Lists / 4 September 2025

5 Games I Currently Can’t Stay Away From

Do you ever feel like you rotate around the same few games? That is currently me, and for the month of July and the beginning of this month, I feel my whole gaming rotation has consisted of 5 games. Whether I am on the go and travelling or in the comfort of my own home, these games have kept me busy!

Hello Kitty Island Adventure – Nintendo Switch

Embark on a cozy, open-world adventure with Hello Kitty and Friends. Befriend beloved characters as you explore and restore a mysterious island.

As a huge fan of Sanrio and the Hello Kitty & Friends brand, this game never fails to get me in the cozy mood. There is just something so relaxing about completing little tasks for your sanrio friends. I sometimes find myself feeling over stimulated with games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, however with Hello Kitty Island Adventure, I find it much easier to pick a task and focus on it rather than getting distracted with everything else going on around me.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure will also be receiving its very first DLC in September called Wheatflour Wonderland, so it has been nice logging in every day to prepare for the new content.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet – Nintendo Switch

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are the first open-world role-playing games in the Pokémon series, set in the Paldea region and featuring three main storylines that can be tackled in any order as part of a “Treasure Hunt” at the academy.

If you know me, you know Pokemon is sort of my thing. I have built my own community and brand online by just playing and sharing my love for Pokemon, so it is probably no surprise this game is on this list.

Even though the game released in 2022, I still play this game at least once a week, and honestly it is purely to shiny hunt. Shiny hunting is a fan-created post-game activity in Pokémon games where players repeatedly encounter or breed Pokémon with the goal of finding an alternate-colored, purely cosmetic version of a Pokémon, known as a shiny Pokémon. These Pokémon are extremely rare and are sought after as collectibles.

I am sure once the new Pokémon game, Legends Z-A releases in October, that will take over for me.

TCG Card Shop Simulator – PC (Steam)

TCG Card Shop Simulator is a trading card shop simulation where you sell card booster packs to earn money and build your card shop business.

Probably the first PC game I have mentioned in a really long time, but TCG Card Shop Simulator is the one game that can pry me away from my Nintendo Switch currently.

In TCG Card Shop Simulator, you run and build a TCG shop business. As mentioned before I am a big Pokémon fan, and have also worked in a card store before in real life, so taking on this business adventure and running my own store was very fun and reminded me of the fun of working with TCGs in real life. You can even open up your stock and try and pull the most expensive cards as well.

Discounty – Nintendo Switch

Manage your own discount supermarket! Get caught up in small-town drama, organize and plan your shop’s layout, and strike lucrative trade deals as you expand your secretive aunt’s business empire. Selling more frozen fries will surely heal this broken community…right?

Following on with shop simulators, I introduce you all to Discounty. A brand new indie game which released at the end of July and has very quickly consumed me, in Discounty you manage your own discount supermarket. I really love little simulators like this, and organising and arranging my supermarket feels very rewarding. You can craft up deals with businesses to stock their items, and also explore the town after your shift and get to know the townsfolk. Needless to say, like in most towns, there is drama, a LOT of it, and I can’t help but say “just one more day” so I can consume all the drama.

Pokémon TCG Pocket – Mobile (IOS/Android)

Experience the fun of collecting Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) cards with Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket.

Releasing in October of last year, Pokémon TCG Pocket is a mobile game that allows you to collect and create decks with virtual Pokémon cards. The Pokémon TCG market has gone a bit wild in the last few years, and as a fan I genuinely struggle to even find packets of cards to open in real life, so having TCG Pocket is a breath of fresh air and allows me to continue collecting my cards, without even needing to leave my house.