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I enjoy calmer games most times I'm gaming so I have a lot. The genre I most like is puzzle games, but there are a few exploration/ walking simulators here, too. Among the games already listed, there are:
I would recommend Stray but it has some areas where you're running away from bad things for a bit.
Mostly it's just exploring and meowing though.
Suuuuper confused no one mentioned The Witness yet. Probably the best calm game of our time.
The Witness is polarising. People either think it's incredible, or they think it's dogshit. There is no in between.
(I am in the latter camp, sorry)
No Mans Sky is my chill game.
Sometimes I just build an outpost near animals, sit in my chair, and watch the world turn
or
are a couple of zen micro-games.
For a larger game, Beneath a Steel Sky has a robot who follows you around cracking jokes.
A Short Hike
The Outer Wilds
Tunic
Exploration focused games that are pretty calm (for the most part). They are some of my personal favorites. I recommend not looking up much about them (especially Outer Wilds and Tunic. Learning mechanics from gameplay is part of the game for those two). Tunic is probably the most action oriented of the lot, (like old Zelda games) and it leans hard on the puzzle aspect, so if that's not your favorite then it might not be for you.
Night in the Woods is mostly chill with some spikes of excitement. It is a good match for A Short Hike along multiple axes but I'd recommend caution as it dips into melancholy and mental health issues.
Minecraft on easy mode can be a good calm game with friends, let's you build and explore together without much pressure.
In addition to these, I would add Superliminal. Do not confuse it with Subliminal, that one is not chill 🤣
My kid mentioned subliminal and I was like "oh, I just bought that for you, check your notifications"
Nope, I got superliminal, which is awesome, didn't even know what subliminal was until he mentioned it. We're going to go see the backrooms here soon, looks amazing.
You could check out "FAR: Lone Sails". It's a pretty chill game where you have a machine that you're sailing/driving through platforming actions to the right. It has cinematic feel and a kind of environmental plot, but I don't think there's any way to lose or anything...
And if you like it, there's a sequel "FAR: Changing Tides" that is very similar, but longer and with a more complicated machine to manage.
I could see people being bored with it, there are "puzzles" but they're super light, but maintaining the machine scratches something within me.
You are looking for cozy games or walling simulators.
Honestly I don't know what's on macos, but a quick search: stardew valley, my time on portia (i recommend sandrock if it's available), slime rancher.
For exploration: The Stanley Parable, Life is Strange.
The Stanley Parable, Life is Strange.
This is what I'm looking for! :) Thank you
Maybe try GRIS. It's a 2D platformer journey with amazing presentation.
I really like Kingdom Two Crowns, especially the Nordic biome. It's pixel graphics so not for everyone, but so beautiful. The gameplay is repetitive but satisfying. There are enemies, but they're not that hard. It's beautiful
Yes to all except Outer Wilds.
I love OW but it is not a game to recommend to someone who explicitly says they want a game with no time pressure. Time pressure is literally a core mechanic.
You are correct good thinking
Eastshade is the chilliest game I know. Also great music.
Anything Myst too.
Dorfromantik is also relaxing.
Dorfromantik is excellent.
What Remains of Edith Finch. If you liked Firewatch, you will like this one too. It's short, roughly 2 hours to complete, and I recommend you do it in a single sitting. And provide some tissues.
If you like eerie (but not scary) vibes, I also recommend Kentucky Route Zero
I was working as an HVAC installer when I played What Remains of Edith Fitch and I remember being really impressed when you go into the attic of the house and the developers modeled the air handler with all of the flex duct running to each room of the house. There aren't too many games with that level of detail for something most people playing it wouldn't even know about lol
Viewfinder is good if you want a game where you need to figure out how to get through each level.
Terra Nil. It's about rehabilitating a devastated ecosystem..
Also I'd just like to say that I hate Wheatley. He's such a slimy, manipulative little dullard. He let nearly everyone in the Relaxation Vault die through incompetence, decided to run away from his failures, woke up GLaDOS, accused a mute woman of bossing him around, and nearly got everyone killed for a second time.
Also also, there's more Portal you haven't played yet. There are fanmade spinoffs that run as mods to the original game, with new stories, characters, lore, voice acting, and puzzles.
Portal Stories: Mel is a 6/10 spinoff about an Olympic athlete named Mel, who awakens from hibernation some time before Portal 2. It's in between the lengths of the original two games. It has a couple new interactions between existing mechanics, but the puzzles are kinda easy. Prepare yourself for a bad Cave Johnson impression.
Portal Revolution is an 8/10 spinoff about as long as Portal 2, which takes place after Portal 1 as Aperture is beginning to fall apart. The puzzles are a nice medium difficulty with one or two great head scratchers. It introduces a few new testing apparati, and there's an extended sequence with the single portal device where you need to think creatively. The characters are well written and well acted, and the boss fight is very cool.
Portal Reloaded is a 7/10 spinoff where you can shoot a third portal that lets you travel through time. It's very hard, and the story is almost nonexistent (at least as far as I've gotten). Play this one if you think the others are too easy.
The Aperture Science Paint Gun Initiative is, uh, bad, I've heard. This one replaces your portal gun with a gel sprayer. I haven't played it yet, I might skip it.
Rime!! No one ever suggests it but it's such an amazing game. You can finish the story in 5-10 hours probably, but you'll be thinking about it far longer than that
Unravel and Unravel Two are very cosy platformers.
I can highly recommend Tinykin, no enemies, nice locomotion and controls
Gone Home is a lovely game, the story is a bit sad, and parts has a creepy vibe, but it is interesting and well worth a playthrough, it is more similar to Firewatch than Portal.
This was our first walking simulator trying to get the wife to play with us on the couch, teach her controls. Beautiful game.
Kid and I have been playing split Fiction, amazing btw. We just beat reanimal and wanted more. Wish little nightmares was multiplayer.
There it is! I was thinking I'd have to recommend it myself. I think it's the closest match to what OP is asking for.
holy crap they released portal 0.5? how is it?
If you enjoy exploration and puzzles you may want to look into Talos Principle
I love Valheim. It's a survival game set against a Nordic inspired background. It has several play modes and multiple world modifiers so you can tweak it to your playstyle. You can just chill by exploring the seas and its islands or go build a cozy base. It is also stunningly beautiful despite the modest graphics.
I just started this. It was calm until the Forest started attacking lol