The Super Relaxed

We're going to start off with the most relaxing games. These are games that have little commitment to the goals required. Games that give you goals are doing so to invoke feelings, whether they be stress or frustration. A lack of goals means a choice to do what you want during any given gaming session.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

No list of this nature would be complete without this amazing title for the Nintendo Switch. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the latest in a series of games about an animal village that you manage. At first glance, this game can seem very odd to people who are not used to games of this nature.

Animal Crossing puts you in charge of your own island that you get to manage all the way to the topology. The game is made to be extremely simple which further adds to its carefree nature. There are few goals in the game and the ones that do exist are all optional. You are free to do as much or as little as you want.

Unlike most games, you have to make your own goals and therefore your own fun. You can choose to redesign parts of your island or you can earn money from fishing and catching bugs. The choice is entirely yours and the pace is also entirely up to you.

Recently I also wrote an article about How Animal Crossing Helps with Depression and Anxiety. The games create a beautiful sense of community among the AI villagers and this can be very beneficial to the mind and soul. I often find that the game indeed does give me a sense that I have my own island paradise to go to at any time.

One of the key aspects of the game is all of the furniture you can collect and then use to make your island and house prettier. There are endless ways for you to design your island. However, a huge problem for many is that it can often feel like you are given nothing at all to look forward to. This can be a problem especially with the often lackluster dialog with villagers. The illusion of a village can quickly fall apart.

This game can feel very slow-paced for someone who's used to more action. Animal Crossing can be rather polarizing because of the lack of gameplay goals. It may be a good idea to look at some videos before continuing with a purchase. Because of this, the next item on this list may be a great game to look into.

Stardew Valley

When it comes to farming simulators, you simply cannot beat Stardew Valley. This indie game was developed by only one man. Everything from the game engine to the visuals to even the music is the work of a single man who dedicated his time to creating a true masterpiece.

What sets Stardew apart from other games is that while it does have goals involved, it gives you a huge amount of choices that you otherwise don't get from most games that are very linear. Don't like farming? No problem! Just go down to the mines and get your profit from there. Or perhaps fishing is more to your taste.

In the game, you become a new inhabitant of Pelican Town, a small town with a few stores. You are given a farm that has been abandoned. After a little bit of cleaning, you can begin to start planting crops. What brings you back is the beautiful stories associated with each of the members of the town. There is something very magical about the way the game is presented to you and it truly is something that everyone should try.

As you progress with the game you get many opportunities to look forward to such as marrying NPCs and automating your farm. There are also many difficult goals for you to strive towards if you wish to go for a more intensive workload. These challenges can be a great break from the rather relaxing aspect of the farming simulator.

This masterpiece is available on pretty much every platform and gets regular content updates which further adds to its charm.

Abzu

This game reminds me a lot of Subnautica because of the beautiful underwater landscapes. However, unlike Subnautica where there is constant pressure set against the player, Abzu is a game focused on simple exploration which can be done at your own pace. There are no factors like air to stress over.

The game is also stunning with beautiful underwater visuals. There is a lot to see in the game but because of the relaxed gameplay, you can stay in any area for as long as you wish and just watch the sea life around you. The game reminds me a lot of Animal Crossing in this regard.

If sitting on the seabed isn't quite your style, there are a lot of things for you to do. You're always welcome to just swim around and follow around the fish. But aside from that, there are also collectibles for you to find. This can be a very relaxed but more active way of playing the game.

A Little More Action?

Perhaps those games are a little too slow for your pace. Or maybe you're just looking for something a little different. The next two games definitely won't disappoint, though they are games that will be relaxing to people with specific tastes.

Minecraft

Since its release back in 2011, Minecraft has gained a popularity that seems truly impossible. The game was purchased by Microsoft a while ago and has continued to get large content-rich updates full of new things to do and new building blocks. While many people may associate Minecraft with the survival mode, it can be easy to see how the game can work for a more relaxed audience.

With Minecraft, you really have two choices when trying to have a more relaxed time. The first one is more obvious.

The creative mode is a wonderful way to make full use of the amazing sandbox features that Minecraft has. The things people build on the platform are truly incredible and can act as a form of therapy for many. For me, I find it frustrating because making things look good can be very difficult, but maybe designing houses is your thing. It certainly is a game to try regardless.

