I would like to play a calm game
Dear community,
I'm looking for a similar (calm) game like Portal 1/2 or Firewatch that I can play on macOS with a similar vibe. The last time I played a game is years ago, and I wish I had at least once a week a nice single-player game that I can play 1-2 hours. =)
I enjoyed Portal because I had to plan out what I'm doing before I act (without being pressured to act), the atmosphere of the game was legendary and I liked that little robot following me. Firewatch had a calm amazing story, there was no 'action' but sometimes that feeling that something could happen. It was a nice exploring game.
Any ideas?
Update: Thank you for your input!
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Surprised no one's suggested Stardew Valley yet.
This was my recommendation. It's as stressful as you want it to be.
FARM HARDER!
It can either be chill or (in the caves) a stressful race against the clock to get down levels and fight (in the beginning) :D
Games similar to portal:
Similar to Firewatch:
Other stuff that might interest you that I haven't seen already recommended:
No idea if any of those work on Mac though. If you have an intel based mac you can use bootcamp to dual boot windows, and unlock maaaaany games.
Another game thats similar to firewatch imo is "What remains of Edith Finch"
Animal Crossing is another good adition to the list.
Absolutely not playable on Mac, though. But other than that, a 10/10 recommendation.
Manifold Garden was great.
No Mans Sky is my chill game.
Sometimes I just build an outpost near animals, sit in my chair, and watch the world turn
A Short Hike
The Outer Wilds
Tunic
Exploration focused games that are pretty calm (for the most part). They are some of my personal favorites. I recommend not looking up much about them (especially Outer Wilds and Tunic. Learning mechanics from gameplay is part of the game for those two). Tunic is probably the most action oriented of the lot, (like old Zelda games) and it leans hard on the puzzle aspect, so if that's not your favorite then it might not be for you.
The outer wild is NOT chill though.
Different strokes. I found it incredibly relaxing to fly around in my spaceship exploring. I can think of one specific planet that's not very chill, but the rest were.
Without spoiling too much, maybe the time pressure gets to you? For me it's long enough that I don't really feel it for most of the game.
Did you perhaps mistake it for the other wotlds? That is a game which is definitely not chill. For wilds, I can't say.
Tunic is fantastic, but not that chill. Its kinda "souls-lite" So much dying, though punishment is minimal.
Night in the Woods is mostly chill with some spikes of excitement. It is a good match for A Short Hike along multiple axes but I'd recommend caution as it dips into melancholy and mental health issues.
yeah, in retrospect, Tunic probably shouldn't be on this list. I was fondly remembering the puzzles and exploration and less so the souls-like combat challenges.
Tunic is, however, fantastic, and should be played.
It does have a somber feel to it and I at least found that the combat mostly got out of the way at a certain point. Not trivial but getting there.
You are looking for cozy games or walling simulators.
Honestly I don't know what's on macos, but a quick search: stardew valley, my time on portia (i recommend sandrock if it's available), slime rancher. For exploration: The Stanley Parable, Life is Strange.
This is what I'm looking for! :) Thank you
Life is strange was a fun series for me and my SO. We're glass we played the oldest ones first, too.
Do you like civilization or other "builder/planner" style games, like Cities Skylines, or Surviving Mars. Raji was kind of fun and laid back, too.
Yes to all except Outer Wilds.
I love OW but it is not a game to recommend to someone who explicitly says they want a game with no time pressure. Time pressure is literally a core mechanic.
You are correct good thinking
I was about to recommend specifically OW because I played in 1-2 hour sessions per week over many months (not every week). I left the game open with the PC sleeping quite a few times to avoid losing my current run (and each time a blackout happened lol) however I did my fair share of silly stuff and didn't feel pressured.
The span of time pressure is so long though you barely even notice it. And because it's a core mechanic, it's mostly inconsequential and doesn't really feel stressful for me.
Portal 2 has two community made "Valve Quality" DLCs. "Portal Stories: Mel" and "Portal: Revolution". Mel seems playable on macOS at least. Revolution is basically a Portal 2 presequel. (It's also so long I would have payed for it.)
Suuuuper confused no one mentioned The Witness yet. Probably the best calm game of our time.
I wanted to like that, but I remember it being janky as fuck.
That's surprising. Maybe we have different interpretations of the word, because I couldn't find a single thing out of place with that game.
You'll definitely get stuck at parts, but the feeling of trying a solution and thinking there's no way it's this... and then it is that! You go from feeling dumb to smart so fast.
I just came here to suggest this. It's a great game.
Yeah but it's puzzles are hardcore. I really struggled with this.
For an even more chill time, there’s The Looker
I guess it takes a certain type of thinking muscle not everyone enjoys stretching.
