For many of us, the upcoming vacation means having a lot of time on our hands.

We're home with family, outside of work or school, and can only afford so many Christmas movies, so many cookies, and so much time with our beloved family members.

Instead of looking for a million simple ways to distract ourselves or scroll on our phones, why don't we look for one game to invest time in?

The following games will provide you with dozens of hours of fun, and the only regret you will feel is that you spent less time with them.

Editor's Note: All games on this list are traditional "Web2" games without cryptocurrency or blockchain integration. But you might enjoy it anyway!

Indiana Jones and the Grand Circle

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series

Have you ever watched a classic Indiana Jones movie and wondered what it would be like to strap on his boots, don his hat and leather jacket and delve into the bone-filled catacombs?

If so, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is your game.

This game gives you plenty of puzzles and places to explore, and - contrary to the concerns of the pre-release critical community - it's anything but A remake of Uncharted, now with Indiana Jones characters.

As Indy, you'll disguise yourself cleverly and blend in with the crowd, using your talent for social stealth to unravel mysteries.

Dive into the underground, enjoying the classic Indy vibe — hat, whip, and wits — as you solve puzzles, outmaneuver fascist goons, and deliver fatal blows with any melee weapon you can summon. Guns? Strictly a last resort.

It feels like an authentic Indiana Jones adventure that lets you role-play as the iconic character in all the ways you can think of.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series

The Like a Dragon series began in the early 2000s (when it was originally called Yakuza) and includes 10 games in its canon story. But you can absolutely start with Infinite Wealth, the newest mainline game in the series.

As Ichiban Kasuga, you've just been fired from work and are heading to Hawaii to find your long-lost mother. However, what seems like a paradise vacation, quickly turns into a tank of barracuda, sharks, and more.

You'll go on an epic adventure, make great friends, take down Danny Trejo, and save Hawaii - stopping along the way to deliver pizza, fill your social network, and sing karaoke.

Infinite Wealth is equal parts heart, deadly seriousness, and goofy fun, all working together.

Dragon's Doctrine 2

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series

Dragon's Dogma 2 is a strange game, and even its developers were probably surprised that the original got a sequel.

This game puts you on a quest to reclaim your rightful place on the throne, but it's actually the journey, not the destination. Trips can be long and arduous, and you should be prepared for them.

You can't take everything with you, but the more damage you sustain, the less you can heal. You'll choose a class for you and your AI-controlled companion, and borrow a couple of classes from other players.

Dragon's Dogma is a strange and beautiful game, and there's nothing else quite like it.

Astro Bot

Platform: PlayStation 5

Role-playing games are fun, but they have a lot of impact. Sometimes, you just want to have some fun. Astro Bot is probably the closest anyone has ever come to replicating the simple fun of a Mario game outside of Nintendo.

As Astro Bot, you'll visit themed planets and rescue other bots inspired by an amazing range of PlayStation franchises, both new and old.

This game has an incredible amount of variety; In one level, you might get some monkey hands that you can climb up and fight with. In another scenario, it turns into a sponge that absorbs and releases water as it interacts with the environment.

The game is full of delightful surprises at every turn, features great music, and provides a particularly satisfying experience for older players who have fond memories of PlayStation. It provides a complete and engaging experience for anyone able to hold a controller.

Balatro

Platforms: Switch, PS5/PS4, Xbox Series

You can play Balatro for only half an hour if you have the willpower of a great warrior. Or you can play it all day and night, forgetting to shower and eat while you try to play just one more round.

Developed by just one person, Balatro combines the mechanics of poker, solitaire, and roguelike.

You start each round with 52 cards, and you'll build your deck, adding special cards - and most importantly, unique joke cards that modify your deck, multiplying what could be a few hundred points to tens of millions with the right combinations.

When you score high enough, your score meter lights up. That's really all we need to say.

Metaphor: refantasia

Platforms: PS5/PS4, Xbox Series

Metaphor: ReFantazio may be a weird title, but stick with it.

This is the new series from the developer of the beloved Persona series. It takes many elements of those games into a whole new fantasy world - and it's a chance to get in on the ground floor.

Metaphor tells a thoughtful story about democracy and religion, features great turn-based gameplay, and replicates the time mechanics of Persona to keep it familiar and fresh.

It contains some of the most memorable music of the year and maintains the studio's high standards of visual design in both characters and UI alike. Extra points for enemies inspired by Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights".

satisfactory

Platforms: PC (consoles coming soon)

Here in the real world, we should strive to leave a minimal environmental impact on the world around us. But in video games, why don't we do the opposite?

Harness the living daylights of a beautiful alien planet, transforming it from an unspoiled natural world into a sprawling complex of smoke-spewing, noise-making machines, all for the sake of profit... for the company you work for.

This is my illness.

FICSIT, Inc. moves you. To an empty planet, you must build a space elevator and an orbital space station. By the time you're done, you'll have nuclear power plants, multiple train lines, and hundreds of machines spread across countless facilities.

You can play this game in multiplayer mode if you want, or you can play it alone. You can do a lot of math, or you can fly with it. You can work hard to make all your machines look aesthetically pleasing, or you can create a complex network of capillary conveyor belts. This is the FICSIT method.

Modified by Sebastian Sinclair