There are a lot of games I've spent a lot of time in, but none come close to Fallout New Vegas.
I left my heart in the Sierra Madre.
Fallout: NV
Elite Dangerous in VR. I can really disconnect from the real world and just enjoy being a space-pirate bounty hunter.
OG Star Wars Battlefront I & II.
Easy to just put on, play a few rounds and clear my head.
Simple & fun to play.
Psychonauts. Amazing style, level design, gameplay, and top notch humor.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker can be a super relaxing game. You sit back and slowly disassemble massive spaceships in a salvaging yard. I love playing it when I want something mindless but relaxing. It's nice sitting alone in the salvaging yard with the catchy music and slicing apart a bulkhead.
This might sound weird but Dark Souls 1 does give me a certain level of comfort, not sure what that says about me lol. I haven't played it in a while but back then, creating new builds and trying out new weapons was really fun, and I got very accustomed to the game's mechanics and it's general progression and pathing. I could run through the whole game without even thinking about it. I'll still go back to it every now and again and it still gives me that comfortable nostalgic feeling.
I agree with this. Theres something about the early Fromsoft games where they become pretty easy and rhythmic once you figure out how they tick. Parrying was a lot easier, and backstab fishing always works. When coupled with the great sound design and quiet atmosphere while in the open world, its very satisfying.
I also throw Hollowknight in that category of games that are a headache the first time around but relaxing on the second play thru. Maybe Ori as well
A Short Hike might be my favorite peacefull one. Or death stranding on a lower difficulty.
Minecraft and No Man’s Sky. Explore a little; build a little; shoot a few baddies; chill; repeat 😊
Slay the Spire and the digital version of Ascension, solo play. I guess I like deckbulders. Ascension especially is so comforting for me, chill gameplay, no time pressure and I can put it down anytime and resume later on. Or not and just start a new one instead.
Or Isaac if I am in the mood for some action. plop plop plop plop.
honestly any shoot em up or bullet heaven game. its nice and cathartic to blow up a fleet of spaceships in super galaxy squadron or mow down a thousand monsters in vampire survivors.
Easily Path of Exile. There's something so relaxing about blowing up the entire screen with one flick of my wrist, and it really gets my endorphins flowing to minmax my stats using third party tools like Path of Building and testing out items on the trade site / changes to my skill tree to see how they'd affect my build.
To some people it sounds like work, but for me it hits that sweet spot of minmaxing and complexity that no other game really can.
Edit: I should also mention that I've been mostly playing on Steam Deck which has been a revelation for me. Endgame "alch and go" mapping is so perfect for the pick up and play style, only enhanced by having access to it from the couch/toilet.
I found gaming exacerbated my feelings of loneliness after many years of gaming daily. I also found the FOMO nature of a lot of games I was playing really took the enjoyment out of gaming.
Took a break in April (To watch lots of Star Trek) and only recently have had a few urges.
Hunt: Showdown may get picked up again and there are a couple of games coming that could be fun but we shall see.
Outer Wilds. But I already know everything that happens. So I prefer watching a stream/VOD of someone playing it for the first time.
Depends, sometimes its a quiet peaceful game like Minecraft, as others have said. Sometimes its Civ, keeps my brain thinking the whole time usually. Sometimes its Postal 2 or a Saints Row or GTA. Depends ont he mood, do i want calm, do i want my brain to be forced to think, or do i just want to do awful things for a little bit to virtual people.
Civilization 2 on PC. Play on easy, small map, raging barbarians, and just stomp on the PC.
Harry Potter PC games. Particularly the first two - I played them a lot when I was younger so there's a nostalgia about them that I love. Fliiiipendo!
Mine was Diablo 2 for the longest time. I could get my summon necromancer out and play fairly mindlessly. He'd have so many minions that nothing ever really hit me. He wasn't super overpowered, so he didn't kill fast, but it was a nice, lazy walkthrough kind of build. He did better in big open areas rather than corridors, so I'd play him in those even if that meant a lower chance of finding good gear.
Elder Scrolls games, especially Oblivion. But for all of them counts that after thousands of hours I still find new things, walking around the world is just great, the music amazing, the quality issues and bugs feel more silly in a fun way than breaking, and the lore feels like it is never ending.
Otherwise there is also The Sims. Similar weird lore, funky cartoony animation, and otherwise just a do whatever you feel like.
Skyrim for sure. I have an embarrassing number of hours thanks to the modding community.
Cities Skylines tends to be the game I return to when I just need to chill for a bit. I'll come up with some silly idea for a city, fire up a map I haven't built on yet, and see what I can make work. There's no endgame, no goals aside from what I feel like doing, just a sandbox and some toys to play with.
Lego Batman, the first one. God, I love that game. I just feel so cozy when I play it.
Journey (PS3, PS4, PS5)
A perfect emotional escape for a couple of hours, I have lost count of how many "journeys" i have done, and its made all the richer if you meet another traveller along the way and complete the journey with them.
Minecraft, oblivion, fable, shadow of the colossus, dkc trilogy on SNES, virtually any Zelda game, final fantasy tactics
It'll be an odd one compared to everyone else, but DiRT 3 with some good music playing in the background is awesome.
The physics are awesome, a bit arcady but reasonably realistic and manageable even on keyboard and the replay mode is amazing, makes even the shittiest driver look pro with its camera work.
And the rallycross modes and the montecarlo track are amazing.
Depends on my mood, Stardew Valley is high on my list if I need a calm game to relax. Hotline Miami 1 & 2 if I need to get all my anger out, and Racing Sims like Assetto Corsa and iRacing for if I want to clear my mind driving cool cars around.
Anything based on Kirby! The music, aesthetic, everything just makes me happy
I can always go for a game of Age of Empires 2. That game takes me back to my childhood.
This may sound odd as a comforting game, but I fired up Fallout 3 a year or so ago, and it really made me feel good to be back in the Capitol Wasteland.
Diablo games. It's nice being able to slay demons and not put much thought into it.
GTA, online friends mode, cruise on my motorcycle checking out scenery, ride the coasters.
I simply cannot get over simcity 2000. forever in my heart
Cozy Grove or Wingspan, both pretty chill games with nice music.
Zelda games are this for me (except Twilight princess, its environment and visuals were depressive to me). Particularly, botw is peak to get lost in.
Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect, and the NHL/MLB games are always my go-to when I just want to chill out and be comfortable. There's lots of comfort in being "with" some of your favorite characters time and time again. There's a different comfort (more of a zen feeling) in booting up my favorite sports games, turning off my brain and just letting instinct and reflex take over. Most Friday nights at the end of a tough week, I play MLB with some beers until late in the night after my friends log off.
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.
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