If you’re like me, you tend to stay away from some video games simply because there aren’t enough hours in the day to juggle more than one heavy hitter. If you are looking for a quick gaming fix, try checking out some of these games that will only take you a few hours to complete.
1. Monument Valley
This mobile game is reminiscent of the art created by M.C. Escher. You must take Princess Ida on a journey through architecture, puzzles, and optical illusions. The game is quite beautiful, but don’t let that fool you; some of the challenges can be quite frustrating.
Available on Mobile.
2. Grow Home
In this game you play as a robot named B.U.D. that is attempting to save his home planet. This colorful platform game requires players to harvest seeds and grow giant beanstalk-esque plants, but also provides a whimsical and fun adventure that will only take you a few hours to complete.
3. Pneuma: Breath of Life
This first person puzzle game brings players into a visually stunning world where you play as a god, Pneuma. There are plenty of inner monologues that accompany challenging puzzles that require lateral thinking, unique perception, and out-of-the-box analysis.
Available on PC, PS4, Xbox One.
4. Limbo
This beautifully designed platform style game is unlike many others since it is in black and white, which makes it even more bewitching. Play as a boy that must make his way through a terrifying forest in order to find his sister.
Available on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Mobile.
5. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
In this game you must find out why everyone has suddenly disappeared. Set in the 1980’s, you must explore a deserted town by interacting with items and curious lights in order to put the pieces together to find out why everyone has vanished. The visuals are breathtakingly beautiful, yet haunting at the same time.
6. To the Moon
This emotional RPG allows players to travel through a dying man’s memories. You must solve puzzles and interact with the imaginative world as two doctors in order to progress through this captivating story.
Available on PC.
7. The Stanley Parable
This game is reminiscint of those choose-your-own-adventure books that we grew up with. You are essentially put into normal environments with very different conditions, and every decision you make affects your gameplay. There is plenty of dry humor and sarcastic commentary to keep you entertained while you decide whether or not to make your own decisions or to take advice from the narrator.
Available on PC.
8. Journey
Journey is another game that offers stunning visuals paired with a quest. Devoid of dialogue, players must make their way through all types of landscapes in order to reach a ray of light that manifests from a mountain.
Available on PlayStation.
9. The Beginner’s Guide
This first-person narrative doesn’t necessarily have an objective. You simply play as someone trying to understand what is unknown to them. The game is very abstract and open for interpretation, and is very different from typical games that achieve to accomplish a goal.
Available on PC.
10. Firewatch
You embrace loneliness, isolation, and helplessness in this visually breathtaking first-person adventure game. Everything about this game is beautiful, including the dialogue, narration, emotion, and visuals. The story takes place in the Wyoming wilderness and you only have a walkie-talkie as a source of communication.
11. Transistor
This fast-paced RPG immerses players into a science fiction world full action and excitement. You acquire a powerful weapon, the Transistor, and everyone is eager to take it from you. The weapon’s history is unfamiliar to you, but you understand that it must not fall into the wrong hands. There is a ton of elegant content involved with this game.
12. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Two brothers are in search of a cure for their dying father. They must make their way through a transcendent world with only each other to rely on. Players must control both brothers at the same time by completing puzzles. This game can get a little emotional since you get to witness an unbreakable bond between the two boys.
Available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox.
13. Thomas Was Alone
This platform game is a little different from others since you don’t play as a typical character. Solve puzzles as you make your way through this surprisingly complex game as a series of geometric shapes.
Available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox One, and Mobile.
14. Gone Home
Experience a love story through the eyes of a sister. Katie explores her childhood home in Oregon in this mysterious game that requires players to interact with doors, objects, and notes scattered around the house. The empty residence is a bit haunting but holds a mystery that is sure to engage players.
Available on PC, PS4, Xbox One.
15. Die Hard
You may not necessarily be beating this NES game as intended by using this method, but in six seconds, you can finish the game.
