We all have our happy places: somewhere real or otherwise to escape, relax, and replenish away from the stresses of the modern world. Perhaps yours is in nature, lost in the reverie of a spirited hike up a windy hill, or sweatily squatting your cares away amid the pounding Daruda Sandstorms of your local gym. Perhaps your demands are simpler: the call of a good book and an escape into the realm of imagination, or the familiar celluloid embrace of a favourite film, or – as I finally drag this intro into relevance – the soothing rhythms of a beloved video game. And hopefully it’s the last one, because that’s what we’re talking about today.

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As you might have noticed, it’s Optimism Week here on Eurogamer – a chance, at a time it isn’t always easy to remember, to reflect on how special video games can be. And to celebrate the occasion, we’re reviving The Big Question to tackle another topical talking point before wafting it lovingly over to you. And this time: what’s your video game happy place?

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Do you prefer to take solace in the cosy idylls of the farming life, sinking dreamily into the comforting mundanity of turnip whispering? Perhaps your gaming happy place is one of nostalgia, the warmth of a retro favourite of old. As it happens, I’ve already written about one of my own favourite happy places: the vast procedural universe of No Man’s Sky, where I can amble serenely with the vaguest of purposes, tweak my infinitely expanding base, dip into its wonderfully kind community, or idly tinker with its latest toys. But I’ve got other happy places, far removed: harsher, crueller worlds to explore.

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FromSoftware’s Souls games might not be what you’d typically call relaxing, but their exquisitely forlorn spaces are so meticulously, completely realised, I find it hard not to get lost in it all. But more than that, they practically force you into a meditative state; demanding calm, cautiousness, and clear-headed focus if you’re to survive their merciless worlds. Nobody ever beat Ornstein and Smough by being impatient, after all. So they’re my happy places, but what about the rest of the Eurogamer team? We’ve asked, they’ve answered, and then it’s over to you!

The Eurogamer Team’s Happy Places

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 3DS)

There’s a very special house in Hyrule Castle Town. A house full of pots. Pots you can smash. The guard inside will never stop you from smashing them. You can smash, smash, smash away to your hearts delight. Leave the house only to return and all of the pots will be back in place. Slip into an nirvana of pot smashing.

RuneScape (PC, Mac, iOS, Android)

I’ve celebrated a very special anniversary this year as 2026 marks my 20th year of playing RuneScape. Something I definitely didn’t expect when I made my first account on an April afternoon many, many, many moons ago. Sure I’ve taken a break – a month here, a month there whenever the new content hasn’t interested me or I simply haven’t had enough time – but I’ve always come back, because I simply love the world of Gielinor. Sometimes I log in, not to play the game, but to simply go for a walk – be it the farmlands of Misthalin or the mountains of the Fremennik Province. Whether it’s RuneScape 3 or Old School RuneScape, I feel like part of me is tied to Gielinor and hearing the opening score as the game boots up feels like going home.

Super Mario 64 (N64, DS, Switch)

While it was tempting to say that Silent Hill is my happy place (which, honestly, it kinda is), I figured I’d go for the next best thing that’s slightly more cheery; Princess Peach’s Castle in Super Mario 64. As one of the first games I remember playing, and one of the few games I revisit and replay regularly as an adult, returning to Peach’s Castle feels like going home in a way. Whether I am racing Koopa through Bob-omb Battlefield or being jump-scared by the flying books in Big Boo’s Haunt, everywhere (that isn’t an underwater level) is a very happy place for me; full of nostalgia, Toads, and flying slide-kicks – which I could never pull off as a child, but do so with pride now.

Rollercoaster Tycoon Classic (PC)

The joyous screams of a working park, the clack-clack-clack of chains pulling a rollercoaster train to its peak, and the cha-ching of money rolling in as guests flood in. The premise is simple – make a working and profitable theme park – but how you do it (or even if you do it) is entirely up to you. Whether I’m making literal death traps, or malfunctioning rides, I never tire of it. After making my first basic park, I keep finding new challenges and new build methods to try.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy (PS4)

Pretty much every Spyro game is my happy place, and this edition contains three (hence why I’ve chosen it). It’s where I turn whenever I need a game that is familiar, that I don’t have to think too hard about, and it still fills the ‘I need entertaining but I don’t want it to be too difficult’ gap in my library. Seeing the purple dragon race across my screen while charging sheep to get butterflies to feed Sparx, or using his flame to blast away Rhynocs and setting Gnasty Gnorcs undies on fire, or whatever else he may be doing, it’s yet to become dull. I simply love this little purple dragon and being a part of his adventures, and away from the Reignited Trilogy, there are so many more.

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS5)

It’s a yearly tradition at this point. Hearing the opening titles, punching Lurkers, Daxter’s sarcastic quips when you die, powering up with eco… I could go on and on but will leave it at this: it makes me happy!

Quake 3 (PC)

It’s nice to feel good at something isn’t it? And there’s one Quake 3 map I’m confident I can say that about: Q3DM17, also known as The Longest Yard. It’s the one with the jump pads on; the one with that perilous leap out to the solitary platform in the spacey distance where the railgun spawns. The sitting duck leap. I’m confident about being good at that map for two reasons. One, because I’ve played it so many times – hundreds, possibly thousands of times – that I know where all of the spawn points are, such that I can fire rockets to these locations to arrive when someone spawns. And two, because once upon a time, we played Quake 3 in the Eurogamer office and I trounced everyone on that map – and there were some very competitive Quake players here!

Hades 2 (Switch)

This has become my current happy place game! I’m surprised because I wasn’t that ‘in’ to Hades 1; I sort of glanced off of the surface of it. But this one, I’m all in on. I think a lot of it being a happy place game has to do with the circular design of Roguelite games. Their being designed to be replayable in hour-ish chunks means they’re really snackable, such that I find them much more tempting to play again than using that hour to get into a new game. After all, I’ve already done all the heavy lifting – I know what I’m doing now. But an equally large part of it has to do with the game being Hades 2. It’s just such a generous package. It’s like a pass the parcel game that never stops unwrapping; every time I play, there’s something new to do. And the playing of the game itself is exquisite – the speed, the snap, the chewy theorising over builds. I’ve been dabbling in it all year and see no reason why that’ll end any time soon.

Critical Role (web series)

Bending the rules a bit here but Critical Role constitutes a gaming thing and it’s certainly become a happy place for me, so I motion for it to count. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have predicted I’d become a ‘Critter’ – I wouldn’t have thought it was something I’d be into. But now, I find myself eagerly anticipating the latest episode, feeling a connection to the characters and their world. It’s a unique blend of storytelling, role-playing, and community that has really captured my heart.