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This might be a good topic to collect data on. Consider setting up a Google Form or similar. Maybe restrict it to only your patrons, etc. to ensure the validity of the data. I look forward to learning what you discover.
you guys missed a crucial nuance and respective set of people. I'll use myself as example. like the multiplayer folk I also use games to vent, get away, etc.. but my comfy games change with the bundle of games I'm actively playing and that are out, at the time. be them multiplayer or *single player!* right now would be dark souls 3, but better yet elden ring, and any souls or sekiro or Bloodborne ahaha. devil may cry 4 or 5 would do nicely as well. and nice 3rd person action adventure like onimusha, ninja gaiden 1,2 etc. the modern xcom, and similar core gameplay games! not discounting some burnout paradise, 2, 3!.. the need for speeds up til gen 3 of consoles and pc counterparts, as well as other good arcade racing games. cs1.6. league of legends. magic the gathering or something good. sonic adventure 2. a certain while soul calibur 4 and 3, dead or alive 3.. Pokémon at a time whic I don't normally even like to play. a stupid large number of random Indies and peculiar experiences, like vanish, race the sun, Mario's for Gameboy and colour. streets of rage,all, golden axe, TMNT etc etc.. ANY shooter with gun controllers! and more things than should be listed for the sake of sanity. please understand that I guess the list of what can be comfy grows with time, but changes in gaming experience reflect changes in what can be comfy, as do as I also grow as a person and naturally change. before souls games I wouldn't be willing to touch games with less action and more RPG. before the modern xcom 1 I wouldn't touch the genre as I didn't think it was for me like games using the same type of camera. to name 2 examples. so my set of comfy games is dynamic on several levels, more levels than both the 2 example groups you identified. and I of course also have a ridiculous sample of all the people I talked about this but it should be comparable to yours in size.
Weird answer here but I like payday2 as a self care game. I know it sounds weird and stupid but the fun of playing a game from 2013 that still Is fun and a good kind of grinding with no real end goal is just nice. Also the endless cook off level making me think. Ok what did I add before or oh what do I have left and when should I resupply. Heck should I run with the bags now. And so on also the way that in the game Bain actually sounds human in that level and makes mistakes Now to talk about my ideal game to play. A house builder like aims 4 but more personal and closer along with the crime element of payday so like oh you robbed a bank sure the money to add to your house/base/safe house. Now I know I can just mod sims but as a person without a pc I find that hard
I use different games for different forms of self care depending on what emotion I'm feeling: Animal Crossing for positivity because people are usually mean to me cause I'm autistic and in AC no one is mean to you. I used to use left 4 dead as a way to get out aggression. I don't play that one as much anymore legend of zelda games for the puzzles to work my brain And rpgs with character creation to live out my fantasy dreams It all depends on the day and emotion.
My younger self feels vindicated. My present self wants to remind my inner child that moderation is important, because those large IRL tasks still need to get done.
EVERYTHING in moderation! lol but allowing yourself to have those hours to relax is critical. I know I would work all the time if my partner didn't remind me to relax every now and then.
@@dsur5547 I found this huge problem when I can't gather enough energy to play games and record videos, sometimes we need less real life in our lives...
On the flipside, banning yourself from playing games until you get those large IRL tasks doesn't work either. Been there, tried that, it was counterproductive.
The closest thing i have to a self-care game is Cult of the Lamb. It has elements of the "externalizing emotions" part and elements of the "calming down" part, and doesn't set needs for me (usually) to go into the other element if i don't want to. It's also very simple. Getting resources is easy, and ties directly into building. The big bubbles at the top showing all my followers' needs makes it so i don't need to be overwhelmed by each person's needs. For the dungeon part, the combat is easy, and requires little to no brain power. It's just "B,A,B,A,B,A,B,X,B,A,B,A,B.." instead of "press rt and lb and b and right stick and left stick and a and up at the same time".
I think the nostalgia thing might be adding another thing to self care games: the more familiar you are with a game, the fewer conscious choices that you need to make. My self care games are the Portal and Half Life series and I know that the reason I keep going back to them is that they are so familiar that I know I'll never get stuck or have to worry about unpredictable difficulty spikes. I just play to experience the atmosphere. It also helps that many of them are short enough to finish in a small number of gameplay sessions.
Pretty much exactly what I was gonna say, though you did it better than I would've. The knowing you won't get stuck is an excellent point. I know myself I'm hesitant to get into new games not from difficulty, but more from not knowing where the break points are. Do I need to commit to an hour a session or else restart the mission? Or are levels only a few minutes long? Can I save any time or only at checkpoints, and if the latter how frequently can I expect them? Meanwhile for games I've already beaten I already know that there's gonna be three bosses in a row or where the towns to restock on supplies are so I know how to pace myself. And worst case I can just quit in the middle of a level even without saving, since I already beat the game. Typing all that out, I wonder if it's possible to thread the needle from a design perspective of laying out everything so a player can confidently know what to expect at every point so they can approach things confidently while also maintaining the sense of discovery of playing the game. Probably not something achievable with every game.
The gym allegory makes SO much sense for people who play 'stressful' games for self-care. I quest-hunt in Tears of the Kingdom and do the Spiral Abyss in Genshin Impact during my off-hours, which sounds horrible to some people but these activities offer me a lot of peace in a way that I have nearly-full control of what I do in those gaming hours. Thank you so much for this video, guys!!
Right now I am playing though a Minecraft Modpack with gated progression and a questbook of tasks. This 100% fits into the "continuous microgoals at your own pace" thing you described, with some added nostalgia. I keep going back to modpacks like this (though usually different ones each time) and now I know why!
These are some of my favourite types of modpacks when I'm not in the mood for a 'kitchen sink' pack that lets me do my own goals of collecting stuff for display (such as TokuNexoCraft for 1.12)!
I used to play a mod called Cuboids Outpost. I'm bad at games but after getting some pretty strong armour I spent my down time farming crops and making food which helped since there was a quest line just for food.
I use games as a form of pain control. I have been severely injured several times and as a result I'm plagued with chronic pain. To me the the only thing that really counts when it comes to a "self-care game" is that it is immersive. It gives my mind something to focus on instead of pain, and, for me, it works better than most pain drugs.
Works for me when I have injuries, but doesn't help with migraines especially if games make you think or memorize too much. Also, tension headaches and headsets are not friends...
@@KasumiRINAI actually can't use headsets for this exact reason! Even if I'm feeling "fine", I end up with a headache within an hour. So I use earbuds exclusively, which is a little sad because I do actually care about sound quality... Still, nice to hear I'm not crazy and other people have the same experience, lol!
@@safaiaryu12 There are a lot of high-quality earbuds out there nowadays, I'm certain you can find a high-quality pair that works well for you, whether it's Wired or Bluetooth.
Dragon's Dogma is my comfort game. I work in a lot of deadline driven environments, so an open-world game is up my alley. Especially when the game is as far away from modern technology as possible. It also brings me back to my childhood of Fantasy Action Figures and Saturday morning Cartoons.
Using games as self care is most if the reason I play them but I usually play horror because its something I have loved ever since I was younger and it brings me back to a place of being so interested in the story of the games I played
One type of self care ive seen is practicing esports. I used to play super smash brothers melee a lot. And if I was feeling off, I could sit down and run wavedash drills for an hour. You already know what to do. Its soothingly monotonous, and the only goal is increased consistency. As a cherry on top, you sometimes got to notice yourself improving.
There are tons of games I play over and over just because I know them. I don't have to think about them, just relax and enjoy. Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
I don't find most games to be useful for self-care directly, but I find that a great way for me to wind down and relax is to watch other people gaming! Either IRL with my sister, or on the RUclipss. With my sister, I generally play 'Navigator', looking up any tips, lore, or clues she asks for and thus participating without having to make the decisions myself. With RUclips Let's Plays, I get to enjoy someone else's experience of the game and learn about it without (again) having to make the decisions myself.
"Self-care" can get a little blurry sometimes because I'm not always sure if I'm relaxing with a game, or hiding from my problems. A lot of times when I play a game, I feel guilty for not doing something else.
SAME! I just got Wizards of Legend yesterday and had a BLAST. But my dad advised I stop playing it because it took me away from work I could, should, and want to do. Like my art and building my content for my educational gaming program. Which helped me to realize that I play games as a form of self care like Matthew. Like you said, it's a very slippery slope. I play games maybe 1-2 hours a day so it's not that bad, but overtime that stacks up. I think what's important, and what I'll be experimenting with over the coming months, is proper time management with cutoffs to ensure you're only using the entertainment as a break and not an escape. Also, I'll be looking for other arguably more productive activities that can help me moving forward.
Oooo I totally am the same! I tend to dive far too deep into games to the point that I am hiding from problems, but I have had those moments where stepping into the world of a game I am enjoying helped give me a needed break.
Perhaps one of the questions to ask is if there is something may have introduced this feeling in the past, which may be haunting you still, or if there is really IRL things you need to do, but are intentionally dallying, using the game to fill up that time rather than pursuing that task?
