qyuns's recent activity
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Comment on Recommendations for laid-back games in ~games
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Comment on Seeing very smooth movement on classic shows on a big screen TV in ~tech
qyuns Link ParentSame with some friends of mine. They called me over to watch a movie on their song new TV, I spent the entire evening feeling sick. They couldn't tell the difference, so I genuinely thought there...Same with some friends of mine. They called me over to watch a movie on their song new TV, I spent the entire evening feeling sick. They couldn't tell the difference, so I genuinely thought there was something wrong with my vision all of a sudden. And even if I could have got used to it I found it so distracting because it made everything feel the same as one of those old BBC plays broadcast on tv. Like suddenly the sound was even different (even though that makes no damn sense) and everything was so blatantly a set. Turning it off was the first thing I did when I helped my parents set up their new tv. Didn't ask, didn't explain, just did it at the same time I was setting everything else up. Mostly because of the memory of their first widescreen, someone else set it up and set it all to 4:3, and they got mad and made me turn it back on when I tried to set it to 16:9 because they hated the black bars. Meanwhile I was going nuts because the obviously cut off edges were so distracting I kept getting distracted from what I was supposed to be watching.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
qyuns LinkWylde Flowers, the demo was cute enough to get me to buy but unfortunately it got pretty tediously repetitive. I don't think I'll going to bother continuing. Havendock, it's weird and cute and I...Wylde Flowers, the demo was cute enough to get me to buy but unfortunately it got pretty tediously repetitive. I don't think I'll going to bother continuing.
Havendock, it's weird and cute and I obsessively keep restarting and rebuilding even though I just do the same thing all over again. That is how I play all my favorite games though, so it's a good sign. Very relaxing. Also you can pet the dog. Also love the flexibility in the settings to make the game more challenging or more relaxing, depending on your preference. Excellent game. Too early to tell if it will stand the test of time as well as say SV or MC, but I don't worry that I won't get my money's worth out of it.
Outpath, there's not a lot to it (a demo exists if anyone wants to try it) but it hits the spot for me. Crafting, skill advancing, harvesting, exploring, murdering adorable innocent animals who never did anything to me... all alone on my own private set of islands with no competition, no timers, just peace. Graphics are simple but lovely and the background music - something I usually immediately mute in games - is fantastic. Beautiful and calming, perfectly matched. As with Havendock you're given a bit of control over the initial settings.
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Comment on Book bans in Texas spread as new state law takes effect in ~books
qyuns Link ParentThey're creating a complete learning environment by erasing the people they hate. But also, everybody else has to erase them too because they still want to benefit from living in the secular world...They're creating a complete learning environment by erasing the people they hate. But also, everybody else has to erase them too because they still want to benefit from living in the secular world that they are actively and maliciously erasing. They do enjoy childhood innocence, in that it's much easier to indoctrinate children who are not aware that other choices exist.
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Comment on A single reform that could save 100,000 lives across the USA immediately in ~health
qyuns Link ParentThat was me. Lost a kidney to cancer, ended up with diabetes and (for a time) high blood pressure. And, seeing as I have rather a personal stake in the question at hand, I would say to the...That was me. Lost a kidney to cancer, ended up with diabetes and (for a time) high blood pressure. And, seeing as I have rather a personal stake in the question at hand, I would say to the original article - absolutely not. Because I've also lived paycheck to paycheck, and worked with many people who are in that situation or worse, and I've witnessed the ways in which people living in poverty often don't have the luxury of choice. I think GenuinelyCrooked passed it very succinctly: poverty is duress. Erase poverty and you may have an argument for financial incentives, but as it stands, all the arguing doesn't convince me that this 'solution' won't be most deleterious to those living in poverty - people who may genuinely feel they cannot afford to say no, but also will not be able to afford the lifelong additional healthcare and medication that may result down the road. But that right there is the catch with poverty. Often the only choice they do get is 'bad' or 'different bad'. I would argue that the authors should be arguing for universal basic income and universal healthcare. More people with kidney problems under control because they can afford treatments and have the bandwidth for better self care, more people living healthy, secure enough lives to have the bandwidth (and healthy kidneys) to consider the benefits to others than themselves should they donate... exactly what they want, without the exploitation that cannot just be erased by claiming 'good intentions'. Additionally, it will benefit a lotof other people with other health problems.
