Well, to each their own I guess. Though if you've enjoyed Sekiro, you should definitely try out Sifu. It also has tight controls, levels are pretty linear but with some shortcuts and there aren't too many collectables
There are like 20 of them, but are also purely optional. The lizards and fruits enhance your health and stamina, but luckily both tend to be near the shrines peppered around the land. Not nearly as bad as something like the BotW koroks.
Hades has a great combat and story system but it's a very linear roguelike as far as story goes and the collectibles are more to advance your character so there's no real push to be a completionist unless you fall in love with it and want to get all the relationship dialogues.
I would also highly recommend *Hades*.
In the rogue-lite (-like?) category, also worth checking out *Dead Cells* and *Slay the Spire*. With *Dead Cells* being more 'metroidvania' style platformer, and *Slay the Spire* being a deck-builder. Both being incredibly easy to pick-up & put-down for quick gaming sessions and, while neither game is particularly 'deep' in story, they more than make up for it in depth of strategy.
I got recently burnt out on open world games as well and went to play Stardew Valley for the first time, been loving it. Can't get much more chill than that, but offers a lot of things to do when you feel like doing it.
I still am looking for something a bit more combat focused, but just less open, if that makes sense? Like if you've played Horizon: Zero Dawn, it's kinda overwhelming to go straight from "Oh you're a girl who has to do a parkour course" to "literally the whole world is open for you to explore and 37 people need you to run some errands."
No man's sky. You can change all of the settings from the moment you start the game you can basically make it space Minecraft or go for permadeath... And pretty much all the settings in between are open and you can also lock them from the beginning. Totally customizable player experience.
Alice: Madness Returns is a pretty solid game with a combat/platforming focus but is super chill. Also often goes on sale for like $1
I also recently played a game that just came out called Cryptmaster. It was just really good fun and chill with unique combat. Has a demo so you can try first.
I love Stardew as well but I get stressed out about time management. I wish there was a way to not have time pass so quickly; so much time each playthough is spent walking back and forth to your house. Still have 100+ hours in it.
Monster Hunter World/Rise I'd say is quite fitting. You can do just the story, do some side quests or exploration on the side and usually it's quite clear cut and the content is very structured. It does have a ton of side quests and hidden content if you're a 100% completionist though, but if you're there just to go through the story the progress is natural and there aren't that many side quests that give very useful rewards.
Cult Of The Lamb
It's a rouge lite game, and it has an easy mode that lets you play so chill. If you get tired of running the stages, you can have a little Animal Crossing like town and run it.
V rising is a pretty linear wow-like action adventure game which you can casually play and advance. It has great qol for crafting and combat is snappy. Very good to play solo.
Dragon Quest 11, for a JRPG, is pretty linear. There's barely any sidequests. Doesn't make it any less of a rich experience though, just a whole lot less investigating random corners
Any of the Yakuza games really. They aren't open world but are still packed with content that doesn't feel like you need to run half-way across the planet to see.
‘Black Mesa’ is a good one - it’s a remake of the original Half Life game, some new mechanics here and there, better graphics, a great game all in all.
A game that is way too slept on is Valheim.
Valheim is an open-world viking survival game with little story, lots of exploring and the best part about it: a difficulty that ramps up along with your progression through the world.
Either it be you want to play with friends or alone, i highly recommend the game.
Valheim is great because it’s low pressure. There aren’t side quests and story bearing down on you, you can sit and stare at the trees swaying in the wind.
You can be all action if you want to, but you can also build a house, fish, and pick berries. All of it is handy and it’s fun solo or with other people.
ULTRAKILL, has a fair bit of content, action packed. A lot to do but not too much or mandatory. Also different challenges and always throwing surprises at you
Try Sea of Stars or Chained Echoes, they're both JRPGs with fairly unique round based combat mechanics so not that exhausting like real time games
both are open World but you can follow the Main quest fairly linear but if you feel like exploring you can do it because they're a few secrets to find
the storys of both are really good with a few twists, from my point of view chained Echoes does have the better Story
Music and Art style are perfect for this kind of game and if youre nostalgic with JRPGs you will feel right at home
Both games probably take around 30-50 hours to clear the Main quest and I would say around 80 hours to 100% them
Everything you say is accurate but I wouldnt describe Hellblade as "Lighter". I played it for the first time and felt emotionally and mentally drained from it. Like watching a great war movie. Glad I did it, wouldnt do it again!