I remember reading a comic once that had a character curled up in bed saying they were taking a self care day. A sequel comic had them baking, with their friend asking what about self care, with the character saying (in a more amusing way than I am) that they realized they weren't practicing self care before but had actually just been depressed. It helped me realize the difference between the two. As best as I can describe, self care is about doing things that you enjoy that are, or at least feel like, accomplishments and that build yourself up. A more depressive reaction is more not wanting to do anything at all. In regards to games, if you're playing because you just need to calm down before tackling the world, or to bolster yourself with confidence from defeating a challenge in a safe environment, that's self care. But if you don't really want to do anything, but are just playing games as something to do with your hands, then that's the more depressive form of "self care". I'm not the one to tell you how to get out of that latter situation, but I hope this helps plant a seed of understanding in someone so they can realize what they're doing *is* okay (or not okay) and can have a better approach to their self care. There's enough going on in our lives to have us worry about how we relax!
my comfort games are almost any kirby game. they’re platformers that don’t require a lot of skill to play and are very laid back and fun. a specific game for me is squeak squad, as it’s a gift my uncle gave me when i was little.
I definitely use games for self care. Depending on where I am in my depressive or manic cycle depends on what game I need. When I’m depressed I love a soothing game with small obtainable goals, when I’m manic, I love an aggressive/competitive game that lets me express those feelings without being self destructive. Games have helped me so much
Usually for me, its creating a new character in an MMO and grinding some levels in a familiar area. Something about seeing levels go up quickly and easy gear decisions makes it comforting.
My go-to self-care games are from two completely opposite genres: truck and train simulators and... From Software games. The earlier are obvious - cruising at gentle speed through beautiful landscapes is relaxing. The latter comes from familiarity. I am not good at action games, so I invested a lot of time and practice in soulslikes. Areas in DS1, DS2, BB and Elden Ring are familiar like my backyard. Even most bosses give that nice feeling of accomplishment without being too taxing.
I play soulslikes for self-care all the time. It's not entirely out of a drive to achieve a deeper level of mastery in it, but because the games simply require so much of my attention that it kind of pushes everything else out.
I don't consciously use games for self care, but my two cents would be that a good ingredient would be the ability to set smaller tasks for yourself while playing (like exploring more of a certain region in Terraria or building a setup to automate a new item in Satisfactory) so you can be satisfied with a task well done without having to pour a big chunk of time into it.
my self care games are Metroidvanias of the platformer kind because just going back and getting things while doing perfect flawless platforming as you backtrack is just so satisfying
This is such a good topic I never even thought about! Doom 2016 is my going to the gym type of release game. But WoW for hanging out with friends, and then story unnerving games for calming my mind like Oxenfree and Dredge.
For me Shovel Knight is the game I've always come back to. Bright colors, chipper music, fun and well-done controls all helped. It also made me feel like I could make progress at a time in my life where I felt like I was only standing still.
I've been doing this a lot lately as I go through the changes of college graduation. I've been vascilating between visual novels and speedrun games. The former due to a nice easy pace and calming settings. The latter due to a tangible feeling of progression, each run feeling like I've gotten better, or at least practiced something, which then in turn validates me.
Platformers and brawlers that I'd managed to get good at were my comfort games back in the day. They gave me a sense of validation that I was lacking elsewhere in life. Sonic 3 (+Knuckles) is the example that comes to mind.
I think about this topic all the time as a player and designer. Would love to see the research pool extended! Taking notes in the meantime. PS - I have gone through a handful of self-care games from Smash Bros to Wario's Woods to Proteus, but the central element for me across each game is that I don't have to do much reading or emotional decisionmaking.
I do find myself thinking of strategy games like X-COM, RPGs like Mass Effect, and the crossover to be found in Fire Emblem specifically, as being comfort games. I guess I enjoy the chance to do things like building up characters or units and taking my time to see strategies and/or narratives come together.
Yes i use games for self care, after a oomg day of school i find myself playing these games pretty consistently to wind down: GTAV(racing), Scrap Mechanic, Star Wars Battlefront II 2017(arcade and co-op), Farming Simulator 23, Railroads Online, and a Roblox game I made for my Game Design Final Project last year.
Been saying this for a few years. I gamed as child regularly and it was a huge bonding thing for the whole family. Fast forward and now I use it to keep myself from hitting burn out. Games offer micro goals where I can see a clear progression. Something that I simply cannot get in my career any more as it might be months before I get another confirmation that I am indeed still growing. Often the road to that confirmation is filled with valleys which make we wonder if I am regressing instead. Add in all the other benefits of gaming, and its hard to imagine not doing it.
For me, self-care is getting together with friends in a discord server and voicing a narrative focus game together and playing it together. Did that with Hobb's Barrow and it was a blast.
I actually unwind with world building for my ttrpg games. It feels nice to add to an ongoing project and let ideas bounce freely. I'm a teacher ao a lot of my work thinking is highly atructured and directed towards a goal. Its nice to let ideas take shape aimlessly.
I have a number of self-care games. Thinking about it, they fall into one of the following categories: - Nostalgia games: I recognized it when you mentioned it in this video. And I do go back to games or spiritual successors of games I played in my school years. I still occasionally play Plants Vs Zombies (the OG one), the most recent Worms games (they never really change in essence), and the OG Ace Attorney Trilogy. Probably also why I can get so hooked on Tetris Effect at moments. It's the only real Tetris experience that can somehow captivate me in the same way the OG Gameboy Tetris did when I was a kid - but in a completely different way. - Weird adventure games: A few years ago I got a kick out of Heaven's Vault. Later it was Spiritfarer (until I broke into routine and it started annoying me), Route 96, etc. Now it's Strage Horticulture. Games that are weird /laid-back in essence, have some sort of puzzle element and have an interesting story to tell (and also no QTE's). - Steamworld Dig 2: I don't know what it is about this game. But there's something about this game (and its predecessor to a lesser extent) that makes me come back to it - especially the earlier half when it's all about just digging, killing an occasional enemy and finding treasures and power-ups. There's no real time limit to it, and outside of the last few areas there's not really a "big challenge" either.
I have a couple that I go to. The Powder Toy and Floating Point. Both are games with no win/lose condition, no real goal, just an open ended *toy* that I like to mess around with. Both are also free! I play them regularly and have eternal thanks for the devs
My personal recharge game is actually Warframe. That might seem odd, since it's a fast-moving shooter game, but after you play enough of it, playing basic missions becomes almost completely instinctual, and I can go through them while listening to RUclips videos. Because Warframe's also an RPG, there's always SOMETHING minor to grind for, so it feels like you are inching towards a goal in addition to almost-literally mindless fighting. I sometimes use the challenge mode of Batman Arkham Origins in a similar way. I know the combat system like the back of my hand, so I can play it as a low-intensity "keep the brain on" thing, which is restful for a bunch of complicated neuroscience reasons.
I practice self care with games in both ways, by challenging myself to be better with Souls-Likes, or chilling out with some crusader kings. The best part is when I get to do it uninterrupted, early in the morning or late at night.
For me I don't go to a specific game or not even a specific genre, but I am usually looking for a game that requires my reaction time enough that I have to get in the zone to play it. It can't be slow or too easy. But it also can't be frustratingly hard. It has to hit that sweet spot to immerse me and let me get in the zone.
For me, it's a mixture of internal and external. Sometimes I want chill, repetitive games to relax with and sometimes I prefer letting my stress out through action/competition. FFXIV allows me to have both, since I can run a dungeon I have done a million times to relax or bust some heads in PvP. Outside of games, sometimes I want to exercise to relieve stress and sometimes I just listen to music I like.
I don't have a particular self-care game, but I do agree that games are an amazing form of self-care. My most recent example would be from last year, when I was recovering from surgery for a week or so in early March. Elden Ring had just come out, and that ended up being my self-care game during that period as it gave me just the right amount of distraction while giving me just enough reminders to take a break.
The games I turn to for self-care tend to be those open world games that everyone is complaining about being tired of these days, haha! I like the "explore a world at your own pace" zen type of feeling. Shoutout to Hello Games still making No Man's Sky one of the coolest, zennest experiences out there.
My self care games are the original Spyro games, and Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. But it also extends to other 3D platformer collectathons. Just being able to 100% level after level with a genre I can play almost automatically, while also listening to stories in the background, is utter perfection.
I’ve been looking for the words to explain this, thank you. I’ve found that the comfort games I play change depending on the pace of my life. I’ve played lots of WoW Classic, but I kept bouncing off of the endgame content grind. This is why! I played primarily on my own as a way to recharge, and it felt meaningful because my recharge time resulted in resources that I could use on high energy tasks like raiding or meeting people and making friends. Once I hit the endgame, all of the relevant recharge-pace activities are competitive because bots are busy farming everything. Once everything requires more energy than I get out of it, I stop appreciating the time I spent on it
I definitely use games for self care, but it is never a single game. I always have a story heavy game, a slow paced game, a rhythm game, and an action game (plus others at times). When I sit down to play, I analyze the way I feel (just a quick, what do I feel like playing) and play the game I feel like playing at that time to relax. Sometimes I feel like I want to feel the bittersweetness of some indie story game, and other times I want to challenge myself and feel the relief of beating some souls-like boss. Usually, I even play some of multiple types of games in a day as what I feel changes. I also love to spend time on multiplayer competitive games, but really only with family. That way, I can feel challenged, but still focus on it being fun, since I know my family and I are playing ultimately to talk and have fun.
