Summary
When you’re working or studying for an upcoming exam, playing a game on your break is a great way to relax and reward yourself, even if you’re only playing for a certain amount of time before you have to get back to work again.
Farming sims, roguelikes, and management games are great when you only have 20 or 30 minutes to spare, as these types of games are often structured in a way that you can dip in and out of them when you need to. If you’re in need of a game to play on your breaks, these are the best options to go for.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild emphasizes exploration through its expansive world, and it makes the perfect game to play on short breaks while working or studying. you may easily drop in andcomplete a side questor shrine, torment Koroks, or cull the local Bokoblin population.
You don’t have to worry about save points as you can manually save anywhere, no matter what you’re doing. Technically you can’t save during boss fights, though, so make sure you have enough time left in your break before taking them on.
Pokemon Go burst onto the scene in 2016 and became a phenomenon. While the hype has died down considerably now, it’s still a great game to dip into every so often. It works particularly well in conjunction with work or study breaks, as you’ll need to walk around to make the most of it.
You can use your break to play some Pokemon Go and take a walk in the fresh air at the same time, which is great if you’ve been stuck inside working or studying for a while.
Every game in the Animal Crossing series is chill and relaxing, but Wild World, New Leaf, and New Horizons are the best to play on work or study breaks as they’reavailable on handheld consoles.
They’re very low commitment, as you can dip in and do a variety of daily tasks without feeling pressure to complete huge milestones. It’s also fun to just go fishing or diving for 30 minutes and sell it all for a huge profit.
Make sure to save before you quit the game if you’re playing Wild World or New Leaf, unless you want Mr. Resetti to have some strong words for you.
Supergiant Games’ roguelike Hades sees you playing as Zagreus, son of Hades, in his quest to escape the Underworld. Escaping his father’s realm won’t be easy, with lots of obstacles to cut down before Zagreus’ reaches his goal of going to Mount Olympus.
Death isn’t an issue for Zagreus, though, with defeat resulting in you arriving back in the House of Hades and trying again with newfound abilities. Hades is the perfect game to play on your work or study break as each run only takes around 15-30 minutes, depending on your experience. Plus, it autosaves pretty regularly, so you don’t have to worry about losing progress when you need to get back to work.
Mega Crit’s Slay the Spire is a roguelike with deck-building gameplay where you use cards to battle enemies and make your way up the titular Spire. Slay the Spire’s excellence comes from its variety and satisfaction in its deckbuilding. You choose a character at the beginning, which gives you a fairly basic deck, but you build up your cards and strategy as you progress.
Thanks to its roguelike structure, its gameplay is split into runs, so you could easily attempt a run while on a break or, if you don’t have enough time for one, you could strategize your deck for your next one.
At the beginning of Stardew Valley, your aim is torebuild the farm left to youby your grandfather, though the game’s open-endedness also means you’re able to spend your time building relationships in the town, making your way through the mines, or filling out the museum.
The game uses a day and night cycle, which means you could set yourself a limit of completing a certain amount of days within your study break. Your progress is saved at the end of each day, so it’s very easy to dip in and out during short sessions.
In this roguelite, you control a spaceship with the aim of delivering important intel to your allies, though your enemies will do anything to stop you from doing so. During the game, you will be able to recruit new crewmembers and upgrade your ship with new equipment to better your chances of survival.
Though the game uses a permadeath system, meaning you lose everything when you die, you’re able to unlock different ship types to start the game with, giving you different options for new playthroughs. You can also pause mid-battle, so you could easily go back to studying or working after playing the game for a short while.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a great pick-up-and-play game. It has the biggest roster in the series, with plenty of fan-favorite characters across Nintendo series and beyond, including characters like Minecraft Steve and classics like Mario and Link.
If you’re playing on a work break, you could also bring a spare controller or two to play a few matches against your colleagues using local multiplayer. It’s quick fun that doesn’t require much preparation, other than unlocking the characters in the roster first. Just make sure not to get too competitive…
In Spiritfarer, you play as Stella, responsible for taking care of spirits and ferrying them to the Everdoor once they’re ready and free of their regrets. Though the game is about dying and has its fair share of emotional moments, the gameplay is relaxing and could easily be played in short bursts.
As part of Stella’s role in taking care of the spirits, you upgrade her ship and build different areas for the spirits to enjoy. You have control of how to decorate and arrange the rooms on the ship, which is a great way to spend 20 or 30 minutes on a break.
In Celeste, Madeline decides to climb Celeste Mountain to prove to herself that she can overcome her anxiety. During the climb, Madeline encounters new friends, mysterious beings, and the inner parts of herself.
Though the platforming is difficult, the game encourages you every step of the way, making it all the more rewarding when you finish a particularly challenging room. The soundtrack, composed by Lena Raine, is also excellent, so you’ll have a great time listening to it on your break. You’ll definitely need a lot of practice for this one, though.
