For some people, gaming is all about getting an adrenaline rush in scenarios that are highly unlikely to occur in real life. It's the thrill, action, adventure, and suspense that keep them hooked and wanting more. However, too much action and brainwork can lead to burnout that's tough to shake off, even if it's just from playing a bunch of games. This is why, just like any other aspect of life, there should be some sort of 'wind-down' mechanism for gaming as well.

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Here's where games depicting a slower life really stand out. These games can be defined by having cute, cozy, chill mechanics and visuals that soothe the player, rather than putting them in overdrive. Their relaxing atmosphere, in addition to their highly attractive settings, can make them immensely addictive—sometimes even more than 'normal' games. Consequently, some developers take this concept a step further by creating fully open-world slice-of-life setups that give players the entire 'mundane living' experience reminiscent of the real world.

7 Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

Steam Reviews: 82% (Very Positive)

While Palia and certain other titles on this list are more 'grind' oriented in terms of their farming aspect, Yonder: The Cloud Catcher is a game that's solely officially catered towards unwinding and de-stressing. Multiple different mini-mechanics in the game make it more 'game-like' but the overall gist of the game is simply existing and enjoying life.

Because there isn't one set objective or goal to be achieved, players can do so many different things to keep themselves busy and engaged. The game's setting is breathtaking, featuring muted colors and dreamy, fantastical designs that give players an odd sense of tranquility. Additionally, the music and slow pacing of the game make it all the more peaceful and enchanting.

6 My Time at Portia

Steam Reviews: 84% (Very Positive)

Building a farm is the most 'slice-of-life' aspect a game can offer its players, no matter how redundant it feels. My Time at Portia is a farming sim that entirely focuses on rebuilding and revamping a dead farm. One could even call it a perfect dupe to Stardew Valley. It features the most charming graphics, reminiscent of Studio Ghibli artwork, that it uses to enhance its casual feel.

Like any other casual farming game, My Time at Portia begins with building a base and, naturally, establishing a farm. Players can start off by doing basic stuff like gathering resources, making a workshop, taming animals, and growing crops, to doing relatively complex tasks like interacting with NPCs and building a community.

5 Clanfolk

Steam Reviews: 90% (Very Positive)

• Released: 2022-07-14
• Developer(s): MinMax Games Ltd.
• Genres: Life Sim

Life Sims are fun! They're easy to play, casual, and very flexible with the little mechanics they offer. But players occasionally come across certain life simulation games that take their gameplay to the next level with their highly intricate and thorough premises. Clanfolk is one such game that offers players not only a very considerable learning curve but also a relatively intense premise—as intense as 2D-pixel games can manage.

Clanfolk is mostly about hustling hard and occasionally chilling. Players are thrown onto a rough plot of land in the Scottish Highlands with a bunch of family members and are expected to not only survive but thrive from scratch. The family members accompanying the player have their own dreams, skills, aspirations, and jobs. They can also grow, evolve, and even die from natural causes. This game is like a medieval version of The Sims set in the Highlands. There are countless tiny details and mechanics to juggle at all times—like soil conditions, seasonal shifts, temperature variations, food freshness, and a whole lot more.

4 Calico

Steam Reviews: 90% (Very Positive)

As mentioned before, the slice-of-life genre isn't just about farming or crafting anymore. Running a cozy café or a charming little restaurant could prove to be the ultimate slice-of-life game experience for some people. Fortunately for them, Calico nails that 'casually running a business' concept and goes above and beyond by adding the most adorable, lovable animals ever.

It's a day-in-the-life sim where the primary task of the player is to rebuild and run a cat café. The game, while particularly focused on casts, has all sorts of animals players can tame and play with. The heart of the game is all about creating a cozy, personalized space filled to the brim with adorable animals. The café can be customized with personal flavor using a variety of cool furniture pieces and styles. Players can also be a part of adorable mini-games, and potion crafting.

3 Dinkum

Steam Reviews: 94% (Very Positive)

• Released: 2022-07-14
• Developer(s): James Bendon
• Genres: Life Sim, Farm Sim

In Dinkum, players do exactly what they do in other slice-of-life farm games, but under the guise of being in the Australian outback. It's essentially an Aussie-oriented life sim that focuses entirely on Australian wildlife. The game is as simple as it can get—explore forests, build a house, expand it into a bustling town, and eventually monetize your lifestyle.

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The game starts off pretty realistically by giving the players absolutely zero resources or shelter for the first night. They eventually have to use everything around them to make their space into a fully operative town with numerous attractions that can help them grow and bring in visitors and neighbors. There's also an animal-taming mechanic that allows players to raise different animals ranging from chickens and sheep to massive wombats. And of course, being set in Australia, the game brings its own unique wildlife challenges—after all, those crocs aren't going to capture themselves!

2 Stardew Valley

Steam Reviews: 98% (Overwhelmingly Positive)

No game in this world can be more 'slice-of-life' than a casual farming simulation with elements of everything ordinary one would find in village life and absolutely no other game nails that description quite like Stardew Valley.

The game allows players to grow, maintain, and profit off of their allotted farm. The little backstory the character gets only shows that they've inherited a plot of land from their grandfather and have to turn that rusty, overgrown patch into a fully thriving farm. The players can also interact and form bonds with NPCs, eventually having them help around. Numerous other mechanics keep the game fully immersive: cooking, exploring, fishing, crafting, and unlocking other lands with different benefits.

1 Lil Gator Game

Steam Reviews: 99% (Overwhelmingly Positive)

There's so much more to the slice-of-life genre than just farming and building things, and Playtonic Games' Lil Gator Game is the primary proof of that. It's a delightful little adventure game that, despite only being a slice-of-life, has one of the cutest settings on this list. It follows a tiny, adorable alligator as they and their friends set out on an expedition to explore the island they live on.

The game focuses on Lil' Gator as they travel through the island, embarking on various adventures along the way. There are multiple explorable areas on the island that hold side quests, items, and NPCs to interact with. Finding these items in their adventures will allow players to upgrade Lil' Gator, giving them different fun abilities and traits to help them on their next quest.

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