Balatro - card game

Monster Train - turn based deck builder (if you liked Slay the spire)

Dead Cells - action hack and slash side scrolling

Binding of Isaac - GOAT twin stick shooter

Enter the Gungeon - other GOAT twin stick shooter, more modern

Cult of the Lamb - hack and slash, with farming

Moonlighter - action, with shop-keeping simulation

Children of Moira - action

Curse of the Dead Gods - action hack and slash

Faster Than Light - spaceship command, mix of real time strategy with time pause for planning

Risk of Rain 2 - 3rd person shooter

Brotato - single stick shooter

Vampire survivors - single stick shooter

Don’t Starve Together - survival, farming, crafting, combat

Synthetik - top down shooter. Can be played with M+KB, but I prefer it as a twin stick shooter with controller

Crown Trick - top down combat, single action at a time

Spelunky 2 - very difficult platformer/simplistic combat

Deep rock Survivor - single stick shooter with mining

MatchR - I like gem matching, this was amusing for a short while

Windblown - top down hack and slash

Roboquest - FPS roguelite

Blazing Beaks - twin stick shooter

Cursed to Golf - golf

Nuclear Throne - twin stick shooter

Crypt of the necrodancer - rhythm

Dungeon of the Endless - tower defense, mining

Dome keeper - mining + asteroids type base defense

There are loads more…depends on what flavour you like

Balatro kept me sane through the first couple months after mine was born. I’d also say Risk of Rain (1 and 2), Enter the Gungeon, and Vampire Survivors

Hollow knight was great for these exact reasons! Very easy to pick up and put down. Also gives you something with a longer term progression. Oh and backpack battles too. Fantastic little game. These three games basically entertained a party of my brain through the first 2+ years of fatherhood

Monster Train! Great rougelite deck builder.

Not handheld, I feel you must play with mouse and keyboard but Noita is my favorite game of all time.