Syoban Action in Mystery Dungeon mode (press the numeral '0' on the title screen). As long as you aren't concerned about actually making progress, and you get into a mindset where you don't get frustrated when you die or the game gives you an unsolvable level, this can be quite fun and relaxing. Remember, for this to be relaxing, you need to not concern yourself with actually winning the game.

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Nothing hectic.
Nothing with a story.
No sound.

Patience, Mahjong(Solitaire), or even any match-3-game.
Sudoku, Picross, or any similar puzzle.

if Im really stressed - as people above, games are the last things, I ll think about. But if its more about feeling uself terrible - then repetetive games with minimum amount of controls will do. Slay the Spire, out of recent, for example

Lumines Remastered has been a nice relaxing - zone out game; and more entertaining than tetris(for me).

Sadly it's only on steam at the moment but I have hopes.

Maybe not specific to stress, but I tend to play games as a way of quietly sorting through my emotions. I let the front of my mind focus on the task at hand while my subconscious works through things. I find that things that require method like platformers or puzzles work well for that kind of thing.

When I'm stressed, I find that a game like Civ IV or a city builder brings a sense of calm and peace. Especially a Civ game. (There's something therapeutic about dropping a nuke on an unsuspecting country. What that says about me, I probably don't want to know).

Mini Ninjas, canoeing gently down rivers.

The whole game is chill.

DEFCON might by your kind of game too ^^


To laugh I was used to play Team Fortress 2, the overall silly look and the nonsense are pure gold.

To destress I prefer 4 X games where you think carefully about strategies and enjoy to see your empire growing.
Also space games such as Frelancer, Starpoint gemini or X franchise are interresting.

Exploring space is a total relaxation for me... as much as blowing up enemy ships in colorfull nebulas !


N.B: Objects in Space is awesome too. Fixing your flying piece of junk has never been that funny.

No Man's Sky is a chill game.

Maybe spectating on twitch would be good. Something where you can observe and not get involved. I do go on warband at times to spectate and see how people are having fun whilst I whizz around my camera.

when I'm stressed out I listen to music!

Like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOMwO5T3yT4

Or you could find a 0-player game (or a game with a 0-player mode, like a multiplayer match with bots and no human players) and "play" that.

The Saints Row and Just Cause games are immensely silly and easy (well, at least from Saints Row 3 on), and full of lighthearted satisfactory kabooms. They're like sandbox cartoon explosions games. So, there's that.

Other than that, there are moments. Okay, Abzu has a reputation of being very soothing all along (haven't played it), but, for all the stress that Kerbal provides when you're unsure of how to reach orbit, there's the very calming moment (and music) where you just "escape" gravity, or hop around some low gravity planet. It's delicious.

Failing that, just launch Blade Runner and go chill on the balcony.

Also, once you leave the early baffled panicky discovery phase, Cultist Simulator is magnificent escapism.