Looking for a handful of chill games to wind down with at night on Nintendo Switch? Look no further than these relaxing games.
We’ve got some great recommendations based on whether you want some puzzles or a more Zen experience. Each of these games features unique gameplay with lots of replayability. There’s nothing to get your adrenaline pumping with jump scares, but plenty to stimulate your mind while you wind down for the night.
Dorfromantik
Think of Dorfromantik like Settlers of Catan without the conflict. Players start with a stack of hexagon tiles. You play the game by trying to match the seams of your tiles as best you can. Think creating rivers and clusters of forests surrounded by fields. The game aspect is that each great placement will earn you new tiles. This is important because once you lay your last tile, the game ends. Freeplay lets you place tiles where ever you want, which removes limitations entirely.
Islanders
Another relaxing game with a strategy lean about building cities on colorful islands. Islanders works similarly to Dorfromantik, giving you goals to reach and unlocking new buildings once you do. Each level a procedurally generated island is presented for you to inhabit to the best of your ability. Once you run of of buildings to place, the game is over.
Townscaper
Townscaper is relaxing in that you can paint a quaint town into existence with just a few taps of your finger. It’s a city builder in its most literal sense, with hidden goals to find as you create unique builds that could feature arches, spires, light houses, and just about any unique look that you can dream up.
Choose colors from a palette and drop bricks onto an irregular grid and watch the magic happen. The best part is the game is relatively cheap and a good creative resource for imagining town layouts for Dungeons & Dragons sessions in a pinch.
Himno
Looking for a relaxing game with a little bit more of an exploration element? Himno offers procedurally generated platforming levels with no monsters to fight or death to recover from. The actions you take while exploring the world trigger new visuals and the responsive soundtrack with a combination of wall jumps, slides, dashes, moving platforms, and lifts. Play a little at bedtime each night and discover new places to go. Very calming atmospheric platformer with great music.
Picross
Picross is one of the best wind down puzzle games you can play while listening to music, a podcast, or an audiobook. There are several Picross games to choose from, so go hog wild if you like puzzle games.
1001 Ultimate Mahjong 2
Anyone looking for a good puzzle game to wind down at night should check out 1001 Ultimate Mahjong. If you’re an older gamer, you may have enjoyed mahjong in computer lab while waiting for everyone else to finish the assignment.
This version of mahjong features beautiful music and backgrounds, unlike the fuzzy green gameboard of Windows 98 mahjong. It’s simple to do a few boards before bed at night, thanks to the great soundtrack.
Tetris Effect Connected
Tetris is another nostalgic game that has been given a face lift for modern consoles. The result is a game that offers plenty of Zen puzzling with amazing music and visual effects. If picross, 1001 Ultimate Mahjong, aren’t your thing, then Tetris Effect may hit the spot.
DREDGE
Play as the captain of a fishing trawler in DREDGE, exploring a collection of islands and dredging up things to sell to the locals. Upgrade your boat so you can venture out into the deep sea trenches and find even more riches and wealth. Each remote island you encounter has its own people to meet and stories to uncover. Complete quests for the islands residents to learn strange new abilities. Just be careful out on the water after dark.
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