Minecraft

Civilization 4. Incredible quotes, amazing sound track, deep mechanics

Castlevania Symphony of the Night is my go to. It has a pretty good pacing, with enough new things being thrown at you. Also since it's Igavania, there's a joy of finding new weapons / equipments, that's kinda lacking in pure metroidvania.

As you grow older, your eyesight worsens, and sore joints are becoming a common occurrence. So, I prefer it to newer waves of souls-like metroidvanias that require too much dexterity or precision platforming.

Spore. I love making little creatures. Gameplay is simple but it's still fun!

For me it's the binding of isaac, I'm not sure that it woukd work for everyone, but the game is just so large that it never gets old. 1500hrs, 100% the game and I still find myself diving into it after a stressful day.

Microsoft Flight Simulator. Flying Cessna around my town.

For me, for some strange reason, any resource management/city building game really soothes me. There is something about making thing ‘balanced’ and ‘streamlined’ that really puts my mind at ease and can distract me from just about anything.

Haven't put any time into it for a little while, but TF2 (the one with the hats) has always been my go-to.

Nostalgia helps, but I guess any Mario or even a Street Fighter would work on my end. Easy to pick, nothing to remember really. I bought an arcade cab recently with Batocera, and that’s the perfect solution to have a good moment (especially with my kids).

Used to be Destiny, lately it's been "No Man's Sky". I just get lost there.

I don't play this often enough lately but Jigsaw Puzzle Dreams is a super simple & cosy game. It's jigsaw puzzles, yes, but you also get to decorate the apartment where you're doing the puzzles. It is just a very chill, no-pressure time and often I will just mess around doing the decor side of it so I have a few different apartment vibes to choose from for when I finally decide to do a puzzle. When I get super sad & unmotivated I will do a really small easy puzzle on the bedroom desk and it helps me to get the feeling that I have completed a thing, which is sometimes enough to help get me moving on non-game things.

Believe it or not, Warcraft 2. There are three scenarios I like to play through. They are pretty mindless, have varying degrees of challenge, and are very low stress.

Valheim is very chill and fun. Good playing solo, and good playing with friends casually.

Every few months, I will do a randomizer run of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I've played it so much that it's like taking a relaxing walk through a familiar neighborhood. It also has a great soundtrack.

I always find myself firing up a few round of Battlefield 4 or, for longer stretches, doing a new playthrough of Fallout 4 (with mods of course).

Probably World of Warcraft for. Feels like pulling on a pair of worn comfortable jeans when you haven't touched it in ages.

Fallout 76. Nice community, and I really enjoy the open world game and the dark humor that's Fallout.

Pajama Sam! That was my introduction to gaming and I still run through them every once in a while. Pure nostalgia

World of Warships. It is the game I play for years with friends. In times that is hard for us to meet face to face we jump on the game for some battles, during which we share our news and chat. It's almost like a coffee or a beer.

I have several comfort games to put my mind at ease sometimes.

At least once a year it is Skyrim with mods to improve the scenery.

But I love playing the Atelier series too. Crafting and optimizing stuff in these games is great.

And then there are puzzle games like Baba is You where I often just close the game and think about solving the problems for a long time. Helps to keep your mind occupied.

Factorio. The base must grow

Final Fantasy 15 in the beginning for the bro-adtrip and RDR2

If I'm just relaxing, probably Arma 3. It's editor is like playing with toys for adults. I love making missions or armies that aren't balanced or made for other people. I do this little mini-game with myself where I build up an army starting with only pistols and a few guys. Then as you beat more competent opponents, like maybe it starts put with poorly equipped pirates and looters and goes up to fighting the United States or PLA, you get more and more equipment and fight on progressivly larger maps. It's very fun, and feels like being a child again. Plus, maybe it has a bit of Metal Gear Peacewalker inspiration.