If creative isn't the way you want to go, playing the game in easy survival mode isn't too bad either. Not everyone has to finish the game. If you want, you can always stay on the overworld and continue your survival adventures by building sustainable farms for food and making pens for animals. There is also a very fulfilling experience when it comes to acquiring materials for building your creations. If you do feel more adventurous there are a lot of things to do such as mining in caves and going to the nether.

Overall survival Minecraft is a fantastic game for people to use as both a focussed experience and a more carefree sandbox. Minecraft has been ported to a multitude of platforms so chances are there are places you can play it easily.

Forza Horizon 4

Another rather carefree but still a little involved game is the Forza Horizon series of games. These games offer a beautiful driving experience but it takes away the more involved aspect of most racing games by making the driving part the main attraction.

In general, you will find that similar to Animal Crossing, the game doesn't really force you to do anything. However, there are a plethora of things to do should you choose to pursue any of the many attractions. For example, if you like street racing specifically, more will be unlocked as you finish them. Or perhaps doing the challenges is more of your style. Don't worry, you're covered there too.

The main point of the game is to just have fun with your car and buy more. It's a very unique driving experience that I have never seen before in another game. Even if you aren't into cars, this game can still be an amazing experience and can definitely help you unwind after a long day.

This game offers a truly amazing amount of content that should appeal to a wide variety of people out there who just want to have a little bit of fun. Also, the multiplayer on this game is a huge plus because of all the goofy things you can do together. Whenever I get together with my friends on this game, we have an absolute blast.

Games with a little more to it

We pretty much covered the games that were generally simple in nature. But there is also a great amount of relaxation found in games that require a little more effort to get going.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

I have mixed feelings about this game. On one hand, it's the most amazing experience that truly pushes the boundaries of what computers can do. On the other hand, it's an absolute glitchfest that can cause a lot of headaches when you simply want to get a relaxing experience.

Let's address the bugs. Yes, they exist. But they are actively being worked on. Chances are, any bugs you face will be ironed out within a month or two at most. The developers behind the project clearly are trying their best to deal with such an ambitious project and they are doing the best they can.

Ignoring the bugs, I can say that this game gives you an experience unlike any other with its breathtaking graphics and realistic physics. The reason this game is in this section is that it still is a flight simulator and it certainly takes a bit of getting used to.

When I first started playing flight simulators, I was fascinated with airplanes but all of those switches were daunting and I often found myself getting lost in the mess of things I had to keep track of. However, I later realized that you really don't have to worry too much about it.

For one thing, most things in MSFS are automated for you if you want it, and secondly, the small aircraft generally have few controls for you to worry about and offer really great opportunities to fly around and explore areas. There are also bush flight routes provided by the game that are an awesome experience.

I think that you should definitely give this game a try if only because of the novelty of it. The game is an unparalleled experience and you won't regret the learning curve.

Star Citizen

This game is rather similar to MSFS because of its many bugs and the learning curve involved. However, if you want an amazing space exploration game, there truly isn't anything else like it out there. The biggest thing to remember is that this "game" is still in alpha and that means that there is constant development on it that's being done. This means ALOT of bugs.

Despite the bugs, however, there is a beauty to this universe that you truly cannot find anywhere else. Chris Roberts has created a truly amazing vision. Though much of it is still in work, it's easy to see where the pieces all fit in. Everything from the ships to the planets has been detailed meticulously and it is truly an amazing experience to visit places in the game.

For a more carefree experience, I generally chose to do box deliveries or haul cargo. The latter of which can be rather stressful because of the constant server issues. Cargo is still under work so this may not be something you want to deal with.

Box deliveries, however, are a great way to see the universe and take a very relaxed approach to the game. Unfortunately, this line of work doesn't pay very well at all, so if your goal is to earn lots of money, you may want to grind some of the other professions from time to time as well.

What I find very nice about the game is that in general, you don't have to worry about much. You do whatever you want and if you just want to stare at a planet all night then you're perfectly welcome to do that. The community around the game is also very open to new people which makes it a very fulfilling experience to play it.

Conclusion

And that's the whole list! Hopefully, you found a new game to try out and unwind with. With our worlds being filled with information and stress, I think it's more important than ever to find time for ourselves where we can take a breather. Gaming is a wonderful distraction from the realities that we deal with and as gaming technology gets better, so will the games. Give some of these games a try the next time you need to relax.