Recommend me some nice short games

[sir neillios]

As many of you may notice, growing older tends to result in a lot less free time. These days I don't have the time or energy to finish long games anymore. So I'd like you guys to point out some neat games that I could complete in less than 10 hours, so I can bookmark and get once I fancy something new.

As an example I really enjoyed Hotline Miami, and "played" To the Moon in a single sitting.

On PC obviously.

Much appreciated, and if possible could you write a quick summary of the game for me, anything goes tbh.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

Portal and Portal 2 are relatively short. Completed in about 6-10 hours, depending on how long the puzzles take you to solve. They're both first person physics based puzzle games. Great fun for either prolonged periods of time or short bursts.

I don't really know any other short games, sorry. I typically play really long ones. :x

 

[hazabaza1]

Gunpoint just got released. I only played the demo but it was really fun and apparently it's pretty short.
There's also the Shank games. Sidescrolling hack'n'slash that play real fuckin' well.

If you're looking for some higher fidelity stuff you're probably well off with hack'n'slash games. Sadly a bit lacking on PC but DMC is on PC, plays very well, and while the writing is absolutely fucking abysmal there's not much of it because it doesn't last too long.
I hear MG:Rising is coming to PC soon as well and that seems to be in the same "retarded and short" vein.

You might enjoy Plants Vs Zombies too. Fun little tower defense, the main campaign mode is pretty short but if you do find yourself wanting more there's loads of minigame type stuff.

 

[tippy2k2]

Well have I got good news for you!

It's short! It's heart wrenching! It's cheap! And it's considered GotY by many for 2012!

That's right; The Walking Dead

I hope to God that no one has spoiled that game for you. Easily a top 3 of 2012 and very likely in my top 10 of all time. A modern point and click adventure game with Bioware "dialogue trees" mixed in. Some people have claimed that it's not really game but they're wrong

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Generally speaking, most horror games are pretty short. Not sure why, they just are. Maybe the "horror" aspect is no good for an extended period of time? Anywya, Walking Dead is a good example. I always recommend the early Resident Evils and Silent Hills as well, specifically the first two or three games, where every game made a vast gameplay improvement over the preceding title.

 

[PFCboom]

Solitaire. Get in on your phone. Play it endlessly. It's one of the best time-wasters I've ever known.

Game Dev Tycoon is super cheap, and easy to play for a half-hour at a time, OR for a couple hours at a time.

I recently got Dust: An Elysian Tail, which is easy to play for an hour or two, but is better with a controller.

Skyrim. Really. Go through a quest or two, and call it good. Download some mods, play around with them, call it good.

Bastion. It's a level-based game, with various "worlds" that's all connected to the titular Bastion. You really should play this, anyway, it's a big hit for a reason.

Kerbal Space Program. Design a rocket, launch it, curse at your failure, try again a couple times, see how far you can get in a half-hour or hour.

Torchlight/Torchlight II. Complete a few levels/quests/dungeons, move on. For that matter, lots of dungeon crawlers tend to be sorta separated into levels/dungeons/regions, making for really play-for-an-hour play sessions.

Strategy games. Any given campaign of a strategy game, RTS or turn-based or whatever, is going to last between 20 and 45 minutes.

 

[Launcelot111]

A runthrough of Binding of Isaac only takes 45 minutes at most, so it's good for if you only have a little while to game. The downside is that, if you're anything like me, you'll play that 45 minutes hundreds of times.

 

[Lilani]

As many of you may notice, growing older tends to result in a lot less free time. These days I don't have the time or energy to finish long games anymore. So I'd like you guys to point out some neat games that I could complete in less than 10 hours, so I can bookmark and get once I fancy something new.

As an example I really enjoyed Hotline Miami, and "played" To the Moon in a single sitting.

On PC obviously.

Much appreciated, and if possible could you write a quick summary of the game for me, anything goes tbh.

Portal and Portal 2: Seriously, if you haven't played them by now do it. DO IT. Short games of amazing quality.

Bastion: A game filled with great music, great visuals, and an incredible narration. Fun battle system, interesting story (especially the ending).

Limbo: Just a creepy puzzle/adventure game with a unique aesthetic and mechanics.

Plants VS Zombies: A fun and addictive game from Pop Cap. Potential for a lot of play time if you do all the extra games, but the main campaign only takes a few hours.

Dear Esther: Not really a "game" as you might know it, but it's a unique exercise in visual storytelling. Nothing much on the gameplay side, but if you like beautiful environments and sets then it's worth a look.

Bioshock: A classic by all standards, and it only took me 8 hours to reach the end. Granted, I had it on easy mode just because I wanted to get to the end easily, but I can't imagine taking much longer on the regular difficulty setting.

