We’re all busy these days, and even though we’d all love something to run through in one weekend, Triple-A games have decided 100 hours is the new gold standard and a reasonable length for an experience, even if it’s utterly exhausting.
As time has gone on and people have gotten busier, though, quite a few games have started trimming down the fat and making short games that can be beaten in a short timespan. This is especially prevalent with indie games, but a couple of Triple-As have caught on, too.
I’ll be going over ten great games that you can finish in only one weekend, and usually 100% in only a couple of days, especially if you’re dedicated.
10
OFF
2008 | PC/Switch
On my first playthrough of OFF, it took me only one weekend to finish everything the game had to offer, so I feel it’s a more than valid entry here. It’s a game that inspired countless other games, and despite its age, it still holds up incredibly well.
It has the meta aspects that inspired OneShot and Undertale, some actual combat that is fun to learn and only gets a little boring by the end, and a banging art style. Plus, the remake brought it to modern systems with a new OST that is on par with the original, so it’s a banger time no matter what.
Playing through this game is an absolute trip, and even going for 100%, it will only take you a few hours. There are a few superbosses, particularly in the remake, and they all push the combat to its limits, but it’s nothing you can’t do in a couple of days.
9
OneShot
2014 | PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One
One of my favorite games ever made, OneShot was designed to be beaten in one sitting, and to get 100% completion, you go through that experience twice. It’s no real surprise, then, that you can absolutely finish everything there is to see in only one weekend.
The game is entirely story-focused, and that story has you going through so much and connecting so many dots that it’s vastly improved by being played over a short span. That, and it makes Niko feel weird if you close the game on them.
The rest of the content is stuff I’d hate to spoil more than I already have, so I will simply say this game is short and absolutely worth playing. It will make you feel every single emotion at once, in the best way possible.
8
A Short Hike
2019 | PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One
With a title like “A Short Hike”, you can probably guess that this game takes barely any time to complete. You can beat it in under an hour if you’re really plowing through everything without caring about what anyone has to say, but the game is so much more than getting to the peak.
It’s one I’d definitely recommend if you’re super limited with time, even in one weekend that you want to dedicate to playing a game. You can fully complete the game with around five hours of playtime, and it’ll be a really fun five hours at that.
Talking to every unique, charming character you find on your ascent is already an incredibly fun time, and adding the minigames, cutscenes, and collectibles on top of that, you’ve got a game that can cheer up anyone, no matter the circumstance.
7
Pseudoregalia
2023 | PC
One of the best 3D platformers ever made, Pseudoregalia puts a wild twist on a Metroidvania by making it actually fun to explore instead of a massive pain. You can move like no other game I’ve ever played, and getting into a flow state feels wild.
I’ve had so many moments where I pull off a wild string of moves all in a row, and I had no clue if it was the intended way to go, yet it was even more satisfying not being sure of that. It’s hard to believe it’s only a few hours long, as it feels like I could play it for hours on end.
You can run through the main stuff in one weekend, no problem, and there aren’t too many collectibles to find, especially compared to other metroidvanias out there. It won’t be a pain to complete, it stays fresh through the entire runtime, and it’s a huge breath of fresh air.
6
Sonic X Shadow Generations
2024 | PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PS5, Switch 2, Xbox Series X
One of a few Triple-A games to make it here, Sonic X Shadow Generations is perhaps the most well-liked and solid Sonic game to ever exist, and it’s loved for a good reason. Both sides of the campaign are great in their own ways, and both only take a few hours to get through.
While getting 100% in Generations isn’t exactly the most fun time ever due to many of the missions being mediocre, the game as a whole package is great, and absolutely worth getting through, especially with a bunch of music and concept art as bonus rewards.
S-Ranking every single main level is the best way to experience the whole thing, though. Especially when you take the extra challenge of doing some Shadow stages wingless, you start to uncover levels of sauce previously unknown to man.
5
Slime Rancher
2016 | PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Mobile
One of the cutest games of all time that is also surprisingly super in-depth, Slime Rancher makes for an incredible game to dedicate one weekend to. You can see all the original content this game has to offer in only a few hours, but you can keep going for much, much longer.
You can optimize your ranch, automate everything from feeding slimes to buying low and selling high in the stock market, all while taking in the cozy, lovely atmosphere. It’s got just the right amount of content to be satisfying for a shorter playthrough, while having enough to sustain you for a long time.
You can plow all the way through to the credits in just a couple of hours, but if you’re more inclined to the optimization side of things, you’ll probably end up spending more than one weekend here. It’s a really damn good time, either way.
4
Inscryption
2021 | PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One
Literally the only well-known roguelike that can or should be on this list, Inscryption is far more concerned with telling an incredible story than it is with keeping your attention for hundreds of hours. Not that there’s anything wrong with roguelikes that take decades to 100%, but I do prefer this.
The narrative takes you through several different segments that all change up gameplay a huge amount, and it feels satisfying to conquer each one as you go along. Plus, once you’ve finished everything up, you get to play Kaycee’s Mod, which is excellent.
This “mod” is just a base game feature that turns Act 1 into a proper roguelike, with a bunch of challenge modifiers to complete. These don’t take too long, and if you’re good enough at the game, you can absolutely squeeze out your desired amount of content in one weekend.
3
Portal 2
2011 | PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Switch
Every time I revisit Portal 2, I end up forgetting just how short the game really is. It’s one of the best, most critically acclaimed games of all time, so I probably don’t need to tell you that it’s supremely well done and absolutely mind-bending and hilarious on all fronts.
Even 15 years after its release, Portal 2 looks great, and you can take on the entire thing in only a few hours. If you really need it to stretch across one weekend, you can grab a friend and go through all the multiplayer stuff, which is all unique content.
There isn’t much past that, aside from the workshop maps you can find on the PC version. Still, if you haven’t already played it, you owe it to yourself to finally boot up Portal 2. Even if you have played it, you have probably forgotten all the puzzles because you’re probably feeling really old after I said this game came out 15 years ago.
2
Metroid Dread
2021 | Switch
Metroid Dread is one of those rare modern Nintendo games that knows exactly what it wanted and needed to be, then delivered that on all fronts without giving a single damn about anything else. It’s only around 12-14 hours long, and that’s all it ever needed to be.
Even going full completionist, this game has some of the most user-friendly map UI in the world, and it makes it really fun to 100%. It’s one of the only games in this genre that is possible to get absolutely everything in without touching the internet once.
The atmosphere is great, the cutscenes are fantastic, and the game is fun as hell. It nails everything great about Metroid, and it’s excellent. If you dedicate one weekend to getting through the entire thing, you will not regret it one bit.
1
Hyper Light Drifter
2016 | PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Mobile
Hitting my exact sweetspot length for a game, Hyper Light Drifter takes a cool ten hours to finish on average, and while the time to hit 100% completion is significantly longer, it can still be done in one weekend if you’re on a hyperfixated stint where you’re fully dedicated to it.
It’s one of the highest quality, most emotional, and most masterful video games ever made. The art is stunningly gorgeous, and every hour you spend on it feels more than worth spending on the experience. It feels like not a single minute here was wasted.
If you give this game a chance and dedicate one weekend to it, you will find a new favorite game here. There’s a reason this game has inspired a massive amount of other indies, and it’d be a disservice to elaborate any further, so I’ll simply say it’s the top spot here for good reason.
