Nowadays I find a lot of games feel like too much work and/or anxiety when I just want to relax for like, 30 minutes to an hour after a long day. On the other hand, the games specifically designed to help you unwind just feel boring imo.
In the past I’ve felt like Outer Wilds scratched this itch, cause the whole experience was engaging but generally relaxed. There was a mystery that kept me hooked and the exploration and movement was fun in and of itself. I also felt like Subnautica filled this role since it was very much at my own pace, with anxiety producing portions which could for the most part be avoided or minimized, and also there was a clear objective to fulfill, get off the planet.
So what games do you play when you just wanna relax?
I get like this in any sort of “real time passes” games, with some exceptions. If you have a limited amount of time to do a limited amount of things in game, my mind starts min/maxing what I should be doing every moment in game. In Outer Wilds the passage of time matters less cause you always start back at zero, what you gain each run is just knowledge, you don’t lose out and fall behind on any resources, points or whatever cause you didn’t do certain things that day.