechanic that surprised us and was super fun. It was truly a fantastic and memorable experience.
Stardew Valley is amazing for this. Minecraft was it for years and years, but Stardew is just like a nice hug. I adore it.
Hogwarts Legacy has also fallen into this category for me now.
Anyone of my simulation/management games. Whether it’s running a hospital, creating an auto manufacturing assembly line or helping some brave adventurers find oxygen I’m always more at peace with a single player goal driven experience.
Stardew Valley comes to mind right away, but I think it applies to all titles after you get the hang of it, with the exception of heavily RNG-based games like Risk of Rain 2, Hades, Dead Cells where you have to be alert almost all the time. Currently I’m enjoying playing Red Dead Redemption 2. Definitely a comfort game just riding your horse around.
I tried Stardew Valley one time, and it killed me. I would probably call myself a completionist and all the stuff I have to remember from the get go and dates and times I need to be somewhere to don’t miss out just made me stressed out. But I haven’t looked into it if you really miss out or you can do the stuff later, too. It was I while ago… perhaps I will give it another try.
No Man’s Sky is a good mix of nice scenery, low stress, and engaging without requiring a lot of mental capacity that can be comforting.
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
Stardew Valley is my go-to. I found Firewatch really easy to get lost in too.
Yeah, definitely Stardew Valley with some mods. It’s pretty close to endless things you can do in that game. Thinking of Stardew Valley have me wondering about the state of the Haunted Chocolatier game.
I can always go for a game of Age of Empires 2. That game takes me back to my childhood.
Star Wars: Racer - I know every track by heart at this point, have it on my Switch and still play quite a bit. Amazing flow state game.
Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 - absolute classic and the nostalgia I get from playing is unmatched
Age of Empires 2 - the music is just muah
KotoR - Best Star Wars game ever made next to Dark Forces 2 and Jedi Outcast
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.
MH Rise (Lance for tank mode) - fighting Melvor - idling Disney Dreamlight Valley - collecting Hardspace Shipbreaker - dismantling
