Nintendo Switch Games for Adults Who Don't Really Like Games
July 31, 2024 12:19 PM Subscribe
I inherited a Nintendo Switch. I have never been very interested in games (either video games or board games). When I was a kid I did like playing some of the educational games that we had at my school: Oregon Trail, Amazon Trail, Dino Park Tycoon.
What are some recommendations for Switch games that would be fun for an adult that doesn't like games but might be interested in something sort of educational?
One of my main hurdles for most games is that I hate learning complicated rules and controller commands. I also never really liked open world games like Myst where you just run around clicking on stuff. I did like games where I felt like I learned something or where the rules/play was pretty intuitive and I didn't have to spend hours just getting started. I guess I don't really like solving puzzles for their own sake - I'd like to learn something about the real world via game play though. So for example, something that teaches about urban planning policy, pandemic response, or investing through game play could be fun.
There's so many really neat and creative games out there these days that I'm sure there's some that are fun and educational for adults.
One of my main hurdles for most games is that I hate learning complicated rules and controller commands. I also never really liked open world games like Myst where you just run around clicking on stuff. I did like games where I felt like I learned something or where the rules/play was pretty intuitive and I didn't have to spend hours just getting started. I guess I don't really like solving puzzles for their own sake - I'd like to learn something about the real world via game play though. So for example, something that teaches about urban planning policy, pandemic response, or investing through game play could be fun.
There's so many really neat and creative games out there these days that I'm sure there's some that are fun and educational for adults.
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is a lovely game with a nice story and cute characters and you can learn about birds! It is kind of cheesy about ecological preservation but honestly that’s kind of a draw, it’s charming.
posted by Mizu at 1:07 PM on July 31 [3 favorites]
posted by Mizu at 1:07 PM on July 31 [3 favorites]
Untitled Goose Game? You play a goose who gets into mischief, no real learning going on, but really satisfying.
posted by Arctostaphylos at 1:26 PM on July 31 [7 favorites]
posted by Arctostaphylos at 1:26 PM on July 31 [7 favorites]
Based on what you have said I think you would strongly dislike the gameplay and controls for Untitled Goose Game, unless you really really like the idea of larping a rude goose.
posted by phunniemee at 1:59 PM on July 31 [3 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 1:59 PM on July 31 [3 favorites]
There's a new version of Oregon Trail for Switch now! Also, Chants of Sennaar looked a bit too academic for for me, but maybe you'd find the puzzles a neat way to learn some stuff about linguistics?
posted by yasaman at 2:07 PM on July 31 [2 favorites]
posted by yasaman at 2:07 PM on July 31 [2 favorites]
This is kind of a scattershot, but maybe something here will resonate
Layton's Mystery Journey (this is puzzles but its more of a "brain training" game than just puzzles to solve puzzles)
Gorogoa (I can't explain it in a few words - check the link)
Abzu (Underwater exploration)
Mozart Requiem (Mozart, Period-accurate Prague)
Pentiment (medieval historical murder mystery)
Valiant Hearts: The Great War (WWI setting)
Terra Nil ("reverse citybuilder" - basically taking down a city and making it a thriving ecosystem)
Niche (Genetics)
Farming Simulator
Terra Alia Language learning
Little Kitty, Big City (You're a cat exploring a city. That's the game.)
Endless Ocean Luminous (More underwater exploration)
and finally
The Stanley Parable -- stanley doesn't actually fit most of your criteria, but its famously simple to play while also being very through provoking and extremely entertaining. Its a game that changes depending on what path you take. It is very much an open world game, but in a very restricted world (you're trapped in an office block). The narration leans heavily on satire, and its ... its a game about playing games. Sorta.
posted by anastasiav at 2:59 PM on July 31 [6 favorites]
Layton's Mystery Journey (this is puzzles but its more of a "brain training" game than just puzzles to solve puzzles)
Gorogoa (I can't explain it in a few words - check the link)
Abzu (Underwater exploration)
Mozart Requiem (Mozart, Period-accurate Prague)
Pentiment (medieval historical murder mystery)
Valiant Hearts: The Great War (WWI setting)
Terra Nil ("reverse citybuilder" - basically taking down a city and making it a thriving ecosystem)
Niche (Genetics)
Farming Simulator
Terra Alia Language learning
Little Kitty, Big City (You're a cat exploring a city. That's the game.)
