Updated at: 20-04-2022 - By: Leo Hall

Relaxing games don’t need to strain your brain too much in these situations. To avoid this, they should not be excessively noisy or action-packed or reliant on the lightning-quick reactions required in competitive online games. Slowly but surely, you should be lulled into a quaint world that ought to be savored, not rushed through.

This collection of relaxing games is perfect if you want a break from the popular battle royale games that are competing for your attention.

ABZU

In video games, it’s all too common for us to be on a timer when we’re submerged. As long as we’re in survival games like Subnautica, we’re always on the lookout for new sources of food and water to replenish our depleted oxygen supplies.

Abzu, on the other hand, invites you to take a breather and savor every moment of the experience. That’s not literally what I mean. You’ll be able to get to know the ocean better here because you’ll be able to explore at your own speed.

With its ethereal waterways full of enigmatic ruins, Abzu mimics the environmental storytelling of Journey. Each new scene is punctuated by light puzzles, but this is a watery world you’ll want to explore thoroughly before moving on.

When you’ve had your fill of thoughtful calm on the seabed, you’ll spend most of your time in Abzu marveling at the subterranean species. To help you have a better understanding of your new method of transportation, the name of the fish you’re riding on pops up when you clamber onto its back. The mesmerizing ocean that Giant Squid has created with Abzu is anything but shallow, as we noted in our Abzu PC review.

STARDEW VALLEY

Stardew Valley, on the other hand, begins with a tangible getaway, while many other relaxing games focus on mental relaxation. Your grandfather’s farm plot on the remote southern shore of Stardew Valley is your ticket out of the city while you’re a city worker. Even if you’ve escaped your dreary cubicle, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

The old farmstead your grandfather used to run out in the country has seen better days by the time you arrive in the rolling hills of your new home. It’s a place that Stardew Valley’s real estate agents would refer to as “up and coming” because of its abundance of timber and stubborn weeds. From then, it’s up to you what you want to do with your new life. You can date everyone in the valley, take up fishing, or become a ruthless jam mogul.

Is Stardew Valley realistic or not? It’s an excellent RPG for those who want to enjoy a fantasy of escaping the metropolitan rat race. Stardew Valley is one of the finest soothing games to play at the end of a long day – and since it’s one of the best laptop games, you can play it wherever you are.

FER.AL

Is there anything you’ve always wanted to know about a mythical creature reality show? Well, you’ll never have to ponder about it again. To win fame and money, players in this free-to-play MMO must battle it out with other mythological figures in a fantasy world full of vibrant colors.

Whether or whether you want to play Fer.al’s main plot, there are a number of side quests that you can take part in. You can change your avatar’s look (and even its species), create magical goods and potions, play minigames, and converse with other players. All of this is possible through the game. Replace Tom Nook with a piata-selling jackalope and your sanctuary will look like something out of Animal Crossing.

This new Animal Jam game from WildWorks is aimed at gamers who’ve outgrown the original and want to go on to something new and challenging. For those who prefer to travel the open world, picking up side tasks at their own pace, Fer.al is exactly what you’re looking for in terms of gameplay.

HOUSE FLIPPER

Were you inspired to clean your house after watching How Clean is Your House or Grand Designs? Flipping a rundown, roach-infested slum into an upscale retreat and making a tidy profit is the goal of the game House Flipper. This requires a certain amount of filthy work, however.

A dilapidated shed will serve as your first office, and your only tool for conducting business will be a laptop computer. At first, you’ll have to settle for mundane work-for-hire tasks like cleaning up after unscrupulous tenants or repainting rooms in garishly misjudged hues. However, if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, you can buy your own property. Even though they’ll still be filthy slums after the essential repairs are made, you can expect to profit handsomely from them.

House Flipper, like many other similar games, has the potential to become a chore. Cleaning may not be everyone’s idea of a relaxing game, but there are many who like the therapeutic advantages of doing the dirty work. Additionally, slamming sledgehammers into walls is a popular way for PCGamesN staff to relieve tension.