Bioshock Infinite: For best results play this AFTER finishing Bioshock. I completed the main story in 13 hours, and that's even taking into account that I'm an explorer and a scavenger and I don't leave an area until I've searched everything--all the corpses, all the trash cans, all the crates. EVERYTHING.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent: Fantastic horror game, and I don't even normally like horror. I think it took me maybe 3-5 hours to reach the end the first time. Definitely less than 8. Though how long you take in practice depends on how often you have to stop and clean the poop out of your pants (which I promise will be frequently).

And my advice for acquiring many of these is to search out the Humble Bundles. Indie games are usually short and the Humble Bundle is the best deal you'll find for unique and quality indie games.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

The new Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is about $15 on Steam on the Marketplace. It'll take you around six hours to beat the campaign, plus there's a few other added in stuff to do. The shooting really flows, the stories and characters don't suck unlike the earlier Call of Juarez's, and it plays out like a Western movie should -- there are big names like Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and John Wesley Hardin, you shoot some guys with funny accents with Winchesters and Sawed Offs, there's dynamite to be thrown, duels that don't suck, and there is a level that takes place on a moving train.

You don't need to have played any of the first Call of Juarez's to get it, it's a completely different story. And the first Call of Juarez's stories blew dick.

 

[madwarper]

The Company of Myself. Nice flash game on kongregate, shouldn't take you more than few min.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

The third Precipice of Darkness game is pretty awesome even if you never played the first two. It's a turn-based RPG written by and starring the Penny Arcade guys, with some pretty good humour and monster designs. And it's only $5.

Same people also made Cthulhu Saves the World if you absolutely can't stand Penny Arcade.

 

[Misterian]

Peter Jackson's King Kong: the movie, the game.

It's a beautifully atmospheric, intense, and exciting adventure in Skull Island that lasts I think lasts between 4 to 5 hours.

 

[wintercoat]

Thomas was Alone. It only takes a few hours to complete, but damn is it a good few hours. I have never been so attached to a bunch of rectangles before. If you're a fan of platformers, and love an excellent, simple story, then get this game.

Little Inferno. Another game that's only a few hours long. Basically, you burn stuff, collect the coins that pop out, and buy more stuff to burn. It has a nice story attached to it, and is actually quite a good one at that.

Cthulhu Saves the World and Breath of Death VII. Plenty of good humor, solid mechanics, and at the low, low price of $2.99 for the combo pack(on sale at the moment for $1.49), they're a steal. At the same time, I'll recommend Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3&4. They're both made by the same guys who made CSTW and BoD. I haven't played Precipice 4 yet, but from what I've seen, it's as solid a game as 3 was.

FTL: Faster Than Light. A sorta rogue-like in space. Each run can be anywhere from a few seconds to about 20 minutes. It's pretty fun, but can be rather hard at times, especially on Normal(there is no hard mode because that would be sadistic). It can sometimes be a bit too random, especially when trying to unlock the Crystal Cruiser. Overall it's a great game, if a little frustrating at times.

Super Meat Boy. Do you like hard as balls platformers? Does the idea of a little meat man being chewed to bits by a rotary blade pique your interests? Does the sight of blood make you all warm and fuzzy inside? Then get Super Meat Boy, and discover the wonders of high blood pressure! Joking aside, SMB isn't actually as ball-bustingly hard as people make it out to be. It is hard, but once you get used to the controls, and become a wall-jumping god, beating each level just takes patience. Oh, and it's recommended to play with a controller. I play with keyboard because fuck the police, but it's much, much easier to play with a decent controller(my controller is a piece of shit >.>)

I'll second both Portal games. They're both quite fun and only take a few hours to complete.

 

[Dominic Crossman]

Pretty much any single player experience with isn't an rpg if you play it on easy

Specifically I think mgr:revengance, an action game with short length but good while it lasts.

 

[saintdane05]

Final Fantasy XIII is great to play if you are short on time.

 

[Caiphus]

Final Fantasy XIII is great to play if you are short on time.

Pause for laughter.


OT: Someone already mentioned Desktop Dungeons. I'd like to second that recommendation. It's quick to get into, games never take more than 10 minutes each, and reasonably difficult to master.

Edit: Nobody mentioned desktop dungeons... I was certain they did? I think I need a lie down.

 

[Alfador_VII]

Why has nobody mentioned Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon? It's the most fun stupid 80's themed shooter you'll play, and it's got dinosaurs with freaking laser eyes!! It doesn't matter if you haven't played FC3, as it really only uses the engine and some assets from that game, it's not even slightly connected plot-wise.

It's possible to breeze through in about 5 or 6 hours, and even exploring fully all the side stuff shouldn't take much longer than 10

 

[blink]

armorgames.com and kongregate.com are the to-go sites for me when I have a little time to spare on videogames. Some of the games aren't great but the top ones can entertain for hours and hours.
And it's free!

 

[JohnDanison]

Yep, most of games advised here are not short at all. Agree with Blink - try these free websites for casual gaming.
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-Dan Greenavis [http://greenavis.com/]