I have several games for a lazy evening on the sofa, so it depends on the mood.
I hoard virtual cars, tanks and ships, so I pick CSR2 when I want to do an event there (daily boring grinding tasks are automated). When I want to shoot I either junp in World of Tanks Blitz or World of Warships Blitz.
When in a mood where I want to just tap around, I dust off Hay Day.
Gershwin Impact has been on the tablet, but after a few attempts to play it, it’s removed again. Looks nice, but not my style, yet.
This doesn’t answer your question, but I will take this time to rant about Jackson Hewitt. I’ve never used them, but I had an 18 year old employee making a little over minimum wage that used them about 20 years ago. His taxes were simple and just, at the time, a 1040EZ. It’s a simple one page document that takes about 1 minute to fill out. He didn’t owe any federal tax, so he should have received back all that he had paid in that year. Jackson Hewitt took all of his refund plus about $200. I wouldn’t be surprised if all the places you listed are just as scummy.
I’ve always done my own taxes except when I had to withdraw from my 401k for a large hospital bill. I went to a local independent tax preparer that charged me $100, but she had a special code that saved me several thousands of dollars in taxes and penalties for early withdrawal from 401k. There was no way that I could have done that on my own. The IRS gives accountants special “powers” that make them necessary. The fact that an entire industry is built around just figuring out how much taxes you owe is a travesty.
Breath of the Wild. I mean, yes, there are quests, bosses, temples, shrines, minigames and whatnot, but it is also completely fine to just fetch your favorite horse from the stable and ride across Hyrule, hunting wildlife, watching the sunset, cooking food for your character, maybe have Wolf Link accompany you on a hunt, just taking in the scenery, foarge for mushrooms, looking for shooting stars at night … a little bit of reality escape helps to unwind after a long, hectic day. And this game is unreasonably beautiful as well, despite the simplyfied graphics.
Factorio, Minecraft, and… Counter Strike. I exclusively play with a full squad of friends and even if we have a bad game, at least I’m spending time with my friends. Keeping contact with your friends is super important and getting harder every year. So it’s quality time.
I got deeply into this (genre?) when I burned out on a combination of playing big/tough games and the stresses of life. I also enjoyed the pace of Outer Wilds and Subnautica. Some other favourites:
Supraland 1/2 (low combat, light hearted metroidvania, I loved it)
Psychonauts 2 (amazing adventure game, big but not hard. I loved collecting everything, it was a great balance)
Tinykin (similar adventure, a bit like Pikmin, which is also great. Lots of chilled collecting)
Spiritfarer (lots of freedom, loose plot, not overwhelming)
Breath of the Wild (do what you want, very nice discovery elements)
TOEM, A Short Hike, GRIS and Cocoon (light adventure / puzzle games, peaceful but could be boring if you want action)
Yokus Island Express (lovely metroidvania, chilled gameplay, not overwhelming)
It Takes two (humour, light combat - played with my young son)
Unravel 1/2 (easy-ish puzzles)
Weirdly, I found Sniper Elite 4/5 fairly chill, lots of scoping out areas
Overcooked 2 (zero stress if you play practice mode a ton before attempting a level. I found it a very zen/flow game)
Peggle 1/2 (can be frustrating, but is very low stakes and arcadey. Lovely for short sessions)
Wilmots Warehouse (can be stressful if you take the timer seriously, but I loved all the organising. Very satisfying)
Vampire Survivors (can get a bit much, but pretty simple and disposable)
There are tons more, I deal with a lot of anxiety!
Some games I was recommended for this purpose that didn’t land for me:
Powerwash sim / other simulators (these feel like a second job for me. Constant grind and focus on perfection wasn’t helpful)
Tetris Evolution / Lumines (either gets too fast / hard, or gets boring)
Stardew / Terraria (in theory these look great, but I find huge sandboxes too overwhelming. Always feels like I should be doing more stuff / doing it better)
Roguelikes (I like Hades, Dead Cells, etc, but they’re very stressful and frustrating when so much hinges on survival)
Finally, I’d suggest trying a solo board game. More tactile and relaxing alternative to screen time.
Dead Cells. I can just… Zone out and go. It’s really cathartic, and if I do particularly bad during a run, I just… Die and start over. You don’t lose anything you’ve gained, (unless you pick something up in a biome and don’t make it to the exit), and each run is practically a new game that requires nothing to learn it. It’s my Zen game.
FTL is a great chill out game for me. The only problem is I’ve put in so many hours that I’ve practically seen everything! I looked into some interesting mods but just haven’t tried them out yet. When I think about it, FTL shouldn’t be that chill, but there’s a certain simplicity in the gameplay, and the ability to pause all the time, even during combat, gives me the ability to take my time thinking through what I’m gonna do.
Underrated chill out game, agreed, maybe I’ll finally get around to trying some mods.
Yeah I haven’t tried the mods either and I kinda suck at the game but I’ve always felt like it has a low cost to entry, which is why it feels chill to me. A lot of death anxiety in games is due to time investment and, frankly, like BOTW, fear of long loading screens more than any in game punishment.
Ftl has such a satisfying and similar gameplay loop and allows so much pausing that it doesn’t really feel stressful for me. I still hate dying and do it a lot in the game, but I can play ftl with a sort of soft mental focus that many other games don’t allow me to do
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