Best games that can be completed in under ten hours? - eviltoast

So this isn’t directly related to patientgaming but my hardware and personal tastes kind of filter me to playing games no newer than five years old.

I’m looking for some recommendations for games that can be completed within ten hours. I’ve realized recently that this is the sweet spot how much I enjoy playing a game before I get bored of it. I’m open to all types of games. Thanks in advance!

    • PP_GIRL_OP
      8•6 months ago

      Awesome game, it was one of the first I ever played on my friends’ Xbox

        • @Chobbes@lemmy.world
          1•6 months ago

          I was a little disappointed with Superliminal. Really short and I didn’t think the puzzles got very interesting. I was excited about the concept, but it really didn’t live up to my expectations. Glad you liked it, though! I think it was maybe just a little overhyped for me.

          If you’re looking for other games in this style… The Turing Test was decent and short, and Lightmatter is pretty unknown and decent. They’re not as polished as Portal, obviously, but they’re both relatively short puzzle games. I think the puzzles in Turing Test were pretty straightforward. The Lightmatter puzzles were a bit more interesting, I think.

            • @Chobbes@lemmy.world
              1•6 months ago

              They’re nice. I wouldn’t be surprised if you liked Superliminal more because I think it’s a more unique concept than either. It’s been a while since I played either, but I think Lightmatter was a more unique concept for puzzles than Turing Test, but Turing Test had some reasonably interesting stuff going on story wise (not amazing, but I have a bit of a soft spot for the kind of Chinese Room philosophy stuff). Either way, they’re worth a look, I think! Sometimes you just want something to scratch the first person puzzle itch and there aren’t thaaaat many games in the category!

  • @SzethFriendOfNimi@lemmy.world
    61•6 months ago

    Outer wilds. It can be longer for some but finishing it in a single sitting or two it hits best. A deep emotional experience that you can only ever truly experience truly the first time. So avoid spoilers at all costs.

    Also Firewatch

    • @DashboTreeFrog@discuss.onlineEnglish
      21•6 months ago

      Was gonna say Outer Wilds as well. It’s such an amazing experience and kind of made me rethink what video games can be as art and just… an experience. Can be finished really quick though for me it took a good chunk of time.

      I’ll also reiterate, don’t look up spoilers. The game is so much about exploration and discovery that going in blind is best.

      • @SzethFriendOfNimi@lemmy.world
        9•6 months ago

        It truly is something special. Every time it’s on sale I end up buying a key and giving it to somebody I know just so they can experience it.

  • mrbubblesort
    49•6 months ago

    A Short Hike is a great little platformer you can finish in a couple hours.

    Super Mario RPG is a classic and can be squeezed into 10 hours if you rush, but probably closer to 12~15.

  • TheHellDoIKnow
    43•6 months ago

    Journey is a game that has stuck with me for the past ten years. It took me an hour and a half to complete.

  • @NeryK@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    37•6 months ago

    Ordered-ish by recommendation:

    • SUPERHOT (it’s the most innovative shooter I’ve played in years)
    • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
    • Sayonara Wild Hearts
    • Carrion
    • Planet of Lana
    • Jusant
    • The Artful Escape
    • The Gunk
  • @sonovebitch@lemmy.world
    34•6 months ago

    I always check https://howlongtobeat.com/ before starting a new game

    I also tend to prefer games that are short.

    Here are a couple of my PC recommandations, in no specific order :

    Somerville

    Jusant

    Planet of Lana

    Limbo + Inside

    Little Nightmares 1 + 2

    Cocoon

    Solar Ash

    Tunic

    Cult If The Lamb

    Have A Nice Death

    Death’s Door

    Stray

    Trek To Yomi

  • @sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
    21•6 months ago

    I also love short-ish games, so hopefully one of these strikes your fancy. You didn’t specify a preferred genre or other games you liked, so I’m going to just throw some out there:

    Adventure/Puzzle

    • Stacking - fun adventure puzzle game based on matryoshka dolls
    • Little Nightmares - fantastic puzzle game stuff great atmosphere and horror elements; similar to INSIDE and Limbo
    • Abzû - underwater exploration with light puzzle mechanics
    • Ys 1 and 2 - pretty old, but it’s my favorite Ys game; Ys Origin is a bit newer, but also a bit longer (~11 hours per playthrough, need 3 for full story, but each plays differently)

    Puzzle

    • Manifold Garden - puzzle game where you manipulate gravity
    • Hexlogic - sudoku-like
    • SUPERHOT - shooter that plays like a puzzle game
    • Magrunner - just ignore the story, the puzzles are pretty good
    • Portal - the OG puzzle game, must play if you haven’t; second is about twice as long

    ARPG/Souls-like

    • Death’s Door - just started, but it’s looking good
    • Ittle Dew - Zelda-like with lots of satire about the genre
    • Furi - boss rush only
    • Titan Souls - boss rush, but both you and the boss has 1HP

    Narrative heavy

    • Telltale Batman or The Walking Dead - narrative heavy game with walking simulator sections; choices matter (but not a ton); great if you want a decent interactive story
    • What Remains of Edith Finch - explore your old home to learn everyone’s secrets
    • Oxenfree - explore Island to uncover its secrets; replay value for alternate endings

    Metroidvania

    • Headlander - Metroidvania where you play as a disembodied head that can attach to other bodies
    • Ori and the Blind Forest

    Point and Click

    • Darkside Detective - point and click with a great sense of humor
    • Broken Age - you’re a virgin about to be sacrificed, and you’re not sold on the idea
    • Deponia - earth is completely wrecked, and you want off; quite funny

    AAA/high production value

    • Ryse: Son of Rome - not amazing, but a pretty satisfyingly average experience
    • Call of Juarez: Gunslinger - shooter a bit after the US civil war

    I have more, just let me know what you like and I can try to give more recs.

