What game do you play to just chill?

Honestly, I fire up the Xbox and play the original Halo on easy difficulty. It's like hanging out with an old friend.

Don't overthink it. Minecraft. Vanilla survival world. Don't try to optimize and automate everything (unless you find that relaxing). Make your farm look like a farm. Mine until until your inventory is full. Build towards an Ender Dragon or Wither fight if you have time. Go mining or fishing or do base chores or a beautification project if you don't.

You should check out Stardew Valley. Super chill game that evolves at your own pace.

Don't like to fish on the game? Don't fish.

Don't like to go in the mines and fight stuff? Don't go in the caves.

Play on a PC and want to spend hours just modding the hell out of the game? Go for it.

Solitaire oddly enough. Just sit there, throw up a YouTube playlist on my second monitor, open up the game on my main, and just unwind.

RimWorld. It's so fun watching your colonists at work, peacefully farming, and suddenly one of them gets hit by a chunk of steel followed by a hundred bear raid.

Very relaxing.

Especially in the winter,I like to fire up The Long Dark. I put on the exploration setting where the wildlife doesn't attack. You still have to deal with the need for food and warmth, so there are still stakes. Just not the anxiety inducing animal attacks. There's a sort of bleak beauty to the game.

No Man's Sky has a very chill vibe. I don't play it super often, but it's probably the chillest game I play semi-regularly.

Personally, i just need a game that lets me do something pretty. Satisfactory was mentioned, or City Skylines. Or something that is highly nostalgic and familiar, like Skyrim, Halo or Minecraft. I don't intrinsically need to think in these cases, which is my goal. I'm a programmer, so anything that lets me shut my brain off and just exist is great. Sometimes BloonsTD is also a great game for this, but it's situational.

Counter intuitively, most "casual" games like Stardew don't really fit this vibe for me because of the daily time limit. I need to pick and choose what tasks to do in a day, and I always fall into a min-max schedule, which requires effort. Much as I love them, I also avoid story driven games like Baldur's Gate when I need to unwind, because I really need to pay attention to progress, and there kinda isn't any mindless grinding. Multiplayer games with randos is also strictly out. No League, COD, Battlefield, Fortnite etc... Just in general. Don't like 'em, never did, hate that they are so prolific. They're just stressful.

Skyrim. Meme mods aside, the vibe and soundtrack are just...chef's kiss

I’m going to go with Satisfactory.

Burnout Paradise

There are few games where winning and losing are equally fun, but Burnout Paradise pulls it off flawlessly.

You hit that turn with the perfect drift? Hell yeah. Oh shit, there was a car waiting for you at that intersection and now you have to watch your car and their car get smashed, crumpled, and tossed like a bag of moldy tangerines in slow motion? Hell yeah.

Breath of the Wild. I mean, yes, there are quests, bosses, temples, shrines, minigames and whatnot, but it is also completely fine to just fetch your favorite horse from the stable and ride across Hyrule, hunting wildlife, watching the sunset, cooking food for your character, maybe have Wolf Link accompany you on a hunt, just taking in the scenery, foarge for mushrooms, looking for shooting stars at night ... a little bit of reality escape helps to unwind after a long, hectic day. And this game is unreasonably beautiful as well, despite the simplyfied graphics.

Stardew Valley. It's chill if you let it be. There aren't really hard time limits and you can always farm things and complete challenges on your own time

The latest Zelda games for me, I just wander around aimlessly and it helps me relax.

No Man's Sky.

After the mildly stressful intro (which isn't bad, just uses more sticks than carrots in the tutorial section), you basically just pick a direction and go.

If you wanna quest, there are quests available in (almost) every system.

If you wanna farm, pick a nice planet and get to building.

If you wanna fight, go find a planet with hostile Sentinel presence.

There's always something interesting to do, but you can also just find a nice view on some planet, build a couch and just watch the iridescent grass blow in the wind for a bit.

FTL, Stardew valley, No mans sky, Minecraft, Old rpgs like Chrono Trigger

Dorfromantik

Factorio, Minecraft, and... Counter Strike. I exclusively play with a full squad of friends and even if we have a bad game, at least I'm spending time with my friends. Keeping contact with your friends is super important and getting harder every year. So it's quality time.

