Everyone has that game that just hits different, for some reason. It’s impossible to quantify, you couldn’t explain why if someone asked, it’s just that game you know you can fire up when you’re having one of those days, and it’s going to help.
There are a huge variety of games that can do this for people, and they don’t necessarily all have to becozy, chill games. Some people get good vibes from building a nice place, other people get good vibes from doing everything in their power to not die. Regardless of your choice, the game that does this for you does reveal a little bit about you.
8Stardew Valley
Just Vibing In The Valley
Possibly the most “good vibes” game of all time, Stardew Valley is undoubtedly a comfort game for many people. And there’s good reason for it; it’s a game all about slowly finding yourself at home in a place that embraces you.
I don’t want to say that you’re vanilla if Stardew Valley is your comfort game, because that seems like an insult. It’s not! Vanilla is a popular flavor for a reason. When you look for comfort, you look for the open arms gesturing you in for a hug, and that’s possibly the best place to go.
7Skyrim
Chilling And Freezing, Both
I’m going to refrain from making the same old jokes everyone else makes about Skyrim re-releasing; the only thing that’s happened more times in human history than Skyrim re-releasing is someone making a joke about it.
Okay, I’m a liar, but I promise that’s the only joke I’ll make about it.
Skyrim is another pretty standard comfort game, but it comes from a different place than Stardew. Skyrim is a game full of adventure. It’s full of stakes. Skyrim isn’t a warm and cozy world, but it is a world that’s familiar as plenty of people’s entry into the larger gaming sphere. If this is your comfort game, you might just be longing for simpler times.
6Minecraft
Things Are What You Make Them
Minecraft is an easy entry on this list, but it’s no wonder people are still playing it. It’s always had a great foundation, but Mojang has continued meaningfully updating it over the years. It’s grown into a game that’s still recognizable, but with plenty of new bells and whistles to enjoy.
Minecraft is very much what you make of it. It’s a place where you get to exert some control over your surroundings, and that can be a comforting feeling in a world that constantly seems to be spiraling no matter what you do. Any semblance of control is an understandable thing to reach for, and Minecraft is perfect for it.
5Dark Souls
Meditative, Not Frustrating
Dark Souls, andmost other FromSoftware games, are a bit of a trickier entry, but it’s also one of the games that gets brought up the most when something like this is discussed. It might seem counter-intuitive: the game where you’re constantly being beaten to death is a comfort game? But for someone who feels this way, they look at Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, etc. a little bit differently.
It’s almost a ritual, or meditation. It’s that slow progression in a world that makes sense, even if it’s unfair. A world where failure is a lesson, and a lesson that you can actually apply to your life. Working through these games with patience is a wildly different experience, but it’s actually a great way to grow.
4Truck Simulator
Driving Along Empty Country Roads
Truck Simulator, either the Euro or the American variation, is back to the more expected cozy entries. For anyone who enjoys a good drive, or one simple goal that’s going to take them a bit of time to achieve, they’re perfect.
It’s also a great comfort game for someone looking to listen to something in the background. If you’re playing Truck Simulator, you’ve almost certainly got a Twitch stream or a podcast in the background, because there’s really nothing too pressing to pay attention to in the game.
3Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Just One Of The Gang
The most recent entry on this list, this is also one that’s only going to become more popular as time goes on and people realize that they slept on a banger of a game. Midnight Suns has multiple different gameplay loops present, and all of them are perfect comfort game material for the right kind of person.
If Midnight Suns is your comfort game, you’re probably someone who finds comfort connecting with characters. You get invested in long-running TV shows, books, things of that nature. Midnight Suns does a fantastic job making you feel like a part of The Abbey, and it makes playing it feel like playing with friends.
2Subnautica
Doesn’t Have To Be Terrifying
Subnautica is not a comfort game for me, but that’s because it unleashes an otherworldly terror that I cannot quite put into words. But, it’s a great game, and there are plenty of moments where I can understand perfectly how it would be someone’s comfort game.
For someone looking to Subnautica for comfort, they aren’t thrown off by being thrown into a new environment, because home is wherever they happen to find themselves. Part of the beauty of Subnautica is finding peace in making your situation as comfortable as it can be, and that’s honestly a pretty good lesson to learn.
1No Man’s Sky
Just Over The Next Horizon
The game that’s going to be updated for free until the end of time, No Man’s Sky. It’s difficult to even know where to start with NMS, because it’s a game that has seen so many entirely new mechanics added meaningfully into the experience compared to launch, making it a game that means something different to different people.
But I think the thing that unites anybody looking for comfort in NMS is that feeling of exploration. That feeling of seeing something magical, something that maybe no one besides you has ever seen. It’s an intensely personal feeling. But, that moment you end up somewhere new and interesting, you find yourself thinking less about what went wrong today, and more about what you might find next.
