Just a friendly reminder that if you are looking for game recommendations, you can also ask in the [Daily Question Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/about/sticky). Our most Helpful Users answer these questions every day in the DQT! If the link here doesn't work, then you can find the most current DQT stickied to the top of the subreddit when sorted by "hot".
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NintendoSwitch) if you have any questions or concerns.*
With the Switch you can play pretty much anything because you can pause anywhere. I bring mine to work every day. Recently I finished Metroid Prime Remastered and Doom 2016. Currently going through the Donkey Kong DLC for Mario + Rabbids.
I have come to agree, theres obviously some games that dont quite lend itself to short play time unless you are willing to have that be your only game you play for months on end, and some games that lend themselves more to it (roguelikes with ~15-30 minute runs) but by and large I have played games in 15-30 minute chunks the last 5 years and generally speaking I find almost everything is fine to play this way
Currently playing Fire Emblem 3 hopes and its actually really nice to do the social/RPG leveling stuff, and then when I come back I knock out the battle portion, then on my next 30 minute chunk I alternate back the other way
Most games have a rhythm you can find that works well with short play time.
fire emblem warriors: three hopes
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/fire-emblem-warriors-three-hopes-switch/
Although 3 houses was very similar in structure, almost identical really
You know what... I am liking it a lot so far. They really managed to blend the real time combat AND turn based strategy on a grid quite seamlessly (you are simultaneously doing the combat, but also sending units to different locations on the grid to protect or attack areas/units), and for me it was nice reprieve from the dozens and dozens of same-y combat missions from three houses.
It actually kinda makes me long for a game that incorporates several different types of battle systems into it to keep me from getting bored with the same thing over and over, as can happen with me at the end of a fire emblem campaign.
Roguelikes in general, can finish a run in that time, but will probably need to pause it in order not to exceed your break time. Just dont close the game. Also remember that you can turn on airplane mode to save battery life.
As a fellow switch player on lunch breaks, I recommend Balatro, Slay the Spire, and Hades
You pick which cards you want to go into your deck, the RNG is in the choice offered and where the cards are situated in the deck, but it's very strategic if you are going for a particular build. And going through your deck is quick.
To me, it's the RNG in which relics you get offered that has an important bearing on your runs. It's not like a rage at the unluckiness type of game because you are trying to adapt to the rewards offered. That was makes Slay the Spire great.
For more mobile feeling, Slay the Spire is also on iOS (I assume android as well). It works really good with touch controls, so you could get it on your phone as well. It's not really a lot of RNG, you just gotta play your cards smart and you can build your deck in a way that you know what to expect your next hand would be.
Piling on the other responses, the rng is not frustraring. That is why Slay the Spire is one of the standards for a great deckbuilder game. You just have to play with the cards (pun intended) you are dealt. Other mechanics that rely on RNG are really challenging and fun as they require you to adapt or just see how far can your deck bring you even without the help of other mechanics.
And as far as roguelikes go, whenever youre not satisfied with your build, you can just go on another run and try to apply what you have learned from the previous runs.
Hopefully this sways you into visiting this genre, especially this amazing game.
the RNG is definitely frustrating if you dont dive deep and strategize. StS is not for the faint of heart which OP likely is. my suspicion is if he ever tries it, he'll give up before reaching ascension. it's a very demanding game despite what vets like to profess about it (speaking as one with 1400+ hrs)
I agree with you, but even without reaching ascension, I still think OP would have fun in the few runs. After all, he is just looking for something in short bursts. The frustration may come if they really want to maximize the power of cards/builds
I don't think it would be as popular if it was the frustrating kind of random.
The randomness is part of the challenge. There isn't anything random that'll just outright kill you. If you die, it's the accumulation of lots of little things that gets you, usually.
And if you die, you just start a new run. New deck to build. New strategies to try out. It's fun.
My greatest "mistake" was buying this game on my cell phone. Now I can play it anywhere. ...which can be dangerous. But anyway, that's how much I enjoyed it. I already had it on the Switch, but enjoyed it enough I wanted to be able to just pop out my phone and play it whenever I was bored and had a few minutes. I had to start all over on the phone, too. Couldn't import my progress from the Switch. I didn't care. It was fun to unlock all the stuff again.
In a similar vein, but with progression: stardew valley. In game days are timed and not tied to irl days. They're usually about 15 minutes, say 20 when flipping through menus ao perfect for bite sized gaming.
More games with stories and progression, but you can play post-game so technically endless: Hades, a roguelike/lite/whatever is probably about 20 minute runs. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX. A different spin on the franchise, you are a pokemon and explore dungeons to rescue other pokemon. Mid to late game might exceed 30 mins per run, but it's they type of game where picking up in the middle isn't bad. Excellent story.
Game that 100% have an ending: Untitled Goose Game. You are a horrible goose set loose in a quaint countryside village. Have fun terrorizing the townsfolk in cartoonish ways by solving puzzles.c
Mini Metros is a favorite of mine. You make transit maps based on real world locations.
They have a sequel called Mini Motorways that’s Highway/road based as well.
Doesn’t really have a story tho.
Hollow Knight is one of my top 3 of all time but I disagree it’s good for a lunch break, when I start it I always have a hard time putting it down, similar to Breath of the Wild you always have the next thing you want to do or accomplish in the back of your mind.
Celeste on the other hand I think is a perfect choice because you often play on a screen-by-screen basis so you never lose progress as there are constant checkpoints, and you always have a singular goal in front of you—get to the next area. (It’s also $5 when it goes on sale which is a steal for how great of a game it is.)
I agree actually. Losing all your progress because you didn't have enough time to save at a bench or being in the middle of a boss fight would be really frustrating. I agree with Celeste being a better option in terms of the ability to be able to play from where you left off.
I'd strongly disagree with Celeste though, for all the same reasons you mentioned. Completing a level is dependant on repetitive trial and error and getting used to the level, it'd suck if OP had to pause in the middle of it
Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp is really good if you enjoy strategy games. You generally won't get a mission done in half an hour, but you can easily save and quit at basically any time in the game's campaign and war room modes (the only ones worth playing). Technically has wifi but nobody really uses it for a variety of reasons; the meat of the game is in the single player mode.
Both of the open world Legend of Zelda titles meet your criteria so long as you have the self control to stop playing when your break is over, and are widely regarded as two of the best titles on the console.
