Seeking game recommendations: PC game, heavy focus on exploration, low stress, low difficulty. Extra points if you get a pet.

Submitted by gththrowaway t3_124xqfj in gaming

Looking for a game recommendation for my GF. Right now, she exclusively plays WoW classic, but not in the traditional way -- she pretty much only likes solo exploration and doing easy quests. She never teams / talks to other people in game. She prefers green (or even grey) quests -- i.e., very easy quests. She hates jump scares or intense combat (but easier combat is fine.) She loathes PvP.

She isn't a hardcore gamer at all, and really just likes to explore cool worlds, complete some varied quests, and win some easy combat after a long day at work. Its not how I like to game -- but its awesome that she likes to game at all, so I want to help her find other games she might like.

Any game recommendations? I feel like there are single player games out there that might be a better fit than Classic WoW (she has also played a bit of retail WoW.) My ideas right now are Skyrim or Witcher III (both on story mode/easy), but looking for other options I may have overlooked.

Thanks

Edit: You all are heroes. Thanks for the recommendations!

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foxbornofstrangefire t1_je1fjmn wrote

No Man's Sky.

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LordPizzaGamer t1_je1pbuv wrote

This! Extremely relaxing, just explore the cosmos, plenty of difficulty customization.

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armoredpiecrust t1_je1unv9 wrote

I retried this after they did the update and it felt the same as the initial release. I want this game to be good especially when some of the exploration I've seen in the trailers on steam just not sure it's for me

−9

foxbornofstrangefire t1_je1xty0 wrote

....yeah if you think it was the same, you played five minutes and closed it.

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armoredpiecrust t1_je23le4 wrote

Long enough to build a base and replace my starting ship. Idk if that was 5 mins but it could have been. Then again I was looking for pointers cause just going around the planet learning single words wasn't really doing it.

−4

Beginning_Ad_2992 t1_je64pmh wrote

Yeah you barely scratched the surface, you essentially stopped before finishing the tutorial.

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armoredpiecrust t1_je7tl6k wrote

This gives me hope. I'll try it again and see where it takes me then.

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HerrgottMargott t1_je1naeh wrote

Slime Rancher! Heavy focus on exploring, not very difficult, cute pets you can farm, some base building elements. It's a great game in general and fits all your criteria.

Pretty sure she'll love it!

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Projectdystopia t1_je1lmfj wrote

Outer wilds

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Gooseloff t1_je21sgq wrote

This is an excellent answer. So relaxing and fun to explore and discover. Even when you do die of some natural disaster or human error it’s funny more than anything. She might be scared of the >!angler fish!<

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Clamditch t1_je1j8z3 wrote

No Man's Sky. Variable difficulty settings, tons of exploration, build a base if you want, pick a pet up off a planet or breed your own. There are intro quests to get you going and help figure out the game.The music is awesome as well.

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Ryanman2003 t1_je1m2v5 wrote

Genshin Impact (yes it has a bit of a stigma but it sounds like exactly what she's looking for) or Ni No Kuni 1 or 2, just not the mmo ni no kuni.

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TheSmithStreetBand t1_je1hemm wrote

Valheim

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Ok_Manufacturer_1044 t1_je3jold wrote

How is this not the #1 answer?

0

lapoopin t1_je4lg5f wrote

I would not consider it low difficulty

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Ok_Manufacturer_1044 t1_je7xmo0 wrote

That's fair, but the game is somewhat forgiving (you can get your stuff back). Also, you don't have to progress past the first two biomes if you don't want.
Livheim, Lovheim, Laugheim!

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lapoopin t1_je83wxd wrote

I guess that's true but then you're not experiencing the full game.

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casper5632 t1_je1o5c9 wrote

Sounds like you are looking for Spiritfarer

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RSwordsman t1_je1dk0a wrote

Fallout 4 perhaps? There's enough customization in the difficulty that she should be able to make it an easy romp, but there still would be a jump scare or two unfortunately. Otherwise it's solo exploration, real-time combat with RPG elements, and you can have a dog companion.

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phatboi23 t1_je1l0sq wrote

Exploration mod packs add a whole new level of exploring in fallout 4.

