I have been on a kick lately with short games. Because I’m a parent with a hectic job, it’s really nice to be able to beat a game in just a few days.
I’ve played both Plague Tale games (10 & 20 hours respectively), Stray (7 hours), and Alan Wake (10 hours). All great stories, very atmospheric, and felt like just the right length for what they were.
Any other good story-heavy games that are pretty short? Throw any and all recommendations at me!
Great idea for a post. I feel the same with games and novels.
Bastion or Transistor, both early Supergiant games.
Portal and Portal 2 must be on this list. If you’ve never played then, you must. It is that simple.
I’mma do it, I’mma be the one to bring up Undertale this time (estimated 2 hours, worth a few replays), there’s also little nightmares (2-4 hours depending on platforming skills) which is a spooky little game, but not too spooky if you ever play in front of the kids.
I’d look at Telltale-style games. They’re roughly 10 hours each ( five 2-hour ish episodes) and are almost entirely story driven. The gameplay is usually very simple. You choose dialogue choices to drive the story.
The best Telltale games are in my opinion: The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, The Walking Dead, Batman: The Telltale Series and its sequel, Batman: The Enemy Within. They’re also releasing the first episode of The Expanse (based on the TV show since the character Camina Drummer does not exist in the books) later this month.
Another series that is very much that same style but by different devs is the Life is Strange series. I’ve played the first one and the prequel called Before the Storm. They are very emotionally heavy stories so I’m taking some time before I can go into the sequels but I absolutely love that series and will preach it to anyone who will listen.
10 hours is definitely short but it also helps that they are all done in 2-hour episodes so you can easily take breaks.
Gris. It’s like playing an art piece.
Similar vein, but I replay Journey often, as well.
Depending on your puzzle solving abilities, Outer Wilds (not Outer Worlds!) should only take around 15-20 hours.
Extra bonus, it can be played in very short sessions very easily and has a great in-game log of events in case you have to put it down for a little while.
I just want to say that I also keep hearing about this game, but then can’t remember which one strangers told me to play.
Oh man, it’s so good. It’s my favorite game in recent memory and it’s only competition is probably Hollow Knight.
Don’t look anything up, this game is super easy to spoil because of the way the exploratory puzzles are set up.
Undertale and Untitled Goose Game though the latter isn’t very story oriented.
What Remains of Edith Finch is a beautiful game in under 2h.
A Short Hike is a wholesome short little experience, really loved it.
Journey is one of my favorite games of all time and is shorter than most movies.
Titanfall 2 campaign was 6h or something and really cool!
Oxenfree, A Night in the Woods, Afterparty, and Gris. Gris is a masterpiece when it comes to visuals but not story-heavy. The other three are entirely story.
Seconding Oxenfree. It’s one of the few multi-choice/multi-ending games where I was completely content with the ending I got, and didn’t feel like the game ever lied to me or ripped me off for choosing the “wrong” thing. I had stayed away from it for so long because I wasn’t ready to deal with choice anxiety that I get in a lot of games of that type, but for whatever reason, the game never made me feel like that.
Oh yes choice anxiety was definitely a thing. I think I felt that more with Afterparty and even played the game a second time to try to alter things but at the end of the day, I realized it’s not that serious and simply enjoying the game made it a better experience.
I’m usually way more into short arcadey yet narrative games like Hotline Miami, but based on your list I’d wholeheartedly recommend What Remains of Edith Finch. It’s a bunch of very short story vignettes, so even if you only have 30 minutes you know you’ll complete one.
Night in the Woods might also interest you. I would always play one in-game day (which is about 1 hour each) to relax before going to bed.
I beat Myst in 19 hours of continuous game play without a guide or the internet. Best? Well, if you intend to beat it, it’ll take a lot of thinking through stories.
I haven’t played Myst since the 90s! Such a great game.
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Ori and Ori: Will of the Wisps. These games are beautiful and atmospheric. The story is basic, but it’s a world to get lost in.
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All of the supergiant games (except for maybe Hades). So Bastion, Transistor and Pyre. Dripping with style, Bastion and Transistor have a pretty straightforward story, but it’s well told. Pyre’s story is a bit more complex, with a heavy focus on characters and your choices with them.
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If you’re cool with visual novels, Doki Doki Literature Club is an incredibly interesting game, not very long. It really stuck with me.
Pretty important to go in blind with this one! It’s a great game!
Hey Op don’t play it in front of the kids, you’ll thank me later.
True!
It’s not a horror game though. It’s more of a creepy tension. And some bloody bits. Overall it’s for the atmosphere you play it, you really get sucked into the mind of the protagonist.
See, you get my worry. The tension’s not bad, just a lot for the kids.
Very true. :)
There’s a bit of gore in there too, not much, but still.
Ori and the blind forest is a great platformer that is about 8-10 hours long.
Donut County is a fun little game that takes about 5 hours or less.
Axiom Verge (and 2) is a neat Metroid like game that is around 15 hrs.