Endless Ocean Luminous (More underwater exploration)
and finally
The Stanley Parable -- stanley doesn't actually fit most of your criteria, but its famously simple to play while also being very through provoking and extremely entertaining. Its a game that changes depending on what path you take. It is very much an open world game, but in a very restricted world (you're trapped in an office block). The narration leans heavily on satire, and its ... its a game about playing games. Sorta.
posted by anastasiav at 2:59 PM on July 31 [6 favorites]
Snipperclips is an odd little puzzle game that can be played solo or with up to four people. The players have a "snipping" mechanic where they can cut the other player into a different shape, which is used to solve the various puzzles.
I'm not a video game person at all, but I love this one and it's my go-to when the kid wants to play Switch together.
We also played a lot of Never Alone, which is a game developed in collaboration with the Iñupiat, based on one of their legends. It's a sort of adventure game about a girl and her magic fox and you can play as both, as a unit, or two player with one person ah doing each half.kf the collaborative duo. This game was awesome and the only reason we stopped playing was that we beat it.
Again, I am emphatically not a video game person, but this game looked great, had cultural depth I found interesting, and had a cool collaborative style.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:44 PM on July 31 [1 favorite]
I'm not a video game person at all, but I love this one and it's my go-to when the kid wants to play Switch together.
We also played a lot of Never Alone, which is a game developed in collaboration with the Iñupiat, based on one of their legends. It's a sort of adventure game about a girl and her magic fox and you can play as both, as a unit, or two player with one person ah doing each half.kf the collaborative duo. This game was awesome and the only reason we stopped playing was that we beat it.
Again, I am emphatically not a video game person, but this game looked great, had cultural depth I found interesting, and had a cool collaborative style.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:44 PM on July 31 [1 favorite]
You may like Wingspan, which is also a board game. It does have a strong learning curve, however, but the game walks you through it. (I found it easier to play than the board game because of that). It still might be more than you want.
Balatro is basically like "what if poker was weird?" and it's a fun time. It's not going to teach you anything, though, really.
I will say Chants of Sennaar (cool, but also requires too much timing, sadly) and Untitled Goose Game (same) aren't going to be what you want.
This is also a category of games that I'm interested in and ... it's tough to find them. There's a lot of trial and error. I have found several games by watching some partial playthroughs on YouTube -- that's also hit or miss, but finding one game often leads to another.
(And also, while some games don't start on the Switch many do end up there, so if you see something you're interested in and it's on on Steam/etc., give it some time.)
posted by edencosmic at 5:55 PM on July 31 [1 favorite]
Balatro is basically like "what if poker was weird?" and it's a fun time. It's not going to teach you anything, though, really.
I will say Chants of Sennaar (cool, but also requires too much timing, sadly) and Untitled Goose Game (same) aren't going to be what you want.
This is also a category of games that I'm interested in and ... it's tough to find them. There's a lot of trial and error. I have found several games by watching some partial playthroughs on YouTube -- that's also hit or miss, but finding one game often leads to another.
(And also, while some games don't start on the Switch many do end up there, so if you see something you're interested in and it's on on Steam/etc., give it some time.)
posted by edencosmic at 5:55 PM on July 31 [1 favorite]
Some of these games I have only passing famailiarity with, the ones I know well and love I'll mark with a *.
Venba - learn to cook South Indian cuisine
Endless Ocean: Luminous - go diving
APICO is a beekping sim, if you want to learn more about the genus Apis.
Korg Gadget lets one mess around with a lot of musicmaking tools in the touchscreen form factor.
Firewatch *, What Remains of Edith Finch?, and Gone Home * are all 'walking simulators' where you explore a narrative environment at your own pace. Controls are straightforward. You learn about yourself, sometimes, these games may redefine how you think about the video game form, potentially more as an emotional experience.
If you enjoyed freeform play with Lego bricks, consider Minecraft.
There are a variety of well reviewed simulators that might teach you aspects of a skill like car repair, or the meditative aspects of cleaning: power washing.
If you want to know about urban planning, and perhaps played SimCity back in the day, consider Cities: Skylines *.
Hades * is an exceptional dungeon crawler/roguelike with a *lot* of fun, well voice acted Greek Myth. But you do use all the buttons, if you are trying to avoid learning controls.
Are you interested to learn another language?
Consider a Legend of Zelda game, like Breath of the Wild *. As a casual player you don't actually have to follow the narrative, I found this game to be a joy to just explore and see what happens as you interact with the world. Also a Katamari * game teaches you little, but is oft beloved by non-video game people.
Consider Portal * if you've never played it, or don't have a lot of experience with first person shooters, that game is beloved for good reason, and teaches you skills that will broaden your game play horizons.
