Recommend new games for me! Difficulty level: no time

September 16, 2020 6:59 AM

I'm looking for new games that I can play for short amounts of time, but almost all my recent games have been games that require a lot of time or focused attention. Recommend new games for me!

In recent years, my gaming has been primarily on PS4 and I've mostly enjoyed story-driven and RPG/Action-Adventure-ish games like Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, Last of Us, Assassin's Creed games, God of War, and Nier:Automata. I've also enjoyed various walking simulator/puzzle games. On Steam, I've liked Stardew Valley and, especially, Into the Breach. I tried Invisible, Inc., and didn't love it but maybe I need to give it another shot. In the past, I've also played a lot of games like Civilization and SimCity and various sports games in the EA style.

Due to lifestyle changes because of having a baby, I won't have 100+ hours for another Witcher-type game (or even 30 for God of War) in the near future. I also won't be able to keep a bunch of puzzles going in my head in between sessions and would probably lose the thread on a game like Civ.

I really enjoyed playing Into the Breach this spring--the game is complex and requires strategic thinking but it's also possible to play for 10-20 minutes and come back to it later. Can you recommend other games that would fit into this box?

posted by benbenson to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (15 answers total)

I'm going to throw out Dead Cells as a possibility. It's not a strategy game, but it does require strategic thinking, and its gameplay loop is incredibly tight and fun.
posted by sevensnowflakes at 7:33 AM on September 16, 2020

Best answer: Fall Guys is the new hotness in casual multiplayer games. It's not complex or strategic but it is hilarious. And free if you have PS+.

Spelunky 2 just came out on PS4 if you want a challenging platformer. Games are mostly short but if you get a good run going it can be 20+ minutes, so that may not be ideal.

Also on PS4, I've been enjoying the small game Wizard of Legend recently.
posted by Nelson at 7:38 AM on September 16, 2020 [3 favorites]

The new Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 remaster on PS4 is really well done and has been a blast to play through. Sessions are two minutes (except for the tourneys which are three one-minute sessions) so it's easy to pick up and play for a bit and then put back down.
posted by Ufez Jones at 7:57 AM on September 16, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Games I can play with a baby nearby all have the ability to suspend play without losing momentum. I found Dead Cells to be an occasional joy, but Slay the Spire and FTL - games that pause very well - really work well.
posted by Dmenet at 7:59 AM on September 16, 2020 [3 favorites]

Tetris 99 on Switch
posted by starman at 8:03 AM on September 16, 2020

Best answer: Spiritfarer, perhaps? Check your emotional state before you try it -- it's a three-hanky tearjerker even for me, and my emotional state is better than most seem to be just now -- but it's quite lovely and completely interruptible.
posted by humbug at 8:15 AM on September 16, 2020 [2 favorites]

2nding Spelunky (1 or 2)!

It has a surprisingly deep/complex interaction model, and there is a pretty even mix of strategy vs. action. Also, if you are the competitive type, it has a daily run and leaderboard. Unless you are going for a deep run where you are hitting lots of extra areas, a single run is somewhat hard-limited to around 30 min max.
posted by _DB_ at 9:23 AM on September 16, 2020

I found Islanders to be a fun puzzle game
"ISLANDERS is a minimalist strategy game about building cities on colorful islands. Explore an infinite number of ever-changing new lands, expand your settlements from sprawling villages to vast cities and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere"
posted by ljesse at 9:39 AM on September 16, 2020

This is kind of a random suggestion, but I think Trails in the Sky (and its sequels) is good for this. It is a big story-driven RPG, but it's save-anywhere so you can interrupt your play session easily, and it's dense enough with content (i.e., not grindy) so that you can feel like you made some meaningful progress even with a 15-minute play session. It's a really lovely story-heavy (character-heavy, dialogue-heavy) JRPG that deserves more attention than it gets.

One other tip is to get a lightweight baby carrier like a Baby K'tan or similar. I have a newborn right now, and he loves nothing more than to fall asleep in the carrier while I play games for a couple of hours.
posted by Syllepsis at 9:57 AM on September 16, 2020

Best answer: Ooooh you should play "Gris!" It's a really calming, flow-state-inducing platformer. Plus you can play in small spurts and it autosaves your progress. It's well worth the (small IIRC) price tag!
posted by rjacobs at 9:59 AM on September 16, 2020 [1 favorite]

I've gotten really into Rocket League. You can get a game in if you have 10 minutes to spare and it seems like you can keep learning and improving for years. Plus, it's a lot of fun.
posted by callmejay at 10:41 AM on September 16, 2020 [3 favorites]

Best answer: A Short Hike, Donut County. Both are small short and sweet.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:08 AM on September 16, 2020

Enter the Gungeon is super fun roguelite.
posted by bbqturtle at 11:49 AM on September 16, 2020

Rocket League, which is going free-to-play in a week. It's a stupid game that's soccer in flying cars. I love it.
posted by papayaninja at 12:36 PM on September 16, 2020 [1 favorite]

A few friends and I have gotten super into Nuclear Throne over the past year. It's really tough at first - death is plentiful, and games are short. It's a lot of fun and has a shocking amount of depth in gameplay.
posted by taltalim at 1:54 PM on September 18, 2020