My Top Games for Stress Relief

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I have been escaping to video games more than anything while in quarantine, so I decided to put together a list of my favorite stress-relieving games. The list is in no order, but each game is effective at relieving stress in its own way. Maybe one of these will provide the same calm for you as it does for me ^_^.

• Flower

Developer: thatgamecompany
Price: $4.99+
Platforms: PS4, iPhone, PC
Estimated Playthrough: 5+ hours

I originally played this when it was released on the PS3, and it still remains one of my favorite games for de-stressing. There are no puzzles to complete or enemies to fight, and you don’t need any kind of gaming skills to enjoy the experience. You are just a petal flowing in the wind spreading flowers. While that may sound incredibly boring to some, just give it a try. The beautiful landscapes that you travel through and heart-touching soundtrack will melt all of your worries away.

• Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns

Yes, this is a picture of the front game case

Developer: Marvelous
Price: $27.99 +
Platforms: 3DS
Estimated Playthrough: 150+ hours

I hope that you still have your 3DS handy, because now is the time to break it out. Story of Seasons is the spiritual successor to the Harvest Moon franchise, aka the best farming simulator series ever. Once again, this kind of game may sound boring, but you won’t be saying that once the addiction sets in. Date, plant crops, raise animals, build, design, forage, craft, I could go on. In Trio of Towns, you are able to visit a lush tropical town, a western desert town, and a peaceful oriental town. With so many activities and places to visit, you may forget why you were stressed in the first place.

• Sky: Children of the Light

The first friend I made in Sky: Children of Light

Developer: thatgamecompany
Price: Free+
Platforms: iPhone; Coming to Android, Mac, PC, Switch
Estimated Playthrough: 5+ hours

If you notice, I have two games on my list from developer thatgamecompany. They are truly masters of stress-relief. However, there are more game mechanics in Sky: Children of Light. You have the mission of saving the stars, and can do it along with people all over the world. Other players can be seen in real-time throughout and you are able to hold their hands and…fly! The amazing floating mechanics from Flower are here, and soaring through tall clouds and over fields of flowers is surreal. The soundtrack makes you feel like you are at home in the sky, like a carefree bird.

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Taking a much needed stroll along the beach

Developer: Nintendo
Price: $59.99
Platforms: Switch
Estimated Playthrough: Infinite

I have only had New Horizons for about a week, and it is easily one of my favorite games of all time now. It also helps that it is great at relieving stress. You can chat with neighbors, go on a fishing trip, tend to your garden or redecorate. The simplicity of it all is very calming. If you get bored creating your own little adventures, you always have collections and missions to complete. If nothing else, do yourself a favor and at least go listen to a New Horizons playlist on YouTube.

• Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Developer: Bandai Namco, Sora
Price: $54.99+
Platforms: Switch
Estimated Playthrough: Infinite

I have never been one to recommend the violence of some video games as a stress relief. I don’t really like to make that association because it paints a bad light on video games as a whole. However, there are certain ones that do it right and the Super Smash Bros series is one of them. The fact that it’s a fighting game pitting iconic and lovable characters against each other in a comic-style mischief way is why. You can punch, kick, throw and blast your opponents to your heart’s content. I don’t recommend playing pvp to relieve stress though. Just stick with cpu battles and set the difficulty below hard and you will be good to go.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Demo: First Impressions

News, PS4, Role-Playing

Developer: Square Enix
Price: Free
Platforms: PS4
Reviewed for: PS4
Estimated Playthrough: 1-2 hours

Well, I think I have reviewed enough small indie games to try my hand at bigger titles and what better way to start than with the demo of the remake of the century! I hope to do more first impressions in the future since 2020 is shaping up to be an EPIC year for game releases.