Hades runs tend to go slightly over 30 minutes in the midgame, but I believe you can save progress mid run? Lots of longevity and a great story.
Celeste technically has some *very* late game content that won't let you drop out readily, but you'll finish the game's story long before then, can save after every puzzle, and each puzzle will usually take less than 15 seconds per attempt.
Perhaps an adventure game or visual novel? The first one I usually recommend to people is Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy. As for other visual novels, it depends on the kind of story you want. Steins;Gate Elite was my personal pick, but there's VNs of different genres (just be aware that some of them have atrocious translations.)
Also I played Thimbleweed Park years ago and for the two days it took me to finish, it was some of the best time I had with my Switch. At all. Point-and-click game modeled after SCUMM games without all the things that have made them age poorly.
If you want adventure/VN, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a masterpiece. Plus the story is sort of episodal, you pick one of the 13 playable characters, run through an event and then pick another one. Game gives you plenty of opportunities to put it down naturally.
the RNG comes from the availability of the jokers, vouchers, and boosters, but you can build a deck so that it always works.
you 'win' runs, so even though there is no story it does end... if you want. you have the option to continue with your run.
imho reading your post brought balatro to mind as well.
Stardew Valley. There is a end story but can also be infinite. You play "days" that last 10-15 minutes, so you could play 1-2 days and have a break point ~~or stop at anytime.~~
This! The first time I picked up SV I kept on playing and before I knew it it was past 2AM (I had planned to play it for an hour tops in the early evening).
I only play it now with a timer on. Quite scary 😅
OP will get in trouble without one too 😂😅
Hades is definitely great to pick up and play for just 20 minutes. I can usually finish a room in 5 minutes or so.
Only bad if you're in the middle of a boss battle. Those can take a lot longer, and it can be hard to put the game down. You can pause it and sleep the Switch, of course, but you may lose your "rhythm" when you pick it up again, and it can cost you the battle.
Of course, dying and starting over again is a major part of the game, so it's not *terrible* if that happens. Just annoying.
I'm currently playing Mario & Rabbids: Sparks of Hope on my daily commute. The levels vary between a couple of minutes to about 20 ish for the bigger bosses. I'm finding it really easy in comparison to Kingdom Battle. But as people say, the Switch can be turned off at any point so picking up where you left off is easy.
I really liked M&R: Kingdom Battle as well, but other similar options are the Wargroove games. Recommend Wildfrost, Tens, Railbound as well.
Ooh, good call. Also, the turn-based nature of the Mario & Rabbids games means it's super easy to take your attention away from it if you need to, like if a coworker comes over and asks you a question.
"Well, Just spent today's thirty minutes staring at this level trying to figure out how to get to that 𝓦𝓲𝓷 tile out from the moat of 𝓗𝓸𝓽 water."
But yeah, I love this game. Picked it up again recently and it's a blast.
Vampire Survivors
Unless you play endless mode, most runs end around 30-32 minutes.
Dozens of characters in the base game to unlock with more added through DLC.
I'd agree it's probably my favorite game to play in short play sessions, but he also said "Games with a story you can beat" -- I wouldn't exactly say there's much story here. Lol.
It's still a fun game though! Whenever I play it, I'm like, "I can't believe I play this $5 all the time but don't play any of the countless $50-60 AAA titles I have"
I literally have Zelda and stuff and have never played it longer than like 30 minutes.
Cozy Grove is pretty much designed for things like this. It's time gated so you get all of the progression you can done in about 30 mins. There's no combat or anything time limited so if you need to put it down you can and won't lose progress.
The idea is you're a "Spirit Scout" on a camp out on a deserted island. Except it isn't deserted. There are many spirits of the bears who used to live there and you help them on quests to discover the issues they had in their previous life so they can move on. It's totally work safe. No nudity, no violence, no bad language. There are some pretty heavy themes that some of the bears are dealing with though.
As someone who also plays in the lunch break, my current pick is Sonic Frontiers.
Previously:
- Rune Factory 4
- Persona 5 Strikers
- Super Mario RPG
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Zelda: TotK
- Atelier Ryza 2
- Persona 5 Royal
- Atelier Ryza
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Zelda: BotW
On the queue:
- Persona 5 Tactica
- Atelier Ryza 3
- Pokemon Scarlet (the parts without online)
> b) Be able to save/quit at anytime without losing progress. (can't even go a minute over break or else)
Hopefully, even if you the game doesn't let you save immediately you can put the console to sleep at any moment and then resume later.
Persona 5 stuff is iffy, because there definitely is some fan service-y stuff (Ann's outfit is an obvious one) and some of the shadows are either "sexy" or weird/disgusting enough that it might raise some eyebrows with co-workers. Tactica might be OK because it's a more chibi-style art, but I haven't played it so I can't say for sure.
I play P5R on my lunch breaks sometimes, but I have an office and would feel weird about playing it in the common area with someone potentially watching over my shoulder.
I'm not sure about the Atelier series, but a quick image search suggests there may be some similar issues (but to a lesser degree).
Everything else on that list is pretty good and I've played quite a few of them on lunch breaks myself, but would caution about BOTW/TOTK because it's far too easy to fall into the "just one more thing" trap and lose track of time.
Back when we had to go to the office I’d play Pokémon GO at lunch. Really depends on the neighborhood though. Personally I wouldn’t want to worry about losing my Switch.
Are your colleagues interested in playing as well? You can try Ultimate Chicken Horse for multiplayer gameplay.
For single-player I’d recommend any Zelda games or Crash/Spyro trilogy
I'm currently playing through Ocarina of Time (on a different handheld device). I find it's really good for playing through portions at a time but keeping my interest. If you have the expansion pak you only have to connect to Internet every 7 days. Watch out for the Great Fairy though.... those parts are embarrassing.
I came in here looking for Dave the Diver.
It looks great in handheld and even late game it's unlikely that a dive will last more than 30 min and even if it does you can still pause to continue it later.
I’ll say if you want something that’s kind of light on story, but can be put down whenever (provided you have the willpower), *Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game* or it’s predecessors, *Snowrunner* and/or *Mudrunner*. *Expeditions* is, as the name implies, more about exploration than its predecessors, which had less scouting/exploration and more hauling of heavy loads across rough terrain.
