5 Short Games Under 20 Hours
Sometimes you're busy!
Games are long. Some would argue too long. Even if you love a beefy, 100-hour RPG, you may not always have the time to invest several months into one game, particularly if you already plan on playing sprawling titles like Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave or Grand Theft Auto 6 when they launch this fall. So, in between the 80-hour epics, why not reset with something shorter? We’ve gathered a list of five highly engaging titles that you can beat in 20 hours or fewer — perfect to fit into a long weekend.
1 Later Alligator
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, Windows PC
Later Alligator is a funny, beautifully animated point-and-click whodunnit you can solve in an afternoon. You play as a detective hired by Pat, a young alligator convinced there is a murder plot against him. Exploring Alligator New York City, you meet and interact with all sorts of gators, most of whom are members of Pat’s strange, suspicious family. Playing minigames associated with these characters grants you badges, which determine what ending you get. You’re working against the clock, too: you have just a day to solve Pat’s mystery before the “event,” a family gathering Pat believes will be his downfall.
Later Alligator is highly replayable — you can’t beat all 30 minigames or meet all the 100-plus non-player gators in one playthrough. You can beat Later Alligator in two to four hours, though extra content and endings might take you a few more.
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2 Katana Zero
Where to play: Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, Xbox One
Katana ZERO is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash platformer that feels straight out of an action movie. Inspired by films like John Wick, Seven Samurai, Oldboy, and more, you control Subject Zero, a mysterious, amnesic assassin who can manipulate time. A Matrix-style Bullet Time mechanic and one-hit kill gameplay make combat fast, cinematic, and stylish. A unique dialogue tree system, featuring a real-time interrupt mechanic, determines just how much of the story you get from a given playthrough, incentivizing multiple replays of this otherwise short game.
A full playthrough of Katana ZERO takes five to six hours, though completing all the game’s content could take 15 hours or more.
3 Emio -- The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
Where to play: Nintendo Switch
Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is possibly the darkest first-party Nintendo game — you may remember its genuinely horrifying teaser from July 2024. A mystery visual novel, you concurrently investigate the death of a junior high school boy and the urban legend of the Smiling Man, a masked serial killer. You unravel the tragic mystery by talking to other characters, examining locations, and piecing together the clues you have.
Emio –The Smiling Man is the fourth installment in the Famicom Detective Club series, and the series’ first new title in 27 years. While characters like fellow investigator Ayumi Tachibana are carried over from previous titles, you don’t need to have played any Famicom Detective Club games to follow Emio – The Smiling Man’s story. It takes around 15 hours to beat Emio – The Smiling Man, including the game’s extended final cutscene.
4 Void Sols
Where to play: Windows PC
Void Sols is an experimental indie Soulslike with bold, abstract visuals. You play as a shape (vaguely reminiscent of a mouse cursor) fighting other, very hostile shapes. Rapid top-down gameplay and enemies hiding in dark corners maintain a brutal atmosphere, in which you constantly feel under threat. The game is particularly notable for its use of light. The map is pitch dark — you illuminate it by lighting torches you encounter as you progress. Dark areas, shrouded corners, and your own blind spots can all spell death for your character.
While a highly challenging game (you will die. A lot), Void Sols features several difficulty sliders that make the game more accessible to genre newcomers. Void Sols takes 10 to 15 hours to beat.
5 The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Where to play: Nintendo Switch
The 2019 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening brought the classic title to the Nintendo Switch, with quality-of-life upgrades, new musical arrangements, and a gorgeous overworld. Outside of Hyrule, Link washes up on the shore of Koholint Island and is tasked with waking the Wind Fish. Exploring dungeons, collecting instruments, and meeting Koholint Island’s charming inhabitants all serve Link’s Awakening’s beautiful, bittersweet story.
The game’s bright colors, toy-like models, and faux tilt-shift make it feel like you’re looking down at an intricate diorama, rather than playing a top-down Zelda game. With a full playthrough taking 12 to 15 hours, you can experience one of the best stories in the Zelda series without setting aside weeks.