In today’s gaming world, big budget blockbusters suck up a lot of oxygen in the room. They have huge fan bases that generate big profits for publishers, so obviously they will get a lot of attention. But, that’s not all that’s out there. Shorter indie games have developed a real following with the advent of online marketplaces.
These games are typically made by smaller teams and focus on quick adventures and stories that push quality over quantity. With a limited timeframe, games have to get creative to deliver a lasting and memorable experience. Here’s a list of some notable indie games that can be finished in 5 hours or less.
10 Shadow Complex
Sometimes, games — even smaller ones — don’t have to be anything special to stand out. They just have to have a simple story and intense action to pass the time and entertain. Shadow Complex is a side scrolling game that moves beyond just the 2D nature that’s become a standard of the genre.
Instead, Shadow Complex paved the way to expand the format of those games with a great experience that has both action, adventure, and stealth that so many other games try to embody nowadays.
9 Limbo
Limbo was one of the first games to showcase that independent developers can create a great gaming experience with a minimalist approach. Limbo does not have a huge overarching story or big set pieces. What it simply has is a basic side scrolling concept that is both difficult to navigate yet magical to be immersed in.
The game’s design takes a pretty basic black and white approach that forces players to traverse a scary landscape filled with death around every corner. It should be complimented for pioneering an alternative to sports games and first-person shooters in modern gaming.
8 Fez
Like many other indie games, Fez takes a very basic design approach. It creates a pixelated world that players are forced to navigate. However, usually indie games excel by taking a single concept and making it the bedrock of its gameplay.
Fez does this by turning its unique, pixelated 2D levels into a fully immersive 3D World. Players have to navigate the 3D nature of the levels from a 2D perspective. It might not have an unbelievable story that hooks players in like other games on the list, but its out-of-the-box approach to side scrolling makes it a standout.
7 Blair Witch
Many will dismiss Blair Witch for its association with a divisive franchise. After all, it’s the only game on this list that’s attached to a bigger IP. It also has a lot more of a detailed design than some of the other indie games that may have a much smaller development team.
However, Blair Witch is definitely a great horror experience that is both quick and honors the franchise from which it came. Also, its multiple endings allow players to try a different approach if they dare give it a replay.
6 Inside
Inside was created by the same developers as Limbo and may be looked at as a spiritual successor of sorts. It definitely has a similar feel that limbo does as it has players essentially side scroll through a dark and almost dystopian landscape.
However, the game’s world is much more fleshed out and its levels are much more intricate and complicated. It’s definitely an upgrade from Limbo’s more minimalistic approach, but Inside is still a down and dirty indie experience true gamers will appreciate.
5 What Remains Of Edith Finch
Sometimes, games aren’t necessarily games at all. They can be interactive storytelling experiences that push players to think in new and intriguing ways. What Remains Of Edith Finch accomplishes this by having players traverse a quirky ancestral home where family members perished under bizarre circumstances.
Having to relive these unfortunate, dismal, and even ridiculous deaths is more of a journey than difficult gameplay, but for a gaming story that can be concluded in five hours, it’s still a noteworthy entry for gaming connoisseurs to not miss.
4 Hue
Indie games often find the most success by isolating a small style of gameplay and leaning into it hard. If it’s not evident by its title, Hue does this with color. Even more than just granting the players the ability to navigate levels and puzzles using color, Hue strengthens itself as a game even more by taking color and using it to build out both its character and storyline.
The plot is essentially about a scientist working in color that has her child try to uncover her secrets by using her work. It creates a fully rounded experience that more indie games should learn from.
3 Braid
Just as Hue uses color to create awesome gameplay, Braid uses time. It has players speed up, slow down, and freeze the game’s world to navigate its side-scrolling levels. Braid came early on in the indie game explosion to showcase just how excellent this often overlooked genre can be.
Braid’s platform mechanics with time was clever in ways that often surprise players while also creating a pretty challenging experience. It might have gotten tired after a while, but at only five hours long, the game is just enough of a dedication to appreciate its unique approach.
2 Yoku’s Island Express
A lot of times, indie games either try to make a profound experience or a unique one. Yoku’s Island Express does neither. It just tries to create a fun game in a crazy world where a bug is a mail carrier. Essentially, the game takes a pinball approach to its gameplay that has a bug move across a crazy world with crazy characters.
It’s actually pretty in depth and can get players lost in its many side quests for just how fun it can be. However, sticking to the main storyline and objectives will certainly allow players to finish it under the five-hour mark.
1 Journey
It’s almost insulting to call Journey a video game as it truly is a transformative experience. From a gameplay perspective, Journey doesn’t do much; it merely has players traverse 3D levels while trying to climb their way up a mountain. However, it’s the game’s design and style that make it so immersive.
Plus, the game implements a very minimalist cooperative mode that has players team up with random online partners to whom you can neither speak with nor learn their name. Going on a journey with an anonymous stranger through a beautiful world is an unbelievable way to spend a couple of hours.
