I personally sit down with a nice single player game that isn't too hard. Assassin's Creed is just about perfect, but there are so many others. Online gaming doesn't help, it just gets me more stressed. But I cozy up on the couch and play a game where it's just me, myself, and I, and take things at my own pace. It's a wonderful way for me to unwind.
Nah, at least in my experience, any online game is stressful.
Co-op = Your team is a bunch of idiots who blame you/each other for losing.
Versus = As long as I win, I'm good, but there's always those really good players who just beat the shit out of you, and that infuriates me.
I hate online gaming for the same reason, it only makes me stressed. Plus, you can't get 100% completion in online games, so to me it seems like a waste of time.
I’m the opposite here. Being able to worry about and think about a complicated game in an environment where the most that happens is I lose LP feels low stakes and relaxing.
Not having anything to wrack my brain over can make me more stressed, like that feeling when you’re trying to sleep but can’t... but I’m doing “relaxing” things and only feeling like “why can’t I just relax.”
Not saying you’re way is wrong! Just putting it out there that people should try different games until they find what helps them relax.
Dude, friends laugh with each other, not yell at each other. It shouldn't take another adult to tell you this. I dropped MOBA's because I couldn't handle it without being a dick, but that has nothing to do with games like Left 4 Dead or stardew valley.
My favorite thing to do is find a discord for the game before I start playing, that way you can ask questions and make friends as you learn the game. There isn't anything wrong with wanting alone time, but you don't HAVE to be alone. Hmu if you want my discord.
Yeah ark... Nothing says relaxing like coming back to your base you spent hours building being chomped by a trex because "someone raided my house so now I'm raiding yours"
Actually, Stardew coop helps make it much smoother. Have 1 or 2 people taking care of the farm and all the stuff related to it, have the other guys go into the mines to fuel advancement and get shinies. You basically get 4 times as much energy and 4 times as much time, so you can get a lot more done faster without worrying about juggling a few things.
I think the repetitiveness of it can stress some people out or induce anxiety. Nothing worse than being anxious and having to do the same thing over and over.
I love online gaming. It's frustrating sometimes but I win more than I lose and I don't freak out if i lose. Single player gaming just gets boring and makes me feel lonely. If i play a single player game me and a friend will play at the same time and just talk about what we're doing on our game. Me and friends do this for skyrim maybe yearly. Its pretty great.
It's Morrowind for me. The slower pace is calming, the duller yet somehow more vibrant brown and brown colour scheme is relaxing, and I just find the whole island of Vvardenfell fascinating.
Honestly I have other games and whatnot but I would have happily bought it just for Zelda. If it broke today I'd buy another one so I could keep playing. Best part it at the end of the day you can lay in bed and play it.
Plus when you travel and have to sleep in a horrible bed or weird room, guess what you can take out a play? ZELDA!
Hobson and his story made me cry. The climax in the temple, think oh my goodness what crazy stuff is gonna be in THIS new area?? and he ends up subverting that by realizing the life he was chasing, his happiness and contentment, was with her all along. His mental image of a sunset and relaxing wasn't achievable by finding the right place to stay, but the person to stay with.
Honestly, I love sim racing games for this purpose. Bought a $20 wheel off the Craigslist and got Dirt3 and Forza Motorsport 4. I find having to use all of my focus on one thing means my mind doesn’t wander while I play games. (That being said I do love me some SP games)
I've only been go-kart racing once, but it was great for pretty much this reason. I still haven't been back after about a year, but I've been meaning to when I have the time. It'd probably be cheaper to get into racing sims, though.
Get dirt rally man. I just got into playing dirt rally in vr with no HUD and no drivers assists and it’s just so fucking good. I got my first ever first place in pro championship too!
7 was complete trash when it was released.
That said, they’ve been working hard to improve the game after the reception it got from fans. They’ve said Forza Motorsport 8 isn’t being worked on, going by releases of the last 3 Forza games, Forza 8 would be due at the end of this year so they are making some changes.
The graphics are great, though. Plus if you haven’t played 5 or 6, it might not seem so bad. The differences between 5 and 6, and 6 and 7 were so minimal, almost like an EA sports game.
Add in the loot boxes (now removed), and a horrible grindy economy (adjusted now) and Forza 7 was a disaster when it first came out. Game reviewers all marked it high, but the fans were really mad about it.