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Comment on The summer of busts in ~movies
qyuns Link ParentYou and me both! My aversion to socializing and to large crowds is pretty strong, so the fact that I absolutely love 'big theater' moments means I'd lose something really special to me if theaters...You and me both! My aversion to socializing and to large crowds is pretty strong, so the fact that I absolutely love 'big theater' moments means I'd lose something really special to me if theaters go away. I was also in the theater for the End Game moments, I was also exiting the theater after SWE1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was another excellent experience, particularly the final movie. Fear makes for a great audience experience as well. Jurassic Park was terrifying on the big screen! And I still remember the odd stillness of the theater for A Quiet Place. It was the quietest movie, but despite that, I never heard a candy wrapper crinkling, a drink straw squeaking, or the sound of crunching popcorn. Hell, I couldn't even hear anyone breathing in some scenes! I especially enjoyed that one because I went to see it three times and the audience reaction never changed. I can't argue that a lot of people are done with theaters, and maybe we're at the point where there are enough that they're facing an end. But if they do disappear in my time, I'm going to lose something that's been very special to me.
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Comment on What is your most annoying (minor) movie trope? in ~movies
qyuns Link ParentFor me it's because it breaks the immersion. It switches from something I've been watching and believing to a shot that looks patently artificial, and then it switches back. They could show...For me it's because it breaks the immersion. It switches from something I've been watching and believing to a shot that looks patently artificial, and then it switches back. They could show people's reactions from the side and if they don't want to go to the bother of having the actor speak or at least mouth their lines, then I wish they'd just get the reaction as a side shot.
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Comment on Credit card debt collection in ~finance
qyuns (edited )Link ParentEdit: an interesting discussion on ChatGPT and coding just popped up about an hour ago so adding it here in case anyone else is interested in this stuff. https://tildes.net/~tech/19c8 /edit That's...Edit: an interesting discussion on ChatGPT and coding just popped up about an hour ago so adding it here in case anyone else is interested in this stuff.
https://tildes.net/~tech/19c8
/editThat's an interesting thought! There are of course plenty of businesses which already have bots covering phone or chat lines, and occasionally I've come across one where you just can't get through to a human for love nor money - but they're all pretty equally shit to anyone who is even remotely familiar with googling for answers before asking for help. The equivalent of "have you tried turning it off and on again?" I don't think AI is much beyond that yet, but that's certainly an industry that's proved itself ready and willing to dump employees and anger callers in order to save a (not even adjusted for inflation) buck in wages.
I've worked in inbound call centers before, around 20 years ago, and they already had us on scripts that we weren't allowed to deviate from. I'm curious how it would handle problems described by people who don't know what's wrong... I might plug a few of the more memorable call problems into CHATGPT today just to see how it currently responds!
As for lawyers... I've worked for some of them, too, not in that field but I've seen my share of good and bad threatening legal letters. Those kinds of letters are generally already an existing template that requires few changes, and since I used ChatGPT to assist me in making a cover letter I'd written more succinct (my comments are an ever-current demonstration of that weak spot), I know it can definitely handle that, BUT that was the first time I'd tried it, so I began by asking it to write a cover letter based on a job description I copied and pasted in, and I got what I suspected I would get - the exact kind of cover letter that a lot of people use today and don't realize that's probably why they're not getting call backs. Hi my name is bla, I want to apply for bla, here's a repeat of the stuff you just saw on my resume. I then took my letter, which I've worked and reworked over several years of reading askamanager, but which was still a good 2 1/2 to 3 pages long, plugged it into CHATGPT and this time didn't give it a job description, just asked it to edit for length. It immediately popped out a much better letter, but I still reviewed my original and it and wrote a third letter that was a hybrid of both. So there's definitely a good argument that it could be used for form letters, but it's can't fix lazy and stupid, so bad lawyers are going to continue to produce lower quality work and have a higher risk of getting in deep shit for it - the debacle of the lawyers who used ChatGPT to write a court brief that cited fake previous cases. Briefs are also often already set up as much as possible to already be generated with standard language, formatting, etc. It's the legal reasoning that takes all the time, something lawyers spend a shit ton of cash going to law school to train in. These two both had years of experience but the lawyer who used the program fucked up by not reviewing the work, and the lawyer who accepted it from him fucked up by submitting it without reviewing it himself either. If these lawyers are sending legal threats to a non-lawyer, CHATGPT can definitely handle that because it's already easy to scare people with little money and no experience in legal matters by threatening legal consequences. But get any half decent lawyer on the other side and they will be gleeful if they get shit like that, because bot author or human author, bullshit smells the same. It's a signal that either the other side is writing their own legal correspondence without legal oversight via googling legal sounding letters, or the other side has a very, very stupid and lazy lawyer. Either way it's easy money for our side because - well, specialized or not, any good lawyer will immediately find cited cases to review them and how the opposing side is using them to reinforce their arguments. In this case... the opposing side's lawyers in this case must have passed that brief around to each other for a good laugh (we absolutely did this with garbage threatening "legal" letters) because they specialize in aviation law and hell, even their admin staff were probably familiar enough with case law to spot a fuck up so egregious.