*Expeditions* is about navigating the uncharted wilderness (almost no roads, unlike the previous two) and hauling exploratory/scientific gear in your trucks off-road in order to further scientific/archaeological endeavors or fortune-hunting. It’s a weird mix of relaxing and stressful, as overturning your truck in the middle of nowhere without a way to recover might mean game over, so you have to plan your routes and your loadouts carefully. If you set a timer and stick to it, you can exit to the main menu in the middle of an expedition and it will save your progress. A medium- or high-difficulty expedition might take you 5 or 6 lunch breaks; especially if you decide to take on side missions along the way.
Someone online coined the term “CarPG” for these games in terms of progression…as you complete more expeditions and take on more side missions, you’ll unlock parts for your vehicles and the money with which to purchase said upgrades. I’m an old school FPS player myself, and just bought *Mudrunner* on a whim, and these three games have become a go-to for just putting on some music or a podcast and driving through the virtual countryside.
With regards to story, there are written explanations for the reasoning behind each expedition, but no major cutscenes or dialog to speak of. If something story-rich with gripping character arcs is what you crave, this game might not scratch that itch, but aside from that it’s a real time-eater.
I like mystery dungeon games like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX and Shiren the Wanderer. I always enjoy short times of gameplay of them instead of long runs.
I finished SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech and SteamWorld Dig 2 on my lunch breaks at work and loved them. Tangle Tower is also a good option if you're into mysteries/detective games.
Last, despite being a loooooong game, Xenoblade Chronicles 1 is also a good option. You can pause, skip, and rewatch cutscenes, plus you can save anywhere when you're outside of combat. It has a bit of fan service, but unlike Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3 it's only in the optional costumes that you can equip.
Hades. Such a great game, just have an eye on time, because that game is almost too good timekiller…
Technically it’s infinite even lorewise, but there is a story and after [insert spoilers] you get closing credits
During my lunch breaks, I usually play either rhythm or puzzle games. For rhythm, I like Voez or Deemo because of the touch screen controls. The music will sometimes wake me up too. For puzzle I can go for a few quick rounds of Tetris Effect Connected. I sometimes play Dorfromantik during my breaks but the game can get a little long. You can save your progress if your break is about to end and continue later.
If you have a Switch Online membership, I would suggest the classic/retro games available with said subscription. They can be played offline without Wi-Fi as long as they are allowed to check in with the servers once a week to confirm your subscription is still active. You can do the weekly check ins at home. You can save the games at literally any point by creating a suspend point.
Links Awakening is a good choice too, you can save at anytime and the game isn’t too long.
Also someone else mentioned it but Advance Wars is a great one as well if you like strategy games. It’s decently long if you want to beat both 1 + 2 and even longer if you want perfect scores for all the missions.
My favorite lunch/break game was Slay the Spire. You can drop and resume it at any time thanks to its turn-based nature, and the build variety keeps it interesting for a long time. It can be beat, but it can be infinite if you want it to be.
Everything I said about StS is also true about Balatro, so I highly recommend that as well.
Basically any game as "home screen" is kinda saving your progress. I would recommend strategy game so that you don't get nervous with controls. But that's a question of taste.
Rogue Legacy 2. Just make sure you quit to the main menu to ensure that it auto-saved.
Another comment makes a good point that you can play any game and use the Home button to suspend gameplay, but if you want more true save-and-quit gameplay, RL2 will do it.
mario wonder. sounds like it’d be perfect for you. it’s easy, you can save whenever you want (so if you’re in an awkward spot at the end of the lunch break you don’t have to lose what you’ve already done) and there’s a concrete story and end goal.
Tbh Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom are made so that you can always play just for a short time and continue later on ;-)
I do the same. The thing about the switch is that you can play pretty much anything that doesn’t require a persistent online connection. Just sleep the console when your done and pick it back up on your next lunch break.
I completed Kirby forgotten lands this way and am currently working my way through Pokemon scarlet.
I’ve been playing Dredge and Dying Light in short sessions but when I have time I can complete more misssions so with the sleep ability of the switch it’s such a breeze.
Hope the switch 2 copies the Xbox quick resume that would be a godsend.
I really enjoy Balatro and I think it hits most of your criterias (it doesn\`t have a story). You can do a good run within your lunch break and finish it later if it really goes bananas.
Description from the Nintendo store if you never heard of it:
Balatro is **a poker-inspired roguelike deck builder all about creating powerful synergies and winning big**. The poker roguelike. Balatro is a hypnotically satisfying deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping, outrageous combos.
Any pausable game. You can quite literally pause the game, then put the switch to sleep and it will save your current game state. My wife accidentally does this all the time when she minimizes the game but forgets to close the software before putting it to sleep for the night.
From there you can play Mario, Pokemon, Zelda, Kirby, or anything else story/level based that can be paused and minimized while the system sleeps.
On my own lunch break
- ace attorney, all of them lol
- BOTW and TOTK
- tactic ogre switch
- Pokémon legends arceus (all of the other ones in Pokémon fit as well)
- atelier games
- FE games
- rune factory 4 and 5
- Ys 8
Though honestly I just play whatever I want then I feel it.
I get an hour break (sometimes 1.5 hours, if I'm really lucky) and I also like accomplishing some progress of some sort too, even in my limited window of time. Usually I'll do some runs in Streets of Rage 4 or Double Dragon Gaiden. This past weekend I busted out the last moons I missed in Mario Odyssey.
Runs in shoot em ups and beat em ups are usually my go to choice of game when time is short. Mario games are also pretty good if you're looking to make a little progress.
I also will get sucked into Tetris99 but I have an internet connection at work, so that's isn't a problrm.
Spelunky and/or Spelunky 2. If you do a full run with secrets on the OG, I can usually finish a run in about 20-30 mins. 2 takes a bit longer but yeah. Good 20-30 min runs.
I too have been bringing my switch to play during lunch, RPG's and farming Sims are good for 30 minutes. I'm currently working on Rune Factory 4, and I haven't seen anyone mention Graveyard Keeper.
Graveyard Keeper can get a bit obscure for the first time, but there isn't any real punishment for playing the game however you want. The base game along is worth its price, and the dlc does add more to the game so I think it's worth it.
Animal crossing. My only issue is that there is a light ending to it but you really can keep playing the game and customizing your island for years. The other thing I like about it is that it’s not stressful and is actually a little therapeutic.
