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?
I haven’t seen anyone mentioning this gem:
Vampire Survivors
I can always go for a game of Age of Empires 2. That game takes me back to my childhood.
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.
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.
Minecraft. It’s just a nice game to get lost in.
Unraveled (Unraveled 2 is great for 2 players, too), and Hue. Then there’s always Slayaway Camp. All good on Steam Deck as well.
But those are for the times when I’m not addicted to RL.
Chrono Trigger. Always feels like being home with old friends. A joy every time I playthrough
It has been a while, but there was a time when, if I was feeling really anxious and almost panicky, a quick playthrough of Enter the Gungeon would chill me right out.
I could (and have) spent hours in Valhiem just noodling around surviving as a Viking
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.
Morrowind and Mario Maker 2.
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
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
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.
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.