To keep an eye on your game buying budget, consider the free website Deku Deals.
To every book its reader, to every game its player. Bonne chance!
posted by enfa at 6:18 PM on July 31 [3 favorites]
Venba - learn to cook South Indian cuisine
Endless Ocean: Luminous - go diving
APICO is a beekping sim, if you want to learn more about the genus Apis.
Korg Gadget lets one mess around with a lot of musicmaking tools in the touchscreen form factor.
Firewatch *, What Remains of Edith Finch?, and Gone Home * are all 'walking simulators' where you explore a narrative environment at your own pace. Controls are straightforward. You learn about yourself, sometimes, these games may redefine how you think about the video game form, potentially more as an emotional experience.
If you enjoyed freeform play with Lego bricks, consider Minecraft.
There are a variety of well reviewed simulators that might teach you aspects of a skill like car repair, or the meditative aspects of cleaning: power washing.
If you want to know about urban planning, and perhaps played SimCity back in the day, consider Cities: Skylines *.
Hades * is an exceptional dungeon crawler/roguelike with a *lot* of fun, well voice acted Greek Myth. But you do use all the buttons, if you are trying to avoid learning controls.
Are you interested to learn another language?
Consider a Legend of Zelda game, like Breath of the Wild *. As a casual player you don't actually have to follow the narrative, I found this game to be a joy to just explore and see what happens as you interact with the world. Also a Katamari * game teaches you little, but is oft beloved by non-video game people.
Consider Portal * if you've never played it, or don't have a lot of experience with first person shooters, that game is beloved for good reason, and teaches you skills that will broaden your game play horizons.
To keep an eye on your game buying budget, consider the free website Deku Deals.
To every book its reader, to every game its player. Bonne chance!
posted by enfa at 6:18 PM on July 31 [3 favorites]
As someone who doesn't really like games, I'm going to vote *against* Zelda, which to me felt like a real slog figuring out what the hell I was supposed to be doing and how. I gave up really quickly.
Kentucky Route Zero might work...not educational, but it's kind of just narrative with a lot of detail and design and you just click on various choices of what you're going to do mostly, if that sounds interesting. I haven't played it but have watched someone play it and could imagine enjoying it.
posted by less-of-course at 9:34 PM on July 31
Kentucky Route Zero might work...not educational, but it's kind of just narrative with a lot of detail and design and you just click on various choices of what you're going to do mostly, if that sounds interesting. I haven't played it but have watched someone play it and could imagine enjoying it.
posted by less-of-course at 9:34 PM on July 31
You can get the delightful programming game Human Resource Machine for the Switch. You have to solve puzzles by writing algorithms, which it teaches you how to do. It's oddly charming, and if it catches your interest, very absorbing.
(Caveat: I played it on my iPad, so I don't know what the gameplay's like on a Switch - but it's a pretty simple drag-and-drop interface, so hopefully it's fine.)
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 1:42 AM on August 1
(Caveat: I played it on my iPad, so I don't know what the gameplay's like on a Switch - but it's a pretty simple drag-and-drop interface, so hopefully it's fine.)
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 1:42 AM on August 1
I feel like Don't Starve Together, which I play on pc, is teaching me a lot about how hard survival can be in a primitive setting and how much technology I take for granted.
posted by demi-octopus at 3:20 AM on August 1
posted by demi-octopus at 3:20 AM on August 1
One of my favorite games is Return of the Obra Dinn, which is half watching a weird movie about what went wrong on an 1800’s sailing ship and half playing a logic puzzle, but in a way that is more fun than that sounds on its own. Based on your description of what you have enjoyed in the past, it might work for you! The goals are very clear and it’s basically impossible to wreck things by pushing the wrong button.
posted by tchemgrrl at 4:02 AM on August 1 [2 favorites]
posted by tchemgrrl at 4:02 AM on August 1 [2 favorites]
Dorfromantik is relaxing and wonderful but very challenging.
posted by MetaFilter World Peace at 10:01 AM on August 1 [2 favorites]
posted by MetaFilter World Peace at 10:01 AM on August 1 [2 favorites]
Seconding Kentucky Route Zero. It falls into the broad category of visual novel so you mostly follow a story. It is sad and compelling and interactive enough to justify being a video game instead of a short film or comic.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 3:06 PM on August 1 [1 favorite]
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 3:06 PM on August 1 [1 favorite]
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The Just Dance games can help you learn dance moves.
Not really educational but Ring Fit is a workout game. It'll teach you various exercises and yoga poses so maybe that counts?
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:04 PM on July 31 [3 favorites]