So anyway, the people I see most affected by this will be admin staff that are dumped for technology by greedy and clueless business owners. My biggest concern is for those job losses and its definitely one of the biggest and best arguments I've seen to date to push hard for universal basic income. Hell, I was already all for it anyway because I've also worked for a large number of greedy/lazy/stupid people, and I want to help other people get out of the toxic kinds of workplaces those create a lot faster than I was able to.
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Comment on Credit card debt collection in ~finance
qyuns Link ParentSame thing as calculators or computers, I suspect. Some will use it to lie or cheat or steal, some will use it as a legitimate tool to address and improve their weak spots, or to automate the...Same thing as calculators or computers, I suspect. Some will use it to lie or cheat or steal, some will use it as a legitimate tool to address and improve their weak spots, or to automate the routine or tedious portions of tasks leaving the user free to use their skills more efficiently and devote more time to more complex work.
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
qyuns LinkWent and saw Last Voyage of the Demeter on a whim. My thoughts with spoilers are in a comment just before this one, but the short version is that it has the kind of flaws I expected it probably...Went and saw Last Voyage of the Demeter on a whim. My thoughts with spoilers are in a comment just before this one, but the short version is that it has the kind of flaws I expected it probably would going in but still managed to keep me excited and scared through about 98% of the movie so I'm glad I have it a try despite the low ratings I was seeing.
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
qyuns Link Parent"Oh, Bob. Oh, Bob, Bob, Bob! I'm so sorry to hear this, Bob." Done, 2 over the minimum, and you can talk like a human being for the rest of the conversation. Fuck you, metrics writers!"Oh, Bob. Oh, Bob, Bob, Bob! I'm so sorry to hear this, Bob." Done, 2 over the minimum, and you can talk like a human being for the rest of the conversation. Fuck you, metrics writers!
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Comment on World's largest study shows more you walk, lower your risk of death in ~health
qyuns Link ParentNot in bed, but might be worth taking a look at hybrid calisthenics on YouTube,and looking through the free routines he posits on his website. He puts a lot of effort into trying to come up with...Not in bed, but might be worth taking a look at hybrid calisthenics on YouTube,and looking through the free routines he posits on his website. He puts a lot of effort into trying to come up with modified versions of every exercise he demonstrates, and is very encouraging around the idea that you do what you can in terms of reps, and build slowly. Might not be a good fit at all, I don't know your exact situation, but I hope you might be able to find some that help.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
qyuns LinkThe Last Voyage of the Demeter. Oh, boy, did I have fun. I went in with no expectations, and a knowledge of the book expanded by multiple reads but faded by the length of time since I last did a...The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Oh, boy, did I have fun. I went in with no expectations, and a knowledge of the book expanded by multiple reads but faded by the length of time since I last did a full read through. I forgot just enough to have a couple of Dracula's powers be genuine surprises, and enough to not be overly upset at changes.
SPOILERS below, including differences between book and film, just so you don't think "oh well, I read the book, I know everything."