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RSwordsman t1_je1m5a2 wrote

Far and away the best benefit to PC gaming is mods-- they let you personalize any game and make it better for yourself. Any dev that supports mods is doing the right thing.

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GreenAndGold115 t1_je1p2i4 wrote

Animal Crossing if you have a Switch. That’s a good one to play for about 6-8 months

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Inevitable_Fly1508 t1_je1xl0z wrote

No man's sky on the relaxed setting is the only answer you need to this and you can have MANY pets

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Sharkus1 t1_je1gy9l wrote

Firewatch you can get it for cheap in sales now days.

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Beneficial_Moose_896 t1_je1hb47 wrote

Rune factory or atelier series seems perfect. More of a focus on relaxing environments, crafting, pretty light combat, gathering.

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boxerbroscars t1_je1ht28 wrote

Fable 3

Not available on steam store anymore but I bought my key off amazon and redeemed it on steam. Such a great game, its a shame that its so hard to get your hands on it now

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Snoo61755 t1_je1rxzk wrote

I don't see you specifically mention it has to be an RPG, so I'll throw in my lot:

Deep Rock Galactic.

-100% cooperative, no pvp.

-Resources found aren't split up, everyone gets the loot.

-Difficulty modes for all level of gamers.

-Randomly generated maps. The same mission can be completely different based on biome, length, complexity, modifiers, and events. Your directional skills will be tested.

-Supportive community. One of the friendliest bunch out there if you play coop.

-If you choose to play alone, Bosco accompanies you, and can accomplish things a solo dwarf would have trouble with.

-4 classes, nice weapon and build variety. Customize for raw damage output, accuracy, AoE, or ammo efficiency.

-Not an expensive game, and DLC is all 100% cosmetic.

-Great music.

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BIackIights t1_je1hamu wrote

Guild Wars 2

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Fylimar2342 t1_je1uxa2 wrote

I wouldn't call GW2 relaxing, it is pretty confusing for a new player and some Fights in the story are challenging. And a cute pet you only get as a ranger. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice and pretty game, but Not exactly easy.

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BIackIights t1_je1vqo5 wrote

I don't agree, I find GW2 very comprehensive and laid back mmo. You can lol solo or just participate in event with others and get same amount of exp as everyone with laid back playstyle. There no fighting over zones if you looking for mission item or something. The game has a lot of pets that follow you. The ones that fight can be accessed by ranger, necromancer and engineer classes. Story bosses are easy, if anyone ever has problems, it's always simple to find someone to help out as everyone is friendly af for majority of time.

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Fylimar2342 t1_je1wdjv wrote

You said it, the bosses are easy, if someone helps out, but the wife wants to play solo. And I'm pretty sure the necro pets and engineer golems are not falling into the cute pet category. But I mean, the basic game is free, so she can certainly try. I would say, that the Zhaitan fight might frustrate her though.

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BIackIights t1_je249zt wrote

No I said bosses are ease. If someone does have problem, other are always available. Everyone I know soloed story without any problem. Yeah I can see how not everyone will. Find fleshy abominations cute, but they're cool lol. Yeah, it's free and pretty welcoming. I play solo and it's my favorite mmorpg ever. Not grindy, play how you like, new content being added, classes variety. You obviously played it, so you know what I mean. Whenever I did have a question in game, everyone was always cool and friendly. Barely see any weirdos in chat too. Unless you're in WvW and PvP, but overall, i got only good memories about it.

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Banned7x t1_je1t3z0 wrote

Astroneer. It’s cheap too.

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johnzzon t1_je4h8zo wrote

Yeah, this is a very calm and easy game. "Enemies" are easy to avoid.

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DanSanderman t1_je1g1kd wrote

Lord of the Rings Online fits this pretty perfectly. I used to spend a ton of time just wandering around the Shire, growing potatoes and pipe weed.

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Kidnovatex t1_je1qzpc wrote

Man, I loved this game, but I just couldn't continue when they did the massive overhaul that introduced skill trees, so I departed somewhere around Rohan. Exploring the world was so much fun, especially Moria.