I have a few.

Zelda on the switch. (BotW and TotK)

Terraria and Stardew Valley are pretty fun to play for relaxing.

Valheim with console options enabled so I have unlimited resources and can kill any enemies if I'm feeling lazy. I mostly like to just build and I'm slowly building an entire island with buildings, and other features.

It's my bike, I ride my bike.

Indoors, I've got Zwift, which looks a bit like a game.

Outdoors the resolution is better, but the NPCs can be belligerent.

I got deeply into this (genre?) when I burned out on a combination of playing big/tough games and the stresses of life. I also enjoyed the pace of Outer Wilds and Subnautica. Some other favourites:

• Supraland 1/2 (low combat, light hearted metroidvania, I loved it)
• Psychonauts 2 (amazing adventure game, big but not hard. I loved collecting everything, it was a great balance)
• Tinykin (similar adventure, a bit like Pikmin, which is also great. Lots of chilled collecting)
• Spiritfarer (lots of freedom, loose plot, not overwhelming)
• Breath of the Wild (do what you want, very nice discovery elements)
• TOEM, A Short Hike, GRIS and Cocoon (light adventure / puzzle games, peaceful but could be boring if you want action)
• Yokus Island Express (lovely metroidvania, chilled gameplay, not overwhelming)
• It Takes two (humour, light combat - played with my young son)
• Unravel 1/2 (easy-ish puzzles)
• Weirdly, I found Sniper Elite 4/5 fairly chill, lots of scoping out areas
• Overcooked 2 (zero stress if you play practice mode a ton before attempting a level. I found it a very zen/flow game)
• Peggle 1/2 (can be frustrating, but is very low stakes and arcadey. Lovely for short sessions)
• Wilmots Warehouse (can be stressful if you take the timer seriously, but I loved all the organising. Very satisfying)
• Vampire Survivors (can get a bit much, but pretty simple and disposable)

There are tons more, I deal with a lot of anxiety!

Some games I was recommended for this purpose that didn't land for me:

• Powerwash sim / other simulators (these feel like a second job for me. Constant grind and focus on perfection wasn't helpful)
• Tetris Evolution / Lumines (either gets too fast / hard, or gets boring)
• Stardew / Terraria (in theory these look great, but I find huge sandboxes too overwhelming. Always feels like I should be doing more stuff / doing it better)
• Roguelikes (I like Hades, Dead Cells, etc, but they're very stressful and frustrating when so much hinges on survival)

Finally, I'd suggest trying a solo board game. More tactile and relaxing alternative to screen time.

Skyrim. I played vanilla a bunch and now I'm working through the Living Skyrim 4 mod. I had to tweak a bunch of the settings, but I really enjoy it. I also love the Witcher 3, both actively playing quests and just wandering across the map listening to the howling wind and the soundtrack. I've loaded into that game after a long day with every intention of playing and just sat there with my headphones on and stared into space while the trees crackle together in the wind and the music plays.

Witcher 3, I love riding roach around and exploring and listening to the music. I like cruising in cyberpunk 2077 listening to the radio stations. There's also spiritifarer.

Roguelikes.

I played Rogue Legacy 1 and 2 for the longest time. Some dead cells. Enter the gungeon, and currently testing the humble roguelikes bundle, really digging Wall World.

Weirdly, Satisfactory, a game about thanklessly building a factory for a faceless corporation to exploit an alien wilderness.

But you get a coffee mug and there are lizard doggos.

Lately I have been playing Crypt of the Necrodancer. It was quite chill until I reached zone 4. It doesn't get me worked up or anything, but the last level of zone 4 does get me a bit tense with the speed.

In general, Deep Rock Galactic is pretty chill. If I really just want to take it easy I can pick up a mission on Hazard 3 or 4.

Deep Rock Galactic online with randoms. I listen to a podcast in the background.

Rim world on low difficulty

Animal Crossing. I still play NH for 15 minutes a day just to go round my island and see what’s happening. My island is pretty much how I want it and I have collected nearly everything I want, but to take 20 minutes out the day just to walk around catch a bug or two and talk to an islander is a great way to relax.