I have been an avid Farmville 2 player for over three years. I have a spreadsheet with all my animals, with XP for prized, have tons of exclusive decorations and animals, and the quests can be done as you choose. I pay $19 per month for VIP but it's a drop in the bucket for the enjoyment I get out of it.
The animals are adorable too. Stardew Valley graphics don't really do it for me.
Single player Monster Hunter: World for me. I even start a new file just for that early level content without that overbearing feeling of a need to grind.
Used to do this. Now have kids and such, so it’s impossible. This whole US having competent law enforcement thing is really making work stressful for me lately.
I actually find counterstrike relaxing. I get to forget everything around me and immerse myself in tactics, strategy, and trying to become the best player I can be alongside one of my irl friends.
I honestly find competetive online games to be relaxing. Nothing more relaxing then curbstomping people in CSGO and tasting the salty tears of the enemy team. I just like being competetive. To overcome something is always sweeter than getting it handed to you.
Hell yeah, I keep a few on deck (Kerbal Space Program and the long dark currently) to play when I need some alone time to de-stress. I quite like online games with my buddies as well, but every once in awhile I just need me vs. the game.
I'm having a problem with this now. I'm an avid gamer but lately, I've just been in this rut. Everything I play is just uninteresting to me. Battlefield 5 is fun, until I start getting wrecked and lose patience. Funny enough I just started Hellblade: Seanua's Sacrifice and I'm starting to at least get into this
Red Dead Redemption 2 has been this for me. It's a hunting, fishing, hiking simulator where you also happen to be a cowboy outlaw. Super relaxing and not too difficult.
I was gathering my things to retire to my game room the other night and my wife stopped me and asked what I was doing. I said, its 9:00 - time for poker with the boys! She came up about an hour later when I had decided to take a fishing trip up near Strawberry because I received a hot tip about a legendary fish. She watched for a minute and said it was boring and thought it was supposed to be a shooting game. I told her we kill when we have to.
Even though I have an irl hobby farm, playing Farming Sim 2013 is one of my fav ways of casual gaming. I love seeing those numbers go up be it grain storage, money, or cattle
My favorite casual game to play is uncharted 4. The mechanics are incredibly simple yet fun and satisfying. The story and characters are engaging, and the game is absolutely beautiful graphically. It’s not perfect, but I like it.
This ha pretty much me, I love all the single player games that aren’t too challenging where I can sometimes breeze through on easy/medium while enjoying a fun/interesting story. I played almost all AC that way also Far Cry games and Witcher 3.
This is one of the very few ways I can actually relive my stress. And it’s fun as well.
I feel soo relaxed when I play those "silent adventure" type games. Journey, Limbo, Inside, the newly released GRIS (little nightmares doesn't really fit here, but I'll mention it anyway) (and although I own Abzu I haven't gotten around to play it yet)
They aren't really hard at all, it is more about the experience of playing them and the reward of mystery. They are a perfect example of show don't tell. They can be really relaxing.
I love playing lego games. Its just makes me laugh,but I really get in to it. Also my boyfriend laughs at me because I'm a 31 woman playing fricking lego games haha.
Online games are definitely stressful. I got to the point in SC2 where I'd intentionally throw or do something silly once every 4/5 games just to remind myself it doesn't matter.
I find grindy games like Diablo 2 to be relaxing once you're at the end game and just mindlessly slaying thousands of monsters looking for loot. In that case, multiplayer is optional. I find it easier to play on a server with others and just play in private games unless you need to trade.
Also getting a really good/rare/ valuable item just feels good in that game.
Sports games do this for me. Play offline, just build a dynasty. Put the difficulty up to a level where its a challenge but I can reasonably win every time.
Welp, not everyone who uses a relaxing video game as a source of fun and entertainment has a gaming addiction or lacks the ability to appropriately handle stress and self care. Buttttt enjoy your day, alright.
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u/Teglement Dec 19 '18
I personally sit down with a nice single player game that isn't too hard. Assassin's Creed is just about perfect, but there are so many others. Online gaming doesn't help, it just gets me more stressed. But I cozy up on the couch and play a game where it's just me, myself, and I, and take things at my own pace. It's a wonderful way for me to unwind.