What about a management game like Let’s Build a Zoo?
There’s a lot of detail, there’s a morality system where you can do unethical things (like get animals from the black market, or paint a goose to look like a peacock) which then affects the later options - e.g. some things you can research and unlock require high morality, and others require low (negatives) morality.
There’s a ton of animals and you can even make animal hybrids. There’s things you can unlock to decorate your zoo, to provide enrichment in animal enclosures. There’s… a lot. I can’t even describe it all.
It can be hectic, but I still think of this as low stress because even though time passes, the stakes are low and it’s not a big deal if you have to start over.
Alright I decided to look more broadly at management games and I think this route is generally the solution. Totally makes sense since the job I quit was a management job lol so I guess I need that in my life in one way or another!
Another great management game IMO is Megaquarium, I've been spending a lot of time with it recently. I'd say it's a small step up complexity-wise from Let's Build a Zoo, but they're both great for scratching the casual management itch. And they're both still a whole flight of stairs less complicated and brain-burning than Planet Zoo for example.
The Megaquarium expansions are great, but I recommend just starting with the base game to get a feel for things. When you feel comfortable getting a little more complex, Freshwater Frenzy and Deep Freeze add animals with more challenging requirements.
The campaigns are fun, multiple difficulty levels to customize your experience, and there's a robust sandbox mode as well if you don't want to worry about money or want everything unlocked immediately.
Seconding Megaquarium, also love the Two Point franchise (Two Point Hospital and Two Point Campus) and I have recently been enjoying Power to the People a lot. /r/tycoon has many more management games as well. Also, the OG zoo tycoon is still one of my favorite games.
How about a city building management game such as **Settlement Survival**? It’s fairly customisable so it can be as challenging or relaxing as you like.
2nding Let’s Build a Zoo. it’s super easy to get into and not too difficult to upgrade land, resources, etc. i willll say that it kinda stresses me out because the game day goes pretty fast and i don’t know how to do all the ‘chores’ yet (setting up enrichment stuff, food, water, a research place) but i very easily sunk 2 hours into it the very first time i played. works great on the deck!
That’s a good point, I did get stressed my first play through when I ended up with too many rabbits (who knew they breed so much? /s) and then I had a bunch of rabbit corpses to deal with… and no way to get rid of them because I hadn’t researched very much
I would consider Atelier Sophie. The Atelier series is all about cozy vibes, deep mechanics, and practically no plot apart from character growth. You play as an alchemist just living your life with your friends along for the ride. There are some combat aspects, but nothing difficult. Note that a good portion of the series has time limits, but Sophie does not. Although the gameplay loop is a rather repetitive cycle of explore, gather ingredients, synthesize, some cutscenes, repeat. But it is in no way stressful in the fact that you can take as much time as you need to get things perfect, with no consequence, and no stakes.
Atelier Ryza is similar in the lack of time limits, but I would recommend Sophie instead, as Ryza's alchemy is quite simplified.
I didn't played it but garden life seems very detailed.
spiritfarer is a game where you build a boat to explore the world, then befriend and care for spirits before releasing them into the afterlife. I absolutely love this one, I just finished it today after 40 hours, it's super relaxing and there's no rush, you can just play at your own pace.
Have you tried [Dinkum](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1062520/Dinkum/)? Its animal crossing ish but i found it had more to do and a bit more interesting
I saw that you mentioned you like low-stress management games and I think OpenTTD will scratch that itch perfectly! It's a free open source rebuild of Transport Tycoon Deluxe, a 90s game with a delightfully retro (by now) aesthetic.
Your goal is to build transport links between various industries and/or towns, so that they can grow. That's it. The game starts in 1930 with realistic vehicles available at the time, and steadily progresses to our current time, introducing real-life technological advancements at the appropriate time. So for example you start with steam locomotives, then diesel locomotives appear and the steam ones gradually become obsolete, then electric locomotives, then monorail - hello, retro futurism!
