Good games for clearing my mind

So this being my final year of college, I naturally have a lot of thoughts racing through my mind. It doesn't help that all the classes I've signed up for are math classes.

I think it would really help if I had something that just let me shut off my mind for about 15 to 30 minutes every once in a while.

I'd prefer something on the Vita, but any system other than the PS4/Xbone/PC is acceptable.

Arcade games. 15 to 20 minutes of intense, challenging action that will not only rejuvenate you by highly effectively tearing your mind away from the real world (it's the only way you'll survive), but will also amp you up at the same time so by the time you return to life you'll be ready for whatever.

Your options are varied but all follow the same philosophy: shmups, fighting games, sidescrollers, beat-'em-ups, rhythm.

Many of these games have ports on consoles — 360 was particularly great for shmups — and some people even buy the PCBs to put in their own arcade cabinet, but the best way to start is to download MAME and find some roms of games that catch your interest and play the shit out of them. Regarding controllers, anyone will tell you that an arcade stick is the best way to play arcade games, and they're probably right, but I've been using a 360 controller for years and don't believe it has diminished my experience much (I should really get a stick, though...).

Here are two examples:

Espgaluda:

X-Men vs. Street Fighter:

Suggested reading for appreciating arcade games: http://insomnia.ac/commentary/arcade_culture/

I used to play a lot of AudioSurf, gave me a good opportunity to combine music I enjoyed at the time with a nice distracting single player game. (though the sequel is rolling out now, maybe consider that one if you aren't off put by early access and potentially missing features while game is developed.)

Journey

you know, this is tricky thing to explain, it's said that twitch and reaction timed based games are perfect for surgeons to practice before going into surgery. But then personally I prefer problem solving and puzzle games myself, like Tetris or Picross to relax with.

@wolfgame: I always hated Audiosurf. It is basically a glorified Windows Media Player visualization combined with a dumb matching game. It's just something to keep your fingers busy whilst you listen to music, but is basically a distraction, listening to music at a low level of concentration whilst also playing an awful puzzle game, when ideally I'd rather devote some time to listening deeply to music I love, or to new music, at some volume and with few distractions, to really understand and appreciate it. That, to me, is the better way to listen to music.

@spraynardtatum: Good luck having it take your mind off anything. A high engagement game is needed for that, which means a complex game. Journey is all atmosphere.

I would suggest Castle Crashers or Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

What sort of games do you usually play, FancySoapsMan?

Earth Defense Force 2017 is one of those zen games. Here's hoping that 2025 kicks ass when it releases in a couple weeks.

@samsonbarabbas: That seems reasonable, maybe something like Animal Crossing would be good, I used to always play that any time I just wanted to relax and stroll around my town, I only played the gamecube one but it always seemed to be fun in small doses for checking up on the town and residents if you are into that sort of thing.

Splice:

@fancysoapsman:

Bit.Trip Runner 2

Okami (The HD version on PS3 is really good)

Proteus

Torchlight 1 or 2

Flower

Borderlands 1 or 2

Race the Sun (it's on Steam)

Spelunky

Toki Tori 1 or 2

donkey kong, donkey kong jr.

mr. do, mr. do's castle

solomon's key

lode runner

on the ball

f-zero, x, gx

tetrisphere

quake 3

game and watch gallery 1,2,3,4

hot shots golf open tee 2

Asura's wrath

Geometry Wars is still my favourite Zen game.

Winjammers

Something complex, for me. Something simple just doesn't clear my head.

Turn based stuff tends to be best. Strategy games like Fire Emblem or X-Com. Persona works great, and it's on Vita. Civ V was good when I played it. I want to try Temple of Elemental Evil some more.

It really just has to be something that needs my full attention. For others, that may be Devil May Cry or Shmups or any number of things.

Oh god, a high-intensity game like XCOM is no good at all for me if i'm stressed. *Miss an easy hit* "OH HOW DID THAT MISS WHAT'S EVEN THE POINT OF TRYING WITH THIS BULLSHIT" *Start playing sloppy out of spite* *Everyone dies*

@lackingsaint: I actually don't like X-Com all that much for that reason, but a lot of people do so I thought I'd mention it.

But I definitely need something that demands attention now, otherwise I'll just let my mind wander back to my work.

@fancysoapsman:

For twitch gameplay, I'd suggest One Finger Death Punch for PC or Xbox Live Indie games. Game is crazy with the amount of things it throws at you, leaving little time to think about anything else.

For thought, I'd suggest the puzzle game Lumines.

And I'd suggest Pinball Arcade for a nice mixture of both thought and twitch.

In that situation I would rather recommend laying down on the couch for some peace and quiet, or take a walk. But, since you're probably not old like me, and you specifically asked for games. Games like Super Meat Boy or Rogue Legacy seems to cleanse my mind most effectively.

Just stay away from slow and story heavy games with long periods of little interaction. Even if it's a good story, you will think about everything but the game

So there has actually been quite a lot of research into the use of tetris to help in anxiety disorders such as PTSD. It doesn't necessarily have to be tetris either, the idea behind it is that the mind enters a state of "flow", basically the mind is preoccupied with the task in question and loses anxiety related to other matters. They used to encourage knitting as well, though I'm not sure if that's your thing! Any arcadey puzzler will do the trick, though I'm not sure what's best to recommend on a Vita.

@fancysoapsman: I would also recommend Journey. The atmosphere is complete and beautiful.

I usually clear my mind with a game of Proteus, Receiver, or Dark Souls. I find the latter pretty liberating and "mind-filling" when I ignore the main objectives and just explore the world and mechanics.

Edit: oh, and I second the Lumines recommendation. It's a good time-filler that will take your mind off absolutely anything.

Spelunky, Super Meat Boy, Binding of Isaac. 3 games that, if you put in the effort, will clear your mind of everything. And they should last you a huge chunk of time. And all 3 are the definition of games that can be played in short bursts.