Hey Nudi, sorry to hear you've gone through bad times.
I've played games like BIT.TRIP Runner, Race The Sun, FTL, Little Inferno, LEGO games, Human Fall Flat (these last two are especially fun with friends/family) and Unravel when I've been a bit stressed out, I can try to expand this list if you want.
I hope you keep feeling better!
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I don't do multiplayer games, but you've reminded me that I have Race the Sun sitting unplayed on my shelf, and Little Inferno I've started but not completed, so thanks for that. I like FTL as well, but I'd put that more in the "nice to play" category than "makes you feel good". I mean, I know we're nominally saving a ragtag fleet from extinction, but that's a bit abstract. :-)
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Yeah, I understand where you're coming from. To me it's one of those games where travelling through space makes me feel good and I don't really care about the outcome (which most of the time is dying to the boss since I've never beaten the game once D:).
EDIT: The multiplayer games I mentioned above are also singleplayer, just in case I didn't clarify that.
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Are they any good single player, though? Most multiplayer/co-op games I've seen specifically only shine when played with humans, since the AI is either incompetent, or just no good because it can't laugh along with you. There are exceptions, of course, but mostly when the multiplayer's a separate mode (like in Portal 2).
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Yes, Human Fall Flat can be a singleplayer experience without any trouble (other than you'll spend more time doing the puzzles by yourself) and LEGO games have an AI companion (who would be Player Two, but since you're playing alone it will follow you) that you can switch to anytime pressing a button on your keyboard/gamepad, but it doesn't deprive you of the experience on either of those games.
On the LEGO games, I'd like to recommend the older ones since they're the ones with silly humor and no voice dialog. I believe in the latest ones they've been including voices from the movies/games/comics they're based on (starting from the Lord of the Rings game and forward), but that's just me, you could enjoy the newer ones more.
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You should do multiplayer games. Anyways, Play Final Fantasy Crisis Core, Mafia: City of Lost Heaven, Dont Escape 1 & 2, Stick War 1 & 2, Sonny 1 & 2, Echoes - Operation Stranglehold, The Sims 2?, Max Payne 1 & 2?, Deadlight? This War of Mine?, Ori and the blind forest?, Pokernight at the inventory 1 & 2?, Rochard?, Streets of Rage 1, 2 and 3?, Sonic 1, 2,3, Generations?, Tales From the borderlands?, Wolf Among us? The Walking Dead? Telltales Game of Thrones? Dead Frontier: Outbreak 1 & 2? You have to save a very special someone https://www.kongregate.com/games/JaggedBladeSoft/dead-frontier-outbreak
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This War of Mine, really? I mean, if there's one game I've studiously avoided as likely to increase any latent depression to crippling levels, it's a game that's going to remind me of how awful war is at every turn, in exactly the ways it's awful in real life. I think I already have a pretty good handle on that...
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It has good moments though, if you do well, youl feel better for your survivors, the music is good too, more on the positive side.
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Having played it a bit, I'd have to agree with you, Nudi. I had a friend ask me if it was fun, and I didn't quite know what to say. O_o
While I think it's an excellent game and can be rewarding in its own way, "fun" or "feel good" are not words that I'd use to describe it.
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Off the top of my head: Bastion, What Remains of Edith Finch, Abzu, Firewatch.
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What Remains of Edith Finch is basically a game about the futility of everything, I wouldn't recommend it in such a situation. Firewatch mystery revealed is just way too sad.
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+1 for Bastion
I enjoyed that game. It was very well done.
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Maybe Max: The Curse of Brotherhood
I wouldn't really say "substantial", it's not a very deep story, but it's rather uplifting.
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I'd say Bastion, Valiant Hearts, Journey and Shadow of the Colossus (PS), Okami, Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons-
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I've played Brothers, which is awesome, but I don't know if I'd put that in the "feel good" category. More like the "feel a lot" category, but it's bittersweet at the very best... without going into spoilers.
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A few of the games I've put there are like "bittersweet", but, you see, everyone of them leaves the player with a ray of hope in that bitterness. Also, Bastion is a very melancholic game, but again...it just make you feel. And hope.
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I'll have to politely yet firmly disagree with you in the case of Brothers. I mean, your brother dies and the only "hope" you have is that your father doesn't, which is a pretty low bar as far as success goes, since preventing his death was what we were going for in the first place. I haven't played the rest, so I can't judge those.
