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After starting work, I feel so tired every day, so I just want to play some casual games. Recently, I'm playing survivor-like games like Vampire Survivors and Darkchaser. They're simple and fun, but after a while, they get a bit boring. So, I'm looking for other casual game recommendations, preferably single-player games that can be paused at any time, like Plants vs Zombies. Thanks！
Stardew Valley is the embodiment of chill
This really depends on the type of person you are. I find with the time pressure each in-game day that every time I launch it I get caught up in a mess of wiki pages and spreadsheets figuring out the ideal crops to plant and when, what gifts people like and when to gift them, etcetera etcetera. It became stressful and I stopped playing it after finishing most of the main objectives.
You can play it, at your rythm,
Performance isnt mandatory,
You can learn the game before going "meta", discovering things by yourself, etc.
Do not compare yourself to others or directly going on a wiki, to start paying it..
Perfection is fun with time. Its a solo game, why you should run it for real ?
Dave the Diver. I had put down gaming because of tiredness and this game was such an unexpected joy of exploration and cute story for me. Easy to pick up and do a quick dive, decent progression based on a mix of skill and leveling up your character, and the writing was excellent. First game I 100% in forever and it was while playing it 30 minutes at a time.
It’s the perfect combo of cozy but not zero challenge - this would be my pick in op’s shoes
How has noone mentioned Powerwash Simulator yet. There is no pressure (pun not intended), you just walk around dirty scenes and start cleaning them. The amount of satisfaction this produces is incredible. This is mostly because the dirt is actually fairly accurate and washing does not feel like brushing dirt of where the only options is 100% dirt or 0% dirt. All of the intermediates and the complex geometry of the objects makes cleaning a really chilling experience.
im not trying to be provocative
but have you ever considered actually cleaning things
you can get paid to do this
irl power washwers are fun
Same could be said for any game. The value mostly of a game is the controlled progression with little impact. If I go start power washing the driveway and then stop at a moments notice to go take a shower and head to work I'm gonna leave a giant mess laying around and a half done driveway.
I will also add both of the House Flipper games!
Enter the Gungeon is another good bullet hell game. Slay the Spire if you like deck building. Both easy to pick up and stop.
Gungeon is not casual though, one of the hardest games I've played!
Balatro in addition to Slay the Spire, gaming crack (and game of the year).
I asked a similar question quite a while back. What ended up feeling good for me from the recommendations was Oxygen Not Included surprisingly. I thought it would be too much but just trying to figure things out on my own was fun, and I found myself falling asleep to thoughts of plans for my colony. Surprisingly addictive and chill, maybe because I could pause and think anytime things started going wrong.
But I also gotta recommend Outer Wilds if you haven't played it already. Exploration, mystery solving in a chill solar system environment. Go in blind is the best advice for that game but I found it super chill and relaxing.
I used to love this game but later I found myself optimising little things too much and my PC couldn't keep up with a well grown colony
Stardew valley just the most super comfy game I’ve ever played.
Time Management: The Game
Probably the most valuable IRL skill you can learn in a game. Or you can just chill and fish for a whole year, no one's gonna judge you.
Halls of Torment and Brotato are both similar to Vampire Survivors, but better in my opinion. Great art styles and the weapon system in Brotato is really fun.
Casual-wise, story-based games are nice, like Frog Detective, Florence and the like.
I play Hardspace Shipbreaker when I want to relax.
You are a worker in a spacedock and dismantle ships with a cutting and grappling tool and divide the components into resource bins. It has a chill soundtrack and it's fun to float around with thrusters and figure out how to separate the different parts.
I started this game but got bored a couple hours in and I can't really explain why. In theory it felt like a game I should really like but maybe something about the pacing? Do you think it takes a while to get really good and maybe I should try putting more time in or is the way it is at the start pretty much the same the whole way through?
This is really hard to answer, because I think it highly depends what kind of player you are.
I don't play optimally. Yes, it's fun to haul yourself around with the grappler at breakneck speeds and stop just in time not to get squished, but I'm not that good at it. I also don't limit myself to the most valuable parts and move on to another ship, but collect the last metal frame. I would make more money in less time, but don't like the idea.
Overall the game stays the same with a few mechanics that get added (explosive charges and something that screws with your salvage and has to be solved first). The system in the ships get more complicated and you need to solve several steps before you can "solve" a problem.
it gets more complex and fiddly, and your upgrades make you faster and more nimble, but the fundamentals are the same through to the end. did you get to the bigger reactors and cutting coolant lines? because if so you've seen more than half of the game and it's fair to say it didn't grab you.
also a thought; did you play with or without the time limit? because i feel like the timer helped me stay motivated.
