Jim Norman, Staff Writer
My palate cleansers can be broken into the following food groups: fatty puzzles, healthy roguelikes and a small slice of sweet, mind-numbing farm sims. The ones that I come back to time and again after finishing a full three-course, 40+ hour game are Picross and Pocket Card Jockey. It’s the perfect combination of keeping me entertained in the moment while offering the reassurance that I will be able to put it down for six months without any worry of losing where I am.
Despite the fact that it’s a wholly different flavour, the likes of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons occupy the same spot in my gaming diet. I put the hours in when I first downloaded each, but now they lie in wait for the odd revisit between beefier courses. I plant new crops, clear the cockroaches, maybe work on a new feature or two and then put it down, safe in the knowledge that I will have to do the whole thing all over again when the need for comfort strikes next.
Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer
Generally speaking, if I ever find myself between major releases, I’ll always gravitate towards old favourites; games that I know back to front and can blast through in just a couple of short hours. So we’re talking Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, Halo… Stuff like that.
There’s something quite comforting in starting a game and knowing exactly what it’s going to entail and how long it will take to complete. Starting anything brand new these days – particularly lengthy RPGs or visual novels – is an exceptionally demanding use of my limited time, so it’s nice to just settle down with something familiar every now and then.
If I were to pick one game, then of course it’s going to be Resident Evil 4. Even with the remake proving its worth, I still enjoy just breaking out the original and blowing the heads off those pesky Ganados. Whether I’ve just finished a cosy platformer or a gritty RPG, Resident Evil 4 is always there as the perfect palate cleanser.
Gavin Lane, Editor
Beyond blasting through an evergreen favourite, I find myself searching out bite-sized aperitifs between the big releases almost all the time — and it’s so easy on Switch thanks to all the short games. In fact, my backlog is filled with amuse-bouches I could blitz through if I put my mind to it. Trombone Champ and the Star Trek: TNG table in Pinball FX have been recent side quests I’ve dipped into between Sea of Stars and TOTK sessions.
The danger I typically face is when my supposed palate cleanser becomes the main meal. Grabbing some comfort food on Mumbo’s Mountain frequently turns into a full Banjo-Kazooie playthrough, and ‘a quick bite’ with F-Zero 99 or Vampire Survivors can easily become a multi-course banquet. Nomnomnom.
Alana Hagues, Deputy Editor
You can probably break up my palette cleansers into two separate groups — something short and sweet, or something that I can just jump back into whenever I want. something that I know I’ll keep coming back to — Let’s Build A Zoo never leaves my front page, and Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is perfect for dipping in and out of. I also use the time between big RPG releases to knock out a platformer or something from my backlog, or sometimes just dive into NSO to play some Tetris or Super Mario World.
These gaps are also the perfect time for me to squeeze in short narrative titles where gameplay isn’t really the focus. There are so many bite-sized indie titles that you can beat in under 10 hours that they make perfect fodder between the big-name releases. This year alone I’ve squeezed in Venba, A Space for the Unbound, The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, and Paranormasight. Let’s ignore how much time I’ve put into Vampire Survivors, for the sake of this…
So, what do you make of our picks? Do any of them align with yours or will you perhaps be trying any of them out in the future? Fill out the following poll to let us know which type of game you use to unwind and then take to the comments to share any other ideas.
Jim Norman, Staff Writer
My palate cleansers can be broken into the following food groups: fatty puzzles, healthy roguelikes and a small slice of sweet, mind-numbing farm sims. The ones that I come back to time and again after finishing a full three-course, 40+ hour game are Picross and Pocket Card Jockey. It’s the perfect combination of keeping me entertained in the moment while offering the reassurance that I will be able to put it down for six months without any worry of losing where I am.
Despite the fact that it’s a wholly different flavour, the likes of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons occupy the same spot in my gaming diet. I put the hours in when I first downloaded each, but now they lie in wait for the odd revisit between beefier courses. I plant new crops, clear the cockroaches, maybe work on a new feature or two and then put it down, safe in the knowledge that I will have to do the whole thing all over again when the need for comfort strikes next.
Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer
Generally speaking, if I ever find myself between major releases, I’ll always gravitate towards old favourites; games that I know back to front and can blast through in just a couple of short hours. So we’re talking Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, Halo… Stuff like that.
There’s something quite comforting in starting a game and knowing exactly what it’s going to entail and how long it will take to complete. Starting anything brand new these days – particularly lengthy RPGs or visual novels – is an exceptionally demanding use of my limited time, so it’s nice to just settle down with something familiar every now and then.
If I were to pick one game, then of course it’s going to be Resident Evil 4. Even with the remake proving its worth, I still enjoy just breaking out the original and blowing the heads off those pesky Ganados. Whether I’ve just finished a cosy platformer or a gritty RPG, Resident Evil 4 is always there as the perfect palate cleanser.
Gavin Lane, Editor
Beyond blasting through an evergreen favourite, I find myself searching out bite-sized aperitifs between the big releases almost all the time — and it’s so easy on Switch thanks to all the short games. In fact, my backlog is filled with amuse-bouches I could blitz through if I put my mind to it. Trombone Champ and the Star Trek: TNG table in Pinball FX have been recent side quests I’ve dipped into between Sea of Stars and TOTK sessions.
The danger I typically face is when my supposed palate cleanser becomes the main meal. Grabbing some comfort food on Mumbo’s Mountain frequently turns into a full Banjo-Kazooie playthrough, and ‘a quick bite’ with F-Zero 99 or Vampire Survivors can easily become a multi-course banquet. Nomnomnom.
Alana Hagues, Deputy Editor
You can probably break up my palette cleansers into two separate groups — something short and sweet, or something that I can just jump back into whenever I want. something that I know I’ll keep coming back to — Let’s Build A Zoo never leaves my front page, and Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is perfect for dipping in and out of. I also use the time between big RPG releases to knock out a platformer or something from my backlog, or sometimes just dive into NSO to play some Tetris or Super Mario World.
These gaps are also the perfect time for me to squeeze in short narrative titles where gameplay isn’t really the focus. There are so many bite-sized indie titles that you can beat in under 10 hours that they make perfect fodder between the big-name releases. This year alone I’ve squeezed in Venba, A Space for the Unbound, The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, and Paranormasight. Let’s ignore how much time I’ve put into Vampire Survivors, for the sake of this…
So, what do you make of our picks? Do any of them align with yours or will you perhaps be trying any of them out in the future? Fill out the following poll to let us know which type of game you use to unwind and then take to the comments to share any other ideas.
