I’m a non-gamer looking for recommendations please. I saw the Quake II refresh and it makes me want to explore/roam some 3D environments again. But I’m really not into the intensity of any of the shooting games.

Tomb Raider was fun but I found combat hard to control.
Half-Life had great environments but too much shooting for me.
Portal was great fun but I eventually found it repetitive.
Beyond a Steel Sky is one of my favorites although the pace of exploration is a bit slower than others.

I’m tempted to give a game like Myst a try but the puzzles sound a bit too involved for me. Basically something without much stress or excessive friction against exploration of the environment. Thanks

  • guyrocket
    5•1 year ago

    I don’t see Thief mentioned yet. It’s old but it was called a “first person sneaker” by some reviewer back in the day.

    I’m seeing something on Steam that looks like it but with a 2/2014 release date, which seems newer that I remember. Apparently there’s a bunch of DLC too, so you might consider buy a bundle.

  • @headingtofallEnglish
    4•1 year ago

    Check out Sable!

    It’s a great exploration game, there’s some puzzle and platforming and stealth bits but no combat, just roaming around on your motorcycle exploring interesting environments and talking to the people you meet, it’s really fun and I love the art style and music

    • FarraigePlaisteachOP
      1•1 year ago

      My favourite so far, thank you so much! It doesn’t have a release for my system natively, but looks like it works on macOS using Parallels.

  • conciselyverbose
    4•1 year ago

    I have not played it, but people rave about The Outer Wilds and it sounds like it fits your needs.

    It’s not at all my thing, but search the term “walking simulator” to find stuff like that.

    Have you tried some of the games you’re talking about on the “story” difficulty modes? Most have moved to calling it something like that instead of “easy”, and I’m at the opposite extreme, but a lot of them are designed to let you experience the world and story without the pressures of combat.

    If you have access to a switch, Mario Odyssey or Kirby and the Forgotten Land have some “combat” but you can skip a lot of it, and they’re made to be beatable by kids. Other 3D platformers exist in similar veins as well.

    • FarraigePlaisteachOP
      2•1 year ago

      Just watched a review of this, looks really nice. Walking simulator is new to me too and very useful. Thank you!

  • HidingCat
    3•1 year ago

    Right off the top of my head is Abzu. Not a hard game, simple puzzles, but really nicely crafted environments and experience. It’s a bit short but it was well worth the experience. It’s quite an old game by now so probably not hard to get it on sale.

  • khab
    3•1 year ago

    Firewatch
    Well-made story-focused, no combat whatsoever. Very few puzzles, almost exclusively about exploring.

    What Remains of Edith Finch
    More “puzzley”, but lets you discover things at your own pace.

  • Rexxiter
    2•1 year ago

    I really enjoyed The Planet Crafter! It’s a crafting game bringing a barren world to fully lush environment. Lakes will form, grasses start to grow. It’s very peaceful and visually appealing.

  • CALIGVLAEnglish
    2•1 year ago

    Seems like you want something like a walking simulator, maybe a point and click game?

    There’s Journey, I’ve never personally played it but from what I gather it’s mostly walking, jumping and exploring.

    Have you also tried Minecraft? You can play on peaceful, so no combat at all, you’d be mostly exploring.

    Maybe Subnautica? There’s a creative mode, you don’t need to worry about survival and dying, you can build indefinitely.

  • TheRoarer
    2•1 year ago

    Myst and riven will lock your exploration behind puzzles. Outer wilds is a good bet!

  • @Stovetop
    2•1 year ago

    If you’re looking for story, the Life is Strange games are always good.

    There are 4 of them, and the order of release is:

    • Life is Strange

    • Life is Strange: Before the Storm

    • Life is Strange 2

    • Life is Strange: True Colors

    You can play them in order or pick any ones that you want, with the exception of Before the Storm, which should be played after the original game.

  • cyberian_khatru
    2•1 year ago

    Gone Home is pretty neat. I usually need secondary gameplay loop to placate my short attention span but this one gripped me through presentation and atmosphere alone.