Games that relaaaaaax you.....

[Sniderman]

Most games we play have some degree of "frantic-ness" to them: FPS; shmups; survival horror; racing; crashing; banging; etc. So, what games are just the opposite? So calm and serene, you barely notice you're playing game?

Here are my serene games:
Sky Odyssey - Flight sim that doesn't involve combat or fancy flying (though some is involved). Just majestic flights over beautiful terrain. Though some missions get a bit hairy, it still relaxes me when I play.

Rez - Sure, it's a shooter of sorts. But it's not FRANTIC - more of a mental voyage than anything. The final stages are more of a classic shmup, I guess, but it's a calm journey to get there.

What do you play that calms you down?

[Nez]

Nights is a calming experiance.

As is Panzer Dragoon Orta, its just so pretty. Ahem stunning.

[Tritoch]

Animal Crossing without a doubt. Walk around town, talk to a few people, fish a bit, maybe play a NES game or two....so soothing. :)

[blissfulnoise]

Ecco the Dolphin (either Sega CD game or Defender of the Future), ICO, Rez (seconded), Loom, and for some reason Guardian War on the 3DO does too

[Sharkiee]

Ico for sure. I can sit back and listen to the ocean and stare into the sun all day.

Any of the Myst series on the PC.

[slip81]

katamari damacy, pretty much any racing game, command & conquer, starcraft, fishing games, animal crossing

[Achika]

Everblue 2

The hiss of the ocean, the little fishes swimming by, the........ -_-

[MegaDrive20XX]

Super Mario 64 ---> Jolly Roger Bay...just swimming around and the music is just right

[hades]

River City Ransom.

For some reason whenever I'm stressed I whip this out and it calms me down for a bit. 8-)

[davidleeroth]

I once fell asleep while playing Gran Turismo 3 but it was propably more about me being tired than the game being relaxing. :)

Anyone played Aquanaut's Holiday? It's pretty soothing.

[Tan178]

driving around in gta:VC listening to tunes, or enjoying morrowind's scenery with a constant effect invisibilty spell. :D

[Richter Belmount]

Final Fantasy 6
Ys book 1 and 2 mostly for the soundtrack

[max 330 mega]

any mahjongg (spelling?) game relaxes me. so do bust a move and nesters funky bowling for the virtual boy.

[The Brown Eye]

Nights (the color choice and music put this on top)
Guardian War (that mellow piano music is very relaxing)
Super Mario RPG
Any Point and Click game

[-hellvin-]

Ecco The Dolphin.....the music is so soothing
Alex Kidd In Shinobi World....I play this A LOT...just sit down, chill out and beat in like 15 minutes ;D

[SegaAges]

katamari damacy

i just got that game. if i am messing up on a level, it does get intense, but playing earlier, easier levels is very calm and fun.

[Kroogah]

Another vote for Katamari Damacy here. Games in the Tony Hawk series on Free Skate are good ones too.

[zektor]

Phantasy Star (SMS) is a pretty laid back game. Even in the fiercest of battles you can stop, have a smoke and finish your beer :)

[Querjek]

Katamari doesn't relax me at all...


but DOA: Volleyball does :)

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Someone plays C&C to chill out? LOL I have five words for you: YOUR BASE IS UNDER ATTACK! Yeah, very relaxing. :P


Actually, I go old-school when I need to de-stress. Sure, there's some degree of tension and fast movement and reflexes and whatnot, but with most older games I get into a "zen" state very quickly. Even with stuff like Sinistar or Robotron, I can zip around and zap stuff until I get blown away, and have a smile on my face the whole time. See, playing old stuff like that takes me back 20 or so years when I had far, far fewer cares in the world. Back when I was paying a quarter to play Sinistar and Robotron, and all I had to worry about was maybe homework...that's what I like the get back to, that state of mind. And the weirder the games, the better - Qix, Guzzler, Crazy Balloon, Pac-Man, Crazy Climber...count me in.

[portnoyd]

Pilotwings 64... most of the time, but you can't beat Birdman for relaxing...

dave

[Gapporin]

Tetris
Any baseball game
Any Super Mario Bros. game

[AB Positive]

Katamari Damacy for certain... but when I'm in a real tweaked state some nice TBS games help out a lot. Which reminds me I have still to beat Disgaea... sigh.

Also, thanks to PDF, Pick Axe Pete is right up there as well. Sometimes KC's Crazy Chase too... for some reason I'm better at that than KCM


-AG

[pookninja]

i always feel more relaxed when im playing hot shots golf 3 for ps2.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Katamari doesn't relax me at all...


but DOA: Volleyball does :)


Just don't go getting yourself to lax their kay. ;)

[The Brown Eye]

Someone plays C&C to chill out? LOL I have five words for you: YOUR BASE IS UNDER ATTACK! Yeah, very relaxing. :P

It sure is relaxing! Build a nice base and launch a nuke, harvesting tiberium along the way. And the sound of death as you burn your enemy to a crisp, while they sit there screaming in pain, burning alive. Very YOUR BASE IS UNDER ATTACK! relaxing.

[Kid Ice]

Any game where I'm not constantly in imminent danger is relaxing to me. Strangely enough, GTAVC is a good example. It's not like everyone (or anyone) comes running to kill you the second you walk out of the house. Yes, you can cause that to happen by randomly blowing up cars or sniping from the top of a building, but if you just want to listen to some tunes and complete some vigilante missions or something, it's fine. SM64 is another good example, and the Tony Hawk games as well.

I have to disagree with PDF on the classics, to me those are the most stressful games out there. Even Pac Man gets me yellin out some cuss words at times.

[Kroogah]

Just got done playing an hour's worth of Shanghai on the SMS. Strangely relaxing and frustrating at the same time, just like Solitaire.

[charitycasegreg]

Air raid relaxes me, so does stadium events, and the nwc gold cartridge...

[racecar]

katamari damacy
harvest moon
and most rpg titles( the loading time sucks for the psx)

[Sibs]

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest on the SNES was always so relaxing to play for me. Maybe 'cuz it was so easy...