I find that I tend to play Valorant, or funnily enough, Hunt: Showdown of all things, as self care. I think the reason is that they both fill my craving for mastery, social interaction, and teamwork while still allowing me to do funny and unoptimal strategies with my friends.
Honestly my comfort game would probably be UNDERTALE, i know most people see it as just "the sams undertale game" but it does have quite a lot of happy, funny moments.
For me games(specifically RTS ) is a way to add a little stress/pressure/tension to my brain to get a little adrenaline flowing my clickily depressed and help me get out of bed at more consistent hours, as well as finding some more drive in life.
my comfort game is ultrakill, it doesnt frustrate me by feeling slow, it has a lot to learn and a lot of clear skills so i can see my progress, and it allows you to feel cool no matter your skill level
Funny, I'm the opposite. Competitive games bring out stress and frustration like nothing else in my life. The paradox of "Every game is winnable" and "This game is built so you'll fail 50% of the time" doesn't sit well with me
I find that I enjoy sim games. For a long time, Civ V and Rimworld were my go-tos. Right now, it's usually Minecraft. I play them on a difficulty I know I can handle, and if I want variety, I install mods to spice things up. Building stuff up over time and making progress is very satisfying.
I think simple puzzle games, like Solitaire, Minesweeper, and Hexcell Infinite are probably my go to. I can just zone out and do the game while getting lost in my own thoughts. Then it goes to building games (like Minecraft), city/base builders, and sometimes a goof 4x game. Hell, I've even used the digital version of Carcassonne. EDIT: Also it's important to state, when I play these games for self care, it's always single player. Also, I think a lot of the points hit in the video are also reflective in my choices, like simple, repetitive gameplay. Even the 4X games like Masters of Orion need that to give me that self care vibe.
I didn't really think about it until watching this video, but city builder or exploration games definitely work as self-care for me, and so does fantasy map making for that matter. In fact, I've been playing Timberborn recently and it's been so relaxing that my Fitbit keeps thinking I'm taking a nap when I play it.
My self care game is Magic the Gathering Duels of the Planeswalker. I have it downloaded on almost everything I have, I’ve been playing it for years here or there. It’s just slow paced, easy to pick up, and familiar. at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if I win or lose because I took some time out to breathe and play some magic with terrible, but familiar, decks.
If I had to guess why jrpgs can be soothing it might have to do with the positive reinforcement of seeing numbers go up, as most rpgs are stat based. For me I gravitate towards theHunter: Call of the Wild, where the vast majority of gameplay is spent in nature wandering around with no music; which reminds me of my emotional center - NC mountains
Something i remember from college is the concept of Flow. A task or experience that is both difficulty and requires skill. And how Flow can have really theraputic effects. I can easily see how games fit into that and how different people interpret skill and challenge. To some, competitive multiplayer games seem random and frustrating, but others understand the mechanics at play and what to expect or how to respond.
I think I might also have a weird choice for self-care games as I play Grand Strategy games for self-care. If I had to describe why it works for me I'd say that I can play at my pace but the complexity of the game keeps me focused enough so my mind doesn't force me to think about my issues while playing
The games I look to for self-care are games that I can use to escape other concerns in my life. I love playing RPGs because I can become totally invested in the narrative and feel peace from that. I also play Splatoon to recharge sometimes because it doesn’t require the large time commitment that some RPGs have but still offers me something to focus on besides my stressors.
Mine are immersive sims for sure, getting lost in those simulated worlds that let me play at my own pace and tackle things on my own way is such a great experience for me.
i play rhythm games because i love how i can zone out playing them. it really feels like a release when you have no thoughts for 2-3 minutes or however long the song lasts. its like home made meditation 🧘♀️
My self care games are usually JRPGs or visual novels. Currently the one I’m playing is Super Robot Wars 30, for its combination of light hearted fun in the mass crossover story and on easy mode I don’t have to think too hard to enjoy the gameplay that’s essentially mashing your mix of action figures together in battle against the bad guys.
For me, something that allows me to explore and discover, appreciate beauty, light but impactful decision making, a little combat or other action to break the pace, a little puzzling, a little collecting, a story partly explored through the environment, peaceful music. Or alternatively, something that allows me to create.
My comfort games tend to be anything made in the source engine like TF2, portal, half life 2, or Gmod, along with that I also use games made on source-based engines for self care like Titan fall 2. The reason for this is some of my best memories were playing those games in a quiet room by myself just enjoying the moment
I absolutely use games for self-care. To me, it's important to be able to learn/discover new things, so I usually play one game till I feel "done," even if it's not finished, and then find another. I like games where you explore and achieve something. Stardew, My Time at Portia, Pokemon Snap, Cozy Grove--you get the idea. One of my all-time favorites was "Unpacking." Sadly I've never found another game like it.
One of the most self-care-like games I've played recently was A Short Hike. It had all the mechanics that I find so fun about games (exploration, collecting items, sidequests) but in a relaxed environment that actually allowed my actions to feel playful. I didn't carry any big, global responsibilities, I was just immersed in a natural community and could genuinely take things at my own pace.
so this one aint well known as its a small game on Roblox (a game hosting website if you somehow dont know) called PHIGHTING! and its a very chaotic third person 5v5 fighting game and idk why but it helps me relax and wind off
Breath of the Wild (and now Tears of the Kingdom) is definitely this for me. I can keep it chill and just wander around enjoying the scenery if I want (maybe find some koroks), or I can take out frustration on some mini bosses, or I can accomplish something by gathering supplies & upgrading an armor set. No matter what I do, it’s so engrossing that other stuff just fades away for a while.
I play a lot of games for self care. It might be my primary way of experiencing games. Stardew Valley and Pokemon Snap are at the top of that list, but I used to turn to another game. It was Pokemon Crystal Version. Specifically randomizers of that game. I don't know why, but maybe it was low enough bandwidth that I could zone out, and I made it so all the trade evolutions were able to be done in a single-player setting. That was also the way that I had access to my favorite pokemon, Scyther (made favorite by Pokemon Snap). It's really interesting how self-care games can create that loop.
This was something I had experienced near the start of the year: Realizing that I /DID NOT/ have a self-care game. Something that I could always turn to, to drown out everyday life. It used to be Pokemon, but Pokemon became a game focused on the competitive nature, meaning I couldn't sit back, and treat the cute creatures as themselves; they just became numbers and figures to elevate your status as the best trainer. I can no longer give little personalities to all of them, they're just tools and numbers; pawns and bishops on a chess board. I found games to help pull me out of that hole, but I still don't really have a self-care game. No one knows of a self-care game that works for me. Every game that I have looked at has had 1 barrier that prevents it from being my self-care game (Most notably, only enjoyable with friends). Beyond that, I'm still searching for it. Sure some games work for a little while, but nothing that's really solidified itself as /the/ game I can always turn back to - play a million times, story or not, Enjoy it 10, 20, 30 years into the future, etc. It's a tough thing to find when you don't have one.
It depends on what you're looking for as you'll likely have different tastes than other folk and it honestly depends on what you're looking for in a game. The games that did it for me are games like Project Zomboid, Xcom 2, Starsector, and Rimworld.
When I need some self care, I really gravitate toward rpgs, especially ones with some amount of grinding, the pleasure of seeing numbers go up and good music and a good environment really feeds my soul.
Self-care with games for me are relatively simple, task-oriented things. A game called Dorfromantik (a peaceful tile-placing game) and another called Hardspace: Shipbreaker (A very task-oriented salvaging sim) are particular favourites. Sometimes even Stellaris, a complex 4X strategy game. It's never a competitive game, only something I can pour focus into, and fix one problem at a time. A major factor is the soundtrack, though.
I've usually tended towards escapism type stuff, which is kind of funny because I used Into The Radius as a self care game for a while and it's certainly not something you'd think of for that. Instead of worrying about life and it's troubles, I get my VR setup ready and worry about making it out alive for a few hours.
I play copious hours of RImWorld. Basebuilder mode, Randy Random. I love setting up the schedules, the spaces, the work priorities, etc. and just sitting back and watching my colony play itself. I make up their stories and set them loose, and get to just watch them interact with the world I made for them; it's so soothing. I go out of my way to make each of my colonists, even prisoners and wild men that wander into my territory, feel comfortable in their environments. It relates to another self-health care activity I have separate from video games: setting up ponds and enclosures for the tree frogs native to my area. Few feelings come close to the joy and satisfaction of watching frogs happily use the habitats I set up for them. I wonder how many other people enjoy this same form of relaxation.
