What PC games do you play that are relaxing?

[Rolfil]

So at the moment it's a bit stressful being cooped up indoors. So what PC games do you play that you find relaxing?

I'm currently playing

• American Truck Simulator
• Two Point Hospital
• House Flipper

I'd also recommend My Time at Portia.
Although not give a good review in PC gamer I found that if you don't rush trying to get things done it's actually really good. Just mine the rocks outside the town to make Marble Tables - sell if the market price is above 100% and upgrade your tools early on. There's also a lot of interaction with NPC's if you delve into it.

 

[Zoid]

A few that come to mind for me:

Stardew Valley: Hands down one of the most peaceful and relaxing games I've ever played. The beautiful artwork, the music, the characters, the world, and the story are all charming. Now that it's out on the Switch I haven't played it much on PC, but I got started playing it on my laptop.

Grow Home: A lovely little game with a charming atmosphere and really satisfying controls. As with all good relaxing games, the world is a joy to be in, and the action never becomes stressful.

Minecraft: I don't think this one needs any flavor text.

Just Cause 3: This one is a bit of a departure from games like Stardew Valley and Grow Home, since it's very action-heavy, but I still find myself turning to it when I just want to relax. Although there's plenty of action, it's low-stakes and it's all designed around the player having fun. Plus, since it's open world, you can move at entirely your own pace, and can easily spend a whole hour wing-suiting across the idyllic landscapes.

100ft Robot Golf: I don't know, man. This is a weird one but I love it. 75% of the charm of the game is just listening to the commentary provided by the McElroy brothers.

Forza Horizon 4: This is another one I often turn to when I just want to unwind for an hour or so. The whole premise of the game is centered around being a car lover's paradise. I love picking a car out of my massive garage and going for a cruise around the beautifully rendered English countryside.

 

[Johnway]

Generally when i play games in my collection i have to rotate one action/FPS game especially when i have to play a load of RTS/Puzzle games. But my go to game is always doom 2 if i have nothing at hand. Doom 2 wads to be exact. I can tune out and just massacre hordes of stupid demons that occasionally keep me on my toes. its something i have to play during the weekend or i have a spare hour to kill.

 

[I Will Haunt You]

I don't remember the last game I played that was intended to be relaxing in nature. Shooters aren't relaxing. Horror isn't relaxing. MMOs can be relaxing, but I usually skip those parts (crafting, fishing, etc).

 

[OsaX Nymloth]

I would say walking sims can be relaxing. At least the few ones I played were rather calm and even if the events were a bit disturbing or made me curious about something, it's not like it was sudden change of pace and I was facing a horror. Vanishing of Ethan Carter have one segment with "haunted mine", but other than that, there's no danger and player can slowly visit everything at their own pace. What Remains of Editch Finch while tells a bit dark story and uses a lots of impressive tricks, is also rather "relaxing" experience - altho definitely makes player think a lot about what's just happened. Drauger have beautiful vistas, Kona seems a bit more "dangerous" as they're wild animals and the weather doesn't invite to one to stay outside and wander around.

Still I would say this kind of games is relaxing.

Some strategy/simulations can be calming too. I remember how I could watch for hours the little guys in The Settlers II just moving stuff from place to place and observe how new buildings are slowly appearing.

 

[Frindis]

Right now I find Assassin's Creed Odyssey and LOTRO pretty relaxing. Atmosphere/color, music and the exploring aspect are often what I find relaxing with games.

 

[Inspireless Llama]

- Euro Truck Simulator 2 (played over 1000 hours, guess I need to relax a lot)
- Stardew Valley
- LEGO games (currently Lego Harry Potter, find it hilarious and very relaxing actually)
- Bejeweled

There are some management games that I think are relaxing (Parkitect, Mini Metro, Mad Games Tycoon).

@OsaX Nymloth I wouldn't say "The Long Dark" is a relaxing game though haha.

 

[Zoid]

- Euro Truck Simulator 2 (played over 1000 hours, guess I need to relax a lot)
- Stardew Valley
- LEGO games (currently Lego Harry Potter, find it hilarious and very relaxing actually)
- Bejeweled

There are some management games that I think are relaxing (Parkitect, Mini Metro, Mad Games Tycoon).

@OsaX Nymloth I wouldn't say "The Long Dark" is a relaxing game though haha.

Yes! How could I have forgotten the Lego games?? They're high up on my list as well. Also shoutout to Parkitect. I'd say Planet Coaster is the ultimate theme park sim, but the simplicity of Parkitect gives it a higher relaxation coefficient for me.

 

[Zloth]

I saw this topic earlier and thought I didn't have such a game - but I do, I just haven't played it in years: NetHack.

I used to always install and play that as the first game on my PC, just to make it clear to the graphics card that I didn't absolutely need it to have fun.

 

[randyl]

Some of my relaxing games.
No Man's Sky

Bejewelled 3 (and Bejewelled Twist for something a little different)

Artifex Mundi puzzle and clicker titles.