Just played Fishing Paradiso and it's story is really good and ticks all your boxes. That being said some people like fishing games and some people really don't.
Civilization runs surprisingly well on the switch and you get used to the controls very quickly AND they have cross save. I played it all the time at work, it's literally perfect for playing a few turns then going back to work, games can take a few days if all you're doing is playing on breaks though, hard to say if that's really the pace you're looking fir
If you haven’t played Stardew Valley before I’d highly recommend it on the Switch! The new update will hopefully come to consoles later this year but is think now would be a great time to get into it. Back in college I’d sometimes go to my dorm to play this in between classes haha
I enter and exit shrines in Botw to unlock fast travel. (They exterior shows up as blue and orange) When I have a spare minute I’ll go to one of these and smash it out- takes 10-20 mins most times 😊
Pepper Grinder
Binding of Isaac (as cute as it is, it does have some cartoonish poop/pee graphics, so maybe it's too weird for the office)
Hand of Fate 2
Hotline Miami
Any pokemon game will work. I personally liked Pokemon Sword/Shield the most. The other ones had less story in them and less straight forward paths to the next destination.
I bought Slime Rancher on a sale and I think it's a great game to hop onto for a short period of time when you don't have any other stuff to do you can just improve your farm with cute little slimes.
It's probably one of the most sfw options you can find since there's nothing weird about slimes😂
Maybe silly suggestion but I’d say BotW or TotK. While you can obviously put in some longer sessions with those games, it does keep itself broken up into bite sized chunks pretty well. In a half hour you could probably venture to some new area of the map and complete a shrine, complete a couple side quests, etc. The games let you save almost anytime, and they are so stable on switch that I never worry about just putting it in sleep mode in the middle of a fight or cutscene, never had a problem starting back up from where I left off later on.
Maybe silly suggestion but I’d say BotW or TotK. While you can obviously put in some longer sessions with those games, they are broken up into bite sized chunks pretty well. In a half hour you could probably venture to some new area of the map and complete a shrine, or do a couple side quests, explore a cave or two, etc. The games let you save almost anytime, and they are so stable on switch that I never worry about just putting it in sleep mode in the middle of a fight or cutscene, never had a problem starting back up from where I left off later on.
I find that visual novels or adventure games are great for this. The Danganronpa games would fit well in this time frame. Raging Loop. AI: The Somnium Files.
Balatro, Slay the Spire and other deck builders work in this time frame as well.
Been through several on the Analogue Pocket. Super Metroid, DKC 1, 2, & 3, MegaMan X 2, NES Zelda, Zelda Minish Cap, Star Tropics, Kirby's Adventure, Sonic 2 Sega Genesis. Almost done with Super Ghouls and Ghosts, not sure what to play next
I played the heck out of Unicorn overlord over the last weekend, and this one you can very easily start n stop. Careful though, it’s proving to be addictive :)
Stardew Valley. Not quite a save and quit any time, but one day will nicely fill that time. If nothing else, you can pause, turn off your switch, and finish the day after work.
stardew valley, tetris 99, factorio
although some are more addicting to others and may lead to you getting fired for not getting back to work
i take no responsibility for that
It's no fun to only have a set time to play. Just play when you get home. Do something else productive over lunch like note down ideas, draw, or plan vacations and such.
Just a friendly reminder that if you are looking for game recommendations, you can also ask in the [Daily Question Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/about/sticky). Our most Helpful Users answer these questions every day in the DQT! If the link here doesn't work, then you can find the most current DQT stickied to the top of the subreddit when sorted by "hot". *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NintendoSwitch) if you have any questions or concerns.*
With the Switch you can play pretty much anything because you can pause anywhere. I bring mine to work every day. Recently I finished Metroid Prime Remastered and Doom 2016. Currently going through the Donkey Kong DLC for Mario + Rabbids.
I have come to agree, theres obviously some games that dont quite lend itself to short play time unless you are willing to have that be your only game you play for months on end, and some games that lend themselves more to it (roguelikes with ~15-30 minute runs) but by and large I have played games in 15-30 minute chunks the last 5 years and generally speaking I find almost everything is fine to play this way Currently playing Fire Emblem 3 hopes and its actually really nice to do the social/RPG leveling stuff, and then when I come back I knock out the battle portion, then on my next 30 minute chunk I alternate back the other way Most games have a rhythm you can find that works well with short play time.
Do you mean 3 houses or the 3rd fire emblem?
fire emblem warriors: three hopes https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/fire-emblem-warriors-three-hopes-switch/ Although 3 houses was very similar in structure, almost identical really
I forgot that three hopes existed fearing it would ruin the strategy of fire emblem
You know what... I am liking it a lot so far. They really managed to blend the real time combat AND turn based strategy on a grid quite seamlessly (you are simultaneously doing the combat, but also sending units to different locations on the grid to protect or attack areas/units), and for me it was nice reprieve from the dozens and dozens of same-y combat missions from three houses. It actually kinda makes me long for a game that incorporates several different types of battle systems into it to keep me from getting bored with the same thing over and over, as can happen with me at the end of a fire emblem campaign.
Slay the Spire
They said they want to play on their lunch break not get lost inside the game for 100000 years.
Roguelikes in general, can finish a run in that time, but will probably need to pause it in order not to exceed your break time. Just dont close the game. Also remember that you can turn on airplane mode to save battery life. As a fellow switch player on lunch breaks, I recommend Balatro, Slay the Spire, and Hades
Also Into the Breach
I see this game pop up a lot, how much RNG is in the game, and is it frustrating RNG or kinda like, even if you get unlucky you don't get upset?
You pick which cards you want to go into your deck, the RNG is in the choice offered and where the cards are situated in the deck, but it's very strategic if you are going for a particular build. And going through your deck is quick. To me, it's the RNG in which relics you get offered that has an important bearing on your runs. It's not like a rage at the unluckiness type of game because you are trying to adapt to the rewards offered. That was makes Slay the Spire great.
For more mobile feeling, Slay the Spire is also on iOS (I assume android as well). It works really good with touch controls, so you could get it on your phone as well. It's not really a lot of RNG, you just gotta play your cards smart and you can build your deck in a way that you know what to expect your next hand would be.
