Listing The Best “Turn Your Brain Off” Games That Kill A Lot Of Time

Video games that make you channel your inner strategist, including Baldur’s Gate 3, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and others are fun in their own way, but when you really need to kick your feet up and take a breather, you dive into certain titles with your brain turned off, metaphorically speaking. I’ve decided to list a bunch of these games, so you know what you’re picking up the next time you fall into that type of mood. 

That said, this piece isn’t to be confused with games that let you have a quick and satisfying 20-minute session. The forthcoming entries can be longer than that, depending, so make sure you go through each listing diligently for the best results. 

Feel Free To Lay Back And Relax With These Games

You can also comment down below and talk about some of the games that you think fit the bill.  

1. Katamari Damacy

Monkeycraft’s Katamari Damacy is one of the most creative games you can play in 2024, being a roll-’em-up style title. It’s a classic that traces its initial release all the way back to 2004 for the PlayStation 2, but in recent times, the publisher of Katamari has ported it to modern-day platforms as well, slapping the label of “Reroll” to the game as well. 

The gameplay is incredibly chill, and you really don’t have to struggle a lot to go from one level to another in it. I highly recommend you give it an honest shot because even Google likes it so much. Go ahead and look up “Katamari” in the search bar, and click on the bouncing ball icon to know what I’m on about. 

• Get it on Steam.

2. Hotline Miami

Hotline Miami is a top-rated title on Steam, and not without good reason. Belonging to the bullet hell genre, it’s played from a top-down camera perspective and features an intriguing premise and a great overall level design. It’s super brutal, overly chaotic, and quite fast-paced while sporting a ton of action in its own unique way, so I’m pretty sure you’re not going wrong with it anytime soon. 

• Get it on Steam.

3. Just Cause 3 

Talk about a sprawling open world that the game lets you treat as your own personal playground. Just Cause 3 is widely considered the best game in the series, thanks to its fantastic gameplay, impressive visuals, and remarkable creative freedom that lets you wreak havoc in ways more than one. You really don’t have to put your brain into this one—just glide, fly, parachute, and grapple your way from one region to another in pure bliss. 

• Get it on Steam.

4. Death Stranding

This may sound a bit ridiculous at first, but hear me out: Making delivering in Death Stranding as Sam Porter is one of the best ways to enjoy yourself in gaming, with combat sprinkled in here and there. The action-adventure has sold more than 5 million copies to date, and with a sequel greenlit and approaching next year, which by the way I have high expectations for, you have to jump on this train and acknowledge the best of Hideo Kojima. 

• Check it out on Steam.

5. PowerWash Simulator

PowerWash Simulator is packing much more of a punch than you think. This game actually comprises deep lore, where it first has you starting off with a quick car wash, and soon having you clean alien saucers instead. Yeah, that’s no joke, and this next thing isn’t either. The title features references to the Warhammer 40K franchise.

Do give this a go, if not for the washing relaxation then certainly for its growing plot.

• Get it on Steam. 

6. No Man’s Sky 

Many Starfield players wanted that game to have some sort of positive influence from No Man’s Sky, the action-adventure survival RPG by Hello Games that came out in 2016. To give you a little background on the actual progress made here, No Man’s Sky was a disaster on launch, with many of its systems failing to go live, but turns out, the title is now one of gaming’s biggest comeback stories, promptly joining Cyberpunk 2077 in its conquest. 

Where the title excels is the amount of freedom it grants to players, allowing them to explore a multitude of planets, tame pets, build bases, and a lot more. This can be your go-to game for times where you find yourself either stressed or bored because you could be players for hours and doing nothing in it.

eXputer rated No Man’s Sky 3.5/5.0 in its review, with author Moiz remarking, 

After all these years, No Man’s Sky is still a delight to play, especially when exploring and visiting new places with friends.”