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[JusticeForAll]

Because of a busy job and family life, I have to be selective about games I choose to play. Even one game a month, is quite often a stretch.

So sometimes, while waiting for the release of a bigger title I'm looking forward to, I don't want to start a "big game" from my backlog, but prefer to play some shorter experiences. As a palate cleanser between the bigger time sinks, one might say.

For example, I'm eagerly looking forward to Indiana Jones for my PS5Pro, but now I actually have some time for myself and want to play some games. But one thing is important: it needs to be finished before Indiana Jones is out. In other words: a short, high quality, single player experience is what I'm looking for.

Am I the only one in this case? Or do most people play the big releases back to back?

I'm any case, I could use some recommendations, GAF. Can be any genre really.

 

[NeonGhost]

valiant hearts

 

[JusticeForAll]

valiant hearts

Played it. One of the only games that brought me to tears, actually. This is the kind of game I'm looking for though.

 

[NeonGhost]

Played it. One of the only games that brought me to tears, actually. This is the kind of game I'm looking for though.

Did you play the sequel?

 

[Grizzled Ghost]

Recently had a similar dilemma when looking to clear out my backlog.

My advice: go to howlongtobeat.com, synch your Steam account, and sort by time to beat.

Not sure if it works for consoles.


Recently I've wanted to figure out what everyone loves about Mario Galaxy so I've been playing one galaxy a night between other games. Any game with similarly short levels or runs would work well.

 

[bitbydeath]

Binding of Isaac.
You can easily spend thousands of hours playing but you only need to play for 30mins to an hour each run.

 

[JusticeForAll]

Did you play the sequel?

To be fair, I didn't know there was one. I will look into it. Thanks!

 

[Vlodril]

Killer frequency is a very nice short game.

 

[ADiTAR]

Hades, Chants of Sannarr, Into the Breach.

 

[Cakeboxer]

12 minutes
Graveyard Keeper
Core Kepper
Pentiment
Grounded
Ravenous Devils
Two Point Museum/Hospital/Campus

 

[N0S]

Astro Bot

 

[IAmRei]

not small games, but I occasionally play MK8 with friends, offline. or mario strikers with 8 players offline, mostly became too noisy : ))
i did this since eons ago, playing short term games, like racing or simple multiplayer games

 

[existensmaximum]

The Plucky Squire!

 

[Labadal]

Mark of the Ninja. Why do I recommend it now? I have been thinking about a sequel that will never happen.

 

[Quixz]

These should keep you busy and you can quit without wasting a lot of money.

 

[Lupin3]

A Short Hike.

 

[drganon]

Robocop rogue city

 

[Matt_Fox]

I just completed 'Thank Goodness You're Here' in a single evening - it's a perfect little palette cleanser. Particularly if you're British and you grew up with comics like The Beano and Viz...

 

[hemo memo]

12 minutes

This and:

Inscryption

 

[Darsxx82]

Little Nightmare 1 &/or 2.

I always recommend these to people who haven't played it in general, but especially to people in your situation.

 

[GudOlRub]

Mafia 1 Remake and Titanfall 2 both have pretty short but engaging campaigns.
Something other than shooters, Mirror's Edge can also be finished quite quickly, and recently I played The Invincible, it's more of an interactive experience rather than a game, but it was pretty cool.

 

[Hypereides]

Are you looking for some casual or more hardcore to bridge the gap in-between bigger titles? Steel assault is short (5 stages), good quality as far as 2D visuals go, but its pretty challenging. Can recommend it, if you're a fan of old school arcade games.

 

[Hashassin]

Mirror's edge and catalyst are fantastic for an in between. Easy to jump in and do a run.

I also like the older resident evils, short stories but engaging.

Metal gear solid 1 and 2 are also great. 3 can also be done in the fast lane but I like to take my time with that game. Crawling around, scoping out enemies is fantastic.

And if course, Pokémon! The kanto games are not too long, and with hacks there's a myriad of variation to play around with.

 

[RickMasters]

Tunic
Coccoon
Deaths door
Hades
Wreckfest
Steep
Riders republic



I think retro bundles are good inbetweeners too. Stuff like capcom arcade and beat em up collections. Konami collections ( gradius, castlevania) and the SNK ultimate collection is pretty cool. Darius collection on steam is a good pick up and play shmup to this day.


I still play quake and doom expansions for a quick blast too.

 

[TheUnicornGuy]

Don't think anyone else has mentioned vampire survivors yet. It's great for wasting a bit of time, especially as you can afk it after a few minutes if you want.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Astroneer, No Man's Sky, Palworld, Forever Skies, Subnautica & Below Zero... only to name a few

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

Astroneer, No Man's Sky, Palworld, Forever Skies, Subnautica & Below Zero... only to name a few

Subnautica is one of the most addictive, time-pisses-away games I've ever played. I fucking LOVE that game but I always ended up ruining the day with it lol

 

[Represent.]

SIFU

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Subnautica is one of the most addictive, time-pisses-away games I've ever played. I fucking LOVE that game but I always ended up ruining the day with it lol

Couldn't agree more!!!

Can't wait for the sequel coming next year.

 

[Futaleufu]

Dusk and Hrot

 

[Fbh]

What about Hi fi Rush?

It's a around 10 hours long

 

[yamaci17]

pumpkin jack
funny and short game

 

[PeteBull]

Spiritual successor of dungeon keeper from bullfrog back in the 90s, it has warctaft3 elements too, great sense of humor, light story and actually tens of hours of content even if u play it on easiest mode

 

[Sooner]

SIFU

NO YOU SIFU!!

 

[LavitzSlambert]

I've been doing this for years, subscribe to my newsletter. You didn't give much info but here's a bunch I can vouch for that you can play on a PS5, under 15 hours unless you are doing everything.

- Ace Combat 7
- Animal Well
- Astro Bot
- Astro's Playroom
- Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
- Doki Doki Literature Club Plus
- Journey
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Resident Evil 2 Remake
- Resident Evil 3 Remake
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Stray
- The Messenger
- The Quarry
- Uncharted: Lost Legacy
- Until Dawn

 

[semiconscious]

any of the dark pictures games by supermassive:

 

[TwiztidElf]

Kunitsu-Gami

 

[Humdinger]

You could try A Short Hike. It's about 4 or 5 hours, and it's very good. Casual, friendly, relaxing. "Cozy" game. Very good palette cleanser.

I'd also recommend Stray and Valiant Hearts, if you haven't played them already. Both really fine games.

 

[Edellus]

You're definitely not the only one. I also play "palate cleansers" in-between games. Specially in between open world games. It's one of my biggest uses for PS plus, actually.

For instance, I finished base game Monster Hunter World. Then I played Disco Elysium as palate cleanser. Now I'm replaying The Witcher 3. When I'm done with TW3 I'll play some other palate cleanser and will likely continue with Monster Hunter World Iceborne.

I do it this way mainly because I fear I'd get burned out pretty quickly otherwise. So far this strategy has worked great for me. I avoid getting burned out and I also add variety to what I play.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Enslaved odyssey to the west I was lucky enough to play it nobody should miss out on that game.

 

[Metnut]

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

 

[simpatico]

Butcher's Creek. Love letter to Condemned Criminal Origins. It's short and simple. Mostly just an experience in atmosphere and theme. Really nails what it's going for. Priced accordingly.

 

[deriks]

Mario Wonder

You can finish a stage in a few minutes, and all of them are fun as hell

 

[larrybrady]

I'm playing this genre mash up of platforming and pinball combined called yokus island express… it's a platformer which utilizes pinball mechanics, fun chill game. Got it 2 days ago for $3.99 on the psn spring sale