The Nintendo Switch is one of the best-selling consoles of all time, and it owes a lot of that success to the unique features it offers. Players can either dock the Nintendo Switch and play it exactly the same as a traditional home console, or they can pack it up and take it with them wherever they go. Because it's completely portable, it means that the Nintendo Switch is the ideal console to take on long journeys.

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Whether that's by train, plane, or as a passenger in a car, it's always a good idea to take a Nintendo Switch in order to stay occupied. Because Nintendo is one of the most family-friendly video game developers, the console is a great way to keep kids occupied as well.

Updated October 23, 2023 by Mark Sammut: Looking for the best Switch game for long flights? Or, have a lengthy bus trip planned for the next few days? Then, these titles should be brought along for the ride as they can make hours feel like minutes.

11 Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley was released back in 2016, but it remains one of the most popular indie games ever made to this day. It allows players to do everything they could possibly want in a life simulation game and despite the monster-battling in the mines, it's still one of the most realistic life simulation games out there.

Each in-game day takes just twelve minutes, and it's best for players to be back in their bed asleep before the day ends, so it has natural save points at regular intervals if players need to end the game suddenly.

10 Slay The Spire

Slay The Spire is a roguelike deck-building game that sees players battle their way up the titular spire, upgrading and changing cards in order to create the perfect deck. It's often regarded as one of the best card games available for Nintendo Switch by fans, and for very good reason.

Slay The Spire is incredibly engaging, and each run can last as little as a few minutes if things go wrong. It's addictive and engrossing, but it can also be paused in between every step just in case a long journey ends suddenly.

9 Hades

Hades was released for Nintendo Switch in 2020 to an incredible reaction, as many fans thought it was the best game released that year. It's a roguelike hack-and-slash game where players control Zagreus on his journey to escape the underworld.

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It's easily one of the best indie games available for the console, and it gives most players the urge to have one more run before they set it down. Because of that, Hades is the ideal game to take on a long journey and get lost in.

8 Football Manager Touch 23

Football is the most popular sport in the world, and Football Manager is an incredibly successful series that sees players take control of virtually any team they want. The series started back in 1992 as Championship Manager and the complexity of the game itself has grown exponentially since then.

Football Manager is easily the most in-depth sports-management game available and the stress experienced is often part of the fun. A long journey can be enough for anyone to make a good start on a season, or rebuild a squad with some fantastic deals on the transfer market.

7 Two Point Hospital & Two Point Campus

Two Point Studios are still relatively new, but they've already put out two fantastic games in Two Point Hospital and the more recent Two Point Campus. While each game looks at a different business and has significantly different features, the core gameplay is pretty much the same.

Both Two Point Hospital and Two Point Campus allow players to build a business from the ground up and watch it flourish, or struggle against adversity as it fails.

Both of them are among the best third-party games available for Nintendo Switch and many hours can be lost to these two management games.

6 Monster Hunter Rise

Monster Hunter Rise is a great game to take on a long journey, primarily thanks to how the game is structured. The core gameplay loop is exactly the same as most other Monster Hunter games, where players are tasked with slaying or capturing various monsters before returning to camp to craft new weapons and armor.

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Monster Hunter Rise is one of the best-looking Nintendo Switch games available, and it's incredibly addictive. It can easily engross any player for hours if needed, but because it's broken up into smaller hunts it also gives players regular intervals to stop.

5 New Pokemon Snap

Sometimes a challenge is the last thing a player wants on long journeys, especially when they're in a confined space. That's where games like New Pokemon Snap come into it. The gameplay is very simple and the fact that it's set in the Pokemon universe alone will make it appealing to plenty of fans.

Each course only takes minutes to complete, but it takes multiple attempts to capture images of every Pokemon. New Pokemon Snap is a great game to take on long journeys, as it allows players plenty of time to try and complete a course before moving on.

4 Civilization 6

Civilization 6 is the latest entry in one of the world's most popular 4X strategy games. Although it was originally released for PC in 2016, it was two years before it was ported to Nintendo Switch and the constant release of DLC has helped it maintain a fresh feeling.

Each game of Civilization 6 will last hours, and it may not even be possible to finish one before most journeys have finished. Regardless, it's still easy to get lost in Civilization 6 for an entire journey and a long flight might just be enough time to win one.

3 Pikmin 4

All the mainline Pikmin games are available on the Nintendo Switch, giving fans their pick. While Nintendo might not revisit the strategy franchise that regularly, whenever a new numbered entry is produced, they tend to always live up to expectations. Pikmin 4 is not just the license's most modern representative but also its most well-rounded and accessible, making it one of the more complete and enjoyable games on the Switch.

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As always, players will have to guide an army of cute minions as they try to make their way through gorgeous stages, which are generally just normal, everyday areas that look fantastical due to the protagonist's miniature size. The gameplay offers a fair amount of variety, all the while not being too overwhelming. Unlike some of its predecessors, Pikmin 4 does not place any significant pressure on the player's performance, preferring to offer a relaxing campaign instead.

2 Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons dominated the gaming community when it was released in 2020. Years later, it's still one of the most relaxing and wholesome games available. The game can be saved at any point and there's an almost endless amount of content available, including seasonal events.

The only downside to taking Animal Crossing: New Horizons on a long journey is that the day-night cycle follows the real world. While players can't ever run out of things to do, it isn't necessarily as enjoyable after two or three hours in-game if it's still daytime.

1 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild & Tears Of The Kingdom

At this point, recommending Breath of the Wild or its sequel is cliche; yet, these two Zelda masterpieces are simply perfect Switch games for long trips. Packed with potentially more than a hundred hours of content, these titles drop players in massive worlds and generally leave them to their own devices.

Tears of the Kingdom provides more direction and story beats than its predecessor, but they are not intrusive in any way. More importantly, TOTK takes BOTW's blueprint and adds layers on top of it, including a freeing crafting and building system.

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