Balatro. Can get it on your phone, Switch, Steam Deck. It's the poker-based rougelite. Sounds weird, but it works, and super easy to pick up for a hand or two and then back to work.
I am in a similar situation, I get home tired from work and don't have much time to myself, I can pick up my steam deck for half an hour or so but not long enough to get very involved with something. I've been playing doom 2016, you don't have to commit much time to it at once. I'm pretty shit at it though.
I'm going to give a possibly controversial opinion. But my favorite casual game to play is Rogue Legacy.
If you accept that you know you'll die a lot, it's a lot less stressful. Outside of that, it's extremely player friendly. It's not too complicated. There's progression. You have runs that end and give you a place to stop. You can turn it off anytime without needing to worry too much about losing progress. It has platforming.
This is how I learned to like shadowbane and elden ring. Death is just a mechanic.
Try some cozy games, like Animal Crossing, or any of the dozens of other farming / crafting games. If you want 3D, Slime Rancher is a good option in this category.
Destide has already mentioned Stardew Valley, which is also a great choice.
You can also try some not-difficult side-scrolling game, like Rayman Legends, it has some difficult levels, but most of the game is very chill.
First thing's first: you're allowed to play on easy mode if you want. Took me too long to realize this.
Emulators let you save anywhere, so if you wanna play Crono Trigger or Donkey Kong Country, go for it!
Holocure is a free bullet heaven with lots of characters to unlock. Recommend boosting your coins first.
Terra Nil (it's like an anti Sim City) is only as stressful as you make it. Clean the planet and max out the flora and fauna, or just vibe. It even has an appreciation option once you've cleansed the area, zooming in to certain sections and letting you see the animals.
Dredge has been one of my favourites. Just be aware that the game starts harder than when it ends.
Tetris :)
I am running Tetris for the PSP on my Steam Deck and I love it!
Peggle
peglin as well.
Pegging as well... Wait, what?
I will always recommend Into The Breach to everyone. Perfect mechanics, easy to jump in and out of, satisfying aesthetics, balanced difficulty
Loved FTL, hated ITB.
I'm in the same boat. FTL is where it's at (for me).
One Finger Death Punch 2. You get two buttons & a solid upgrade path for endless kung fu.
I think Burnout Paradise can be good for this, you can just start the game, drive around, have fun and leave whenever you want.
Snowrunner! Take everything at your own pace, drive around in some beautiful and horrible to drive in sceneries, get paid and upgrade and buy more trucks
Jumping off Vampire Survivor I highly recommend Halls of Torment! Similar vibe, easier, very satisfying. The aesthetic is very similar to Diablo 1 but with vampire survivor gameplay. I'm in love with it
Here's a slightly different spin on "computer games"
I have Boardgamearena.com in the background of my browser. I often have a few board games going at once. You take your turn, and it alerts you when it's your turn again. There are also games you can play solo if you don't wait to wait around for others.
bloons td 6 and super auto pets (on mobile and PC)
also mindustry
Puzzles games could be really great here. The Case of the Golden Idol
Slice and dice, a rogurlite played with dice.
Huge amount of modes like "demo mode" that makes each run like 40% shorter.
Not only can a run go by pretty fast they last roughly as long as a vs run.
Lots of options already shared it so I am just gonna say that I find easier to play older games that I have already played/beaten.
Personal examples:
Super Mario 64 and Toy Story 2.
The huge benefit of older games is that they are just quick and play, no updates no DLCs just fire it up and play, if emulated you even got save states and all those thingys.
This is a dangerous thing to me though, as it discourages me to try out new games, yeah, but after a tiring day I find myself more comfortable getting into these kinds of games than other options.
Funny that you mentioned Vampire Survivors as I was planning to get it for Android haha.
Voices of the Void has been my go to time waster for a couple years now. Dev is a little weird, but the game is amazingly well done and gets somewhat regular updates that expand the story and add new content. You are essentially a scientist sent to work at a SETI-like site in Switzerland. Your job is to maintain the site and search for signals in space, analyze them, and then ship them out to your colleagues, for which you get paid to buy supplies and other things. As you play, random events occur, some funny, some scary. There's tons of items to buy and decorate your base with. Lots of locations to discover. Sooooooo many secrets to find. I'm constantly impressed by all the work they've done with a very small team.
My only complaint is having to reset my save when an update comes out. It's generally worth it, as there's usually new events that you'll miss otherwise, but having to redecorate the base and lose collectables you've spent hours on is a bummer... That and I hate the new drive storage rack. I wish they'd bring back then old one as an additional storage item.
Also, the whole damn game is free.