Elevator7009

Oh man I thought this was VORON for a bit (I had forgotten the game was called VORON). It is not, but if you are interested in Flock you might like VORON

This is the third mouse/rat city-builder I have heard of. Other two are Ratropolis and Whiskerwood, I should probably post them here some day.

Most of the main series are shmups, but they have a few fighting games. I had a lot of fun with them! That would be Immaterial and Missing Power, Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, and Touhou Hisoutensoku. There are more recent ones too, which I admit I have not tried: Hopeless Masquerade, Urban Legend in Limbo, and Antinomy of Common Flowers. Cool to have found a PC-98 player!

There are also many fan games out there of different genres! A metroidvania, a puzzle game, long list… https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Fangames

Ah, maybe I should try this with some people I know. I think they'd like it. Somehow the in-person-with-friends and turn-based component makes me feel like it belonged on a TTRPG community even though it actually is okay here because it is a video game.

I'm very lucky that right now my first instinct pulls me to do other things than gaming first, so playing most video games is an active choice for me now—which usually happens when I actually have time to game and not when I should be doing something else. It wasn't always this way.

A common trigger for getting me to game is if I'm with friends, because although we did not become friends over video games it has weirdly turned out that most of my friends like video games. We might play two different games, just coexisting in harmony enjoying each others' company, or play together, or watch the other play. And of course, their availability and mine puts a limiter on how long we're gaming.

If you legitimately struggle with managing your gaming and not having it take over your life… reddit.com/r/stopgaming exists as a starting point. I know a lot of people including me are on Lemmy because we wanted to get off Reddit, but I rate "help fix an actual life problem, possibly an addiction" much higher than "stay off Reddit." I don't begrudge anyone who still needs Reddit for its r/stopdrinking or other support communities. Also, there are apps for mobile and programs for PC that can lock you out of opening certain applications, including games. I know about 1Focus for Mac. I have not used it in forever, but if I recall correctly the typical workarounds you would use to stop it from blocking the stuff you want it to block wouldn't work—so the self-imposed restraint you set wasn't so easy to just reverse. Don't want to make assumptions about your situation, you might have just been asking as a conversation starter, but on the off chance anyone actually needs help…

Hey, thanks for crossposting here!

https://www.themanequest.com/ is all about horse games, by an equestrian game dev. You might enjoy it. I am not a horse person but the articles are a fun read.

A lot of !cozygames@lemmy.world and !lifesimulation@lemmy.world games would fit. !otomegames@ani.social are romance visual novels aimed at women interested in men and a lot would fit too.

!infinitynikki@discuss.tchncs.de is an open world dressup game very marketed at women and has that soft pink color scheme, warning for being a F2P gacha game although you can progress without ever spending money. I usually avoid gacha but gameplay is legitimately good and "good gameplay," "high budget," and "for women" is a combination this game hits that I do not see too often in video games. (Other commenter is right there is a lot of girly shovelware.) There is combat, but it's definitely not the main focus. Very soft and pink. You might also like Beglitched (DEFINITELY pink and soft), and Style Savvy for Nintendo DS. I have been meaning to play both of those so I can't offer perspective on if they fill the romance ask, though Beglitched has combat. You might also enjoy Slime Rancher, also lots of pink and soft. Although it's also not combat-free it's not the main point either. Cattails was fun, kind of like Stardew but with cats instead, although as with Stardew combat does exist (though if I recall correctly it's optional and not the main focus).

Now probably my recommendation least like what you are asking for: I love the Touhou Project series. Don't let the male-dominated fandom and the tons of sexualized art of the characters fool you, the games don't sexualize the characters at all—I would feel very comfortable showing them to a 5 year old or Grandma. It is basically a bunch of superpowered women from Japanese mythology/folklore shooting very pretty lasers at each other. The focus is actually combat here, but I figured I'd give it a mention. Not specifically aimed at women but it's not not aimed at us either. Lovely music too.

Source: am girly girl who also plays video games

Big shapez fan who wasn't interested enough in the sequel to buy it. What do you like about it?

!workersandresources@lemmy.world

In Crownbound, you are the ruler of a growing fantasy kingdom, but your heroes have a mind of their own! Unlike traditional RTS games, you cannot command your units directly. Instead, you must influence them through spells, rewards, and strategic kingdom management.

Indirect management/influencing of typical video game protagonists in a city builder is one of my favorite subgenres.