As much as we’re enjoying Bloodborne here at Dealspwn, there comes a time when we need a break. From Software’s game is extremely punishing as you know and it’s good sometimes to step back and play something else for a while to chill out and remember that not every game makes your blood boil or punishes slight slipups by snatching away all your progress from the last hour. So here’s a list of therapeutic games to play when the red mist builds up too much and you fear for your DualShock 4’s safety.

DeBlob 2

DeBlob 2 is like an interactive colouring book platformer and is incredibly relaxing to play. You use a paint gun to colour-in a drab grey world with lush colours. Colours that you’ll never see in Bloodborne’s world of greys, browns, reds and rot. Failure is hard to come by, so this feels like the gaming equivalent of a hug. You can almost hear it saying, “There there, there are no throat-cutting witches here.”

Street Fighter IV

Chances are you’re going to want to kick something’s face in after having yours repeatedly hacked off in Bloodborne. Street Fighter’s blistering combos and perfectly responsive controls are the ideal tonic to the careful combat of Bloodborne.  Maybe reset the game when you get to that cheaty shit, Seth though.

Vanquish

Need a game that makes you feel like a rock star while saving the world? Vanquish is that game. Platinum’s never-bettered third-person shooter has jet-powered knee slides and all the slow-mo shooting you could ask for. Oh and it’ll face you off against giant mechs while picking off a hail of missiles with your assault rifle before catching a rocket shell and throwing it right back at it. I’m so playing this again tonight.

Saints Row IV

Much like Vanquish, this game is all about insane levels of empowerment. Saints Row IV may be crude and a bit fugly, but man is it fun to play. This Super Hero take on the open-world crime genre is inspired and has you running at blistering speeds through the streets, up buildings and then turbo gliding between huge leaps. The story is all sorts of fun, but you can lose yourself for hours just grabbing all the collectibles and increasing your skills with outrageous amounts of fun.

Burnout: Paradise

Burnout’s Takedown mode is cathartic bliss. Simply smash as many cars off the road as you can in the time provided, earning more time the more carnage you cause. Actually most events in Burnout are primed for destruction, so you can’t go wrong. Well, unless you take a wrong turn during a race. Then the rage might come back. Alternative include the colourful delights offered by top kart racers Mario Kart 8 or Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.

Do you have your own chill out games to play when you need to relax or when another game turns you into a frothing madman? Let’s hear them; we need all the chill we can get with Bloodborne bullying us around the office. Crap, I think it heard me!