To many players, video games are a means to escape and jump into the shoes of a tough action hero or star athlete. The feeling of being powerful and godlike, with powers, tools, and weapons at their disposal, is why many gamers love escapism. Not every player though, wants to wind down with a stressful and attention-heavy game, as many use video games as a way to relax and destress.
Thankfully, many developers know that sometimes all players want to do is to relax in these worlds and experiences. Whether it's through calming puzzles and quests or casually exploring and enjoying a beautifully designed world, many games are available to be enjoyed for their chill and relaxing atmospheres and gameplay.
Tetris Effect
Gamers of all ages have at least some sort of experience with Tetris, whether it's original variants on the NES and Game Boy or modern versions on smartphones. It has always been a relaxing pick-up-and-play title, and with Tetris Effect, the gorgeous colors, lighting, particle effects, and music combined with classic gameplay make the game a hypnotic and entrancing experience.
Breathtaking backdrops, like the ocean and the clouds, whisk players away, and various psychedelic patterns and synchronized sounds and music trigger along to the drops of the Tetris blocks. It truly is a visceral and memorable experience.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
One of the best 3D platformer series of the 90s, Spyro The Dragon won over legions of fans due to how fun and colorful the games were. In 2018, all three titles were remastered in an amazing-looking collection and players dove back into the breezy and welcoming worlds all over again.
The games start out very easy and calming, urging you to explore these cartoony worlds, jumping and gliding around and collecting gems and treasures. The levels get more challenging as players carry on, but several levels feature very little in terms of danger and are nice and relaxing to enjoy.
Abzu
To some, the ocean is a dark and terrifying place full of dangers. Abzu is reassuring though, as it's all about calmly exploring the vast and endless utopia of the deep sea, swimming alongside real sea life, and witnessing them exist in ecosystems and colonies. There are several moments in the game when the player can rest upon a statue and meditate, which grants the ability to spectate specific schools of fish and critters, watching them swim and live together with other species.
The title is ultra-relaxing, with hypnotic music and striking visuals guiding you along the way in a calming and emotional adventure.
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley has amassed millions of fans over the years as being one of the most relaxing and addictive farming sims of all time. Heavily inspired by the Harvest Moon series, players create their own character and inherit a cabin along with a large piece of land.
What happens next is up to the player, as the town and surrounding areas are able to be explored, people can be met, fish can be caught, and crops can be planted. Every day and night offers multiple opportunities for players to do some shopping and socializing in town, dig for treasure in the mine, or just do some yard work. In real life, it would be exhausting, but Stardew Valley welcomes players to play and enjoy at their own pace.
Concrete Genie
A cute and colorful adventure for the PlayStation 4, Concrete Genie sees a young character named Ash come into contact with magical beings that he brings to life via art. He then unleashes them upon an abandoned and grim waterfront town, causing them to bring the entire place to life with colorful and beautiful graffiti.
Players are thrust into an adventure where areas need to be restored via graffiti, which can be customized and drawn to the player's content. Motion controls via the Dualshock controller allow actual paint strokes and coloring to be achieved, or the analog sticks can be used. Whatever way it's experienced, Concrete Genie is a heartfelt and endearing journey that is calming and pleasant.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Despite having a dramatically tense storyline, tense and frantic gunplay, and enemies out for blood everywhere, Red Dead Redemption 2 can also be enjoyed as a chill and quiet wilderness adventure. Players can avoid missions altogether and pack up their saddles for a hunting and camping trip, exploring the massive map and going off the beaten path, lazily trotting their horse across beautiful vistas and winding forest paths.
If they get hungry, players can sit down and eat some provisions, or hunt for some meat to cook over a lovely campfire. Pitch a tent and camp out under the stars, and brew up some coffee in the morning before setting off to your next point of interest. The game is as relaxing as players want to make it.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Another massive adventure but full of dungeons, the undead, dragons, and civil war, Skyrim is a medieval/fantasy fan's dream come true. But along with the epic questlines and dank and creepy caves filled with trolls, the game can also be a peaceful role-playing experience where players purchase a home in a town, craft and smith weapons and supplies, and pick flowers to create potions and enchantments.
When player's levels are ranked up, most enemies and threats won't be much of a chore, and the valleys and forests can be wandered at ease, basking in the beauty of the world around them.
Donut County
Sometimes all players want in terms of calm and relaxing gameplay is to swallow everything around them in an ever-expanding hole. In Donut County, quirky comedy and silly characters and dialogue provide the basis for what essentially is a vacuum/black hole simulator, where each level contains a select amount of items, characters, and even buildings for players to drop into a moving hole in the ground.
The size expands as more items go in, eventually becoming a sinkhole large enough to cover the entire level, and players will find the gameplay very satisfying, as each item topples and falls into the growing void.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
What started as side bonus levels in Super Mario 3D World evolved into a fully realized game, with players guiding Toad through small isometric levels in which the camera must be rotated to find every secret and guide players to the goal.
What makes this title so relaxing though, is that it strays from typical Mario territory in which players cannot jump or attack in any way. Toad must avoid enemies and solve light platforming puzzles to succeed, and the cute graphics, whimsical music, and light-hearted gameplay make the game a joy to relax with.
Grand Theft Auto V
Just like Red Dead Redemption 2, the billion-dollar Grand Theft Auto franchise is known for its explosive missions and setpieces, and crime and violence galore. But in its fifth entry, if players want to avoid all of that, they can go for a leisurely drive down the sun-soaked highways, hopping into an expensive sports car and cruising while listening to a curated playlist and enjoying the sights.
In the vast mountainous canyons and lush forests, players can enjoy a casual bike ride or take control of a dirtbike or ATV and cruise the steep trails, before parachuting off the top of the mountain and calmly drifting above the epic view of the world map. Boats can also be taken around the ocean, casually sailing through the drifting waves at a leisurely pace.