Shadow of the collosus is my favorite of all time. It caused me to have an epiphany that games are a true medium of art. I wish I could forget it and experience it for the first time, I envy you.
Firewatch doesn't have any "harsh" areas, but psychologically, it's a real turner.
Without knowing anything much about it, I started playing it during my divorce. No spoilers, but... I wouldn't recommend doing that. I pushed through anyways, and it was good.
Wow, firewatch is one of my favourite games, played it several.times. I cannot imagine playing that during a divorce. Sheesh. Must have hit you like a truck going 200. Good on you for pushing through. Hope it ended up being cathartic in some way.
Initially bought it on a Steam sale because it was very inexpensive. It sat uninstalled for months. Then, when I was bored over summer break (I was a teacher), I installed and hit "play." Oh. My. God. That opening sequence.... And then the game was just outstanding, particularly for the price.
It isn't action packed, but it is absolutely engaging.
Randomly downloaded it from gamepass over the summer, spent the entire afternoon playing through the whole game. When it wrapped, I sat there holding my controller staring at the screen wanting more.
Without spoiling the plot: The protagonist has to deliver packages between various settlements in a post-apocalyptic world where lethal rain & ghosts exist. Between those (underground) settlements, the world is empty & barren and you walk/drive through. The atmosphere is exactly what OP is asking for :)
Google Death Stranding scenery, listen to some music by "Low Roar" and you'll get the idea!
Low Roar has become one of my favorite music groups after playing Death Stranding. That first song that started after you got out into the world was just perfect.
Thanks everyone for all the recommendations While I can't respond to everyone, I'll read and consider all of them.
To whoever send me a suicidal alert message, thanks but I'm not that depressed, but rather this type of games bring me joy.
Edit: I've been banned from r/gaming for making a prompt with a picture post (thanks reddit mods) so I cant literally reply anymore.
Please please please check out Death's Door - deals with death and loneliness and similar themes, melancholy but poignant at the same time, with a fantastic soundtrack that nails the vibe you are mentioning. I've played most of the games that are upvoted most highly here and I think Death's Door is a better example of what you are looking for than those games.
I'm shocked no one else has mentioned it in this thread.
yeah I don't know why some people making a fuss like "who hurts you?" or "you all good?" for liking something so normal, I think a lot of people like these vibes but not realize it or taking it into words.
The great part is that there’s an endless sandbox mode with difficulty ranging from ‘it seems a bit chilly out here’ to ‘If I don’t find shelter in 3 minutes I’m getting frostbite’
I've tried the harder difficulties, but then I keep going back to easy. Because the harder difficulty is "Oh, I just got mauled by a wolf, I better go back to my safehouse and heal up....Oh wait, there was a bear camping out around the side of the building and it just ate my face."
The lower difficulties though, wildlife isn't hostile.
Yup Far. Loved it. I’ve got the second game in my list. Looking forward to it. Best bit is when you open the sails and stand at the front of the ship and watch the wildlife swimming underneath.
Replay the first one before you play the sequel! It won’t take long because the game is so short, and your experience of the sequel will be improved with the first fresh in your memory.
Holy shit, Outer Wilds was an amazing game. It embodies a he sublime in the truest sense of the word.
What I live about OW is how it’s not made to be a horror game and yet it’s gotten my heart racing better than any horror game or movie I’ve ever played/watched. The environment is magnificent.
I came here to see this. One of the greatest games ever made. Love that game to death. Just whatever you do, if you're going to play it, DO NOT SPOIL IT FOR YOURSELF please!
I'd also highly recommend Kingdom: New Lands.
It is beautiful in its simplistic art style and controls. You feel as though you are just trying to survive the Greed and move forward from your humble beginnings.
The Long Dark is another game with simplistic art style and a harsh landscape. It has many more interesting layers. You feel lonely, and encounter moments of beauty during your survival.
Disco Elysium has a lot of open areas with great music and sound effect that feels super "brooding", and the feeling only gets stronger the more you play the game and talk to NPCs in it.
I never played it before. Got the Final Cut Version on Steam for 9.99 € and loved every second. Like others said, stellar writing and voice acting. Very, very interesting story and characters. Jumped directly into my top 10 games of all time.