So to begin with, I love the epistolary nature of Dracula. I thought it built up the tension beautifully, subtly enough that I didn't even notice how invested I was until the final chase and showdown, when I realized I was gripping the book hard and I was doing that thing where my eyes were trying really really hard to read faster than I can actually read. And the captain's log chapter is one of my favorites. I love that it starts with "yeah, there is literally nobody on this ship except the dead captain lashed to the wheel with the log book clutched to him." It throws this mystery into your face by completely spoiling the ending, and then goes back and makes you watch the characters suffer through the horror while knowing full well they are all fuuuuucked.
It was the idea of choosing just one chapter of a story and building another story off of it that caught my attention. The trailer convinced me to give it a chance despite the low ratings. I thought they did a pretty good job of still making it as much of a slow burn as is possible within the time limit of a movie.
I thought that while they did have a lot of characters and certainly not enough time to develop them in, they did a good job of making them likable enough to root for anyway. I really liked that there was a sort of repeating pattern in that you went into the movie knowing how it ended because you read the book, in which you went into the chapter knowing how it ended because the book just outright told you. The actors deserve a lot of credit for how much I ended up getting invested in them before they went to their completely expected terrible, terrible ends.
I wasn't particularly thrilled with the addition of a woman and a child who both seemed pretty blatant attempts at evoking more emotional investment than a bunch of men dying was. In fact they were the ones I became least invested in because it was really, really obvious that, if anybody was going to make it out at the end (which I suspected they would, the same way Disney decided to do Hunchback and then totally copped out on the ending), it definitely wasn't going to be either of them. Not the fault of either actor, but really a waste of their talent - because while their characters weren't anything to write home about, they both did a perfectly good job with what they were given.
The male characters were much more interesting to watch because they were all very stereotypical masculine traits made flesh. Rough, aggressive, loyal, blunt, and with very simple dreams of having enough money for wine, women and food. I hope people will forgive me for comparing Demeter to Alien, but... it really did remind me of the way things played out in Alien. You begin with a blue collar crew with high camaraderie and short tempers who are well treated, well fed, and know they're going to be well paid... and then you slowly wittle away at them until the remaining crew begin to understand that, hey, forget the dreams for future years they harbored only a few days ago - at this point in time if you have plans for five minutes from now, you might want to make peace with the idea of never finishing them.
I liked watching these capable, confident men crumble under the weight of nameless, shapeless dread, fear of something they could not solve with teamwork, nor caution, nor simple violence. Again keeping in mind the number of characters vs the time limit, I really did appreciate how well they portrayed their characters' escalating fear and desperation.
The ending was - unsurprisingly - disappointing. I really do wish they'd kept true to the book in that aspect, because the way they did choose to wrap everything up really unraveled all the terror and danger they'd built up around their Dracula. And man, I LOVED their Dracula. Having enjoyed watching several playthroughs of Until Dawn, I don't know if the makers of UD took their monster designs from anywhere else, but I feel like this Dracula had to be inspired by UD or whatever inspired its artists. And having already sat through the horror of UD I was preconditioned to see that face and recoil in terror. The full body shots were a bit disappointing but the facial expressions were always great. It was a real romp, right up until they started wanting to have their cake of some of the characters making it out alive but also eat their cake of Dracula being super powerful and scary but also, defeatable by two people who hitherto had been helpless even with a bunch of other characters there too.
The very ending was the most disappointing because when Dracula showed up and made the pounding noises they'd been using for tension throughout, I thought that actually, they might very well have created an interesting 'ending'. Throughout the movie there are moments where Dracula's voice can be heard in the wind by various characters (bitten or not), and Anna points out that she is connected to him and can sense him. So when Dracula deliberately pulls Clemens' attention to him I thought "what if Clemens begins by hunting Dracula, but because his mind is now not as sturdy against infiltration by Dracula, he is driven mad, and his driving need to understand science is warped into what Renfield becomes?
Didn't happen... but since it does actually end there, that's how I choose to interpret the ending.
Overall, I'm satisfied with what I saw. I might even see it again, because while the last 15 minutes or so is just unnecessary filler, my ability to suspend disbelief allowed me to have a real fun time with the rest.
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Comment on The historic Gullah-Geechee community is fighting to retain its land and culture in South Carolina in ~life
qyuns Link ParentI believe Sunn m'Cheaux is on Tiktok, but I watch him on YT. He's an instructor of the Gullah language at Harvard and has a lot of great content regarding both Gullah/Geechee and language in general.I believe Sunn m'Cheaux is on Tiktok, but I watch him on YT. He's an instructor of the Gullah language at Harvard and has a lot of great content regarding both Gullah/Geechee and language in general.
