Summary
Due to lower budgets and smaller team sizes, indie games tend to lean towards shorter runtimes. However, regardless of length, some indie games are best enjoyed over longer sessions. Games such asKentucky Route Zero, for example, excel when players are able to immerse themselves for longer periods of time. Or roguelikes likeRavenswatch, with their lengthy runs.
That said, there remain a number of indie games that offer short bursts of instant fun, allowing for shorter play sessions. With even half an hour or less, these games are still likely to provide fun and, in the best cases, meaningful progress.
Heat Signatureis a top-down action roguelike set in space, offering players procedural characters with their own personal missions. However, these personal goals are often too difficult to complete at first, and players will often have to work towards them.
This involves taking on a variety of other missions first, gaining new items and tools along the way. These missions are typically quite short, involving hectic heists on hostile spaceships, blasting or sneaking through hallways packed with hazards.Emergent gameplay is whereHeat Signatureexcels, packing in ample opportunities for player expression in a very short time span.
Tinyfolksisa minimalist strategyRPG with charming pixel-art visuals and a memorable chip-tune soundtrack. The game takes clear inspiration from titles such asDarkest Dungeon, but offers its own streamlined structure and combat system thatare wildly accessible.
Among this accessibility is a short runtime; it can take only a few hours to beatTinyfolks, let alone a single dungeon-crawl. As a result, it’s perfect for short sessions, allowing players to make truly meaningful progress in a short space of time.
Disc Roomis an arcade action game that tasks players with bobbing and weaving through a variety of deadly saw blades. In the game, players compete against the clock, often required to survive for extended periods of time.
A variety of different rooms and unique blades provide fresh dangers along the way, butDisc Roomis divided into single-room challenges. As a result, it remains perfect for short sessions, offering brief bursts of dangerous actionthat’s immediately fun.
Hotline Miamiis a classic indie game that excels with its short and frenetic bursts of high-octane action. Taking place in a strange and lurid pixel-art haze,Hotline Miamitasks players with participating in truly violent combat over the course of several chapters.
Each mission inHotline Miami, however,is remarkably short, at least when executed successfully. But in either case, itprovides instant action, allowing players to get caught up in its hypnotic flow in a matter of minutes.
Into The Breachisa turn-based tactics gamewith a roguelike structure. In this title, players control a small squad of expressive mechs as they defend civilians from an alien invasion. What makes this experience unique is its abundance of open information, allowing players to puzzle out solutions to each encounter without frustration.
While players can play through a run in one session ofInto The Breach, each playthrough is divided into a set of various missions. As a result,Into The Breachallows players to enjoy each run in bite-sized chunks.
This unwieldy platformer plays at a breakneck pace, but it’s complemented by intensely expressive controls that allow for a level of mastery. This allows for gameplay that rewards practice, but even in short sessions,Pizza Towerremains fun.
This is thanks to the intuitive and fast-paced level design, packed with unique obstacles and punchy combat with no fail state;Pizza Toweris all about combo and score. The only way to lose comes at the end of each level, during a mad dash back to the starting line. As a result,Pizza Toweris able to provide short bursts of expressive fun that can be incredibly addictive.
Post Voidis a frantically paced first-person shooter with a lurid and borderline psychedelic art style that perfectly matches its gameplay. In the game, players barrel and slide down labyrinthine hallways, competing against a constantly draining health pool in a roguelike structure.
A run ofPost Voidisn’t likely to last long, but each plays at an exceptional pace. This is thanks to short and snappy levels, complemented by a fast rate of play and the aforementioned draining health, which propels players forward at every turn.
