Hello all! I would like to know what games give you that cozy, fuzzy feeling of simple happiness.
I’m currently experiencing this with Tchia, a wholesome game about a girl doing fun stuff on an island.
Weirdly enough I have a similar thing going with Doom (2016) at the moment. Something about the intensity of the levels and the interesting map design make me feel really satisfied and immersed.
Lastly, Super Mario 3D World really has a similar effect to Tchia, we’re I immediately get a happy feeling just by booting it up and looking at the wonderful colors en design.
What is your go-to game for feeling relaxes or happy?
I love going back and replaying Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy on my PS2; awesome memories there. I really want to try out the OpenGOAL project
Toy Story 2 PSX
Super Mario 64
New Super Mario Bros DS
Mario Kart DS, 7, and 8 Deluxe
Zelda OOT. I’ve been playing it before bed to wind down. It gives me good feels.
Stardew Valley for sure. Sometimes Euro Truck Simulator 2 to chill.
As a newbie, I was rushing to figure out all the mechanics fast enough to unlock the greenhouse in year 1. It was a bit of a stressful optimization game trying to max out every single day.
Since I unlocked it, cash is rolling in so fast I don’t even know what to do with it anymore. I just hit Spring in t year 2 and it’s really chill, now. I’m thinking of selling most of my animals since It’s repetitive needing to pet them and make cheese/mayo every day. I might just cheat and get a couple auto-petters to make it even more relaxed…
I’m like that with OG Doom. Its half nostalgia and half it just being a fun game to play.
Slime rancher and Subnautica for sure.
A Short Hike, definitely. I just wish it was longer.
Perhaps they’ll make a sequel, A Slightly Longer Hike.
I just do the hikes irl, nothing’s more relaxing than being in the mountains alone or with a good friend.
I do both, because people can do more than one thing. This is called a false dichotomy, and in this case with an unsubtle whiff of moralizing.
Forza Horizon 5 is my comfort game, but lately Rocket league is making me all extatic
For me it’s Skyrim. If need a game to play just to be immersed, it’s Skyrim
To top up the happy tank, I love playing
- Katamari games
- OpenRA (Red Alert)
- Wrestling games (Smackdown on PS1/2)
- OpenRCT (Rollercoaster Tycoon)
- Baldurs Gate 3
- Mass Effect
- Frog Detective 1, 2, 3
- Game Dev Tycoon
Spiritfarer.
The soundtrack, art direction, color palette, and gameplay all come together in a relaxing loop. I have spent hours just drifting along spot to spot, taking care of the spirits in my care until their times came to depart, and still go back to it when I just want to have some time to relax.
As a warning, the game does deal with some emotional tones, so there’s a bit of melancholy mixed in. My wife and I both had times where we teared up because it felt like saying goodbye to someone again. It’s handled well, though. Really gives the feeling of everything being put to rest, and there’s still everything they taught you right there as a reminder of the effect they had.
I remember just sitting there after helping the first spirit depart and thinking - wow. Which doesn’t happen a lot in games, but the combination of the music, the storylines for each spirit and the time when I started playing (early in the pandemic) cemented the game in my mind as a piece of art.
I haven’t seen anyone mention Mirror’s Edge yet! The free running (especially in the first game) is such a unique and rewarding experience. A little janky and frustrating sometimes but when it clicks it just feels so good
Subnautica and Raft are my go-to relaxed-fuzzy-happy games. Being able to do things at my own pace and just noodle around with whatever I feel like is nice.
Wandersong is a game about happiness that made me really happy while I was playing it. Not all the way through; there are parts that are sad too. But I’m thinking of replaying it because it made me feel really happy when I played it the first time.
Heat VR. Not even for the adult content; just staring into the character’s eyes or mussing their hair is incredibly relaxing.
VRChat, too, but since those are all real people you can’t just necessarily go around admiring them up close since it would disrupt their experience. Just as rude IRL, imo.
