What RPG to play during a low mood

[ghostdog]

It's an action/rpg, but play Ghost of a Tale. It's a very cozy and charming game, even though you're playing as a mouse trying to escape a dungeon.

 

[__scribbles__]

Mother/Earthbound Zero makes me happy every time I play it. The soundtrack especially gives a great sense of nostalgia, highlights being the Main Theme, Queen Mary's Castle, and Pollyanna.

 

[rubinstein]

Mother/Earthbound Zero makes me happy every time I play it. The soundtrack especially gives a great sense of nostalgia, highlights being the Main Theme, Queen Mary's Castle, and Pollyanna.

dont forget about this

amazing piece of soundtrack that not only touched my heart, but also my soul, and restored a tiny bit of humanity i longed for since my youthful days

 

[__scribbles__]

dont forget about this

Personally, I would prefer it if it didn't play as much during the second half of the game, but it's an amazing song that effectively captures how the kids feel during the battles.

 

[Angriph]

I guess I am not the only one but I need to be in a neutral or mildly positive mood to be able to play an RPG. Otherwise, I feel like I am using the high immersion to avoid facing a problem.
If I am neutral or above, I usually select a new game or revisit one that has been long in my to-play list. I didn't play RPGs before my teens so my comfort childhood games tend to be strategy or shooters.

 

[Maxwell's Demon]

Don't play games if you're in a bad mood. You won't be able to focus, and over time you will associate feeling bad with playing games.

Go for a walk outside instead. Light stimulates arousal, and exercise stimulates both arousal and the endogenous opioid system. These have a long-term effect of improving your mood.

 

[MurkrLurkr]

When I'm feeling blue, I don't play games ... I watch or read how others play them.

 

[Carceri]

Don't play games if you're in a bad mood. You won't be able to focus, and over time you will associate feeling bad with playing games.

Go for a walk outside instead. Light stimulates arousal, and exercise stimulates both arousal and the endogenous opioid system. These have a long-term effect of improving your mood.

This.

Fuck computer games!

 

[Tihskael]

I don't play any RPG when I am in a low mood. However most RPGs do put me in a low mood when I do play them. Hunh?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Probably some form of online/LAN cooperative RPG. Monkey brain likes completing tasks with other monkeys.

 

[Falksi]

As others have said, eat well + get outside & exercise to aid detox & raise your mood instead.

That said, if something/someone has pissed me off and said snap & exercise don't help, I'll put on a fave SHMUP such as Hellfire, Eliminate Down or Thunderforce 3 or a fave Run & Gun such as Contra Hard Corps, Contra 3, or Mega Turrican, and blow the living shit out of things for 20-60 minutes, which helps.

 

[Fizz]

What RPG do you play when you are depressed/stressed/low mood?
For me is Gothic I even though II Gold is a much better game, I find G1 far more immersive. Maybe it is nostalgia talking, as G1 was my first true open-world action RPG, but I find something like going through the old camp relaxing.
Doing menial tasks trying to join a camp, and traveling between camps, feels so serene.

So what's yours?

Usually Baldur's Gate 1 or 2.

 

[Fizz]

I have been playing some Monster Hunter World and Stardew Valley mindlessly now. Didn't think I had it in me but now I am averaging 5+ hours a day which is more than I have managed in a long long time. Risen was the probably last proper RPG I played though, got boring after the first town. And yeah Elden Ring if it counts.

Stardew Valley I found to be so boring and time consuming...

What is it that hooks you?
Always start a new game, plant some stuff, go fishing, visit some random people, then get bored.

 

[Fizz]

Baldur's Gate 1 (the original) always lights me up if I'm in a bad mood. The way it tells its story, the idyllic world design, the light-hearted low-level adventuring, everything makes me feel cozy and warm with this game. I'd name Gothic 2 and Ultima VII for the same reasons.

And not to forget the Kingdom Come: Deliverance beta 8.1. I still have this one here because the way nature is depicted here is so tremendously realistic and beautiful. It's basically my favourite walking simulator. Just walking into these woods (that actually look like your typical middle- to eastern Europe woods) is so relaxing and calming I always find myself come back to it. It's still to my greatest disappointment that they completely changed nature design in the release version. Compared to the glorious beauty of the beta the release version just looks unimpressing and bland.

Is it worth it playing through all of the Ultima games from the beginning up to 7?

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

Baldur's Gate 1 (the original) always lights me up if I'm in a bad mood. The way it tells its story, the idyllic world design, the light-hearted low-level adventuring, everything makes me feel cozy and warm with this game. I'd name Gothic 2 and Ultima VII for the same reasons.

And not to forget the Kingdom Come: Deliverance beta 8.1. I still have this one here because the way nature is depicted here is so tremendously realistic and beautiful. It's basically my favourite walking simulator. Just walking into these woods (that actually look like your typical middle- to eastern Europe woods) is so relaxing and calming I always find myself come back to it. It's still to my greatest disappointment that they completely changed nature design in the release version. Compared to the glorious beauty of the beta the release version just looks unimpressing and bland.

Is it worth it playing through all of the Ultima games from the beginning up to 7?

In my view, no. I myself have only played and finished Ultima VII and Serpent Isle. I also tried Ultima IV, V, VI and the spinoffs but never finished them. They are fine games and bring interesting and revolutionary stuff to the table (especially compared to the other competitors on the market back in the day) but for me they feel rather clunky nowadays and I especially find the first games of the series way too crude to be enjoyed by me. I do regard Ultima VII as the pinnacle of the series - and as a monolithic game in the whole genre, even though its combat system isn't ideal (no problem for me as the game's strengths clearly are in world building, exploration and storytelling). The earlier games are not necessary to understand what's happening in Ultima VII in my opinion.

 

[Tihskael]

I have been playing some Monster Hunter World and Stardew Valley mindlessly now. Didn't think I had it in me but now I am averaging 5+ hours a day which is more than I have managed in a long long time. Risen was the probably last proper RPG I played though, got boring after the first town. And yeah Elden Ring if it counts.

Stardew Valley I found to be so boring and time consuming...

What is it that hooks you?
Always start a new game, plant some stuff, go fishing, visit some random people, then get bored.

It can feel like it, I mean I have put only about 18 hours into it so far. You have probably put more. Both of the games I mentioned are grindy as hell, the type of games I won't normally play. However, in SDV there is always new crops to farm, house to expand, animals to buy, etc. When you are at the same frequency as the game, the music, the nice pixel art style, the different seasons, the little mysteries it packs, it does become an enjoyable experience. It is easy to go back into even if you don't play for months. Personally, I also like the idea of it on mobile or Switch, just put it on to kill time on commute or otherwise. If you don't like the progression, Harvest Moon might be your cup of tea as it does end after a few cycles, SDV I am told does have a story ending, but you can play beyond it.