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Gaming Best low commitment/stress video games.

mal3volent

mal3volent

Bluelight Crew
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Jun 6, 2011
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Any recommendations for games with low commitment and little to no stress? Seems like for several years the trend has been excruciatingly complex storylines, infinite subplots, never ending tasks, etc. I love the idea of so many games, but what always ends up happening is I go into them hoping to be immersed in the story and gameplay, but sooner or later I'm stuck completing some tedious and/or boring task that seems more like a chore than anything else.

I was into first person shooters in high school, but they were smaller in scope back then and online play wasn't emphasized as much as it is now. Multiplayer meant split screen or LAN parties with actual face to face socializing, and at the end of the day no one cared who won or lost because there was nothing keeping track of your stats. Nothing to obsess over besides the game itself.

I've traditionally owned Nintendo systems, dating back to the original NES all the way through the Wii U. I've had all the handhelds, too. But recently I traded in my 3DS xl and Wii U to go toward a Xbox One S. The last Xbox I owned was the black 360 elite, so I have some catching up to do.

Just to give some examples of what I'm talking about... (games I've played the hell out of)

Mario Galaxy 2
Mario Kart 7
Skate 3
Resident Evil 4
Plants vs Zombies for the 360 (the one with Peggle and Zuma)
Shovel Knight
Pokémon (RBY, GS) also the TCG on 3DS and Puzzle League
I was also really into Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim
I played WoW for about 3 years but had to quit cold turkey because it consumed me.

Puzzle, Arcade, Platformers, Racing... etc.

But I'm open to anything. I'd love to find something modern and popular that might be a little out of my comfort zone at first but i could adapt to it.

Please help me out. Currently I only have the One S and an iPad, but I will be getting a Switch and/or a 2DS xl in the near future.

Thanks
 
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I'm not sure where to draw the line with 'relaxing' games.

For example I find turn-based strategy games extremely relaxing but I know some people might find them frustrating and complex. I put a lot of hours into Civilisation 5/6 and Endless Space 2 (The music in Endless Space is unreal). You can literally sit back slouched in your chair and just chill, take as much time as you want to perform actions and then end your turn. It's surprisingly addictive.

I can recommend a puzzle-platformer. I generally love these games because I like figuring out puzzles. It's called: Braid. You probably won't get more then 10 hours of game time but it's probably the best of it's genre.

There's also the Portal series of puzzle games from Valve although I suspect you've already played them, otherwise.. highly recommend.

I loved Oblivion and Skyrim also. I would consider them relaxing games but they also require immersion and time; I find it harder to recreate that immersion as I get older. And of course WoW.. the game that stole years of my life, arguably one of the best periods of gaming for me but an all consuming experience. I have very fond memories.

I'm sorry I can only recommend PC games as I don't have consoles. If you get a Nintendo Switch I've heard nothing but good reviews of the new Zelda. I absolutely adored the Ocarina of Time way back on the N64. I always found Nintendo games to have that non-serious fun aspect to them where it's about the adventure and exploring.
 
Thanks a lot... I will check out Braid.

i loved both portal games.

I often wonder why why one of the other companies don't create more Nintendo-like games. It would be relatively easy to do and they'd get a shit ton of sales. Seriously, tell me a well done Mario Kart or SSB rip off with Microsoft or Sony properties wouldn't be crazy popular.
 
Personally think Doom is pretty good in that regard. The best part is that are so many addons and custom map packs that are totally free you could spend well over a year and never run out of stuff. One person's idea of stress may be different than mine though. I play a lot of online games so to me stress-free is something I can just pop in and play that doesn't have a ton of annoying exposition or tutorial levels. Doom is great for that but it can get pretty nerve wrecking if you play the project brutality addon with Ultimate Doom's 4th episode. The "new" 2016 Doom is surprisingly good too and I find it very therapeutic too, probably more the latter than oldschool Doom which can get pretty difficult depending on what addons/maps you're playing.

Any puzzle game like Magical Drop or Tetris is really good too for low stress/commitment. Haven't tried huniepop yet.

My idea of "stressful" may be different though. I enjoy strategy games and spend a lot of time playing mmorpgs but they get super stressful. I love Starcraft but that game makes me so nervous and having my precious campaign ruined in Heroes of Might and Magic 3 because I suck is pretty upsetting. Use to raid last expansion in World of Warcraft and I would go through so many cigarettes as our group died over and over to the last two bosses and having to listen to our raid leader on vent getting progressively more angry and passive aggressive. Having to redo the same fight for hours, getting close and then accidentally killing someone because you got the stupid green fire orb over you on Archimonde and didn't run away to the designated side of the room because you zoned out. Can't even play your music because you want to be sure you hear everything master raid leader says.

So don't play those games lol.
 
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I love puzzle type games like Peggle, Zuma, Tetris, Warios Woods, Pokemon Puzzle League, etc. Also really into all the versions of Pac-Man.

