With highly-anticipated video games like the life stimulation adventure Slime Rancher 2 scheduled to release this year, players have more options than ever for a relaxing gaming experience. What makes these games so tranquilizing is that players can explore their creativity or grow more sociable, whether building new structures, interacting within the game, or making new friends.
For those looking for games to play after stress-filled days, titles like Gorogoa deliver a perfect experience to undergo these adventures or solve fun puzzles. Other games like Journey garnered praise for their beautiful visuals and intriguing gameplay, which enhances the overall calm experience.
Slime Rancher (2017)
Since the sequel is releasing this year, players should try the original 2017 life sim game Slime Rancher. As a young woman from earth named Beatrix LeBeau, the player becomes a slime rancher on an alien planet called "Far, Far Range." Using a run-down ranch, Beatrix must explore the world, find colorful gelatinous creatures known as Slimes, and rebuild the ranch.
If players feed the slimes with the proper foods, the slimes will drop "plorts," which can be sold in exchange for "Newbucks." This currency can in turn be used to buy upgrades to equipment and farm buildings, which leads to more slimes and more currency. Because of this gameplay loop, Slime Rancher provides a cute and relaxing experience that's perfect for chill evenings.
Hidden Folks (2017)
One of the best monochromatic games is the hidden object game, Hidden Folks. Similar to the popular Where's Waldo? franchise, this critically acclaimed game has players search for hidden characters, animals, and objects in 32 animated hand-drawn levels.
While there are many hidden object games, Hidden Folks stands out because of its interactive elements. Players can click on basically everything within the levels, and those objects will react; sometimes, these reactions are necessary because players need to find clues to a target, which require clicking on interactions. Since the objects players need to find are randomly decided for each level, there's plenty of replay value.
Strange Horticulture (2022)
Strange Horticulture is a supernatural mystery puzzle game where the player runs a local plant store called "Strange Horticulture" in the small fictional town, Undermere. While petting the shop's black cat and , the player must find and identify different plants in order to give the right ones to the shop's customers. When plants are correctly identified, new entries are added to the shop's book, which can be used to identify more plants.
As this gameplay loop continues, players slowly uncover the dark mysteries within Undermere, but the engrossing and relaxing atmosphere will draw players in. Depending on the choices made during the story, players will achieve one of eight different endings.
Unpacking (2021)
Players may not realize how many video games are created by women, and Unpacking is one of them. Co-created by Wren Brier — who also worked on Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride — Unpacking is a 2021 puzzle game where players unpack various items from boxes and place them into small rooms. Over the course of eight moves, the player must decorate the living spaces using all of the items from the boxes, so the challenge is finding the space to put everything.
While placing the tiny items in the pixelated rooms, the player slowly unravels a young woman's story through the many years of her life. This story is told through the items she collects and leaves behind throughout multiple houses.
Vignettes (2017)
Originally released for iOS in 2017 and later ported to the PC in 2019, Vignettes is a puzzle game and one of the many interesting video games that mess with a player's perception. At the start of the game, the player gains a small storage chest but loses all the keys. In order to retrieve these keys, players will need to look at objects in different ways so that they can turn into other objects.
For example, the first object the player has access to is a telephone. If the telephone is rotated so that one of the sides faces the player entirely, it might transform into a bowl. Each color-coded area, which is represented by in-game paintings, features a specific selection of items. When all the items are found in the area, the player can obtain the corresponding key. Besides seeing the items, the objects can be interacted with to help complete the puzzle.
A Short Hike (2019)
A Short Hike is an indie adventure game about "believing in yourself and the importance of the journey. The game follows a young bird named Claire who spends a day at Hawk Peak Provincial Park where her Aunt May works as a ranger. Eventually, Claire discovers that her mother sent her to the island park because she's having surgery, and she doesn't want Claire to know.
Since Claire is worried about her mother and the only area with cellphone reception is at the top of Hawk Peak, Claire must hike her way up the mountain despite her inexperience. To succeed in this venture, players will need to gather golden feathers, which can be found by exploring, completing quests, or buying them.
Monument Valley (2014)
Inspired by games like Echochrome and Fez, Monument Valley is a 2014 indie puzzle game originally released for iOS and Android. The backstory is that a bird-like deity took away the world's sacred geometry and transformed the humans into crow people. Soon after, the deity's descendant, Princess Ida, selflessly decided to return the sacred geometry and save the humans.
In this video game, Ida must navigate through various impossible structures inspired by Oscar Reutersvärd and M. C. Escher's works. A sequel was released in 2017, and both games will be ported to PC in July.
Windosill (2009)
This 2009 puzzle game Windosill inspired many indie puzzle games like Monument Valley. In this game, players guide a toy car through 11 surreal rooms filled with objects that the player can interact with. Since Windosill does not provide word clues except for the title drop in the second room, the player must use the objects to solve each room's unique logic puzzle. Once a puzzle is solved, the player receives a small cube that acts as a key to the next room.
Inspired by various artists, Windosill is a significant title within the history of art games. Along with other games like Tale of Tales' The Path, this title proved that games could be a medium for art and paved the way for the excellent indie games that exist today.
Gorogoa (2017)
Released in 2017, Gorogoa is an award-winning puzzle game with a gorgeous storybook-esque art style and designed as a two-by-two grid. Players solve puzzles and progress through the story by manipulating the s within the grid. It requires moving and stacking the s and changing the inside s, but the experience is not demanding.
Though this game has no written or spoken dialogue, Gorogoa uses the images and gameplay to tell the story of a boy who meets a divine creature and lives through a war. Eventually, the world is rebuilt after the war, and the boy grows to become an older man reflecting on his old life.
Journey (2012)
Created by Thatgamecompany, this 2012 indie adventure game Journey is one of the greatest games ever made within both the art and indie gaming genres. This award-winning title follows a robed figure traveling across a large desert in hopes of reaching the top of a mountain.
Players must solve puzzles and use a musical chime to gather pieces of cloth. The pieces procured are added to the player's own clothing, which helps them travel further to the mountain. During the playthrough, they encounter other anonymous players who are also undertaking the journey. Journey elevates the gaming experience by allowing the player to have truly meaningful social interactions with other players.