Echo

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
6,482
Mt. Whatever
Ah, Silky being cranky as usual.

Pretty sure every publisher that isn't Sony or Ubisoft has at least something for you. Hell, hop on over to Steam with any half-decent toaster and you can find a wide breadth of indie games which range on the shorter side and also tend to be cheap. Lots of gems to sort through.

Alternatively you could maybe look for some MP games to waste time with. Play a few matches, turn it off at your leisure. Whenever I'm burned out on story or lengthy SP games I'll just play some MP for a while until I remember how much I hate playing with fellow humans.
 

SageShinigami

Member
Oct 27, 2017
30,683
Admittedly, I hopped in this thread completely ready to get in OP's ass about the "virtue of short games", but then I read his actual post. He's just looking for recs, this shouldn't be an opinion thread lol.

Who the fuck plays video games for six hours straight??????????

What kind of deodorant-abrasive sludge waste you gotta be to binge that much for gaming???? Six hours??????????????

That will not be me. 2 hours alone gives me a headache. Georgia weather is lovely

But this take is spicy. You gotta chill. I accept people saying they don't take video games seriously, but they gotta be doing hella shit otherwise.
 

Instro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,181
I could use a shorter game right now. I'm in the midst of finishing my original playthrough Divinity Original Sin 2, which I had started a while back but put it down for Odyssey and some other stuff. I'm nearly 100 hours deep and I still have a fair amount to go. The next games on my backlog are the likes of Persona 5, Witcher 3, Dark Souls 3, Horizon, etc...so pretty daunting. Might have to pick something else before I dive into any of those.
 

eXistor

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,417
Some games really are too long, and all for the wrong reasons. I don't mind if a game is 60+ hours, but only if you can give me enough diverse content to justify such a length. A properely paced, dense 8-hour game leaves much more of a mark on me most of the time. And what's more: I'll never replay a 60 hour game (unless you're Zelda) but I will replay a short game. As much as I love Xenoblade X and 2 (games I put a good 90-100 hours into each), they could have easily gotten rid of certain parts and made it a tighter and just plain better experience overall.
 

Linus815

Member
Oct 29, 2017
20,131
Who the fuck plays video games for six hours straight??????????

What kind of deodorant-abrasive sludge waste you gotta be to binge that much for gaming???? Six hours??????????????

That will not be me. 2 hours alone gives me a headache. Georgia weather is lovely

are you seriously asking this on a gaming forum, haha
 

squall23

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,850
I have a full time job and I'm usually a little disappointed when a short game I like isn't longer. Hell, I'm the kind of guy that wishes Persona 5 was longer. I just wanted more and more of it.
 

Deleted member 19218

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,323
Mate. I got Breath of The Wild in December. It's the only game I play, I still havn't beaten it.

When I am done I look forward to DOOM.
 

Horned Reaper

Member
Nov 7, 2017
1,560
Could you maybe update the OP with mores specific things you look for in these short games? People generally love giving specific recommendations, but the OP turned this into a complaint thread. Like Telltale games are pretty short, but don't have much gameplay, Journey is short but may be too artsy/indie.
 
Oct 25, 2017
607
Episodic games are good for this. Life is Strange helped me get back into gaming after I hadn't finished a game in over two years – the bitesize chunks it came in made it far easier to digest.

So along those lines, I'd also recommend Hitman Season 1 and Tales from the Borderlands. You may need more self-control with episodic games that are already complete. Try to leave a couple months between each episode to avoid burnout (they have recaps if necessary, because this is how they were originally made to be played).

I'd also strongly recommending jumping in on the next episodic game that interests you at all on release, being part of the community discussing it can be just as fun as playing the game itself.
 
Oct 26, 2017
5,240
Admittedly, I hopped in this thread completely ready to get in OP's ass about the "virtue of short games", but then I read his actual post. He's just looking for recs, this shouldn't be an opinion thread lol.
That ain't the original op. Was just the bottom drunken rant about how he wished all games were shorter. Wasn't much to say beyond i agree, i disagree, or congrats on the opinion.

Personally, I'm fine playing long games for months or quitting games i don't feel like playing anymore. But some people feel like they have to finish everything so what ought to be entertainment turns into work and that's a shame
 

Aters

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
7,948
I want 6-8 hour games with high production value and $30 price tag. Basically, something like Hellblade.
 

ShinySunny

Banned
Dec 15, 2017
1,730
So...OP just spent 3hrs on the forum, and he wanted an 8hrs game?
He basically used up 1/2 of his time already for today instead of playing a random game.
 

