Bright/sunny/colourful TV, films and games?
February 2, 2018 12:39 PM Subscribe
The winter months are dragging on, the darkness is getting me down, and I'm looking for games and TV shows that are visually bright or sunny. Bonus points if they're on Netflix, GOG or Steam.
I like puzzle, adventure, RPG and strategy-type games. First person shooters aren't really my thing but I'm open to any suggestions. I've been playing Portal 2, which I've really enjoyed except it's become very grey and bleak.
I like most TV and film genres except horror, and I tend to go by Rotten Tomatoes ratings when I'm picking new things to watch. Unfortunately 'filmed in a desert' is not one of the filter options.
To be clear, the kind of thing I'm talking about doesn't necessarily need to be thematically cheerful, it can have dark or complicated themes as long as it's bright to look at - Bojack Horseman is a good example.
Any suggestions are much appreciated!
I like puzzle, adventure, RPG and strategy-type games. First person shooters aren't really my thing but I'm open to any suggestions. I've been playing Portal 2, which I've really enjoyed except it's become very grey and bleak.
I like most TV and film genres except horror, and I tend to go by Rotten Tomatoes ratings when I'm picking new things to watch. Unfortunately 'filmed in a desert' is not one of the filter options.
To be clear, the kind of thing I'm talking about doesn't necessarily need to be thematically cheerful, it can have dark or complicated themes as long as it's bright to look at - Bojack Horseman is a good example.
Any suggestions are much appreciated!
Fire up the old PlayStation 2 and play some Katamari Damacy.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:50 PM on February 2, 2018
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:50 PM on February 2, 2018
Death in Paradise series is set in the Caribbean.
There are stunning visuals, many of them in bright/sunny places, in the movie The Fall.
posted by gudrun at 12:53 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
There are stunning visuals, many of them in bright/sunny places, in the movie The Fall.
posted by gudrun at 12:53 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
Dragon Age: Inquisition has only one area (-ish) that is dark. It doesn’t have nighttime and is pretty much constantly sunny. With other games, I will ‘sleep’ through the night so I can always be in daylight. I also turn up the brightness.
Also, old westerns tend to be in bright sun/desert.
posted by Vaike at 12:55 PM on February 2, 2018
Also, old westerns tend to be in bright sun/desert.
posted by Vaike at 12:55 PM on February 2, 2018
Best answer: The Good Place is very pastel and cheery, by design.
posted by praemunire at 12:59 PM on February 2, 2018 [23 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 12:59 PM on February 2, 2018 [23 favorites]
Best answer: 2nding The Good Place, but also Pushing Daisies -- it's pretty much EXACTLY what you're asking for.
posted by natabat at 1:09 PM on February 2, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by natabat at 1:09 PM on February 2, 2018 [8 favorites]
The first couple of seasons of Modern Family were sunny enough for me when I went through a similar winter bummer a few years ago. The Good Place is probably right up your alley, too.
posted by kevinbelt at 1:17 PM on February 2, 2018
posted by kevinbelt at 1:17 PM on February 2, 2018
The USA "Blue Skies" programming was very much like this. Aside from the already mentioned Burn Notice, there's Psych (which just came on Amazon Prime, if you have that), Monk and Royal Pains.
Definitely the Good Place.
Arrested Development if you haven't caught it yet.
posted by General Malaise at 1:18 PM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Definitely the Good Place.
Arrested Development if you haven't caught it yet.
posted by General Malaise at 1:18 PM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Plenty of sunny skies and pretty sunsets in GTA V... during the day at least...
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:31 PM on February 2, 2018
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:31 PM on February 2, 2018
'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' might work.
posted by Selena777 at 1:32 PM on February 2, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Selena777 at 1:32 PM on February 2, 2018 [4 favorites]
There are some pretty big stretches of Final Fantasy XV that are spent doodling around the attractive landscape in a convertible with the top down and I have been enjoying this for precisely this reason. Alas will continue to require access to a console until March, but if you've got access to the hardware, yeah.
posted by Sequence at 1:45 PM on February 2, 2018
posted by Sequence at 1:45 PM on February 2, 2018
Great British Bake-Off has pretty bright colors, and is mostly cheerful and positive. It's not your standard reality show.
