Gaming

Minecraft. It's just a nice game to get lost in.

I haven't seen anyone mentioning this gem:

Vampire Survivors

Try not to have an overly rosy retrospection about this. There were plenty of crappy, cash-grabby games in decades past. We just don't remember them because they were crappy, cash-grabby, and not worth remembering. They hadn't invented microtransactions yet, but that's just one more flavor of crappiness.

Journey and Flower

I can always go for a game of Age of Empires 2. That game takes me back to my childhood.

MH Rise (Lance for tank mode) - fighting Melvor - idling Disney Dreamlight Valley - collecting Hardspace Shipbreaker - dismantling

For me, it’s always Ocarina of Time. The music always improves my mood and there is something oddly comforting about the game.

OpenTTD is my happy space. It's relaxing to just hop in and start building some railroads.

I have a few, Skyrim is my biggest one. I basically maladaptive daydream Skyrim. If I'm feeling bad I play through it in my head. Some others are No Mans Sky, Vampire Survivors, and generally pixel games are always really comforting to me. I also like to go back and play dragon fable sometimes when I need some nostalgia.

Jump Ultimate Stars.

Deus Ex, Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines, and Cyberpunk 2077. Like you said, they are games I like to get lost in, just walk/drive around in, soak in the ambience. I like to pretend I'm there; it's a great escape, like you said, comforting.

For me it's No Mans Sky. I love flying around and checking different planets, it's kind of calming for me.

Anyone of my simulation/management games. Whether it's running a hospital, creating an auto manufacturing assembly line or helping some brave adventurers find oxygen I'm always more at peace with a single player goal driven experience.

No Man's Sky is a good mix of nice scenery, low stress, and engaging without requiring a lot of mental capacity that can be comforting.

Morrowind and Mario Maker 2.

TES Oblivion and Sonic Adventure 2. SA2 was a childhood favorite I got very good at, and the extra mission, game modes, and pet sim aspects makes it fairly re-playable without having to start a new game file. Oblivion is just whacky and fun, and if you know how to exploit mechanics you can get up to some pretty crazy stuff in a matter a minutes after starting the game. While grinding skills could be seen as... Well a grind, it's a grind I personally enjoy. Both games let me dive straight into what I'm feeling like doing, and reward mastery (even if one of them is cheese mastery).

Stardew Valley is amazing for this. Minecraft was it for years and years, but Stardew is just like a nice hug. I adore it.

Hogwarts Legacy has also fallen into this category for me now.

Euro Truck Simulator/American Truck Simulator

It quickly just becomes a virtual road trip simulator, and as someone who generally enjoys driving and road trips its very chill

Chrono Trigger. Always feels like being home with old friends. A joy every time I playthrough

Stardew Valley is my go-to. I found Firewatch really easy to get lost in too.

Unraveled (Unraveled 2 is great for 2 players, too), and Hue. Then there's always Slayaway Camp. All good on Steam Deck as well.

But those are for the times when I'm not addicted to RL.

Oddly enough I go through phases where I just level up a character on WoW. It's mindless for me and I can just zone out and watch TV while playing.

I could (and have) spent hours in Valhiem just noodling around surviving as a Viking

I'm surprised Katamari Damacy hasn't been mentioned yet. Both that game and its sequel, "We Love Katamari," have been remastered in recent years (in fact, the sequel just came out last week) and they're a joy to play.

The game has all that OP mentions... Quirky art style, awesome music, simple tactile gameplay, and just overall a relaxing and fun time.

Star Wars: Racer - I know every track by heart at this point, have it on my Switch and still play quite a bit. Amazing flow state game.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 - absolute classic and the nostalgia I get from playing is unmatched

Age of Empires 2 - the music is just muah

KotoR - Best Star Wars game ever made next to Dark Forces 2 and Jedi Outcast

Tetris 99... somehow

It has been a while, but there was a time when, if I was feeling really anxious and almost panicky, a quick playthrough of Enter the Gungeon would chill me right out.

There are a lot of games I've spent a lot of time in, but none come close to Fallout New Vegas.

I left my heart in the Sierra Madre.

Outer Wilds. But I already know everything that happens. So I prefer watching a stream/VOD of someone playing it for the first time.

Microsoft Flightsim for me. Pick a beautiful place, anywhere on Earth, and just explore. Even better if you do it in a glider: the only sound being the wind around you as you take in the view is incomparable.

The last couple of years my comfort games has been Ori and the blind forest and Ori and the will of the wisp.

Subnautica.

When I'm not running for my life from creatures trying to kill me then ambiance is actually very chill. Something about being in a giant ocean. Not to mention the soundtrack is pretty chill. And the environments are cool as heck!

Stardew Valley comes to mind right away, but I think it applies to all titles after you get the hang of it, with the exception of heavily RNG-based games like Risk of Rain 2, Hades, Dead Cells where you have to be alert almost all the time. Currently I'm enjoying playing Red Dead Redemption 2. Definitely a comfort game just riding your horse around.

Bloons TD 6. Just so incredibly addicting, and there's depth to the different monkeys and how they interact, especially when you think about all the upgrades.

Animal Crossing New Horizons. Extremely chill, no pressure to do anything in particular, just a very “go at your own pace” type of game.