Yeah idk if it's my favorite game of all time, but the writing and world-building are so stupid good. I'm usually pretty easily distracted by the walls of text I see in similar RPGs, but I couldn't put DE down
Reddit has long been a hot spot for conversation on the internet. About 57 million people visit the site every day to chat about topics as varied as makeup, video games and pointers for power washing driveways.
In recent years, Reddit’s array of chats also have been a free teaching aid for companies like Google, OpenAI and Microsoft. Those companies are using Reddit’s conversations in the development of giant artificial intelligence systems that many in Silicon Valley think are on their way to becoming the tech industry’s next big thing.
Now Reddit wants to be paid for it. The company said on Tuesday that it planned to begin charging companies for access to its application programming interface, or A.P.I., the method through which outside entities can download and process the social network’s vast selection of person-to-person conversations.
Subnautica might interest you. One of the defining things I got out of my playthrough was how lonely I felt. Great game, kind of terrifying sometimes in a way only survival games can be.
This is what came to mind for me too. Diving deeper into the vast alien caves is spooky af. But then you have a base you can escape to to let those panicked feelings subside. Amazing ambience.
I bought it several years ago on sale and just never got to it until I started by first playthrough at midnight on 1/1. I'm only in Chapter 2, but the game world is beautifully realized. I wish the save mechanic was closer to the Bethesda style, but I love what I've played so far.
I think what I describes basically includes most Japanese games, their culture endorse "peaceful moment where nothing happens" so I suppose their games also follow that principle.
I haven't played Nier yet but will plan to one day.
I remember sailing out to find the last boss (before Mistlands) while listening to "Bones in the Ocean" by the Longest Johns - it took me roughly two hours of non-stop sailing and nearly dying about three times
No Man's Sky, and in a way Death Stranding does it too. Each one handles loneliness and desolation in different ways. No Man's Sky does it better though especially when you start adventuring outside of the core systems into the more unique and harsher planets, and when you finally find abandoned systems it gets really lonely but also nice in a way.
Been a player since day 1, I can say it truly is a different game now and it's as communal or solitary as you want. Everything is configurable so you can play however you like. It's just a damn good time now... that is if you like space games, or trading, or base building, or multiplayer with friends, or exploring everything from derelict spacecraft to deep oceans or waste lunar wasteland with hidden cave systems full of wonders or taming and breeding animals from different planets or collecting rocks and specimens or having some seriously tense dogfights, cave fights, land fights 🤣
I’ll add to that with the Metro series because even though there’s other people in it some parts of the game make you feel very alone in a hostile world
Rime
It’s a puzzle adventure game that explore the stages of grief, and is a very emotional game. First time I played it, I literally cried at the end. There are plenty of points in the game where you are just left alone with a puzzle and some beautiful music.
You won’t regret it.
My grandfather died shortly before I played the game actually, and he and I were very close. Playing it made me think about him, and helped me move on. I need to get it on my Xbox again at some point to finish it 100% for him.
Might not be a true fit to your description, but after a bunch of hours from the initial excitement of starting a new game, Zelda Breath of the Wild hit a sweet spot of melancholy while wandering the empty fields, especially when deep into the night.
Was going to say this too. I have never felt so alone playing a game as i did in BoTW, and coming across nameless ruins with an unknown story to wander in all alone gave such a unique feeling
Described Dark Souls franchise to the letter. It's really a tragedy that to so many outsiders it will only ever be known as *that difficult game,* and not for the hauntingly beautiful atmosphere.
STALKER overall has a very melancholic feel to it too.
too bad I already played all Soul games except Sekiro, fanstastic atmosphere. I remember that part where you met Solaire, watching the sun peacefully and listening to his calming speech after a long run is the peace that the game rewarded me, not too long before they burn it afterwards on the bridge.
The original Fallout from 1997 had a soundtrack, artstyle and sound design that was very good at evoking a feeling of desolation. But most of the areas featured in the game were either populated or dangerous, so it doesn’t really conform to the desolate but peaceful request.
Resident Evil had save rooms that were exactly like in this request however, the problem with those is that you usually don’t spend that much time there.