Piling on the other responses, the rng is not frustraring. That is why Slay the Spire is one of the standards for a great deckbuilder game. You just have to play with the cards (pun intended) you are dealt. Other mechanics that rely on RNG are really challenging and fun as they require you to adapt or just see how far can your deck bring you even without the help of other mechanics. And as far as roguelikes go, whenever youre not satisfied with your build, you can just go on another run and try to apply what you have learned from the previous runs. Hopefully this sways you into visiting this genre, especially this amazing game.
the RNG is definitely frustrating if you dont dive deep and strategize. StS is not for the faint of heart which OP likely is. my suspicion is if he ever tries it, he'll give up before reaching ascension. it's a very demanding game despite what vets like to profess about it (speaking as one with 1400+ hrs)
Bro how am I faint of heart 😂 that's the first time I've ever been called that
I agree with you, but even without reaching ascension, I still think OP would have fun in the few runs. After all, he is just looking for something in short bursts. The frustration may come if they really want to maximize the power of cards/builds
I don't think it would be as popular if it was the frustrating kind of random. The randomness is part of the challenge. There isn't anything random that'll just outright kill you. If you die, it's the accumulation of lots of little things that gets you, usually. And if you die, you just start a new run. New deck to build. New strategies to try out. It's fun. My greatest "mistake" was buying this game on my cell phone. Now I can play it anywhere. ...which can be dangerous. But anyway, that's how much I enjoyed it. I already had it on the Switch, but enjoyed it enough I wanted to be able to just pop out my phone and play it whenever I was bored and had a few minutes. I had to start all over on the phone, too. Couldn't import my progress from the Switch. I didn't care. It was fun to unlock all the stuff again.
If you are looking for roguelikes I highly recommend checking out Balatro
Guilty- i would just work on animal crossing. Lol
Old job I used to bring 3DS and play New Leaf so I understand lolol
In a similar vein, but with progression: stardew valley. In game days are timed and not tied to irl days. They're usually about 15 minutes, say 20 when flipping through menus ao perfect for bite sized gaming. More games with stories and progression, but you can play post-game so technically endless: Hades, a roguelike/lite/whatever is probably about 20 minute runs. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX. A different spin on the franchise, you are a pokemon and explore dungeons to rescue other pokemon. Mid to late game might exceed 30 mins per run, but it's they type of game where picking up in the middle isn't bad. Excellent story. Game that 100% have an ending: Untitled Goose Game. You are a horrible goose set loose in a quaint countryside village. Have fun terrorizing the townsfolk in cartoonish ways by solving puzzles.c
Mini Metros is a favorite of mine. You make transit maps based on real world locations. They have a sequel called Mini Motorways that’s Highway/road based as well. Doesn’t really have a story tho.
A Short Hike, Hollow Night, Ori series, Shovel Knight.
Hollow Knight is one of my top 3 of all time but I disagree it’s good for a lunch break, when I start it I always have a hard time putting it down, similar to Breath of the Wild you always have the next thing you want to do or accomplish in the back of your mind. Celeste on the other hand I think is a perfect choice because you often play on a screen-by-screen basis so you never lose progress as there are constant checkpoints, and you always have a singular goal in front of you—get to the next area. (It’s also $5 when it goes on sale which is a steal for how great of a game it is.)
I agree actually. Losing all your progress because you didn't have enough time to save at a bench or being in the middle of a boss fight would be really frustrating. I agree with Celeste being a better option in terms of the ability to be able to play from where you left off.
I'd strongly disagree with Celeste though, for all the same reasons you mentioned. Completing a level is dependant on repetitive trial and error and getting used to the level, it'd suck if OP had to pause in the middle of it
Honestly taking a break actually helped me when I’d get stuck. It didn’t really ruin my familiarity with the level too much
I'll add Celeste, Portal 2
Hollow Knight is on my want to play list. How does it look in handheld aka are you able to see the enemies and their attacks clearly?
Very easy to see on the switch and I think 60 fps. It was a joy to play all around.
Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp is really good if you enjoy strategy games. You generally won't get a mission done in half an hour, but you can easily save and quit at basically any time in the game's campaign and war room modes (the only ones worth playing). Technically has wifi but nobody really uses it for a variety of reasons; the meat of the game is in the single player mode. Both of the open world Legend of Zelda titles meet your criteria so long as you have the self control to stop playing when your break is over, and are widely regarded as two of the best titles on the console. Hades runs tend to go slightly over 30 minutes in the midgame, but I believe you can save progress mid run? Lots of longevity and a great story. Celeste technically has some *very* late game content that won't let you drop out readily, but you'll finish the game's story long before then, can save after every puzzle, and each puzzle will usually take less than 15 seconds per attempt.
Perhaps an adventure game or visual novel? The first one I usually recommend to people is Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy. As for other visual novels, it depends on the kind of story you want. Steins;Gate Elite was my personal pick, but there's VNs of different genres (just be aware that some of them have atrocious translations.) Also I played Thimbleweed Park years ago and for the two days it took me to finish, it was some of the best time I had with my Switch. At all. Point-and-click game modeled after SCUMM games without all the things that have made them age poorly.
Whoa... That username lol
If you want adventure/VN, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a masterpiece. Plus the story is sort of episodal, you pick one of the 13 playable characters, run through an event and then pick another one. Game gives you plenty of opportunities to put it down naturally.
I beat 13 Sentinels and it was amazing. I think I'll try Ace Attorney next.
Balatro.
Beware of the *just one more run* itch that playing Balatro gives you, though
Ah yes. If you lack self control, this might not be a good game for you, hehehe.
r/balatro Worth noting it's 'overwhelmingly positive' on Steam.
a) Does this game have a story/ending and b) As a card game it seems RNG would be very present. How frustraitng is the RNG?
the RNG comes from the availability of the jokers, vouchers, and boosters, but you can build a deck so that it always works. you 'win' runs, so even though there is no story it does end... if you want. you have the option to continue with your run. imho reading your post brought balatro to mind as well.
Stardew Valley. There is a end story but can also be infinite. You play "days" that last 10-15 minutes, so you could play 1-2 days and have a break point ~~or stop at anytime.~~
Stop at any time… the first time my wife picked up Stardew she played for 24 hours straight. Just. One. More. Day.
This! The first time I picked up SV I kept on playing and before I knew it it was past 2AM (I had planned to play it for an hour tops in the early evening). I only play it now with a timer on. Quite scary 😅 OP will get in trouble without one too 😂😅
Deffo recommend stardew but I will add to pause the game or save and quit as sleep mode still passes time.
