Who likes short games? We like short games!

Mr_Grinch

Time starved adults, this is your thread.
I've managed to finish about 4 games (excluding VR titles) this year, none of them particularly long (Guacamelee 2, Detroit, God of War, Mario Maker 2) and none of them beyond the 'main story' where side-quests exist. Why? I've a job, responsibilities, a wife, a kid I like to spend time with and other hobbies. It's a choice not to play games too much, I could invest the time and this isn't me griping, but I do REALLY enjoy them and still consider myself a 'gamer'.
With that in mind, what shorter experiences can you recommend?
"Long" is obviously different from person to person, but as an example I'd personally consider the 12 to 13 hours it took me to finish God of War as 'long'. I also didn't really care for it, and perhaps part of that is because so much of the good content (so I've read) is in side-quests and I knew by skipping them I wouldn't get the full experience.
So, busy people of PA, help me fit as many quality games as I can in to my 2020 buffet.

(Sorry if the formatting is weird in this OP, I seem to be having issues in Chrome)

Mr_Grinch

And just to get things started, I've found VR suits me perfectly at the moment because many of the games are shorter in scale and can be finished in around 4 hours, or are more pick-up and play friendly. Arizona Sunshine, Lone Echo, Star Wars, I Expect You to Die, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, etc. The Quest has helped massively with that, much like the Switch.
Also episodic games in the style of Telltale usually work quite well. I played through all of Life is Strange and the prequel (need to try the sequel) and due to the short nature of each episode I could usually complete a single one over two nights. This stopped me from forgetting what was going on (which is also a big problem when sometimes it's weeks between gaming time for me).

jothki

Untitled Goose Game is only a few hours long at most and is pretty neat.

emnmnme

If you liked Guacamelee, try Dead Cells. Death is permanent and each run lasts an hour, hour and a half.

Mr_Grinch

emnmnme wrote: »

If you liked Guacamelee, try Dead Cells. Death is permanent and each run lasts an hour, hour and a half.

I love me some platforming / metroidvania and Dead Cells is one of the other few games I've played this year (didn't finish it, but still enjoy the odd run I do when travelling with the Switch. Runs certainly don't last 90 minutes for me! More like 9).
Other games I've played but not finished are:
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider (I think I'm about half way through and I'm not sure I want to invest the time to finish now. It's just a little...grim)
- Hollow Knight (again, a bit grim for my liking and I spent a lot of time either dying and having to retrace my steps, or being generally rubbish and getting lost. It's also a time thing, I love what I've read about it but I know I'll never find the time to dig in to all its secrets).
One of the most fun 'short' games I've played over the last couple of years was "Last Day of June". It was fun, compact and had an engaging story.
I shall pick up Untitled Goose Game on the Switch, I've been meaning to.

Drascin

Have you played Undertale? Because that game is, like, five hours long, is currently four bucks on Steam, and is both genuinely funny and genuinely touching in ways very few games have managed for me.

Shadowfire

Shout out to Journey for being short enough to play through entirely in one evening. 1-2 hours and fantastic all the way through.

Spawnbroker

What Remains of Edith Finch is both short and incredibly moving. There are a few scenes in that game that have stuck with me, even years later. It's a fantastic game for someone looking to immerse themselves in a beautifully written short story. I think it took me 4 or 5 hours to beat.

Shadowfire

Another shout out to the Socrery! series. They're on mobile so you can play them whenever you want, and they're great! Choose your own adventure with some RPG elements, including the rock-paper-scissors style combat. Also the art is fantastic.

Lindsay Lohan

I beat Celeste over the summer and I'm in the exact same boat, too little time to actually finish games so I recommend that one, it took me about a week to push through.

Mr_Grinch

Celeste was great, I ticked that off last year and it was pretty much perfect length. What Remains of Edith Finch is a good shout, I actually played and finished it, but there are a number of other "walking simulators" I haven't tried yet which I think are similar length.

Zek

emnmnme wrote: »

If you liked Guacamelee, try Dead Cells. Death is permanent and each run lasts an hour, hour and a half.

My runs are way way faster than that, even winning ones. It's all about full brutality and balls to the wall speed, none of this tactics camping nonsense.

akThera

For “endless” pick up and play, I love both Into the Breach and Slay the Spire.

Both available on Steam and Switch

Artereis

Outer Wilds was perfect for me this year, both in total duration and its general playstyle.

