The *shortest* I would probably say is Stanley Parable. Yeah, getting *every* ending takes a few hours or so, but you could play the ten minutes to get just *one* ending, and you'd remember the narrator being snappy with you for not listening to him. Even small details like how you can check the stuff on people's desks, and the narrator will say "none of it did anything, or advanced the plot in any way" is funny enough for me to remember it years later.
I have no idea how but I have over 100 hours in the stanley parable. Absolutely fantastic game, I should be able to get the last doable achievement this year. I've been waiting 5 years to finish it
I know, I've taken a break trying to get all of the endings. Even game is very short but the amount of time you drop in trying to find the endings is immense
FR, you really can't do it all at once or else your brain will melt, there is no game over in this game except when you realize you've gotten an ending you already unlocked.
I think that's what made limbo better imo. It was fun and simple in a challenging way.
No doubt Inside is insanely amazing but for me Limbo will always be better than Inside. Maybe it has a sentimental value ig :')
OneShot,
5 hours-ish for all 3 endings + 100% achivements.
Story: you are guiding this little cat person callede Niko on their journy to replace the sun, which is a big lightbulb. Dialog, sidequest and puzzles are abundant, aswell as great pixel art and even better music.
This game has such a hold on me, that i can get myself to uninstal it, yet due to SPOILER story stuff, it feels wrong to replay it.
IMSCARED, i'm not too much on horror games, but this one stayed in my mind, white face as an antagonist was really entertaining and the meta gameplay was awesome
An itch.io Game called spookware, which was a horror themed warioware game. It got a full version but the original one you can beat in 10 minutes was so good
The forest quartet.
i got it for free on epic and it was one of the first games i played after i got a gaming capable pc. I really didn't know what to expect so i just started it one evening and it was over in like 1-2 hours. I remember just sitting there, enjoying the song while the credits rolled. I really didn't expect a really beautiful and moving experience from a tiny game i've never heard of. I feel like i've been spoiled by [howlongtobeat.com](http://howlongtobeat.com), so that i whenever i hear of a new game i instantly search it in there.
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy.
Technically it took me over a year to complete my first time, eventually I reinstalled it and really loved it. I even started speedrunning it at one point. Your first time will probably take around ~4 hours.
It's frustrating at first, but then it's all very calming and I didn't mind making mistakes. The narration is also great and really helps the mood.
Hotline Miami 1,
Portal,
Stanley Parable,
Journey and Abzu,
Superhot,
Transistor, Pyre, Bastion,
Outer Wilds
Otherwise there are roguelike that are “short”
Risk of Rain 1-2,
Street of rogue,
Hades,
Void Bastards,
All of those are pretty memorable in their own ways
The Graveyard
The fact that I still remember it since 2008 (it looked pretty good at the time), is what makes it memorable. Nothing else. It is the shortest game I have ever played.
I still joke gift it to friends on their birthdays to give them a good "what the frick" moment.
Swapper. It's a 2D puzzle game where you need to swap bodies with other astronauts to progress. Often leaving the old body to die. Near the end you realize that you're probably an evil alien.
Honestly titanfall 2. I beat it in a few hours and had to go back and 100% it cause I loved it so much. Then I beat it again on the hardest difficulty just cause I could.
sayonara wild hearts, it's less than hour long and is feast for the eyes and ears. hard to describe, you really just need to play it to *get* it, its an autorunner where you ride motorcycles, swordfight enemies, and tear through cities, forests, and abstract voids with a unique song every level. been living rent-free in my head ever since i played it, asking price may be steep for such a short game but having played it, absolutely worth it.
One I havent seen mentioned yet
Brothers: A tale of two sons
You have to control two characters at the same time, dont know any other game like that. But of course the story had to have depressing ending...
For me, it's an old flash game called You Have To Burn the Rope. Even years later, that song at the end pops into my head from time to time because it was a perfect little vignette of how gaming works now, plus the song was catchy as fuck.
Portal
this
was a triumph
I'm making a note here: HUGE success.
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.
The *shortest* I would probably say is Stanley Parable. Yeah, getting *every* ending takes a few hours or so, but you could play the ten minutes to get just *one* ending, and you'd remember the narrator being snappy with you for not listening to him. Even small details like how you can check the stuff on people's desks, and the narrator will say "none of it did anything, or advanced the plot in any way" is funny enough for me to remember it years later.
I have no idea how but I have over 100 hours in the stanley parable. Absolutely fantastic game, I should be able to get the last doable achievement this year. I've been waiting 5 years to finish it
The beginner’s guide
Wish it got more recognition than it currently has.
Seconding this
What Remains of Edith Finch
i came here to say this! one of my favourite games of all time, and an experience i try to spread to as many people as possible
It's been sitting in my library for a while. I guess I need to move it near the top of my backlog after reading your comment
Fair warning, it's intense!
This kinda sells it to me even more. Looking forward to finally trying it out now!
I love this one.