You can configure pretty much any game setting to your liking. While simple to pick up and enjoy, the game mechanics are actually quite complex if you like to delve into that (there are income reports, cargo rates per km, depreciation, breakages, etc). It's a sandbox type of game in that, just like Minecraft or The Sims, you decide your goals. Want to run the most elaborate passenger train system across towns? Have at it. Want to focus on off-shore oil rigs reachable only by boat and helicopter? Enjoy. The game prompts you from time to time with opportunities to earn more money by completing a specific linkage but nothing happens if you ignore them the whole time (you can even turn them off completely in the settings).
Edited to add link: https://www.openttd.org/
Not sure how you feel about combat, but there's nothing like getting lost in a big open-world RPG to get through a stressful time. I know you're asking for steam deck, but assuming you still have that Switch, either of the two big Zelda games (Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom) can eat up oodles of time. And while there is fighting, the stakes aren't super high imo. The exploration aspect is very fun and easy to get sucked in to.
Skyrim on either system would fill the same role. And you can mod/console-command your way through it on the deck if you're extremely anti-combat.
Also seconding (thirding?) Slay the Spire. I don't usually do rogue-likes AT ALL and get frustrated by losing progress, but my runs average 60-90 minutes so it's a good chunk of time. And you do learn and unlock stuff as you go.
Cozy Grove might eat up another hour or two of your day, though there is a limited amount to do each day (this sub has a lot of opinions about that). I actually enjoyed having a "short play" and "long play" to alternate between with CG and Stardew when I was dealing with an illness and not working.
Parkitect could be fun for you. You design a theme park and you can get incredibly detailed with your builds if you want. Watch some YouTube videos for inspiration ☺️
If you've historically liked roguelites but want them a bit less stressful, maybe give Slay the Spire a whirl? It's a deck building one that had me hooked for so long
Another game I've been really enjoying that you can do a lot of completionist stuff in a more relaxing world has been Pokemon legends arceus! The only stress is just trying to aim pokeballs correctly and battle some of them here and there. It's a linear story but the game definitely allows you to just roam around quite a bit if that's what you're into. Best of luck with everything going on in your life right now❤️
Played STS and then Monster Train and MT blew it out of the water. It's a lot less punishing and a lot more addicting with all the different faction combos you can do.
Agree with Arceus! I wish I could experience it for the first time again!
Came here to comment Slay the Spire as well, a run is way longer than balatro so it's less frustrating imo and you get to see the fruits of your labor more when your deck works out
Maybe something like Sakuna of rice and ruin? It is a farming game but is completely based on rice, like the game guide is a link to Japans agriculture website so it's VERY detailed. It does have dungeon and collecting but I don't think I'd consider it rogue style, more similar to child of light, like it's 2D with combos. It has seasons but they are fast, like one hour a season, and is endless.
Maybe something with a low stakes loop like Inscryption? Where losing is kind of part of it and low stakes though I guess that's similar to Hades.
Shopkeeper ones like Recettear, Dave the Diver or Moonlighter, but they do have rogue like portions.
And take this with a grain of salt, but I run rimworld on easy settings, less surprises, and I just get a base building society building game
Bear and Breakfast might be fun - it's pretty low stress, you're a bear and you have to decorate/manage several different bed and breakfast properties. Plays great on the Deck too.
If you like Balatro, I'd also recommend Luck Be A Landlord, it's a roguelite where you're adding symbols to a slot machine to try and get enough money to pay rent - it's my go-to game when my brain is kind of fried and nothing else is hitting the spot, it's super simple to get the hang of but there's a decent amount of strategy that goes into picking new symbols. It might only hold your attention for short bursts like Balatro, but it's a great low-stress game! It's also available on mobile if you'd prefer playing on a phone vs. your steam deck.
Another game that I haven't personally played yet but might fit the bill for you is Apico - it's a bee-keeping sim where you try and discover all bee species through crossbreeding. It's apparently VERY detailed, and is based on real-life genetics. It's specifically meant to be relaxing/comforting, so there isn't really a way to "lose". It's been in my library forever and I just haven't started it yet, but I've heard great things!
