Terarria can be played as casual or low stress. You choose when to advance the difficulty, and how elaborately you contruct your preparations for the next step. But for a largely stress-free casual playstyle, focus on being a summoner. Also, there isn’t much penalty for dying. So if you can wrap your mind around not being bothered by dying, then any playstyle can feel casual really. It’s certainly a tough mindset to achieve for some of us though, lol.
Not sure if you saw this comment above. Looks like there are ways to change the difficulty. I’m not sure that would help me though. The monsters move fast for me.
Oh I knew that at least. I usually turn that all the way up and play on PC. I was thinking more along the lines of Minecraft passive mode or whatever they call it these days. I suppose it wouldn’t make sense in the context of terraria though. Terraria is about the fights.
Note with Stardew Valley: it is not unplayable without a controller, but if you have clumsy sausage fingers like me, the poor touch controls really took me out of the game.
Stardew valley stressed me out so much I stopped playing before even reaching that first year party. It looks like a casual fun game, but there are so many characters to make friends (even if it’s optional, it’s stressful because of the implication/expectation). And you need to tend to your garden, and even if you don’t do anything, midnight rolls around and you feel like you didn’t do anything useful and it’s overall very stressful to me. May be it gets easier once you get sprinklers and whatnot, but early game was anything but casual and fun for me.
I completely understand. It was very overwhelming for me at first and sometimes can still be overwhelming depending on how my computer is working lol
If you ever decide you want to try it again I highly recommend modding it (and I would be happy to send you what I use). That said it’s not a bad thing to play other games if you like them better :) games should be fun not stressful imo
Alright, I found my list :) I apologize in advance for the length lol. I don’t know how familiar you are with mods, so here is some context:
I use a PC and was not successful in helping a friend get mods on her Mac, so I don’t know if these work on a Mac. Mobile mods are also much harder to get to work mainly because of OS restrictions but also because phones are different, so most of these probably won’t work on mobile. Also, if you already have an unmodded game going you should be aware that adding mods could break it. There are ways to turn them off and on but I’ve only done it once (for a multiplayer game) and it was a lot of work lol. I think it’d be easier if I had a better memory and played more often though. There are also ways to have different folders of mods if you go between single and multiplayer, so that might be helpful if the people you’re playing with have different or no mods.
I get my mods from Nexus Mods and I have the Vortex mod manager, which will tell you when each one is due for an update (with a few errors). There is at least one other mod manager but I have never used it.
These are just the mods I intentionally sought out - each one will have its own dependencies (additional mods to download) - all of them require SMAPI iirc, which is basically a way for modders to make mods work without reinventing the wheel.
The expansion mods will have the most dependences since they add so many things to the game. Also, I have not updated my list for awhile and there has been at least one big update recently, so some of these mods may not work anymore or may now be implemented into the game itself.
I added a brief description of each mod, but their Nexus page will have the best and most updated description, as well as a place for any issues/bugs that have come up.
Tractor mod - allows you to use a tractor to plant crops, go to the mine, etc. I haven’t actually used this one but I’ve had it forever lol. The tractor costs a lot of money so you will not be able to use it right away.
Lookup anything - this allows you to have basically an encyclopedia. Some details include when and where to fish for certain fish, what objects can be used to make other objects, etc. It also has pictures so you know what things look like.
Chests anywhere - this allows you to access chests basically anywhere in the game instead of just when you are directly in front of them. Note that if you are playing multiplayer then only the host will have access to all of the chests if they are anywhere besides the homestead. Something to do with syncing I believe?
Automate - this automates certain tasks, such as using the furnace or making mayonnaise, so you can spend time doing other things like finishing quests and talking to people (or just exploring).
Farm type manager - allows you to spawn various items anywhere (like rocks, plants, monsters, etc). I don’t believe the season matters but I don’t really use this mod much.
East Scarp - an expansion mod. It adds a new location/map as well as new characters and quests. I would consider this the middle expansion if I rank all 3 of the expansion mods I use by size/complexity.
Swim - allows you to swim almost anywhere there’s water. Has an additional download so there can be an underwater map with quests etc. i have never downloaded the extra map. Also, you may want to change the swim button if you download the warp mod since they default to the same button. But it’s not a super big deal if you don’t change it (the button is what allows your player to swim vs prevents it, helpful if you need to do something on the shoreline or the dock and don’t want to jump in the water).
Ridgeside Village - expansion mod. Adds a lot of characters, quests, etc. This is the biggest/most complex expansion mod that I have imo.
Free Love - allows you to have multiple spouses without making anyone mad. I would use alongside the date night mod so you don’t get overrun by date requests! They get offended if you don’t go out with them lol.
Destroyable bushes - allows you to cut down bushes as you would a tree for extra wood. I don’t use it much.