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Comment on AI comes for YouTube’s thumbnail industry in ~tech
qyuns Link ParentI agree with you, and further, even if we count it, rickrolling got tired fast as well. Just as whoopee cushions would if they were being used constantly and every time you clicked a video you...I agree with you, and further, even if we count it, rickrolling got tired fast as well. Just as whoopee cushions would if they were being used constantly and every time you clicked a video you wanted to watch it ended up being whoopee cushions. I would prefer skybrian's type of thumbnail. Clickbait thumbnails are tedious and unimaginative and a massive waste of viewers' time. They're not about advertising content, they're about hiding that there is none. Skybrian's are minimalist. WYSIWYG in thumbnail form. He could jazz it up in non-clickbaity ways such as different hats as someone suggested, but if that's not how personality, then there's no real reason to do so, because the people looking for content like his would know they've found it.
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Comment on Tesla jailbreak unlocks in-car paid features in ~transport
qyuns Link ParentIn lieu of actually being able to download a car, I'll take this for now as a way to wave a massive collective middle finger at the people who came up with "you wouldn't download a car."In lieu of actually being able to download a car, I'll take this for now as a way to wave a massive collective middle finger at the people who came up with "you wouldn't download a car."
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Comment on What "lost" web page would you like to find again? in ~tech
qyuns Link ParentI loved Acrophobia! I could play for hours, and as you said, it got ridiculously hilarious.I loved Acrophobia! I could play for hours, and as you said, it got ridiculously hilarious.
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Comment on Former US President Donald Trump has been indicted on four counts on Tuesday, by a grand jury in the District of Columbia, over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in ~news
qyuns Link ParentYou might enjoy Legal Eagle's videos as he has converted this issue extensively. His most recent was just posted here and covers this exact subject: https://youtu.be/SbIhNmoZLJQYou might enjoy Legal Eagle's videos as he has converted this issue extensively. His most recent was just posted here and covers this exact subject:
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Comment on I hired five people to sit behind me and make me productive for a month in ~life
qyuns Link ParentYeah, they're definitely outside of my budget, but my goodness would they ever be a gift! A shitty bundle (unsubscribe! unsubscribe!) of mental and physical health problems mean I struggle a lot...Yeah, they're definitely outside of my budget, but my goodness would they ever be a gift! A shitty bundle (unsubscribe! unsubscribe!) of mental and physical health problems mean I struggle a lot with keeping up with all the housekeeping. There's so damn much of it! And you just turn around to start something else and the stuff you swear you just did needs sound again!
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Comment on Any tips for buying clothes that fit? in ~life.style
qyuns LinkDoesn't seem like a silly question to me! I've definitely had an annoyingly large share of times I wear an item once, maybe twice, then never again because it's a day of discomfort. I shop for...Doesn't seem like a silly question to me! I've definitely had an annoyingly large share of times I wear an item once, maybe twice, then never again because it's a day of discomfort.
I shop for comfort, not style, but I do need to be presentable as I work in an office environment - just so you know where I'm coming from. I loathe clothes shopping so I try and prep to make it as possible as possible. Am I shopping for dress shirts? Wear the dress pants, socks and shoes, even the underclothing I'd wear them with. Bathing suit shopping? Loosest pair of shorts and shirt I own! Hair pulled back and out of the way either way. When I get the clothing on I turn to view it from several angles, making use of any three-piece mirrors around to check the back angles, or if there are none user my phone's camera to look at my reflection in a single mirror from the back.
I will move. Shoulder shrugs, arm crossing, swinging, bending my elbows and raising them up to shoulder height and pushing my arms back and forth a few times, to check for those annoying minor issues as you mentioned that can show up later. I walk around, I stand, I sit and check - do these pants sit uncomfortably when I'm sitting, does this shirt gape between buttons, or tighten to be uncomfortable at the stomach or hips? What is it like tucked vs untucked?