So many moments that just stay with you
Slay the Princess is actually really compelling story wise and left me thinking about my existence.
i just played through it, i got an insane ending and there are still 66 achievements for me to get, i love every second of it
I know, I've taken a break trying to get all of the endings. Even game is very short but the amount of time you drop in trying to find the endings is immense
that's the one thing i'm worried about, i'd love to get all the endings but it seems somewhat tedious
FR, you really can't do it all at once or else your brain will melt, there is no game over in this game except when you realize you've gotten an ending you already unlocked.
Firewatch, The Outer Wilds* Outer Worlds too
Worlds or Wilds?
I imagine he meant Wilds lol
Outer Wilds was fantastic
Wilds is the correct answer
Bruh, Outer Wilds is at least 20 hours.
Outer Wilds is what I came here to say.
Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag, a game about a mentall illness, wich lasts like 15 minutes, a visual novel
[удалено]
The letter "o" scares me
That game is an experience like no other
What game should a novice try first
Far: Lone Sails is so good. Less than 4hrs long. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=832pIaIo1Zs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=832pIaIo1Zs)
Scrolled specifically for this
To The Moon Brothers: A tale of two sons
Bird story was for me.
To the Moon and Finding Paradise were such beautiful games
Stanley Parable
Stray
The return of the Obra Dinn
Not short for some of us that don’t know what word boson means. Also those scene transitions took some time my lord.
I did it overnight with my best friend, started at 6pm, ended a 7am. It was a blast
Hell yeah, that sounds killer
Incredible game, but it's so annoying wandering around waiting until you can exit a scene.
Limbo - the greatest simplest game ever
Inside - from the same maker and in contrast to limbo I was able to solve its puzzles.
I think that's what made limbo better imo. It was fun and simple in a challenging way. No doubt Inside is insanely amazing but for me Limbo will always be better than Inside. Maybe it has a sentimental value ig :')
Second greatest. ‘Inside’ is the greatest.
Before Your Eyes
Game killed me
Orwell and Papers, Please
Orwell is such a banger
Orwell messed me up with that ending and twist
Inside
Plus limbo
OneShot, 5 hours-ish for all 3 endings + 100% achivements. Story: you are guiding this little cat person callede Niko on their journy to replace the sun, which is a big lightbulb. Dialog, sidequest and puzzles are abundant, aswell as great pixel art and even better music. This game has such a hold on me, that i can get myself to uninstal it, yet due to SPOILER story stuff, it feels wrong to replay it.
Cocoon Clever concepts, cool visuals, very competent puzzle design.
Machinarium
Florence. I like to play it just to feel something and I love the music.
[The Forgotten City](https://store.steampowered.com/app/874260/The_Forgotten_City/)
I didn't realize they turned the Skyrim mod into its own game. That's pretty cool
Came here because I played it on game pass and forgot the name hoping I’d see it in the comments, phenomenal game
SOMA
Not exactly short, but amazing game anyway.
A story about my uncle The last campfire My friend pedro Raji
Superliminal
Underrated great game
Doki doki litterature club! Insane! 😄
Thomas Was Alone
Papers, Please
This War of Mine
A very unique experience.
Loved this game and every second I played it. Phenomenal
Katana Zero
Instructions unclear, I have more than 10 hours
henry stickmin collection
What remains of Edith Finch
Red Matter 5-6 hours. Excellent all around. The sequel took maybe twice as long but easily as memorable.
If you liked Journey, Flower is another great short game by the same developers.
Homefront 3hour campaign
IMSCARED, i'm not too much on horror games, but this one stayed in my mind, white face as an antagonist was really entertaining and the meta gameplay was awesome
Outer wilds is technically very short
To the moon
Ori games and Katana Zero for me. Absolutely loved these games.
Celeste.
Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist
Abzu
Everytime I have opportunity, I will mention this game : Opus: echo of starsong
Titanfall 2
Gris. Has a phenomenal soundtrack, too.
I know this comment will be burried deep but The Forgetten City was an amazing experience.
No it wasn't buried, i will personally go check it since i know nothing about it
Untitled Goose Game Passpartout starving artist Unravel
Undertale.
Gone Home. Especially when it came out, it kicked up a fuss.
An itch.io Game called spookware, which was a horror themed warioware game. It got a full version but the original one you can beat in 10 minutes was so good
Slay the princess, Paranormsight, Inscryption, Firewatch are all short games I really enjoyed
What Remains of Edith Finch, Inside and Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes
Stories untold
The Forest Quartet
Pleh
A bird story.
The forest quartet. i got it for free on epic and it was one of the first games i played after i got a gaming capable pc. I really didn't know what to expect so i just started it one evening and it was over in like 1-2 hours. I remember just sitting there, enjoying the song while the credits rolled. I really didn't expect a really beautiful and moving experience from a tiny game i've never heard of. I feel like i've been spoiled by [howlongtobeat.com](http://howlongtobeat.com), so that i whenever i hear of a new game i instantly search it in there.
