Sometimes, players need a break from the action of fast-paced adrenaline-pumping games and need to relax. Life simulation video games specifically are a perfect means of escapism, allowing players to ditch their everyday stresses and delve into a relaxing virtual reality.
Life simulation games often feature mechanics like farming or crafting, but what better way to relax than through mind-numbing manual labor like mining? These titles let players take life at their own pace, with relaxing mining mechanics and peaceful atmospheres.
8 Deep Rock Galactic
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Deep Rock Galactic, by Ghost Ship Games, provides its players with fun, humor, and mining in spades. Players can either play solo or with three other friends, each taking control of a space dwarf with different abilities and strengths to create a well-rounded team.
Deep Rock Galactic players get to embark on intergalactic missions to distant planets as they explore deep and expansive mines, searching for rare ores. They may be faced with sudden swarms of alien enemies, but once they are dispatched and dealt with, players are free to drill through the procedurally-generated mines and relax before reaching their main objective.
7 My Time At Portia
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android devices.
Nothing can be more relaxing than a simple farming simulator game where players can take life at their own pace. My Time At Portia takes place in a quaint town with a sense of optimism in the air. The player is tasked with rebuilding their father's old workshop and helping the lively community of Portia flourish once again.
Like most life-sim RPGs, My Time At Portia is incredibly relaxing. There are plenty of activities for players to dive headfirst into, from humble farming and livestock to mining in the Abandoned Ruins! From here, players can peacefully gather raw materials and minerals with their trusty pickaxe to their heart's content, which can be used for building and crafting recipes!
6 Starbound
- Platforms: PC and Xbox One.
Any players looking for an interstellar version of Terraria have come to the right place! Starbound is an intergalactic exploration game that sees players on a planetary adventure of space-hopping! The great thing about Starbound is that players craft their own stories. They can either embark on the epic story campaign to save the universe or settle down and enjoy the world at their own leisure.
The vast sci-fi universe of Starbound features dozens of ores and minerals waiting for the players to quarry on every planet. Mining these various ores allows players to progress further into the game by crafting devastating weaponry, unique home decor, and even upgrading their starship!
5 Forager
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android devices.
Often seen as an adorable pixel art fusion between The Legend of Zelda and Stardew Valley, indie gem Forager sees players exploring a massive open world with an engaging gameplay loop. To survive, players must continuously forage, mine, and craft to progress, and eventually build a blossoming home base to return to.
Forager sees players enjoying life at their own chilled-out pace, with no outward distractions or hard-hitting goals to work towards. There is an array of wholesome playstyles to suit every player, including the gatherer profession. Players can mine for resources and showcase their latest discoveries and oddities and the local Museum!
4 Minecraft
- Platforms: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android devices.
As inferred by its name, Minecraft is a solid survival game all about the art of mining and crafting. It is the famous game by Mojang that truly popularized the survival genre and pioneered the way forward for many games after it.
Minecraft offers an endless itinerary of activities for players, from flexing their creative muscles to going on mining adventures exploring the many deep ravines and underground caverns the randomly-generated voxel worlds have to offer. Although there can be creepers and zombies lurking in the dark, players can easily zone out all threats and safely mine at their leisure in the search for diamonds.
3 Stardew Valley
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android devices.
Stardew Valley is one of the most innovative and relaxing life sims on the market right now. Players get to ditch their boring working life and inherit their grandfather's farm cottage and fully immerse themselves in the day-to-day life of Pelican Town and get to know the local residents.
Although farming crops and improving the farm are the main aspects of the game, Stardew Valley features some fun mining experiences. The mines have combat elements, but nothing too strenuous to cause a player to rage-quit. Once they've cleared all the enemies in the cavern, they can take their time to mine all the stones and valuable gems they need.
2 Terraria
- Platforms: PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android devices.
Often referred to as 2D Minecraft, Terraria is a gloriously 2D sandbox world of opportunity. Through mining, exploring, and building, players can turn their randomly-generated world into whatever they want it to be with the sheer number of creative materials at their disposal.
Terraria is an excellent mining game for players to sink hours into, with hidden chasms, abandoned cabins, and even dungeons for players to explore. Plenty of mining tools are available, from a simple pickaxe to the Drill Containment Unit mount, all designed to make players' lives much more convenient and able to mine plenty of ore with ease.
1 Cozy Grove
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and iOS devices.
Cozy Grove is a game that is sure to appeal to fans of the cottage-core aesthetic with its whimsical atmosphere and charming hand-drawn aesthetic. Players take control of a Spirit Scout camped out on a haunted island in this wholesome game. As they bring life back to Cozy Grove, players can befriend dozens of ghosts and ghouls in the area.
Like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Cozy Grove is synced to real-time, allowing players to unlock new daily quest content. After that, they can do other tasks like fishing, crafting, or mining for materials like Iron. Cozy Grove proves relaxing gaming experiences can be just as rewarding as action-packed triple-A games.