Farming simulator 22 or Euro truck simulator 2, just driving my tractor around plowing some fields, or driving my truck through Europe to drop off something relaxes me well.

slay the spire

Civilization. While it CAN be a stressful game if you crank up the difficulty to Deity, at prince or king, it's just so much fun.

With the advanced setup options, you can set up a game for however you are feeling at the time, explore a large world (however full or empty you want it), expand and watch your empire cover the map, learn and find all the new stuff in the world, conquer everybody, be a neutral power broker, launch into space.

It just feels nice.

I play Trackmania at least once a day. The community is so nice and friendly and the racing at high speed is so calming for me.

Rocket League. And then I'm not chilled.

Forza Horizon 5. I like to just drive around the map for a while, and maybe do a race or two, until I inevitably get bored after an hour or so. Repeat every week.

(until I bought a real life motorcycle to scratch that itch, and no, I'm not racing or being dangerous on my motorcycle)

Noita is a good chill game. You will lose, and you will die a horrible death in the process, but if you can accept that, the journey to death is a fun one.

Blast some bots in Quake 3.

RuneScape, really hard to beat how chill it is

I like to play any type of horde clearing game where I can shut my brain off and just swing/shoot my way through a bunch of enemies. Some examples of this are deep rock galactic and vermintide 2. One scratches the shooty itch and the other scratches the swingy itch

If I ain't shooting or swinging I like to play roguelites. Slay the spire and faster than light are classics I keep returning to. Interested in trying out cobalt core soon which looks like a mix of STS and FTL

Kerbal Space Program

The Talos Principle (+ DLC) and its just-released sequel really fit this niche for me. I'm fighting severe burnout and was specifically looking for a game without time pressure, reflex-based gameplay, or (because I keep bouncing off of turn-based strategy games even though I believe that I love them) complicated stats-based systems.

TTP is about first-person puzzles in the vein of Portal. While some of the puzzles can be difficult, you can work through them at your own pace. The level structure makes it easy to drop in and out of the game whenever, and the gorgeous environments and soundtrack make the world just a generally soothing and immersive place to walk around in.

American Truck Simulator or Euro Truck Simulator 2. Pick a long hual, throw on a podcast or some music, and just cruise.

Tetris Effect. The funny thing is I used to hate Tetris with passion, but somehow Tetris Effect has won me over. The music and sound effects are so ASMRish it's almost trance-inducing...

Damn, was gonna say subnautica but you already put that

It might be more catharsis than unwinding, but dark souls/sekiro. I've been through them enough times that it's just comfortable.

Good ol' vanilla survival Minecraft. Very fun with friends.

Outer Wilds

I will always shill for Outer Wilds, simply because it's such a niche that only 2 games have come out in its unnamed genre: Majora's Mask and Outer Wilds.

Yes, Outer Wilds is a spiritual successor to Majora's Mask.

And the worst part is that talking about the game would probably spoil half of it. All I can say that it's an adventure like Majora's Mask.

If you ever were to trust an internet stranger to buy a game blind, now is the time. If you loved MM, you'll at least like OW.

Happy adventuring, stranger ;)

I'm really in the same boat. Lately it's been these:

Dorfromantik

Mini Motorways

Halls of Torment

Vampire Survivors

Brotato

Firewatch was great but it's really a one or two sitting game. Same with Unpacking.

What I'm REALLY looking for but having trouble finding is something like a city builder or house builder that there is no money, nothing like that. Just creativity in building. Way back when I first tried the Sims, I loved the house building part more than anything.

I've been searching for something new though. I tried Satisfactory but really just wish it had a creative mode. I tried Terraria but I can't get the Minecraft allegory out of my head so this game infuriates me.

OpenTTD

BeamNG. Logged hundreds of hours just mindlessly driving around crashing into stuff and fucking around with vehicle customisations.

cyberpunk is actually great for that. Sometimes if I don't wanna do anything in particular I'll just... fight the police, lol. Or just randomly do some open world stuff, like drive around the badlands. Then if I'm feeling like doing something more "meaningful" I'll jump into an actual story quest

Rimworld for me.

openRCT2.

Terraria

Celeste

Dwarf Fortress

Minecraft, Doom (first two), Cities Skylines, and more recently, Unpacking.

Persona 5 Royal.

I love the social element, characters and such.

