If you were cynical you’d call this week’s post on games that heal an excuse to recommend games twice in a week. That would be very cynical and definitely inaccurate. In continuing with our theme from earlier in the week I’d like to offer up another slate of projects that you can use to help relax and/or better yourself. Interested? Check the recommendations out below.

Station to Station

One of my good friends recently taught me about the joys of SlowTV. For the uninitiated it’s a series of exceptionally lengthy videos on Netflix that are meant to be calming background entertainment. These range from international knitting competitions to my favorite, a real-time train ride from one end of Norway to the other. The goal is to force you to slow down and relax.

Enter: Station to Station. Station to Station takes this idea and applies it in game form. You get to sit on a train and watch fantastical vistas scroll as you go about your day. There’s not much “game” here as interaction is basically non-existent but it certainly achieves its goal of forcing you to relax and take things slowly.  

Starter Cheatsheets for Game Development

Ok this one straight up isn’t a game. It’s not an “experience” or some fancy way of dressing up the term game. If the title didn’t let you know already, this week I’m recommending what is basically a study guide for getting into game development.

These are written by Lucy Morris, a game dev/ indie community champion in New Zealand and they’re awesome one-sheets to get you set on the right track for a variety of different roles. Want to know about becoming a 3D game artist? That’s in there. Want to learn about writing for a game? That’s in there too. The cheatsheets are super well designed and from what I can tell the information is solid (2D artists, let me know if I’m wrong.) The best part? The whole set is only $2.

Ascend

What’s cooler than trains, and learning? Trees. I love ‘em, you love ‘em, and they keep us from suffocating on a daily basis. There’s really nothing not to like. Ascend is a game that gets it. If you’re ready to spend the next half hour chilling out in the digital woods, keep reading.

To be clear, this is more Proteus than Walden the Game but there’s still a lot of stuff to do. You’ve got riddles, dude’s in viking helmets, and SO MANY TREES. I really can’t say enough about the trees. It’s a great time and a nice little jaunt you can take to relax during your lunch break. Be careful, though there are reports of the game breaking for some windows users.

As always, I’d love to know what y’all are playing this week. Any recommendations we’ve missed? Let everyone know in the comments below.