Those of us who are unfortunate enough to have a commute to our place of work will know all too well the mind-numbing bore that is sitting on a train, bus or other variation of public transport, without something reliable to do. Lucky for the commuters reading this, you’re most likely gamers too, and the two disciplines go hand in hand. In which case, we thought it might be best to run through some commute friendly games that you can pick up and play, and most importantly have a meaningful experience with pre and post-work.
Breath of the Wild
Without a doubt, one of the best games ever made The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is hard to beat for portability and punch. You can pick up and play this Switch masterpiece in short bursts on your commute, perhaps focusing one shrine per session to pass the time. If puzzling isn’t your bag you can always mess around with the physics and test the boundaries of such an ambitious, immersive open world.
Dragon Quest Builders 2
Maybe you’re more of an artist or a crafter? In which case, you cannot go wrong with Square’s most recent Dragon Quest spinoff, Builders 2. The game manages to mix the depth and systems of a Japanese RPG with the instant gratification of a building game like Minecraft. By adding light story elements and including plenty of upgrades and items the team have mastered the Builders formula and delivered a devilishly addictive game that you can drop in and out of in the run-up to work.
Animal Crossing Pocket Camp
Perhaps you’re a bit more of a peaceful soul or someone who needs to disconnect from any pre-work anxieties. In which case, you can’t really go wrong with Pocket Camp on iOS or Android which squishes the console Animal Crossing experience, putting your gift swapping meet cutes at your very fingertips. Tom Nook is still there peddling goods in the form of microtransactions, but you can have a lot of fun here without burning a guilty hole in your pocket. Designing a home and inviting your adorable friends over sounds like the perfect plan if you wish to escape the undying chaos of a busy commuter train.
Holedown
If you’ve never heard of Holedown, you’re missing out. A killer app that demands little of the player but results in a gigantic endorphin rush, you simply shoot balls into a near-endless cavern and undermine platforms with strategic targeting. It is very simple, but it looks and feels fantastic on iOS and Android and is deeply addicting. With upgrades always just a few play sessions from reach. Definitely quicker to get into than the rest of the entries on this list, all you need to do is boot up the app and start swiping to turn any commute into an adrenaline rush.
Bully: Anniversary Edition
Wildcard! If you travel with your phone or tablet on the way to work, you might get a few funny glances from your fellow commuters, but Rockstar has a whole host of its single-player back catalog on the App Store that runs beautifully on iOS and Android. Best of all of them is Bully, which is a lot more focused and linear and good for quick play sessions on the bus or train. Whether it’s slingshotting jocks or giving a preppy kid a swirly, there’s nothing quite like the unbridled mischief available within the confines of Bullworth Academy. The story and overall world is great fun too if you never caught it all those years ago.
Those are some of our top picks for games to commute with, got any favourites of your own? Leave a comment below and head over to the Green Man Gaming Community site to see what all our gamers have to say.