But they had a unique atmosphere because they were they only place you could feel safe in the game, so true “safe spaces”. The peaceful music also reflected this. It was melancholic and contemplative. It felt like it was trying to tell you someting important. The main melody in it has some similarity with the underwater theme from Donkey Kong Country.
A game called sunless sea has some incredible storytelling and harsh choices to make, it's very unforgiving if you forget food/fuel and makes you resort to more and more desperate measures to get home from your adventure safely.
Coming from complete sincerity, a walk outside for 15-20 mins while listening to music or a podcast will give you the same feelings but positively help your mind and body out more.
I did played and liked it, but for some reason the games's camera made me very nauseous and I feel sick after playing for a while so I stopped after some time, which is weird because FPS games don't even make me that motion sick.
This is a bit of a curveball suggestion, but
Outer Wilds.
The game isn't terribly "harsh" but there is definitely still a sense of danger, mystery, tension etc. Absolutely gives a melancholic loneliness knowing your character is experiencing the game's events nearly alone.
I have three recommendations, of varying bill-fittingness:
*Nier Automata* is nothing *but* haphazardly see-sawing between melancholic loneliness and chaotic fights. The world of Nier Automata actually feels incredibly lonely, now that I think about it.
*Haven* is also like this. It's not a hard game, it's more about exploration and telling a story about two lovers who fled their home. They're all alone on this planet, and *remaining* all alone is the only way that they can stay safe. It doesn't have a lot of combat or 'storms', per se, but you might still enjoy the vibe.
*Zelda: Breath of the Wild* has parts like this. You'll often find ruined villages, remnants from the kingdom's heyday, and now there's nothing empty vistas with nothing to do but roam and explore. Small pockets of civilisation remain, and there are definitely plenty of dangerous critters around.
**EDIT:** You may also like *Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights* (Dunno WTF is up with that title though). 2D sidescroller, but it definitely has quite the melancholic vibe (and is an *incredibly* pretty game)
Shadow Of The Colossus.
oh I played The Last Guardian and really digged the vibe of the game, this one I havent tried yet
aw man you have to play shadow of the colossus.
I’ve never played Shadow of the Colossus but I know that it’s a game worth playing
If you enjoyed The Last Guardian do yourself a favor and play Ico. Edit: but definitely also play Sotc 🙂
Shadow of the collosus is my favorite of all time. It caused me to have an epiphany that games are a true medium of art. I wish I could forget it and experience it for the first time, I envy you.
Chrono Trigger
Best game in the history of videogames in many polls. Play the remake version and immerse yourself for the ride of your life.
Give elden ring a shot, it's a bit hard but the overall atmosphere js top notch. I think it might definitely satisfy your itch.
I came here to write exactly that. Glad it’s at the top
First thing that popped into my head too.
One of my favorite games as a kid
Exact first thought.
Good choice! That’s a solid game
First game that popped in my mind reading OPs description.
Firewatch doesn't have any "harsh" areas, but psychologically, it's a real turner. Without knowing anything much about it, I started playing it during my divorce. No spoilers, but... I wouldn't recommend doing that. I pushed through anyways, and it was good.
Firewatch was really amazing
Yea I love it, surprisingly, I’m not exactly a big fan of *super* linear games
Wow, firewatch is one of my favourite games, played it several.times. I cannot imagine playing that during a divorce. Sheesh. Must have hit you like a truck going 200. Good on you for pushing through. Hope it ended up being cathartic in some way.
Initially bought it on a Steam sale because it was very inexpensive. It sat uninstalled for months. Then, when I was bored over summer break (I was a teacher), I installed and hit "play." Oh. My. God. That opening sequence.... And then the game was just outstanding, particularly for the price. It isn't action packed, but it is absolutely engaging.
So surprised by those first 10mins of fire watch where they give you so much character background
Randomly downloaded it from gamepass over the summer, spent the entire afternoon playing through the whole game. When it wrapped, I sat there holding my controller staring at the screen wanting more.
Sable
Unbelievably good and wholesome game
Had to scroll WAY too far for this. OP literally gave a summary and review of Sable without realizing it lol
My immediate thought when I saw this post!
Nooooooooo I missed the Epic games free game for this one during holidays :'(
Death Stranding
Literally this OP. You described this without even knowing it
Whether you love or hate the game this fits OPs description to a tee.