What is the material, what are the care instructions? This silk shirt looks amazing on me in this shot conditioned store, but oh no, between the time I put it on for work and get to work, my sweat has now made two of the immense, obvious, hideously embarrassing circles of moisture that everyone can see. I hate laundry too, so if it's going to shrink or need special care, it's out. Ironing, UGH. I don't even own one, or an ironing board - I loathe the things. I have a handheld clothes steamer, if it might need just the occasional steam, it's in.
Are any buttons or embellishments well attached or are they likely to fall off? Do I love the item enough to more firmly attach those things before wearing it? Or will I tell myself I will, wear it, wear it again, wear it several more times, lose one of those very nice but definitely specially made buttons, and never wear it again but also feel too bad about getting rid of it so just feel guilt every time I reach in the closet for something else and see it sitting there, judging me?
Also, though this is more for women, does the damn thing have pockets, or fake pockets? Fake/no pockets can fuck all the way off.
I still fuck up because I'm amazing at talking myself into "oh it won't be that bad, and it's such a nice piece!" - but I donate my 'bad idea' purchases to a local women's shelter, where hopefully some nice woman with a slightly different shape will score a piece of clothing she wears often and feels comfortable in! Then I don't bear myself up so much for 'wasted money'.
These are all Steam games.
Outpath. Has a demo, minecraft-ish but with enough of it's own identity to keep me interested. Exploring, harvesting, crafting, unlocking new locations, and while I haven't finished it yet, so far no combat either. The music is gorgeous. Not too repetitive, not obtrusive, just a calming and gentle background to the game.
Havendock. Early access, but already a solid game. Colony sim with simple but cute, unique graphics. You get to employ penguins. You get some flexibility in difficulty in the settings so that you can play completely risk free and just enjoy building and expanding, or you can add a challenge or two. My only complaint on this one would be that I wish we could build freely rather than according to a pre-determined layout but that hasn't stopped me from loving it.
Powerwash Simulator. I've recorded around 400 hours in this game because I tend to forget it's running and wander off. But even if I halve that amount, I'm still irrationally annoyed about how much time I've spent pretending to wash things. WHY is it so relaxing? WHY is it so damn hard to put down?? But also the makers have released a few free updates and the game is really well made, so yes I recommend it and yes I expect those hours will only creep up more in the future.
Dinkum. Another minecraft-y/stardew-y type game, again with enough of it's own identity that it doesn't feel like it's just a cheap copycat of them.
The Wonderful End of the World. A katamari type game (only it works). It's a bit frustrating that free play is locked behind getting relatively high scores, but I still enjoy playing it. Relaxing with another good background music selection.
Journey. Deceptively simple looking, gorgeous, atmospheric. Better off you go in not knowing much about it. There are some "enemies" but they were few and far between, mostly it's a game about well, a journey, and the world design is lovely.
Smushi Come Home. Not going to lie, the price point on this one was a bit high for me as it's a relatively short game and I don't think it's going to have much replayability, suggest waiting for a sale but having said that, I loved it and it is SO cute. Some exploration, some fairly easy platforming, lots of running around as an adorable mushroom.
Sable. Exploration. Another with great background music but really what I want to refer about on this one is the graphics, the world design is unique and gorgeous.
Raft. Between the game settings and mods this can be as challenging or as relaxing as you want. Crafting, harvesting, exploration. Great music, lovely sound design, very nice simple graphics.
West of Loathing. Features regular combat but it's pretty simple to become ridiculously overpowered. Stick figure graphics and a wonderfully silly plot with lots of puns and memorable characters.
Rime. Not going to lie, this one did stress me out a couple times as there's some tense moments but I still love it and consider it a relaxing game for it's absolutely beautiful scenery, a story told with no words, fantastic score, and puzzles that kept my interest rather than boring and frustrating me.
The Forgotten City. Another that does include tension, but also it's designed in such a way that mistakes can be remedied. I've played it through a few times and each time I love the music, the graphics and atmosphere, the characters and the excellent storytelling.
Equilinox. Simple but beautiful graphics, lovely music. Take a small section of land and develop it into different ecospheres with plants and animals that interact with each other, that you can selectively breed and change, and that has no time limits.
DLC Quest. Takes the piss out of games with DLC. Short but also inexpensive and kept me chuckling at its silliness. I've played it a few times as well.