The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!
I’m in quite a bad place mentally at the moment, so I wasn’t really feeling like making a post. But then I thought, I could combine this in the form of a special discussion topic:
Let’s discuss your favorite Uplifting Games. What helps you when your feeling down or stressed out. What game series has comforted you in harder times. Are there certain genres that work better for you in these times? Feel free to share anything that comes up and react to other comments. Let’s get the conversation going!
If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).
Previous entries: Final Fantasy, Visual Novels, Hollow Knight, Nintendo DS, Monster Hunter, Persona, Monkey Island, 8 Bit Era, Animal Crossing, Age of Empires, Super Mario, Deus Ex, Stardew Valley, The Sims, Half-Life, Earthbound / Mother, Mass Effect, Metroid, Journey, Resident Evil, Polybius, Tetris, Telltale Games, Kirby, LEGO Games, DOOM, Ori, Metal Gear, Slay the Spire
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in about 201X I was having a terrible time trying to get through the thesis period of a master’s program
picked up some bundle of the OG 2DS (black & blue variant) and Pokemon X and loved it
a world where I could pick my friends, people were pleasant, my next career moves were obvious, and my work was rewarded? To this day, this is my escapist fantasy.
i harp on it a lot, but Outer Wilds helps me a lot. It teaches the value of exploration, curiosity, friendship, compassion, and patience. it’s a deeply melancholic piece, which can be frustrating and obtuse at times, but just remembering it makes me happy. the soundtrack brings all the memories back every time.
It’s a great game but I wouldn’t call it uplifting at all. Some of the why is already in your comment. Some people may also get frustrated by being in a loop and having to start over time after time. Some of the puzzles aren’t easy, which again may add to the frustration.
it’s less about the details and more about the entirety of the experience for me.
Celeste!
It’s about overcoming internal struggles to achieve something. (something I’m still fighting with in real life, bad place mentally here too.)
Listening to the soundtrack always makes me feel a bit better though.
It’s cute, fun, and challenging (although never difficult in a frustrating way)
Excellent game. Still never quite finished it. I think have 3 screens left.
Sorry to hear things are rough for you. I hope whatever is causing it improves!
Mine is an odd choice, or maybe not, but its the first thing that came to mind: Night in The Woods
It’s about a girl that comes home from college to her old dying town. I know that doesn’t sound terribly uplifting, and there’s some downer stories mixed in there, but overall I found it a very heartfelt and uplifting game, because the main character’s friends are the most wonderful bunch of people, and you hang out with them and go on little adventures throughout. It’s got a cool creepy mystery story going on, but the game is mostly about deep friendship, family, and overcoming struggles with their help, and I found that very uplifting and worthwhile.
Night in the Woods was such a standout game. I started to watch a let’s play, realized that it was going to be fantastic, stopped the let’s play, played the game, then finished the let’s play to see their reactions. If you like wholesome let’s plays, I highly recommend PlayFrame. Here is their Night in the Woods play list
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvFQJa1XAXzwACGBYEbmPy0ooBeXr1TAv&si=eHJtQjyoVNrpfgB3
KNIFE FIGHT!!!
There’s a lot to do outside the main plot, the townspeople were really interactive. Great rec! The falling leaves give it a cozy vibe too
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That studio I believe also made Transistor, which is also phenomenal.
Supergiant Games, they made Hades and Hades 2, Pyre, Bastion, and Transistor
Stardew Valley is a good fit.
You tend to your farm, help people, maintain relationships with people by gifting them and changing their lives.
Unfortunately, i play the game like a maniac. Running around from morning 6 AM till 10 PM.
I have the utmost respect for ConcernedApe’s Stardew Valley, I’m happy it’s a success and I’ve played it plenty. I have to say though, there’s something in the game that leads some of us straight into a minmaxing management race-against-the-clock frenzy. I think I could play it casually, but I’d need an unwavering discipline… and that’s the problem.
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Gris - A beautiful platform puzzle game. A very emotional game, but one that makes you feel like you’re rebuilding something in yourself. Gorgeous art, amazing dynamic soundtrack.
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Meadow - I don’t know how to describe this game. You log onto a server, pick a woodland animal as an avatar, and then you explore the world and meet other players. Your only means of communication is noises and emojis. It’s so simple, yet so fantastic.
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Bokida - Heartfelt Reunion - A minimalist art puzzle game. I haven’t played it in a while, but I remember it being super immersive. I just had to finish it, to see how all of the pieces of the story fit together.
Also, I hope you feel better soon.
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Dave The Diver: you run a sushi restaurant and go diving to catch fish. The writing is quirky, it’s full of interesting characters and there’s no time limits except for some events. I’ll spend days just fishing for the restaurant instead of doing any “story stuff”. I picked a steam key on CDkeys for £7 and I can already see myself pouring 40 hours in this thing if I want. The trailer if anyone is interested
Seconded. Dave the Diver is very uplifting and not punishing at all - if you make a mistake, it has very few consequences
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Freshly Frosted - Puzzle game. Seriously, I don’t remember the last time I felt so encouraged by the narrator. If you’re in a bad mental state, I do recommend this one.