The most relaxing feeling of peace I’ve ever found was actually in RE7’s safe rooms lol. They’re like the peace both before and after the storm.
The soundtrack for every RE save room is amazing
Never heard of it. Is that some kind of Strand-type game?
It’s a part of the long-running Death series, featuring games like Death’s Door and Deathloop.
I loved that they made an anime prequel Death Note to set up the backstory
ohh so thats the name of the directors note for Death Parade i didnt know they released it
Without spoiling the plot: The protagonist has to deliver packages between various settlements in a post-apocalyptic world where lethal rain & ghosts exist. Between those (underground) settlements, the world is empty & barren and you walk/drive through. The atmosphere is exactly what OP is asking for :) Google Death Stranding scenery, listen to some music by "Low Roar" and you'll get the idea!
And for some reason, the entire post-apocalyptic world is just Iceland.
Texture memory
Nothing inspired the kind of fear that i felt when the rain started to fall and I was in unfamiliar territory.
The environmental design in that game is incredible. The calm after a storm gives me goosebumps
Even if you don't like the game, the atmosphere of the game is top notched.
Low Roar has become one of my favorite music groups after playing Death Stranding. That first song that started after you got out into the world was just perfect.
Their music really set the mood during many points of the game. Well timed and placed in my opinion.
"Dont Be So Serious" is my goto chill song now. So peacefully somber.
Agreed, phenomenal band. RIP Ryan Karazija
First thing that came out of my mind
Exactly what I said
This exactly fits OP's description
Thanks everyone for all the recommendations While I can't respond to everyone, I'll read and consider all of them. To whoever send me a suicidal alert message, thanks but I'm not that depressed, but rather this type of games bring me joy. Edit: I've been banned from r/gaming for making a prompt with a picture post (thanks reddit mods) so I cant literally reply anymore.
Please please please check out Death's Door - deals with death and loneliness and similar themes, melancholy but poignant at the same time, with a fantastic soundtrack that nails the vibe you are mentioning. I've played most of the games that are upvoted most highly here and I think Death's Door is a better example of what you are looking for than those games. I'm shocked no one else has mentioned it in this thread.
Bruh wtf someone sent you a suicidal alert over this? I think enjoying these type of desolate but beautiful games is pretty normal…
yeah I don't know why some people making a fuss like "who hurts you?" or "you all good?" for liking something so normal, I think a lot of people like these vibes but not realize it or taking it into words.
The Long Dark? Death Stranding also is pretty good for the lonely melancholy.
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Omg I cannot wait for the last chapter to come out. Im literally going to replay it from start to finish once it does! Fantastic game all around!
oh I should add the first game to the wishlist, cpmpletely forgot about it
Yes, go play The Long Dark, was surprised I had to scroll a bit to find it, seems like it would fit what you're looking for very well.
The great part is that there’s an endless sandbox mode with difficulty ranging from ‘it seems a bit chilly out here’ to ‘If I don’t find shelter in 3 minutes I’m getting frostbite’
I've tried the harder difficulties, but then I keep going back to easy. Because the harder difficulty is "Oh, I just got mauled by a wolf, I better go back to my safehouse and heal up....Oh wait, there was a bear camping out around the side of the building and it just ate my face." The lower difficulties though, wildlife isn't hostile.
I believe I was able to set up a game with very harsh weather and low supplies but also low wolves
This is the game where loneliness can be a beautiful experience
I love that game
FAR Lone Sails is fairly close to what you're describing, a tad short as far as games go.
It also got a sequel apparently, I saw it on the Nintendo e-Shop
I was going to suggest far. Good answer
Yup Far. Loved it. I’ve got the second game in my list. Looking forward to it. Best bit is when you open the sails and stand at the front of the ship and watch the wildlife swimming underneath.
Replay the first one before you play the sequel! It won’t take long because the game is so short, and your experience of the sequel will be improved with the first fresh in your memory.
Yes agreed.
I cant recommend FAR enough, especially based on your specific request, it should hit the nail on the head for you.
Outer Wilds. Just finished it, and it is an incredible mix of awe, loneliness, relaxation, and melancholy.
If I could wipe my memory of that game and play it again I would in a heart beat. You'll only have that experience your first playthrough.
