Humdinger
Gold Member
Back in April, I realized I was tired of playing big, open-world games. I decided to experiment with playing short games - games under 20 hours. Here are 5 that I enjoyed. If you're looking for a short game to play, you might check these out if you haven't already.
Stray
What a charming little game. It has an innocent, sweet, and wholesome quality that is rare in games these days. The gameplay is old-fashioned and fairly simple. As far as I’m concerned, the simplicity of the gameplay is to its credit. I play games to relax and feel entertained, not to stress.
The developers mixed things up to keep it interesting. The story was good, as long as you don’t think too hard about it (ha). The length was perfect – about 8 hours in my case. It didn't overstay its welcome, and it wrapped up nicely. Well done, developers.
9/10
Plague Tale: Innocence
Stealth games aren't normally my thing, but I enjoyed Plague Tale: Innocence. I think that's because they kept the stealth easy enough that you didn't have to go through a lot of trial-and-error. The characters were good. Dialog was well-written and well-performed, not overdone or cheesy as it easily could have been. The developers did a good job of mixing things up by adding new characters, new locations, and new mechanics along the way.
I like the setting of the Middle Ages, and that helped. I think it's a fascinating period. I liked the main characters as well, Amecia and Hugo. The story was not unnecessarily padded out and ended as it should.
Enjoyable and immersive. My only complaint is that the difficulty spikes suddenly during the last level of the game. That took me by surprise, because the rest of the game was relatively easy and relaxed gameplay. Then suddenly you're getting clobbered. Part of that is because of the fiddly controls. This made the last chapter more frustrating than enjoyable for me. However, I did enjoy the rest of the game. Took me about 13 hours.
8.5/10
A Short Hike
This is a simple, easy adventure. I found it refreshing, relaxing, and fun. It has simple graphics, a pleasant natural setting, a lighthearted tone, and humor that works. The gameplay is simple and easy. The music is perfectly suited. The dialog is cute without being cloying, and the story is sweet without being sentimental.
Many games leave me feeling drained or “meh” after playing them. A Short Hike left me with a smile on my face. The game has a good heart, if you know what I mean. It was over in 4 hours, and I wanted it to continue. Very nice experience.
9/10
Bramble: The Mountain King
This is a unique adventure/platformer from a Swedish developer, based on Norwegian folktales. The uniqueness comes from the stark and beautiful visuals, the occasionally gruesome imagery, and the strange Scandinavian mix of light and dark tone. There are many grim scenes – the developers do not tippy-toe around some serious themes - but there are upbeat moments as well.
Gameplay is easy for the most part. At times it can be a bit challenging, but nothing too difficult. However, the final boss fight was too annoying and frustrating for me to deal with, so I just watched the end on Youtube.
Largely enjoyable, unique game. Took me about 6 hours.
8/10
Cocoon
This is a very well-made puzzle game. I was immersed in its world quickly. After all the verbosity of another game, I was in the mood for something like this - quiet, non-verbal, atmospheric. The sound design is great. The art style is very slick, and the presentation overall is top-quality. I was immersed in the sense of mystery that the game creates, and there were many times when I would go "ooo" or "wow, cool" during the first half of the game.
I am not very fond of puzzle games normally. I don't like the feeling of getting frustrated with a game, and I don't have a lot of patience. However, this game did not try my patience until I got to about the 90% level. At that point, it got too finicky and abstract for me, and I was getting stumped over and over. It stopped being fun and started getting annoying, so I didn't finish it. But up until that point, I did enjoy it, so I have to give it credit. It's a cool little game.
8/10
Here are some other short games I tried recently:
If you have any short games you'd like to recommend, please put them in the thread. Thanks.
- Stray (9/10)
- Plague Tale: Innocence (8.5/10)
- A Short Hike (9/10)
- Bramble: The Mountain King (8/10)
- Cocoon (8/10)
Stray
What a charming little game. It has an innocent, sweet, and wholesome quality that is rare in games these days. The gameplay is old-fashioned and fairly simple. As far as I’m concerned, the simplicity of the gameplay is to its credit. I play games to relax and feel entertained, not to stress.
The developers mixed things up to keep it interesting. The story was good, as long as you don’t think too hard about it (ha). The length was perfect – about 8 hours in my case. It didn't overstay its welcome, and it wrapped up nicely. Well done, developers.
9/10
Plague Tale: Innocence
Stealth games aren't normally my thing, but I enjoyed Plague Tale: Innocence. I think that's because they kept the stealth easy enough that you didn't have to go through a lot of trial-and-error. The characters were good. Dialog was well-written and well-performed, not overdone or cheesy as it easily could have been. The developers did a good job of mixing things up by adding new characters, new locations, and new mechanics along the way.
I like the setting of the Middle Ages, and that helped. I think it's a fascinating period. I liked the main characters as well, Amecia and Hugo. The story was not unnecessarily padded out and ended as it should.
Enjoyable and immersive. My only complaint is that the difficulty spikes suddenly during the last level of the game. That took me by surprise, because the rest of the game was relatively easy and relaxed gameplay. Then suddenly you're getting clobbered. Part of that is because of the fiddly controls. This made the last chapter more frustrating than enjoyable for me. However, I did enjoy the rest of the game. Took me about 13 hours.
8.5/10
A Short Hike
This is a simple, easy adventure. I found it refreshing, relaxing, and fun. It has simple graphics, a pleasant natural setting, a lighthearted tone, and humor that works. The gameplay is simple and easy. The music is perfectly suited. The dialog is cute without being cloying, and the story is sweet without being sentimental.
Many games leave me feeling drained or “meh” after playing them. A Short Hike left me with a smile on my face. The game has a good heart, if you know what I mean. It was over in 4 hours, and I wanted it to continue. Very nice experience.
9/10
Bramble: The Mountain King
This is a unique adventure/platformer from a Swedish developer, based on Norwegian folktales. The uniqueness comes from the stark and beautiful visuals, the occasionally gruesome imagery, and the strange Scandinavian mix of light and dark tone. There are many grim scenes – the developers do not tippy-toe around some serious themes - but there are upbeat moments as well.
Gameplay is easy for the most part. At times it can be a bit challenging, but nothing too difficult. However, the final boss fight was too annoying and frustrating for me to deal with, so I just watched the end on Youtube.
Largely enjoyable, unique game. Took me about 6 hours.
8/10
Cocoon
This is a very well-made puzzle game. I was immersed in its world quickly. After all the verbosity of another game, I was in the mood for something like this - quiet, non-verbal, atmospheric. The sound design is great. The art style is very slick, and the presentation overall is top-quality. I was immersed in the sense of mystery that the game creates, and there were many times when I would go "ooo" or "wow, cool" during the first half of the game.
I am not very fond of puzzle games normally. I don't like the feeling of getting frustrated with a game, and I don't have a lot of patience. However, this game did not try my patience until I got to about the 90% level. At that point, it got too finicky and abstract for me, and I was getting stumped over and over. It stopped being fun and started getting annoying, so I didn't finish it. But up until that point, I did enjoy it, so I have to give it credit. It's a cool little game.
8/10
Here are some other short games I tried recently:
- Road 96 (7/10)
- Pentiment (7/10)
- RE 3 remake - only played half, not for me
- Forgotten City - only played half, too much yapping
- The Quarry (6/10)
- Spiritfarer - only played a few hours, got bored
- Deliver Us the Moon (7/10)
- Figment - only played half, didn't feel like continuing
- Indika (7.5/10)
- Nobody Wants to Die (7/10)
If you have any short games you'd like to recommend, please put them in the thread. Thanks.