My Time at Portia

Littlewood

Farm Together

Parkasaurus

Thimbleweed Park, Syberia, Rise of Industry, Puzzle Agent, and Islanders are also worth mentioning.

 

[McStabStab]

• No Man’s Sky
• Cities: Skylines
• Surviving Mars

 

[randyl]

Yes! How could I have forgotten the Lego games?? They're high up on my list as well. Also shoutout to Parkitect. I'd say Planet Coaster is the ultimate theme park sim, but the simplicity of Parkitect gives it a higher relaxation coefficient for me.

Parkitect and Avorian are two at the top of my Steam wishlist. Parkitect looks brilliant.

 

[McStabStab]

Yes! How could I have forgotten the Lego games?? They're high up on my list as well. Also shoutout to Parkitect. I'd say Planet Coaster is the ultimate theme park sim, but the simplicity of Parkitect gives it a higher relaxation coefficient for me.

Planet Coaster is great, but like you said it's pretty complicated. I spend more time battling vendor profitability and employee happiness than building my actual rides and coasters, but it is a very good management sim and is often very rewarding.

Long story short, great game, but not always relaxing!

 

[Inspireless Llama]

Yes! How could I have forgotten the Lego games?? They're high up on my list as well. Also shoutout to Parkitect. I'd say Planet Coaster is the ultimate theme park sim, but the simplicity of Parkitect gives it a higher relaxation coefficient for me.

When I read about the differences between Parkitect and Planet Coaster I read mostly that Planet Coaster is more about the park building while Parkitect tends to focus more on the management part of the game. Still you can build great things in there, but the micromanagement can be hard. Yet I find it relaxing .

Another game I'd want to add is "Machinky". It's a train game but it can be extremely satisfying seeing how all your trains and stations are working and you've no clue how you managed.

 

[Sarafan]

FPS games are most relaxing for me. Usually the bigger the slaughter the more fun i provides. Lately I've been playing Shadow Warrior and Quake 1 with mods. I also like hack 'n slashes when I need to reset myself. Grim Dawn is a nice example.

 

[Dan]

The Sims
American/Euro Truck Simulator (break out the G27 and stick on some internet radio)
Emergency 20
Farming Simulator
Stardew Valley
ES Morrowind/Oblivion/Skyrim
Rimworld
Planet Coaster
Cities Skylines
Slime Rancher
House Flipper
Earth Defense Force

 

[Frindis]

My latest relaxing game is Arcane Moonlander. Similar to the Atari game Lunar Lader and quite fun to play.

 

[Inspireless Llama]

I don't get why people see Cities Skylines as relaxing. Sure, I am greatly enjoying the game when I play it, but when I am playing for 4 hours straight to fix a traffic jam I caused by messing up traffic flow on the other side of the city I'm not relaxed lol.

 

[DreamRoach]

At this point anything single player as longest no one calls me at home every 5min to help with something. My PC not powerful, I can only play indies.

 

[Zoid]

My latest relaxing game is Arcane Moonlander. Similar to the Atari game Lunar Lader and quite fun to play.

Looks cool! I love the art style.

I don't get why people see Cities Skylines as relaxing. Sure, I am greatly enjoying the game when I play it, but when I am playing for 4 hours straight to fix a traffic jam I caused by messing up traffic flow on the other side of the city I'm not relaxed lol.

I hear that. I think Cities Skylines occupies an adjacent category of "chill" games, not necessarily "relaxing" games. Same with Planet Coaster. They have relaxing atmospheres, are fairly slow-paced, and can ultimately be a nice escape, but they require a lot of active thinking. If I'm not in the mood to exercise my brain then they can become a little overwhelming.

At this point anything single player as longest no one calls me at home every 5min to help with something. My PC not powerful, I can only play indies.

What are some of your favorite low-spec indies?

 

[randyl]

Parkasaurus is another sim that can be relaxing and chill, but sometimes it's not. It depends on how hardcore I'm playing the save.

Farm Together is relaxing and chill. You can build, move, and fiddle to your hearts content. It's one of the games I play when I don't have to worry about screwing up. It's really hard to wreck your game. Pretty much anything can be fixed, if it ever goes that far., if not immediately, with a little time and harvesting.

 

[DreamRoach]

What are some of your favorite low-spec indies?

Hmm
FTL probably only due to high replay value. Into The Breach is also good.

 

[lamboto]

I've been playing X4 through quarantine to relax. The beginning of a game is not relaxing in X, but once I start building up my own ships and stations, I can sit at my desk for 30 minutes just selecting units, building fleets, coordinating construction and ganking pirates who try to intimidate my traders; all from the map screen.

 

[Alexx]

I guess "relaxing" is subjective, but I've been playing Raft lately and I find that pretty relaxing (most of the time).

It's a survival game so the start can get a bit hectic or stressful, but once you've gotten a decent-sized raft and a sizable inventory of supplies then it's quite nice just floating around in the middle of the ocean.

 

[Whaters918]

I've been quite relaxed playing Totally Accurate Battle Simulator. It's always nice watching 50 googly eyed ninjas flailing shurikens at each other.