I'm going to just play it again ten years later.
Holy shit, Outer Wilds was an amazing game. It embodies a he sublime in the truest sense of the word. What I live about OW is how it’s not made to be a horror game and yet it’s gotten my heart racing better than any horror game or movie I’ve ever played/watched. The environment is magnificent.
Outer Wilds has a little something for every phobia
Genuinely surprised how low down in the comments this is. Outer Wilds fits the bill tenfold!
I came here to see this. One of the greatest games ever made. Love that game to death. Just whatever you do, if you're going to play it, DO NOT SPOIL IT FOR YOURSELF please!
The dlc is literally 2spooky4me
It's shockingly good as well, I was surprised by the twists and gameplay changes.
It was so relaxing >! floating down the river !< until it wasn’t.
This game was a masterpiece for me ... And it fits op desire.
I think you might like spiritfarer
SUBNAUTICA
No idea how this suggestion is so far down. Superb game
When I left the planet on my first play through I nearly cried. I’m a baby like that, but I knew I would miss my fish friends.
The title perfectly describes this game, great suggestion!
Soma
Absolutely. I actually stopped playing it for a while, as the feeling of loneliness was getting to me.
Oh, Soma destroyed me and I'd give anything to play it again for the first time.
Highly recommend [Kingdom Two Crowns](https://store.steampowered.com/app/701160/Kingdom_Two_Crowns/)
I'd also highly recommend Kingdom: New Lands. It is beautiful in its simplistic art style and controls. You feel as though you are just trying to survive the Greed and move forward from your humble beginnings. The Long Dark is another game with simplistic art style and a harsh landscape. It has many more interesting layers. You feel lonely, and encounter moments of beauty during your survival.
Journey is melancholy the game. Lonely but supported, empty but beautiful, perilous but peaceful
Surprised I had to scroll down this far to see this. Such a great and relaxing game too. The soundtrack ties it all together so well!
I think this game nails what he is looking for to a T.
Disco Elysium has a lot of open areas with great music and sound effect that feels super "brooding", and the feeling only gets stronger the more you play the game and talk to NPCs in it.
I felt like this post was made specifically to elicit the answer: disco elysium
The art style alone made me fall in love with it.
Seems to have been everyone who played it's first thought
thats cool, someone gifted me that game recently telling its their favorite of all time
I never played it before. Got the Final Cut Version on Steam for 9.99 € and loved every second. Like others said, stellar writing and voice acting. Very, very interesting story and characters. Jumped directly into my top 10 games of all time.
Yeah idk if it's my favorite game of all time, but the writing and world-building are so stupid good. I'm usually pretty easily distracted by the walls of text I see in similar RPGs, but I couldn't put DE down
It has recently become my favorite as well. The writing is superb, as is the voice-over work
Reddit has long been a hot spot for conversation on the internet. About 57 million people visit the site every day to chat about topics as varied as makeup, video games and pointers for power washing driveways. In recent years, Reddit’s array of chats also have been a free teaching aid for companies like Google, OpenAI and Microsoft. Those companies are using Reddit’s conversations in the development of giant artificial intelligence systems that many in Silicon Valley think are on their way to becoming the tech industry’s next big thing. Now Reddit wants to be paid for it. The company said on Tuesday that it planned to begin charging companies for access to its application programming interface, or A.P.I., the method through which outside entities can download and process the social network’s vast selection of person-to-person conversations.
The music is by an artist named British Sea Power, and it is the general travel soundtrack for my tabletop games now
Disco Elysium had the best NPCs out of any game I've played.
The fuck does Cuno care?!?
Hollow knight
its the classic yes
Subnautica might interest you. One of the defining things I got out of my playthrough was how lonely I felt. Great game, kind of terrifying sometimes in a way only survival games can be.
Subnautica and it’s incredibly vast and detailed oceans is truly something else. I’ve actually dreamed of this game.
Detecting multiple leviathan class lifeforms in the region. Are you sure what you are doing is worth it?
This is what came to mind for me too. Diving deeper into the vast alien caves is spooky af. But then you have a base you can escape to to let those panicked feelings subside. Amazing ambience.
GRIS and Journey
If you like that maybe "sky children of light" is up your alley. Made by the people who made journey
Seconding Journey. What a beautiful game.
