Relaxing games

[Barfo]

Anyone got any recommendations? I'm looking for games I can just play without any kind of stress or worry about scores, difficult bosses or anything like that.

I've been flying around with planes, watching the scenery and doing acrobatics in Just Cause 2 but I'd like other games to relax with.

 

[darkxshade]

Plants vs Zombies

Pretty much any tower defense game

 

[coldmeat]

I find Anno 1404 pretty relaxing, as long as I play with non-violent AI. You can basically sit back and play the game at your own pace, which is great for me because I'm terrible at those types of games.

 

[Dankk]

Interestingly enough, flying around and enjoying the scenery in JC2 isn't a half-bad idea.

My "relaxing" game recently has been The Polynomial. There is a score and an objective (I guess) but it's extremely ambient, non-stressful, and you can fly around just listening to music while shooting stuff and flying through other stuff. I usually put on a trance track and fly through the colorful vibrant universe the game creates for me based on the music.

When you first start the game, it might look really overwhelming and disorienting, but after a few minutes you'll be flying around, shooting at baddies, warping to other worlds, and enjoying yourself.

 

[stahlhart]

Garry's Mod?

 

[datalink7]

Amnesia: Dark Decent



But seriously, maybe Limbo? None of the puzzles are too hard, and the atmosphere is cool.

 

[KaOTiK]

Audiosurf to some relaxing music

 

[ockky]

i find Terraria to be pretty relaxing...just chipping away at dirt...you make your own goals.

 

[Dankk]

i find Terraria to be pretty relaxing...just chipping away at dirt...you make your own goals.

Same thing with Minecraft.

 

[Zorander]

Ditto on the Anno1404 and Tower Defense suggestion (I love Defense Grid).

I also highly recommend Sins of a Solar Empire. If you don't mind playing old games, Master of Orion 2 is a great great classic (on a side note, I just can never get into GalCivII).

 

[Specop 007]

Minecraft or SimCity I guess.

 

[apoppin]

Games that i find relaxing are shooters - like Serious Sam series.

If you want no thrill but maybe a few puzzles - try an adventure game. Dreamfall: The Longest Journey comes to mind. It is like an interactive graphic novel and the graphics aren't awful (actually it looks great in S3D).

 

[DaveSimmons]

I find most parts of D&D based RPGs like Neverwinter Nights and especially Star Wars KOTOR I-II relaxing -- since combat is all dice rolls you almost just sit back and watch it happen, maybe pausing to use a spell or power.

To me that's much lower stress than a shooter where if you don't aim quickly enough, you die.

 

[Nizology]

I'd give Minecraft a go. Very calming but with a fun exploration and creativity side.

 

[queequeg99]

I've gotten hooked on Capsized. It's a 2d game (which I ordinarily don't like) in the mode of a side scroller (but you aren't compelled to constantly go to the right). Very pretty graphics and excellent game play. You have to shooter but it's not intense like Crysis or something with a big boss. There are little tricks you have to figure out but nothing much. And it's generally pretty cheap. I think it was on sale recently on Steam for $5 (I got it in a 4 pack of indie games for $10 during the July 4th sales). There's a free demo on Steam as well.

 

[Amit3945]

Flying around Panau is a really stress free experience that I enjoy totally.
Considering the loading time in JC2, I wonder why dont other flight sim developers use this engine to develop their sims.
This engine renders ground scenary/objects in details like no other.
I have really enjoyed Trine and more recently Limbo.
Looks like you could also try From Dust.

 

[Alienwho]

This might be strange but my favorite relaxing game is TF2. You might win or you might lose, doesn't matter either way. You can either help with team work or go off and do your own thing.

 

[Rebel_L]

I find most shooters with God mode enabled to be a nice relaxing form of stress relief. Generally speaking I find any game with cheat codes on becomes a mostly relaxing experience, its just a matter of picking a game that you can still enjoy without the challenge that normally goes with it.

 

[ibex333]

Relaxing? Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.... There is something so relaxing about a silenced sniper rifle with .308 hand load rounds, or better yet, armor piercing rounds + 1st Recon Beret and Sheriff's Duster meticulously wiping out a whole camp of guys without even a single one of them noticing what's going on...

I cant help but whisper to myself.. BOOM! Headshot!

And then there's the relaxing process of selling tons of junk to a Vendortron for a nice profit. ; )

 

[Sulaco]

The Flight Simulator games.

 

[biostud]

turn based games

 

[atticus14]

Anyone got any recommendations? I'm looking for games I can just play without any kind of stress or worry about scores, difficult bosses or anything like that.

I've been flying around with planes, watching the scenery and doing acrobatics in Just Cause 2 but I'd like other games to relax with.

Beat hazard Complete
http://store.steampowered.com/app/49600/?snr=1_4_4__13

It actually has high scores and bosses but I find it very relaxing...you can use your own music, choose internet radio (plenty of variety, you can also add stations through a text file)

there is an easy mode and music that is more calm produces an easier time... I chill out with this game right before bed most nights.

I didn't mean to type in bold but copy and pasting the link made it impossible to go back to normal

 

[PrayForDeath]

Anyone got any recommendations? I'm looking for games I can just play without any kind of stress or worry about scores, difficult bosses or anything like that.

I've been flying around with planes, watching the scenery and doing acrobatics in Just Cause 2 but I'd like other games to relax with.

The Sims.

Plants vs Zombies

Pretty much any tower defense game

Tower defense? Relaxing???

 

[Arg Clin]

Story based games (RPG) is what I find relaxing. If you worry about difficult bosses etc just set difficulty down to easy/casual - that's what I do when Im not in the mood for a challenge.

 

[sigurros81]

I definitely agree with the people saying Just Cause 2 being a relaxing game. I don't play the game that often anymore but I catch myself loading up the game once in a while and just fly around looking at the landscapes with no main goal or objective in mind. The last game I can recall doing this was Pilotwing64--birdman suit and flying around the mini United States

Anno 1404 is also another relaxing game. The music is quite soothing to boot.

The Sims 3.