Spawnbroker

If you're into creepy sci fi, SOMA is supposedly great! I have heard from many people to turn off monster damage and just soak in the atmosphere for maximum enjoyment.

Edit: 8-10 hours to beat!

BahamutZERO

got 3 minutes? https://www.kongregate.com/games/Mazapan/you-have-to-burn-the-rope

Phoenix-D

akjak wrote: »

For “endless” pick up and play, I love both Into the Breach and Slay the Spire.

Both available on Steam and Switch

FTL if you haven't played that.

Otherwise, definitely Goose Game. Superhot both VR and non (they're totally different games, it isn't a port).

Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space is older, but each game of that takes like 30 minutes, tops.

TheStig

Slay the Spire is my adult game of choice. Runs are fairly short and I can walk away from it and pick it back up later with no problem.

manwiththemachinegun

Ruiner, Brigador and Techno Babylon are all excellent, moody sci-fi thrillers with great soundtracks, characters and setting. You can finish all of them in a day or two, I replay them regularly.

BSoB

It's without a doubt not a short game, but I play total war Warhammer 2 and do 2-5 minutes of cleaning while the end turn happens. Play a turn, do some cleaning.

I end up being very productive and I don't have to sit through the AI turns.

TeeMan

The Switch is bloody perfect for sneaking in games. Despite being time-poor for the same reasons as the OP, it still allows me to play gargantuan undertakings such as Divinity OS 2 and Stardew Valley. I won't have them dusted within a calendar year, but the form factor means that they're at least on the menu

Xaquin

I think Gris is fairly short

Either way, it's one of the prettiest games ever made and should be played regardless!

djmitchella

I really liked "Everyone's Gone To The Rapture", which is another walking simulator sort of game, though it helps that it's effectively set in the village I grew up in. Firewatch is also pretty short, though I didn't find the story as engaging there.

A Bird Story is really very short and worth the time; Hellblade is not all that long either and very pretty (though my tolerance for creepy stuff in games is pretty low, so I only just made it through).

RIVE is an action game that was fun while it lasted, which wasn't all that long. And I don't think anyone's mentioned Bastion or Transistor either.

Her Story is definitely worth a go if you haven't played it (and are still unspoiled).

And I'll always recommend the Hexcells series, and the other ones by the same guy, because they are so brilliantly crafted and made me feel smart.

(edit: oh, if you have VR, then I can seriously recommend Scanner Sombre -- I got it in a bundle or something and while it's pretty simple and yet another walking simulator (sort of), the basic mechanic for how you explore the world works _very well_ in VR)

(edit 2: Donut County. It is just pure delight the whole way through).

Mr Ray

In the mobile sphere, I can thoroughly recommend Data Wing:

Apple Store Link
Google Play Store Link

Its absolutely free, no ads or in-app purchases whatsoever, it definitely feels like the passion project of one guy who was fully invested in making the best game he could make. And who really likes Vapor Wave. It is, as the thread title suggests, short, but I still boot it up from time to time for the fantastic soundtrack.

OneAngryPossum

Games need to understand that editing is better than bloat, so this is my jam.

My wife and I played through Superluminal over a couple nights last week, and I really can’t recommend it enough. It’s got Portal’s puzzle cleverness (though not it’s omnipresent sense of humor). Reminded me of Antichamber, but less of obtuse. All about perspective and chock full of those “OH WAIT” realizations that pump out the serotonin.

OliverRichardson

OneAngryPossum wrote: »

Games need to understand that editing is better than bloat, so this is my jam.

My wife and I played through Superluminal over a couple nights last week, and I really can’t recommend it enough. It’s got Portal’s puzzle cleverness (though not it’s omnipresent sense of humor). Reminded me of Antichamber, but less of obtuse. All about perspective and chock full of those “OH WAIT” realizations that pump out the serotonin.

WotanAnubis

Sayonara Wild Hearts

It's a pop album in video game form. Part rhythm game, part endless runner, all neon.

There's about a little over twenty stages and each takes maybe a couple of minutes. A single playthrough takes about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how often you screw up. You can replay each stage individually to go for a better score (or to hear the song again), and beating the game unlocks a mode where you can play through the entire game (of about one hour) all in one go.

It's great. Play it. Experience it.

(Not suitable for people who are sensitive to flashing lights.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-RyxYcxSQ4