Me too. I enjoyed it but reached a point where I just couldn't figure out how to proceed. Must go have and have another go sometime.
It's 100℅ a notebook game, preferably with graph paper. But it's absolutely not a casual game — you really have to study the puzzles
The Witness is polarising. People either think it's incredible, or they think it's dogshit. There is no in between.
(I am in the latter camp, sorry)
Monument Valley?
That would be a game I'd plan on my phone =)
Talos Principal 1 and 2. They are also story based puzzle games. I'm not sure I'd Talos 1 remaster or 2 are on Mac but I'm sure the original one is, which still holds up.
A Short Hike! Play as a little bird, climbing a mountain, flying/gliding, talking to quirky characters. Beautiful pixel art. Also Fez.
Loved this game so much! I just wanted more after I finished. I'll have to look up the studio and see what else they've done.
Yes. I hope we someday get so many sequels to "A Short Hike"!
Edit: Since the protagonist is a Penguin, it just begs for "A quick swim."
A quick swim! 😂 I love it!
In addition to these, I would add Superliminal. Do not confuse it with Subliminal, that one is not chill 🤣
My kid mentioned subliminal and I was like "oh, I just bought that for you, check your notifications"
Nope, I got superliminal, which is awesome, didn't even know what subliminal was until he mentioned it. We're going to go see the backrooms here soon, looks amazing.
I would recommend Stray but it has some areas where you're running away from bad things for a bit.
Mostly it's just exploring and meowing though.
Viewfinder is good if you want a game where you need to figure out how to get through each level.
Amazing! Thank you!
Looks very cool
Eastshade is the chilliest game I know. Also great music.
Anything Myst too.
Dorfromantik is also relaxing.
Dorfromantik is excellent.
Blue Prince
Untitled Goose Game
Maybe try GRIS. It's a 2D platformer journey with amazing presentation.
What Remains of Edith Finch. If you liked Firewatch, you will like this one too. It's short, roughly 2 hours to complete, and I recommend you do it in a single sitting. And provide some tissues.
If you like eerie (but not scary) vibes, I also recommend Kentucky Route Zero
I was working as an HVAC installer when I played What Remains of Edith Fitch and I remember being really impressed when you go into the attic of the house and the developers modeled the air handler with all of the flex duct running to each room of the house. There aren't too many games with that level of detail for something most people playing it wouldn't even know about lol
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has similar vibes to What Remains of Edith Finch, so if you like that, try this.
You could check out "FAR: Lone Sails". It's a pretty chill game where you have a machine that you're sailing/driving through platforming actions to the right. It has cinematic feel and a kind of environmental plot, but I don't think there's any way to lose or anything...
And if you like it, there's a sequel "FAR: Changing Tides" that is very similar, but longer and with a more complicated machine to manage.
I could see people being bored with it, there are "puzzles" but they're super light, but maintaining the machine scratches something within me.
Minecraft on easy mode can be a good calm game with friends, let's you build and explore together without much pressure.
Not to mention there are plenty of mods that you can add to make it more tuned to how you want it.
Jumping on this to add Hytale if you're looking for pseudo successor to MC
I enjoy calmer games most times I'm gaming so I have a lot. The genre I most like is puzzle games, but there are a few exploration/ walking simulators here, too. Among the games already listed, there are:
Terra Nil. It's about rehabilitating a devastated ecosystem..
Also I'd just like to say that I hate Wheatley. He's such a slimy, manipulative little dullard. He let nearly everyone in the Relaxation Vault die through incompetence, decided to run away from his failures, woke up GLaDOS, accused a mute woman of bossing him around, and nearly got everyone killed for a second time.
Also also, there's more Portal you haven't played yet. There are fanmade spinoffs that run as mods to the original game, with new stories, characters, lore, voice acting, and puzzles.
Portal Stories: Mel is a 6/10 spinoff about an Olympic athlete named Mel, who awakens from hibernation some time before Portal 2. It's in between the lengths of the original two games. It has a couple new interactions between existing mechanics, but the puzzles are kinda easy. Prepare yourself for a bad Cave Johnson impression.
Portal Revolution is an 8/10 spinoff about as long as Portal 2, which takes place after Portal 1 as Aperture is beginning to fall apart. The puzzles are a nice medium difficulty with one or two great head scratchers. It introduces a few new testing apparati, and there's an extended sequence with the single portal device where you need to think creatively. The characters are well written and well acted, and the boss fight is very cool.
Portal Reloaded is a 7/10 spinoff where you can shoot a third portal that lets you travel through time. It's very hard, and the story is almost nonexistent (at least as far as I've gotten). Play this one if you think the others are too easy.
