Very depends what kind of experience you're after.
I find games I enjoy when I'm sad fall into three categories:
- Zen games
- Games you can get lost in
- Multiplayer games
Zen Games
These are those kinds of slow, relaxing experiences that don't always require a lot of effort or dexterity to play. I like games like
Alto's Adventure/Odyssey,
Lonely Mountains: Downhill, or even the
Trials games. Collectathons and platformers also apply.
Games you can get lost in
Your mileage will vary here. Sometimes I like a tight narrative experience to just get stuck into and finish off, sometimes I want a huge sprawling RPG to just immerse myself in like
The Witcher 3 or
Divinity: Original Sin 2. One particular October, I was lonely working away in a new city and all my housemates had gone home for the weekend. I bought myself
Batman: Arkham Origins and just plowed through it over the course of the weekend. Having something to get my teeth into really helped.
Multiplayer Games
Again, your mileage may vary depending on your tastes, general friend group and attitude toward the likes of LFG. Sometimes this can be something competitive like
Titanfall 2, but in general I love cooperative games like
Grounded,
Sea of Thieves,
Borderlands or even things like
Ghost Recon: Wildlands or
Remnant: From the Ashes with friends. I've had great times with things like
Dark Souls coop and organic experiences with other people in things like
Ashen. One of the best gaming friends I made back in the day was on
Army of Two with a stranger. Don't discount the joy to e had playing something like
Knight Squad,
Boomerang Fu or
Speedrunners with a small group of people as well