Skyler Orton
We live in a world where playing games can eat up a lot of your time. Behemoth games like Baldur’s Gate 3 or Persona 5 can take hundreds of hours before reaching completion, let alone 100%. So if you’re looking to slow down a bit and play something a little shorter, let’s look at these quick indie games that still provide full experiences. But instead of a game that takes months or even years to beat, here’s something you could complete in a single weekend.
5. Evoland (PC, Switch, PS4, Mobile)
It’s rare that I see Evoland talked about by anyone at all and that’s a shame because it’s a delightfully charming short game. If you have any nostalgia for older JRPGs this is 100% the game for you since nostalgia for JRPGs is Evoland’s whole gimmick. In Evoland you hop through the different eras of RPGs and watch the literal evolution of the genre as the game progresses.
You start with unlocking movement keys in a black and white Game Boy-esque world and eventually move on to play a clever take on pretty much every RPG subgenre under the sun. Evoland isn’t complex but if you’re a sucker for nostalgia you’ll definitely enjoy everything this game has to offer. And if you love it there’s a sequel that takes the same concept but actually turns it into a legit 30-hour RPG. Don’t miss out on this true hidden gem!
4. Venba (PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox)
One thing I love about indie games is the opportunity for creators to tell meaningful and personal stories in a medium that is wholly unique. I never expected to cry in a game that’s mostly filled with cooking minigames but Venba is just that meaningful on every level. In Venba you play as a young South Indian mother as she and her family navigate their immigration to Canada in the 1980s.
The game takes place over years as the young family’s child grows up and each era is explored by cooking a different traditional dish. There’s a lot of meaning to food in every culture so it’s honestly a brilliant combination of narrative and gameplay. The immigrant experience is one wholly unfamiliar to me, but Venba truly makes you feel the clash of cultures both through the food and through its excellent writing. It’s a visual novel through and through and its main characters are endlessly endearing carrying the story through its roughly hour and a half runtime.
Venba is a highly emotional story about family and coming-of-age that I simply couldn’t recommend enough. If you enjoy moving narratives and experiencing different cultures then Venba is probably a game that will speak to you in some way. I definitely think about this game a lot and I’m sure you will too.
3. A Short Hike (PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox)
A lot of the games on this list are pretty heavy narratives. They’re great but sometimes when gaming you just want to decompress. If that sounds like the vibe for your weekend gaming session then look no further than A Short Hike. Indie developer Adam Robinson-Yu created a miniature open world in Hawk Peak Provincial Park and there’s no goal but to hike up the mountain at the center of the park. You won’t want to do just that though since the world is filled to the brim with charming characters and side quests.
A Short Hike’s low-poly aesthetic takes some getting used to in a world of hi-res games but once you do it’s very visually appealing and drenches every ounce of the game in pure indie charm. There’s also a lot to the gameplay since it’s a very fun 3D platformer with excellent movement. Gliding along the mountaintops (did I mention you play as an adorable bird) feels smooth and I can’t get enough of it. It’s a nice game to return to every once in a while on a rainy day to just get lost in this world. To top it all of the narrative is surprisingly poignant and heartwarming despite the short runtime. Overall I couldn’t recommend this one enough.
2. Firewatch (PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox)
Being yet another narrative first person adventure game it may be easy to write Firewatch off as simply another walking simulator. However, Firewatch is a game that is both one of the most moving stories about connection of all time and has some engaging gameplay to go with it. You play as Henry, a grief stricken man who abandons his old life to take a new job as a fire lookout in the Wyoming wilderness. His only tie to the outside world is his supervisor Delilah who is only accessible through radio.
To me Firewatch is ultimately a story about two grieving people finding solace and warmth within each other despite never meeting. It’s really meaningful in characterizing both Henry and Delilah and both of them feel like real flawed people with a lot more complexity than I expected from a four hour narrative adventure.
It’s not just the meaningful conversations between the pair, since there’s exploration to do in Henry’s assigned section of the forest and an interesting mystery to unravel at every turn. Plus the game is genuinely gorgeous to look at and it’s a world I could get lost in for hours on end. But once again while those elements are undeniably engaging, the story is one about humanity and grief in a super tight four hour package that is easily beatable in a weekend.
1. What Remains of Edith Finch (PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox, Mobile)
Every once in a while there’s a game that’s so viscerally effective in doing the thing it wants to do that it stays with you for a long time. I first played the Annapurna Interactive title What Remains of Edith Finch around three years ago and it’s an experience that has stuck in my mind ever since. Like Firewatch it’s what you could call a walking simulator but it creates a narrative so powerful and chilling there’s truly nothing out there like it despite not having much player freedom.
You play as the titular Edith Finch, who returns to her abandoned family home for the first time in decades with the goal of figuring out what happened to the rest of her family. As you explore the colossal and cluttered home each room transports you into vignettes of each family member right before their deaths. It’s admittedly very heavy subject matter for a video game but each individual story is so powerful that it’s more than worth the play if you have a couple of hours.
I’m being genuine when I say there are scenes in this game that instantly replay in my brain when I think about certain things. For example a bathtub or a fish cannery (if you’ve played the game you know exactly what I mean). It’s disturbing but at the same time somewhat beautiful and I would highly recommend it to any player. And don’t get me started on the final plot twist, it’s simply phenomenal.
Overall short and personal games can provide equally fulfilling experiences to AAA behemoth games and I couldn’t recommend taking a weekend out of your life to try some. Are there any games like this you enjoy? Let us know in the comments below.