KATAMARI DAMACY REROLL

Almost everyone has made a mistake while intoxicated, but King of All Cosmos in Katamari Damacy REROLL takes the cake. Your clumsy royal father smashed all the stars in the night sky on a cosmic bender. Your drunken text messages were embarrassing enough.

It’s only natural that as Prince of All Cosmos, you’d take it upon yourself to repair your father’s blunder by rolling everything up into a huge ball. REROLL is one of the funniest and best PC games out now, thanks to its lighthearted, colorful design, which looks even better in full HD. From bowling pins and sweet wrappers to fish and boats.

In addition to the lack of a fail condition, this is what makes Katamari Damacy REROLL such a good contemplative game. Completionists can spend a few more hours trying to beat the game’s challenge, but the rest of us can just laugh at the items’ movements and physics as they are crushed under your massive, star-restoring sphere of destruction.

DONUT COUNTY

When things get too much to handle, it’s easy to wish for the earth to open up and make you whole. When it comes to the infrastructure of a settlement, Donut County illustrates that this isn’t totally feasible. It’s also a lot of fun, but that’s not all.

A hole in the earth is where you’ll be piloting in Ben Esposito’s bizarre indie game. The chasm grows in size with each brilliantly colored thing that falls into it. You’ll begin with simple bricks and creatures, but before you know it, your gaping maw will be devouring entire towers.

Donut County, like many of the other games on this list that are meant to be played for relaxation, doesn’t take itself too seriously. The Trashopedia is full of bizarre, surrealistic descriptions of things you’ve eaten. For no apparent reason, you’ll begin the game at level nine and end it at level ten. This, combined with the game’s fundamental mechanic of simple puzzle solving, makes this satirical title great for winding down after a bad day at work.

FLOW

Jenova Chen’s master’s thesis, flOw, was first released as a Flash game to accompany the project. Chinese researchers are interested in the concept of Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment, which enables players of different skill levels to tailor their own experience and enjoy a game at an appropriate level of difficulty. This is exactly what many gamers are looking for when they want to relax and play some games.

Even while that may sound difficult, the gameplay is actually quite simple. You’re a tiny plankton-like organism, and you’re searching for food in a fascinating ecosystem. Evolving and taking on stronger challenges is made possible by eating other organisms. A more rigorous survival experience is possible with flOw, while casual players can just relax and enjoy the water to their hearts’ delight. If you’re in the mood for some weird minimalism, you may recognize it as a PlayStation title, but it’s available for PC download as well.

WATTAM

When it comes to making friends with anything and everything, you can count on the developer of Katamari Damacy to deliver. You play as a lone mayor stranded on a desolate island after a mysterious catastrophe.

There are over 100 distinct characters to interact with over this three-hour journey. Each one has their own unique tool for you to play with and make your own fun.

GRIS

Gris’s four-hour session with you would look right at home in a museum. Nomada Studios’ stunning graphic design makes this calming game feel like a journey through animated watercolours. Clouds fade out into the azure horizon. Within the delicately sketched ruins that make up this beautiful canvas, there are intricate mazes.

Rather than relying on words to communicate its heartbreaking tale of loss and sadness, you take on the role of the game’s titular protagonist and unleash an explosion of vibrant color into her monochrome world. To paraphrase Matt Makes Games’ Celeste: we discover our boundaries by jumping and falling, and Gris does the same.

EVERYTHING

The premise of David O’Reilly’s sandbox game, at least on the surface, suggests that it is everything but restful. One of the central questions posed by this game is “what would happen if you could control everything at once?” Takes the idea and runs, flies or rolls with the idea. At any time, you can take on the roles of daisies and other flowers, as well as flying through the sky above a metropolitan environment as an entire flock of birds or even directing planetary systems. This is everything, and I don’t mean it in a grating way from the world of social media.

Having complete control over every aspect of your life may seem intimidating at first, but you’ll find that it actually feels liberating. You are free to do whatever you want in your own little playground the size of the cosmos. You may only go as far as your divine imagination in this game of tranquility.

