Relaxing game mechanics

[Freya]

Times be stressful, yo!

What do you like in a game to relax you? What mechanic in a game relaxes you?

I'm a fishing fan, fishing minigames are my jam

:chocobo:

[Slothy]

Doom (the 2016 version) is the most relaxing game I've ever played. So apparently what relaxes me is hell, demons, balls to the wall action and slaughter, and a pounding metal soundtrack.

[Wolf Kanno]

I'll second fishing mini-games. I also love Rhythm Games for this as well barring DDR which is pretty much exercise, but even it has a few nice mellow tracks to get your heart rate back to normal between sessions of getting a high score on MAX 300.

Dragon Quest is also a series I find relaxing, as well as old platformers like Mario and Sonic.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Turn based rpgs are always relaxing to me. Rhythm games as well.

Also, Flower and Journey are both some of the most relaxing games to me.

[Galuf]

not really a ,echanic, but grinding. sometimes, if im stressed or angry gaming itsef is just calming btu grinding especially. if im nto though, grinding is boring so its kinda both relaxing and not

[Vyk]

I have a mental disorder where relaxing in games makes me feel like I'm wasting time. Building houses, decorating, grinding out material, making or upgrading clothes or weapons. I spend 4 hours doing stuff and then walk away having no real progress; it bothers me for some reason

[Spuuky]

I have a mental disorder where relaxing in games makes me feel like I'm wasting time. Building houses, decorating, grinding out material, making or upgrading clothes or weapons. I spend 4 hours doing stuff and then walk away having no real progress; it bothers me for some reasonIs it... a mental disorder to think that wasting time is wasting time?

[Vyk]

Well, I mean I wish I could find more fulfillment in just enjoying a game. But I put such emphasis on progress, that games like Minecraft, Terraria, 7 Days to Die, etc. all feel like I'm not actually accomplishing anything. Some people get fulfillment just mucking about in them. Stardew Valley was good about blurring the line at least, so piddling around actually made it feel like you were getting somewhere in the grand scheme of things.

[Fox]

I don't find fishing minigames relaxing, I find them stressful as hell! ^_^

Synthesising items in Atelier, that's quite relaxing. Actually, doing pretty much anything in those games is pretty comfy.

[Darth Ganon]

Exploring. Not necessarily open world, but large enough to allow snooping around. Especially if it has weather mechanics like rain. So comfy.

Also fishing sometimes. I spent a lot of time at the fishing hole in Ocarina of Time.

[Kibbs Kibbard]

Grinding levels, playing older RPG's, some FPS games I find relaxing like Minecraft and such... that's really about it.

[Mr. Carnelian]

Exploring. Not necessarily open world, but large enough to allow snooping around.

Agreed. A nice view also helps.

[Edge7]

I find progressing through collectathons to be relaxing. I've always been a fan of Jak and Daxter, and Super Mario Odyssey is also really nice. There's something rewarding about being rewarded for light platforming and exploration.

[Vincent, Thunder God]

The most relaxing games for me are adventure games because they have no real skill-testing component beyond solving puzzles (except for maybe a mini-game here and there). You're free to enjoy the art, music and writing without tense combat, platforming or anything like that. I think that current games have really lost that sense of slow pacing and thought - getting stuck in an adventure game will let you stop for a while and think about a puzzle to perhaps return later when it comes to you. With a focus on progression, completion and repetition in the mechanics of most modern games it's rare to simply appreciate the creative work that went into building the story and world of a game. I think the classic FF titles were similar to adventures in that, outside of the turn based combat, a lot of the games were just text, environments and music that could be appreciated without losing concentration on an action required of the player beyond reading/movement. I'd like to see a game with a AAA budget that just allows you to explore environments without combat. I guess I need to play more "walking simulators." :D

[Jiro]

One example that I enjoy is the ability to engineer near-automation. Setting up solid gambits in Final Fantasy XII, for instance, allows you to kind of take a mental backseat and just cruise around looking at the effects of your hard work or ingenuity.

[KentaRawr!]

As for what relaxes me the most in a game, I think that I'd have to second exploration. It feels really nice and visceral to just think about how a player character relates to a world and find ways, either through game exploits or just cleverly-implemented mechanics, to break boundaries established earlier on in the experience, and feel something new. On the other hand, games that also just give you a wider world to explore from the outset are especially enjoyable just because you can let yourself fall into the game's world.

Running around is great.

But I also find game mechanics that try to relax-ify an otherwise stressful experience to be really interesting. Cassette tapes in MGSV come to mind.