charlestheoaf on 24/2/2009 at 09:04
I like to play games while winding down for the night, and I could use a few suggestions :) A lot of games seem to be either too intense to relax, or end up being relaxing...but boring.
Something that's not super tense, but still gives you plenty of gameplay throughout.
Some games I know that would fit the criteria:
) Thief.
) Longest Journey series: The setting, story, art and characters really drew me in, though for any other game I'd complain about the amount of dialogue.
) Chronicles of Riddick. Not too fast paced, and very immersive.
) Star Wars: Republic Commando: Not difficult, so I didn't feel strained. Just nice cheesy squad-based fun with some cool gadgets.
) Stalker, so long as I avoided certain scary areas :) Great atmosphere.
) Vampire: Bloodlines. Dialogue was interesting (at least as a Malkavian :D), and the exploration/roleplaying aspect was fun.
) Portal
) Eternal Darkness: great story and presentation, interesting variety, kept me wanting to play until the end. It was challenging, but only got really tense in those special moments.
) (
http://www.blendogames.com/) Gravity Bone: my only wish is that it was longer.
) (
http://nifflas.ni2.se/index.php?main=02Knytt_Stories) Knytt Stories: just great.
icemann on 24/2/2009 at 09:28
Any Leisure Suit Larry game. Definately fits the criteria.
Sulphur on 24/2/2009 at 10:22
Looks like you've got a rather flexible definition for 'relaxing', Charles. Riddick, Stalker, and Eternal Darkness? :weird: (I certainly wouldn't say playing Riddick or Stalker made me relaxed. They were lots of fun, though. And the latter half of Portal certainly wasn't relaxing, at least not to me.)
You'd probably like Silent Hill 2 plenty. It's also tense only in 'special' situations, has a great story and some interesting puzzles, but doesn't have much 'variety', as such.
Oblivion is also great for a traipse around the countryside, it's quite beautiful and isn't a terribly difficult game.
Psychonauts is also great, it's consistently funny, keeps slapping you with more and more amazing level design once you get past the first hour, is a joy to play and just fool around, and isn't too hard (except for the infamously infuriating bit at the end).
EDIT: Oh yeah, and Okami, too. Definitely play that. Beyond Good & Evil might also fit the bill.
Matthew on 24/2/2009 at 14:22
Pirates!, perfect for a quick game before bedtime.
Malleus on 24/2/2009 at 15:19
Have you tried Stalker: Clear Sky? It's more 'relaxing' than the first (if you call that relaxing :) ), there are less scary parts and if you play smart you can be neutral to most of the factions in the game, which makes a good potential for walking around, exploring, sightseeing, etc. There are still lot of shooting of course, but I found myself enjoying taking up small tasks, walking around, searching for stashes and hunting for artifacts.
Volitions Advocate on 24/2/2009 at 17:46
I found Mass Effect to be very immersive and a game world I could get lost in. Tons of dialogue and it was very cinematic.
I never played KOTOR so I have no gripes about how 'samey' it may or may not have been.
