Hollow Knight (more so than Silksong tbh)
Night in the Woods (not the same vibe as the games you mentioned but absolutely a “had a bad day” vibe)
this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2025
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I immediately thought of NitW too!
Hollow Knight looks absolutely gorgeous, but I'm intimidated by it:))
Night in the Woods is on my list, likewise looks gorgeous, and from the few things I've heard about it, it sounds deeply thoughtful!
You might like ori
I have it in my library, but I'm scared of it=)) A friend of mine played it and cried his ass off, and he really isn't someone who does a lot of crying!:))
These are basically ancient, but if you want to feel like crap.
- The walking dead, from telltale
- spec ops the line
- this war of mine
- papers please
Thank you! Have'em all in my library, I really should check my backlog...
For both rich atmosphere and unique game mechanics, you could do a lot worse than Return of the Obra Dinn.
If you're unfamiliar, the presentation evokes early PC (or Mac, more specifically) black and white "1 bit" games, but real time 3d. This already is very distinctive, but the gameplay also sets it apart.
You are an insurance investigator with a magic pocket watch which allows you to travel back to the moment in time that someone expired, if you find their corpse. From these brief flashes (and by cross-referencing the ship manifest) you piece together what happened to all the crew and passengers on the ships ill-fated voyage, before it's baffling reemergence years after the fact.
Oh, I've known about this one, been avoiding Grim Beard's review of it since it came out=)) This one looks so artful that I need to be in the right state of mind, otherwise I'd do it a disservice.
I'm reluctant to suggest What Remains of Edith Finch.
It will shred you.
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The long dark is a harsh winter survival game with a gloomy story (dlc). https://store.steampowered.com/app/305620/The_Long_Dark/
I've heard Spiritfarer is quite emotional.
Ooh, and it looks so sweet and wholesome!❤️ Thank you, will give it a whirl!
It is. Its also maybe not the best game to play when you're struggling. I played it when I lost a close family member and I became a wreck for weeks
It helped me process the loss, but it drew all of my emotions out in the process
Well, that's what I'm looking for, honestly. Trying to burn the hurt out in a way, and it's easier to process when in a context where such issues are analysed.
Oh boy, this is a game that absolutely ripped my heart out. I've never been great at saying goodbye, I did everything I could before the first goodbye and then I quit. I loved the game, but it hits me in a strange soft spot.
Brothers is kinda similar to provide a recommendation.
Have you played journey? It's great in my opinion the music and visuals bringe up every time I play it the end he sequence has made me cry in a few occasions.
Nooo, it's another one I forgot!:O Thank you, I loved the concept when first hearing about it!
It doesn't have much of a pre-defined story to it, but I would say Project Zomboid is pretty moody and has a lot of gameplay depth.
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How about The Long Dark? A struggle to survive in a cold, dead world. The atmosphere is superb and I think it pairs well with a melancholy mood. Sorry to hear you're dealing with crap.
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STALKER, it's story may not wreck you but the monolith will.
If you want to be kicked in the dick play the anomaly mod, pretty sure it's free and doesn't require the games.
Ooh, played them all, repeatedly! Have a second run of 2 ongoing, but these are closer to comfort games to me. Playng STALKER or Vew Vegas feels like coming home:))
Outer Wilds. Best game ever made. Stick with it.
I've had this one installed for over a year now, but I'm scared of it:)) Same happened with SIGNALIS, can't explain it.
Sunless Sea is moody, gloomy, weird and beautiful. Music is hauntingly disturbing and nostalgic at the same time. It’s a weird mix of roguelike, trading&combat sim that’s heavy on choose your own adventure narratives while exploring lots of unique locations.
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Dying Light
Hardspace Shipbreaker (Solid story, Hating on a Doloris Umbridge type character)
Dredge
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Darkwood.
Well, I could do a replay, but I'm trying to find something new. Awesome game, though!
Peripeteia- Dark cyberpunk imsim. Obviously inspired by GitS and deus ex. I’d consider it pretty dark and pessimistic but lots of fun to play around in and explore the different ways you have to solve a problem.
This one's also giving me heavy E.Y.E. vibes, I love that! Definitely gonna check it out, thank you!
Blasphemous (only the first one), This War of Mine, Valiant Hearts, Papers Please, Pathologic
Edit: Strange Horticulture, Arctic Eggs, and Lies of P
Thanks so much, this is certainly a lot of material!
I have an off-and-on playthrough of Blasphemous going on my Deck, I love the atmosphere and the story, plus the art direction is gorgeous!
Have played a bit of Papers Please and Pathologic, but didn't have the proper mood for the first, and found it hard to get over the traversal hump in the latter.
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Subnautica works for me on days like these. It's atmosphere, the clever design of how to explore more of the story and the constant danger. I also really like the ending, but I won't say more about that, cause spoilers.
I love the idea behind Subnautica, but my thalassophobia still gets the better of me:)) They made that aspect of it perfectly:))
You have so many great recommendations so i am gonna add more.
Gulf Club Nostalgia/Wasteland: when depression hits hard why not hit it harder with a tale of nostalgia for a world we have not yet lost.
Simple golf game but the radio station is... A lot.
To the Moon: the whole series is just what if all we could give those dying the happiness of a lie implanted in their memories and what can we provide for those still living who dont get it so easy?
Among the Sleep: just a 2 year old kid and your mom has gone missing and the world is so scary in the dark.
Ooh, boy, thank you! Yep, all of these sound like they could fit, the golf one especially when the Dip comes!
To The Moon broke me man
The rest of that series is like that too.
Last of us is an obvious answer I think if you haven't played either of those games. The exact opposite of your request, when I am feeling as you describe I really recommend wandersong. The game is like therapy, it looks campy and stupid at first but the dialogue has incredible depth and uplifting vibes.
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Dear Esther and Kentucky route zero for the music and atmosphere, elden ring for the atmosphere and challenge. Something with an engaging story planescape torment & torment tides of numenera.
All are at least on my radar, Elden Ring and Planescape: Torment are old friends of mine at this point. Thank you!
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