I haven't really started on Braid yet, so nothing to report there as of yet.

I've played about an hour of Stardew Valley. I really WANT to like it, and I do like the idea of it. I played the shit of Animal Crossing back in the Gamecube days, yet somehow never got as much into the 3DS version. I hate when things get too complicated. The old version was simpler I think. I've yet to work out exactly how complex Stardew Valley is going to be, and whether I'm going to be able to have that "turn on, turn off" thing that I seek.

I also was really intrigued by the Witcher game. It looks great and the story is cool, but I fucking HATE having to try to learn all these leveling rules, combat rules, magic rules, social shit, crafting shit... Jesus. I can't remember what button is what. Especially when I am trying to fight something that is trying to kill me. If I can just walk around fucking with shit like in Stardew Valley I can handle it, but sometimes its too much when there's a main plot and thirteen subplots I am also trying to keep up with. I think I'm giving up on it.

I think I might try the newest Mortal Kombat... or should I sell the xbox and just get a Switch...idk any more. Nintendo pissed me off today with the SNES Classic preorder bullshit. I always go crawling back though.
 
I've been playing assassin creed black flag lately. It's really fun. Like grand theft auto with pirates. Grand theft auto is a great franchise too. If you want too race I like forza a lot but I would get I racing if I had a decent computer. FPS have become pretty dull to me but I like battlefield if I get that itch. Civilization or total war are great for turn based strategy on pc. Total War s especially awesome IMO.
 
Relaxing games for me tend to be open-world sandboxes with an emphasis in building/crafting/resource harvesting.

Point and click shit basically, and I love the 8-bit graphics theme for some reason.


Honestly, though, I prefer to relax with a book, beers and bud, but if I'm trying to relax with a video game I'm probably playing Starbound or Terraria. Maybe No Man's Sky? I mean, I liked the game but it really is just running and walking around and looking at sometimes cool shit about 99% of the time.
 
Jibult said:
I'm probably playing Starbound.
Click to expand...

This game was an unexpected gem. I think I put in over 100+ hours with friends. This was a while ago, i'm sure the dev's have made significant updates now.
 
malakaix said:
This game was an unexpected gem. I think I put in over 100+ hours with friends. This was a while ago, i'm sure the dev's have made significant updates now.
Click to expand...

Ahhh Starbound's so awesome, man.

It's updated so often that every time I open it up again (every few months or longer) it seems like an entirely new game, like a sequel or somethin'.


But yeah, it'll definitely suck some hours outta your life.
 
I bought Halo MC Collection. I'm really enjoying playing back through 1-3 with the updated graphics. I haven't ever played 4 or 5 but I am looking forward to it.

I realized what I always loved about the Halo campaigns is how linear they are. I don't mind the challenge of the harder difficulties or the intensity or whatever. That doesn't bother me. It being so linear and not having to worry about side quests or side missions or leveling or making shit and all that. It walks me through the story while I kill shit. I like that. Any other similar FPS recommendations?
 
Super mario brothers in most variations. Never gets old to me. Sports games where you put the difficulty on rookie and never lose.
 
Is Destiny like a Halo/WoW hybrid? I know it's Bungie, but there are raids and classes etc. Do you need to play the first one or can you start with 2?
 
third_eye_lasik said:
Super mario brothers in most variations. Never gets old to me. Sports games where you put the difficulty on rookie and never lose.
Click to expand...

lol, I remember doing this when I was much younger maybe years 8-10. I believe I scored 256 goals with Jeremy Roenick in one game. Looking back I may be somewhere on the spectrum of autism.
 
I really loved Bomber Man and Super Smash Brothers, especially in PvP mode. I know those are really old school now. The last console I played was N64 lol

Computer games, I love the Diablo series and Starcraft.
 
Theres a new Bomberman on the Switch. You know how weird I am? I dont even play video games anymore rather I watch people play them on Youtube. My last console was Aega Genesis although my college roomates had PS1 and N64.
 
Kittycat5 said:
Theres a new Bomberman on the Switch. You know how weird I am? I dont even play video games anymore rather I watch people play them on Youtube. My last console was Aega Genesis although my college roomates had PS1 and N64.
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I'm the same. I find the new consoles too complicated. I can sit at my friend's home hanging out with him chatting and watch him play games all night.
 
My big brother was always better at video games than me, so I found myself watching him quite a bit. Like the first time we played through Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask...I liked to play the slow parts or the puzzle parts, etc, then I would hand him the controller when I got to the boss fights because they were too hard or just made me nervous. �� Simpler times...
 
Zelda breath of the wild on the switch is pretty relaxing. It is open world and not too demanding with a lot of exploring. I'm playing a free to play MMO first person shooter on the pc called Planetside-2, which is really worth trying out if you like FPS gaming. It's unusual because you play as part of a massive army of other players.
 
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