Unaha-Closp

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,759
Scotland
How long to beat dot com is probably your friend OP. Or maybe you could get into speed running. They finish long ass games in minutes. Or you could mentally decide that any 6 hour playtime constitutes 1 game. So a 60 hour game is in fact 10 games. Talk about value! There are lots of short games though - probably more than there has ever been ever. Hope you find what you are looking for. I'm so balls deep inside The Witcher 3 at the moment I can't think of any recommendations that you wouldn't already know about.
 

JumpCancel

Member
Oct 26, 2017
630
The Last Day of June is a short story focused indie game that's a one-and-done. Light puzzle elements and plenty of charm.
 

Hoo-doo

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
4,292
The Netherlands
Honestly, I despise this mindset. At least, the mindset put forward in the title, implying that games in general should be shorter or something.

I'm a busy person with a lot on my plate during my everyday life. I don't have much time for videogames.
But i'll always respect a game that offers a lot of content for my 60$. Look at God of War, it has dozens of hours of content and none of it feels rushed, poorly made or filler content.
It might take me weeks or a completely free weekend to go through it, and I welcome that immensely. Last thing I need is a 6 hour romp where I end up feeling like 'that's it?'
 

Fitts

You know what that means
Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,442
OP, most games are 6-8 hours... they just add another 10 hours of cutscenes and 20 hours of navigating an uninteresting world on top of it. (only semi joking)

To answer more directly, the last AAA/full priced game that I finished in one sitting (minus a break here and there) was Bayonetta 2 when it originally released on the Wii U. Think it was around 8-10 hours the first time through and absolutely felt as though I got my money's worth. Perfectly paced with just enough story to break up the action without getting bogged down by it.
 

DvdGzz

Banned
Mar 21, 2018
3,580
There are short games for people who want short games and vice versa. I would never buy a SP game with a less than 10 hours story unless it was $20.
 

Minsc

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
4,227
I honestly see no difference in 10 enjoyable 6 hour games and 1 enjoyable 60 hour game, except you are paying more for the 10 6 hour games.

But your choice, I don't care. Here's what you need to do.

Go to https://howlongtobeat.com/

Click search. Then click options. Put in 6 or 7 (hell or 8 if you're feeling adventurous) to the maximum game length option. Viola! Hundreds of games to pick from that are under your desired length.
 

R.T Straker

Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,715

alr1ght

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,164
People love getting "value" out of their games even if that "value" is meaningless boring filler. That game that has 8 hours of content can easily be turned into 30 with a little bit of copy/pasting and people love it. It's why this gen is by far, by far the worst when it comes to AAA games.

They're like movies before they've been edited. "4 hour movies, nice!" said no one.
 

Minsc

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
4,227
You should also read / follow this thread. People there tend to play quite a lot of shorter games, even games under 1 hour in length, but it's very common for people to list out dozens of short games in a row in that thread.

Also, by in large, the entire genre of Adventure games tends to be shorter experiences, generally in the 8 or less hour range, so follow that thread too.
 

SweetVermouth

Banned
Mar 5, 2018
4,272
I dislike the mindset that every game has to be super long. That's why all these Zelda games got more and more stuffed with uninteresting garbage.

When I buy games I factor in replay value. That's why the Mega Man games are so great. I can beat them in a single sitting and I replay them a lot. I'm not paying more than 30 bucks for a game I only play once. That's why I resell more expensive ones to get money back.
 

jahasaja

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
793
Sweden
As somebody who have little time I do not understand the idea that games have to be shorter to enjoyable.

I would argue that the issue instead is that some games needs long game sessions to be enjoyable. That kind of games I cannot play anymore. I think I would love the Witcher 3 if I played it 10 years ago but I cannot see myself enjoy it today. Monster Hunter I have put a lot of hours in (80+) since it is perfectly enjoyable in short game sessions.

Generally speaking games with a lot of cut-scenes I found really hard to enjoy with my limited free time.
 

Creamium

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,788
Belgium
I get it, I love short games too. It is pretty hard to make a sp game that's well designed and engaging for 20 hours or more. Not every game can do what RE4 did back in the day. Here are some recommendations from the last years that should suit your need

INSIDE
Steamworld Dig 2
Momodora IV: Reverie Under the Moonlight
Uncharted: Lost Legacy
The Sexy Brutale
Undertale
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap
The Beginner's Guide (only 1,5 hours)
Tales from the Borderlands
Oxenfree
 

SageShinigami

Member
Oct 27, 2017
30,683
That ain't the original op. Was just the bottom drunken rant about how he wished all games were shorter. Wasn't much to say beyond i agree, i disagree, or congrats on the opinion.

Personally, I'm fine playing long games for months or quitting games i don't feel like playing anymore. But some people feel like they have to finish everything so what ought to be entertainment turns into work and that's a shame

Oh. Then yeah it's hard to even see OP's point of view. He's talking about not having time for long games but mentions a good game having replayability. That's a difference in design ethos--I ain't got time to replay shit, I'm busy hacking through a new game, fam.
 

