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Short Games feature
2023.04.30

Short Games

English

Who says you need to spend hours upon hours playing video games to have fun? Short video games are all the rage these days, and for good reason. They’re perfect for busy people who don’t have a lot of time to spare, but still want to enjoy a good gaming experience. Out of curiosity, I’ve asked ChatGPT to compile a list of 10 short PC games. You’ll never run out of options.

Some video games leaves us with a satisfying sense of completion and a hankering for more. Forget the drudgery of grinding through a seemingly never-ending RPG; these little charmers have mastered the art of making us feel like we’ve gotten our money’s worth, while still leaving us craving another serving.

In an era where our attention spans are shorter than a goldfish’s memory, these bite-sized gaming adventures save us from the dreadful FOMO of an unfinished saga. So, my fellow gamers, let’s raise our controllers to short video games, the sassy haikus of our digital lives – enticing, engaging, and ever so delightful. May they continue to deliver epic experiences in tiny packages, proving that great things truly come in small sizes.

But don’t just take my word for it. Pay attention to games that have good reviews, with good Metacritics score. These games may be short, but they pack a punch with amazing stories and fun gameplay. And who knows, you might even discover a new favorite game that you never would have tried otherwise.

Game HowLongToBeat (hours) Metacritic Own Played Finished
A Short Hike (8★★★★★★★★) 1,5 84 X X X
Abzû (6★★★★★★) 2,0 86 X X X
Anodyne 6,0 75 X
Ape Out (7★★★★★★★) 2,0 83 X X X
Before Your Eyes (8★★★★★★★★) 2,0 77 X X X
Braid (8★★★★★★★★) 6,0 90 X X X
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (8★★★★★★★★) 3,0 90 X X X
Carto 5,0 83
Celeste (7★★★★★★★) 9,0 94 X X X
Cloudpunk (7★★★★★★★) 8,0 75 X X X
Coffee Talk 3,0 74
Dear Esther (6★★★★★★) 1,5 75 X X X
Detention (7★★★★★★★) 4,0 83 X X
Doki Doki Literature Club! 4,0 78 X X
Donut County 2,0 75
Eastshade 9,0 81
Eliza 4,0 80
Evergarden 4,0 86
Everything 3,0 84
FAR: Lone Sails (5★★★★★) 3,0 83 X X
Fez (7★★★★★★★) 7,0 91 X X
Figment 5,0 76
Firewatch (8★★★★★★★★) 4,0 81 X X X
Florence (9★★★★★★★★★) 1,5 89 X X X
Forgotton Anne 6,0 79
Gemini Rue (4★★★★) 5,0 81 X X
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy 2,5 74
Gorogoa (7★★★★★★★) 2,0 81 X X X
Gris (8★★★★★★★★) 4,0 89 X X
Grow Home 4,0 75
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (8★★★★★★★★) 8,0 83 X X X
Her Story (7★★★★★★★) 2,5 91 X X X
Hidden Folks (7★★★★★★★) 2,0 85 X X
Hyper Light Drifter (5★★★★★) 8,0 84 X X
Hypnospace Outlaw 6,0 84
In Other Waters 5,5 80
Inside (8★★★★★★★★) 3,5 93 X X X
Into the Breach (7★★★★★★★) 7,0 90 X X
Journey 2,0 92
Journey to the Savage Planet 9,0 77
Katamari Damacy REROLL 5,0 84
Katana ZERO 4,0 83
Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to) 2,5 78
Later Alligator 4,0 87
LIMBO (8★★★★★★★★) 3,5 88 X X X
Little Nightmares (7★★★★★★★)Little Nightmares (8★★★★★★★★) 4,0 81 X X X
Minit (6★★★★★★) 1,5 80 X X X
MirrorMoon EP (6★★★★★★) 3,0 69 X X
Mo: Astray 8,0 80
Mutazione 6,0 82
My Friend Pedro 4,0 81
Necrobarista 4,0 78
Nidhogg (6★★★★★★) 1,0 85 X X X
Night in the Woods 8,0 88 X
Observation (7★★★★★★★) 6,0 76 X X
Old Man’s Journey 1,5 75
Orwell (7★★★★★★★) 5,0 77 X X X
Overcooked! (7★★★★★★★) 6,0 81 X
Oxenfree (7★★★★★★★) 4,5 80 X X
Papers, Please (7★★★★★★★) 4,0 85 X X X
Pikuniku (6★★★★★★) 3,0 80 X X X
Pony Island 2,0 86
Quadrilateral Cowboy (7★★★★★★★) 4,0 77 X X X
QUBE 2 (7★★★★★★★) 5,0 76 X X X
Rakuen 6,0 82
Refunct 1,0 77
Return of the Obra Dinn (9★★★★★★★★★) 6,0 89 X X X
Ruiner (6★★★★★★) 6,0 75 X X
Samorost 3 4,0 84
Sayonara Wild Hearts 2,0 89
Shady Part of Me 4,0 75
SOMA (6★★★★★★) 9,0 84 X X
Stacking (6★★★★★★) 3,5 82 X X X
Stories Untold (7★★★★★★★) 3,0 81 X X X
Subsurface Circular (7★★★★★★★) 2,0 75 X X X
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP 4,0 82 X X
Superliminal 2,5 78
Tacoma (7★★★★★★★) 2,5 76 X X X
Telling Lies 4,0 83
The Beginner’s Guide 1,5 76
The Fall (7★★★★★★★) 3,0 84
The Gardens Between 3,0 81
The Messenger 8,0 85
The Pathless 6,0 76
The Pedestrian 2,0 80
The Red Strings Club (6★★★★★★) 4,0 80 X X X
The Sexy Brutale 6,0 83 X X X
The Stanley Parable (7★★★★★★★) 1,5 88 X X
The Swapper (8★★★★★★★★) 5,0 87 X X X
The Unfinished Swan 3,0 77
Thomas Was Alone (8★★★★★★★★) 2,5 77 X X X
To the Moon 4,0 81 X
Transistor 5,0 83 X
Untitled Goose Game (7★★★★★★★) 2,0 80 X X X
Virginia (7★★★★★★★) 2,0 74 X X X
West of Loathing 7,0 89
What Remains of Edith Finch (8★★★★★★★★) 2,5 88 X X X
When the Past Was Around 2,0 77
Whispers of a Machine 6,0 81
World of Goo (9★★★★★★★★★) 4,0 90 X X X