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DanSanderman t1_je1rpi6 wrote

I played a good ways through Rohan but quit somewhere around 2012-13. I decided to pick it back up about a year ago and started fresh to try and grasp the new mechanics. It's definitely had some changes, but the majority of the original experience is intact as far as how the world feels.

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EditorVFXReditor t1_je2nenn wrote

I wish a similar LOTR MMO would be out with state of the art graphics. I can't deal with the old look anymore, even though it has its charm.

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DanSanderman t1_je2oxuf wrote

There was one in development to coincide with the Amazon series, but Tencent bought the company that was working on it and then Amazon and Tencent got in a disagreement and scrapped the whole thing permanently.

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EditorVFXReditor t1_je2q1t2 wrote

What a shame, I'm surprised there aren't ay massive open world LOTR games around anymore.

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DanSanderman t1_je2t6zp wrote

WB has had the license for about 15 years now. I did enjoy Shadow of Mordor/War for what they were, but I'm with you. I would love a new, fully fleshed out version of Middle Earth on modern consoles. Give me something like Witcher 3 in Middle Earth.

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ye_evincare t1_je40lfm wrote

BFME 3! :) Iirc they are remaking/remastering Conquest.

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J_Schnetz t1_je1ka38 wrote

Old-school RuneScape

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Diligent-Cash1729 t1_je1pkp3 wrote

My wife really enjoyed don't starve/together, ticks most your needs but is a little difficult in the late game and learning the game takes a bit. But I enjoyed it myself so we started off playing it co op

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chevronrock t1_je1rijn wrote

Kena Bridge of Spirits. Pretty solid zelda-like. Beautiful visuals, somber story, scalable difficulty. Not too long.

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HantzGoober t1_je1sh5y wrote

Monster Hunter Stories 2 - This is the RPG version of the Monster Hunter series. There are tons of locations to explore and monsters to tame and fight alongside as your pet. It also has co-op where you can both explore the same zone independently or even help each other in battles.

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kyuuish t1_je2csqr wrote

Perhaps immortals fenyx rising? It has plenty space to explore, lots of different puzzles, there are some platform -like dungeons, but they are classed in difficulty (you don't have to complete all dungeons to finish the game) there are easy moods that make combat a breeze. You can fly and as for pets there are horses and a bird (you can change its skin to your liking)

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drlgrv t1_je1fz10 wrote

I would second the suggestion of Torchlight. Since she already enjoys WoW it would probably be a good fit for some casual dungeon diving with cool loot and such. It has a graphical aesthetic similar to WoW as well. Bonus points you get to have pets that you can send off to sell your junk loot while you continue exploring.

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capt-jackharkness t1_je1qb1p wrote

Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Assassin's Creed: Odyssey

Read Dead Redemption 2

Stray

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eikon9 t1_je3w589 wrote

Stray can be spooky or stressful to some people when those ball thingies start jumping you.

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FuelComfortable5287 t1_je27rrd wrote

Dragon Age: Origins. She’ll get a cute war dog plus cool companions with interesting story arcs

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deadcell9156 t1_je2gbj7 wrote

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the best I've ever felt roaming the map. Not too difficult, but perhaps with aim assist, it'll be even easier.

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Actual-Toe-8686 t1_je2kgl8 wrote

Abzu. The game is literally just you swimming through the beautiful ocean, observing the sea critters, doing a little bit of exploring, but mostly taking in the sights and sounds. The soundtrack is wonderful as well.

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ye_evincare t1_je49qyd wrote

If she basically likes WoW, she could - should more like - give FFXIV a shot. Way more story driven than WoW, very single player friendly with npcs jumping in for mandatory dungeons and a great world. Plus, base game and first xp are forever ftp - that’s hell of a lot of content. Community is one of the most friendly communities I’ve seen in an mmo so far - sure there’s the rotten egg here and there but they are very rare. Toxic behavior usually gets you kicked, not the ‚bad‘ player you were being toxic about. As for cute pet, there is a pet class too :)

Oh and the devs play and care about the game and seem to be in touch with the community. They made like a press conference where they apologized because they had to delay the release of an expansion for a few weeks. And gave free game time. I’d give it a shot :)

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SubstanceUpstairs582 t1_je4dl6w wrote

What Remains of Edith Finch is a great exploration game. It's a deep story and has excellent game play.