posted by Gorgik at 1:51 PM on February 2, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Gorgik at 1:51 PM on February 2, 2018 [13 favorites]
It's a bit of an investment, but if you have a ps4, consider PSVR. Having a new world in front of you I still find amazing every time I put it on. I haven't played skyrimVR, but if you like the genre, that's a very raved about game in the VR world. A lot of people will talk about just getting lost in the world, and having fun doing small harvesting things that they'd have no patience for outside of VR. As well, there are some cheaper games which are set to just put you in a nice pleasant bright environement. Even a simple colorful god-sim like Tethered I find really nice, even if I always feel time-conscious playing that (oh no, night will be coming again).
In the vein of TV, I'd Nth the Good Place. iZombie is similarly bright, but can be a bit angsty and has some gore. The mood of the show is generally light and cheeky despite the zombie angst.
Animation is usually bright and colourful. If you can get into the humor of Archer, because of it's simple/brightness, my wife and I have both watched this through a few times in the background while doing other tasks.
posted by nobeagle at 1:53 PM on February 2, 2018
In the vein of TV, I'd Nth the Good Place. iZombie is similarly bright, but can be a bit angsty and has some gore. The mood of the show is generally light and cheeky despite the zombie angst.
Animation is usually bright and colourful. If you can get into the humor of Archer, because of it's simple/brightness, my wife and I have both watched this through a few times in the background while doing other tasks.
posted by nobeagle at 1:53 PM on February 2, 2018
Best answer: For games, how about Stardew Valley, the farming RPG? Even winter's gorgeous and bright in-game, and you start out in spring.
posted by yasaman at 1:55 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by yasaman at 1:55 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
> Lady Dynamite
Somewhat agree, but those late-middle episodes where the "future" makes up a lot of the episode are very disconcerting. At least for me.
posted by humboldt32 at 2:40 PM on February 2, 2018
Somewhat agree, but those late-middle episodes where the "future" makes up a lot of the episode are very disconcerting. At least for me.
posted by humboldt32 at 2:40 PM on February 2, 2018
As long as you're looking mainly for visually bright and sunny, rather than tonally, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul might be up your alley. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, while also tonally dark at times, is also generally sunny and brightly colored (except when they're parodying a particular style in a musical number.)
For a show that is bright & sunny both literally & metaphorically, Jane the Virgin is generally life-affirming and brightly colored.
posted by Johnny Assay at 3:05 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
For a show that is bright & sunny both literally & metaphorically, Jane the Virgin is generally life-affirming and brightly colored.
posted by Johnny Assay at 3:05 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
I was about to post two of the shows Johnny suggested (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin), so I will instead suggest Chewing Gum. It is set in London, but is visually pretty bright. Also it's hilarious.
posted by O9scar at 3:10 PM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by O9scar at 3:10 PM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh, one more: Cougar Town just arrived on Hulu Plus. Ignore the awful title; they discard the premise and turn the show into a delightful hang-out comedy about halfway through the first season.
posted by Johnny Assay at 3:12 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Johnny Assay at 3:12 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
Jacques Demy! The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort.
