In today’s video game industry,relating quality to quantity seems to be a common trend. From concept designs to achievements, everything feels connected to the same goal: providing more hours of entertainment.
However, as titles are growing bigger and larger, the need forshorter and more compressed experiencesfeels even greater, with many players yearning for brief but passionate works.
If you agree with that vision, hoping to enjoy some games that don’t demand more time than you can give, discover these ephemeral masterpieces by checking our list of tenamazing games you can finish in one hour.
Microorganic Origins
Platform(s)
PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4
Developer(s)
ThatGameCompany
Sony Computer Entertainment
How Long To Beat
Before ThatGameCompany created hits likeJourneyorSky: Children of the Light, Jenova Chen made his first project:flOw, a unique game where you embody aquatic microorganisms trying to survive and evolve.
The purpose is to consume other microorganisms through mechanics resemblingSnakeandagar.io, displaying dynamic difficulty adjustment to help players naturally customize their experience.
Regardless, above all,it’s a game about relaxation,beautiful colors,and an immersive soundtrack, without challenges or strict objectives to avoid interfering with the leisure of a quick recreation session.
Supernatural Negligence
Horror, Walking Simulator
30 minutes
Bad Parentingis a short horror game with psychological and supernatural elements, and it’s also30 minutes focused on the wildest and most uncomfortable family dynamic you will ever witness.
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Based on the graphic style of 90s cartoons to emulate a nostalgic feeling, it’s heavily immersive and uncanny, with disturbing scenes that will easily leave a mark on you without relying on jump scares.
Simultaneously,Bad Parenting delivers a deep representation of domestic violence and childhood trauma, using subtle but meaningful symbols and metaphors that reinforce the game’s hostile, realistic setting.
Touching Cuisine
PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Visai Games
Venbais a short narrative cooking game that delves into the bitter-sweetness of immigration, the significance of family, and cuisine’s influence on cultural identity.
The experience emerges as a series ofcooking puzzlesin which you have to familiarize yourself with South Indian food to prepare accurate dishes. It’s also a heart-wrenching story of xenophobia, self-discovery, acceptance, and loss.
With a culturally pertinent soundtrack and a gorgeous art style,Venba has a warm understanding of the immigrant condition, which is even surprising given how profound it can be while only lasting for one hour.
La La Land: The Videogame
Android, iOS, PC, Nintendo Switch
Interactive novel, Mini-games
Florenceis an interactive adventure about love and life in the form of astory-driven puzzle, whose impact on La La Land fans and every human being with a heart is impossible to measure.
Though its mechanics are simple mini-games with various presentations, the title deals delicately with sensitive situations likeloss, feeling stuck in your twenties, and breaking up with the love of your life.
In the end,Florence is a sincere title bound to make you bawl, and that lasts half an hour. It will make you happy, sad, melancholic, and optimistic all in the space of a couple of minutes, so, trust me when I say, this one is unforgettable.
6Milk Inside A Bag Of Milk Inside A Bag Of Milk
Unexpected Reflections
Windows, macOS, Linux
Nikita Kryukov
Visual novel, Horror
15 minutes
Being the shortest and weirdest pick on the list,Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk is a short story gamein which you help a girl overcome her fear of little everyday challenges.
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At first glance, the game looks like another visual novel, butits depiction of psychological disorders is outstanding, taking the utmost advantage of the interactive medium to communicate a gruesome reality.
From mental illness to trauma and abusive family dynamics, Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk drops multiple emotional bombs without warning,truly pushing the boundaries of what video games can be.
5A Short Hike
This World Shall Know Peace
PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Adam Robinson-Yu
Open world, Adventure, Platformer
Unlike the titles above,A Short Hikepresents a small open-world adventure that engages the player through its many hidden collectibles and charming characters.
As an affable platformer with highlights all around, it offersamazing climbing mechanics, beautiful aesthetics, soothing music, and interesting side quests,catching you and not letting you go until it’s over.
Of course, its non-linear structure enables a longer experience, but its main story can be finished within an hour, which is more than enough to fully capture A Short Hike’s essence.
4TELEFORUM
Found Footage Done Right
Windows, macOS
Monumental Collab
45 minutes
TELEFORUMis a found-footage-styled horror game focused on visiting a widow’s apartment to decipher the mysteries surrounding her husband’s unexpected death.
With multiple endings, paths, and choices, every playthrough takes you a little closer to uncovering the secrets behind the puzzle-like story, adding up to less than an hour of content until you finally reach the end.
Thanks to its real-life visuals, frightening sound design, and terrific storytelling,it’s frankly surprising that it’s free, especially because it holds great overall quality in every relevant aspect for a good representative of the genre.
3Before Your Eyes
Prepare To Cry
PC, Android, iOS, PlayStation VR2
GoodbyeWorld Games
Narrative adventure
Although several video games require many hours to deliver a touching story,Before Your Eyesonly needs 60 minutes to become a life-changing experience.
This first-person narrative adventure allows you to control the story with your real-life blinks, affecting its outcomes but, more importantly, immersing you in its world. “Blink, and you’ll miss it” gets a new meaning withina game that literally and metaphorically will alter your brain chemistry.
As one of thebest short games with great stories,Before Your Eyes is memorable and inspiring, covering topics like death, illness, and grief with honesty and empathy in a very relatable way.
2Sludge Life
Vandalism Is Art
PC, Nintendo Switch
Terri Vellmann, Doseone
Open world, Adventure
Art is one of the most common and important forms of protest, andSludge Lifeis exactly that:a brutally self-conscious radiography of modern times that intensely wants to send a message.
Whether it’s art itself, substance abuse, corporate power, climate change, or the consequences of late-stage capitalism, this first-person open world is as versatile as direct, centering on exploring, NPC conversations, and graffiti.
It also has satisfying movement mechanics, an addictive mini-game, and some of the funniest lines of dialogue ever written in a video game. you’re able to spend more than an hour inside its world, butafter 45 minutes with it,you’ll already feel the sludge in your veins.
1The Stanley Parable
Revolutionary Masterpiece
PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Galactic Café
Walking simulator
Being part of the most revolutionary forms of interactive media the 21st century has witnessed,The Stanley Parableis directly one of the best indies of all time.
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These hoice-driven story games let you explore multiple perspectives of a story while delivering a unique experience with each playthrough.
By all means, it’s one of thebest short indie games, but calling it just as such is underrating what Galactic Cafe did: redefine the concept of narrative and freedom in video games.
It may sound excessive for a walking sim whose playthroughs are minutes long, but if that walking sim demolishes the fourth wall, pushes the limits of storytelling, and achieves cult status, it makes total sense for it to be considered art.The Stanley Parable is that,and probably more.
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