Dear community,
I’m looking for a similar (calm) game like Portal 1/2 or Firewatch that I can play on macOS with a similar vibe. The last time I played a game is years ago, and I wish I had at least once a week a nice single-player game that I can play 1-2 hours. =)
I enjoyed Portal because I had to plan out what I’m doing before I act (without being pressured to act), the atmosphere of the game was legendary and I liked that little robot following me. Firewatch had a calm amazing story, there was no ‘action’ but sometimes that feeling that something could happen. It was a nice exploring game.
Any ideas?
Update: Thank you for your input!
If factory games are up your alley, Factorio is also great. You can completely turn off the enemy forces/bugs and just build stuff. They have native ports for Mac, along with every other OS, and Nintendo Switch!
The Talos Principle is amazing and the sequel is super good too. Devs recently came out with a remaster of the first game too.
Outer Wilds is a masterpiece, although it’s not completely chill at all times (actually can be scary but only rarely and you can disable that too). But it’s a really really really good game.
Talos Principle
This. 👍
Surprised no one’s suggested Stardew Valley yet.
This was my recommendation. It’s as stressful as you want it to be.
FARM HARDER!
It can either be chill or (in the caves) a stressful race against the clock to get down levels and fight (in the beginning) :D
Hardspace: Shipbreaker in sandbox/unlimited mode
Agreed. Without the shift timer the game is almost peaceful.
The Talos Principle (both of them, though the DLC for 1 is optional, and incredibly challenging). They’re the best puzzle game I can recommend next to Portal. They do their own thing, and almost to the same level. The gameplay doesn’t feel quite as smooth, but there’s a lot it goes better than Portal too.
The Outer Wilds. It doesn’t feel as chill to some people, but I think it is. Very tiny first ~20m spoiler that can help with being chill:
spoiler
it’s a time loop, so there are no consequences. Feel free to wreck your ship. It’ll be repaired next loop. Feel free to mess around and die. You’ll lose nothing. Don’t be sucked into the idea you need to do things well or quickly, because it literally does not matter. The only thing that effects the next loop is what you learned.
Games similar to portal:
- The Talos Principle 1 & 2
- Antichamber
- Superliminal
- Viewfinder
- Manifold Garden
Similar to Firewatch:
- Umurangi Generation
- Return of the Obra Dinn
Other stuff that might interest you that I haven’t seen already recommended:
- Journey
- Abzu
- Exo One
- Wytchwood
- Cairn (tentatively. This game can get stressful)
- Dinkum
- Untitled Goose Game
- A Lego game (Any of them. They all follow the same formula)
- Flower
No idea if any of those work on Mac though. If you have an intel based mac you can use bootcamp to dual boot windows, and unlock maaaaany games.
Another game thats similar to firewatch imo is “What remains of Edith Finch”
Manifold Garden was great.
Animal Crossing is another good adition to the list.
Absolutely not playable on Mac, though. But other than that, a 10/10 recommendation.
I enjoyed Portal because I had to plan out what I’m doing before I act (without being pressured to act), the atmosphere of the game was legendary and I liked that little robot following me
Portal 2 has two community made “Valve Quality” DLCs. “Portal Stories: Mel” and “Portal: Revolution”. Mel seems playable on macOS at least. Revolution is basically a Portal 2 presequel. (It’s also so long I would have payed for it.)
Nice
I heard Doom is a very peaceful game. You might wanna try that.
especially myhouse.wad
For context
A very calm game in the same genre: Wolfenstein.
Or DOOM II
Talos Principal 1 and 2. They are also story based puzzle games. I’m not sure I’d Talos 1 remaster or 2 are on Mac but I’m sure the original one is, which still holds up.
No Mans Sky is my chill game.
Sometimes I just build an outpost near animals, sit in my chair, and watch the world turn
A Short Hike! Play as a little bird, climbing a mountain, flying/gliding, talking to quirky characters. Beautiful pixel art. Also Fez.
Loved this game so much! I just wanted more after I finished. I’ll have to look up the studio and see what else they’ve done.
A Short Hike
The Outer Wilds
Tunic
Exploration focused games that are pretty calm (for the most part). They are some of my personal favorites. I recommend not looking up much about them (especially Outer Wilds and Tunic. Learning mechanics from gameplay is part of the game for those two). Tunic is probably the most action oriented of the lot, (like old Zelda games) and it leans hard on the puzzle aspect, so if that’s not your favorite then it might not be for you.
The outer wild is NOT chill though.
Did you perhaps mistake it for the other wotlds? That is a game which is definitely not chill. For wilds, I can’t say.
Different strokes. I found it incredibly relaxing to fly around in my spaceship exploring. I can think of one specific planet that’s not very chill, but the rest were.
Without spoiling too much, maybe the time pressure gets to you? For me it’s long enough that I don’t really feel it for most of the game.
Tunic is fantastic, but not that chill. Its kinda “souls-lite” So much dying, though punishment is minimal.
Night in the Woods is mostly chill with some spikes of excitement. It is a good match for A Short Hike along multiple axes but I’d recommend caution as it dips into melancholy and mental health issues.
yeah, in retrospect, Tunic probably shouldn’t be on this list. I was fondly remembering the puzzles and exploration and less so the souls-like combat challenges.
Tunic is, however, fantastic, and should be played.
It does have a somber feel to it and I at least found that the combat mostly got out of the way at a certain point. Not trivial but getting there.
Gris is a nice, chill game with a really beautiful artstyle.
Escape Game Simulator - puzzles, no pressure, exploring encouraged.
Crime Scene Cleaner - no stress, but a little spooky, very relaxing
Slime Ramcher - turn off tarrs and explore. Breadcrumb story, great music and sound effects.