I like stratagy,shooters and calm games but I only play calm games when I’m not procrastinating/needing work to do. And my theory is complex games that need more thought are probably a good way to forget about stuff because for me when a enemy is attacking I’m not sitting there being like “hmmm wonder what I have for work to do”.
I never thought about it this way, but my favorite games to relax with all share one thing in common, freestyle systems! Things like tricks in ssx or parappa the rappers rythm game freestyling. Nothing let's me focus and relax more than pressing buttons to a rhythm, but not having to worry about it too much, because if I mess up, I can just go with it! It's a fun, repetitive task that puts bright colors on my screen and makes the funny numbers go up.
For me it’s RPGs in general, likely harkening back to simpler times as a child playing some Final Fantasy VII for hours, exploring a new world and story in the shoes of a character. I love free form discovery and learning and I don’t believe I go back to any game I’ve completed for replays probably for that reason. As a side note, absolutely love your channel! I always look forward to your content whenever it’s available! Thank you for existing!
I'm a speedrunner of retro RPGs, and a large part of my selfcare is just... doing that. It has reached a point where even though my brain is highly engaged and I'm making a lot of decisions, it's not so much stressful as meditative. I spend a lot of time walking, and my thought processes while walking often turn to routing my way through the game, making small optimizations, questioning whether better pathways to what I want exist... All in all, the most calming thing for me is not zoning out, but rather pointing all the various streams of my thoughts in one single direction. Thus: highly random, adaptation heavy speedrunning.
To me this has to be two games: 1) Croc: Legend of the Gobbos - this I'm pretty is purely for nostalgia reasons, since basically this was MY Super Mario 64. I didn't have consoles when I was a child, but when I first played this, it had the same effect that SM64 had on many people back in the day I presume. 2) Elasto Mania - this is more like the "turn off the brain and just go" kind. Whenever I feel like I want to play a game but don't know what I should play, I instantly choose this one. It's a collect-a-thon basically, but it has the competitive multiplayer edge also. You ride a bike around a level and collect apples before touching the goal. It can be played just for that. Trying to figure out how to beat a level. But since you are being timed when you complete a level you can also play against people and try to beat their times or try beat your own times.
for the second kind I feel like what is important, or one of the things that is, is good feedback making you FEEL every hit and such that you deal to help destress and discharge
My self-care games are adventure games where the character improves in some way. Maybe the level up or they get better equipment . My genre ranges from Zelda to Dark Souls. I just love the adventure and the new experiences of different places while feeling like I'm progressing
My self-care games are RPGs with big maps like Skyrim, Far Cry, Witcher, Red Dead and Assassin’s Creed. I love being able to just run/ride around going from one point of interest to the next, focusing on the terrain and the views with bits of combat, puzzles and narrative interspersed.
I have one game I always return to when I want to just...zone out and relax and that's Master of Magic (the original release). There's something about it's 'one more turn' nature combining with the familiarity of the systems that makes it perfect for me when I want to just put the world out of my mind or allow an idea to formulate.
For me, anything I can casually grind at without thinking too hard. Musou games fit nicely (FE Warriors was the first time I identified it), but also something like casual exploration in BotW/TotK (if I avoid actually entering shrines or completing quests, just running around the overworld and maybe fighting some bosses), and of course also something like Stardew or Animal Crossing. Although the grind can't just be an arbitrary XP grind - I have to have some notion of an endpoint in sight (like upgrading all my armor in BotW/TotK).
For me, I've always been a fan of rogue-lites/likes. I think it's the genre where your progression is the most obvious. each run just getting a little further than before. I guess as to why I like it is that I've entered that part of life where big events and progress feel like they've come to a halt. Out of college, got a stable job, feels like life is just kind of stagnant right now. So a game that shows me that I'm progressing just makes me feel good
I like playing the Kingdom series to relax because it's low stakes, straightforward, and music is very peaceful. On the other hand I also like playing older Call of Duty games or Day of Defeat to destress when they can keep me in the zone where I'm highly engaged but not frustrated by repeated failure
I use games for self-care. When I had lots of time, I loved playing games like Viscera Cleanup Detail. Now, when I barely have time, any game feels like self-care, especially when I can play it alone and preferably complete in a couple of evenings. Returning to the games I played in childhood helps too. I got back to Uplink (which is sadly still not surpassed in its field) and play it. It can occasionally feel like work, but I pick my challenges accordingly
the word of the day is Catharsis, Matt you are valid. My self care game is This War of Mine, I KNOW, but when you said "pause mechanic, simple controls, and hard but fun" and it checks all the boxes.
My self care games come in two forms. Civ5/civ6 that I treat like a mandala, building up this peaceful, beautiful, and idealistic empire before watching it go away and starting again. The other is an rph with lots of small tasks clearly marked on the map that I go icon by icon and clean from the map, leaving the map clear and without clutter by the end.
I usually play puzzle or management games, or a mix of both. Puzzle games like sorting colors, sudoku, completing orders, stuff like that. The management games are like Dragon City, or decorating games. My way of playing Minecraft also fits in the Management category.
I absolutely LOVE putting on a repetitive game or something simple where i can also listen to podcasts to. Stuff like miitopia, pokemon games ive already played or loop hero are those for me. Still for full self care i lean towards stuff with a story, spiritfarer is the big one but hades has also been very much a self care game for me to beat up shades and calm down. I think for me it depends on my mood, sometimes i need to shut off my brain. Other times i just need to snuggle up to a stuffed animal and play a simple or sad game with a good story thats cozy in a way.
Yes, absolutely - there's a quiet joy in my life to sitting down after the gym on a long day and playing something like Disco Elysium, either a grand single player story game with lovely music and audio, or alternatively something slow paced with chunky mechanics like XCOM. Both take time and both let me zone out and appreciate the small successes that come from progresses
My self care game is definitely The Long Dark. Something about the calmness of nature mixed with the long term strategy lets me relax. It’s interesting that it is a pretty stressful game especially on the higher difficulties. I think the mix of long grinding sections with moments of intense adrenaline just work for me. Now comparing this to a survival game like The Forest, is the complete opposite for me. Most stressful experience and it’s really only fun with friends occasionally.
For me it's a significant variant of the second way: while I do enjoy competitive multiplayer, self-care for me is WATCHING videos of other people playing competitive multiplayer. It engages my brain in the same way but without the stress.
during my most stressful times in university i played the souls games alot, specifically the bosses. fume knight in ds2 was my go to for a while and way later i loved zoning out to the boss rush mode in sekiro.
Familiarity and simple, achieavable goals usually does it for me. If I need to give myself a mental break from something I'll just log into one of my many survival sandboxes and gather resources or do some building for a bit and it'll usually help me re-contextualize and come back to the original task with a rested, more healthy outlook.
I am with you in a way. . . a very strange way one of my self care games is DCS, a highly complex, taxing, down to the nitty gritty combat flight simulator, and I love it. just something about all the pieces coming together and working to accomplish a mission can be thrilling, while the transit itself could also just be a soothing ride.
A lot of cozy games, the something calming. I actually craft now when I want to destress, especially when working myself down on the manic pace I sometimes work during the day. But crafting is very similar to a lot of simulation games I play, House Flipper especially. Sometimes a farming game, or a game I can mull on while I work in my head, which is probably why I like farming games, because planning on getting the next thing.
For me personally to decompress i really enjoy playing games with my friends i love to laugh and joke around with my friends that really what keeps me going
I often play 4x or grand strategy games as my confort games. Seeing my nation/city rise and battle through various negativities feels great. I often feel like the populace in those settings look up to me for guidance/support.
I think Harvest Moon and other games like it has been my self care game for a long time. Hardspace:Shipbreaker, car mechanic simulator and Eurotruck Simulator 2 are also some examples of games I can play for self care. I think the "job simulator" genre is one I tend to gravitate towards for this self care gaming experience.
My comfort game for the last seven years has been Europa Universalis 4. What gives me comfort is that it is so large and complicated with such a focus on replayability that I can never “win”. It’s a game that you never really beat. That means that there’s no pressure to ever “get good” there’s just the game. A challenge for fun with no stakes.
Looking for more ways to recharge? You can get a free bag of fresh coffee from our sponsor Trade Coffee! Check out the link for more information www.drinktrade.com/extracredits - Thanks for Watching!
