short-form Xbox entertainment?

October 15, 2011 9:18 PM

Is there a really good story-driven Xbox 360 game that I can play through in one afternoon?

I've got a free afternoon tomorrow, and would really like to play through a great Xbox game with that time. I'm a huge fan of Bioshock and Fallout and all of those great story-driven games, and I'm wondering if there are any story-driven games that can be played through in a short period of time. But I'm looking for something shorter than either of those. Something more like a one-sitting thing, a "Twilight Zone" episode as opposed to a season-long arc of storytelling.

I have it in my head that "Enslaved" is kinda like this, but I'm not totally sure. Is there such a game for the Xbox, or is this just wishful thinking?

posted by jbickers to Computers & Internet (15 answers total)

Response by poster: (as an example: I've played through the Minerva's Den DLC of Bioshock 2 several times, because I think it's just perfect - great story, only takes a couple of hours to play through. That's the kind of thing I'm looking for.)
posted by jbickers at 9:21 PM on October 15, 2011

Came here to suggest "Enslaved". An overlooked game with much to recommend it. Not a masterpiece, largely due to it being waaaaaay too easy, but an excellent story with surprising depth of characterization.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 9:23 PM on October 15, 2011

Bastion
posted by gnutron at 9:27 PM on October 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

The original Portal might be up your street, although it's a tad longer than you're looking for - four or five hours if memory serves.
posted by The Shiny Thing at 9:46 PM on October 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

Braid is beautiful, challenging, innovative, universally acclaimed, and clocks in at around 4-6 hours. You can also skip any puzzle, so there's no getting bogged down at any point. Highly recommended.
posted by Rhaomi at 10:14 PM on October 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Ooh. Seconding portal.
posted by kthxbi at 11:11 PM on October 15, 2011

(Plus you can buy portal on xbox live, leaving you more time for playing since you don't have to go shopping)
posted by kthxbi at 11:12 PM on October 15, 2011

Portal is the obvious choice but it may last you for longer than your afternoon depending on how well you play, yet the same can be said about any other title.

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is also quite short and available through Games on Demand.
posted by Bangaioh at 3:12 AM on October 16, 2011

N'thing Bastion, which is totally what you're looking for.
posted by GilloD at 8:52 AM on October 16, 2011

LA Noir is overall a very long game, but it's broken up into individual cases that are pretty much standalone stories that take a couple hours or less each, depending on how you play. LA Noir is really only story driven, so for your purposes it might be perfect.
posted by cmoj at 2:14 PM on October 16, 2011

Bastion. I beat it the first time in a weekend, and then came back the second weekend to 100% it.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 4:44 PM on October 16, 2011

As well as the usual Braid and Portal, also Limbo if you're into things that are dark. I believe demos are available of all of these on xbla.
posted by jaymzjulian at 1:20 AM on October 17, 2011

Braid will take about 3-5 hours if you sit and actually try to beat it. It is a surprisingly moving game, despite having basically zero real plot. The art style is incredible, and you feel like you have really accomplished something at the end.
posted by darkgroove at 7:32 AM on October 17, 2011

N+1 for Bastion. It's a story-driven action RPG with a hell of a sense of style.

It devoured my life for three or four days as I played and re-played it. Then I bought the soundtrack and listened to it on loop for another week or so.

Although at this point you've probably made your choice already...
posted by The Lurkers Support Me in Email at 11:23 AM on October 17, 2011

So what did you end up picking?
posted by kthxbi at 10:20 PM on October 19, 2011