Comfort gaming

[Fynn]

Like with comfort food. Games that perhaps aren't the most ambitious, stimulating, challenging, or enriching, but just put you in a good place. What are your picks?

I've realized lately that The Sims 3 is that for me. It feels so good to fall back on it. The openness and laid-back pace really sucks all the negativity out of me and I feel like I can truly relax, especially if I'm going in with no particular aim and just want to watch the lives of my virtual people unfold.

[Chibi Youkai]

Any of the Diablo games. There's no point to them, and the controls are so straightforward that you can just pick it up and put it down when you need to turn off your brain for awhile. It's the game that my parents play with me as well, so it's always been associated with good memories.

[Freya]

creative based gaming

Sims, city builders, minecraft that kinda stuff. It helps me relax more than story driven gaming

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Final fantasy viii, kingdom hearts, and metal gear solid are all my big comfort games. They bring me back to a more calm and good state of mind for whatever reason, which is why I used to play these games at least once a year.

In college, i would also play just cause 2, flower, and journey all the time when I needed to wind down and stop being stressed.

Edit: I just remembered Katamari Damacy, which has become my go to comfort game in recent years when I just want something for a few minutes.

[krissy]

used to be a time whenever i felt really bad i just popped in zone of the enders 2nd runner and blazed thru it on easy

sometimes it was mirror's edge, doing the time trials is really distracting

[Pete for President]

It's FFX for me. Spira feels like home!

[Pike]

Dragon Age Origins is honestly so chill and relaxing which is probably kind of ridiculous seeing as it's a... VERY dark fantasy but it's just... REALLY chill

[Jinx]

It's FFX for me. Spira feels like home!

Same! I find when I'm sick, I play this game. Or FFVII or IX. Basically games I played when I stayed home from school. Or Ocarina of Time.

[Rocket Edge]

Square RPG's for sure. I couldn't imagine playing intense online multiplayers relaxed.

[Formalhaut]

Oh, good question.

Definitely Sims for me, but I also enjoy Theatrhythm when I don't really have a 'project' in mind and just want to listen to music. Atelier Sophie has become this for me as well lately.

[Rez09]

Tetrisphere. <3

[Wolf Kanno]

Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest are my go to franchises.

[Sephex]

SNES or Playstation RPGs.
Old NES classics like Mario, Zelda, Mega Man, etc.

You know, I know I have referred to this a million times, but the reason why I was able to beat Mega Man 2 black out drunk was because I was in a nasty phase of my life where I missed my childhood and was depressed. So I grabbed my demons by the throat and tried to drown them. But as they say, sorrows are excellent swimmers. Those crafty motherfuckers.

Anyway, hope everyone is having a wonderful day! :D

[Bubba]

Super Mario World

[Vermachtnis]

Fate/Extella
You've got Elizabeth Bathory as a JPop idol magical girl. She's a lancer, but swings it around like a baton. Or jump on it like a witch's broom and flings herself into the fray.

[Darth Ganon]

My favorite game: Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Nothing is frustrating about it and it's like an old friend that's never left. One of the reasons it's my favorite.

Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask as well. They have the comfiest atmosphere of the entire series in my opinion.

[Mercen-X]

I don't so much have a comfort game as I have an addiction to a particular genre. That would be "buy and build." I get away from it for a while, but then I get lured back by its flashy design and here I am binging hours of my life away to construct the next big building on my never-ending (apparently) to-do list. Weeks (or months) later, I'm forced to look back at this investment of my time and energy only to realize that everything I've accomplished in the game leaves me feeling empty. Therw wasn't even a story to indulge in. Just mindless repetitiveness like some compulsive gambling addict on a slot machine. Fortunately, I've never spent a real-world dime on these games, reminding myself that in the end, I lnow I'm not going to care about whatever it is they're trying to sell me.

[Edge7]

Final Fantasy IV and Ocarina of Time for me

[WarZidane]

I don't really have any one game like that. Games that put me in a good place are RPGs, but I'm not one to replay RPGs a lot.

The game I tend to use (recently) to just unwind is, ironically, a game that isn't really the relaxing kind at all, Overwatch. I just head into quickplay, pick what I want to play and do my best but not worry about the actual results.

[Del Murder]

Mario, any of them except Sunshine. Also OG Zelda, Pokemon, and simple puzzle games like Tetris.

[Skyblade]

Rune Factory for me. Like the old Harvest Moon games...but better.

[Vyk]

Honestly it's probably Saints Row 1 and 2. And I'm not entirely sure why. Any GTA-like is fun to just muck about in and cause a rampage with, but for some reason in those games its more about going everywhere and doing everything. Somehow I just get absorbed in the junky and amusing city life, with all the weird comments the civilians make. Sometimes I just drive around. Listening to the music, enjoying the in-game rain, or the weird commercials and radio broadcasts. I follow ambulances and fire trucks to see what kind of hectic activity they're up to. I hunt down weird alien things in the ocean or join races or fight clubs just for the lols. It does something for me that GTA doesn't for some reason

[Loony BoB]

I don't repeat play games very often so this is really hard for me to pinpoint. Probably Journey or Football Manager.

[Mercen-X]

I don't know if any games put me in a good place, but some genres can be addictive. Like puzzlers and builders and basically any game that does not have a completable single-player campaign (i.e. a story with a real resolution).

Even rpgs, if they have too much side stuff. The completionist in me demands I see the world and all its wonders before I finish the story. For pretty much every PS2 RPG, I've gotten so sidetracked that I eventually lose interest in the game's story and stop playing altogether.

[Slothy]

Most relaxing game I've ever played is strangely the most recent Doom. Pounding metal soundtrack and pedal to the metal action the whole way through but for whatever reason it just calms me down. Heart rate drops, I block everything out, and it's just a strangely zen experience to me.