EVERYBODY’S GONE TO THE RAPTURE

Rural Shropshire is a surprising choice for a post-apocalyptic scene. No matter how you look at it, the universe of “Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture” is situated in a pastoral post-apocalyptic landscape. No matter where you go in this nonlinear relaxing game, there’s no urgency to solve this absorbing mystery.

Meditative walk simulator The Chinese Room follows numerous Yaughton residents and their daily routines as they approach oblivion in the virtual world. Six major characters are brought back to life as blobs of golden light in this science-fiction/radio play hybrid. You’ll be able to piece together what happened as you approach each one through an ethereal flashback of the subject’s final moments.

In the course of your exploration of the countryside, you’ll come across narratives that are both disturbing and heartwarming. What will keep you riveted, however, is investigating your assumptions about what caused everyone to vanish.

FEZ

From classic PC games to fresh concepts, Fez is a puzzle game that makes you feel smart without being overly challenging. The 2D Gomez, a tiny creature, learns a whole new dimension in this game.

In Phil Fish’s platformer, the world is swiveled between four different perspectives so that you can solve the game’s puzzles. If you’re willing to search for them, you’ll find lots of easter eggs and hidden treasures in this game’s exquisite design. There are some tricky situations, but Fez illustrates that difficulty is just a matter of perception.

MINI METRO

A metro system design management game may not sound like your idea of a peaceful game if you’re used to dealing with delayed, uncomfortable, or even non-existent public transportation. However, we assure you that it is. They have somehow managed to combine the complexity of subway architecture with the clean appearance of Mini Metro, while still making it enjoyable to play around with.

With three stations to manage and linkages to design, you begin as the metropolis’s director. There will be more stations, but they will take on a variety of shapes as a result of the popularity with travelers. Mini Metro isn’t completely stress-free when the lines get crowded, but the game’s clear, easy-to-understand interface and relaxing tones help keep this to a minimal.

PROTEUS

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the never-ending list of chores we must perform each day. With quest logs full with odd stuff and progress bars filling up our free time, it’s not uncommon to feel like we don’t have enough time for anything else. As an antidote to this type of experience is the pixelated world of Proteus, which allows you to simply exist without having to tick off any duties.

As you stroll through Ed Key and David Kanaga’s strange island of rolling hills and deep blue oceans, you’re mostly just a passive observer trying to figure out what’s going on. Retro synthesised sound effects add to the tranquility of Proteus and signify the passing of the seasons. With the Purgateus mod, though, if you’ve had enough of this relaxing game and want something a little creepier, you can.

Breathe in, and then exhale. In the wake of the usual gaming cacophony, we’d like to extend our best wishes for a restful gaming experience to you all. Continuing your digital detox with the finest building games on PC is a great way to unwind if you’re one of those people. For the time being, please excuse us while we return to the task of figuring out how to balance our love of caffeine with our insatiable desire for long afternoon naps. We promise to return soon.

A Short Hike

Falling down a cliff in a video game usually results in death or at the very least a significant amount of lost progress. In A Short Hike, descending from Hawk Peak’s summit to the cliff-face outcroppings or returning to the beach is a tranquil experience. Even if reaching the top is the goal of your trek, there is no need to hurriedly climb the mountain. Take a stroll around the park, lend a hand to strangers, and pick up some cash to keep your mind off your phone.

Hardspace: Shipbreaker

This is a game where you have to keep your spaceships from exploding while also paying off a mountain of debt. This is actually rather relaxing! Promise. To dissect an empty cargo, you float weightless with your metal-cutting instruments in hand, cracking open the bones like a dead whale. To go along with games like Euro Truck Simulator 2, Hardspace is a game about working your way through an intricate 3-D maze. There is just the right amount of time slowed down by the cowboy jangle music.