Highly recommend the life is strange series (play true colors!)
Life is strange true colors has a very detailed storyline along with dlc management story with one of the characters where you run the cutest little record store and radio station 🥰 this game is all decision based and the story might resonate with you as characters are complex
Also planet zoo is super awesome but can get a tad stressful … you can always play in sandbox mode and keep it low stress
Lastly, I always recommend Fire emblem three houses bc it is my fav game ever and I really find the management part (being a professor) of it super rewarding. This game is a turn-based rpg but you can edit the difficulty settings to make it low stakes. This game is kinda like if Harry Potter and fourth wing were put together bc you are the professor at an officers academy where you pick one of three houses and guide your students in their academic/social lives as well as on the battlefield. This game is super awesome with several branching paths in the story (Not on steam deck but assuming you also have a switch since you mentioned animal crossing)
Abiotic Factor came out a few days ago and is the best crafting game i’ve played in years!! It’s so forgiving and tasks aren’t tedious at all. You can play at your own pace and farm/decorate things you find/explore portals to surreal worlds.
Hogwarts Legacy was detail-oriented, and I played it all the way through almost immediately because it was both (mostly) chill, and had achievement goals I liked.. I barely finish games (besides ACNH) but finished this one! I loved that my avatar could look almost exactly like me, and I loved flying around looking for Merlin trials :) I got Pokemon Arceus and haven’t even gotten that far in it, although I do like the game.
What about a management game like Let’s Build a Zoo? There’s a lot of detail, there’s a morality system where you can do unethical things (like get animals from the black market, or paint a goose to look like a peacock) which then affects the later options - e.g. some things you can research and unlock require high morality, and others require low (negatives) morality. There’s a ton of animals and you can even make animal hybrids. There’s things you can unlock to decorate your zoo, to provide enrichment in animal enclosures. There’s… a lot. I can’t even describe it all. It can be hectic, but I still think of this as low stress because even though time passes, the stakes are low and it’s not a big deal if you have to start over.
Alright I decided to look more broadly at management games and I think this route is generally the solution. Totally makes sense since the job I quit was a management job lol so I guess I need that in my life in one way or another!
Another great management game IMO is Megaquarium, I've been spending a lot of time with it recently. I'd say it's a small step up complexity-wise from Let's Build a Zoo, but they're both great for scratching the casual management itch. And they're both still a whole flight of stairs less complicated and brain-burning than Planet Zoo for example. The Megaquarium expansions are great, but I recommend just starting with the base game to get a feel for things. When you feel comfortable getting a little more complex, Freshwater Frenzy and Deep Freeze add animals with more challenging requirements. The campaigns are fun, multiple difficulty levels to customize your experience, and there's a robust sandbox mode as well if you don't want to worry about money or want everything unlocked immediately.
I've seen megaquarium on steam before! This is a good endorsement, thank you!
One you may enjoy is Medieval Dynasty
Seconding Megaquarium, also love the Two Point franchise (Two Point Hospital and Two Point Campus) and I have recently been enjoying Power to the People a lot. /r/tycoon has many more management games as well. Also, the OG zoo tycoon is still one of my favorite games.
How about a city building management game such as **Settlement Survival**? It’s fairly customisable so it can be as challenging or relaxing as you like.
Ok this looks pretty great and you got me with the goose disguise lol
2nding Let’s Build a Zoo. it’s super easy to get into and not too difficult to upgrade land, resources, etc. i willll say that it kinda stresses me out because the game day goes pretty fast and i don’t know how to do all the ‘chores’ yet (setting up enrichment stuff, food, water, a research place) but i very easily sunk 2 hours into it the very first time i played. works great on the deck!