Stardew valley expanded - expansion that adds more characters and quests. I would consider this the smallest one that I have, although it’s probably actually the biggest one if you actually use all of the locations/quests. There are just some things I refuse to do lol
NPC map locations - shows where each person is currently on the map. I think it also shows player locations? Pretty sure lol. Also it works for all of the maps afaik.
Automatic gates - gates open and close automatically
Mikey’s Greenhouse - allows you to make a bigger greenhouse. I recommend setting this one up at the beginning because it’s a pain in the ass if your greenhouse already has stuff in it.
Warp multiplayer - warp to like 6 different locations on the map, including a custom location, without using any equipment. Can be used on singleplayer.
Warp multiplayer (locations) - used alongside the above mod. Not sure why you need both. But you do lol.
Wear more rings - allows you to wear more rings than normal. Can be customized - i think i can wear up to 16 rings but not sure. At some point you don’t really need all those extra rings because you can combine them. However it is very easy to change the number of rings you can wear - it’s a slider bar in the mod menu.
Pause time in multiplayer - allows you to pause the game (works in single player as well). IIRC a majority of the players (both if it’s 2 players) have to agree to pause before it will pause.
Date night - allows you to choose the probability that you will go on a date with your partner. I recommend setting it very low if you have multiple partners. Otherwise two or more will ask you on a date on the same night and you will make somebody upset.
Craftable autopetter - allows you to craft an autopetter, which will save you from the tedious task of petting your animals (you can still pet them if you want but they wont be upset if you dont)
Event limiter - sets the number of events that will happen in a day. I must use this for another mod because i have never configured this one.
Greenhouse sprinklers - adds an upgrade option to your greenhouse so that you dont have to water everything. I believe there are 2 upgrades but i can’t remember why.
Show birthdays - this will tell you everyones birthday on a given day on the calendar. Extremely helpful with expansion mods.
Deluxe grabber redux - allows the grabber to pick up pretty much everything in the area instead of whatever the game limits it to.
Plant and fertilize all - plant or fertilize the entire area with the press of a button. Extremely helpful if you have a large area you want to do at once. Not helpful if you want to plant multiple types of things.
PFM automate - this is another automation mod, I’m not sure which one is current so I would look at the one I listed earlier as well.
Better chests - name, categorizes, change size, carry chests…so many things you can do
Fruit tree honey - make honey from fruit trees instead of just flowers
Gift taste helper - hover tip that tells what someones favorite gift is (calendar or social page)
Skull cavern toggle - change difficulty of the skull cavern. I believe this has been added to the vanilla game since i last updated mine.
Skull cavern elevator - adds an elevator to the skull cavern. Absolutely required to relieve the stress that is the skull cavern lol. You can thank me later 😂
Reverse proposal - allows NPC to ask you on a date
Lockpicks - a purchaseable item that allows you to go into peoples houses in the middle of the night (or whenever else they might be locked). Kinda creepy and i never ended up needing it lol
Custom music - use your own background music. I got frustrated and removed it bc it turns out i really like the game’s music lol
Convenient chests - allows you to craft and cook from nearby chests. I think better chests also does this so idk if i actually use both or not. But either way it’s nice to not have to reach into each chest and grab things. Just remember if you use this that it may use something you were trying to save, so keep that in mind.
Simple crop label - hover tip of what each crop is. Great if you always forget what you planted (especially if you don’t play regularly)
Let me know if I can help in any way :) I hope you find this useful!
I like “Traveler’s Rest” because the game doesn’t force you to keep regular hours at your tavern. If you want, you can spend the whole day crafting and restocking until you’re ready to deal with customers again.
I had an ASCII Grip for the original Playstation that I really loved. It was a one-handed controller that I mostly used to play RPGs, and although it took a little getting used to, I eventually got so comfortable with it I could menu faster with the Grip than with a normal pad!
You can check out whatever is available on F-Droid. I personally enjoy playing Freebloks once in a while, it’s a mobile version of the Blokus boardgame
An alternative is checking out itch.io, searching with the proper tags, like puzzle, might yield decent results for your tastes.
You can also get Cookie Clicker or play the web version
Steam Controller is of course an unbeatable classic, almost it’s own category with the weird but charming touchpads.
Of the more conventional controllers I’m a big fan of my current Gulikit KK3 Max. I was looking for a controller with Hall-effect joysticks, and this one looked like one of quality, so I decided why not eh. Feels like a good controller when I use it, so I’m content with it.
Gardenscapes is the original match 3 and build a mansion and is still my favorite. There are micro transactions to get additional power ups, but the fact that they are constantly updating with new seasonal events and you never run out of levels
I had a knockoff wavebird for the GameCube. Guzzled batteries, introduced lag, and sometimes your character just slowly rotated in a circle. It was cool to have a wireless controller though!
