I’ve stopped drinking, but I occasionally enjoy the experience of playing a game after smoking weed. While some games become completely nightmarish after a bowl, others are uniquely fun or interesting in new ways when you’re a little bit stoned. Here are a few that I keep coming back to.
Proteus
This is a gimme. Proteus is a low-stakes, low-pressure exploration game. Nothing can hurt you, there are no points, and you can’t win or lose. It’s just pure vibes. In this game you walk around in a pixelated environment, soaking up the sun and chilling to some tunes. If you look hard enough, you can even change the biome for a change of pace. My advice is to get in the mood as much as possible. Turn off the lights, put on some headphones, take a bong rip and transport yourself to another world.
Control
This sounds like a weird choice because it can be a pretty twitchy game, which is not exactly the easiest thing to handle when your reaction speeds are slower. But Control is also a game where almost every environment or encounter is meant to elicit a sense of wonder. Not everything you discover in the Federal Bureau of Control is explained, but the sense of mystery in its experiments, notes, and audio recordings lends itself well to the kind of speculation a wandering mind is prone to. TL;DR, it’s a weird game, fitting for when you’re getting a little bit weird.
Mini Metro
Puzzle games are a sure bet for me when I’ve smoked a little. I’m just better at them. I see patterns easier, consider my actions more, and am more able to concentrate. The streamlined nature of Mini Metro’s design makes those enhanced senses all the more useful. The whole screen is just colors and shapes, and while things change quickly in your subway system as more commuters use it, you can pause the game to really think about the long term impact of any change you make. If you’re anything like me, though, skip Mini Motorways lest you get sucked into a thought spiral about how much you hate cars.
Untitled Goose Game
When I’m stoned I don’t so much play Untitled Goose Game as I just really enjoy being a goose. The goose is adorable. Look at his little waddle. Listen to him to honk. Spread your wings. Glide through rivers and streams. Terrorize the populace by stealing their things. It’s an absolutely luxurious experience to embody a waterfowl and be a nuisance, especially when everything is 10% funnier than normal.