Gaming can officially improve your mental health – here are five essential relaxing titles to play

If a big part of your 2020 was thinking about the price of turnips on the "Stalk Market", then you’re one of the 32 million people who escaped into Animal Crossing: New Horizons last year on Nintendo Switch. Finding peace on an island where you can fish, shop, and relax on the beach with friends is a wonderful change of pace, away from the stress of everyday life.

And it’s even better to know that it’s officially good for us.

A study of Animal Crossing players by Oxford University last year discovered that “contrary to many fears that excessive play time will lead to addiction and poor mental health, we found a small positive relation between game play and affective well-being.” In Radio 3's Sound of Gaming, Louise Blain says it’s time to take a deep breath and relax with these meditative experiences.

Those aforementioned turnips aren’t going to sell themselves, are they? It’s important to say that plenty of people find peace and relaxation in more action-focussed games, but the pace of island life in Animal Crossing is where so much of the appeal lies. The game works in real time, meaning checking in on your villagers in the morning feels very different from a late night play session when all the in-game shops have closed and your only company is the odd shooting star to wish upon.

A different soundtrack for each hour and weather type means that every time you load up your game it feels fresh and different but always, vitally, a lot like home.

Spiritfarer

Plus, the game’s multiplayer feature has been a vital lifeline over the last year to see friends when sharing the same real life space just wasn’t an option.

Spiritfarer

Spiritfarer describes itself as a "cosy management game about death" and while that doesn’t sound quite like the right collection of words, that’s exactly what it is. We take on the role of Stella the ferrymaster, sailing souls across to the afterlife and fulfilling last wishes in a beautiful colourful world.

Max LL’s score balances the joy of friendships – and yes, in this case that means friends on ships – with poignant reminders of the impermanence of our connections. Picture an interactive Studio Ghibli movie and you’re on the right track.

There’s even a dedicated "hug" button which, honestly, more games should have.

With more than $179bn in revenue in 2020, video games are the biggest global entertainment industry but stereotypes still linger as to what people expect from the medium. While games like Call of Duty and FIFA rule the sales roost, there are plenty of incredible narrative-based experiences, each one pushing new ways to tell stories and experience new worlds.

The Sims 4

Firewatch is one of these. Set in the beautiful wilderness of Wyoming, we play as Henry, a fire warden in a lookout tower who has run away from his life in the city. With only a voice on a radio for company and Chris Remo’s contemplative gentle score, we must explore the mountain and unravel an intriguing mystery.

Stardew Valley

If you’re the type of person who enjoys a well-organised to-do list, then gentle farming simulator Stardew Valley should be at the top of yours. Don’t be fooled by its classic colourful pixel design, this is an in-depth but never overwhelming experience as you take over your grandfather’s old farm and turn it into an agricultural paradise. Constantly evolving seasons means fresh produce to grow, new activities, and an unrivalled sense of progression as you see each of your individual tasks quite literally bear fruit over time.

Stardew Valley is all the more impressive as it’s the work of just one man. ConcernedApe, or Eric Barone, even composed the soundtrack too, which gently reminds you of the progression of the seasons but celebrates every day on the farm.

The Sims 4

Controlling the minutiae of a selection of your own painstakingly-created humanoid’s lives might sound stressful to some but, to others, The Sims 4 is a perfect escape. Here is a world where you can design the ideal home, create yourself, cheat yourself into some money, become the owner of a customised pet, or even go on holiday and become a mermaid.

All scored by composer Ilan Eshkeri, The Sims 4 can be whatever you want it to be. Which is exactly how he composed the music. “They wanted it to be a collection of lots of different things,” he says. “I think we described it a bit like when you walk into a room and there’s really well chosen pieces of furniture but not necessarily from one period. Just a beautiful classic bit of furniture from a different time period and lots of different ones and it all sits together in a beautiful way. But it works because each piece is beautiful but in actual fact they’re all different and eclectic.”

To hear all of these soundtracks and a full interview with The Sims 4 composer Ilan Eshkeri, listen to this month’s Sound of Gaming on BBC Sounds.