You could do a questionaríeis so we could give you some free data
This might be a good topic to collect data on. Consider setting up a Google Form or similar. Maybe restrict it to only your patrons, etc. to ensure the validity of the data. I look forward to learning what you discover.
you guys missed a crucial nuance and respective set of people. I'll use myself as example.
like the multiplayer folk I also use games to vent, get away, etc.. but my comfy games change with the bundle of games I'm actively playing and that are out, at the time. be them multiplayer or *single player!*
right now would be dark souls 3, but better yet elden ring, and any souls or sekiro or Bloodborne ahaha. devil may cry 4 or 5 would do nicely as well. and nice 3rd person action adventure like onimusha, ninja gaiden 1,2 etc. the modern xcom, and similar core gameplay games! not discounting some burnout paradise, 2, 3!.. the need for speeds up til gen 3 of consoles and pc counterparts, as well as other good arcade racing games. cs1.6. league of legends. magic the gathering or something good. sonic adventure 2. a certain while soul calibur 4 and 3, dead or alive 3.. Pokémon at a time whic I don't normally even like to play. a stupid large number of random Indies and peculiar experiences, like vanish, race the sun, Mario's for Gameboy and colour. streets of rage,all, golden axe, TMNT etc etc.. ANY shooter with gun controllers! and more things than should be listed for the sake of sanity.
please understand that I guess the list of what can be comfy grows with time, but changes in gaming experience reflect changes in what can be comfy, as do as I also grow as a person and naturally change.
before souls games I wouldn't be willing to touch games with less action and more RPG. before the modern xcom 1 I wouldn't touch the genre as I didn't think it was for me like games using the same type of camera. to name 2 examples.
so my set of comfy games is dynamic on several levels, more levels than both the 2 example groups you identified. and I of course also have a ridiculous sample of all the people I talked about this but it should be comparable to yours in size.
Weird answer here but I like payday2 as a self care game. I know it sounds weird and stupid but the fun of playing a game from 2013 that still Is fun and a good kind of grinding with no real end goal is just nice. Also the endless cook off level making me think. Ok what did I add before or oh what do I have left and when should I resupply. Heck should I run with the bags now. And so on also the way that in the game Bain actually sounds human in that level and makes mistakes
Now to talk about my ideal game to play. A house builder like aims 4 but more personal and closer along with the crime element of payday so like oh you robbed a bank sure the money to add to your house/base/safe house. Now I know I can just mod sims but as a person without a pc I find that hard
I use different games for different forms of self care depending on what emotion I'm feeling:
Animal Crossing for positivity because people are usually mean to me cause I'm autistic and in AC no one is mean to you.
I used to use left 4 dead as a way to get out aggression. I don't play that one as much anymore
legend of zelda games for the puzzles to work my brain
And rpgs with character creation to live out my fantasy dreams
It all depends on the day and emotion.
My younger self feels vindicated. My present self wants to remind my inner child that moderation is important, because those large IRL tasks still need to get done.
EVERYTHING in moderation! lol but allowing yourself to have those hours to relax is critical. I know I would work all the time if my partner didn't remind me to relax every now and then.
Real life in moderation too!
@@dsur5547 I found this huge problem when I can't gather enough energy to play games and record videos, sometimes we need less real life in our lives...
On the flipside, banning yourself from playing games until you get those large IRL tasks doesn't work either. Been there, tried that, it was counterproductive.
@@extracredits so uh.. what does it say about me when my Self Care games are Souls likes. 😅
The closest thing i have to a self-care game is Cult of the Lamb. It has elements of the "externalizing emotions" part and elements of the "calming down" part, and doesn't set needs for me (usually) to go into the other element if i don't want to. It's also very simple. Getting resources is easy, and ties directly into building. The big bubbles at the top showing all my followers' needs makes it so i don't need to be overwhelmed by each person's needs. For the dungeon part, the combat is easy, and requires little to no brain power. It's just "B,A,B,A,B,A,B,X,B,A,B,A,B.." instead of "press rt and lb and b and right stick and left stick and a and up at the same time".
I like your train of thought, but…
Golden Fleece w/basic dagger
@@MMM45698 lol
I think the nostalgia thing might be adding another thing to self care games: the more familiar you are with a game, the fewer conscious choices that you need to make. My self care games are the Portal and Half Life series and I know that the reason I keep going back to them is that they are so familiar that I know I'll never get stuck or have to worry about unpredictable difficulty spikes. I just play to experience the atmosphere. It also helps that many of them are short enough to finish in a small number of gameplay sessions.
It's like the game equivalent of comfort food. Everyone's got a different thing that just brings them back.
Pretty much exactly what I was gonna say, though you did it better than I would've. The knowing you won't get stuck is an excellent point. I know myself I'm hesitant to get into new games not from difficulty, but more from not knowing where the break points are. Do I need to commit to an hour a session or else restart the mission? Or are levels only a few minutes long? Can I save any time or only at checkpoints, and if the latter how frequently can I expect them? Meanwhile for games I've already beaten I already know that there's gonna be three bosses in a row or where the towns to restock on supplies are so I know how to pace myself. And worst case I can just quit in the middle of a level even without saving, since I already beat the game.
Typing all that out, I wonder if it's possible to thread the needle from a design perspective of laying out everything so a player can confidently know what to expect at every point so they can approach things confidently while also maintaining the sense of discovery of playing the game. Probably not something achievable with every game.
Me with the original angry birds
The gym allegory makes SO much sense for people who play 'stressful' games for self-care. I quest-hunt in Tears of the Kingdom and do the Spiral Abyss in Genshin Impact during my off-hours, which sounds horrible to some people but these activities offer me a lot of peace in a way that I have nearly-full control of what I do in those gaming hours.
Thank you so much for this video, guys!!
This. For me it’s warframe and I immediately hop on my steel path grind
Right now I am playing though a Minecraft Modpack with gated progression and a questbook of tasks.
This 100% fits into the "continuous microgoals at your own pace" thing you described, with some added nostalgia.
I keep going back to modpacks like this (though usually different ones each time) and now I know why!
These are some of my favourite types of modpacks when I'm not in the mood for a 'kitchen sink' pack that lets me do my own goals of collecting stuff for display (such as TokuNexoCraft for 1.12)!
I used to play a mod called Cuboids Outpost. I'm bad at games but after getting some pretty strong armour I spent my down time farming crops and making food which helped since there was a quest line just for food.
@@ElNeroDiablothat’s dope!
I'm sorry to necro this, but which modpack?
I use games as a form of pain control. I have been severely injured several times and as a result I'm plagued with chronic pain. To me the the only thing that really counts when it comes to a "self-care game" is that it is immersive. It gives my mind something to focus on instead of pain, and, for me, it works better than most pain drugs.
Works for me when I have injuries, but doesn't help with migraines especially if games make you think or memorize too much. Also, tension headaches and headsets are not friends...
Interesting - I have chronic pain, too, and really have to rely on escapism sometimes. What games work best for you?
@@KasumiRINAI actually can't use headsets for this exact reason! Even if I'm feeling "fine", I end up with a headache within an hour. So I use earbuds exclusively, which is a little sad because I do actually care about sound quality... Still, nice to hear I'm not crazy and other people have the same experience, lol!
@@safaiaryu12 There are a lot of high-quality earbuds out there nowadays, I'm certain you can find a high-quality pair that works well for you, whether it's Wired or Bluetooth.
I don’t have chronic pain but I do have chronic mental health issues and I also use games for escapism. Any recommendations?
Dragon's Dogma is my comfort game. I work in a lot of deadline driven environments, so an open-world game is up my alley. Especially when the game is as far away from modern technology as possible.
It also brings me back to my childhood of Fantasy Action Figures and Saturday morning Cartoons.
Using games as self care is most if the reason I play them but I usually play horror because its something I have loved ever since I was younger and it brings me back to a place of being so interested in the story of the games I played
One type of self care ive seen is practicing esports. I used to play super smash brothers melee a lot. And if I was feeling off, I could sit down and run wavedash drills for an hour.
You already know what to do. Its soothingly monotonous, and the only goal is increased consistency. As a cherry on top, you sometimes got to notice yourself improving.
There are tons of games I play over and over just because I know them. I don't have to think about them, just relax and enjoy. Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
I don't find most games to be useful for self-care directly, but I find that a great way for me to wind down and relax is to watch other people gaming! Either IRL with my sister, or on the RUclipss. With my sister, I generally play 'Navigator', looking up any tips, lore, or clues she asks for and thus participating without having to make the decisions myself. With RUclips Let's Plays, I get to enjoy someone else's experience of the game and learn about it without (again) having to make the decisions myself.
"Self-care" can get a little blurry sometimes because I'm not always sure if I'm relaxing with a game, or hiding from my problems.
A lot of times when I play a game, I feel guilty for not doing something else.
SAME! I just got Wizards of Legend yesterday and had a BLAST. But my dad advised I stop playing it because it took me away from work I could, should, and want to do. Like my art and building my content for my educational gaming program. Which helped me to realize that I play games as a form of self care like Matthew. Like you said, it's a very slippery slope. I play games maybe 1-2 hours a day so it's not that bad, but overtime that stacks up. I think what's important, and what I'll be experimenting with over the coming months, is proper time management with cutoffs to ensure you're only using the entertainment as a break and not an escape. Also, I'll be looking for other arguably more productive activities that can help me moving forward.
Oooo I totally am the same! I tend to dive far too deep into games to the point that I am hiding from problems, but I have had those moments where stepping into the world of a game I am enjoying helped give me a needed break.
Hm thinking on it, my gaming habits may be more something like this.
Perhaps one of the questions to ask is if there is something may have introduced this feeling in the past, which may be haunting you still, or if there is really IRL things you need to do, but are intentionally dallying, using the game to fill up that time rather than pursuing that task?