posted by rhizome at 3:19 PM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 3:19 PM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: strong recommends or +1s:
• RuPaul's Drag Race (YMMV about entertainment value, and I'm not sure where it can be watched other than Logo's terrible, terrible website, but it's so fucking colorful you'll be craving gray two episodes in)
• Jane the Virgin (like, a lot; the amount of color in the sets is one of my favorite things about it; was on Netflix last I knew)
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
• Chewing Gum (Netflix)
• Archer (Netflix)
• Bob's Burgers (Netflix)
• New Girl (Netflix last I knew)
• The Sims 3 (I think on Steam, though I didn't verify before posting)
frequent memorable uses of color, though I'm not sure I'd say they're bright and colorful overall:
Luke Cage (Netflix)
She's Gotta Have It (Netflix)
Sense8 (Netflix)
The Get Down (Netflix)
Gotham (Netflix)
technically meets stated specs but I'm not sure I can actually recommend it to anybody:
• Far Cry 3 (FPS; story is racist misogynist garbage, but it is brightly colored, and the game mechanics are often fun if you can ignore the story; Steam)
posted by Spathe Cadet at 3:49 PM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
• RuPaul's Drag Race (YMMV about entertainment value, and I'm not sure where it can be watched other than Logo's terrible, terrible website, but it's so fucking colorful you'll be craving gray two episodes in)
• Jane the Virgin (like, a lot; the amount of color in the sets is one of my favorite things about it; was on Netflix last I knew)
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
• Chewing Gum (Netflix)
• Archer (Netflix)
• Bob's Burgers (Netflix)
• New Girl (Netflix last I knew)
• The Sims 3 (I think on Steam, though I didn't verify before posting)
frequent memorable uses of color, though I'm not sure I'd say they're bright and colorful overall:
Luke Cage (Netflix)
She's Gotta Have It (Netflix)
Sense8 (Netflix)
The Get Down (Netflix)
Gotham (Netflix)
technically meets stated specs but I'm not sure I can actually recommend it to anybody:
• Far Cry 3 (FPS; story is racist misogynist garbage, but it is brightly colored, and the game mechanics are often fun if you can ignore the story; Steam)
posted by Spathe Cadet at 3:49 PM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hawaii 5-0 is bright and colorful almost always set in the daytime, and of course is located in Hawaii. Wallander, the version with Kenneth Branagh, is surprisingly shiny for a lot of it. It's set in Sweden, and there are several episodes that are stunningly beautiful with fields of sunflowers or rolling green hills.
posted by clone boulevard at 4:51 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by clone boulevard at 4:51 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
Nthing Jane the Virgin - Set in Miami, the costume and set design make a visual treat.
posted by missmary6 at 4:56 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by missmary6 at 4:56 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
You should play I Love Hue and watch Call Me By Your Name (which I saw at night when it was like two degrees outside and walking out of the theater was like aaaaaaaugh).
posted by clavicle at 6:17 PM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by clavicle at 6:17 PM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Lost.
posted by lovableiago at 6:55 PM on February 2, 2018
posted by lovableiago at 6:55 PM on February 2, 2018
Old Man's Journey is the brightest, most colourful game I can think of. Visually cheery, saturated colour. It's a simple game with a unique puzzle mechanism — more of an uplifting experience than a game. Available on Steam or even just on iPad, I believe.
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 8:04 PM on February 2, 2018
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 8:04 PM on February 2, 2018
Marvelous Mrs. Maizel! The costumes and sets on that show are delightfully bright and colorful. The tone is super cheerful too.
Also seconding Stardew Valley, which is a fantastic game for just mellowing out.
posted by caitcadieux at 8:05 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
Also seconding Stardew Valley, which is a fantastic game for just mellowing out.
posted by caitcadieux at 8:05 PM on February 2, 2018 [2 favorites]
Assassin’s Creed Origins is based in Egypt. It is very bright and sunny. There is a nighttime in the game, but almost all of the time you can use a jump ahead feature to go back to daytime.
posted by asciident at 9:13 PM on February 2, 2018
posted by asciident at 9:13 PM on February 2, 2018
Films: Enchanted April, Hideous Kinky, !Lawrence of Arabia!
posted by runincircles at 6:34 AM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by runincircles at 6:34 AM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: sunny games:
The Witness - it's all set on a gorgeous island, with amazing varied multicoloured foliage. A great game!
The Talos Principle - beautiful visuals, interesting puzzles
Everybody's gone to the rapture - tells-a-story game, lots of pretty sparkly lights
Firewatch - story game, a summer spent in a forest. so awesome
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:18 PM on February 3, 2018
The Witness - it's all set on a gorgeous island, with amazing varied multicoloured foliage. A great game!
The Talos Principle - beautiful visuals, interesting puzzles
Everybody's gone to the rapture - tells-a-story game, lots of pretty sparkly lights
Firewatch - story game, a summer spent in a forest. so awesome
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:18 PM on February 3, 2018
Response by poster: Thanks for all your suggestions, guys! Looks like I have a lot of stuff to check out. This should be more than enough to keep me going till spring :)
posted by AllShoesNoSocks at 1:31 PM on February 3, 2018
posted by AllShoesNoSocks at 1:31 PM on February 3, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by griphus at 12:45 PM on February 2, 2018 [3 favorites]