The fall semester is coming to an end SO much quicker than all of us could’ve ever imagined. It’s around that time of the school year where you’e searching for anything, and I truly mean anything, to help alleviate the stress that’s slowly, but surely, building up from crammed study sessions and mentally preparing for finals (even though they’re seemingly weeks away). Since being in my second year of college, I’m still trying to find that safe space for me to take a break and sort of escape from the academic part of my life, when it’s reasonable. Right now, what’s been working for me is video games. Now, I wouldn’t call myself a “gamer” because any true gamer knows that these games probably take no actually gaming skill whatsoever, but I still have managed to find so much peace and calmness while sitting and playing these games. This list has games of many different themes and playstyles, so hopefully there’s something for everyone!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Starting off with one if the biggest topics that circled around throughout the beginning of quarantine, let’s get into what Animal Crossing: New Horizons can do to help your stress! Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released in early March of 2020 for the Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite, so if you have one of those gaming systems, I assure you it’s worth it to get it! A lot of people of all ages used this game as an escape from the stress of the global pandemic and you’ll see why! In this installment of the Animal Crossing series, you live on an island with 10 other animal villagers. The goal of the game is to build your island and decorate it however you want, along with making sure to build a friendship with your virtual animal friends! It may be silly to you to think that caring for the feelings of an animated squirrel is fun and worth your time, but as a long-time player of all Animal Crossing games, you’ll get attached to your cute secret world rather quickly!
Among Us
You’d have to be living under a rock in order to not have heard the hype about this online game. In this game, you and up to nine other people, friends or randoms, will complete tasks as a space crewmate while someone in the group is trying to blend in as a fellow crewmate while killing the real crewmates before the tasks can be completed, or before their identity can be figured out. While it may be “stressful” in regards that your friend are probably out to kill you and you have little time to figure out who the imposter is, just the fact that it’s a cute and simple game to play with your friends sold me right on the spot! The game is available on PC for $5 but is not released for Mac yet. Lucky for anyone with a mobile smartphone, Among Us is on the App Store and the Google Play Store for FREE! There are a few in-app-purchases, but they aren’t necessary to the gameplay at all.
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is probably one of the most delightful games I’ve ever played, and it just happens to be on basically every gaming platform there is! It’s available on PC/Mac, mobile, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation. In this sweet and simple game, you play as the grandchild of a small farm owner in a little town who inherits the family farm, with a little bit of magic history that you’ve been chosen to look into! It’s up to you to plant and harvest crops, build friendships (and maybe a romantic relationship, if you so choose) with the other townsfolk, as well as make a living for your character! The soundtrack in this game is soft and gentle and, honestly, one of the main reasons why I haven’t gotten tired of this game. There are also co-op options for online and local play, so you could run a farm with your friends, and marry them as well, too!
These games might not be for everyone, but there’s always a chance that you’d be able to escape from reality for just a little bit.