Gather resources, build a base, drink in the chill.
Chill survival game Outpath released this past week and has picked up some buzz and a quite positive reception from early players. Describing itself as "an experimental clicker base building game," Outpath's release is a lot like a first-person version of Forager. Though it does feature more in-depth base building and less automation.
Outpath also has a pretty generous demo version out on Steam that'll let you punch around a few islands while working your way through the first few unlocks in the game, leading up to some magical doodads and handy artifacts. It'll also let you play around with Outpath's wall running movement, which I find very entertaining. Kind of like suddenly having Titanfall movement in Minecraft.
Outpath's a remarkably chill crafting game, to be honest. Perhaps that's just what you need right now. "Gather. Craft. Build. Explore. Relax. No time limits, no pressure," says the solo developer in the game description.
Spending some time in the demo I was charmed by how relaxed the whole thing is. You don't have much you're required to do to keep surviving, just some food to eat. You can pretty quickly build items that automatically mine resources near them, and you can even choose to start the game with the ability to hold down your mouse button to mine rather than repeatedly click—a godsend for those who've got sensitive or pained fingers. Then, either way, you unlock that power later on. Nice!
I'm not sure how much idler or automation-style mechanics show up later on, though some reviews do seem to imply that it's around. I do like the idea of being able to build my own structures, which was something you just couldn't do in Forager. Presumably you can even build structures in the patches of ocean between the islands.
Outpath's currently sitting at 94% positive of nearly 600 reviews on Steam. You can find Outpath on Steam for $15 US, with a 10% discount on until October 20th. It's available in a neat bundle with Shapez.io, a factory game about, you know, making shapes, which I can actually unequivocally recommend if you want chill ways to unwind and kill time.
