National Video Game Day is September 12th, and we’re celebrating the right way: pairing your favorite games with a good session. Some games just hit different when you’re high. The colors pop more, the open worlds feel bigger, and getting distracted from your actual objective becomes half the fun.
We ranked our top 10 picks for gaming high, counting down to the best of the best.
Pure, colorful fun. The environments are creative, and the gameplay constantly changes to keep things interesting. There’s enough exploration that you can wander around hunting for Moons at your own pace, no pressure, no rush. Every world introduces a new mechanic or costume that turns Mario into something completely different, which keeps your brain engaged without demanding much precision. It’s low stakes, high reward, and easy to pick up even if your reflexes aren’t at their sharpest.
Pairing Suggestion: Orange Push Pop
The classic adventure pick. Set out to complete one quest, discover a random cave along the way, and three hours later realize you never made it to your original destination. That’s the whole appeal. The world rewards wandering more than it rewards efficiency, and stumbling into a dragon fight or an abandoned fort feels like the game was built for exactly this kind of aimless exploring. No two sessions ever play out the same way.
Pairing Suggestion: Carolina Kush
Colorful, chaotic, social, and constantly changing. It’s also one of the better choices for hopping online with a few friends rather than playing alone. The map shifts every season, so there’s always something new to stumble on, and the pace keeps things lively without requiring the kind of tight focus a more serious shooter demands. Dropping in with a group and just seeing what happens is half the fun.
Pairing Suggestion: Candy Gas
A great zone-out game. Pick a ridiculous car, put on some music, and cruise around the open world. You don’t even have to race anyone. The scenery shifts from jungle to desert to volcano, and the driving feels forgiving enough that crashing into scenery is part of the fun rather than a setback. It’s less about winning and more about the drive itself.
Pairing Suggestion: Blue Magic
Build an absurd mansion, recreate your friends, or spend two hours creating increasingly bizarre lives for people who don’t exist. A perfect “how have I been doing this for three hours?” game. The building tools alone can eat an entire evening, and once you actually start playing, watching your Sims spiral into their own chaotic little dramas is oddly satisfying. There’s no wrong way to play, which makes it easy to just follow whatever idea pops into your head.
Pairing Suggestion: Star Berry
This one fits really well. Throw on some music, cruise around, find ridiculous spots, attempt stupid tricks, and repeatedly launch your character down a flight of stairs. It’s almost more fun when you’re not trying to accomplish anything. The physics are just janky enough that every wipeout gets a laugh, and the city is full of weird gaps and rails that reward pure curiosity over actual skill.
Pairing Suggestion: Cookies & Cream
The immersion pick. Beautiful scenery, an enormous world, and enough random encounters that simply riding your horse around can become the entire activity. The level of detail in the world makes it easy to get pulled into small moments, like stopping to watch a sunset or getting sidetracked by a stranger on the road. It’s a slow game by design, and that pace matches a relaxed session perfectly.
Pairing Suggestion: Alien Rock Candy
Probably the best group game on the list. Colorful, simple, chaotic, and increasingly hilarious as everyone’s driving ability deteriorates. The items add just enough randomness that skill only gets you so far, which levels the playing field and keeps every race unpredictable. Pass a controller around and it turns into the centerpiece of the night fast.
Pairing Suggestion: Rainbow Sherbet
You can explore, build, mine, or start a completely unnecessary project that somehow consumes your entire night. Creative, relaxing, and extremely easy to get lost in. There’s no real objective forcing your hand, so whatever catches your attention, whether it’s digging a tunnel or building a base, becomes the plan for the night. The open-ended nature makes it one of the easiest games to sink hours into without noticing.
Pairing Suggestion: Frozen Grapes
The clear #1. Huge open world, endless things to do, great music, ridiculous situations. You can have an incredible time without touching a mission. Los Santos is packed with enough side activities, random NPC chaos, and sheer detail that driving around with the radio on is entertainment in itself. It’s the rare game where doing nothing in particular still feels like doing something.
Pairing Suggestion: Berries & Cream
That’s our top 10, but gaming high is personal. Everyone’s got a game that hits differently once you’re a few hits in. Pick a game from this list and try one of our pairings, or make your own pairing with your own favorite game. Either way, we hope it’s a good night. Happy gaming, and happy National Video Game Day.
P.S. If we left your favorite off the list, let us know! We’re always down to update the rankings.