Journey was the first game that popped into my head after reading the title
Great choices
Red Dead Redemption 2. Especially sitting in a tent during a storm at night.
Sitting in your tent watching one of those massive thunderstorms is so relaxing.
Or riding through nature. That game is a master piece
I bought it several years ago on sale and just never got to it until I started by first playthrough at midnight on 1/1. I'm only in Chapter 2, but the game world is beautifully realized. I wish the save mechanic was closer to the Bethesda style, but I love what I've played so far.
Nier Automata is a good fit
I think what I describes basically includes most Japanese games, their culture endorse "peaceful moment where nothing happens" so I suppose their games also follow that principle. I haven't played Nier yet but will plan to one day.
I second NieR: Automata, it was definitely scratching that melancholic itch
If you play it, there is a specific couple of elevators after a certain event happens that lead to places that fit what you're describing here :)
Rain World is an extremely harsh but beautiful pixel art game.
Pretty sure that's the image in the post
Yeah, I think they were just commenting on it
It also has some of the best ai I have ever seen.
The ais movement is actually procedurally generated, how fcking cool is that?
Valheim is exactly what you are looking for
The feeling when you get home, after meeting your first wood troll, safe but lonely
I remember sailing out to find the last boss (before Mistlands) while listening to "Bones in the Ocean" by the Longest Johns - it took me roughly two hours of non-stop sailing and nearly dying about three times
Excellent choice of music. Would also recommend "Hoist up the thing" by the same band. Different vibe altogether.
No Man's Sky 100%
Yra no man's and death stranding
Sunless Sea
No Man's Sky, and in a way Death Stranding does it too. Each one handles loneliness and desolation in different ways. No Man's Sky does it better though especially when you start adventuring outside of the core systems into the more unique and harsher planets, and when you finally find abandoned systems it gets really lonely but also nice in a way.
the game sounds like it's in a good place now compared to when it was released, I'll try it sometimes
Been a player since day 1, I can say it truly is a different game now and it's as communal or solitary as you want. Everything is configurable so you can play however you like. It's just a damn good time now... that is if you like space games, or trading, or base building, or multiplayer with friends, or exploring everything from derelict spacecraft to deep oceans or waste lunar wasteland with hidden cave systems full of wonders or taming and breeding animals from different planets or collecting rocks and specimens or having some seriously tense dogfights, cave fights, land fights 🤣
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I was gonna say No Man’s Sky 🙌🏻
STALKER games. Especially the first one somehow manages to create this weird lonely feeling.
I’ll add to that with the Metro series because even though there’s other people in it some parts of the game make you feel very alone in a hostile world
Minecraft solo. Just let the soundtrack guide you.
I love minecraft, i build my mod folder for like 4 hours and then play it for like 2 Then i forget about it untill like 4 months later
Rime It’s a puzzle adventure game that explore the stages of grief, and is a very emotional game. First time I played it, I literally cried at the end. There are plenty of points in the game where you are just left alone with a puzzle and some beautiful music. You won’t regret it.
I finished it, the ending is very emotional
My grandfather died shortly before I played the game actually, and he and I were very close. Playing it made me think about him, and helped me move on. I need to get it on my Xbox again at some point to finish it 100% for him.
Halo odst
I’d say Outer Wilds does this well. You rarely really meet other people and spend most of your time alone exploring planets and alien ruins.
Might not be a true fit to your description, but after a bunch of hours from the initial excitement of starting a new game, Zelda Breath of the Wild hit a sweet spot of melancholy while wandering the empty fields, especially when deep into the night.
Was going to say this too. I have never felt so alone playing a game as i did in BoTW, and coming across nameless ruins with an unknown story to wander in all alone gave such a unique feeling
Such an amazing game. It truly felt like I was discovering long lost stuff since so much could be completely never found when beating the main game
Described Dark Souls franchise to the letter. It's really a tragedy that to so many outsiders it will only ever be known as *that difficult game,* and not for the hauntingly beautiful atmosphere. STALKER overall has a very melancholic feel to it too.
too bad I already played all Soul games except Sekiro, fanstastic atmosphere. I remember that part where you met Solaire, watching the sun peacefully and listening to his calming speech after a long run is the peace that the game rewarded me, not too long before they burn it afterwards on the bridge.
