I decided to write something that was different than a video game review. Now as gamers we all have our preferences as to what games we use to help us relax. Some games clearly do that better than others. I’m going to list a few games that I would recommend that would help with those busy days that just leave you wanting to sit back and grab a controller and just have fun.

Super Smash Brothers

Now any Super Smash Brothers game would be entertaining but I would definitely recommend Super Smash Brothers for Wii U. The gameplay is everything that makes the previous games good, but with more to it. There are several modes to play on that provide a variety of things to do but what really makes it entertaining is when you get a group of friends and just fight it out for a while. I like how Nintendo made it easier to get a group of players together by enabling the 3DS to function as a Smash Brothers controller. I can’t count how many times my friends and I had to double check to make sure we had enough controllers and with Smash allowing eight player smash that would’ve been more difficult than ever. My personal favorite characters are Ike, Cloud, Link and Mewtwo but so many of the characters are fun to play as.

Pokemon Alpha Sapphire Omega Ruby

I love all the pokemon games but Generation 3 was one of the ones that really holds a special place for me. Pokemon is one of those games that is easy to relax with because you can just sit back and lose yourself for a while as you level up your pokemon and find new and interesting additions to your collection. While all the generations have their own unique elements that are entertaining Generation 3 had some of my favorites like their Secret Bases and the Pokemon Contests. I think oddly enough the fact that it has so much water also plays into making it so relaxing but I’m also one of those people that gets relaxed during rainy days and I live near a body of water so maybe all that plays into my favoritism for this generation, who knows, but it’s still a fun game to play either way.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Now Animal Crossing is a series that is nothing but relaxing. It’s not for everyone as there is nothing exciting at all about this game, its entertainment comes from the ability to customize your house and the village you’re living in. Since there is so much to find and different events that occur in the game it can certainly keep your interest for a while, but it is a game that once your place is right where you want it to be it isn’t long before the game loses interests. So it’s relaxing but for a limited time.

Wii Sports Resort

I’m sure this one seems a bit random but I loved this game and found it fun to pick up every now and again and play a few games on it. There’s a lot to do on this game from Basketball to sword fighting, from my experience, it has a few games that can keep anyone’s interest. One thing I don’t understand is how my friend plays the Frisbee Dog game. He somehow managed to hit the dog and I can’t figure out how he did it.

Bravely Default

This game does a great job at taking a traditional RPG and adding elements that give this game its own unique flair. Since this game doesn’t often get really dark it makes for a fun story to get involved with and play for a few hours and to really help reduce the stress it has a mode where you can actually turn off random encounters, but of course you won’t be strong enough for the boss if you don’t fight smaller enemies so that’s something to keep in mind while playing this game.

Xenoblade Chronicles X

This game is massive and I mean massive. It’s a fun game to play because there’s so many places to explore. I spend two weeks playing the game before I actually entered all five continents and over 100 hours into the game I’ve only done 85% of everything. It’s also a game that relies heavily on the side quests so if you’re a player that just wants to focus on a main story and really prefers not to do the side stuff, take a hard pass on this game. The side quests in combination to the main story is what makes this game so enjoyable. The story is great but it fails to tell everything, in fact it is a very small part of the game. You can explore, find a variety of missions and flying the robotic skells is a lot of fun.

Mass Effect

This RPG/shooter is pretty interesting because of how each decision you make has a lot of impact. I did things in Mass Effect 1 that would come back to either reward or haunt me in Mass Effect 3. This aspect makes you question all your decisions where most games make clear and obvious options for what you want to do. It also helps that the shooting gameplay is very enjoyable. My personal Favorite is Mass Effect 2 but you need to play all three to get the full effect. No pun intended.

Fire Emblem Fates

If you really want to end the day thinking Fire Emblem is the best way to do it but with all its modes, it really caters to a lot of gamers. If you want a more difficult experience you can turn on permanent death and make it to where every decision weighs heavily on the outcome of your characters, or you can turn on phoenix mode where all your characters are revived the next turn and just play to experience the story. Either way it is a very adaptable game but if you’re not looking for a challenge it might be one to stay away from as you need to play all three versions to get the full story and Conquest is pretty difficult at times.