I really liked playing Talos Principle 2 the past days. makes you think not just about logic but also some aspects of philosophy. which, at least to me, is pretty relaxing.

I only played it to try it out, and it isn't 100% in my range of games I'd care that much for, but I've gathered that Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (especially the first few pairs of games in the series) is the king when it comes to escapism. If someone said a psychologist made the games, I'd believe them.

Since everyone has already said more well known games, here are my Indie/small games

Islanders

Race the Sun

Skye

Superflight

Genshin impact on PC is a masterpiece. The colors on my 4k monitor are just out of this world. I don't even do hard missions, I just go around the wild collect foods and stuff. So relaxing.

Chrono Trigger. I have a save that I just load up, do some things on, and then turn off when I'm done. I've beaten the game dozens of times, and I know every aspect in and out, so it's like flipping on the TV and catching an episode of a sitcom, I just roll with it and mellow out.

Terraria. I started a new character/world probably 200 times. Music is also bang on.

Animal Crossing New Leaf, Stardew Valley, Starfiled, Minecraft and Fortza Horazion 3,4 or 5.

Potion craft is great for this, just running a little potion shop making potions to order.

Shattered Pixel Dungeon. Which is weird because it's actually quite frustrating, but super rewarding if you win.

Tetris.

Caves of Qud is something I love to relax with. It's full of stuff to explore and you can take your time since its turn based. I don't even mind so much when I die, because you get to create a completely new weird mutant and try again.

I play high intensity first person shooters, mostly Battlefield, to unwind.

The faster paced the better because it allows me to escape.

It used to be I’d get so worked up over competitive games. I had to be doing PvE to relax. Not so any more.

Weirdly, this happened after I had a completely horrible medical experience that left me with permanent (figurative) scars on my nervous system. Like, I still have stress problems four years after the event.

But at that moment, suddenly competitive games became refreshing to me.

Minecraft. Sky Factory 3 - a void world modpack. Nothing exists without my having created it. I can allow mobs to spawn on my platform or not, depending on how I feel.

Splatoon. Don't ask why, I don't know. My gf calls it "yelling at 12 year olds"

But seriously it's like watching your own team score against you in soccer ;___;

Stardew valley and/or kerala space program.

I think I understand what you mean lol.

Lately for me it's been: Mass Effect legendary edition, Mount & Blade 2, Crusader Kings 3, Dishonored 1 and 2, and Hitman 3.

Skyrim was my chill game for years, but now I'd say Elder Scrolls Online. Everyone I know who plays ESO is super non-competitive and chill. It's just got a great vibe.

Slay the spire

Cities Skylines 2 has been great for this. Just log in and tinker with your city! Very relaxing creative problem solving..

Recently got back into my childhood favorite, Simcity 2000.

It's just a classic for me. Amazing city builder with a chill soundtrack. Super rewarding planning out your city and watching it develop across the map. And it's super stress free if you just play with disasters off

I’ve gotten really into Grand Theft Auto San Andreas for unwinding after a long day. Something about the low poly graphics while I can just be a menace in the game feels right.

Brotato

Age of Empires 2 custom games. Can't beat a classic, and you can save whenever you're done

Forza and Rocket League

Elder Scrolls Online for me.

burnout paradise. I'll just put on a podcast and drive around. Sometimes I'm seeking out races, or new best times on roads. Sometimes I'm just driving around more or less obeying traffic laws like a reasonable citizen.

Oxygen Not Included. - !oxygennotincluded@lemmy.world

Just started a new colony yesterday because an update was released with new tools and content. The colony I was playing up until that point was almost 3000 cycles old.

Apart from trackmania which was already named it's certainly slay the spire. I often do both TTD and the daily in sts. If I didn't always end up trying to go for sub 35min points it'd actually be relaxing probably.

The Hunter: Call of the Wild. I have nothing to do with hunting. I'd never thought a hunting simulation could be my type of game, but putting headphones on and running through the woods is so relaxing.

Nethack or DROD

Just starting to get into genshin impact, though, and it seems pretty cool.

Why are there so many suggestions of Zelda BotW over TotK imo this thread? I've only played the latter but my understanding is it's pretty much the same game with more to do. And since Nintendo games rarely go on sale you are probably looking at a very similar price tag.