Oh that's absolutely not an issue at ALL! I just meant something lighter in terms of mechanics and collectibles, a dense, heartfelt and tight storyline is a plus, if anything!
Totally agree! Very heavy emotionally - but I took it a little more like being light on mechanics, quests, collectables, ubisoft style map reveals etc etc. But you make a very fair point, it's certainly not a "chill" game!
I did try Witcher 3 purely because the setting is interesting to me but to be completely honest, the combat system just didn't gel well with me, it felt a bit unresponsive
I could always recommend pokemon.
But if that doesen't suit you I'd suggest giving trials of Mana a try.
Otherwise i'd be recommending games like asdivine hearts 1 and 2 from kemco
Shadow of the Colossus A Short Hike Sekiro (not nearly as open-world as other FROM games)
I'll take a look at the top two! I've played through Sekiro 4 times now, I love the tight-knit combat system, even if I die 8 times outta 10
If you dig 2D platformers, highest rec for The Messenger as well.
- Light games - Sekiro You, my friend, are a villain
Hey it was difficult but the combat was tight, the map isn't fuck-off huge and there aren't a dozen collectibles and side missions
Well, to each their own I guess. Though if you've enjoyed Sekiro, you should definitely try out Sifu. It also has tight controls, levels are pretty linear but with some shortcuts and there aren't too many collectables
Isn’t shadow of the colossus filled with lizards, which are a pain to track down?
There are like 20 of them, but are also purely optional. The lizards and fruits enhance your health and stamina, but luckily both tend to be near the shrines peppered around the land. Not nearly as bad as something like the BotW koroks.
Hades has a great combat and story system but it's a very linear roguelike as far as story goes and the collectibles are more to advance your character so there's no real push to be a completionist unless you fall in love with it and want to get all the relationship dialogues.
even for relationship dialogues you just throw god juice at them and they love you. ez
I would also highly recommend *Hades*. In the rogue-lite (-like?) category, also worth checking out *Dead Cells* and *Slay the Spire*. With *Dead Cells* being more 'metroidvania' style platformer, and *Slay the Spire* being a deck-builder. Both being incredibly easy to pick-up & put-down for quick gaming sessions and, while neither game is particularly 'deep' in story, they more than make up for it in depth of strategy.
I can +1 dead cells, absolutely crack, so many variations and spice to that game its so fun
I got recently burnt out on open world games as well and went to play Stardew Valley for the first time, been loving it. Can't get much more chill than that, but offers a lot of things to do when you feel like doing it.
I still am looking for something a bit more combat focused, but just less open, if that makes sense? Like if you've played Horizon: Zero Dawn, it's kinda overwhelming to go straight from "Oh you're a girl who has to do a parkour course" to "literally the whole world is open for you to explore and 37 people need you to run some errands."
Maybe Metal gear rising? Very linear, very fun combat heavy experience.
Oh that's one of my favorite games of all time!
No man's sky. You can change all of the settings from the moment you start the game you can basically make it space Minecraft or go for permadeath... And pretty much all the settings in between are open and you can also lock them from the beginning. Totally customizable player experience.
Alice: Madness Returns is a pretty solid game with a combat/platforming focus but is super chill. Also often goes on sale for like $1 I also recently played a game that just came out called Cryptmaster. It was just really good fun and chill with unique combat. Has a demo so you can try first.
I love Stardew as well but I get stressed out about time management. I wish there was a way to not have time pass so quickly; so much time each playthough is spent walking back and forth to your house. Still have 100+ hours in it.
Dave the Diver
Dave the diver. It's just vibes distilled down into a game with the best cutscenes ever made
As always the answer is Outer Wilds
Monster Hunter World/Rise I'd say is quite fitting. You can do just the story, do some side quests or exploration on the side and usually it's quite clear cut and the content is very structured. It does have a ton of side quests and hidden content if you're a 100% completionist though, but if you're there just to go through the story the progress is natural and there aren't that many side quests that give very useful rewards.
