2023 was jampacked to the brim with video games, with many lengthy titles requiring hours of gameplay. Some games take hundreds of hours to complete, sometimes even more to see everything the developers have created. And while these digital experiences offer promising journeys, players can always go for something shorter when time is not on their side.
We’re looking at eight video games that take less than ten hours to complete. Granted, some of these games contain enough content to warrant more than hours of gameplay. However, committed players can progress through the main story modes of the eight games at or under the ten-hour mark without exploring every nook and cranny. With the eight games considered, we’ve even included an honorable mention.
Undertale
Less than 7 hours to complete the main story
Undertale is a 2015 indie RPG developed by Toby Fox, with art by Temmie Chang. The story behind the game’s development is fascinating, considering Fox’s previous inexperience with game development. Indie fans usually refer to Undertale as a modern-day classic game, renowned as a critically acclaimed role-playing title that many adore. It’s a short game that leaves an everlasting impression on anyone who dives into it.
Portal
3 hours or less to complete the main story
Portal is an all-around classic puzzle video game by developer Valve. First released as part of The Orange Box compilation in 2007 (along with Half-Life 2, its two episodic expansions, and Team Fortress 2), Portal is an ideal title offering a mind-bending playground for players to stretch out their speedrunning skills. While the 2011 sequel captivated audiences with its multiplayer aspects and boosted the challenging elements of Aperture Science Laboratories, the original is remembered for introducing players to an innovative presentation of portal-based gunplay.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
3 hours or less to complete the main story
The next entry on this list is Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, from developer Starbreeze Games. This studio is responsible for the Chronicles of Riddick games from the 2000s. However, fans know it for director Josef Fares, who would go on to direct A Way Out and It Takes Two under his studio, Hazelight Studios. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons offers a shorter approach to the creative nature that Fares has established, and the unique gameplay complements the touching story.
SUPERHOT
3 hours or less to complete the main story
A love letter to the FPS genre, SUPERHOT employs a fantastic gaming experience that all first-person shooting enthusiasts should check out. By progressing through just the story itself, players can reach the end credits in such a quick fashion that it almost feels like a flash. The slow-motion mechanics allow flexible methods to be executed, giving players more than one way to defeat enemies and complete levels. It’s super addictive, super cool, and super hot, equipped with 20 hours for eager completionists to dive into.
Carrion
5 hours or less to complete the main story
Carrion is spectacular in what it presents for horror fans and anything with moving pixel art. In Carrion, players take on the role of a monster who can consume human beings to increase their size and become dangerously aggressive. Players can grow into a force of bloody terror throughout the game by traversing a facility at their own pace. All in all, the monster causes mayhem along the way as it attempts to escape the facility. Devolver Digital published it, so players will undoubtedly be in for a ride, which they can exit within just a few hours.
Journey
2 hours or less to complete the main story
Journey is an incredible piece of media that anyone and everyone should experience at one point in their lives. It’s a beautiful and moving game that encourages companionship and traversal curiosity, giving players a short yet unforgettable voyage across a great desert. Additionally, it’s considered one of the greatest video games of all time from multiple sources, but words can’t do it justice. It’s simply a memorable adventure game that anyone can pick up and play, taking players only a few hours to check out everything that developer Thatgamecompany has orchestrated.
Superliminal
3 hours or less to complete the main story
“You are now beyond conventional psycho-spacial limits,” the Superliminal State of Play trailer tells us, and it’s the perfect way to introduce players to the mind-altering world from developer Pillow Castle Games. Superliminal is a surreal puzzle game that utilizes unique forced perspective mechanics essential for progressing through intriguing levels. It’s an engaging experience that can be completed quickly if players commit to the craftsmanship behind the level design. Moreover, it’s highly recommended that fans of the game check out speedruns, where dedicated players swiftly make their way through the puzzles in less than 30 minutes.
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
5 hours or less to complete the main story
Some players may remember Far Cry 3 for introducing players to Vaas Montenegro, one of gaming’s most menacing foes. Others remember the game for generating the action-packed Blood Dragon expansion with cyber commando Rex “Power” Colt. Acting as a standalone title, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is one of the coolest DLCs released in the 2010s. Offering more simplified gameplay systems and a smaller map to explore, Blood Dragon gives Far Cry fans a retro-futuristic adventure wholly inspired by the vibrant aesthetics of the 1980s. Since it’s a standalone game, unfamiliar fans won’t have to check out the other Far Cry games to understand what’s happening with Blood Dragons, VHS tapes, and bombastic synthwave music.
Honorable Mention – P.T.
2 hours or less to complete the main story
The notorious “playable teaser” P.T. sucked horror and gaming audiences into its insane horror atmosphere. It originally appeared as a teaser for the Silent Hills game that Kojima Productions would have fully developed. Notably, direction from Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro would’ve been an exciting collaboration for a horror game. Sadly, the game was canceled, forever leaving the PlayStation store. Regardless of the unfortunate circumstances, fans still refer to it as one of the greatest horror games to exist, and its puzzling vibes offer a gaming experience that will linger in gamers’ heads for a long time.
Arguably, many more games can be completed in ten hours or less. What other games come to mind, then? Which ones did we miss?