JP Cubish

Member
Nov 6, 2017
81
I agree. I especially hate long games where you can't distinguish between the meaningful optional content and filler trash.
 

Kinggroin

Self-requested ban
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
6,392
Uranus, get it?!? YOUR. ANUS.
OP, I 100% agree.

I'd play way more traditional videogames if we had a lot more 4-6 hour AAA titles.

As such, I've found a lot of satisfaction in VR gaming. There are enough quality titles that only demand 2 hours or so to complete. A bit on the short side, but coupled with the benefits of a quality virtual reality setup - it'll more than suffice.
 

ClickyCal'

Member
Oct 25, 2017
60,393
I buy THQ Nordic and Focus Home titles and hang the reciepts on my walls for them (yes I buy digital games come on man)

So yeah. You know what's good, short game? The Council. Real good stuff.



I literally do not care about any of those things because I either beat it already or have no interest.

Linear games aren't necessarily "short.". Uncharted is pretty damn long.
You can beat uncharted 1 in one 7-8 hours.
 

JP Cubish

Member
Nov 6, 2017
81
Game Sack also made a video about this recently. I haven't cared about CoD's campaigns for a long time, but the flying section at 21:15 looks amazing.
 

Necron

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,419
Switzerland
People in this thread equating quantity with a price point ("I'd only pay $20 for a 10 hour game!") are exactly the problem. This is why we have so many unnecessarily bloated, often open-world games with filler content.

Judged by how many copies all these Ubisoft games sell, however, it seems we're in the minority, OP. Shame really...

Edit: I realise this is all subjective. But there are enough options nowadays to quickly and without much effort to make the game longer/bigger. There's no denying this repetitive content, filling checklists and hundreds of symbols on a map. So with that in mind, I have no problems with a game being long if the content is varied and interesting but that's all very relative again.
 
Last edited:
Dec 20, 2017
1,094
Yeah no, I can get not wanting a bunch of filler, but you're not on a clock. Play it for a while, if you lose interest come back to it after you play something else.
 
Dec 13, 2017
58
You gotta admit that your premise will look weird to us (ridiculous even for some other) ....when many think that they are already catering to folks like you , by cutting short games from genre that should be long enough . I mean you're already called something like Horizon "too long" , when you can't exactly create an open world game that would be shorter than the standard length of assassin creed (it's usually quite short for the genre if you just focus on the main story) . The whole point of open world games is to travel through its world , even with massive handheld and guiding .

Just pick stuff like modern fps and tps campaign , some good indies few other genres ... they are often short for the comfort of people like you .
 
Last edited:

Deleted member 16849

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,167
I'm in the same boat as the OP.

Also If any dev tries to use longer game length to sell their game to me they are doing the opposite and putting it on the ignore list. I got no time for 30+ hour games anymore. 6-12 hours is the sweet spot fot me.
 
Oct 25, 2017
7,510
I never got this line of thinking, even when I'm busy I can just pop back into a game like Witcher or Horizon and play that for an hour or 2 before my next session.
 
Dec 13, 2017
58
I'm in the same boat as the OP.

Also If any dev tries to use longer game length to sell their game to me they are doing the opposite and putting it on the ignore list. I got no time for 30+ hour games anymore. 6-12 hours is the sweet spot fot me.

I can't say that i get such mindset personally . Plenty of us got period when it's hard , even impossible to commit to regularly playing a long game . I've had period when i had to finish a megami tensei title over the course of 6 months .... Does not mean that because some games are long , that they are just full of filler content to bloat a game and would only be interesting for a short time . I don't think most people that enjoyed say the Witcher 3 felt cheated over its length , and had to face Dragon Age Inquisition/Assassin Creed level of bloated content .

I'd see nothing wrong with playing the Witcher 3 a few hours only per weeks , instead of settling for anything shorter , and convincing myself that anything longer is bloated
 

Lukemia SL

Member
Jan 30, 2018
9,400
OP has shit to do, might be the only one with shit to do. The way you're acting you'd think developers didn't implement a save function to just play games in short bursts.

You must have lots of shit to do.
 

MrH

Banned
Nov 3, 2017
3,995
I completely agree that games are too long, it feels like devs stuff them full of filler to justify the high price tag. The sweet spot for me is around 8-12 hours.
 

Arebours

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,656
Play games for as long as you are having a good time. See, all your problems solved. It's all about having a good time, not plowing through content or "completing". Once you realize that you understand that the amount of time you spend on a game is irrelevant.

It's up to you to respect your time not the game.