I remember reading a comic once that had a character curled up in bed saying they were taking a self care day. A sequel comic had them baking, with their friend asking what about self care, with the character saying (in a more amusing way than I am) that they realized they weren't practicing self care before but had actually just been depressed. It helped me realize the difference between the two. As best as I can describe, self care is about doing things that you enjoy that are, or at least feel like, accomplishments and that build yourself up. A more depressive reaction is more not wanting to do anything at all. In regards to games, if you're playing because you just need to calm down before tackling the world, or to bolster yourself with confidence from defeating a challenge in a safe environment, that's self care. But if you don't really want to do anything, but are just playing games as something to do with your hands, then that's the more depressive form of "self care". I'm not the one to tell you how to get out of that latter situation, but I hope this helps plant a seed of understanding in someone so they can realize what they're doing *is* okay (or not okay) and can have a better approach to their self care. There's enough going on in our lives to have us worry about how we relax!
my comfort games are almost any kirby game. they’re platformers that don’t require a lot of skill to play and are very laid back and fun. a specific game for me is squeak squad, as it’s a gift my uncle gave me when i was little.
I think the pfp kinda gave it away
I definitely use games for self care. Depending on where I am in my depressive or manic cycle depends on what game I need. When I’m depressed I love a soothing game with small obtainable goals, when I’m manic, I love an aggressive/competitive game that lets me express those feelings without being self destructive. Games have helped me so much
Usually for me, its creating a new character in an MMO and grinding some levels in a familiar area. Something about seeing levels go up quickly and easy gear decisions makes it comforting.
My go-to self-care games are from two completely opposite genres: truck and train simulators and... From Software games. The earlier are obvious - cruising at gentle speed through beautiful landscapes is relaxing. The latter comes from familiarity. I am not good at action games, so I invested a lot of time and practice in soulslikes. Areas in DS1, DS2, BB and Elden Ring are familiar like my backyard. Even most bosses give that nice feeling of accomplishment without being too taxing.
I play soulslikes for self-care all the time. It's not entirely out of a drive to achieve a deeper level of mastery in it, but because the games simply require so much of my attention that it kind of pushes everything else out.
I don't consciously use games for self care, but my two cents would be that a good ingredient would be the ability to set smaller tasks for yourself while playing (like exploring more of a certain region in Terraria or building a setup to automate a new item in Satisfactory) so you can be satisfied with a task well done without having to pour a big chunk of time into it.
my self care games are Metroidvanias of the platformer kind because just going back and getting things while doing perfect flawless platforming as you backtrack is just so satisfying
For me it's the PS2 transformers armada game
This is such a good topic I never even thought about! Doom 2016 is my going to the gym type of release game. But WoW for hanging out with friends, and then story unnerving games for calming my mind like Oxenfree and Dredge.
Oh yea, I loved playing Dredge and managing items, sanity and space. I even 100%ed it. All fish, Pursuits, upgrades, anomalies... you name it.
For me Shovel Knight is the game I've always come back to. Bright colors, chipper music, fun and well-done controls all helped. It also made me feel like I could make progress at a time in my life where I felt like I was only standing still.
I've been doing this a lot lately as I go through the changes of college graduation. I've been vascilating between visual novels and speedrun games. The former due to a nice easy pace and calming settings. The latter due to a tangible feeling of progression, each run feeling like I've gotten better, or at least practiced something, which then in turn validates me.
Platformers and brawlers that I'd managed to get good at were my comfort games back in the day. They gave me a sense of validation that I was lacking elsewhere in life. Sonic 3 (+Knuckles) is the example that comes to mind.
I think about this topic all the time as a player and designer. Would love to see the research pool extended! Taking notes in the meantime.
PS - I have gone through a handful of self-care games from Smash Bros to Wario's Woods to Proteus, but the central element for me across each game is that I don't have to do much reading or emotional decisionmaking.
I do find myself thinking of strategy games like X-COM, RPGs like Mass Effect, and the crossover to be found in Fire Emblem specifically, as being comfort games. I guess I enjoy the chance to do things like building up characters or units and taking my time to see strategies and/or narratives come together.
Yes i use games for self care, after a oomg day of school i find myself playing these games pretty consistently to wind down: GTAV(racing), Scrap Mechanic, Star Wars Battlefront II 2017(arcade and co-op), Farming Simulator 23, Railroads Online, and a Roblox game I made for my Game Design Final Project last year.
Been saying this for a few years. I gamed as child regularly and it was a huge bonding thing for the whole family. Fast forward and now I use it to keep myself from hitting burn out. Games offer micro goals where I can see a clear progression. Something that I simply cannot get in my career any more as it might be months before I get another confirmation that I am indeed still growing. Often the road to that confirmation is filled with valleys which make we wonder if I am regressing instead. Add in all the other benefits of gaming, and its hard to imagine not doing it.
For me, self-care is getting together with friends in a discord server and voicing a narrative focus game together and playing it together. Did that with Hobb's Barrow and it was a blast.
IVE COME TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT
I actually unwind with world building for my ttrpg games. It feels nice to add to an ongoing project and let ideas bounce freely. I'm a teacher ao a lot of my work thinking is highly atructured and directed towards a goal. Its nice to let ideas take shape aimlessly.
I have a number of self-care games. Thinking about it, they fall into one of the following categories:
- Nostalgia games: I recognized it when you mentioned it in this video. And I do go back to games or spiritual successors of games I played in my school years. I still occasionally play Plants Vs Zombies (the OG one), the most recent Worms games (they never really change in essence), and the OG Ace Attorney Trilogy. Probably also why I can get so hooked on Tetris Effect at moments. It's the only real Tetris experience that can somehow captivate me in the same way the OG Gameboy Tetris did when I was a kid - but in a completely different way.
- Weird adventure games: A few years ago I got a kick out of Heaven's Vault. Later it was Spiritfarer (until I broke into routine and it started annoying me), Route 96, etc. Now it's Strage Horticulture. Games that are weird /laid-back in essence, have some sort of puzzle element and have an interesting story to tell (and also no QTE's).
- Steamworld Dig 2: I don't know what it is about this game. But there's something about this game (and its predecessor to a lesser extent) that makes me come back to it - especially the earlier half when it's all about just digging, killing an occasional enemy and finding treasures and power-ups. There's no real time limit to it, and outside of the last few areas there's not really a "big challenge" either.
I have a couple that I go to. The Powder Toy and Floating Point. Both are games with no win/lose condition, no real goal, just an open ended *toy* that I like to mess around with. Both are also free! I play them regularly and have eternal thanks for the devs
My personal recharge game is actually Warframe. That might seem odd, since it's a fast-moving shooter game, but after you play enough of it, playing basic missions becomes almost completely instinctual, and I can go through them while listening to RUclips videos. Because Warframe's also an RPG, there's always SOMETHING minor to grind for, so it feels like you are inching towards a goal in addition to almost-literally mindless fighting.
I sometimes use the challenge mode of Batman Arkham Origins in a similar way. I know the combat system like the back of my hand, so I can play it as a low-intensity "keep the brain on" thing, which is restful for a bunch of complicated neuroscience reasons.
I practice self care with games in both ways, by challenging myself to be better with Souls-Likes, or chilling out with some crusader kings. The best part is when I get to do it uninterrupted, early in the morning or late at night.
For me I don't go to a specific game or not even a specific genre, but I am usually looking for a game that requires my reaction time enough that I have to get in the zone to play it. It can't be slow or too easy. But it also can't be frustratingly hard. It has to hit that sweet spot to immerse me and let me get in the zone.
For me, it's a mixture of internal and external. Sometimes I want chill, repetitive games to relax with and sometimes I prefer letting my stress out through action/competition. FFXIV allows me to have both, since I can run a dungeon I have done a million times to relax or bust some heads in PvP. Outside of games, sometimes I want to exercise to relieve stress and sometimes I just listen to music I like.
I don't have a particular self-care game, but I do agree that games are an amazing form of self-care. My most recent example would be from last year, when I was recovering from surgery for a week or so in early March. Elden Ring had just come out, and that ended up being my self-care game during that period as it gave me just the right amount of distraction while giving me just enough reminders to take a break.
The games I turn to for self-care tend to be those open world games that everyone is complaining about being tired of these days, haha! I like the "explore a world at your own pace" zen type of feeling. Shoutout to Hello Games still making No Man's Sky one of the coolest, zennest experiences out there.
My self care games are the original Spyro games, and Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. But it also extends to other 3D platformer collectathons. Just being able to 100% level after level with a genre I can play almost automatically, while also listening to stories in the background, is utter perfection.
