As many of you probably know, there are many genres of games out there; shooters, adventurers, puzzles, and many more. This week, I will be focusing on which genres of games I believe are best for unwinding.
When it comes to relaxing, I don’t want to be playing something that is overly difficult. I remember when I was younger, and made the mistake of playing Call of Duty in an attempt to relax. On a few rare days, it seemed to work, when I was doing well. However, when I was really in need of something mind numbing relaxation, competitive shooters could never seem to deliver. I would always be noobtubed, 360 no-scoped, or otherwise shot from behind, leaving me fuming, throwing my controller across the room, and more anxious then I was before I started playing.
No, to me, competitive gaming, whether it be Call of Duty, StarCraft, or MarioKart, is not the way to unwind. No, for that, you need a game that will take you mind off of your actual problems, and entrance you in the story of the game. Games like BioShock, Zelda, and Halo (at-least the campaign) are perfect games for relaxing, as they entrance you in the story.
Games that have a good story have similar effects to that of a great novel. As you play through the game, you are captured by the protagonists life, his (or her) problems, their successes, quirky personalities, and short comings. You begin to root for them as they travel through their journey, and as a result, as you being to focus on the problems facing their lives, you forget about your own.
So the next time you are looking to relax, choose a game like you would choose a book. If you find that you can relate to the main character, I bet you won’t be able to put it down.
I very much agree with this post! I love to play Dota 2, yet it is a soley competitive and social game pitting player against player. I need to find a more calming and relaxing game to play instead! Although competitive games have their times and are immensely enjoyable, that’s not what I want after a long tiring day. Well said.
I completely agree. I’m all for playing Halo and Smash brothers with friends. However, that not exactly something I’m going to do right before I go to bed (.i.e. when I am trying to relax).
Hey Austin, as somewhat of a counterpoint to your mentioning of Call of Duty as being not relaxing, I should point out that I feel that that only applies to the online multiplayer. Whenever I play CoD online, I sweat a lot. However, the campaigns, multiplayer with bots, and (not for me cause I suck but maybe for some other people) zombies are pretty relaxing, I feel. As another counterpoint, I would like to point out that sometimes good stories can make you feel uncomfortable and so are not THAT relaxing. While I have not played it yet, I have seen the prologue for The Last of Us, and *SPOILER ALERT!* due to how sad it was, I didn’t feel very relaxed after watching it being played. Sorry for being the devil’s advocate this week, but I wanted to hopefully inspire you to think a little more outside the box.
thanks for the spoiler alert. I did not play the last of us yet, and you probably saved me a lot of grief.
I actually can play any game that has a good story in order to relax. Even if it makes you feel disturbed or frustrated, these emotions are not directed at yourself, but rather at the characters in the story. They help you to unwind by washing away your problems with the life of another.
This blog made me think about a trend that I’ve been seeing – specifically, that game developers have been focusing on story more and more. Even suspense/action games like The Last Among Us have reached a level of storytelling that once didn’t exist within those genres. What do you think? Is the story behind the game getting more and more attention by developers?
Austin, I think it’s really interesting that you related video games to novels. I guess games, especially those that you mentioned, really are just an interactive story!
I’m glad you enjoyed the blog. Recently, many games have been focusing on the story aspect, something I find very appealing as a gamer.
Two words come to mind that I think are really great here. You want something that is “relatable,” and you want something that is “immersive.” I couldn’t agree more, in terms of the qualities of great novels.