The Aperture Science Paint Gun Initiative is, uh, bad, I've heard. This one replaces your portal gun with a gel sprayer. I haven't played it yet, I might skip it.
Thank you 😍
Gone Home is a lovely game, the story is a bit sad, and parts has a creepy vibe, but it is interesting and well worth a playthrough, it is more similar to Firewatch than Portal.
This was our first walking simulator trying to get the wife to play with us on the couch, teach her controls. Beautiful game.
Kid and I have been playing split Fiction, amazing btw. We just beat reanimal and wanted more. Wish little nightmares was multiplayer.
There it is! I was thinking I'd have to recommend it myself. I think it's the closest match to what OP is asking for.
Yes! I'm surprised I had to scroll this far to find "Gone Home" recommended. It's a quick great and pretty chill game!
The Entropy Centre is a largely Portal-inspired game that will require you to plan out what you're doing even more than Portal. (Note: there are a few chase sequences and a few battle ones that break this pattern.) And there's a cute robot called E, and your portal-gun-equivalent has an AI too. Basically, it's Portal but the AIs are friendly.
And then there's The Talos Principle series, which is even more like what you're looking for.
Nice! Thank you
Glad to help, and I hope you enjoy the games!
Escape Game Simulator - puzzles, no pressure, exploring encouraged.
Crime Scene Cleaner - no stress, but a little spooky, very relaxing
Slime Ramcher - turn off tarrs and explore. Breadcrumb story, great music and sound effects.
I really love Flower
https://youtu.be/0IS9sGGuvYo?t=0
The Talos Principle is amazing and the sequel is super good too. Devs recently came out with a remaster of the first game too.
Outer Wilds is a masterpiece, although it's not completely chill at all times (actually can be scary but only rarely and you can disable that too). But it's a really really really good game.
This. 👍
Dear Esther, walking sim with great soundtrack
The secret of monkey island, maniac mansion: day of the tentacle, Sam and max hit the road in scummvm, old school Lucas arts adventure comedy games
Kentucky route zero, adventure game making a delivery for an antiques shop with ghosts and bluegrass
Hardspace: Shipbreaker in sandbox/unlimited mode
Agreed. Without the shift timer the game is almost peaceful.
If you enjoy exploration and puzzles you may want to look into Talos Principle
holy crap they released portal 0.5? how is it?
Narbacular Drop? And it's pretty fun to be honest, quick indie game goodness! 😄
I really like Kingdom Two Crowns, especially the Nordic biome. It's pixel graphics so not for everyone, but so beautiful. The gameplay is repetitive but satisfying. There are enemies, but they're not that hard. It's beautiful
I can highly recommend Tinykin, no enemies, nice locomotion and controls
The first Kerbal Space program?
Timberborn?
Disco Elysium?
If you don't mind turnbased then a whole bunch of stuff.
One of my all-time favorites. Can't wait for Kitten Space Agency.
On my Steam wishlist, how is it?
KSP with mods is one of the all time best. Timberborn is oddly good, kinda chill city builder with beavers but if you don't balance your growth your beavers will die. Would recommend.
Remember that storage of basics like food and water are required. If you want to see how not to play, check out RCE Timberborners episodes 🙃
Gotta love the song for that series, and so many dead beavers.
I really enjoyed playing the Myst and Riven remakes. Definitely give them a shot. Especially Riven.
Factorio on peaceful settings is pretty calm
I heard Doom is a very peaceful game. You might wanna try that.
A very calm game in the same genre: Wolfenstein.
especially myhouse.wad
For context
MyHouse.WAD Inside Doom's Most Terrifying Mod
Or DOOM II
Space Sprouts: calm, cosy, whimsical, physics based.
Opus Magnum: machine-building puzzles loosely based on alchemical lore. The puzzle objectives tie into a story that is kind of just window dressing, but interesting enough.
Opus Magnum seems to be a nice game
It is nice. I'll try to come up with more recs later when I'm at my computer.
Portal Stories: Mel
Nice
Subnautica
This one easily veers into survival horror, for those of us with thalassophobia. But I also say that the people afraid of the ocean should play it, because that’s where the game truly thrives.
I recommend Timberborn. Also great and relaxing to watch someone like Zeddic play it.
Warning: Contains high amounts of wood.
Rime!! No one ever suggests it but it's such an amazing game. You can finish the story in 5-10 hours probably, but you'll be thinking about it far longer than that
no man's sky, always relaxes me after a tough day
The librarian Not a long game but it's calm
Unravel and Unravel Two are very cosy platformers.