I’ve been looking for the words to explain this, thank you. I’ve found that the comfort games I play change depending on the pace of my life. I’ve played lots of WoW Classic, but I kept bouncing off of the endgame content grind. This is why! I played primarily on my own as a way to recharge, and it felt meaningful because my recharge time resulted in resources that I could use on high energy tasks like raiding or meeting people and making friends. Once I hit the endgame, all of the relevant recharge-pace activities are competitive because bots are busy farming everything. Once everything requires more energy than I get out of it, I stop appreciating the time I spent on it
I definitely use games for self care, but it is never a single game. I always have a story heavy game, a slow paced game, a rhythm game, and an action game (plus others at times). When I sit down to play, I analyze the way I feel (just a quick, what do I feel like playing) and play the game I feel like playing at that time to relax. Sometimes I feel like I want to feel the bittersweetness of some indie story game, and other times I want to challenge myself and feel the relief of beating some souls-like boss. Usually, I even play some of multiple types of games in a day as what I feel changes.
I also love to spend time on multiplayer competitive games, but really only with family. That way, I can feel challenged, but still focus on it being fun, since I know my family and I are playing ultimately to talk and have fun.
I find that I tend to play Valorant, or funnily enough, Hunt: Showdown of all things, as self care. I think the reason is that they both fill my craving for mastery, social interaction, and teamwork while still allowing me to do funny and unoptimal strategies with my friends.
Honestly my comfort game would probably be UNDERTALE, i know most people see it as just "the sams undertale game" but it does have quite a lot of happy, funny moments.
For me games(specifically RTS ) is a way to add a little stress/pressure/tension to my brain to get a little adrenaline flowing my clickily depressed and help me get out of bed at more consistent hours, as well as finding some more drive in life.
my comfort game is ultrakill, it doesnt frustrate me by feeling slow, it has a lot to learn and a lot of clear skills so i can see my progress, and it allows you to feel cool no matter your skill level
I feel the competitive games as self care. I usually hit diamond or masters in TFT and it's 100% a self care game for me at this point
It feels ironic when I was playing LOL. A game that scratches that competitive itch, but is also known for breeding toxicity.
Funny, I'm the opposite. Competitive games bring out stress and frustration like nothing else in my life. The paradox of "Every game is winnable" and "This game is built so you'll fail 50% of the time" doesn't sit well with me
I find that I enjoy sim games. For a long time, Civ V and Rimworld were my go-tos. Right now, it's usually Minecraft. I play them on a difficulty I know I can handle, and if I want variety, I install mods to spice things up. Building stuff up over time and making progress is very satisfying.
I think simple puzzle games, like Solitaire, Minesweeper, and Hexcell Infinite are probably my go to. I can just zone out and do the game while getting lost in my own thoughts. Then it goes to building games (like Minecraft), city/base builders, and sometimes a goof 4x game. Hell, I've even used the digital version of Carcassonne.
EDIT: Also it's important to state, when I play these games for self care, it's always single player. Also, I think a lot of the points hit in the video are also reflective in my choices, like simple, repetitive gameplay. Even the 4X games like Masters of Orion need that to give me that self care vibe.
I didn't really think about it until watching this video, but city builder or exploration games definitely work as self-care for me, and so does fantasy map making for that matter. In fact, I've been playing Timberborn recently and it's been so relaxing that my Fitbit keeps thinking I'm taking a nap when I play it.
Mine is the Legend of Zelda series. It’s both nostalgic and it feels like I’ve read a really good adventure book with all the lore in it
My self care game is Magic the Gathering Duels of the Planeswalker. I have it downloaded on almost everything I have, I’ve been playing it for years here or there. It’s just slow paced, easy to pick up, and familiar. at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if I win or lose because I took some time out to breathe and play some magic with terrible, but familiar, decks.
If I had to guess why jrpgs can be soothing it might have to do with the positive reinforcement of seeing numbers go up, as most rpgs are stat based. For me I gravitate towards theHunter: Call of the Wild, where the vast majority of gameplay is spent in nature wandering around with no music; which reminds me of my emotional center - NC mountains
Something i remember from college is the concept of Flow. A task or experience that is both difficulty and requires skill. And how Flow can have really theraputic effects. I can easily see how games fit into that and how different people interpret skill and challenge. To some, competitive multiplayer games seem random and frustrating, but others understand the mechanics at play and what to expect or how to respond.
I think I might also have a weird choice for self-care games as I play Grand Strategy games for self-care.
If I had to describe why it works for me I'd say that I can play at my pace but the complexity of the game keeps me focused enough so my mind doesn't force me to think about my issues while playing
Grand strategy does it for me too. Specifically trying massive overhaul mods for these games.
The games I look to for self-care are games that I can use to escape other concerns in my life. I love playing RPGs because I can become totally invested in the narrative and feel peace from that. I also play Splatoon to recharge sometimes because it doesn’t require the large time commitment that some RPGs have but still offers me something to focus on besides my stressors.
Mine are immersive sims for sure, getting lost in those simulated worlds that let me play at my own pace and tackle things on my own way is such a great experience for me.
i play rhythm games because i love how i can zone out playing them. it really feels like a release when you have no thoughts for 2-3 minutes or however long the song lasts. its like home made meditation 🧘♀️
My self care games are usually JRPGs or visual novels. Currently the one I’m playing is Super Robot Wars 30, for its combination of light hearted fun in the mass crossover story and on easy mode I don’t have to think too hard to enjoy the gameplay that’s essentially mashing your mix of action figures together in battle against the bad guys.
For me, something that allows me to explore and discover, appreciate beauty, light but impactful decision making, a little combat or other action to break the pace, a little puzzling, a little collecting, a story partly explored through the environment, peaceful music. Or alternatively, something that allows me to create.
My comfort games tend to be anything made in the source engine like TF2, portal, half life 2, or Gmod, along with that I also use games made on source-based engines for self care like Titan fall 2. The reason for this is some of my best memories were playing those games in a quiet room by myself just enjoying the moment
I absolutely use games for self-care. To me, it's important to be able to learn/discover new things, so I usually play one game till I feel "done," even if it's not finished, and then find another. I like games where you explore and achieve something. Stardew, My Time at Portia, Pokemon Snap, Cozy Grove--you get the idea. One of my all-time favorites was "Unpacking." Sadly I've never found another game like it.
One of the most self-care-like games I've played recently was A Short Hike. It had all the mechanics that I find so fun about games (exploration, collecting items, sidequests) but in a relaxed environment that actually allowed my actions to feel playful. I didn't carry any big, global responsibilities, I was just immersed in a natural community and could genuinely take things at my own pace.
so this one aint well known as its a small game on Roblox (a game hosting website if you somehow dont know) called PHIGHTING! and its a very chaotic third person 5v5 fighting game and idk why but it helps me relax and wind off
Breath of the Wild (and now Tears of the Kingdom) is definitely this for me. I can keep it chill and just wander around enjoying the scenery if I want (maybe find some koroks), or I can take out frustration on some mini bosses, or I can accomplish something by gathering supplies & upgrading an armor set. No matter what I do, it’s so engrossing that other stuff just fades away for a while.
I play a lot of games for self care. It might be my primary way of experiencing games. Stardew Valley and Pokemon Snap are at the top of that list, but I used to turn to another game. It was Pokemon Crystal Version. Specifically randomizers of that game. I don't know why, but maybe it was low enough bandwidth that I could zone out, and I made it so all the trade evolutions were able to be done in a single-player setting. That was also the way that I had access to my favorite pokemon, Scyther (made favorite by Pokemon Snap). It's really interesting how self-care games can create that loop.
This was something I had experienced near the start of the year: Realizing that I /DID NOT/ have a self-care game. Something that I could always turn to, to drown out everyday life. It used to be Pokemon, but Pokemon became a game focused on the competitive nature, meaning I couldn't sit back, and treat the cute creatures as themselves; they just became numbers and figures to elevate your status as the best trainer. I can no longer give little personalities to all of them, they're just tools and numbers; pawns and bishops on a chess board.
I found games to help pull me out of that hole, but I still don't really have a self-care game. No one knows of a self-care game that works for me. Every game that I have looked at has had 1 barrier that prevents it from being my self-care game (Most notably, only enjoyable with friends). Beyond that, I'm still searching for it. Sure some games work for a little while, but nothing that's really solidified itself as /the/ game I can always turn back to - play a million times, story or not, Enjoy it 10, 20, 30 years into the future, etc. It's a tough thing to find when you don't have one.
It depends on what you're looking for as you'll likely have different tastes than other folk and it honestly depends on what you're looking for in a game. The games that did it for me are games like Project Zomboid, Xcom 2, Starsector, and Rimworld.
i really like ultrakill bc it’s rlly nice to feel like your getting better at smth and trying to figure out how to do thingys quicker :3
When I need some self care, I really gravitate toward rpgs, especially ones with some amount of grinding, the pleasure of seeing numbers go up and good music and a good environment really feeds my soul.
Self-care with games for me are relatively simple, task-oriented things. A game called Dorfromantik (a peaceful tile-placing game) and another called Hardspace: Shipbreaker (A very task-oriented salvaging sim) are particular favourites. Sometimes even Stellaris, a complex 4X strategy game. It's never a competitive game, only something I can pour focus into, and fix one problem at a time. A major factor is the soundtrack, though.
I've usually tended towards escapism type stuff, which is kind of funny because I used Into The Radius as a self care game for a while and it's certainly not something you'd think of for that.