Skyrim or Fallout 4 when I want to chill as an adventurous muderer

Earth Defense Force when I want to blow shit up

Dinkum is a really good Stardew Valley/Animal Crossing mix. If you like either, you'll likely end up like me, playing "just a bit" and realizing over 4 hours flew by.

Weirdly, Yakuza. Not even to thrash thugs, just to have a virtual night out with some karaoke, pool, darts... sexy bug-lady wrestling... I love most of the mini games in the series.

I've just started Snake Pass and it's a no bullshit old-style puzzle platformer (think PS1 platformers such as Croc, Crash Bandicoot or Rayman) with a unique movement mechanic that feels very chill. There's little in the way of worldbuilding though

Dwarf Fortress.

Theme Hospital.

The Sims.

Games that I can mostly play hands off.

Path of exile for a few weeks every league

But I'm enjoying rogue lites / vampire survivors like games. There's a billion of them so you can just chill with one of them. I usually find a new one every other day too, some demo or whatever

Risk of rain 2 is also not something I would call a chill game. But it's definitely something you can just fire up and play for an hour

I find most games can be relaxing if Ive already played them a lot, even comp shooters. Quake Champions is relaxing for me at this point

World of Warcraft Retail.

I play Hades, but I cheat.

It's super fun to see what kind of ridiculous combinations of powers and weapons you can create when you aren't worried about money or resources in any way shape or form.

I had a Hermes Build for Max speed that did bonus damage based on speed bonuses, Ares for Blade rift when dodging, and some Athena for some invulnerability.

Sprinting around the levels like the flash and absolutely nuking everybody with blade rifts is just too much fun.

Timberborn is always nice,

so is Minecraft.

Subnautica is also very relaxing after you know your way around it.

But Red Dead Redemption 2 is the most "chill" game for me. You can simply go out to hunt, enjoy the nature, etc.

Any of the building/management games like Factorio or Dyson Sphere Program or RimWorld. You can definitely make those games extremely challenging (speed runs, achievements, ultra hard modes/challenges). But for me they're cozy games where I can chip away at a small project or part of a larger project, like, I don't know, slowly building a scale model or something.

DOTA2 turbo mode, done in 20-30 minutes, and the try bards that take the mode serious are hilarious

Mars First Logistics & Animal Crossing

Dead Cells. I can just... Zone out and go. It's really cathartic, and if I do particularly bad during a run, I just... Die and start over. You don't lose anything you've gained, (unless you pick something up in a biome and don't make it to the exit), and each run is practically a new game that requires nothing to learn it. It's my Zen game.

Sky Children of the Light (solo player)

I don't play Tetris usually but when I get bored or just wanna relax then I play Tetris[Highest Score: 500k in 8 Hours]

C&C Generals World Builder. I just make maps while I'm in discord.

It's stimulating enough that it keeps my mind from wandering from a conversation, but brainless enough to be engaged in the conversation.

I'm also partial to Minecraft. Just decorate a little section then log off until tomorrow

Stacklands, inscription, forza.

Stacklands was surprisingly addicting

Inscription was fun and challenging but not too crazy if you get creative ;)

Forza - I mean really any game where I can drive around. Fun to try to hit some corners sharp or do some tricks in gta.

Not a long or super replayable game like some of these answers but Jusant is super chill.

So what games do you play when you just wanna relax?

Solitaire

I have several games for a lazy evening on the sofa, so it depends on the mood.

I hoard virtual cars, tanks and ships, so I pick CSR2 when I want to do an event there (daily boring grinding tasks are automated). When I want to shoot I either junp in World of Tanks Blitz or World of Warships Blitz.

When in a mood where I want to just tap around, I dust off Hay Day.

Gershwin Impact has been on the tablet, but after a few attempts to play it, it's removed again. Looks nice, but not my style, yet.

Diablo 4. I usually turn on Futurama when I play.

Diablo II Resurrected. I've been playing it (Diablo II) for 20 years now. Even though I know the game inside out, a new rare rune drop can still make my day. I usually listen to podcasts meanwhile.

Vampire Survivors was tons of fun until I unlocked pretty much everything, but it also goes great with podcasts.