        • @SolOrion@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          2•6 months ago

          Gone Home was good, yes!

          I feel like it generates way more of a spooky atmosphere, too. I honestly thought I was playing a horror game for the first half, before I finally realized it wasn’t going to jump scare me and I could relax.

          In a similar vein, The Suicide Of Rachel Foster is a decent experience. It’s not nearly as good, to be clear, but it’s worth playing imo. It’s much creepier, however.

      • @sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
        1•6 months ago

        Dear Esther was similar, but less of a game and more of an audio visual experience. Some I haven’t played yet:

        • Before Your Eyes
        • Vanishing of Ethan Carter
    • @Jawa@lemmy.world
      2•6 months ago

      I just finished Deaths Door and it was a very enjoyable game to play on the go or in bed (steamdeck). Took me about 17 hours to finish it.

  • @sp6@lemmy.world
    20•6 months ago

    Well-reviewed games you can 100% in less than 10hrs:

    • Portal
    • The Henry Stickmin Collection
    • OneShot
    • Stray
    • Grimm’s Hollow
    • Any of The Room games
    • Pineapple on Pizza
    • There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension
    • Doki Doki Literature Club
    • TOEM
    • Finding Paradise
    • The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
    • CULTIC
    • Gorogoa
    • The Case of the Golden Idol

    Well-reviewed games you can probably beat in around 10hrs, but not quite 100%:

    • Portal 2
    • Vampire Survivors
    • Pizza Tower
    • Katana ZERO
    • A Hat in Time
    • Resident Evil 2
    • Hotline Miami
    • The Wolf Among Us
    • Undertale
    • Papers, Please
    • Baba Is You
    • DUSK
    • POSTAL 2
    • Outlast

    Edit: formatting is pain

    Edit 2: I missed the part about low-end hardware, but it sounds like the only ones of these you may not be able to run are Stray and Resident Evil 2

  • ParanomalyEnglish
    17•6 months ago

    In no particular order:

    Metal Gear Rising Revengence

    Psychonauts 1

    Bladed Fury

    Ori and the Blind Forest

    Titanfall 2

    OneShot

    Undertale

    Unpacking

    Portal/Portal 2

    Bastion/Transistor

    Any member of the Shadowrun RPG trilogy

    Little Inferno

    Planetarian

  • @Ludrol@szmer.info
    16•6 months ago

    Antichamber - old revolutionary puzzle game, confusing at times
    Baba is you - a great puzzle game
    Outer wilds - experience that is one in a lifetime, go in blind
    Return of obra dinn - you are a detective

    • @privacyn@feddit.it
      1•6 months ago

      How can you finish Outer Wilds in less than 10 hours, it’s 10 hours that I’m wandering around and I still don’t get what to do!

      • @Ludrol@szmer.info
        2•6 months ago

        To finish under 10 hours you need to get lucky and cut out some lore from the playthrough. Usuall playthrough is a bit longer.

        I could get you to explain what have you discovered already but as it is now Lemmy devs have a negative position to implement proper spoiler support. Just open ship log (journal?)(I don’t remember the name) and follow the question marks.

  • @Teodomo@lemmy.world
    15•6 months ago

    Games of about 10hs from before 2019?

    • King of Dragon Pass: Tribe management game/text adventure with illustrations. Felt it was interesting in both mechanics and vibes
    • Plants vs Zombies: Addictive comedy-themed tower defense
    • Alundra: PS1’s Zelda
    • Gris: Atmospheric 2D puzzle platformer
    • Celeste: Rewarding 2D platformer with nice music
    • The Lion’s Song: Graphic aventure light on gameplay and heavy on story and atmosphere. 4 chapters about early 20th century Austrian artists and scientists with themes like art, gender, identity, memory, society, etc.
    • Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You: You play as a government employee tasked with finding people deemed as terrorists by the gov by scouring their social networks. There’s different ways to play it
    • Papers, Please: Similar to above but as a border control agent
    • The Banner Saga: Tactical RPG bases on viking mythology
    • Rebuild: Gangs of Deadville: Management of a group/colony of customizable survivors in a zombie apocalypse. Web game

    These are more recent but they should require very low specs:

    • Roadwarden: Very well written and immersive text adventure with RPG elements. Low fantasy world, you’re assigned as a roadwarden by a far away nation to a dangerous and sparsely populated wildland.
    • Landnama: Viking tribes settling Iceland. Plays like a well designed board game in video game form. Real time with pause.
    • Citizen Sleeper: Incredible cyberpunk text-heavy adventure with RPG elements and a narrative focused on being humane in a not so humane world with a not quite humane body
    • @turmacar@lemmy.world
      3•6 months ago

      Is it still possible to get any versions of Plants vs Zombies that aren’t riddled with micro transactions? I feel like the non-updated version of the original became hard to find anymore a few years ago. Though maybe that was just on mobile.

  • @heavy@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    15•6 months ago

    If it hasn’t been mentioned, I think it’s newer than 5 years but Return of the Obra Dinn and Curse of the Golden Idol are great short games that you can pick up and put down as you like.