Spiritfarer, it’s the most chill game I’ve ever played.

Oh, yeah and Dredge, one of my favourite games.

I recommend Cobalt Core. Super cute characters and story, and very satisfying even after completing the main quest. It and Balatro are currently my standing “twenty minutes on a lunch break” games.

I should preface this by saying I don’t actually have a steam deck yet, so I haven’t tested these on there. So I’m only commenting on the games themselves. These are listed as deck “verified” in the steam store, though.

One I haven’t seen mentioned yet is Yoku’s Island Express. Breezy summer vibes, not much difficulty. It’s kind of a pinball metroidvania.

Tinykin is another game with a very cozy/low stakes feel. It’s an exploration/collectathon platformer with cute environments made up of household objects.

Littlewood is a life sim sort of game, kind of like Stardew Valley, but it’s extremely chill. There’s no time limit or anything like that.

And others have mentioned these, but Toem, Alba, and Donut County are all very good and gentle games too.

Oh, and Tchia. That one has some dark moments at times, mostly in cutscenes, but when you’re actually playing it’s mostly gentle and island-y.

Maybe also Wuppo? It’s a strange one. The story and humor and animation are pretty great in that one, but there are some boss fights that can get a little frustrating. It’s mostly a fairly chill platformer, but then it’s got kind of bullet-hell-adjacent bosses. I still really like the game, but it’s not quite as purely relaxing as some of the others here.

Pikuniku is kind of in the same position as Wuppo, but I liked it a bit less. The humor feels a little more forced or stilted, and the frustrating bits are because the controls are kinda floaty. My niece really liked it when she was 8, though, so it had that going for it.

Hope this helps! I’ve been looking for this kind of game a lot the past few years

If you like english humor, check out “Thank goodness your here”. Alternatively “Tiny terry’s turbo trip” or “Untitled goose game”.

The Last Campfire is like being read a bedtime story - its delightful

Monster Hunter series.

My list of endorphin-boosting games:

Dorfromantik
Unpacking
A Little To The Left
Tiny Glade - though this one barely qualifies as a game

If you want something a little more gamified: Balatro is amazing and addictive.

helltaker

Awaria is the second game by the same dev. I won’t lie, it is kinda high energy. Enemies chase you in real time around the tile board rather than it being a turn-based puzzle game. But I still find it fun and it has a lot of the same story vibes. Also there is an easy mode if you want a truly chill experience.

I expected to open this thread and see 30 recommendations for stardew valley but I don’t see any. So stardew valley.

• Lost in Play - adorable game about two siblings and their imagined adventure…or is it?
• Tinykin - platform puzzler collectathon with zero enemies. Just cozy vibes.
• Freshly Frosted - Want to feel personally encouraged by a soothing narrator while making donut machines?
• Tiny Glade - make cute castles. That’s it!
• KeyWe - kiwi mail delivery. Literally.
• The Were Cleaner - werewolf janitor.
• Little Inferno - silly game where you burn things to get more things to burn. Also, Sugar Plumps!
• A Hat in Time - puzzle platformer collectathon that’s cute and creative
• Dangeresque: The Roomisode Triungulate - silly point and click adventure. Looks like I’m gonna have to jump…!
• Hidden Through Time - Where’s Waldo but more animated.
• Thomas Was Alone - platformer where Thomas might not be as alone as he thinks (in a good way).

• Cult of the Lamb
• Vampire Survivors
• Halls of Torment

spec ops the line (just kidding)

I’m imagining someone cozying up with a blanket, a lap kitty, some tea, and the horrors of mankind.

Because you mentioned Islanders, maybe Dorfromantik?

20 mins till dawn Mario Mario kart Desk Job(it’s more of a deck tutorial but funny)

Journey to the Savage Planet is grossly underated: fun, simple game, just challenging enough and extremely well polished.