Video games can evoke a variety of emotions, whether it's fear, edginess or excitement. But sometimes we just want to chillax, so here are a few good game suggestions that are better suited to reduce your stress levels.
10 Games to Chill Out and Lower Your Stress Levels
- Thread starter Cal Jeffrey
- Start date
Eldritch
Posts: 597 +1,155
Stardew Valley
Botanicula
World of Goo
Samorost
Chuchel
Open Transport Tycoon Deluxe
Theme Hospital
Botanicula
World of Goo
Samorost
Chuchel
Open Transport Tycoon Deluxe
Theme Hospital
In NMS, do you ever get past the need to search for oxygen? I was never able to relax in that game.
Nah, I prefer Doom for that. Rip and tear until you lower your stress level 
No Stardew Valley? Hard to find something more chill than that game.
I tried to stick with games I have actually played. Proteus and Firewatch are the only two I have not played. They were suggested and described to me by other staff members. I'll have to check out Stardew Valley though. I have heard good things about it.
Yes, you do get past the point of constantly trying to find oxygen, fairly quickly now too. Of course for the ultimate chill session in No Man's Sky, just start a Creative save. No need to worry about oxygen or dying, you can't take damage. You have unlimited resources to create whatever you want. It's the ultimate base builder's paradise. I use a Creative save mostly to R&D base builds or practice glitch building, but occasionally I'll load it up just because I want to mess around without worrying about screwing up my regular saves.
arrowflash
Posts: 583 +696
Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator are great games to just chill and relax, especially when doing long distance hauls. Night driving in these games actually put me in a sleepy mood.
Ah, The Sims (It was part 3) got me through some crappy times. Always a fav of my wife and daughters I started playing it years ago after I was hit by a drunk driver and was badly hurt. My usual game preferences were out of the question due to limited mobility for nearly a year and I really got into it.
Peter Farkas
Posts: 654 +530
Elite: Dangerous is my chill out game. ;-) hours just went on and on until I managed to do my first proper docking
Also Car Mechanic Simulator. All of these were on my initial brainstorming list.
This one has been on my radar, but just have not gotten around to getting it.
Avro Arrow
Posts: 3,721 +4,821
"Games like Resident Evil or Silent Hill can instill fear, arguably better than most horror movies."
- I don't mind saying it, Silent Hill 2 was a psychological nightmare that waged war on your subconscious mind like no horror movie ever could.
I'm not certain how relaxing PC Builder would be when all the reviews say that its user interface is slow and clunky. It might piss the player off more than make them relaxed. LOL
- I don't mind saying it, Silent Hill 2 was a psychological nightmare that waged war on your subconscious mind like no horror movie ever could.
I'm not certain how relaxing PC Builder would be when all the reviews say that its user interface is slow and clunky. It might piss the player off more than make them relaxed. LOL
Nobina
Posts: 4,504 +5,506
You can also relax playing games like Forza Horizon 4. You can freeroam, tune cars, create liveries for them and there are a lot of things you can do without putting in much effort.
Also, World of Warcraft can be relaxing just doing side things, quests from previous expansions or farming professions...things like that.
Surprised Microsofts Flight Sim isn't on the list of simulator, it's a new game and it's as uninvolved as it gets.
It really depends a lot on how you play the game.
Also, World of Warcraft can be relaxing just doing side things, quests from previous expansions or farming professions...things like that.
Surprised Microsofts Flight Sim isn't on the list of simulator, it's a new game and it's as uninvolved as it gets.
It really depends a lot on how you play the game.
Turns out my most used chill game is Rocket League, playing against the bots. It's basically doing drills, making sure my shots work well as the bots are too predictable and weak to be competitive, but there's no pressure not to screw up for teammates with bots so it's a nice way to practice.
Yeah. SH2 was pretty much a mind ----. But so was the first, really. The monster babies. OMG! I'm still emotionally scarred from those. I think the original SH sticks out more in my mind just because up to that point there was not else like it. I went into it thinking I was getting a Resident Evil clone and found out shortly after booting it up I was in for something way scarier and more disturbing.
As for PC builder, I never had any problems with the UI. Hmmm actually, now that I have typed that I do recall a couple of minor issues, mainly involving little stuff like turning off the shop lights, and maybe a couple of other things, but nothing game-breaking for me.
Evernessince
Posts: 5,469 +6,158
I'm surprised how far no man's sky has come. The game could still use improvements but it has something no other on the market does.
Avro Arrow
Posts: 3,721 +4,821
What hit me the hardest were the cinematics. Seeing John watch helplessly as the woman he loves, Mary, is stricken with terminal cancer. He sees her suffering in agony and deteriorating and he is completely powerless to even comfort her. Her crying and yelling at John that she doesn't want him to see her this way...
Well, my wife at the time looked A LOT like Mary/Maria and it made me realise that one day I could be in John's shoes and that REALLY screwed me up because the horror became real. The psychologically off-putting monsters didn't bother me so much because they were just fictional and fictional monsters don't affect me much except to make me appreciate how well-done they are. Pyramid-Head is one of the best horror monsters that I've ever seen, for example. I used to get up in the middle of the night to watch Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" when I was seven years old. I got used to horror themes quite young and while they scared me to watch them, I knew that they weren't anything that could actually happen and that always armoured my psyche.
However, seeing the TRUE horror of watching someone you love weaken and die over a long period of time and knowing that this very situation is inevitable for either you or your spouse (we are mortal after all) gave me some of the most horrific nightmares that I've had in my entire life. Also, as you could tell by the fact that I was married, I was an adult at the time and it STILL did that to me.
I was prepared for the monsters and overall ugliness of the game but I wasn't prepared for those cinematic sequences and it was like taking a psychological gut punch so powerful that Mike Tyson himself could have thrown it.
Maybe I should try it then. I didn't because I couldn't find a single review that didn't complain about the UI but if you liked it, I probably will too. Thanks!
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