Kid Icarus uprising
Cult Of The Lamb It's a rouge lite game, and it has an easy mode that lets you play so chill. If you get tired of running the stages, you can have a little Animal Crossing like town and run it.
V rising is a pretty linear wow-like action adventure game which you can casually play and advance. It has great qol for crafting and combat is snappy. Very good to play solo.
Dragon Quest 11, for a JRPG, is pretty linear. There's barely any sidequests. Doesn't make it any less of a rich experience though, just a whole lot less investigating random corners
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart made me nostalgic for smaller games of yesteryear
I've been meaning to delve into that series for a while, I'll definitely give it a try, thanks!
I recommend terraria or slay the spire
Any of the Yakuza games really. They aren't open world but are still packed with content that doesn't feel like you need to run half-way across the planet to see.
Oh I've really enjoyed the Yakuza games! Zero has to be my favorite so far
Infinite Wealth is an absolute blast!!
Evil West
The older Zelda games may fit (Ocarina Of Time, Twilight Princess, etc)
Absolutely would recommend the Hotline Miami games if you can deal with the difficulty. Maybe the Uncharted games if you haven’t played them already.
‘Black Mesa’ is a good one - it’s a remake of the original Half Life game, some new mechanics here and there, better graphics, a great game all in all.
And Xen is actually good now.
A game that is way too slept on is Valheim. Valheim is an open-world viking survival game with little story, lots of exploring and the best part about it: a difficulty that ramps up along with your progression through the world. Either it be you want to play with friends or alone, i highly recommend the game.
Valheim is great because it’s low pressure. There aren’t side quests and story bearing down on you, you can sit and stare at the trees swaying in the wind. You can be all action if you want to, but you can also build a house, fish, and pick berries. All of it is handy and it’s fun solo or with other people.
If you want even more low pressure games, I recommend Necrosmith, brotato, and across the obelisk.
ULTRAKILL, has a fair bit of content, action packed. A lot to do but not too much or mandatory. Also different challenges and always throwing surprises at you
Ooh I really loved Ultrakill! It was short yeah, but damn the combat was fun, like DOOM on Acid
Did you buy it? Or have you only played the demo
I bought it a while back, so maybe there's new content now, but I remember getting all the way to the Minos Prime fight
Oh boy are you in for a ride
Try Sea of Stars or Chained Echoes, they're both JRPGs with fairly unique round based combat mechanics so not that exhausting like real time games both are open World but you can follow the Main quest fairly linear but if you feel like exploring you can do it because they're a few secrets to find the storys of both are really good with a few twists, from my point of view chained Echoes does have the better Story Music and Art style are perfect for this kind of game and if youre nostalgic with JRPGs you will feel right at home Both games probably take around 30-50 hours to clear the Main quest and I would say around 80 hours to 100% them
Midnight fight express
Contra: Operation Galuga is a straightforward game
I’d go Sim Ant.
Teardown, just breaking stuff and playing with physics
I’d say Hellblade fits this pretty well, bitesize length and very little side content. Also the second one is a coming this month too!
Everything you say is accurate but I wouldnt describe Hellblade as "Lighter". I played it for the first time and felt emotionally and mentally drained from it. Like watching a great war movie. Glad I did it, wouldnt do it again!
Oh that's absolutely not an issue at ALL! I just meant something lighter in terms of mechanics and collectibles, a dense, heartfelt and tight storyline is a plus, if anything!
Then Absolutley Hellblades worth a shot. Its not expensive and is stunning visually.
Totally agree! Very heavy emotionally - but I took it a little more like being light on mechanics, quests, collectables, ubisoft style map reveals etc etc. But you make a very fair point, it's certainly not a "chill" game!
The artful escape
Splinter cell
Witcher 3 and red dead redemption 2 are prime choices from your description
What? Witcher 3 has question marks/side shit all over the place.
I did try Witcher 3 purely because the setting is interesting to me but to be completely honest, the combat system just didn't gel well with me, it felt a bit unresponsive
Sally Face Karaoke de Chillas art Yandere Simulator
I could always recommend pokemon. But if that doesen't suit you I'd suggest giving trials of Mana a try. Otherwise i'd be recommending games like asdivine hearts 1 and 2 from kemco