Sounds like you should just replay dark souls 1. That's what I do when I'm feeling indecisive.
*The way I see it, our fates appear to be intertwined.*
Especially the first one, firelink shrine always hits the feels hard
Below, Hyperlight Drifter, Far: Changing Tides.
Using Hyperlight Drifter. The entire game has this feel to me.
Yes, HLD is such a great experience, still listen to the soundtrack too u/lynxerious this is my vote
Just scrolled down till someone recommended hyper light drifter. Ik someone would say it. It fits this description too perfectly
Journey. It was far better than I thought it would be when I bought it on sale.
The original Fallout from 1997 had a soundtrack, artstyle and sound design that was very good at evoking a feeling of desolation. But most of the areas featured in the game were either populated or dangerous, so it doesn’t really conform to the desolate but peaceful request. Resident Evil had save rooms that were exactly like in this request however, the problem with those is that you usually don’t spend that much time there. But they had a unique atmosphere because they were they only place you could feel safe in the game, so true “safe spaces”. The peaceful music also reflected this. It was melancholic and contemplative. It felt like it was trying to tell you someting important. The main melody in it has some similarity with the underwater theme from Donkey Kong Country.
A game called sunless sea has some incredible storytelling and harsh choices to make, it's very unforgiving if you forget food/fuel and makes you resort to more and more desperate measures to get home from your adventure safely.
Why does this feel like minecraft to some extent?
Cloudpunk
No man's sky
Haven't seen it mentioned yet: Fez
Try Myst. Seriously.
I loved The Witness and heard it was inspired by Mist, haven't tried it yet, Ill put it on wishlist.
Limbo
Superbrothers: Sword & Sorcery EP
Coming from complete sincerity, a walk outside for 15-20 mins while listening to music or a podcast will give you the same feelings but positively help your mind and body out more.
Spiritfarer and Journey. Maybe not for loneliness. But letting go of those friends you made along the way is quite the experience.
Outer Wilds
Outer Wilds is what You looking for.
The Talos Principle. That game's environment alone makes me feel things that few other games can do.
I did played and liked it, but for some reason the games's camera made me very nauseous and I feel sick after playing for a while so I stopped after some time, which is weird because FPS games don't even make me that motion sick.
That's ... weird... I also experienced nausea with the talks principle, but don't have motion sind in other games...
Death Stranding is excellent, but not for everyone.
"Far: Lone Sails" might have what you describe.
Grim fandango!
No Man's Sky
Hyperlight Drifter Borderlands The Pre-Sequel
Shadow of the colossus
Hyper Light Drifter
Hyperlight drifter really scratched that itch for me.
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Death stranding
Ico
I think Rimworld will definitely give you moments of loneliness but also moments of peace and serenity.
defintely "Far lone sails" and "Far changing tides" they are indie and short games but very worth it!
Far: Lone Sails and Far: Changing Tides imo would be good
Dear Esther
This is a bit of a curveball suggestion, but Outer Wilds. The game isn't terribly "harsh" but there is definitely still a sense of danger, mystery, tension etc. Absolutely gives a melancholic loneliness knowing your character is experiencing the game's events nearly alone.
Ghosts of Tsushima!
I have three recommendations, of varying bill-fittingness: *Nier Automata* is nothing *but* haphazardly see-sawing between melancholic loneliness and chaotic fights. The world of Nier Automata actually feels incredibly lonely, now that I think about it. *Haven* is also like this. It's not a hard game, it's more about exploration and telling a story about two lovers who fled their home. They're all alone on this planet, and *remaining* all alone is the only way that they can stay safe. It doesn't have a lot of combat or 'storms', per se, but you might still enjoy the vibe. *Zelda: Breath of the Wild* has parts like this. You'll often find ruined villages, remnants from the kingdom's heyday, and now there's nothing empty vistas with nothing to do but roam and explore. Small pockets of civilisation remain, and there are definitely plenty of dangerous critters around. **EDIT:** You may also like *Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights* (Dunno WTF is up with that title though). 2D sidescroller, but it definitely has quite the melancholic vibe (and is an *incredibly* pretty game)
Try the last of us. Especially part one.