Comfy games for shitty times (post yours!)

[Statux]

Hi GamingERA,

lately my mental health is not having a great time, because, well, the world is in da shit right now. So, what about sharing our theraphy games for these times of despair?

Let me introduce you to the magnificent world of mudrunning:

Mudrunner: American Wilds (Switch edition) is my current gaming shelter. It has everything I'm looking for right now: wide open natural spaces, humming engines, smokey stacks and a sense of peace and tranquility. It is not an easy game by any means, but its absolute lack of time challenges, the slow pace of everything you have to do (from collecting wood to wander and unlock all the map) and the minimalistic sound design (almost no sound except ambient and engines revving) turn what it could be a frustating game in something truly special and relaxing.


Yep, it's really tricky to climb mountains and made it thru the muddy terrain with heavy load trucks, but after all, if you fail and your vehicle gets stuck in the river, all you have to do is get a 4x4 and take the big boi out of the mud and back on the road. No time deadline to fuck you over, just doing the job at your own pace.


I dunno folks, this game has made me wonder several times if I wouldn't be happier driving a rusty 4x4 thru some dirty woods instead of pursuing a career on filmmaking.

Let ERA know your therapy games, people! <3

 

[Bushido]

We had exactly the same thread just yesterday: https://www.resetera.com/threads/whats-your-go-to-feel-good-game.364997/

And it's BotW.

 

[SpaceBridge]

Oh this is a good topic for a thread.
Im also struggling mentally: laid off, city is under another lockdown, can't see friends, no gym, sleep if fucked, back on meds and so on.

Would love to see others suggestions. I guess mine would be Final Fantasy 9.

 

[Statux]

We had exactly the same thread just yesterday: https://www.resetera.com/threads/whats-your-go-to-feel-good-game.364997/

And it's BotW.

Click to shrink...

I see, I'm gonna paste the OP there then, and we can let this thread die in peace

Oh this is a good topic for a thread.
Im also struggling mentally: laid off, city is under another lockdown, can't see friends, no gym, sleep if fucked, back on meds and so on.

Would love to see others suggestions. I guess mine would be Final Fantasy 9.

Click to shrink...

I'm sorry bro, times are shitty but we have to resist, we have lots of good things in our lives still, even if we have to enjoy them at home :)

 

[defaltoption]

Always been Civ 5 for me, I can get so sucked in that everything around me doesn't matter, and when I come out 1 week later after 1 last turn on day 1 enough time has past that i can refocus on life.

For real though a good civ game can really take over your mind

 

[That1GoodHunter]

Animal Crossing is literal escapism for me

 

[Mentalist]

I have 3 "go-to-comfort food games"

1) Darksiders II. It's Zelda + Prince of Persia + Diablo II, all wrapped up in a character action game coating, bashing many monsters to make loot pop out and scouring maps for collectable, all on an absolutely batshit insane side-plot to original game (also great, but a simpler brawler, without the loot-lite that makes the game actually deep, with character builds and everything). Oh, and it's got the comic book art style of Joe Mad that Blizz copied for WoW. Yeah, the quest design is quite "rule of Three-y", but I just love the overall combo of things I generally like in games. It's derivative, but oh-so-good.

2) Age of Empires II. I used to really look down on the Age games as an RTS junkie kid, because it was all about the flashy, fast-paced hollywood storytelling of Blizzard. But as I hit my late 20s, I came to appreciate the methodical buildup, and gradual expansion as your civ eventually dominates the entire map. I only play campaigns (official and user-made), and occasionally I binge-watch some funny stream recs from top players (TheViper always got something hilarious). But overall, when everythign else in life is overwhelming, it's good to just build a pretty base with impregnable defenses, watch AI send hundreds of units to die against said defenses, then roll out with your late-game deathball and just steamroll everything on the map. It's basically puzzles, with the same satisfying crunchy ending (super-crunchy with new building destruction animations in Definitive Edition), with a bit of history thrown in (and I also love history), so win-win.

3) When all else seems too much for my fried brain, Tetris for Windows. put on a podcast, or just a bunch of videogame trailer compilations on YT, put the Tetris window to the side, and just let your fingers do the work. it's mind-numbing, it's automatic, and a great way to kill time. See also: Spider Solitaire on Expert. if you use Ctrl+Z, you can undo moves indefinitely and go back to the very beginning. Each game is winnable, even if there's exactly ONE combination of moves that results in you not insta-losing. Knowing that makes it really difficult to stop sometimes.

 

[spicynun]

Theme park sim games are super comfy for me, especially if there is a sandbox mode where you can just build. My favorites are the RollerCoaster Tycoon series up until 3 and Planet Coaster. Planet Zoo is also super enjoyable and comfy

 

[ZugZug123]

Stardew Valley and lately, Little wood. And ACNH everyday. Yeah I like my idyllic little town simulators.

 

[Statux]

Stardew Valley and lately, Little wood. And ACNH everyday. Yeah I like my idyllic little town simulators.

Click to shrink...

Been thinking about picking Stardew, but I don't think if I'm going to enjoy it much. Not very atracted by the farm world and everything

 

[RestEerie]

i just run around and follow the wind in ghost of tsushima.....

 

[JazzmanZ]

Hollow knight.

That game got me through a depressive funk when my grandmother died a few years ago.

 

[Infernostew]

Katamari

 

[trashbandit]

Diablo 3, or whichever hack n' slash rpg you prefer .

 

[Goldenroad]

Skyrim is a real cozy game for me. I can always just go wander around in Skyrim.

 

[Megapighead]

Wow - I just recorded a podcast episode on this very topic! Civilization VI and MapleStory are personally my comfiest games at the moment.

 

[Rowsdower]

Mine is almost the same as yours OP. It's Snowrunner.


I like snow over mud.

 

[bluswimmer]

Pikmin does the job for me very well. Most recently I played through it on election day to ease my anxiety. It's easy to get engaged with the world, you can beat it in an afternoon, and it's weirdly relaxing despite the 30 day time limit.

 

[Zephy]

Yakuza is a very cozy/comfy series for me.

I haven't played it in a while but X4 is also great, you can lose yourself for countless hours in its world. It does have danger and it's challenging in terms of learning curve, but I feel like it's my own little universe where I can build and grow my empire, and in this way it is pretty comfy.

 

[TripaSeca]

No Man's Sky can entertain you for hours

 

[jon bones]

are the mud/snowrunner games 60 fps on ps5?

 

[DragonKeeper]

Breath of the Wild is a game I can just go traveling in, and Dragon Quest Builders 2 to just build places I'd like to visit. You can also melt away hours playing these.

 

[Soap]

Cities skylines. Hearing those upgrade pings is weirdly satisfying.

 

[waddledee123]

Loco Roco is an easy game to help cheer me up but so is Mario Kart 8

 

[Stefarno]

A few years back I was in a bad place and the Neptunia games really helped. Playing the games in bed on my Vita with all the characters, silliness and goofy humour and was exactly what I needed.