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hobdal t1_je1dyzv wrote

A Fallout game maybe? Stick it on very easy. There is the assisted targeting system VATS. Lots and lots to explore. Plus you get a pet dog.

I could see how some people might find bits of it scary tho, so depends on her tolerance for that.

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fpomo t1_je1e3th wrote

Ni ni Kuni 2

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Salrethian t1_je1jpbk wrote

Far cry 5 and 6. Great solo experiences and you get comapnion animals to fight with you!

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Kidnovatex t1_je1rnb1 wrote

If she enjoys the story, and wants to try something outside of the high fantasy genre, then SW:TOR is right up her ally, as well as being FTP. Her back ground in WoW will make a lot of the mechanics familiar, and each class gets its own story quests. It's perfect for low-stress solo play.

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this_barb t1_je1rove wrote

Skyrim. There's a reason it's been released a dozen times.

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wylliamw t1_je1sb2a wrote

Swtor would be amazing for her it seems. has dialogue options to vary the quests more, many planets to explore and you get companions not pets to trivialize the game.

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Fylimar2342 t1_je1v7gg wrote

I second Star Wars, The Old Republic. You can play the stories completely solo and they are good. You don't have a pet, but you can have animal mounts.

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Erthan-1 t1_je21wz6 wrote

Dragon's Dogma? Fantastic fantastic game.

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zachtheperson t1_je271t6 wrote

Outer Wilds. It's my "Buy it now, trust me later," game recommendation. There are a few bits that might be a little more than "low stress," but in general it's a pretty relaxing game, where dying is basically part of the puzzle, so it's not like you're being punished.

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liquid_acid-OG t1_je29m5w wrote

It's a different kind of RPG but Never Winter Nights 2.

Combat can (and should be) be paused at any point to issue commands to your NPC group that they will then carry out when unpaused. This can alleviate any stress that could form during potentially intense combat situations.

Same type of game and combat to divinity original sin but easier game overall.

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zet77 t1_je29r9j wrote

No Man’s Sky

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The-chonk-turtle t1_je2as14 wrote

Although a little on the controversial side if the assassins creed ezio trilogy is on pc i would highly recommend that, Its an absolute steal. You are paying 30 dollars for three 15+ hour long games with amazing storytelling traversal and stealth mechanics.

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the_cappers t1_je2gfa2 wrote

You might portal and portal 2 . Skyrim was also my first thought as well. You also may try Sims. I know its old but women seen to like it. It takes two is a fun co op you two could try and play together on. It is a bit actions.

My wife also really likes amug us. But that isn't low stress

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EditorVFXReditor t1_je2munb wrote

Dude this was my wife when we played that Star Wars MMO together. She got upset every time a player tried to talk/group with us! so funny...

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brian11e3 t1_je2n3vi wrote

Sun Haven is fairly casual, as is Stardew Valley. Both games are similar.

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EditorVFXReditor t1_je2n6nu wrote

As mentioned in my other post that I can't edit for some reason, my wife is very similar to your GF in terms of play style. Loves Zelda and low stress games. She absolutely LOVED Witcher 3. played it through including all expansions minus the last boss (he stressed her out...). She owned a vineyard, played gwent, was a frequent visitor to brothels and generally just adored it. She wouldn't let me start my play through for 8 months!

&#x200B;

I highly recommend it, she can play it on easy for the low stress aspect.

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KingOfTheIntertron t1_je2ovdj wrote

No Man's Sky has a lot of what you're describing on easier/builder modes.
Valheim has some of the best exploring I've experienced in a game, and certainly the best building. As far as "low stress" it can be kinda spicy at times. If you do play be careful about beating bosses as each defeated one ups the attacks on base.

Grim Fandango is a point+click adventure game with amazing writing, art, and music.

Superliminal is a short but interesting ride, pure puzzle solving with a very unique mechanic.

