If you want to play the best Nintendo Switch games, but don’t have time to explore every crack in Breath of the Wild or make your way through the interconnected life of Octopath Traveler, we have the right list for you.
There are a large number of Switch games that you can make in just a few hours and are no less worth your time than the bigger and longer games available on the best-selling Nintendo console.
One of the biggest advantages of the Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite is its portability: you can play it on the couch, in the kitchen, on the bed or (at normal times) on your way, and the portable format makes it ideal for short gaming sessions and sweets that don’t need a big investment of time.
That’s why we’ve put together our seven favorite Nintendo Switch games that you can play from start to finish in one afternoon – or in a handful of small bursts. There are certainly more than seven out there, but it is appropriate, we think, to ensure that this list is not too long either.
A short walk
Short Hike was a standout Switch game in 2020. In it, you play as a young lady named Claire as she tries to climb a mountain. The game has a highly satisfying progression system – based on finding ‘golden feathers’ to help Claire fly higher – despite her short playing time. You’ll meet an eclectic cast of characters, from unhappy climbers to questionable feather merchants who try to finance their time at college – and the final moments of the game are definitely worth it.
How long to play? 2-4 hours
Florence
You’ll also find Florence on iOS, but the Switch is a natural home for the brief interactive novel, which maps the beginning, duration and end of a romance between a young accountant and a sax musician. Although its mechanics are simple (you can also play on the iPhone, after all), it manages to appear full of heart and emotionally heavy, with beautiful animations that really do justice to the small moments that constitute a relationship.
How long to play? 1 hour
Sayonara Wild Hearts
Sayonara Wild Hearts is a pulsating rhythm action game and one of the most stylish titles you can find today on Nintendo Switch. You play as a woman trying to piece together her broken heart, while running, jumping and driving your way through flashy neon levels to the sound of Sayonara Wild Hearts’ vibrant soundtrack. This is a game about time and it is worth playing it again to get the most synchronous and dynamic experience possible.
How long to play? 2-3 hours
What’s left of Edith Finch
This award-winning walking simulator from the developer Giant Sparrow is an unmissable game because it perfectly combines environmental narrative with interactive mechanics. You play as Edith Finch, who returned to his ‘cursed’ family home to investigate the deaths of his family members, reliving his experiences as fragments of a diary that unfold around him.
But even in the middle of an imposing and decrepit home turned into a mausoleum, there is a lightness and joy that turns your family’s tragedies into fantastic tales, whose truth is never fully defined.
The imagination in this game is, frankly, stunning – whether you’re descending a mountain like a great white shark, teleporting to another dimension or figuring out how to unlock the basement door. It will also only take 2-3 hours to play.
If you’re hungry for more scary walking simulators around deserted houses, take a look at Gone Home (The Fullbright Company) on Nintendo Switch as well.
How long to play? 2-3 hours
Gris
Switching games doesn’t look much better than that. Gris is a moving and moving 2D platform game, with smooth watercolor strokes slowly filling the surroundings as you advance through ruins, deserts and skies to try to leave the dark patch of sadness behind.
There is a kind of progression system, and some cool maneuvers to help you navigate the delicately organized levels of the game, but Gris is mainly about bringing color back to a gray world – and the platform is more than good enough to endure your short playtime. Everything from the protagonist’s shape-changing dress to the game’s inspiring ruined statues has a real artist touch to it, and it’s something we’d love to see more of on Nintendo’s portable hybrid console.
How long to play? 4-6 hours
Donut County
No, it’s not really donuts – but Donut County is a smart and fun puzzle game that is well worth your (limited) time. You play as a mischievous raccoon in control of a drain, which gets bigger and bigger as you discover how to maneuver the objects, cars, buildings and people of a city in its infinite void. Existential? Much. Delicious? This too.
How long to play? 2 hours
Katana Zero
You don’t need to understand this game to have fun. While Katana Zero is big on flashy world legends, with a time-modulating drug called ‘Chronos’ that allows her killer wielding the katana to undo her actions on the spot, it is the moment-to-moment action that really gives you power of attraction. The thrill of stepping back one level, second by second, to get that perfect pass, is a real treat – while the more peculiar sides of the game add a brilliant sense of spontaneity, whether by knocking someone out with a stone bust, debating life meaning cosmic beings, or calling your therapist. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
How long to play? 5-6 hours