I have this loosely defined made-up genre I call “Summer Games”.
It started a long time ago subconsciously. At some point I realized that during the hottest time of the year I gravitate to certain games that I mostly play on a small device (laptop/switch/steamdeck), laying in bed, late at night, when I have trouble sleeping because it’s too hot. A friend of mine once said that the reason she loves super high temperatures so much, is that what you experience leaves more vivid, burned in, memories. I think she has a point.
The criteria aren’t super rigid but I hope you get the “vibe” and might know some games that fit:
-
Low-stakes/chill gameplay. I’m already sweating, I don’t need sweaty gameplay right now
-
a warm aesthetic/color palette and/or setting. My outside experience shouldn’t feel too different to the games inside experience aesthetic-wise.
-
It feels like a road trip, adventure or vacation. I want to get a summery memory out of this.
-
the game leaves some kind of impact.
Games I played in the past that evoked that vibe perfectly:
- Kentucky road zero
- oxenfree
- road 96
- firewatch
- sable
- rime
- steins: gate
- life is strange
Games that have fit okay-ish
- tunic
- journey
- citizen sleeper
- nightcall
- no umbrellas allowed
- the talos principle
- the solus project
- the witness
- the vanishing of Ethan Carter
If anyone has a recommendation, I’d be thankful. This year I have started to play chants of Sennaar and it seems to fit the criteria so far.
I’ll take a closer look at Tchia. I don’t necessarily search only for no-pressure-at-all cozy games. I just don’t want a game that barely let’s you breathe and/or requires extreme precision. Like, I don’t want to be playing elden ring (right now and for the next few weeks).
The most important thing is the warm atmosphere and some moments that create lasting impressions
Yeah I got that vibe but I wanted to include all the accessibility stuff because 1) it’s awesome and 2) it can be used as a custom difficulty slider, which fits into the “I don’t want to work hard on this” on a very personalised level. Either enable something, everything, or nothing at all. Your choice!