Continuing to build upon my idea of showcasing you, my readers, a lot more about myself, the games I enjoy personally but may not talk about on the website for several reasons: Those might be related to game relevancy at the time, overall public indifference to them, or I might just not have the time to cover them in depth in my already busy website schedule. And yet, I still play these games a lot of the time, because they’re the sort of comfortable experience I can rely on and fall back to whenever I feel like I need a break.
Unlike my other game lists, there isn’t just one specific type of game in here, but several, so if it ends up feeling a bit disjointed, well, that’s because it is. I hope you enjoy this personal look at the games that soothe my busy mind. Remember that this is a list where I’ll be going over my opinion on these titles, and why they work for me in the way they do, and not necessarily describing the games and their features. If you want, there’s plenty of those in my reviews, previews, and other lists!
Age of Empires II
Out of any other game on this list, I don’t think I know a game as intimately as I do Age of Empires II. This game was literally the first PC game I have ever played in my life, which is to say, it had a massive influence on me growing up, because I had to be around 7 or 8 years old. Now, 25 years later, I’m still playing Age of Empires II: The Definitive Edition exactly the same way I did in the early 2000s: Setting up a skirmish match, building up the most insane defenses I can by turtling behind a crazy amount of walls, towers, and castles, and just leaning back in my chair and watching the enemy crash against it in vain, and marveling at the genius of my tactical expertise.
Playing Age of Empires II also comes with an overwhelming amount of fond memories, conversations to be had with friends who played it as well, and, of course, it’s just an amazing game in its own right and widely considered to be the best RTS game ever made.
Stronghold Crusader
Stronghold Crusader is another one of those games I have played during my formative years of gaming. A time when my main concern was to get home, boot up a game before dinner, and just have as much fun as possible playing one mission at a time. Stronghold Crusader missions did feel like they were massive challenges. In 2026, things aren’t exactly the same anymore, and the mystique of gaming has sort of disappeared for me the moment I realized that games were nothing more than number-crunching equations dressing up in cool armor. Still, Stronghold Crusader had such an impact on me that I cannot stop myself from playing a skirmish every now and then just to remind myself of the good old times. The recent Stronghold: Definitive Edition is an amazing game in its own right, with new units, AI Lords, and missions, and it’s the best option if you want to give this incredible classic a go.
ISLANDERS: New Shores
I’m a massive fan of all sorts of strategy games. In fact, let me correct that: I’m a massive fan of all sorts of games. There are very few genres I don’t particularly like, and the only two that come to mind are horror and puzzle. The first of which is because I would much rather be reading a horror story, and the second because I find puzzles in games to be rather hit or miss, depending on how well designed they are, and they’re often very poor. So, despite all of the wargaming and action-focused RTS games, games like ISLANDERS: New Shores are right up my alley for the exact opposite reasons the other ones make an appearance. It’s a serene and relaxing experience that I can play at my own pace, while being challenged and entertained. It’s also the perfect sort of game to play in a rush, when family or work life is busy, and I only have a quarter of an hour to burn before going back to doing adult stuff again.
Company of Heroes
I know that most people will be rolling their eyes at the idea of considering Company of Heroes a comfort game, and I don’t blame them. After all, how can a fast-paced, World War 2 RTS with no pause button, and one of the most competitive RTS ever made, be considered a relaxing experience? Look, I don’t know, and I won’t be trying to come up with an explanation for that. I just know that I enjoy playing it, even today. I even spent a big portion of this year’s summer vacation playing its campaign again to compare it to the up-and-coming Definitive Edition. Like Age of Empires II, I suspect the reasons why I like going back to it so much are because I know the game so well and have learned its mechanics so thoroughly that it’s just intuitive for me to pick it up and play. This goes to show that almost any game can be your comfort title, provided you have the necessary time invested in it, right?
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