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could you please tell me how to hide the text? I'd like to explain myself whitout making any spoilers
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Spoilers go by enclosing them in tildes,
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Thanks :)
It's not "hope". It's more like "life goes on", and we have to find something to keep going for. At the end, while the father kneels in front of the tomb of the older son, the younger one stands tall, without crying. And also, in one of the best moments of the game, he manages to swim alone.
But I see your point. Valiant and Shadow of the Colossus are quite like this one. Bastion is just melancholic, but there the message of hope is very strong: you spend the entire game trying to rebuild something that's gone.
Journey is just Journey, you have to play it to understand. It is simply beautiful.
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Unfortunately I don't own a console. Fortunately the list of console exclusives I actually want to play is short, so that's never felt like a big problem (and it's definitely never felt justified to buy consoles just for those handful of games), but it does make games like Journey inaccessible.
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Valiant Hearts is game with "the feels", for certain, and I highly recommend playing it, but I wouldn't call it a "feel good" game.
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Oh God, you had to mention Necrodancer. Like Super Hexagon (which I've now finally given up on, as the last level is just too much for my old man reflexes), it kicks my ass every time I pick it up for a round, yet it's too good not to pick up.
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Crusader Kings II (duh)
Edit: Serious answer, both Human Fall Flat and Overcooked! are a blast. Giggles for days.
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You can't feel bad when you play "A Hat in Time" because the game is made out of 100 percent positivity :)
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Thanks for reminding me that I actually have an as yet unused key for that.
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I think I'd actually advise to play Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. If you don't mind some pretty heavy emotions in the process, the result will be totally worth it.
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Not sure if it's a "feel good" title. Maybe it's just me, but when I finished, joy and happiness was not on my mind.
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It's literally about "everything is going to be alright" in the end. Sure, it's never about sunshine and butterflies, more about regaining the ability to live again, starting to be whole again, accepting the fact that one's actually got some future. It's about coming out of a heavy crisis (mental illness or not), and it's totally cathartic.Or maybe it's just me and my history of depression.
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(spoiler for others) Yes, the ending is about acceptance and moving on, but I am not sure I would characterize it the way you did. Plus the ending is - as far as I recall - the only uplifting moment of the game. It is cathartic, but perhaps my definition of a feel good game is a more bright and hopeful experience. Senua's Sacrifice is just a really dark story.
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Hnnnng, please tag your spoilers. Thematic stuff is important too, especially if the game is forboding and oppressive.
I haven't played it yet, and now I can't unread this.
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Like Brothers, that's another one where there's absolutely a lot of feels, but I'm not sure you end up in such a good place at the end. I mean, yes, you do fulfill a dying man's wish, in a sense, but it's tragedy central up to then, and at least one of the central characters will have died in a terrible emotional place with no chance for you to ever fix that.
Maybe it's just me, but I definitely didn't feel like doing cartwheels after completing To the Moon. I did feel like buying it on Steam just so I could put up a review, but that's another story. :-)
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I was rather frustrated with the ending of TTM (partly for the reason you mentioned), but I found the ending of Finding Paradise much more satisfactory
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If you have a PS3, PS4, or PSNow, you might want to check out Journey.
ABZU on Steam would be a good choice too.
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One of my favourite recent games is AER Memories of Old, there's no combat just exploration and light puzzling. But the best bit is the flying, you can turn into a bird and just fly around, I loved it! 😁
P.S. There're cute little lambs that follow you around! 😍
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The problem I have with games like AER is that it's $15 for a game you can finish in 4 hours with (by all accounts) no substantial gameplay. Those are hard sells for my inner cheapskate. I know this isn't always fair -- not every game is about challenging you for 6 weeks while you're beating all 64 levels, and doing them all while upside down with the controls reversed -- but at the same time it'd better be a damn good experience if the gameplay plays completely second fiddle to the story.
It's not even really about the money, since I could spend $15 every hour for the rest of this year and still not be in any financial trouble, but the psychological barrier is still there.
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I know what you mean, I was very disappointed AER was in one of the Humble Monthlies I skipped 😣
It's currently half-price on the Humble Store though 😉
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If you change your mind and want to play AER after all, send me a PM on steam and I'll give you my spare monthly key.
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Hyper Light Drifter is an amazing single player experience but it's far from feel good... unless you relish in despair! :D
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It's funny to see how they named half of my whishlist, in there :D
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Funny games are always good for cheering me up. Someting like DeathSpank, The Baconing or Sam & Max
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Depends on how you play, but Undertale is one of the warmest, most uplifting games I've ever experienced. I'll also suggest Seasons after Fall, a beautiful, comfy platformer, and second the charming Princess Remedy games.