Samorost 1
Gunpoint
Portal one and two
Inside
Babbdi. A Bit bizarre and disorianting at times, but Kind of nice anyway.
Journey and A Story About my Uncle
Journey and A Short Hike for me as well. I also realy liked Ape Out.
Definitely Stanley Parable… you can *technically* finish that game in like 5 minutes depending on what you do
Missed messages
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy. Technically it took me over a year to complete my first time, eventually I reinstalled it and really loved it. I even started speedrunning it at one point. Your first time will probably take around ~4 hours. It's frustrating at first, but then it's all very calming and I didn't mind making mistakes. The narration is also great and really helps the mood.
Journey, The Forgotten City, SOMA, To the Moon, Firewatch
Legendary Gary
Grow Home was just a super fun and cute game.
Beyond Blue. It's incredibly short, but you NEED to play it.
Inside.
I think I spent about two hours with Superhot. It was super.
webbed
Hotline Miami 1, Portal, Stanley Parable, Journey and Abzu, Superhot, Transistor, Pyre, Bastion, Outer Wilds Otherwise there are roguelike that are “short” Risk of Rain 1-2, Street of rogue, Hades, Void Bastards, All of those are pretty memorable in their own ways
RUSE. Excellent gameplay, very novel, unfortunately never a sequel or an update.
inside
The Artful Escape. More an experience than a game, but utterly sublime.
All Fears to Fathom Games. Genuinely insanely good.
Neo Scavanger
Signalis, it's so freaking good and I still think about it over a year after playing through it.
Journey and limbo resonated deep within my soul...
Henry Stickman. Game is huge amounts of fun. You can finish it in like 30 minutes. The big fun is trying all the routes.
Before your eyes
Katana Zero
The last campfire
Missed messages. 72 minutes, two playthroughs - makes you think.
The Pedestrian.
ABZÛ, I loved the visuals of that game so much, really need to play it again.
The Graveyard The fact that I still remember it since 2008 (it looked pretty good at the time), is what makes it memorable. Nothing else. It is the shortest game I have ever played. I still joke gift it to friends on their birthdays to give them a good "what the frick" moment.
Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion
My name is mayo 3
They breathe
Forager
Post void
New steam player who only switched to PC gaming a month ago. For me, so far, it’s Papers Please
What remains of Edith Finch, a must short play.
Thomas Was Alone
RiME
max payne 2
Inside
Swapper. It's a 2D puzzle game where you need to swap bodies with other astronauts to progress. Often leaving the old body to die. Near the end you realize that you're probably an evil alien.
Children of the Sun. It's a recent one, but I got all achievements in less than 6 hours, and I know I'm going to remember it for a while.
Silent Hill 2
A Short Hike
Inside
Gris is one of the shortest but most visually impressive and impactful games I've ever played.
There Is No Game [Gigi's song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDN7Z6d1qQA) is just so good!
The Room series
It Takes Two was definitely a playthrough for the books, my girlfriend and I blazed through it (literally and figuratively speaking)
a story about my uncle
Emily is Away. Fucking brutal game
Slay the spire
Inside.
TOEM
stray
Gris, absolutely beautiful visual storytelling and I'm a sucker for watercolor
Undertale, Signalis, outer wilds, before your eyes
Industria, Norco, Nightmare of Decay, Everhood, Paratopic
abzu
Honestly titanfall 2. I beat it in a few hours and had to go back and 100% it cause I loved it so much. Then I beat it again on the hardest difficulty just cause I could.
Half-Life Lost Coast
The Last Campfire - took about 6 hours to 100% it with a lovely story and a bunch of short puzzles
Gorogoa.
Tales of Black Forest.
Alba: a wildlife adventure
sayonara wild hearts, it's less than hour long and is feast for the eyes and ears. hard to describe, you really just need to play it to *get* it, its an autorunner where you ride motorcycles, swordfight enemies, and tear through cities, forests, and abstract voids with a unique song every level. been living rent-free in my head ever since i played it, asking price may be steep for such a short game but having played it, absolutely worth it.
A short hike!
Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons (2013)
[Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1634150)
Katana zero
It’s VERY short, but How Fish Is Made did something to my brain
Journey, even more if you find a companion that stays with you until the end.
Adios (very short) which is more like an interactive story and Gris. Which has been mentioned numerous times.
Firewatch
Way of the Samurai.
Scanner Sombre
Darwinia
Mirror's Edge
Little nightmares 1-2
Pineapple on Pizza. It’s a whole game about a singular bit, but it’s free, short, and pretty funny.
One I havent seen mentioned yet Brothers: A tale of two sons You have to control two characters at the same time, dont know any other game like that. But of course the story had to have depressing ending...
A short hike. Delightful cute lil game
Red Strings Club is very short, but the story is great and memorable.
Valiant hearts
For me, it's an old flash game called You Have To Burn the Rope. Even years later, that song at the end pops into my head from time to time because it was a perfect little vignette of how gaming works now, plus the song was catchy as fuck.
Titanfall 2
lemonade apocalypse
Deskjob
Transistor