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Lost in Play - Two siblings go on an adventure through a fanciful wonderland of their imagination…or is it?
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Spiritfarer - A chill management game where you’re Charon ferrying souls to the Everdoor. This one deals with death and saying goodbye to loved ones, but it does so in a very thoughtful and sensitive way. It definitely changed my paradigm.
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A Hat in Time - Cute 3D action platformer. Silly fun.
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Little Inferno - Despite its simplicity and obvious satire of consumerism/Capitalism, this has a very cozy feel and fun characters.
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Tinykin - Adorable collect-a-thon platform puzzler with no enemies, only obstacles.
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Gorogoa - Puzzle game with an interesting story that unfolds with each puzzle.
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Doronko Wanko - You’re a cute doggo making a house as messy as possible.
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Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People - Fun, silly point and click. I also recommend the show.
Little Inferno can be beaten in ~3 hours and… let me check… yes, it’s on mobile! It’s by the people that made World of Goo, don’t sleep on it
Hat in Time is a great modern 3D platformer, movement was fun and I liked the variety of characters across the levels. The Murder on the Owl Express quest was my favorite!
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Frog Detective!
It’s a lighthearted detective series, more of a walking sim with humorous characters than anything. The magnifying glass doesn’t even do anything! The dev did a fun talk about comedy in games if you’re into that
Here’s a shot I got from the last game (corruption at cowboy county)
Well, I personally have several “types” of game that help me feel comfortable when things are tough:
- Puzzle Games: in relatively small doses, a good and somewhat challenging puzzle game can help by requiring focus, while not being stressful.
- Deckbuilders: Slay the Spire and Monster Train are similar games that require mental engagement, without being to stressful.
- Immersive Games: Games with an interesting mystery or otherwise immersive experiences. I am currently playing Killer Frequency and Hacknet, both for that reason.
I think you should try “outer wilds” as it is a puzzle game and also quite immersive. I am not done yet with this game (only 15h or so) but it is a master piece. If you never heard of it, do not look any video or guide on the internet !
It is literally my favorite game of all time ;) great suggestion though!
I’m not sure if I would really say it’s that uplifting, but if you like puzzle and card games, you’ll love Inscryption
Might I recommend Journey and Abzu? They’re both wonderful experiences with a healthy dose of zen if you decide you want to just pause and appreciate the environments.
Like everyone else Journey was the first thing that popped into my mind.
Id give a shout-out to Death Stranding, too. The game is far from perfect but it’s basically a hiking simulator which I find soothing. You also carry things so you could say it’s uplifting in the literal sense haha!
Outer wilds felt really good to play, optimistic nihilism and a happy lonliness. One moment that really stood out to me was when I followed a certain object out of the solar system, spent pretty much 20minutes drifting in space listening to the other astronauts play together planets apart and watching the stars
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Watching the stars slowly blink out and realizing that I won’t be able to save the sun, that it’s the whole universe going away. Givining in to the inevitability of it all ending and just watching everything end.
It’s one of the most peaceful times I’ve had with a game, and playing it in the middle of covid I cried happy tears. Go in as blind as you can.
It’s a gorgeous game experience. Not to mention they put so many other gamedevs to shame with their technical accomplishments (especially in the expansion – flooding waves in a ringworld!).
Don’t look up spoilers. Get yourself a copy and play it. Find somewhere to land your spaceship :)
I’m playing factorio with my friends two days straight and we plan to keep playing, it was years since I could play for so long with them, normally I start to fell bored and hang up, but i’m 14 hours in and stil want to play more!
Factorio is great. I don’t think Theres another game that sucked up so many hours so quick. I absolutely love it. It takes a shit load of time(my first world took 40 hours and didnt complete the game). I’m now starting a new world because of space age, and already have a lot of plans on how to improve my world to male it better(starting with currently building a blueprint for a mall and rushing to robots in order to not being forced to build everything by hand). Also, disabling biters is a very good thing to do. I don’t want to focus on fighting biters. I just want to see the factory grow.
For uplifting, I like chill games where people are nice to each other.
Hades has you piece back together your family and has a lot of great dialog.
Carto is a cute puzzle game involving rearranging maps where you help people on your way back home.
Haven is a young couple trying to make it on an alien planet.
Children of Morta is a family fighting together against an apocalypse.
Dreamscaper is a rogue lite where you get mechanically stronger through self care as you work your way through trauma by hitting it in your dreams.
Ni no Kuni 1 and 2 are longer jrpgs in a Studio Ghibli style world.
Grandia is another jrpg that does a good job at capturing an adventurous spirit.
