I won’t be able to go on vacation for quite some time, so I’m looking for games that feel like vacation. Games that take place in luxurious hotels or just have the right vibes. The first part of the first Dead Island would be a great example, but also niche games like P.A.M.E.L.A. or Paradise Killer.
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A Short Hike is literally a game about a bird kid on vacation in the mountains. It’s cute and short fun.
Thanks, I already played it, though.
Final Fantasy XV. No joke, that game feels like a big road trip with some beautiful towns in it and lots of side activities like fishing.
Yeah, that’s a solid suggestion, exactly the right vibes. Already played it, though.
Probably not one you’re looking for, but Super Mario Sunshine is perhaps the game that’s most on-theme here.
I haven’t fired it up in a few years but No Man’s Sky was beautiful even on hellscape planets.
it continually gets better. you can evolve and fight your pets pokemon style now.
also i am dying to explore the Galactic Hub, you could spend hours just visiting player built cities and communities
Haven’t played it for years, too. It had this constant sense of futility for me, since there’s no goal and you still constantly need to build things you’ll never see again.
Hitman has massive open levels set in scenic European cities, lavish resorts, beach villas, old manors, and a bunch more. It’s a social stealth game where you try to blend in as you explore the levels and get close to your targets, so it would be pretty easy to roleplay as a vacationer if that’s what you wanted.
Good suggestion. I’m stopped somewhere in Contracts when playing the series some years ago. I should give it another try.
Perhaps the obvious answer, but Animal Crossing?
I think Animal Crossing is more of a game that you tend to play when you are on vacation because you have a lot of time and there’s a lot to do. Not really what I’m looking for.
Really? I find the opposite usually. It encourages shorter sessions over time.
Far Cry 1,3,4,6 are pretty fun. They are bad games though. Imagine a bad but still fun vacation
Yeah, that’s the right direction, it doesn’t even matter that they are kind of bad. Played enough of them tough.
Have you looked at the walking simulators on steam.?
Things like FireWatch?
I have to say I don’t have the patience for walking simulators.
this one should not be as hilarious as it is to watch people try to play.
Spoiler
this is the opposite of a vacation btw
Sonic Adventure DX and Sonic Adventure 2, plus Chao Resort Island if you enjoy the Chao Gardens from the other two (it’s a free fanmade project that’s almost exactly like the GBA Chao Garden, but with much more functionality and mechanics)
I just finished it for the first time in probably 20 years, but Blinx 2 as it takes place across a few different biomes/locales, with the very first taking place in a tropical island setting much like a lot of Sonic games (the character Blinx was apparently created by Sonic’s creator too). It’s very fun and you can customize your own Time Sweeper and Tom Tom members, equipped with their own teams and weapons/gear. I mostly mention this as I feel like more people need to know about and play this game, but it is incredibly fun (I’d love for there to be a Blinx 3 somewhere down the line). There’s also co-op and multiplayer, which the first game didn’t have.
Rollin’ Rascal isn’t really out yet, but there’s a demo on steam that’s been getting fairly regular updates for the last year or so, but it’s super fun imo. It’s basically a 3D Sonic knock-off but everything just works so smoothly and there’s plenty of techniques to learn to get through stages faster. There’s even multiplayer on the demo so you can race other people online and customize your own “Rascal.”
Dishonored 2 maybe?
Only VR games really gave me that feeling. It was really a near complete teleport to elsewhere… and with a relatively quiet game, it could make for a nice vacation.
I have a VR set that I mainly usually only use for free museum tours (I especially recommend the Roald Amundsen House and the Japanese National Museum VR project), so if you have recommendations here, that would be great too!
Unfortunately I used the Oculus CV1, which Meta has kind of locked out (I suddenly needed an account that I couldn’t activate back then), and which doesn’t run in Linux. So until the new Steam gadget comes out, I’m out of the VR scene :(
Yeah, I never would have bought a set myself due to all the crap Meta pulls off, but it was a Christmas present. I haven’t even dared to sideload yet because they keep such a tight control on what you do with it. I hope there will be some kind of way to crack it in the future.
It was promising when it was Oculus. When they got bought by Meta, it went downhill real quick (unsurprisingly). So I’m waiting on Valve, hoping they’ll manage to keep prices vaguely affordable…
Well, it’s still usable with Meta, but it is a pain in the ass since everything has to be piped through steam or gog anyway if you avoid the Meta store. And that only works with an USB connection, limiting what you can actually do with the device.
I’m fine with a connected headset. I’m not fine with having to connect to Meta to use a device that used to work just fine, and which no longer works, because Meta has decided, for some reason, that it wouldn’t let me connect and enable it. That’s just artificial walled garden bullshit and they can fuck right off. So anyway, it’s been in storage for years now.
Yeah, of course that’s the worst part. However, my point is that I’m also not fine with a connected headset when the bloody thing is perfectly capable of running the programmes on its own, but Meta just decides that you can’t have that.
What comes to mind:
- A Short Hike
- Eastshade
- The Sims (depending how you play)
- Dave the Diver
Here is a nice list: https://thecozygamingnook.com/cozy-travel-games-that-feel-like-a-vacation/
Thanks, but I’m not really looking for cozy games per se, they tend to bore me a bit.
Ah, now that is an important distinction.
Well, there’s some of those:
- Skyrim
- Wind Waker (or other Zelda games)
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (maybe even Origins)
- Timberborn
- All Will Fall (if you like the vibe)
- Broken Sword series
- Subnautica
- Creatures of Ava (maybe too cozy for you)
I ended up playing the first Broken Sword. Sadly I didn’t realize beforehand that the Directors Cut was a dumbed down version of the original. Meh.
Long stretches of Saints Row (any of them) meet this criteria - it’s easy to just cruise in cool cars, hang out in expensive locations, and go clothes shopping - for long stretches of these game.
Yes, that’s the feeling I’m mainly looking for. I already played a lot of 3 and 4 though and can’t get 2 to run.
Yes. It broke my heart when Volition broke up. I would gladly just keep buying new installments of Saints Row just to cruise around new locations while I listen to Legendary Actor Keith David talk.
I played AC: Odyssey during the COVID lockdown and pretended it was a holiday in Greece.
I tried that with Origins during the pandemic, too. But somehow the AC-style of games feel much too detached to me. The game seems to tell you that it’s a game at ever chance it gets.
The broken sword series has a lot of tourist vibes. It’s part of the story visiting monuments and countries and unraveling crimes and mysteries. Great games if you’re into point and click adventures. It always feels cozy when I replay them.
Seems like I have the first one in my library, so I’ll try it out. Thanks!
I finished the first one only to realize that the Director’s Cut was actually a dumbed down version of the original. That kind of ruined it for me.
Ive played both and i Liked the Directors Cut. They added some stuff and some dialogues but most of it is still the same.
But the puzzles were awfully easy and I had heard the game was infamous for some of them.
Demon Tides and The Dungeons of Hinterburg
Demon Tides is a 3d platformer in a tropical set of islands and you use abilities to get what you need on the islands or swim in between them. Think of it as Mario mixed with Legend of Zelda Wind Waker. Great music in this game and it has a very warm/cozy feeling, especially since your character’s friends are just kinda riding around on a boat and you can run into them literally anywhere
Dungeons of Hinterburg has you vacationing in a small Austrian town where a number of magical dungeons have sprung up basically overnight. The dungeons were turned into a tourist attraction, and you spend the days diving into the dungeons and the evenings you spend with the other tourists and the locals through Persona style social links. This one is literally about the character’s vacation
Seconding Dungeons of Hinterberg. I got it a year ago from Humble Choice and was surprised how good it was.
