In defence of games that ask nothing of you

Not every game needs to challenge you. Some of the best time I've spent on my phone has been with games that are happy to just exist alongside me, no pressure, no fail screens, no leaderboards breathing down my neck.

Lantern Hollow is the game that really drove this home for me. There's no way to lose. You just wander, talk, and poke at a gentle mystery, and the game lets you do it at your own pace. It sounds like it shouldn't work, and yet I was completely absorbed.

I think there's a real skill to making a game this calm. It's easy to add tension; it's hard to hold someone's attention without it. These games lean on atmosphere, art, and small human moments instead, and when it clicks, it clicks hard.

So if you've been burned out on grindy, demanding games, try something cosy. Put on headphones, dim the lights, and let one of these slow worlds carry you for an evening. You might be surprised how much you needed it.