Maybe a bit too calm, but I really enjoyed what I played of Wanderstop. It's from the dev of Stanley parable, with music from c418 of Minecraft fame. I haven't yet finished it because I got distracted by other games but it's a really peaceful game where you brew tea and gradually unravel a story about trauma and healing from it. Even without finishing the story I can highly recommend it because it's just so beautiful to look at and the core gameplay is simple but engaging. You're an arena champion who stumbles upon a tea shop while looking for respite from battle, and you farm ingredients to combine into different teas for other travelers who come across the tea shop.
That sounds peaceful ^
Transistor and Bastion are similar games that can be chill with combat.
Thomas was alone is a chill platformer with a nice story.
There isn't so much of the story elements, especially if you've tried Braid, but The Witness has endless intrigue and abstract puzzles. https://store.steampowered.com/app/210970/The_Witness/
OP are you using Crossover or similar to play portal? The native mac version of Portal doesn't support macOS newer than 10.14
If I remember correctly, I played Portal on Xbox 360 and an old macOS version
Gris is a nice, chill game with a really beautiful artstyle.
Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist
It's a short game, less than an hour, but fun.
Tiny Bookshop
cute
I love Valheim. It's a survival game set against a Nordic inspired background. It has several play modes and multiple world modifiers so you can tweak it to your playstyle. You can just chill by exploring the seas and its islands or go build a cozy base. It is also stunningly beautiful despite the modest graphics.
I just started this. It was calm until the Forest started attacking lol
At least the ground did not shake.
Ps2/3 Emulator and play Journey. It's really good
Journey is on Steam though and the multiplayer parts are important...
Flower too, maybe moreso. Both great games.
DayZ is 99.5% a calm hiking simulator where you get to enjoy the beautiful scenery and soundscape and 0.5% pure horror.
The Talos Principle (both of them, though the DLC for 1 is optional, and incredibly challenging). They're the best puzzle game I can recommend next to Portal. They do their own thing, and almost to the same level. The gameplay doesn't feel quite as smooth, but there's a lot it goes better than Portal too.
The Outer Wilds. It doesn't feel as chill to some people, but I think it is. Very tiny first ~20m spoiler that can help with being chill:
::: spoiler spoiler it's a time loop, so there are no consequences. Feel free to wreck your ship. It'll be repaired next loop. Feel free to mess around and die. You'll lose nothing. Don't be sucked into the idea you need to do things well or quickly, because it literally does not matter. The only thing that effects the next loop is what you learned. :::
Different genre, but I really like Transport Fever and Cities Skylines. Not a lot of action, but always something new that can still be optimized.
I do need to set an alarm clock to not be playing those the entire night though, so be careful.
Oxenfree - similar to firewatch
If factory games are up your alley, Factorio is also great. You can completely turn off the enemy forces/bugs and just build stuff. They have native ports for Mac, along with every other OS, and Nintendo Switch!
How about a nice game of Global Thermonuclear War?
Or maybe just tic tac toe.
I was always more fond of Chess, or Guerrilla Engaugement for a calm evening at home.
uhm, I'd prefer tic tac toe then
You need to go watch an 80's movie with Matt Broderick in it called WarGames.
What Remains of Edith Finch is fantastic!
It is fantastic, but OP should be sure to check some spoilers. It is also horrific.
Yeah that's a good point
Subnautica, factorio with enemies turned off (or pollution).
Night in the Woods touches on a lot of similar ideas as Firewatch, but from a different angle. One of the GOAT games for sure.
If you want portal but different I can't recommend antichamber enough. Also the community made portal games like revolution are pretty good.
Palia is also nice to play on and off if you don't care about missing limited edition drops. If you're prone to FOMO, then maybe pass.
Project Zomboid is super peaceful if you turn off the zombies. The game's sandbox settings are super expansive, so you can play pretty much any way you want.
I love me some Echochrome.
I’ll 2nd the Talos Principle. It’s my favorite game ever. Not for replayability but the gameplay is just that good.
Also if you like exploring, the Mudrunner games or Snowrunner would be fun. It’s a trucking simulator.
This is exactly what I want
Soma
Fuck you lol
I love Dog Pile for this
I know you said MacOS, but if you ever get the chance, Che k out Eastshade. It's the most relaxing, lovely, fun little game I have ever played.
Thank you
Passage
or
Robotfindskitten
are a couple of zen micro-games.
For a larger game, Beneath a Steel Sky has a robot who follows you around cracking jokes.
Not sure about Mac support but I suspect Outbound checks most / all of your boxes?
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2681030/Outbound/
Could just run it through Crossover.
My current favorite calm game is Shapez 2. A pure factory building game.
minecraft, bloons td 6, balatro
Farewell North
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1432850/Farewell_North/