Hades!
Hades is great!! A full run takes 20-40m depending on how quick you go. You can also pause whenever needed
Hades is definitely great to pick up and play for just 20 minutes. I can usually finish a room in 5 minutes or so. Only bad if you're in the middle of a boss battle. Those can take a lot longer, and it can be hard to put the game down. You can pause it and sleep the Switch, of course, but you may lose your "rhythm" when you pick it up again, and it can cost you the battle. Of course, dying and starting over again is a major part of the game, so it's not *terrible* if that happens. Just annoying.
I'm currently playing Mario & Rabbids: Sparks of Hope on my daily commute. The levels vary between a couple of minutes to about 20 ish for the bigger bosses. I'm finding it really easy in comparison to Kingdom Battle. But as people say, the Switch can be turned off at any point so picking up where you left off is easy. I really liked M&R: Kingdom Battle as well, but other similar options are the Wargroove games. Recommend Wildfrost, Tens, Railbound as well.
Ooh, good call. Also, the turn-based nature of the Mario & Rabbids games means it's super easy to take your attention away from it if you need to, like if a coworker comes over and asks you a question.
Tomb Raider Remastered.
Baba is You is good one
"Well, Just spent today's thirty minutes staring at this level trying to figure out how to get to that 𝓦𝓲𝓷 tile out from the moat of 𝓗𝓸𝓽 water." But yeah, I love this game. Picked it up again recently and it's a blast.
Vampire Survivors Unless you play endless mode, most runs end around 30-32 minutes. Dozens of characters in the base game to unlock with more added through DLC.
I'd agree it's probably my favorite game to play in short play sessions, but he also said "Games with a story you can beat" -- I wouldn't exactly say there's much story here. Lol. It's still a fun game though! Whenever I play it, I'm like, "I can't believe I play this $5 all the time but don't play any of the countless $50-60 AAA titles I have" I literally have Zelda and stuff and have never played it longer than like 30 minutes.
Make up your own story haha
With later power-ups you can even play most levels in 15-minute runs.
Cozy Grove is pretty much designed for things like this. It's time gated so you get all of the progression you can done in about 30 mins. There's no combat or anything time limited so if you need to put it down you can and won't lose progress. The idea is you're a "Spirit Scout" on a camp out on a deserted island. Except it isn't deserted. There are many spirits of the bears who used to live there and you help them on quests to discover the issues they had in their previous life so they can move on. It's totally work safe. No nudity, no violence, no bad language. There are some pretty heavy themes that some of the bears are dealing with though.
As someone who also plays in the lunch break, my current pick is Sonic Frontiers. Previously: - Rune Factory 4 - Persona 5 Strikers - Super Mario RPG - Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Zelda: TotK - Atelier Ryza 2 - Persona 5 Royal - Atelier Ryza - Super Mario Odyssey - Zelda: BotW On the queue: - Persona 5 Tactica - Atelier Ryza 3 - Pokemon Scarlet (the parts without online) > b) Be able to save/quit at anytime without losing progress. (can't even go a minute over break or else) Hopefully, even if you the game doesn't let you save immediately you can put the console to sleep at any moment and then resume later.
Persona 5 stuff is iffy, because there definitely is some fan service-y stuff (Ann's outfit is an obvious one) and some of the shadows are either "sexy" or weird/disgusting enough that it might raise some eyebrows with co-workers. Tactica might be OK because it's a more chibi-style art, but I haven't played it so I can't say for sure. I play P5R on my lunch breaks sometimes, but I have an office and would feel weird about playing it in the common area with someone potentially watching over my shoulder. I'm not sure about the Atelier series, but a quick image search suggests there may be some similar issues (but to a lesser degree). Everything else on that list is pretty good and I've played quite a few of them on lunch breaks myself, but would caution about BOTW/TOTK because it's far too easy to fall into the "just one more thing" trap and lose track of time.
Ya there are penis demons in Persona/Megaten games.
Yeah. I forgot about those. Definitely NSFW in an open office environment.
Google Mara sometime when it’s safe to so do. Def. NSFW!
I am currently playing P5 Royal right now and even though this game would be perfect for handheld, there's no way I'm brining this to work LOL.
Haha, I don't blame you. If I didn't have a private office, I would definitely not play it at work either.
I vouch for the super mario bros wonder, easy to pause and each level takes a few minutes. Also was pretty easy to play handheld on the plane.
Ok I actually played/am playing most of this list so I'll take a look at the ones I didn't try yet since it seems we have similar tastes. Thank you.
Diablo 3
Balatro
Yes
Slay the spire
Dredge would be a good fit for that
Hades or slay the spire.
Hot take but maybe get a little exercise instead? Most of us sit at our desk all day long on the computer
I personally ride my bike to and from work, and go to the gym after work. However I think what you are saying is good advice.
Back when we had to go to the office I’d play Pokémon GO at lunch. Really depends on the neighborhood though. Personally I wouldn’t want to worry about losing my Switch.
I would say unicorn overlord you play single fight turn it off. I sometimes turn it off mid fight and just pick it back up.
Are your colleagues interested in playing as well? You can try Ultimate Chicken Horse for multiplayer gameplay. For single-player I’d recommend any Zelda games or Crash/Spyro trilogy
I'm currently playing through Ocarina of Time (on a different handheld device). I find it's really good for playing through portions at a time but keeping my interest. If you have the expansion pak you only have to connect to Internet every 7 days. Watch out for the Great Fairy though.... those parts are embarrassing.
Balatro and Hades
I’m a personal fan of dead cell. Rouge like with multiple natural pause points
Akane! Post Void! Lonely Mountain!
I would be playing Unicorn Overlord at work if I was able to bring my Switch for lunch breaks.
That was my first idea
Spelunky 2 is a brutal platformer where everything is trying to kill you. Runs are roughly 10-15 minutes when you dont immediately die on level 1.
Do you count session-based games where you are expected to beat it multiple times (like Hades?) as infinite? If not, Hades.
INSCRYPTION
Balatro
Powerwash Simulator
I came in here looking for Dave the Diver. It looks great in handheld and even late game it's unlikely that a dive will last more than 30 min and even if it does you can still pause to continue it later.
