As someone who plays most games casually, sometimes I want to play one that isn't competitive or demanding. Here is a list of some of the games I've played just to de-stress and be immersed in a story. These are all available on Steam and don't demand any sort of expensive gaming computer, making them easily accessible to most potential players.
1. ABZÛ
Compatible with: Windows
Hard drive space required: 6GB
Playing this game, I felt immersed in an ancient and mysterious ocean world complete with its own ecosystems and species. From the relaxing atmosphere to the storyline, it becomes obvious that this game was made out of love for our own earth's oceans. ABZU is easily the most interesting and beautiful game I've played lately.
2. The Stanley Parable
Compatible with: Windows/Mac
Hard drive space required: 2-3GB
The Stanley Parable is reminiscent of the choose-your-own-ending genre of books that were once popular, except it has sixteen endings. You play as Stanley, an office worker whose sole job is to input numbers into a computer. Except for one day, you go to the office and no one is there. This is a game about choices that quickly turns into one of paradoxical meaning. It is both entertaining and thought-provoking, and it will always be in my top favorite games.
3. Fran Bow
Compatible with: Windows/Mac
Hard drive space required: 6GB
Fran Bow is certainly a game for those who like the works of Tim Burton, Lewis Carroll, or anything else creepy, strange, and wonderful. As a classic point-and-click style game, it requires puzzle-solving in order to progress through the story. After witnessing the loss of both her parents, Fran Bow escapes to the woods by her house with her pet cat, Mr. Midnight.
She is soon found and taken to Oswald Asylum, a mental institution for children. It's definitely only for those who enjoy horror and a little dark humor, but I still count it as one of my favorite games for its art style and fascinating storyline.
4. Stardew Valley
Compatible with: Windows/Mac
Hard drive space required: 2GB
Stardew Valley is a farming simulator in the 2D pixelated style of the early handheld games like Harvest Moon. This project was developed over four years by one programmer and quickly became one of the most successful indie games on release. At the beginning of the game, your dying grandfather gives you (your character) a deed to his farm and after years of working in a blue-collar industry, you abandon the modern working world for the call of a rural life in the small town of Stardew Valley.
I'm fairly certain that many people have had the passing fantasy of leaving town and living on a farm or in the woods; this is just the simulation to indulge such a fantasy. I have poured almost 100 hours into this game, and only now do I feel as if I've almost played the content out of it.
5. Scribblenauts Unlimited
Compatible with: Windows
Hard drive space required: 2GB
Armed with a magical notepad that can summon any object you wish, you progress through the game's levels by solving puzzles. It challenges its players to think creatively and uniquely. I enjoy playing this when I'm in the mood for something light-hearted and silly.
6. Broken Age
Compatible with: Windows/Mac
Hard drive space required: 2.5GB
Broken Age is a point-and-click adventure game focused on two teenagers and their vastly different lives set in the same universe. Vella Tartine is chosen as a sacrifice to the monster Mog Chathra to save her village; Shay Volta is alone and being raised on a spaceship by an intelligent entity called "Mom."
The main unique point of this game lies in the freely alternating narratives that sometimes function as a way of solving the puzzles. This game's art style and story are both incredibly delightful, and I believe it certainly earned its title as one of the best indie games.
7. Slime Rancher
Compatible with: Windows/Mac
Hard drive space required: 1GB
Slime Rancher is one of my favorite casual games, to the point of ridiculousness. In this game, you play as rancher Beatrice LeBeau on an alien planet populated by adorable gelatinous slimes of various types. Your sole job is to round up slimes, feed them food, and collect their "plorts" which can be exchanged for money. There are few games as pure and wholesome as this one. This game might be cutesy and childlike, but it's for literally everyone.
8. The Novelist
Compatible with: Windows/Mac
Hard drive space required: 800MB
The Novelist is a speculative choice-based game focusing on a writer who struggles to write the most important book of his career and still keep a good relationship with his wife and children. It's one of those games which teach you both about the characters and about yourself through the choices you make. I've played it through in one three-hour sitting and enjoyed it more than I probably will enjoy any movie.