Assassin’s Creed Discovery Tours

The trouble with Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey’s breathtakingly realistic settings is that you have to murder a lot of people to explore them. As it turns out, those folks want to stab you as well. But there’s a way to explore these stunning open spaces without fighting or tension, and you can learn a lot while doing so. A Discovery Tour option is included in both games, and it takes you on a journey through ancient Egypt and Greece as a historian. In addition to instructional audio courses and short vignettes, there is a wealth of additional reading material for those who want to learn more. You can get around via foot, horseback, boat, or teleportation to the places you choose to see. And there’s no slashing to be found here.

Firewatch

It’s possible to lose yourself for hours in Firewatch’s beautifully stylized Wyoming wilderness without feeling stressed, scared, or even sad. When I play Henry, I wish there was more time spent in the woods with Delilah, using your compass and map to find your way around. Disable the marker on the map that tells you where you are in order to have the most authentic and tough hiking experience.

Shenmue

With its martial arts-themed revenge epic, Shenmue is surprisingly chill. While Ryo Hazuki is out and about in 1980s Japan, doing things like going to work and nursing a kitten, he really shines when he’s alone. During the winter months, Yokosuka’s peaceful suburbs make for an evocative environment, and it’s one of the best places on PC to just exist. This is where I’d want to live if I could go anywhere in a video game.

Euro Truck Simulator 2

It might not sound like a peaceful way to spend a vacation, but driving big freight over rain-soaked European highways is. Honestly. The back and forth swish of the wipers and the monotonous countryside slowly rolling by can be captivating to the point that hours can vanish. Listen to a radio station from wherever you are to truly immerse yourself in a world of fantasy. Stress melts away as I play Euro Truck Sim 2.

The Hunter: Call of the Wild

It’s a good thing that The Hunter’s natural landscapes are so lovely because you’ll be spending a lot of time in them. You may genuinely feel like you’re in the vast outdoors thanks to the dense greenery, natural lighting, and ambient sound design that fill the air. A deep score system makes the hunting enjoyable, but I often find myself neglecting it in favor of a quiet walk in the woods.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments

This Sherlock Holmes tale, despite its focus on horrible murders, is an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon. There aren’t too many challenging puzzles, and the movie has the feel of an old-fashioned British criminal thriller. Additionally, it is one of the best PC detective games, with true dead ends and red herrings, as well as the possibility that the person you’ve sent to jail may not actually be guilty of the crime.

Islands: Non-Places

Despite the fact that this interactive art installation defies the definition of a game, it’s a wonderful, evocative experience. Minimalist, sleek dioramas depict everyday things and locations, but they gradually transform into weird, unpredictable dreamscapes. Carl Burton, the artist behind Islands, is best known for his stunning animated vignettes for the second season of Serial.

Take On Mars

Simulated exploration of the surface of the Red Planet with realistic rovers and landers makes you feel like you’re truly alone on a distant planet. The constant speed of the rovers produces an almost hypnotic game, and the calm howl of the wind adds to the evocative ambiance. Man-on-the-the-the-the-Martian-inspired missions aren’t quite as zen.

Grow Home

It began as an experiment in procedural animation, but has since evolved into a full-fledged 3D platformer. With a fantastically haptic climbing mechanism and dizzying landscape, it’s one of the best platformers on PC. BUD’s journey through this blocky, stylized environment is quite pleasant, especially when you have the power to glide and float around. Grow Up, the sequel, is also worth a look.

No Man’s Sky

As soon as you go to Creative mode, No Man’s Sky becomes a much more relaxing and enjoyable experience. A wonderful way to see how diverse the game’s environments and life types may be is to take your ship and leisurely bounce between systems, checking out random planets along the way. To be honest, life is too short to be stranded for long periods of time on a smoky, polluted planet with no means of propulsion.

Universe Sandbox 2

Universe One of the most fun simulations of the cosmos is Sandbox. Solar systems, distant galaxies, and planetary orbits can be viewed in detail. Alternatively, you can transform into a malevolent deity and begin wreaking havoc on the cosmos by destroying galaxies, tossing planet Earth into space, and more. No matter how much you mess things up with this toy, the ambient soundtrack and cosmic environment make it a relaxing toy.