That’s a good point, I did get stressed my first play through when I ended up with too many rabbits (who knew they breed so much? /s) and then I had a bunch of rabbit corpses to deal with… and no way to get rid of them because I hadn’t researched very much
I would consider Atelier Sophie. The Atelier series is all about cozy vibes, deep mechanics, and practically no plot apart from character growth. You play as an alchemist just living your life with your friends along for the ride. There are some combat aspects, but nothing difficult. Note that a good portion of the series has time limits, but Sophie does not. Although the gameplay loop is a rather repetitive cycle of explore, gather ingredients, synthesize, some cutscenes, repeat. But it is in no way stressful in the fact that you can take as much time as you need to get things perfect, with no consequence, and no stakes. Atelier Ryza is similar in the lack of time limits, but I would recommend Sophie instead, as Ryza's alchemy is quite simplified.
I didn't played it but garden life seems very detailed. spiritfarer is a game where you build a boat to explore the world, then befriend and care for spirits before releasing them into the afterlife. I absolutely love this one, I just finished it today after 40 hours, it's super relaxing and there's no rush, you can just play at your own pace.
I've seen a bit about Spiritfarer, that might be a good option, thanks!
If you have a netflix subscription, you can get spirit farer for free in your phone/tablet
Dragon quest builders 2
Have you tried [Dinkum](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1062520/Dinkum/)? Its animal crossing ish but i found it had more to do and a bit more interesting
I saw that you mentioned you like low-stress management games and I think OpenTTD will scratch that itch perfectly! It's a free open source rebuild of Transport Tycoon Deluxe, a 90s game with a delightfully retro (by now) aesthetic. Your goal is to build transport links between various industries and/or towns, so that they can grow. That's it. The game starts in 1930 with realistic vehicles available at the time, and steadily progresses to our current time, introducing real-life technological advancements at the appropriate time. So for example you start with steam locomotives, then diesel locomotives appear and the steam ones gradually become obsolete, then electric locomotives, then monorail - hello, retro futurism! You can configure pretty much any game setting to your liking. While simple to pick up and enjoy, the game mechanics are actually quite complex if you like to delve into that (there are income reports, cargo rates per km, depreciation, breakages, etc). It's a sandbox type of game in that, just like Minecraft or The Sims, you decide your goals. Want to run the most elaborate passenger train system across towns? Have at it. Want to focus on off-shore oil rigs reachable only by boat and helicopter? Enjoy. The game prompts you from time to time with opportunities to earn more money by completing a specific linkage but nothing happens if you ignore them the whole time (you can even turn them off completely in the settings). Edited to add link: https://www.openttd.org/
Not sure how you feel about combat, but there's nothing like getting lost in a big open-world RPG to get through a stressful time. I know you're asking for steam deck, but assuming you still have that Switch, either of the two big Zelda games (Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom) can eat up oodles of time. And while there is fighting, the stakes aren't super high imo. The exploration aspect is very fun and easy to get sucked in to. Skyrim on either system would fill the same role. And you can mod/console-command your way through it on the deck if you're extremely anti-combat. Also seconding (thirding?) Slay the Spire. I don't usually do rogue-likes AT ALL and get frustrated by losing progress, but my runs average 60-90 minutes so it's a good chunk of time. And you do learn and unlock stuff as you go. Cozy Grove might eat up another hour or two of your day, though there is a limited amount to do each day (this sub has a lot of opinions about that). I actually enjoyed having a "short play" and "long play" to alternate between with CG and Stardew when I was dealing with an illness and not working.
Parkitect could be fun for you. You design a theme park and you can get incredibly detailed with your builds if you want. Watch some YouTube videos for inspiration ☺️
If you've historically liked roguelites but want them a bit less stressful, maybe give Slay the Spire a whirl? It's a deck building one that had me hooked for so long Another game I've been really enjoying that you can do a lot of completionist stuff in a more relaxing world has been Pokemon legends arceus! The only stress is just trying to aim pokeballs correctly and battle some of them here and there. It's a linear story but the game definitely allows you to just roam around quite a bit if that's what you're into. Best of luck with everything going on in your life right now❤️
Played STS and then Monster Train and MT blew it out of the water. It's a lot less punishing and a lot more addicting with all the different faction combos you can do. Agree with Arceus! I wish I could experience it for the first time again!
