One reader lists a number of games that can be completed in an afternoon but are just as fun as those that take longer.
Whether you have a limited amount of time to spend on gaming, or just want a quick change of pace between 100-hour role-playing games, it's fun to take your time playing a game, knowing you can experience everything it has to offer in a few hours. Here are our top 20 games you can complete in under 5 hours.
Played from a top-down perspective, Ape Out requires players to guide a gorilla through a series of maze-like levels, avoiding or killing a multitude of enemies along the way. The unique graphic style, responsive jazz soundtrack and fast-paced gameplay will provide hours of fun.
19) 10 Second Ninja
As the title suggests, players take on the role of a ninja with 10 seconds to defeat each enemy in each level. It requires quick fingers, to be sure, but tight controls and a well-balanced learning curve mean there's always that “just one more go.”
A laid-back game where the ultimate goal is to reach the top of the mountain, A Short Hike allows players to explore the game world at their own pace and freely interact with its various inhabitants. Despite the lack of challenge or traditional gameplay, it was hard not to be captivated by its charm.
A well-designed and often highly entertaining commentary on the nature and story structure of video games. Traditional gameplay is almost nonexistent here, instead players simply make decisions as they need to. Each run lasts 10-15 minutes, but most players will find themselves wanting to play through it multiple times to see what they can discover.
16) Hex
Six video game protagonists are told by a bartender that someone is plotting murder, setting off a series of flashbacks across multiple gaming genres and the discovery of dark secrets. It's very strange, but if you're looking for something a little different, give it a try.
Combining a terrifying atmosphere with clever physics-based platforming and puzzles, Little Nightmares is well worth playing, despite some slightly awkward controls and camera angles.
Superhot's clever combat system – enemies only move when you move – works extremely well with or without VR, making both versions well worth playing.
A puzzle-focused horror game based on Scandinavian folklore, Year Walk evokes a terrifying yet strangely beautiful atmosphere that has stayed with me ever since. Turn off the lights, put on your headphones, and prepare to embark on a unique journey.
A 2D action-platformer in which players use a variety of abilities to dodge attacks and defeat enemies, Katana Zero's fast-paced gameplay and complex storyline make it a fun (and often challenging) way to spend a few hours.
Gameplay-wise, Pony Island consists mostly of endless runner-style segments and abstract puzzles, but it packs an incredible amount of surprises into its short running time, making it unlike any game you've played before.
My advice when playing Inside is to go in knowing as little as possible, so suffice it to say that Inside is a 2D puzzle platformer with a beautifully realized aesthetic that makes for a bleak, yet highly memorable, experience.
9) My Friend Pedro
My Friend Pedro is a side-scrolling shooter where players have access to a variety of special skills, such as slowing down or splitting their aim to attack two enemies at once. It's a very fun game, and one that will have you playing the levels multiple times to improve your score.
A minimalist approach to storytelling (think ICO or Journey) combined with excellent climbing mechanics and breathtaking scenery makes Jusant a thoroughly enjoyable gaming experience.
Hotline Miami's difficulty level may take some people over five hours to play through, but its fast-paced, puzzle-like 2D gameplay is incredibly fun and pairs beautifully with the quirky atmosphere.
A clever gameplay twist – players control two brothers simultaneously using the two halves of the control pad – and a notably emotional story with a moving conclusion make Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons one of the best puzzle platformers of all time, regardless of its length.
Depending on your puzzle-solving abilities, Braid might take you a bit longer than five hours, but its time-control mechanics were so novel for the time and have yet to be truly beaten in the genre that it had to be included on this list.
It's an old-school side-scrolling 2D shooter with a clever time-travel mechanic, allowing players to rewind to any point in time and fight alongside previous challenges in that level. It's very well done, forcing players to set up each run just the right way to ensure they beat the strict time limit.
Of course, you can play Tetris almost forever, but the real meat of Tetris Effect is the 27-level Journey mode, which takes 3-4 hours to complete. Played in VR, the way the music and graphics react to your actions is truly mesmerizing and worth a try for any Tetris fan.
Aside from a few simple puzzles, Journey has very little traditional gameplay, but the visual and audio design, along with the superbly implemented online multiplayer, combine to create a compelling and truly memorable experience.
1) Portal
With clever physics-based puzzles and a quirky sense of humor, Portal was unlike anything gamers had ever seen before, and to me it remains the greatest puzzle game of all time. The sequel is a bit longer, but it's also fantastic.
By reader drlowdon
Readers' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of GameCentral or Metro.
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