Great games to play while at home

Since people have been told to stay inside their homes we wanted to reach out to our community to find out what games they have been playing while staying at home!

See below for a list of games our community members have been playing, and hopefully find some to play yourself.

Don’t Starve Together: Being able to play with other people has been wonderful. Then somehow managing sanity in a game is almost cathartic, and building something from hardship is sort of relevant in my life. I’ve been struggling in my life with feeling like I’m building something from nothing. – Provided by Kat

Elite Dangerous: It has become a “zen game” that I can sink a lot of time into right now. It offers big goals that can be broken down into smaller goals. As of right now, I plan to reach the most remote system in the game. However, to do that I need to upgrade my ship and prepare for the trip. As complicated as the game is, the community has made it make way more sense! – Provided by Lars Kiesbye Bendixen

Persona 5 Royal: Persona 5 Royal will always hold a special place in my heart. A game that mixes the everyday life of a highschool student and supernatural thievery. The relationships built between the characters are extremely well done and understanding. Then working together to overcome overwhelming odds is amazingly motivating. How it talks about and handles trauma is done in a respectful and loving way with the light at the end of the tunnel that it will get better. And it certainly helps that it has a rocking soundtrack. – Provided by Ian

Islanders: The perfect game for zoning out, getting your chill on, and celebrating easily achievable wins. Islanders allows you to start small and build an entire civilization. It’s a lovely little getaway to escape the read world, a mix of strategy and zen-like aesthetics to keep your brain busy and your body relaxed. – Provided by Jen

Elder Scrolls Online: This game has become an escapist game for me. It has allowed me to listen to the voice actors and the stories that they tell within the world, giving me the chance to truly appreciate the work that they do. With such a large world I have enjoyed exploring it during quarantine. While I am not typically a person that plays MMOs Elder Scrolls Online has really interested me – Provided by FeintVarient

Sims 4: For me, I find that the game is an easy way to kill time, it can really suck you into it. I personally enjoy the building aspect of it; the building controls are really intuitive once you get to know them, and it is a great way to express your creativity. The game is open ended and leaves it so that you can really play whatever way you want to, and can direct sims’ lives in so many ways. The game has a huge modding community that makes things for every aspect of the game, so if you are not able to, or are unwilling to buy the expansion packs, there are other ways to expand your gameplay and options. -Provided by Laura from Ireland

DragonQuest XI: This game had me interested when I first saw it! The bright colors and impressive and strategic combat had me hooked when I first played it. It is certainly a bonus that it is extremely long (I took 140 hours without all the side-quests). The story is amazing with excellently acted characters. The amount of content and care put into this game is astounding and makes for a wonderful game to play while in isolation! -Provided by Skye

Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild: This game has helped me relax and kept me entertained during quarantine. It allows me to be creative with how I traverse within the game world of Hyrule while being accompanied by a delightful soundtrack and the ambient sounds of nature. While playing, I’m confident that I can overcome any challenges I might discover. With all the uncertainty in the real life and the world around us, that feeling of confidence can be rare to find elsewhere. -Provided by Tiziano Lento

Kind Words: A video game mixed with an uplifting online community! Kind Words lets you send out “letters” to other users around the world anonymously and express how you’re feeling. On the days when things are feeling a little rough, I love playing this game to feel the wholesome energy that’s being shared around the world. This game also has an amazing soundtrack, really pretty visuals and it’s a must-have for anyone who’s feeling a little disconnected. – Provided by Sarah

Animal Crossing: New Horizons: This game is escapism at its best. Players can create their own world filled with cute characters and fun challenges to complete. The game is filled with customisation options which means the possibilities are only limited by what your brain can come up with. ACNH gives you control over something and allows you to explore parts of yourself that you hide in the real world. You can go at your own pace which allows the player to explore and create in a zero pressure space. ACNH is a game for everyone from your little brother to your well versed gamer. It even supports multiplayer. This game helped me reconnect to friends that I hadn’t seen in years and it was all because we were working together to create something bigger than ourselves. -Provided by Mellydactyl

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: When everything outside is so messed up, The Witcher 3 winds up being a comfort game for me. The Witcher is a well crafted world filled with monsters to hunt, fleshed out characters, romances (social activity!), and a dense map. And when you can’t go out and enjoy the world, hunting vampires through sunny, French-adjacent wineries is an acceptable substitute. Now that the game has been released on the Switch and the Netflix series has returned its popularity, now is a wonderful time to start hunting monsters! Not to mention the game is huge and should keep most busy through some stay at home orders. Ours in New Zealand ended and I still haven’t finished the Blood and Wine DLC. -Provided by Corey

Rez: This is a game that has allowed me to easily enter into a flow state. The aesthetic of low-polygon enemies and wireframe environments are all tied together by the rhythmic beat of the techno music that is irrevocably intertwined with the game experience. This is not a rhythm game! However, you would lose much of the experience if you muted the music. Add to that the force feedback in your controller and Rez is a rare game that pulls your senses of sight, hearing, and touch all together into one fluid experience. And since it’s not a rhythm game where you have to focus heavily on the beat, it allows you to very easily slip into a flow state as you play. It lets everything fall away around you allowing you to be fully in the moment playing the game. -Provided by Ben “Aecium” Phipps

There you have it! A list of wonderful games that you can play while staying at home. For those of us that are no longer having to stay home you still have a list of game recommendations for the future!