The directional pad is four separate buttons. Up down left right. I want them to be like the c buttons on the Nintendo 64 controller. Separate.
What ends up happening with me is that I’ll press down but not squarely down. There is a good chance I’ll press partially to the left or right while using smaller d pads. This causes extra inputs I didn’t intend to do happen. The ds made playing tetris much harder on me than it should have for me.
I really liked the wavebird for the gamecube, unfortunately mine went into the aether on my last move, got bluetooth adapters to pair modern controllers with it but the wavebird was really cool at the time, was really amazing to not have to be tethered to the console and it being first party, though at the time the madcatz stuff was decent.
For recent controllers, I’ve been using a knockoff 360 controller for moonlight recently and after a lot of back and forth I really think MS nailed the controller setup back then (OG Xbox being decent but not a preference, I hated the duke, s controller was solid though), I like the xbone controllers as well, but IMO they’re just iterations on the 360 controller, easily my preference as an all rounder controller layout.
I have a steam controller, used it for a while but it’s been some time now, had some really great ideas, I’d totally go for an updated steamdeck style layout on that, probably a second for me.
I’ve had so much drift issues with ds4s that I personally don’t reach for a ds4 or dualsense for non playstation games, I like being able to swap batteries and the Xbox/Steam controllers all seem to have way better battery life in general, I keep a stock of rechargeables around so not generating piles of waste.
Totally was, it didn’t have rumble for battery life reasons, but didn’t miss it much at the time, barely used the rumble pack on the n64, think I got mine at EB games to try out the OOT secret hint feature (it’d buzz the pack if you were near a hidden secret), feedback has come a LONG way since then in terms of immersion.
I liked egg inc for a while, if you’re looking for clicker type games.
Other than that I can recommend
Stardew Valley
Peglin
Sudoku
Nanograms
Dungeon Village 1 & 2
Multiple of these are paid, but I’m 100% on board with paying a small amount for an app rather than paying a multiple of that for in-game Battlepasses and whatevers.
It annoys me a lot to say this, but Netflix has some excellent games in their roster. So if you have a Netflix subscription, check those out. I personally very much enjoyed
Storyteller
Into the Breach
But they also have ports of some very good PC games like Spiritfarer, Terra Nil or World of Goo.
Any little casual simulators by Kairosoft, the pay to play “full versions” are pretty cheap. Manage a lil apartment building, manage a tiny sushi restaurant, manage a little Japanese village. 8 bit style, very soothing. The free versions are quite limited in scope and cut you off from further progression after a few levels, but no microtransaction reminders, either. The mention of “Dungeon Village” reminded me, is that Kairosoft?
Any gamepad without vibration feels lifeless to me. This was one of the first gamepads I bought for PC, the Thrustmaster Dual Analog 4. No vibration, L3/R3 require a lot of force to press, no analog movement on the triggers. I guess what you get is what you pay for but man I don’t wanna go back to cheapo controllers…
PS3 (that’s the Dualshock iirc?), Steam Controller, and the Wii U Pro Controller (I quite like the two analog sticks at the top). In that order probably.
Moving a joystick is fundamentally different to moving a mouse. With a joystick there is a spring constantly acting to center it - no equivalent force when using a mouse. So you need to get a feel for estimating that force and accurately counteracting it in various gameplay scenarios. That’s a completely different “muscle” to have a memory of vs. using a mouse I think
Also, modern controller joysticks generally are not great. Most have medium to large deadzones in the center by default. I’d recommend reducing them for more responsiveness. It comes with the tradeoff of being more susceptible to stick drift. But that isn’t something you should be afraid of. It’s a physical impossibility for their design to not wear over time. I’d recommend recalibrating and adjusting settings regularly. At the end of the day, replacing joystick modules only requires screws (no soldering) so it’s cheap and relatively easy.
If you’re really serious you could get some hall effect joystick modules. That way you wouldn’t need to recalibrate often and could keep a consistently small deadzone setting without encountering drift. i.e. default settings from like dualshock 2, when stick drift was just as apparent but people hadn’t gone crazy over it yet.
Minecraft would be fine for learning fps movement in a relaxed setting.
It can become surprisingly complicated with axial deadzone settings, but that’s not really important to understand. The simple concept is it’s the zone in which the stick is moved but no change in movement is registered in-game. The complication that is added is mostly related to more precise calculation of where that zone is
I’m using a Thrustmaster Eswap X Pro. The joystick and dpad modules are hot swappable and can be put in any orientation you prefer. They sell replacement joystick modules for $20, which is nice because you don’t have to replace the whole controller if one gets stick drift.
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Aktywne