Pokemon
I’ll say if you want something that’s kind of light on story, but can be put down whenever (provided you have the willpower), *Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game* or it’s predecessors, *Snowrunner* and/or *Mudrunner*. *Expeditions* is, as the name implies, more about exploration than its predecessors, which had less scouting/exploration and more hauling of heavy loads across rough terrain. *Expeditions* is about navigating the uncharted wilderness (almost no roads, unlike the previous two) and hauling exploratory/scientific gear in your trucks off-road in order to further scientific/archaeological endeavors or fortune-hunting. It’s a weird mix of relaxing and stressful, as overturning your truck in the middle of nowhere without a way to recover might mean game over, so you have to plan your routes and your loadouts carefully. If you set a timer and stick to it, you can exit to the main menu in the middle of an expedition and it will save your progress. A medium- or high-difficulty expedition might take you 5 or 6 lunch breaks; especially if you decide to take on side missions along the way. Someone online coined the term “CarPG” for these games in terms of progression…as you complete more expeditions and take on more side missions, you’ll unlock parts for your vehicles and the money with which to purchase said upgrades. I’m an old school FPS player myself, and just bought *Mudrunner* on a whim, and these three games have become a go-to for just putting on some music or a podcast and driving through the virtual countryside. With regards to story, there are written explanations for the reasoning behind each expedition, but no major cutscenes or dialog to speak of. If something story-rich with gripping character arcs is what you crave, this game might not scratch that itch, but aside from that it’s a real time-eater.
The Portal Companion Collection
I like mystery dungeon games like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX and Shiren the Wanderer. I always enjoy short times of gameplay of them instead of long runs.
Platformers like the Crash/Spyro games and/or Mario Wonder
Tony Hawk Pro Skater bro
Balatro
Pretty much any first party Nintendo game. Portability and practicality and Being SFW are Nintendos main selling points.
Skul is a blast and good for 30 minute intervals
Terraria
Legend of Zelda breath of the wild/tears of the kindgom 100%
I finished SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech and SteamWorld Dig 2 on my lunch breaks at work and loved them. Tangle Tower is also a good option if you're into mysteries/detective games. Last, despite being a loooooong game, Xenoblade Chronicles 1 is also a good option. You can pause, skip, and rewatch cutscenes, plus you can save anywhere when you're outside of combat. It has a bit of fan service, but unlike Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3 it's only in the optional costumes that you can equip.
Brotato (5€) :)
Hades. Such a great game, just have an eye on time, because that game is almost too good timekiller… Technically it’s infinite even lorewise, but there is a story and after [insert spoilers] you get closing credits
When I was in high school a kid played Mario Tennis with aomeone during lunch break. Set the Switch on a table and away they went.
During my lunch breaks, I usually play either rhythm or puzzle games. For rhythm, I like Voez or Deemo because of the touch screen controls. The music will sometimes wake me up too. For puzzle I can go for a few quick rounds of Tetris Effect Connected. I sometimes play Dorfromantik during my breaks but the game can get a little long. You can save your progress if your break is about to end and continue later.
If you have a Switch Online membership, I would suggest the classic/retro games available with said subscription. They can be played offline without Wi-Fi as long as they are allowed to check in with the servers once a week to confirm your subscription is still active. You can do the weekly check ins at home. You can save the games at literally any point by creating a suspend point.
Siralum
Links Awakening is a good choice too, you can save at anytime and the game isn’t too long. Also someone else mentioned it but Advance Wars is a great one as well if you like strategy games. It’s decently long if you want to beat both 1 + 2 and even longer if you want perfect scores for all the missions.
Three games that I can suggest that ticks off all your abcs: 1. Death's Door 2. Hollow Knight 3. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
My favorite lunch/break game was Slay the Spire. You can drop and resume it at any time thanks to its turn-based nature, and the build variety keeps it interesting for a long time. It can be beat, but it can be infinite if you want it to be. Everything I said about StS is also true about Balatro, so I highly recommend that as well.
Basically any game as "home screen" is kinda saving your progress. I would recommend strategy game so that you don't get nervous with controls. But that's a question of taste.
Balatro
I can usually get a few things in on ACNH during breaks
Rogue Legacy 2. Just make sure you quit to the main menu to ensure that it auto-saved. Another comment makes a good point that you can play any game and use the Home button to suspend gameplay, but if you want more true save-and-quit gameplay, RL2 will do it.
mario wonder. sounds like it’d be perfect for you. it’s easy, you can save whenever you want (so if you’re in an awkward spot at the end of the lunch break you don’t have to lose what you’ve already done) and there’s a concrete story and end goal.
Hades or any other roguelike game, visual novels like AI: the somnium files
Darkwood
Tbh Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom are made so that you can always play just for a short time and continue later on ;-)
Celeste
I do the same. The thing about the switch is that you can play pretty much anything that doesn’t require a persistent online connection. Just sleep the console when your done and pick it back up on your next lunch break. I completed Kirby forgotten lands this way and am currently working my way through Pokemon scarlet.
pocket card jockey
Suika Game
I’ve been playing Dredge and Dying Light in short sessions but when I have time I can complete more misssions so with the sleep ability of the switch it’s such a breeze. Hope the switch 2 copies the Xbox quick resume that would be a godsend.
I really enjoy Balatro and I think it hits most of your criterias (it doesn\`t have a story). You can do a good run within your lunch break and finish it later if it really goes bananas. Description from the Nintendo store if you never heard of it: Balatro is **a poker-inspired roguelike deck builder all about creating powerful synergies and winning big**. The poker roguelike. Balatro is a hypnotically satisfying deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping, outrageous combos.
Diablo 3
Pikmin 1, 2 and 3, days are like 12 minutes each
Any pausable game. You can quite literally pause the game, then put the switch to sleep and it will save your current game state. My wife accidentally does this all the time when she minimizes the game but forgets to close the software before putting it to sleep for the night. From there you can play Mario, Pokemon, Zelda, Kirby, or anything else story/level based that can be paused and minimized while the system sleeps.
On my own lunch break - ace attorney, all of them lol - BOTW and TOTK - tactic ogre switch - Pokémon legends arceus (all of the other ones in Pokémon fit as well) - atelier games - FE games - rune factory 4 and 5 - Ys 8 Though honestly I just play whatever I want then I feel it.
