ABZU
This game is Journey —the OG vibes-centric game—but the underwater version. If you want to go scuba diving, but can’t actually go scuba diving, this game is for you.

AER: Memories of Old
Flying? Flying.

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
I don’t want to call it Diet Pokémon Snap, but you will be running around your hometown island taking pictures of all the cute animals.

Alpaca Stacka
It’s like 15 minutes long and I literally bought it because of the name. You just gotta stacka the alpaca. Zero regrets.

APICO
A delightful bee-themed sandbox/management game about restoring various bee species to their native environments.

Bear and Breakfast
What if you ran a chain of BnBs, except you were also a bear and you sourced all your furniture from a dumpster-diving raccoon named Took? Sheer wilderness hotel management sim perfection.

Bee Simulator
Would you like to be a bee?

Bunny Park
+1 bunnies

Carto

Cheeky Chooks
Look at all those chickens!

Cloud Gardens
+1 nature taking over urban settings

Cozy Grove
Kind of like Animal Crossing meets Girl Scouts—and also you can see ghosts.
[Personal note] The game picks up with more to do the more of the island you discover and build up, so the earlier days are a little slow. And I do mean real-life days. As in, do your daily quests kind of days.]

Dorfromantik

Down in Bermuda

The First Tree
You’re a fox and it’s pretty outside

Flower
POV: you are the wind. Be zen, be chill (except for in that one level with the electricity that’s unexpectedly stressful).

Forgotten Fields

Garden Story
POV: you wanted to play Legend of Zelda and Stardew Valley but your mom said you have them at home except she forgot that you’re a grape and this game is actually nothing like the aforementioned games
>>>there are combat elements<<<

The Gardens Between
AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES
(...who could travel through time!)

GRIS
Atmosphere + soundtrack + story = yes

Haven Park

Hoa
About ~2-3 hours of relaxing, explorative platforming gameplay through the nature

Isle of Ewe
How did your sheep even get over there?

It Takes Two
This is THE game to play with your non-gamer significant other.
>>>includes combat elements<<<

Journey
The OG atmospheric enjoyment game. +1 vibes. +1 street cred

Kinoko

Kitaria Fables
>>>includes combat elements<<<

Koi Farm
One fish, two fish. Red fish, blue fish

The Last Campfire

Lemon Cake
Do you wish to escape your life as a barista at Starbucks by playing cafe sims in which you do literally the same things you do for work except you’re the only one running the store and it’s with bread instead of lattes? …me too

Little Witch in the Woods
+1 witch-type game

The LONGING
Not actually spooky. Just introspective. And it will actually take 400 real-life days to complete. (just a quick head’s up about that—taking it slow is kind of the whole point of the game)

LUNA: The Shadow Dust

Luna’s Fishing Garden
You are the chosen one and your destiny is to add more nature to the nature.

missed messages. [/b]
Time to feel some feels. And maybe text your bestie just to say hi.

Old Man’s Journey [/b]
A casual point-and-click “puzzle” game where you move bits of scenery around for the old man to progress through the environment.
[Personal note]I think it’s a story about reliving the life of a selfish old man who has zero concept of responsibility to the people in his life or personal accountability for his actions and there is no end moral. I did not like this game.

Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator

Pupperazzi
Wanna take some pictures of some dogs? Same.

Rainy Season
Do you like the rain?

A Short Hike
Was the hike really that short, though? 10/10 6-hour-long hike.

Stardew Valley
+1 leaving behind corporate mediocracy to start a new life as a farmer with the rizz to date literally everybody in town (even though we all know we’re going to romance the exact same person every save file)
>>>includes combat elements<<<

Strange Horticulture
+1 witchy vibes
+1 plants

Stray
There is a button to meow and honestly that wins GOTY for me.
+2 my cats also want to play

Sun Haven
Sun Haven is a natural successor to Stardew Valley (though most certainly not a replacement!) within the farming-foraging-fishing-crafting-exploration-dating-sim genre with the addition of magic and an expanded cast of characters in a larger map.
>>>includes combat elements<<<

These are my favourite games to wind down with at the end of the day. Low-stakes, low-stress, minimal brain usage required. Queue up some YouTube, your favourite show, podcast, or audiobook in the background and turn off your brain.

A Building Full of Cats
Find the cats. Find all the cats. Adopt a cat. Yes.

Cats Organized Neatly
Kind of like Tetris, but the blocks are made of cats and there’s no time pressure 🙂

Dogs Organized Neatly
Dogs in no-stress Tetris

Ever Seen a Cat?
Hidden object kitties! There are three Ever Seen a Cat games.

Glass Masquerade
The Glass Masquerade franchise consists of a series of puzzle games with gorgeous art deco-inspired illustrations with stained-glass aesthetics. +1 vibes

Hidden Cats in Paris
More hidden object kitties!—and the best part is that there are EIGHT Hidden Cats games set in different locations.

Hidden Lands
Spot-the-differences -style game

Hidden Paws
Find the cats! But 3D this time!

How Buddy’s Parents Met
An absolutely adorable jigsaw puzzle game in which each puzzle illustrates a snapshot of Buddy’s parent’s romance.

I Commissioned Some Bees 0
NOT THE BEES (yes the bees). The I Commissioned Some Bees series is a collection of hidden object games in which you find 100 bees hidden in each level. The levels are drawn by different artists (which does, admittedly, occasionally result in some quality inconsistencies but ultimately does not change my “recommend” rating. I like to support new and indie artists’ forays into commission work when I have the opportunity).

She Remembered Caterpillars
Your brain is required for this one.