There are tons of games like A Short Hike.

Alba, Little Kitty Big City, Lil Gator Game, Haven Park, Time on Frog Island, Little Wings Deliveries , The Kind Chamomile, Smushi Come Home, Petit Island, Luna's Fishing Garden, ...

Little Kitty Big City is a gem.

Thanks for that list. I had no idea.

Although, sadly, most of those game appear to not have done very well :(

Another game that gave me similar vibes to A Short Hike was Lil Gator Game.

For me though, a game doesn't have to have cozy aesthetics to put me in a more cozy or calm mood, and I've never really gotten into games like Stardew Valley or AC. Beauty in a sense is probably important. Celeste comes to mind, though it can also be quite challenging. My own favorite game even for destressing purposes is Dark Souls... And then you have things like classic solitaire/klondike, or recently I played through the entire SNES Populous conquest mode, where they're almost more meditative than anything.

Sometimes it's less about the genre and more about how the game makes you feel

Thank you for the recommendation!

I generally play http://slither.io/ to relax. I find the visuals when the snakes explode very relaxing for some reason. Play some slither, pop on an interesting audiobook = chill out bliss for me.

I know slither is played by a lot of kids, sometimes I wonder if I am the only adult on there. Curious if anyone on HN has ever played it or heard of it. I know it's popular with kids because one time I was in Party City getting some party supplies and in the kids birthday supply aisle there was an entire "slither" party section with graphics and themed stuff from the game.

Just a note if anyone from here checks it out it's WAY better if you install the chrome zoom mod, it becomes 1000x more fun after that.

I've played slither quite a bit, and I find it very stressful, it's hard to survive and very frustrating when you die, but I do think it's a brilliant little game.

If you get the mod so you can zoom out it gets a LOT easier! I play on the Pacific Servers a lot, if you see me on there I am LARGE MARGE. That's funny you find it stressful whereas I find it relaxing.

The chrome extension for zooming is called SlitherPlus ?

I found out about slither.io here at hn. Also found out about the similar one agar.io.

Absolutely love A Short Hike. Perfect to relax in bed or on the couch on the Deck and just relax. I have fallen asleep playing it multiple times. Just wandering and soaring and climbing.

A friend gifted me A Short Hike after my cat died suddenly during covid, and it really did make me feel better. It’s a lovey game.

I recommend all 3 installments of Frog Detective. They are all short plays and zero challenges, just really fun writing and adorable characters.

When I want to relax I play Euro truck simulator. Its similar to IRL driving slowly through the city in the night.

A Short Hike is such a gem. It nails that cozy feeling without trying too hard

Spilled! is a short game about cleaning up oil with a similar vibe.

That was great, thanks!

Smushi come home if the most similar I've played

Thank you!