Statistics

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s time to pull up a chair, grab some popcorn, and dive into the fascinating world of gaming stats!

Playtime to finish (hours)

1: *****
2: *************
3: *********
4: ***************
5: **********
6: ************
7: ***
8: *****
9: ***

Metacritic Ratings

60-69: *
70-79: ***********************
80-89: ************************************
90-99: ******

My Ratings (from those I’ve played)

4: *
5: **
6: ********
7: ******************
8: ************
9: **

The Metacritic score (from those I’ve played). You can see I a bit more harsh.

60-69: *
70-79: **************
80-89: ***********************
90-99: ***

Finally, a cheeky little “formula” to predict the Metacritic score based on game length! Behold:

score = 80 + length * 0.36. Sure, the score might slightly improve as the game gets longer, but it’s nothing to write home about. So, worry not, short-game aficionados, you’re still in for a whale of a time!

Well, it turns out I’ve been playing these bite-sized gaming bonanzas quite a bit. Who would’ve thought that my inner explorer and experimenter would find such joy in these compact yet captivating digital adventures? It’s like a custom-tailored playground for my curiosity, with each game offering a unique world to uncover and a fresh challenge to tackle. The evidence is irrefutable – these short video games are not just a passing fad, but a delightful match for my gaming personality. So here’s to more exploration, experimentation, and, of course, to the unadulterated joy of discovering new universes in the world of short video games!


Bruno MASSA