Also, keep an eye out for Wandersong, which looks super cute and is supposed to release this year.
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I liked Undertale, but at the same time I felt the emotional payoff in the narrative was pretty hamfisted -- not quite "press F to pay respects", but close. Especially so against the background of the genocide route, which I really can't imagine anyone playing spontaneously. I have to admit I got a big smile out of some of the boss battles, especially Mettaton for being insanity and Asriel for "but it refused", but the "power of friendship saves the day" theme always feels a little cheap to me.
But this is turning into a critique of Undertale, which is not in the spirit of things. :-) I've put Wandersong on the follow list.
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Tacoma, Everything, Abzu. Maybe Epistory? Trying to think of games that have a more relaxed feel-good vibe to them. On my list of 'comfort' games, I'd also add The Station although it doesn't end on a happy note.
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Hey, I understand how you feel :)
Before making suggestions I just want to say, that I have not seen your game library or wishlist.
1.Life is strange, I played life is strange when I was sad and it helped me quite a lot. Characters are interesting and story will drag you in. Dialogue gets cringy sometimes, but thats what I like :D I have not played life is strange before the storm, but I hope one day I will get my hands on it as well.
- AudioSurf and AudiSurf 2. Perfect if you want to listen to some songs, but do not want to stare at your pc screen while doing so :)
3.Through out the woods. Horror game, but with amazing concept and atmosphere. You might not like it, if you do not like horror games. But this one is kinda light horror.
Hope you will get better, and I hope that my suggestions helped. Peace ! :)
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Life is Strange is still on my "to complete" list -- I've had the ending spoiled, and although I don't know everything that happens, I've not been very motivated to complete it. I suppose I should just get it over with one day. Having had the ending spoiled, though, I'm skeptical this belongs on any "feel good" list -- since you're going to choose to have people die, one way or the other.
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True, but I feel better when I feel something and this ending really gives you a lot of emotions.
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While there are definitely moments in Life is Strange that can feel horrible (and, like you, I had the ending spoiled for me. However, I still played the game and loved it. The only reason I stopped in the final Episode is that I don't want it to end!), there are moments that can totally make you feel awesome.
One big example is when you are able to prevent Kate from committing suicide by talking her down from the literal edge. I felt so happy, as I had grown to like her as a character quite a bit, and I didn't want her despair to beat her. While she is still in a fragile state, your friendship with her gave (and gives) her the strength to go on.
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Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 and 3 immediately spring to mind. Even when their stories reach their darkest points the games still seem to radiate positivity. (I don't keep spamming giving those two away over and over for no reasons, y'know.)
Another absurdly cheerful game is Rabi-Ribi though the difficulty might give some people different emotions... ^_^'
Hmm, what else... I feel like the ultimate answer is right at the tip of my mind... ah, right- Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale... if you want un-stoppable cheerfulness and soul band-aids this one is the biggest answer.
Hmmm, accidentally all the ones I mentioned are anime games... Hold on, I'll try to think of a western game that gives me that feeling and isn't just total violence or dark as heck... I dunno... Wait, ok, I got one- Reus. Also, Dustforce for a super relaxing-style experience... but, again, difficulty might get in the way for some. Yeah, that should do for the non-anime games. :D
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For some reason, JRPGs are my kryptonite. I've not yet played one I didn't dislike. This is true even for the classics that are pretty much universally lauded, like Chrono Trigger. (Although I'll readily admit CT has an amazeballs soundtrack.)
I've played Recettear (well, the demo), but the main game loop (capitalism, ho!) didn't appeal to me, so I didn't get to see much of the story.
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If you don't mind point-and-click adventure games with some puzzles, I recommend Syberia (the game begins with a quite grim scene funerals, but don't let this scare you, the finale is positive and inspiring) and Machinarium (and other Amanita games). Have a nice weekend and get better.
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I've started Syberia but not finished it yet. It didn't strike me as the kind of game with a happy ending, so it's good that you mention it.
I tried Machinarium but really couldn't get into it. I don't remember exactly why it frustrated me, but I remember it did. It was probably either the controls or the puzzles (or me) being too obtuse.
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This is surprisingly hard... I guess most games I love are dark -- or even worse, start out cheery and fluffy, and then surprise you turning really dark... But I guess I can make a list of games I like and are mostly cheerful, let us see.... What about...
- Portal + Portal 2 (The humor might be considered dark by some, but it is very funny).
