What’s your go-to Comfort Game™?

It seems like a weird question when you first ask it, but it is something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. Video games are often viewed as a source of escapism as well as entertainment. There’s truth there, but I feel like they’ve become more than that for a lot of us, especially in recent years . They can elicit childhood memories that take us back to happier times; they can erase the stress of a bad day or just generally make us feel better.

As time has gone on, I’ve figured out that I have what I call comfort games. Games that I play that will always make me feel better — or happier. That will always be a moment of respite in whatever turbulence is going on around me. It sweeps away all the bad feelings and thoughts and for a little bit I feel happy.

Recently, one game has taken over that spot for me and it is Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The story, the character, and everything about it takes me back to a time where a young me would go to the comic shop with my grandfather every week and buy a comic book to sit and read together. It takes me back to me running around pretending I was Spider-Man jumping off furniture and making my mother shout while trying to hide her laughter. It has a good message: “Be Greater.”

The tagline is woven throughout every part of the game. You help neighbors with everything from finding lost cats, to recovering stolen toys, to fighting supervillain gangsters. It tells a story of navigating the relationship with your family and friends, as well as how to deal with grief and trauma. I can easily sit down and lose hours to this game, and no matter what, it just makes me feel better.

My reaction to the game got me thinking, do you have any comfort games? Do you have something that no matter what, you can put on and sit down and feel even a little bit better for having done so? If so, what game(s)?