TOP 10 relaxing games that will help you distract yourself and gain strength in difficult times

Times are tough. Prices are rising, upgrading hardware is almost impossible, and the future is as vague as possible. All this is stressful and drains energy, which can make even the most positive gamers sad. Fortunately, there are games that perfectly distract from the hustle and bustle and fill you with energy. These are the projects we have collected in this selection!

You can watch the water flow endlessly. What if you put on a diving suit yourself and dive so deep that no stress gets to you? This is precisely the experience that the meditative ABZU offers. Just watch the gameplay trailer, because even it is very calming.

In some ways, ABZU can hardly be called a game. Rather, it is an interactive art piece that offers an unusual ocean exploration experience. There are no enemies here who want to tear the diver to pieces, or tests of reaction. Adventure, on the contrary, invites you to slow down, discard unnecessary thoughts and immerse yourself in a state of peace.

Beat Saber is the perfect VR game to relieve stress. The gamer just needs to turn off his head, feel the rhythm and give free rein to his instincts. The main thing is to start with simple compositions and low complexity, otherwise instead of an emotional reboot you will get a nervous breakdown.

Music for Beat Saber can be found for every taste: from Linkin Park or Imagine Dragons to Kalinka-Malinka. Good tracks quickly put you in a state of such powerful drive and excitement that any adversities completely fly out of your head.

Flower is one of those games that should be considered a work of art — it turned out to be extremely beautiful and relaxing. At the beginning, the gamer controls a single small petal, but together with the wind it will fly through many amazingly drawn locations and collect a whole string of flowers behind it. It's difficult to describe the gameplay in words — it's better to just look at the gameplay.

The developers set out to remove all elements that distract from immersion, making the game simple, enjoyable and calming — this, without a doubt, was achieved. Flower was appreciated by both players and critics: in 2009, at the Spike Video Game Awards, it was named the best independent project of the year.

At first glance, Unpacking may seem like a primitive game. Gamers are invited to a small apartment filled with boxes of things — they all need to be put in place. Surprisingly, the concept turned out to be as sticky and peaceful as possible. Who would have thought that hanging towels on a hook and placing napkin holders on the table is so cool.

Considering how expensive hardware has become, low system requirements are another benefit of Unpacking. To calm your nerves by moving things from boxes to shelves, any computer will suffice. The main thing is that the processor supports SSE2, and the video card is compatible with shader model 4.0.

Journey is a suitable entertainment for gamers who worry a lot. The fact is that the game turned out to be extraordinary: as soon as you jump into it for at least a minute, your body relaxes, your thoughts calm down, and your emotions subside. In these difficult times, such projects are especially valuable.

Every aspect of Journey is peaceful. The visuals are pleasant and calm, the sound is mesmerizing, and the gameplay replaces meditation. Thanks to this, traveling through the desert is interesting despite the lack of challenges: enemies are encountered, but not punished, and riddles only ask you to press a couple of buttons. However, this is exactly the kind of gameplay that a game like this should have.

It would seem that in such a top a game about exterminating evil spirits could do. Hundreds of various creatures are climbing from all sides, and the hero is desperately trying to survive — in theory, this should drive him into stress. However, in reality, the gameplay turned out to be simple and sticky: already in the first race you can feel the «flow» that clears your head of worries.

The trick is that Vampire Survivors is built on movement. The hero can only walk, dodging attacks and picking up objects scattered around the map — nothing else needs to be done. The game doesn't even have a shooting button: volleys of lightning, a whip and other weapons hit the target themselves.

In addition, the system requirements are as low as possible. Vampire Survivors can be launched even in a browser.

FAR: Changing Tides is a game about a world that has experienced a terrible tragedy. Because of it, the area is flooded and you can only move by water. In a difficult situation, the main character must move forward and look for the poor fellows who survived the flood. Despite the post-apocalyptic setting, the gameplay turned out to be meditative.

During the adventure, the hero will have to solve simple puzzles, monitor the dimensions of the ship and overcome many obstacles. Sometimes difficulties invite you to think, but they never pose an overwhelming challenge or make you nervous.

Another advantage of FAR: Changing Tides is the soundtrack. The music perfectly relaxes and adapts to the character's actions: as soon as he stops, the track slows down. This helps you fall into a state of peace.

Antistress — relaxation toys is suitable for gamers who spend a lot of time on the road, because you can install it on any smartphone. With its help, it's very easy to escape from the hustle and bustle for a couple of minutes and calm your nerves. To many, Antistress — relaxation toys will seem simple, but it copes with its task perfectly.

In fact, the developers offer to play around with a lot of simple toys: spin pleasant-sounding gears, start a spinner, mow the grass, and so on. It won't take much time, but it will help relieve emotional stress and look at problems with a fresh look.

Shadowmatic is another game for mobile devices that will help you relax in the middle of the workday. The process is very simple: the player is given objects that can be rotated in any way — the main thing is that their shadow forms the desired image.

A meditative melody will help you take your mind off your worries and concentrate on spinning. It's nice to do this, but when the puzzle comes together, you rejoice no less than the victory over Malenia in gorgeous Elden Ring. There is a lot of garbage in mobile stores, but everyone should install Shadowmatic.

Wartales is a role-playing game in which gamers have to survive in an unfriendly world. Bandits roam the roads, peasants are starving, the forests are overflowing with aggressive wolves, and plague breeding grounds are growing everywhere, killing the once great state. However, no matter what difficulties the heroes encounter, the gameplay is still relaxing and calming.

You will have to start the adventure with a quartet of mercenaries who dream of the banal joys of life. They want to eat, sleep in comfortable conditions, receive payment for their work on time and try on increasingly cool equipment.

There are different possibilities to deal with these issues: you can rob peasants, be friends with bandits, lead an honest life, sell homemade things, become a folk hero, and so on. Any path will be interesting and enjoyable.

Part of the time the group will have to wander around the location in real time, collect resources, accept quests and chat with NPCs — but sooner or later bandits, predators and other opponents will get in the way. Then the game transforms into a turn-based RPG, where you need to skillfully use skills, calculate moves ahead and hope that units will cause critical damage. It is important that the battles are measured and do not make you nervous.

Many well-developed mechanics turn Wartales into one of the the most sticky games of recent years. There is nothing easier than turning it on to run for half an hour and come to your senses late at night. At the same time, the relaxed gameplay is quite relaxing.

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What games help you get through difficult times? Write in the comments — it will calm down together.