Story

I won’t spoil too much for you, but rest easy original FFVII fans because all is well up in here! Story-wise, the developers have kept true to the original but have sprinkled in slight twists. For example, a scene has been added to show the corrupted Shinra Electric Power Company aiding in the eco-terrorist bombing mission of its own building. While this one scene does not seem necessary to explain the plot, it does help paint the good guys in a bad light to the public. I hope that the remake as a whole sticks to that formula – adding bits that enhance the story rather than completely changing them or omitting key events. Since it has been straight fan-service so far, I think the future looks bright. Even characters like Jessie have gotten some extra quality lines that really help to develop them further and make them so much more interesting (Jessie x Cloud hint hint ;). If this demo is anything to go off of, hardcore fans of the original like myself shouldn’t be offended by this remake’s refreshing approach to the story.

Gameplay

I was VERY skeptical when I heard that the developers would be ditching the original’s turn-based combat for real-time action combat as I am a believer in classic FFVII gameplay. I was scared that it would take after FFXV’s hack n’ slash mess, but I am happy to say that we have got ourselves true active-time battle (ATB) at its best! It is very close to FFXIII’s ATB combat, which is one of my favorite spins on FF’s original turn-based combat. Here, battles do not cut away and you control the movement of the character. Anything other than a regular attack, block, or evade requires you to wait until the ATB gauge fills up in order to use the command list. Once it does, you have the option to use items, spells, and special abilities. It’s a system that makes you pay attention to the flow of battle and strategize your choices and I definitely never got bored from it. For the first half of the demo you only control Cloud but Barret joins the party in the second half. Switching between them was seamless and adds even more strategy to battle. However, when locked onto an enemy, the camera does not faze through the environment very well and close-quarter battles could get very annoying. I should note that the combat described above is the Normal mode, but there is also a Classic and Easy mode available. With Classic, the characters move, attack, block, and evade all by themselves during combat and is equatable to Easy mode.

Graphics

I think the side-by-side comparison above speaks for itself but never has FFVII or any FF looked better. We went from polygon arms to hi-def biceps. FF is known for its prettiness and jaw-dropping cutscenes and the eye-candy continues. I don’t think that it could get any better. I can barely contain my 10-year-old inner Cloud fangirl, so I should probably stop now before I go on a rant *drool puddle begins to form*.

Soundtrack

The original FFVII soundtrack is what lead me to fall in love with classical music and eventually play the violin, which I sucked at and quit. Nevertheless, hearing it remastered gave me chills, tears, and pure joy. I’m content to just let the game sit on pause all day to listen to the music. The majority of the tracks included in the demo are fast-paced fighting themes meant to immerse you in the non-stop action, but I cannot wait to hear slower tracks like Aerith’s theme. A sacrifice of the ATB combat is not getting to hear the victory theme after every battle, but it is a sacrifice I am willing to make.

The Final Fantasy VII Remake releases on April 10, 2020, and I could not be more excited. This demo is undoubtedly the best demo that I have ever played and does a great job of showcasing what the full game will offer. If you are new to the series or an old-time friend, this demo deserves your attention, kupo!

Introduction to Brain Freeze Games

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Hello and welcome to the very first post on Brain Freeze Games! ^_^

I know, this is not a video game review…it is a tutorial of sorts. Since I am a novice at writing game reviews, I thought it would be a good idea to give a quick rundown of how I plan to review games. As the name and tagline of this blog suggests, the reviews that I give will not contain any fluff. They will be straight to the point and honest.

The main points that I will hit in my reviews will be a game’s:

Story
Gameplay
Soundtrack
Graphics
Overall Freeze Score

Most of the section names speak for themselves, except for “Overall Freeze Score”. This section will be where I sum it all up and tell you whether or not I think the game is worth playing. I will be using a 1-5 scoring scale:

1 = Awful/Brain Fire
2 = Bad/Brain Sweat
3 = Average/Brain
4 = Good/Brain Chill
5 = Awesome/Brain Freeze

For the time being, I plan on tackling recently released idie games because of their generally smaller scale. When I gain enough reviewing experience, I will move on to bigger titles in the industry.

Lastly, I want to stress that all of the opinions that I express on this blog are my own. I am just a humble gamer trying to write helpful reviews. Be gentle with me.

Well, here goes kupo!