Chill games that only spread good vibes

E-Sports and competitive gaming is the craze for anyone and everyone these days, and we can’t blame the fans for loving it - the excitement, the pogchamp moments and the prize money are just some of the reasons why such high-octane games are the hype these past few years.

However, there are people out there looking for games that wouldn’t get our heart rate racing beyond recommended levels. Sometimes, the sweaty lobbies and tryhards in those competitive games really get to us and we just want to kick back and not worry about winning, but instead, on just having fun.

Here’s our top picks for games that really give you a worry-free time, so that you can focus on the good vibes.

Images courtesy of Unpacking on Steam

Unpacking

Unpacking is a game that combines little puzzles and home decoration together into a nifty little lightweight game. While it might seem a little boring and repetitive, fret not - every room that you unpack your things into tells a story about the life of the character that you play.

Through each phase of life, through all the heartaches and joys of life, you slowly unravel the life of this mysterious individual who you are unpacking your moving boxes for. No spoilers as to what the plot is or what twists await you, but you are bound to spend hours unpacking and piecing together where all the little knick knacks eventually end up in your living areas.

Do these books belong on the shelf? Maybe it goes on the work desk? How about the study desk? There are more answers than one when it comes to unpacking and you could either be meticulous in decorating your house, or just speedrun through the game placing things where you think they belong - but be warned - you must place certain items in the right places before moving on to the next stage.

Fun fact - Leon has played this game and came close to tears at the end of the game - highlights can be seen on his stream at trovo.live/goodboyeshibe. Unpacking is developed by Witch Beam and published by Humble Games, and costs $18.50 on Steam.

Images courtesy of Escape Simulator on Steam

Escape Simulator

Tired of stressful FPS games (Apex legends and Valorant we’re looking at you here)? Don’t fret - Escape Simulator is a first-person puzzler where you can play solo or co-op with two or more of your friends.

Several escape rooms are available for your solving pleasure, and with fully interactive and physics-based item interactions, it really makes you feel absolutely immersed in the game.

Beautiful graphics and shaders are pleasing and gentle to the eye, and the level of difficulty for each room slowly grows till you eventually meet challenging and mind-boggling puzzles that you’d want to call some friends to assist you with.

If you’re playing this solo and want to read a clue while solving the puzzle the clue hints you towards, you can actually “pin” the clue to your screen so that you can interact with 2 things at once - which is an extremely nifty function we’ve not seen in most puzzle/escape games.

Play it with a loved one or with friends and be prepared to explode with laughter as you all try to solve puzzles together and end up overthinking for some of the simplest puzzles while absolutely missing huge clues lying in plain sight.

Don’t worry, Leon’s viewers were concerned for his vision when he couldn’t even spot simple clues lying out in the open. When you’re done with the core game, enjoy the Steam workshop where you can download community-made maps for you to continue your adventures - extra playtime at no extra cost!

Escape Simulator is made and published by Pine Studio who pride themselves on creating quality indie FPS games with a memorable twist - and this incredible game is only going for $14.50! Definitely worth every cent with this purchase.

Images courtesy of TRINE 2 on Steam

TRINE series

The TRINE series features three heroes - a warrior, a thief and a wizard, making their way through a fairytale world with a bunch of physics-based puzzles and ferocious enemies. Hero progression and levelling up is also a thing here - but keep your eyes peeled as you can only level up when you have found certain key items throughout the game.

Certain puzzles and challenges are made simpler with these skills like the Kitesail Shield and Monster Levitation skills from the Warrior and the Wizard, and certain fights are easier when you freeze enemies mid-fight with the Ice arrows from the thief. All these customizable skills coupled with impressive multi-tier puzzles make for a great game with amazing replay value. Playing with 2 friends and having all three characters on screen trying to solve puzzles together either makes the game hilarious as you sabotage one another or creates a sense of camaraderie as you swifty overcome these challenges.

TRINE is created by Frozenbyte and this series has been out for some time, but somehow it remains a timeless puzzle/co-op platformer that we can see people returning to over and over again.

TRINE is usually on sale on Steam, and the entire series is going for just about $21 right now. Keep your eyes peeled for more sales on Steam as Frozenbyte does have frequent sales for their TRINE series.

Images courtesy of Human: Fall Flat on Steam

Human: Fall Flat

Arguably one of the toughest games to master but is guaranteed to keep you laughing till your tummy aches while you grasp the game’s mechanics - is Human: Fall Flat.

A simple platform-puzzle game, with only left and right mouse buttons to use your right and left hands and spacebar to jump, you might think this is just too simple of a game to impress anyone. However, we can promise you hilarity and jokes aplenty the moment you launch the game as you customise your character to your will and observe how silly they move through the environment.

We strongly recommend getting this with a friend because, hey, you can play with up to 8 players online! Not only that - there are some puzzles which are specifically created for more players to enjoy - with some levers located at the other end of the map operating certain mechanisms on yet another side of the map.

All these puzzles, vehicles, mechanisms, levers, buttons, batteries and thingamajigs are there for all to enhance their problem-solving experience. Is your friend sitting around doing nothing - grab him and toss his lazy bum off the edge of the map. Don’t worry, he’ll fall hilariously from the sky and back into the game again.

Is your buddy holding onto something that you want to use to solve the next problem? Grab it from him with both hands and watch him struggle to keep hold of it. This game will definitely leave you rolling in laughter and yet give you an amazing sense of achievement in solving these puzzling levels - all packaged in a simple, easy to understand control system.

Human: Fall Flat is developed by No Brakes Games and published by Curve Games, and is going for just $18.50. However, Human Fall Flat is usually on sale and its price goes down to about $6, which is an insane price for the hours and hours of laughter and gameplay.

The community workshop is also open on Human: Fall Flat, meaning that new and free maps are also available for download to further your gaming session with your besties in this comedic game.

These are the few games that we can strongly recommend and be absolutely sure that everyone will love and enjoy - and to top it off, they are all on sale (as I write this article) as well!

Perfect timing for the lunar new year break if you want to spend some (online) time with your cousins while staying safe during this pandemic season.

Grab these games and have a chill time with your friends and family members today!