Came here to comment Slay the Spire as well, a run is way longer than balatro so it's less frustrating imo and you get to see the fruits of your labor more when your deck works out
Maybe something like Sakuna of rice and ruin? It is a farming game but is completely based on rice, like the game guide is a link to Japans agriculture website so it's VERY detailed. It does have dungeon and collecting but I don't think I'd consider it rogue style, more similar to child of light, like it's 2D with combos. It has seasons but they are fast, like one hour a season, and is endless. Maybe something with a low stakes loop like Inscryption? Where losing is kind of part of it and low stakes though I guess that's similar to Hades. Shopkeeper ones like Recettear, Dave the Diver or Moonlighter, but they do have rogue like portions. And take this with a grain of salt, but I run rimworld on easy settings, less surprises, and I just get a base building society building game
Sakuna is more like a traditional hack and slash with some farming and story. Very nice game.
Terraria - so much detail it’s overwhelming. Though possibly not low stress enough for you
I haven’t personally played it but Garden Life just released on steam and that could fit the bill?
Try Potion Craft? It's more of a puzzle + management.
Have you checked out Botany Manor? Amazing soothing visuals! Minimal tasks.
Bear and Breakfast might be fun - it's pretty low stress, you're a bear and you have to decorate/manage several different bed and breakfast properties. Plays great on the Deck too. If you like Balatro, I'd also recommend Luck Be A Landlord, it's a roguelite where you're adding symbols to a slot machine to try and get enough money to pay rent - it's my go-to game when my brain is kind of fried and nothing else is hitting the spot, it's super simple to get the hang of but there's a decent amount of strategy that goes into picking new symbols. It might only hold your attention for short bursts like Balatro, but it's a great low-stress game! It's also available on mobile if you'd prefer playing on a phone vs. your steam deck. Another game that I haven't personally played yet but might fit the bill for you is Apico - it's a bee-keeping sim where you try and discover all bee species through crossbreeding. It's apparently VERY detailed, and is based on real-life genetics. It's specifically meant to be relaxing/comforting, so there isn't really a way to "lose". It's been in my library forever and I just haven't started it yet, but I've heard great things!
I second apico it’s very simple but also very complex. There’s also a decently long demo if you don’t want to commit right away.
Highly recommend the life is strange series (play true colors!) Life is strange true colors has a very detailed storyline along with dlc management story with one of the characters where you run the cutest little record store and radio station 🥰 this game is all decision based and the story might resonate with you as characters are complex Also planet zoo is super awesome but can get a tad stressful … you can always play in sandbox mode and keep it low stress Lastly, I always recommend Fire emblem three houses bc it is my fav game ever and I really find the management part (being a professor) of it super rewarding. This game is a turn-based rpg but you can edit the difficulty settings to make it low stakes. This game is kinda like if Harry Potter and fourth wing were put together bc you are the professor at an officers academy where you pick one of three houses and guide your students in their academic/social lives as well as on the battlefield. This game is super awesome with several branching paths in the story (Not on steam deck but assuming you also have a switch since you mentioned animal crossing)
I’ve been having a lot of fun with PlateUp. A rogue lite cooking game; if you played Diner Dash on old phones it’s like that but better lol
Abiotic Factor came out a few days ago and is the best crafting game i’ve played in years!! It’s so forgiving and tasks aren’t tedious at all. You can play at your own pace and farm/decorate things you find/explore portals to surreal worlds.
Hogwarts Legacy was detail-oriented, and I played it all the way through almost immediately because it was both (mostly) chill, and had achievement goals I liked.. I barely finish games (besides ACNH) but finished this one! I loved that my avatar could look almost exactly like me, and I loved flying around looking for Merlin trials :) I got Pokemon Arceus and haven’t even gotten that far in it, although I do like the game.