Gaming

I haven't seen anyone mentioning this gem:

Vampire Survivors

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

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

Morrowind and Mario Maker 2.

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.

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

Outer wilds. The music is so pretty, and going back to it after you've explored it all feels like being on your childhood playground again. Sometimes now I just go out into space and watch how the planets move.

Journey and Flower

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

Tetris 99... somehow

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

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.

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

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

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

Im gonna be "that guy" and say dark souls 1. Subsequent playthroughs of the game are surprisingly relaxing, when you know where everything is and you're just putting together a build and steamrolling bosses.

As others have already touched upon, I think the Zelda series is masterful (pun semi-intended) at this.

I can't count how many times I've replayed through Ocarina of Time just to relax and vibe. These games really excel at creating little moments of catharsis.

I used to spend hours in OOT just hanging around Kakariko or Lon Lon Ranch or soaking in the ambiance of the Forest Temple.

Or hanging outside the Stock Pot Inn in the morning, waiting for it to open in Majora's Mask.

Or floating around on the Great Sea in Wind Waker.

Or taking Marin down to the beach in Link's Awakening.

And so on, up through the BotW/TotK era.

At the moment I'd probably say: Minecraft, Celeste, Vampire Survivors, Hollow Knight, and the Valve single-player games like Half-Life 1/2 and Portal 2.

Super Mario kart and the original doom. I can play either of those games at any point and always have fun. There are newer games in both of those series, and I do love them too, but if I want some comfort gaming it's the originals for me.

Trackmania 2020 is great!

I'm probably the only one left still obsessed with Nidgogg 1.

Slay the Spire for me. Got all the characters to A20 with multiple heart wins, 700+ hours in across phone and steam deck, still having a blast with every run. The awesome thing is that every run is so distinct, every card in the game can be good in the right scenario.