Clone Hero. Even though I only have a keyboard (so say goodbye to the fast strum bits), It often takes me from 'I just want to chill' to 'this song was FIRE'.

I usually listen to music and play driving games like Forza Horizon, BeamNG, or Dirt.

Also roguelike games like Deadly Days.

BeamNG

Car/truck driving simulator with the best crash physics you'll ever see. Great to just drive, off-rod, modify cars, race or just smash cars up. The game is only limited by your imagination.

Basically Loopy in Simon Tatham's Puzzles, available on Linux, Windows, and Android (F-Droid), when I don't want to be stressed.

Otherwise I just play some retro/old school games like Final Fantasy (started IV a few days ago), (Free)Doom, AssaultCube or Cave Story when on my laptop.

I play Tibia. It's an old 2d MMORPG with endless grinding. Loads of quests and a playerbase where the average age is like 28.

Spend hours downloading / messing with proton / configuring, and then play for 15 minutes...

At this point I'm almost convinced I just like the setup process.

Otherwise probably quake.

Harvest Moon /Story of Season games.

Stardew Valley.

Diner Dash series of games.

For me, it is Nova Drift. It has been the game I go to when I just want to relax and chill.

Bloons td6 is pretty cool and laid back.

You want arcade experiences

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person on here who plays Hollow Knight. When I want to chill, I like to start a new game and just go through the early-mid game exploration phase. No pressure, skip bosses if I feel like it. Just run around and enjoy the atmosphere and music. Love it.

Honestly, some visual novels like Ace attorney, Katawa shoujo, Steins Gate, Clannad are very chill.

Genshin Impact has been my comfort game the last 2 years

Pokemon Fire Red or Dark Souls

Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, My Time at Portia, Cozy Grove or Good Pizza, Great Pizza!

Im going to hijack op post.

Im looking for game to chill just like OP described, but im looking for something with online multiplayer. Ideally something like a builder like minecraft or no man sky, where I can just connect and find randomly people and help them build shit. I dont want to have to search for specific servers to interact with people, something that would randomly put me in worlds with other people.

Creeper world 4. Especially the community made play as creep levels.

Descenders (oddly satisfying mountain biking game)

Life is Strange was a good one to chill and enjoy the unfolding of events (any of them are good. The 1st and Colors were my favorites)

Grand Turismo I've been on. Never really been a racing fan but for a few races I'm actually relaxed and enjoying myself.

These days it's Baldurs Gate 3 but before that, it's Grimdawn for ARPG itch or Stardew valley if I just want to turn a game on and afk alot. (Sometimes that's Grimdawn too)

Earth Defense Force or Creeper World 3

When I'm on the go, I like to just chill with games like Fire Emblem Heroes on my phone (the parts that don't require you to potentially pair up and play against sweats with no life who can make a lvl.1 3 star character nuke your lvl.40+10 5 star unit). Or if I'm not on a bus and am just in a car, I might just pull out my switch if I have it on me and do some raids in Pokemon Violet (offline since I don't have the online pass).

If I'm at home on my desktop, I like to chill from time to time building rollercoasters (Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 Platinum) of either doom (mostly those) or ones could feasibly be made in the real world without healthy people dying while riding it. That, or do some casual peglin runs.

Wurm Unlimited

• Project Zomboid https://lemmy.world/c/projectzomboid

• beamng https://lemmy.world/c/beamng

• dying light 1+dlc

Love to sit down and smash shit up in beamng also play around in beamng mutitplayer mod kissmp acrynom for keep it simple stupid I would love to give beammp a proper go my but beammp is woefully unoptmised and I've got some already pretty low end hardware

iOS / iPad game called "Flight Pilot". Dumb, not even a simulator, just get off the ground and hit hot air baloons for points kind of game. It's just a mindless time for me to relax a bit. You can run "missions" if you want, but you don't have to, and if you're patient, you can level up without making any purchases using real money. It's really great.

I can't name a specific game because they all get old, boring, and unsatisfying after a while. However in terms of genre, it tends to be roguelites and poker.

Hitman: World of Assassination is what I usually go to when I just want to chill and not think much.

I like playing on the minecraft server "diamondfire". You can make minigames and play minigames made by other players

geometry dash

Euro truck simulator. Just hit the road and drive.

HoloCure

Fallout 3

Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age