I'm playing factorio with my friends two days straight and we plan to keep playing, it was years since I could play for so long with them, normally I start to fell bored and hang up, but i'm 14 hours in and stil want to play more!

Wandersong: that game has so much character, it’s insane. The game can feel very emotional without heavy themes, idk how it did it.

I see a bunch of mentions of Journey. Recently, I've been playing Sky: Children of the Light for the first time, which is made by the same devs. It is beautiful, and feels like a spiritual successor to Journey, to me. It is also free to play, so it is easy to recommend trying it out.

• Freshly Frosted - Puzzle game. Seriously, I don't remember the last time I felt so encouraged by the narrator. If you're in a bad mental state, I do recommend this one.

• Lost in Play - Two siblings go on an adventure through a fanciful wonderland of their imagination...or is it?

• Spiritfarer - A chill management game where you're Charon ferrying souls to the Everdoor. This one deals with death and saying goodbye to loved ones, but it does so in a very thoughtful and sensitive way. It definitely changed my paradigm.

• A Hat in Time - Cute 3D action platformer. Silly fun.

• Little Inferno - Despite its simplicity and obvious satire of consumerism/Capitalism, this has a very cozy feel and fun characters.

• Tinykin - Adorable collect-a-thon platform puzzler with no enemies, only obstacles.

• Gorogoa - Puzzle game with an interesting story that unfolds with each puzzle.

• Doronko Wanko - You're a cute doggo making a house as messy as possible.

• Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People - Fun, silly point and click. I also recommend the show.

Frog Detective!

It’s a lighthearted detective series, more of a walking sim with humorous characters than anything. The magnifying glass doesn’t even do anything!

Here’s a shot I got from the last game

Celeste!

It's about overcoming internal struggles to achieve something. (something I'm still fighting with in real life, bad place mentally here too.)

Listening to the soundtrack always makes me feel a bit better though.

It's cute, fun, and challenging (although never difficult in a frustrating way)

i harp on it a lot, but Outer Wilds helps me a lot. It teaches the value of exploration, curiosity, friendship, compassion, and patience. it's a deeply melancholic piece, which can be frustrating and obtuse at times, but just remembering it makes me happy. the soundtrack brings all the memories back every time.

It Takes Two! I played it with my partner and really enjoyed the story and very imaginative game play.

Sorry to hear things are rough for you. I hope whatever is causing it improves!

Mine is an odd choice, or maybe not, but its the first thing that came to mind: Night in The Woods

It's about a girl that comes home from college to her old dying town. I know that doesn't sound terribly uplifting, and there's some downer stories mixed in there, but overall I found it a very heartfelt and uplifting game, because the main character's friends are the most wonderful bunch of people, and you hang out with them and go on little adventures throughout. It's got a cool creepy mystery story going on, but the game is mostly about deep friendship, family, and overcoming struggles with their help, and I found that very uplifting and worthwhile.

Stardew Valley is a good fit.

You tend to your farm, help people, maintain relationships with people by gifting them and changing their lives.

Unfortunately, i play the game like a maniac. Running around from morning 6 AM till 10 PM.

I found Iconoclasts to be pretty uplifting to play. The ending is marvellously satisfying.

The Shantae games are good.

Disney Illusion Island fits in here too.

ooblets is one of my favorite in this genre. it's got a great soundtrack, the humor is spot-on, and it's got an anti-capitalist message.

A year or so ago I replayed Bastion during a particularly bad time. It's very atmospheric and chill despite all the action and combat.

Journey is a beautiful game with excellent music and visuals. It's coop where you can only make a ping noise and run around each other so no possibility of negative interactions. There's a little challenge and adversity at times but the ending is phenomenal and joyous.

Sayonara wild hearts is a playable music album about a lady learning how to love herself. It's got simple game mechanics but the mechanics all compliment the music and the music is so so good.

Journey - This game brought me to a sort of Zen, it is calm and peaceful and was just a wonderful experience that didn't out stay its welcome. By the end of it I just felt like I had had a nice uplifting experience.

Fallout games - Yeh this may not seem like an uplifting game experience for most people and I would generally agree but on a personal level I do find them uplifting by the end for them following reason. I have always picked up the modern fallout games when I have been quitting one substance or another in the past. There is something about the desolation of the people and the environment within those games with mirrors the desolation I felt withing myself at these times in my life. Working through the stories draws me in and helps me forget about whatever it is my body is telling me I "need" even if it is only for a few hours at a time. Multiple times though these games have helped me get through those feelings and so therefore for me they have a certain uplifting quality, like a weird unexpected safe space.

• Gris - A beautiful platform puzzle game. A very emotional game, but one that makes you feel like you're rebuilding something in yourself. Gorgeous art, amazing dynamic soundtrack.

• Meadow - I don't know how to describe this game. You log onto a server, pick a woodland animal as an avatar, and then you explore the world and meet other players. Your only means of communication is noises and emojis. It's so simple, yet so fantastic.

• Bokida - Heartfelt Reunion - A minimalist art puzzle game. I haven't played it in a while, but I remember it being super immersive. I just had to finish it, to see how all of the pieces of the story fit together.

Also, I hope you feel better soon.

Like everyone else Journey was the first thing that popped into my mind.

Id give a shout-out to Death Stranding, too. The game is far from perfect but it's basically a hiking simulator which I find soothing. You also carry things so you could say it's uplifting in the literal sense haha!

Well, I personally have several "types" of game that help me feel comfortable when things are tough:

• Puzzle Games: in relatively small doses, a good and somewhat challenging puzzle game can help by requiring focus, while not being stressful.
• Deckbuilders: Slay the Spire and Monster Train are similar games that require mental engagement, without being to stressful.
• Immersive Games: Games with an interesting mystery or otherwise immersive experiences. I am currently playing Killer Frequency and Hacknet, both for that reason.

For uplifting, I like chill games where people are nice to each other.

Hades has you piece back together your family and has a lot of great dialog.

Carto is a cute puzzle game involving rearranging maps where you help people on your way back home.

Haven is a young couple trying to make it on an alien planet.

Children of Morta is a family fighting together against an apocalypse.

Dreamscaper is a rogue lite where you get mechanically stronger through self care as you work your way through trauma by hitting it in your dreams.

Ni no Kuni 1 and 2 are longer jrpgs in a Studio Ghibli style world.

Grandia is another jrpg that does a good job at capturing an adventurous spirit.

What do you find uplifting about Doom? Is it the bit where demons enslave the Earth?