@reginaldbelvarion this is deffo true for me and my top game, I think I called Engage disappointing and mediocre when I first played it (or something like that) but it has become a game I just keep going back to, cause the core moment to moment gameplay and heavily paired back elements around it make it the ultimate mindless on the go, pick up and play, title for me.
Other games on that list are absolutely better games, but I know I'm going to have to properly carve out a bit my day to enjoy them, but if I have a spare half hour or something, I can just run an Engage skirmish and have some fun, and it has caused the playtime for it to slowly pull ahead of other games I might have either one and done, or don't dip my toe back into as often.
@Pizzamorg Yeah, I think that's one of the most interesting things about playtime stats. Sometimes the game you consider "the best" isn't the one that ends up taking the most hours.
A game like Engage is a perfect example because the core gameplay loop is so easy to jump back into. You don't always need a big story session or a few hours free — sometimes a quick battle is enough to make you enjoy it.
I’ve had similar experiences where a game I didn't expect much from ended up becoming something I kept returning to. The replayability and convenience can matter just as much as the overall quality.
Fire Emblem seems like a series that really benefits from that pick-up-and-play style. Have you found any other games that surprised you by climbing your playtime list over time?
I feel like the games with the highest playtime are usually not always the "best" games, but the ones you can keep coming back to. Stuff like Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Smash, or even smaller games can quietly eat hundreds of hours.
For me, it's games that can eat lots of hours, which I love enough to play lots of hours. Probably 4 or 5 of my top favorite Switch games are also on my most played list. My other top games range from medium-length games to extremely short games. I've only rated 4 Switch games 10/10, but 2 of them are also on my most played list.
Yeah, I look back at my own list and a solid half being among my favorites is exactly where I'm at I think.
Like a lot of my time spent with Xenoblade 2 and Animal Crossing in particular is very specific beyond just consistent enjoyment. New Horizons comes out any other year, especially if I had loved New Leaf like everyone else did, very different story probably. Like I do think I play Animal Crossing games partially at least because I decided on my online username in 2004 and have never entirely abandoned it, so now I'm stuck with a series I only partially like forever. And Xenoblade 2 was me definitively wanting to give it the 90% of content treatment I did with 1, no matter what.
By contrast, I've super underplayed Smash Ultimate compared to how much I love it, even with it maybe still being in my top 10 (maybe because the online is kinda bad).
@FishyS Yeah, I think that’s the interesting thing about playtime stats. A game being your most played doesn’t always mean it’s your absolute favorite, but it usually means it has something that keeps pulling you back in.
I agree that a lot of the classics like Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, and Smash naturally rack up huge hours because they’re built for endless replayability. But it’s also cool when a shorter or more focused game still manages to become one of your favorites.
Now I’m curious, which two 10/10 Switch games ended up making your most played list? I’m guessing those are the ones that really stuck with you.
Playtime seems to measure convenience and habit almost as much as quality. You can be lukewarm on the whole game and still keep returning because the minute-to-minute loop is easy to drop into. Would everyone’s favorites list look completely different?
Looking at the Nintendo eShop app, looks to be as follows:
10) Minecraft - 140+ hours
9) Persona 3 Portable - 145+ hours
8) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - 155+ hours
7) Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - 170+ hours
6) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 215+ hours
5) Fire Emblem: Three Houses - 280+ hours
4) Splatoon 2 - 285+ hours
3) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 345+ hours
2) Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition - 410+ hours
1) Stardew Valley - 525+ hours
Interesting top 10, and certainly not what I envisioned, but also makes sense to me. Hyrule Warriors on Wii U and Hyrule Warriors Legends on 3DS are also in my top 20 across Switch, Wii U and 3DS. Combined playtime would be 755+ hours. My Minecraft playtime is split among many different platforms (PC, Xbox (360 + One), PS4, PS and Switch), so heck knows how much time I have put in that overall. Same with Skyrim given playthroughs on Xbox 360, PS4, PS5, and Switch. I could probably add on at least another 300 hours from PS4 for Stardew Valley.
These games certainly seem to have had some sort of impact on me given I seem to keep returning to them.
I don’t know exactly how much but I gotta say
10: Minecraft
9: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
8: Mario 8 sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
7: Nintendo Switch Sports
6: Super Mario Bros. Wonder
5: New Super Mario Bros. U deluxe
4: Super Mario 3D world + Bowsers Furry
3: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
2: Mario Kart World
1: Mario Kart Live Home Circuit (Mario Set)
I have an absurd amount of time in animal crossing new horizons. And I still havent finished the museum. Im missing one painting (a boy with a fife or something).
Everything else is somewhere between 50 and 100 hrs at most. I dont tend to spend tons of time on most nintendo games. Its a quality over quantity thing. Compared to say Baldurs Gate 3 where I've spent hundreds of hours but so much of that was meandering around and retrying lengthy battles I failed.
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Topic: Your Top 10 Most Played Switch (1 or 2) Games
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