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bitemytail t1_je2u54t wrote

Maybe the persona games? 3, 4 & 5 are on pc now.

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galactic_skelly t1_je2uxb2 wrote

Not sure if this is along the lines of what your GF might like, but there's a really cute world building/collection game called Garden Galaxy on Steam that I quite enjoy when everything is stressful.

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zune_hd t1_je34jjp wrote

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

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AspenF1 t1_je354b9 wrote

Creaks is a cool and quirky chill game, they also have a game called Machinarium.

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Starpork t1_je38l7a wrote

Fallout 2. There's a dog.

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Donnie-G t1_je47yog wrote

Kingdoms of Amalur maybe. It's basically a single player MMORPG. You can also respec for free so when you get bored you can try out new builds in the same playthrough.

I remember it being pretty easy.

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Strange_Compote_4592 t1_je49vr5 wrote

Fallout 3. One of (if not THE) best open worlds to explore, you get a doggie.

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[deleted] t1_je5bz79 wrote

Horizon Zero Dawn

  • Strong Female Protagonist.

  • Fun combat. There are a few intense moments, but nothing crazy. I would recommend Normal or Story difficulty.

  • Beautiful open world to explore.

  • Sidequests are decent and there isn’t an overwhelming amount of them.

  • No pet, but you can ride robots.

  • No PvP or multiplayer.

  • Great writing. Cool universe. Especially if your GF likes Sci Fi.

  • The sequel will come to PC soon.

1

UndeadMar1o t1_je5fkt0 wrote

entropia universe, is a mmorpg real cash economy since 2003 now has la universe not just a planet more planets and still gets bigger, its cryengine2 atm and it wil lbe unreal engine 5 in some time turned into and its easy as chill because u have button to interact like when u attack mobs to auto attack till it dies by jsust hiting a button and auto aims at it or crafting one after another as many times u want so u can afk craft all night etc

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Cleru_as_Kylar_Stern t1_je5k4xz wrote

Guild Wars 2.

Can basically level to 80 with only exploration, there are Low Intensity builds to have low difficulty playstyles that still are more than able to pull their weight.

Huge, water-colorish world.

Necro gets summons and Rangers get pets, where they have to find the juvenile versions of the pets in the open world to tame them and add them to their selection.

And it's free to play so free to try!

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Background_News4186 t1_je5v0pw wrote

i love exploring san andreas in gta5. S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Anomaly is free and one of the best open world games you can play, you will end up doing a lot of exploring while searching for artefacts and items. it also has one of the most detailed open worlds i have ever seen.

EDIT: i just realized you wanted easy games, stalker:anomaly is basically radioactive darksouls set in ukraine so you might want something more casual. but if you are up for a challenge then absolutely go for stalker:anomaly

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Lithuim t1_je1fb2x wrote

If she likes the way WoW plays, an ARPG like Diablo, Torchlight, or Grim Dawn might be the way to go.

If she’s more about just sniffing around an environment, Minecraft or Subnautica.

0

Manakuski t1_je1mso9 wrote

Retail Wow for sure.

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Cr8er t1_je1n3i6 wrote

It'll probably be on the more intense end, but I'm really enjoying ARK for the exploration, base building, and Dino taming.

The combat, especially early, on some of the maps can be pretty tough, but once you get a few dinos tamed and with you it gets a lot smoother.

0

Crimbly_B t1_je1pofu wrote

Tchia was nice enough when I tried it recently. Haven't played too much of it though. You can become the pet by soul-transforming into animals to solve puzzles!

Sea of Thieves, once you get around slooping solo and being aware that PvP is avoidable by a good captain - but it takes time to become a good solo captain. You can buy a pet I think. Not sure if that's for real money though. You can buy a pet rock.

EDIT: Just for the trololz - how about she tries Elden Ring? I hear it's a wonderfully relaxing, easy game. You can summon your own goat-horse and also other animals (like wolves! They're fun). Whenever you die - if you die, I mean, it's a wonderfully relaxing, easy game after all - you respawn and can try again! Combat couldn't be simpler, it's attacking, dodging, and blocking. You can avoid PvP by playing it entirely offline too!

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