Kind Words

Not everyone will enjoy Kind Words as much as others, but if you are looking for an easy-to-learn and enjoyable way to unwind, it’s a good option. As a result, it’s more like the cheapest therapy you could possibly dream for.

Letters are sent out into the void by players from all over the world, and other players can respond with letters of their own, either to offer guidance or simply to listen. It’s impossible to have a long conversation, which means that all conversations are brief but significant.

So if you’ve got a few things on your mind or just want to converse with strangers without the fear of judgment, Kind Words is an interesting exercise to try.

Gris

In Gris, you take on the role of a young woman who has lost her voice and must embark on a mission to reclaim it. Although it’s similar to another game on this list, there’s nothing quite like Gris in terms of gameplay.

If the soothing watercolour design isn’t enough to put you at ease, the flawless soundtrack is sure to accomplish the trick in the end. Gris is a game that encourages you to take a step back and reflect on your life, while simultaneously allowing you to disconnect from your thoughts. One of the year’s best games, even though it came out late.

Slime Rancher

Listen, life can be overwhelming at times. Quite a bit of time and effort is required. When your hair is receding, your belly fat is starting to overlap, and you can’t seem to get your beard to stop curling, you’re ready to shave it all off. I’m talking about myself, so I’ll go play Slime Rancher while I’m at it.

Slime Rancher, a farming game with firearms, has a straightforward goal: raise slimes. Even though they’re sluggish and prone to escaping, you can easily recapture them with your trusty rifle. Even though things get a little crazy if you leave the farm, why would you want to when there are so many slimes to look at?

Everything

As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing else to it. In this avant garde interactive tale, you control nearly every living thing in your environment, including the occasional cigarette butt. The fact that it’s so out of the ordinary only adds to its charm.

Don’t be alarmed by the wacky animations of creatures that roll around everywhere instead of walking. It’s almost hypnotizing if you just stare at it for a long period while listening to the professor’s clear explanations of the cosmos. No one has a gun in sight, either.

Stardew Valley

In retrospect, I’m not sure why it took me so long to catch on to the Stardew Valley craze. But the moment I started rearing chicks named after deceased rappers, it became clear.

Even its foundation reveals a desire to isolate oneself from modern society. When a career-driven person is beaten down by the 9-5, they remember a letter from their granddad. As soon as they open the deeds for the farm in Stardew Valley, they decide to leave the commotion of city life behind and start over.

The town of Stardew itself is a quaint little place that is nearly completely cut off from “normality”. When the going gets rough, Stardew’s actual appeal is cultivating a life for yourself out of the land, something that we all hope we could be able to do. You’ll meet new people and even have much to explore (and present them berries every day until they become your friends).

Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis

Seeing as how most theme park management games come to a point where it feels like your second job, you might be a little perplexed by this one. It’s possible to play Operation Genesis like that, where you’ll be responsible for directing the daily operations of dinosaur tourism.

What’s this, anyway? You deleted the Spinosaurus cage fence by mistake? What are you going to do, then? There is no need for you to think that dinosaurs are devouring the tourists because you dislike them. Hundreds of velociraptors have taken over the park, and there is no way out. You have the makings of a monster.

Elite: Dangerous

If you haven’t already played Frontier’s gigantic space exploration game, Elite: Dangerous, you should know that the first few hours will be everything but peaceful. This is a game that takes a lot of concentration.

To traverse the galaxy is immensely cathartic once you’ve learned to land your ship without embarrassing your family. Warping between systems on delivery missions to contribute to the slow and steady piecing together of a ship that would make Han Solo feel powerless is so peaceful that I’ve only been playing a few hours.

The emphasis on roleplaying in Elite is subtle, but it greatly enhances the whole experience. As, you can play Elite however you like. As a neutral Commander, I’ll do jobs for anyone, including criminals, but that doesn’t mean I’m a horrible guy. When it comes to Jimmy’s clarinet lessons, they’ll never pay for themselves.

Journey

Many years ago, for reasons I won’t get into now, I was depressed and ready to give up on life. That all changed when I decided to play Journey by Thatgamecompany. It brought me clarity and an experience I can’t fully describe like no other game I’ve ever played.