- World of Goo (I mean, check its title song!).
- Trine
- Crypt of the Necrodancer (I saw your answer below -- indeed, it is worth it!)
- Steamworld Heist
- Botanicula (and all stuff from Amanita -- Samorost, Machinarium, etc.)
- The Last Tinker
- King Oddball (very superficial, think "mobile", but I found it oddly charming... probably the music again)
- Hiveswap
- Battleblock Theater
Honorable Mention: Joining Hands 1 and 2 (not on PC, it is a mobile game)
Fair enough, they are not exactly substantial, but they did cheer me up when I played them.
Cheers!
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I agree that World of Goo is fantastic, and it has a fantastic soundtrack that I'd even call uplifting, and everyone should play it.
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Furi, recently updated to make everyone available to finish the game. Singleplayer game with a hidden meaning that you can only understand when finishing the game.
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Child of Light
Refunct
Maybe Saints Row 4? The superpowers make it superfun even if you just mess around
Memoranda - a point and click game with surrealistic ideas and settings and awesome art and music
SUper House of Dead Ninjas maybe, a fast-paced reverse-towerclimb game with unlockables and stuffs. Fast, but rewarding and really accurate.
I personally barely played these games but they were super engrossing based on their played parts:
- Sunless Sea (slow-burning, dark, but lore-heavy, pulls one in
- Oxenfree - superb voiceover quality, it's a joy to listen to
These are the ones that come to my sleepy head.
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Sunless Sea would be somewhere way down below on my list of feel good games, along maybe with Darkest Dungeon.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the whole Lovecraftian atmosphere and games that use it (especially when coupled with the kind of awesome writing Sunless Sea has), but if it makes you feel better it's only because you're happy you're not living in those universes. I feel we should be able to do better on the feel good front than "at least I wasn't driven tortuously insane by things man was not meant to know". :-)
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Haha, totally :D There is just something very calming (and something that helps me focus) in games that have the "we're in mighty shit, but we're together in it and we need to work together" type of games, even if that is about a smallish crew on a gothic horror subterranian sea :D Not a surprise that this is not a supercommon approach of these games.
Checked my finished games and found these:
Morphopolis was a nice mix of hidden object and P&C game
In some way the Viscera Cleanup games - afaik it's just cleaning, haven't seen anything scary, even though levels are covered with viscera and lbood and gore :D
Zenge TOTALLY! and Hook. Maybe Klocki.
While it can get fast and frantic (can balance it out with ingame mechanics) Cook, Serve Delicious 1-2
Cooking Academy Fire and Knives (like the Cooking Mama games - though it would be better with a touchscreen)
Leo's Fortune
Musaic Box
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I've been going through a rough patch lately. Now now, don't get up, I know you're just overflowing with emotion right now, but go hug the nearest puppy to work that out or something. I'm good right now, I'm good.
However, it got me thinking about games that could offer some chicken soup for the soul, so to speak. There's plenty of books and movies that can lift your spirits when you're in a receptive mood, but what about games? I'm specifically looking for games that, when you play them, or possibly even just when you complete them, make you feel like everything's going to be alright after all, that you did a good thing. No, I don't mean the deep satisfaction you get from making four lines in Tetris, or refraining from brutally murdering someone in GTA even though you could have, I mean something a little more substantial.
Any ideas? Any games that do that for you, even if it's unconventional? I'm not saying I'll play any of it, but I do love making little lists regardless.
EDIT: to make it a little more specific, I'm looking for single player experiences. I know there are some great party/co-op/multiplayer games, but I don't have, or want, friends to play with.
EDIT: to make it even more specific, I noticed a few people have posted generic "I really like these games" lists. That's not quite what I was going for; I know there are lots of brilliant games and I've played quite a few, but far fewer games (even the great ones) actively create positive feels as part of the game itself, not just because it's fun to play or challenging.
EDIT: because it's my thread (MINE!) and because you might be interested, here's what I've got so far as games to possibly check out based on your suggestions. If it's not on here, it doesn't mean I thought your suggestion was bad, just that for whatever reason it didn't fit the theme, or maybe just that I haven't gotten around to it yet. You've produced a lot of titles, which is great.
Confirms (AKA I already played these games before and I agree):
Nopes (AKA honorable mentions, AKA I already know these aren't my thing, even if they might be for others):
The links go to the store, they are not giveaways. Just to clear up any understandable confusion. Don't think I'm not tempted to give them away.... Again, in some cases.
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