Instead of worrying about life and it's troubles, I get my VR setup ready and worry about making it out alive for a few hours.
I play copious hours of RImWorld. Basebuilder mode, Randy Random. I love setting up the schedules, the spaces, the work priorities, etc. and just sitting back and watching my colony play itself. I make up their stories and set them loose, and get to just watch them interact with the world I made for them; it's so soothing. I go out of my way to make each of my colonists, even prisoners and wild men that wander into my territory, feel comfortable in their environments. It relates to another self-health care activity I have separate from video games: setting up ponds and enclosures for the tree frogs native to my area. Few feelings come close to the joy and satisfaction of watching frogs happily use the habitats I set up for them. I wonder how many other people enjoy this same form of relaxation.
I like stratagy,shooters and calm games but I only play calm games when I’m not procrastinating/needing work to do. And my theory is complex games that need more thought are probably a good way to forget about stuff because for me when a enemy is attacking I’m not sitting there being like “hmmm wonder what I have for work to do”.
I tend to choose gameplay loops that feel challenging, but satisfying to complete
I never thought about it this way, but my favorite games to relax with all share one thing in common, freestyle systems! Things like tricks in ssx or parappa the rappers rythm game freestyling. Nothing let's me focus and relax more than pressing buttons to a rhythm, but not having to worry about it too much, because if I mess up, I can just go with it! It's a fun, repetitive task that puts bright colors on my screen and makes the funny numbers go up.
For me it’s RPGs in general, likely harkening back to simpler times as a child playing some Final Fantasy VII for hours, exploring a new world and story in the shoes of a character.
I love free form discovery and learning and I don’t believe I go back to any game I’ve completed for replays probably for that reason.
As a side note, absolutely love your channel! I always look forward to your content whenever it’s available! Thank you for existing!
I'm a speedrunner of retro RPGs, and a large part of my selfcare is just... doing that. It has reached a point where even though my brain is highly engaged and I'm making a lot of decisions, it's not so much stressful as meditative.
I spend a lot of time walking, and my thought processes while walking often turn to routing my way through the game, making small optimizations, questioning whether better pathways to what I want exist...
All in all, the most calming thing for me is not zoning out, but rather pointing all the various streams of my thoughts in one single direction. Thus: highly random, adaptation heavy speedrunning.
To me this has to be two games:
1) Croc: Legend of the Gobbos - this I'm pretty is purely for nostalgia reasons, since basically this was MY Super Mario 64. I didn't have consoles when I was a child, but when I first played this, it had the same effect that SM64 had on many people back in the day I presume.
2) Elasto Mania - this is more like the "turn off the brain and just go" kind. Whenever I feel like I want to play a game but don't know what I should play, I instantly choose this one. It's a collect-a-thon basically, but it has the competitive multiplayer edge also. You ride a bike around a level and collect apples before touching the goal. It can be played just for that. Trying to figure out how to beat a level. But since you are being timed when you complete a level you can also play against people and try to beat their times or try beat your own times.
for the second kind I feel like what is important, or one of the things that is, is good feedback
making you FEEL every hit and such that you deal to help destress and discharge
My self-care games are adventure games where the character improves in some way. Maybe the level up or they get better equipment . My genre ranges from Zelda to Dark Souls. I just love the adventure and the new experiences of different places while feeling like I'm progressing
My self-care games are RPGs with big maps like Skyrim, Far Cry, Witcher, Red Dead and Assassin’s Creed. I love being able to just run/ride around going from one point of interest to the next, focusing on the terrain and the views with bits of combat, puzzles and narrative interspersed.
I have one game I always return to when I want to just...zone out and relax and that's Master of Magic (the original release). There's something about it's 'one more turn' nature combining with the familiarity of the systems that makes it perfect for me when I want to just put the world out of my mind or allow an idea to formulate.
For me, anything I can casually grind at without thinking too hard. Musou games fit nicely (FE Warriors was the first time I identified it), but also something like casual exploration in BotW/TotK (if I avoid actually entering shrines or completing quests, just running around the overworld and maybe fighting some bosses), and of course also something like Stardew or Animal Crossing.
Although the grind can't just be an arbitrary XP grind - I have to have some notion of an endpoint in sight (like upgrading all my armor in BotW/TotK).
For me, I've always been a fan of rogue-lites/likes. I think it's the genre where your progression is the most obvious. each run just getting a little further than before. I guess as to why I like it is that I've entered that part of life where big events and progress feel like they've come to a halt. Out of college, got a stable job, feels like life is just kind of stagnant right now. So a game that shows me that I'm progressing just makes me feel good
I like playing the Kingdom series to relax because it's low stakes, straightforward, and music is very peaceful. On the other hand I also like playing older Call of Duty games or Day of Defeat to destress when they can keep me in the zone where I'm highly engaged but not frustrated by repeated failure
I use games for self-care. When I had lots of time, I loved playing games like Viscera Cleanup Detail.
Now, when I barely have time, any game feels like self-care, especially when I can play it alone and preferably complete in a couple of evenings.
Returning to the games I played in childhood helps too. I got back to Uplink (which is sadly still not surpassed in its field) and play it. It can occasionally feel like work, but I pick my challenges accordingly
the word of the day is Catharsis, Matt you are valid.
My self care game is This War of Mine, I KNOW, but when you said "pause mechanic, simple controls, and hard but fun" and it checks all the boxes.
Great subject, thanks for once again talking about the healing power of games! 😊
My self care games come in two forms. Civ5/civ6 that I treat like a mandala, building up this peaceful, beautiful, and idealistic empire before watching it go away and starting again. The other is an rph with lots of small tasks clearly marked on the map that I go icon by icon and clean from the map, leaving the map clear and without clutter by the end.
I usually play puzzle or management games, or a mix of both. Puzzle games like sorting colors, sudoku, completing orders, stuff like that. The management games are like Dragon City, or decorating games. My way of playing Minecraft also fits in the Management category.
I absolutely LOVE putting on a repetitive game or something simple where i can also listen to podcasts to. Stuff like miitopia, pokemon games ive already played or loop hero are those for me.
Still for full self care i lean towards stuff with a story, spiritfarer is the big one but hades has also been very much a self care game for me to beat up shades and calm down.
I think for me it depends on my mood, sometimes i need to shut off my brain. Other times i just need to snuggle up to a stuffed animal and play a simple or sad game with a good story thats cozy in a way.
Yes, absolutely - there's a quiet joy in my life to sitting down after the gym on a long day and playing something like Disco Elysium, either a grand single player story game with lovely music and audio, or alternatively something slow paced with chunky mechanics like XCOM. Both take time and both let me zone out and appreciate the small successes that come from progresses
My self care game is definitely The Long Dark. Something about the calmness of nature mixed with the long term strategy lets me relax. It’s interesting that it is a pretty stressful game especially on the higher difficulties. I think the mix of long grinding sections with moments of intense adrenaline just work for me. Now comparing this to a survival game like The Forest, is the complete opposite for me. Most stressful experience and it’s really only fun with friends occasionally.
For me it's a significant variant of the second way: while I do enjoy competitive multiplayer, self-care for me is WATCHING videos of other people playing competitive multiplayer. It engages my brain in the same way but without the stress.
during my most stressful times in university i played the souls games alot, specifically the bosses. fume knight in ds2 was my go to for a while and way later i loved zoning out to the boss rush mode in sekiro.
Familiarity and simple, achieavable goals usually does it for me. If I need to give myself a mental break from something I'll just log into one of my many survival sandboxes and gather resources or do some building for a bit and it'll usually help me re-contextualize and come back to the original task with a rested, more healthy outlook.
I am with you in a way. . . a very strange way
one of my self care games is DCS, a highly complex, taxing, down to the nitty gritty combat flight simulator, and I love it. just something about all the pieces coming together and working to accomplish a mission can be thrilling, while the transit itself could also just be a soothing ride.
A lot of cozy games, the something calming. I actually craft now when I want to destress, especially when working myself down on the manic pace I sometimes work during the day. But crafting is very similar to a lot of simulation games I play, House Flipper especially. Sometimes a farming game, or a game I can mull on while I work in my head, which is probably why I like farming games, because planning on getting the next thing.
For me personally to decompress i really enjoy playing games with my friends i love to laugh and joke around with my friends that really what keeps me going
I often play 4x or grand strategy games as my confort games. Seeing my nation/city rise and battle through various negativities feels great. I often feel like the populace in those settings look up to me for guidance/support.
I think Harvest Moon and other games like it has been my self care game for a long time. Hardspace:Shipbreaker, car mechanic simulator and Eurotruck Simulator 2 are also some examples of games I can play for self care. I think the "job simulator" genre is one I tend to gravitate towards for this self care gaming experience.
My comfort game for the last seven years has been Europa Universalis 4. What gives me comfort is that it is so large and complicated with such a focus on replayability that I can never “win”. It’s a game that you never really beat. That means that there’s no pressure to ever “get good” there’s just the game. A challenge for fun with no stakes.