When I’m stressed out or just need a break, I’ll put on Journey and take a few deep breaths. Every time I catch a glimpse of the hooded figure gazing off into the distance, I feel my shoulders relax and my mind wander. It’s so close to becoming therapeutic.

Burnout Paradise

Perhaps the final Burnout game is also the most peaceful one I’ve ever played. Definitely one of the most undervalued racing games of all time.

Burnout The name “Paradise” couldn’t be more appropriate. While it’s an open-world battleground, you can always simply cruise around the city and smash through barriers and signs, which is one of the most bizarrely relaxing experiences I’ve ever had with a game.

Racing at high speeds while blasting Vivaldi like some kind of psychotic Bond villain is where the true fun is in Criterion’s racer. Despite its age, this game has served me well as a place to vent my frustrations. Let’s go back to the metropolis where the grass is green and the girls are beautiful for another vacation.

Flower

Flower is a gorgeous and simple game by Thatgamecompany that will have you unplugging your chargers and purchasing energy-saving lights.

It’s your responsibility, as the wind, to gather petals and direct them around barriers to breathe new life into the barren fields below. It may appear to be a simple game that many people would dismiss, but its uplifting score, amazing images, and essential message have resonated with many.

Become a leaf in the wind for a few hours if you’re searching for a break from the daily grind.

Valley

This year’s overlooked gem, the makers of Slender: The Third, is a must-see. Valley, the Arrival’s second game, took a radically different path. If you’ve ever dreamed of leaping through lush glades, you’ve come to the right place.

While exploring the world, you come discover hidden technology that lets you to harness your environment’s odd plants and animals, allowing for incredible leaps and explorations of vast areas in only seconds. When you combine that with a heartwarming soundtrack, you’ve got a strong incentive to spend some time with Blue Isle Studios’ unexpected triumph.

The Sims

Raising a vampire family is a great way to evade real-life responsibilities. So many people have relied on The Sims to give them a new existence, which is especially helpful when their own is going downhill.

The Sims can be approached in a variety of ways. You may have the profession you’ve always wanted, the romance you’ve been missing, or the opportunity to carry out your darkest dreams by putting people in a basement without food inside a few lines of Simlish. If you’re a gamer, you’ve probably tried it at some point.

Unravel 1 & 2

How the Unravel series continues to go mostly unrecognized is something that I can never understand. Everyone wants new platformers, but no one is talking about the one that combines the best of the old and the modern into one sweet little yarn.

Unravel is the ultimate Sunday video game, something you can occasionally come back to and leave with a smile, thanks to its amazing aesthetics (really, look at that glistening water). Family history and the past are revealed as you get deeper into this story.

If EA was involved in more games like this, people’s animosity toward them could lessen. Here’s hoping for a third Unravel game after the excellent Unravel Two.

Animal Crossing

Animal Crossing is a game series that is so easy to play that even if you die, you’d still be able to enjoy it. With no obvious goal (other perhaps paying off your mortgage to tyrant Tom Nook), what better antidote could there be to the current world’s expectations that you do everything?

For many gamers, a fishing rod and pond are all they need to test their luck. There is a plethora of activities to choose from, and none of them will put your head to the test. There is no need to worry about real-world drama when you can socialize like The Sims and become the buddy of everyone in town.

If you’re looking for a getaway from reality, Animal Crossing is worth a look. Even better, you don’t have to worry about rabies if you’re in a relationship with a raccoon.

FAQS:

Is Minecraft a relaxing game?

One of the most popular video games of all time, Minecraft’s blocky gameplay is a big part of it. It’s usually a good idea to have a mobile game like this on hand to help you relax when things get too stressful. It’s easy to de-stress by playing this game on your phone when things become a little tense.

Do games reduce anxiety?

Recovery from mental illness.

Conclusion:

We appreciate you taking a look at our selection of the best games to unwind with! In the meantime, I’d love to hear about any other “relaxing” activities that you’ve found that have helped you get through this stressful period. Please leave a comment with your suggestions.