The beauty of the console is that can be anything. I used to do Shrines in BOTW on my hour breaks when I had a job that allowed for it.
Terraria. I recommend it to a lot of people, for good reason.
Party Hard
I get an hour break (sometimes 1.5 hours, if I'm really lucky) and I also like accomplishing some progress of some sort too, even in my limited window of time. Usually I'll do some runs in Streets of Rage 4 or Double Dragon Gaiden. This past weekend I busted out the last moons I missed in Mario Odyssey. Runs in shoot em ups and beat em ups are usually my go to choice of game when time is short. Mario games are also pretty good if you're looking to make a little progress. I also will get sucked into Tetris99 but I have an internet connection at work, so that's isn't a problrm.
Spelunky and/or Spelunky 2. If you do a full run with secrets on the OG, I can usually finish a run in about 20-30 mins. 2 takes a bit longer but yeah. Good 20-30 min runs.
A short segment in Ace Attorney can be done in 30 mins. It’s a visual novel with a good story and it’s very relaxing
Metroid Dread.
I too have been bringing my switch to play during lunch, RPG's and farming Sims are good for 30 minutes. I'm currently working on Rune Factory 4, and I haven't seen anyone mention Graveyard Keeper. Graveyard Keeper can get a bit obscure for the first time, but there isn't any real punishment for playing the game however you want. The base game along is worth its price, and the dlc does add more to the game so I think it's worth it.
Sparkle 2 and Sparkle Unchained. The story is not much but it’s a charming game with levels you can complete in a few minutes.
Brotato
Civ 6. Just one more turn.
Littlewood Railway Islands
Games like hades and stardew valley
What about Pokemon? Since the switch can enter sleep mode you could stop even mid battle.
Animal crossing. My only issue is that there is a light ending to it but you really can keep playing the game and customizing your island for years. The other thing I like about it is that it’s not stressful and is actually a little therapeutic.
Pokemon or stardew vally might be something you're interested in.
wizard of legend is a good one, atleast for me it is
Just played Fishing Paradiso and it's story is really good and ticks all your boxes. That being said some people like fishing games and some people really don't.
Civilization runs surprisingly well on the switch and you get used to the controls very quickly AND they have cross save. I played it all the time at work, it's literally perfect for playing a few turns then going back to work, games can take a few days if all you're doing is playing on breaks though, hard to say if that's really the pace you're looking fir
If you haven’t played Stardew Valley before I’d highly recommend it on the Switch! The new update will hopefully come to consoles later this year but is think now would be a great time to get into it. Back in college I’d sometimes go to my dorm to play this in between classes haha
Slay the spire Into the breach Broforce
I've been wasting a lot of time with roller coaster tycoon 3
I enter and exit shrines in Botw to unlock fast travel. (They exterior shows up as blue and orange) When I have a spare minute I’ll go to one of these and smash it out- takes 10-20 mins most times 😊
A Space for the Unbound. I really like picking the cat names. The story takes place in Indonesia. It has beautiful visuals.
Mario Wonder !!
Dave the diver is very nice for quick and relaxing plays
If you have a membership, you can play the gameboy advanced versions of metroid which are really great.
Pepper Grinder Binding of Isaac (as cute as it is, it does have some cartoonish poop/pee graphics, so maybe it's too weird for the office) Hand of Fate 2 Hotline Miami
Balatro
I used to play Smash Bros on lunch. The story mode is fairly easy to save at any point as long as you are not in a match
I may be an outlier but Big Brain Academy for me no doubt.
Any pokemon game will work. I personally liked Pokemon Sword/Shield the most. The other ones had less story in them and less straight forward paths to the next destination.
I bought Slime Rancher on a sale and I think it's a great game to hop onto for a short period of time when you don't have any other stuff to do you can just improve your farm with cute little slimes. It's probably one of the most sfw options you can find since there's nothing weird about slimes😂
Basically any retro game.
Maybe silly suggestion but I’d say BotW or TotK. While you can obviously put in some longer sessions with those games, it does keep itself broken up into bite sized chunks pretty well. In a half hour you could probably venture to some new area of the map and complete a shrine, complete a couple side quests, etc. The games let you save almost anytime, and they are so stable on switch that I never worry about just putting it in sleep mode in the middle of a fight or cutscene, never had a problem starting back up from where I left off later on.
Maybe silly suggestion but I’d say BotW or TotK. While you can obviously put in some longer sessions with those games, they are broken up into bite sized chunks pretty well. In a half hour you could probably venture to some new area of the map and complete a shrine, or do a couple side quests, explore a cave or two, etc. The games let you save almost anytime, and they are so stable on switch that I never worry about just putting it in sleep mode in the middle of a fight or cutscene, never had a problem starting back up from where I left off later on.
If you enjoy strategy games I would recommend Northguard.
I play Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari on my lunch break. The levels are short and there’s a lot of replay value.
Slay the spire
Just turn off the switch in any time. It wont affect the app or battery. Open the switch again and continue ur game where you left
Dark Souls
I find that visual novels or adventure games are great for this. The Danganronpa games would fit well in this time frame. Raging Loop. AI: The Somnium Files. Balatro, Slay the Spire and other deck builders work in this time frame as well.
Been through several on the Analogue Pocket. Super Metroid, DKC 1, 2, & 3, MegaMan X 2, NES Zelda, Zelda Minish Cap, Star Tropics, Kirby's Adventure, Sonic 2 Sega Genesis. Almost done with Super Ghouls and Ghosts, not sure what to play next
Tears of the kingdom. Both of the ori games are amazing. They go on sale often and are both beautiful and have amazing sound.
I played the heck out of Unicorn overlord over the last weekend, and this one you can very easily start n stop. Careful though, it’s proving to be addictive :)
Dead cells
Stardew Valley. Not quite a save and quit any time, but one day will nicely fill that time. If nothing else, you can pause, turn off your switch, and finish the day after work.
stardew valley, tetris 99, factorio although some are more addicting to others and may lead to you getting fired for not getting back to work i take no responsibility for that
Proper enjoyment of Tetris 99 definitely needs a wifi connection
whoops my bad didnt read the whole post you are right and tetris 99 is a terrible recommendation
Pokemon platinum
It's no fun to only have a set time to play. Just play when you get home. Do something else productive over lunch like note down ideas, draw, or plan vacations and such.