After starting work, I feel so tired every day, so I just want to play some casual games. Recently, I’m playing survivor-like games like Vampire Survivors and Darkchaser. They’re simple and fun, but after a while, they get a bit boring. So, I’m looking for other casual game recommendations, preferably single-player games that can be paused at any time, like Plants vs Zombies. Thanks！
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A great auto-battler released just this year named The Gnorp Apologue!
Your role is relatively passive, but a little time investment is required for progress.
Available on PC, Steam (if you’re willing to pay), and android (through F-droid, not sure about play store or any of the others):
Shattered Pixel Dungeon. Run though randomly generated dungeon floors. Every 5th floor, fight a boss. I suck at it, so I’ve only gotten past the 2nd boss once, but that’s because I suck. Currently 5 different classes with a 6th in development (unless I’m wrong and it’s already out), each playing differently for the most part. You’ve got a warrior, rogue, huntress, mage, and duelist, with all but warrior being locked until you do easy enough requirements to unlock them for subsequent runs.
Can pause, exit, and come back to a run whenever during a run.
Available on PC and android (both F-droid and play store);
SuperTuxKart. Cart racer with a lot of fan made content like maps and carts. Has varying difficulties, but the lower the difficulty the lower the max speed in a race, if that matters to anyone else besides me. Not exactly full-on single-player since there is the option of online play, either against friends or random players if you find an open lobby.
Can pause pretty much any time offline but backing out makes you have to restart a race from the beginning. Same thing applies to the multi-race cup things.
Jumping off Vampire Survivor I highly recommend Halls of Torment! Similar vibe, easier, very satisfying. The aesthetic is very similar to Diablo 1 but with vampire survivor gameplay. I’m in love with it
Balatro. Can get it on your phone, Switch, Steam Deck. It’s the poker-based rougelite. Sounds weird, but it works, and super easy to pick up for a hand or two and then back to work.
My only complain about Balatro and being available in multiple media is that (AFAIK) the progress doesn’t sync, does it?
If I were to buy it I’d get it for mobile.
Dredge has been one of my favourites. Just be aware that the game starts harder than when it ends.
I tried playing it last night, and I really reaaaaally wanted to play through it. It’s really fun and original, but boy, does it stir up some primal fear in me when the fog rolled in. Also, it doesn’t help that murky water and things in said water just absolutely fuck me up. So, needless to say, I can’t play it unless I have people around me because my anxiety goes from 0 when I’m fishing and 100 when it gets spooky.
I played through My Friend Pedro over the weekend when I had a few hours to chill. I can’t promise that it’ll keep you preoccupied for long but I really enjoyed it
UFO 50
If you enjoyed arcade or NES style games
Enter the Gungeon is another good bullet hell game. Slay the Spire if you like deck building. Both easy to pick up and stop.
Gungeon is not casual though, one of the hardest games I’ve played!
Balatro in addition to Slay the Spire, gaming crack (and game of the year).
Try some cozy games, like Animal Crossing, or any of the dozens of other farming / crafting games. If you want 3D, Slime Rancher is a good option in this category.
Destide has already mentioned Stardew Valley, which is also a great choice.
You can also try some not-difficult side-scrolling game, like Rayman Legends, it has some difficult levels, but most of the game is very chill.
Factorio, it can be casual, but eventually it will steal your sleep
factorio is not casual. now that i have space age, I actually haven’t played because i know ill be sucked in.
Stardew valley just the most super comfy game I’ve ever played.
I tried liking this game but its just not my taste.
Time Management: The Game
Probably the most valuable IRL skill you can learn in a game. Or you can just chill and fish for a whole year, no one’s gonna judge you.
Project Highrise might fit the bill, it’s pretty relaxed and lasts forever.
I’m going to give a possibly controversial opinion. But my favorite casual game to play is Rogue Legacy.
If you accept that you know you’ll die a lot, it’s a lot less stressful. Outside of that, it’s extremely player friendly. It’s not too complicated. There’s progression. You have runs that end and give you a place to stop. You can turn it off anytime without needing to worry too much about losing progress. It has platforming.
This is how I learned to like shadowbane and elden ring. Death is just a mechanic.
I love Rogue Legacy as a casual game. In the early game, it’s decidedly not cozy, due to missing mechanics and how common unwinnable rooms are.
Rogue Legacy 2 fixes these issues, and adds a ton of difficulty sliders, and can be tuned to be fantasticly cozy,
I kind of love the early game. If I see a particularly difficult room, usually it’s a treasure room and you can back out or take the challenge. The two real objectives are get gold or kill a boss.
RL2 feels a lot bigger and more dependent on longer marathon runs and more strategic builds. For me it’s still a lot of fun, but not nearly the same cozy feel. Plus there are other challenges that seem mandatory for progression. Having said that, I have not touched the difficulty sliders.
I asked a similar question quite a while back. What ended up feeling good for me from the recommendations was Oxygen Not Included surprisingly. I thought it would be too much but just trying to figure things out on my own was fun, and I found myself falling asleep to thoughts of plans for my colony. Surprisingly addictive and chill, maybe because I could pause and think anytime things started going wrong.
But I also gotta recommend Outer Wilds if you haven’t played it already. Exploration, mystery solving in a chill solar system environment. Go in blind is the best advice for that game but I found it super chill and relaxing.
I used to love this game but later I found myself optimising little things too much and my PC couldn’t keep up with a well grown colony
Yeah, for me I always end up starting a new colony after getting to rockets. It’s my brain that can’t keep up with the colony past that point
How has noone mentioned Powerwash Simulator yet. There is no pressure (pun not intended), you just walk around dirty scenes and start cleaning them. The amount of satisfaction this produces is incredible. This is mostly because the dirt is actually fairly accurate and washing does not feel like brushing dirt of where the only options is 100% dirt or 0% dirt. All of the intermediates and the complex geometry of the objects makes cleaning a really chilling experience.
I will also add both of the House Flipper games!
im not trying to be provocative
but have you ever considered actually cleaning things
you can get paid to do this
irl power washwers are fun
Yeah I can see that, but currently that’s not a viable line in my career to take
ah well then laddie you just tell me when youre ready to man the old washer
theres always work down the shipyard for ye
Same could be said for any game. The value mostly of a game is the controlled progression with little impact. If I go start power washing the driveway and then stop at a moments notice to go take a shower and head to work I’m gonna leave a giant mess laying around and a half done driveway.
so, uh… it really couldnt be said of any game at all… the idea that the game makes it better than real power washing because you can stop at any time with out leaving a half finished driveway is cracking me up dude i love it
Same could be said for any game.
No. No, it really couldn’t.
Instead of playing games, go outside, touch grass, undergo the series of organ implantations that are required to become a Space Marine. The only thing holding you back is yourself.
