@grimalkina I think gris is made by the same people, and has the same "no spoken words or text, just feelings through experience" vibes

@grimalkina also, Stray, which I refer to as Kitty Simulator 2000. Also feels, but actually has text to read.

@grimalkina Stray has fighting in it though. Maybe for when she's up to it. Also lots of being chased by nasties.

Here is the original thread on this!

https://mastodon.social/@grimalkina/113178311207819230

She requests: "not scary and not shooting"

Same mom

She is also extremely musical and loves an auditory experience!

@grimalkina spin rhythm (ala frequency from PS2).
https://youtu.be/SP4yN2zsh5Y?is=uVa3z__2v9-0x37o

@grimalkina gris

@xabean I love Stray, I've played that one!

@grimalkina also try some of the Cyan "walking simulators" like Obduction and Firmament. Very brainy and incredibly beautiful.

@grimalkina the artful escape

https://youtu.be/XiZ1CYFrK4A?is=esOondBkXT_Imecr

@grimalkina Gris!

@grimalkina

I’d suggest Gris: absolutely gorgeous (visually and musically), melancholic, emotionally heavy but ultimately uplifting

A Short Hike is a sweet little gem, low gameplay demands, pureheated and charming

Maybe Katamari Damacy Reroll: might be a bit manic for her taste? But charming, weirdly satisfying gameplay, great soundtrack

If she liked Journey, maaaaybe Shadow of the Colossus…but might be both too intense and too difficult for her taste, I’d say probably not

@inthehands @grimalkina A Short Hike is on my lifetime top ten, and I also loved Gris. Maybe Rime or The Witness? Also Spiritfarer, although fair warning everyone dies.

@grimalkina Astro Bot, maybe Sackboy?

@grimalkina Okay, it's very old-school, but my wife got totally sucked in to "Dark Cloud".

She was tryna bond with the grandchild we raised, a completely admirable thing to do.

But she spent *hours* playing the game.

There was a boss fight, and she became enraged, and gee-kid Threy said, "Grandma, do you want me to take care of this?"

And she was like, "NO. Shut the fuck up."

@GeePawHill @grimalkina I played a demo of this game over and over again as a kid!

@grimalkina

"Everything". A totally unexpected game. Beautiful and _incredibly funny_.

Heaven's Vault and Chants Of Sennar, both language-building puzzlers, both wonderful.

Melatonin, chill rhythm game. A Short Hike, a chill explorer.

Superliminal (spooky but not scary): https://exple.tive.org/blarg/2020/02/05/misdirection/

1000xResist: Emotionally extremely heavy, but impossibly good. https://exple.tive.org/blarg/2025/03/25/1000x/

Oh: Venineth! Marble Madness on an alien planet. Amazing, glitchy-Vangelis soundtrack.

@grimalkina The kind of default starting place for adult women (especially when the direction is "not shooty, not scary") is cozy games like Stardew Valley (which is in the same vein of Animal Crossing).

If she's okay with poker-adjacent or card games, the rogue-like (with a bunch of asterisks) Balatro is a lot of fun. It's kind of hard to explain, but much easier to grasp.

I've also had Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical in my own backlog for a while now. Dunno if it's her vibe or not, but I keep meaning to actually start it up.

@grimalkina The game immediately made me think of "Sky: Children of Light"