Splatoon. Don't ask why, I don't know. My gf calls it "yelling at 12 year olds"

But seriously it's like watching your own team score against you in soccer ;___;

I think I understand what you mean lol.

Lately for me it's been: Mass Effect legendary edition, Mount & Blade 2, Crusader Kings 3, Dishonored 1 and 2, and Hitman 3.

Skyrim was my chill game for years, but now I'd say Elder Scrolls Online. Everyone I know who plays ESO is super non-competitive and chill. It's just got a great vibe.

Forza and Rocket League

I play high intensity first person shooters, mostly Battlefield, to unwind.

The faster paced the better because it allows me to escape.

It used to be I’d get so worked up over competitive games. I had to be doing PvE to relax. Not so any more.

Weirdly, this happened after I had a completely horrible medical experience that left me with permanent (figurative) scars on my nervous system. Like, I still have stress problems four years after the event.

But at that moment, suddenly competitive games became refreshing to me.

Caves of Qud is something I love to relax with. It's full of stuff to explore and you can take your time since its turn based. I don't even mind so much when I die, because you get to create a completely new weird mutant and try again.

Slay the spire

Elder Scrolls Online for me.

I’ve gotten really into Grand Theft Auto San Andreas for unwinding after a long day. Something about the low poly graphics while I can just be a menace in the game feels right.

Minecraft. Sky Factory 3 - a void world modpack. Nothing exists without my having created it. I can allow mobs to spawn on my platform or not, depending on how I feel.

Cities Skylines 2 has been great for this. Just log in and tinker with your city! Very relaxing creative problem solving..

Brotato

Age of Empires 2 custom games. Can't beat a classic, and you can save whenever you're done

Stardew valley and/or kerala space program.

Recently got back into my childhood favorite, Simcity 2000.

It's just a classic for me. Amazing city builder with a chill soundtrack. Super rewarding planning out your city and watching it develop across the map. And it's super stress free if you just play with disasters off

Oxygen Not Included. - !oxygennotincluded@lemmy.world

Just started a new colony yesterday because an update was released with new tools and content. The colony I was playing up until that point was almost 3000 cycles old.

Dead Cells. I can just... Zone out and go. It's really cathartic, and if I do particularly bad during a run, I just... Die and start over. You don't lose anything you've gained, (unless you pick something up in a biome and don't make it to the exit), and each run is practically a new game that requires nothing to learn it. It's my Zen game.

Apart from trackmania which was already named it's certainly slay the spire. I often do both TTD and the daily in sts. If I didn't always end up trying to go for sub 35min points it'd actually be relaxing probably.

Any of the building/management games like Factorio or Dyson Sphere Program or RimWorld. You can definitely make those games extremely challenging (speed runs, achievements, ultra hard modes/challenges). But for me they're cozy games where I can chip away at a small project or part of a larger project, like, I don't know, slowly building a scale model or something.

World of Warcraft Retail.

The Hunter: Call of the Wild. I have nothing to do with hunting. I'd never thought a hunting simulation could be my type of game, but putting headphones on and running through the woods is so relaxing.

I've just started Snake Pass and it's a no bullshit old-style puzzle platformer (think PS1 platformers such as Croc, Crash Bandicoot or Rayman) with a unique movement mechanic that feels very chill. There's little in the way of worldbuilding though

Dwarf Fortress.

Theme Hospital.

The Sims.

Games that I can mostly play hands off.

burnout paradise. I'll just put on a podcast and drive around. Sometimes I'm seeking out races, or new best times on roads. Sometimes I'm just driving around more or less obeying traffic laws like a reasonable citizen.