Dear community,
I’m looking for a similar (calm) game like Portal 1/2 or Firewatch that I can play on macOS with a similar vibe. The last time I played a game is years ago, and I wish I had at least once a week a nice single-player game that I can play 1-2 hours. =)
I enjoyed Portal because I had to plan out what I’m doing before I act (without being pressured to act), the atmosphere of the game was legendary and I liked that little robot following me. Firewatch had a calm amazing story, there was no ‘action’ but sometimes that feeling that something could happen. It was a nice exploring game.
Any ideas?
Update: Thank you for your input!
Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist
It’s a short game, less than an hour, but fun.
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A Short Hike
The Outer Wilds
Tunic
Exploration focused games that are pretty calm (for the most part). They are some of my personal favorites. I recommend not looking up much about them (especially Outer Wilds and Tunic. Learning mechanics from gameplay is part of the game for those two). Tunic is probably the most action oriented of the lot, (like old Zelda games) and it leans hard on the puzzle aspect, so if that’s not your favorite then it might not be for you.
Tunic is fantastic, but not that chill. Its kinda “souls-lite” So much dying, though punishment is minimal.
The outer wild is NOT chill though.
Did you perhaps mistake it for the other wotlds? That is a game which is definitely not chill. For wilds, I can’t say.
Different strokes. I found it incredibly relaxing to fly around in my spaceship exploring. I can think of one specific planet that’s not very chill, but the rest were.
Without spoiling too much, maybe the time pressure gets to you? For me it’s long enough that I don’t really feel it for most of the game.
Night in the Woods is mostly chill with some spikes of excitement. It is a good match for A Short Hike along multiple axes but I’d recommend caution as it dips into melancholy and mental health issues.
yeah, in retrospect, Tunic probably shouldn’t be on this list. I was fondly remembering the puzzles and exploration and less so the souls-like combat challenges.
Viewfinder is good if you want a game where you need to figure out how to get through each level.
Amazing! Thank you!
Games similar to portal: The Talos Principle 1 & 2 Antichamber Superliminal Viewfinder Manifold Garden
Similar to Firewatch: Umurangi Generation Return of the Obra Dinn
Other stuff that might interest you that I haven’t seen already recommended: Journey Abzu Exo One Wytchwood Cairn (tentatively. This game can get stressful) Dinkum Untitled Goose Game A Lego game (Any of them. They all follow the same formula) Flower
No idea if any of those work on Mac though. If you have an intel based mac you can use bootcamp to dual boot windows, and unlock maaaaany games.
Manifold Garden was great.
Another game thats similar to firewatch imo is “What remains of Edith Finch”
Animal Crossing is another good adition to the list.
Absolutely not playable on Mac, though. But other than that, a 10/10 recommendation.
Eastshade is the chilliest game I know. Also great music.
Anything Myst too.
Dorfromantik is also relaxing.
Dorfromantik is excellent.
Space Sprouts: calm, cosy, whimsical, physics based.
Opus Magnum: machine-building puzzles loosely based on alchemical lore. The puzzle objectives tie into a story that is kind of just window dressing, but interesting enough.
Opus Magnum seems to be a nice game
No Mans Sky is my chill game.
Sometimes I just build an outpost near animals, sit in my chair, and watch the world turn
Surprised no one’s suggested Stardew Valley yet.
It can either be chill or (in the caves) a stressful race against the clock to get down levels and fight (in the beginning) :D
This was my recommendation. It’s as stressful as you want it to be.
FARM HARDER!
The librarian Not a long game but it’s calm
Different genre, but I really like Transport Fever and Cities Skylines. Not a lot of action, but always something new that can still be optimized.
I do need to set an alarm clock to not be playing those the entire night though, so be careful.
Minecraft on easy mode can be a good calm game with friends, let’s you build and explore together without much pressure.
Jumping on this to add Hytale if you’re looking for pseudo successor to MC
Not to mention there are plenty of mods that you can add to make it more tuned to how you want it.
I can highly recommend Tinykin, no enemies, nice locomotion and controls
What Remains of Edith Finch. If you liked Firewatch, you will like this one too. It’s short, roughly 2 hours to complete, and I recommend you do it in a single sitting. And provide some tissues.
If you like eerie (but not scary) vibes, I also recommend Kentucky Route Zero
I was working as an HVAC installer when I played What Remains of Edith Fitch and I remember being really impressed when you go into the attic of the house and the developers modeled the air handler with all of the flex duct running to each room of the house. There aren’t too many games with that level of detail for something most people playing it wouldn’t even know about lol
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has similar vibes to What Remains of Edith Finch, so if you like that, try this.
Gone Home is a lovely game, the story is a bit sad, and parts has a creepy vibe, but it is interesting and well worth a playthrough, it is more similar to Firewatch than Portal.
There it is! I was thinking I’d have to recommend it myself. I think it’s the closest match to what OP is asking for.
This was our first walking simulator trying to get the wife to play with us on the couch, teach her controls. Beautiful game.
Kid and I have been playing split Fiction, amazing btw. We just beat reanimal and wanted more. Wish little nightmares was multiplayer.
