Indie Games To Finish In A Weekend

Sometimes you want a game which you can put on in an evening and melt into. A game which offers repeatable missions, multiple difficulties and side missions that are so bite-sized they fit perfectly with the popcorn you’ve got as a snack.

Other times, though, you want every part of the game to be the main event. Games which are so focused on their core ideas, that they cut out all the unnecessary bloat.

This could be an FPS campaign, an open-world game or even a JRPG. Or, as will be talked about below, an indie game, as they give the developer the freedom to develop their vision.

Entries will be ranked by how much killer to filler there is in the games, based on reception and my own personal opinion.

10

Mr Shifty

Shift Around Quickly

In Mr Shifty, you play as the eponymous thief, who’s tasked with stealing a plutonium core from a secure facility.

Unlike in most video games, where you have health bars and the ability to withstand massive amounts of damage, in Mr Shifty, enemies can kill you in one hit, causing you to restart the level at the beginning.

To combat this, you have the ability to ‘shift’, teleporting you a few meters in any direction, through walls, enemies and bullets.

This means you need to be constantly moving, evading enemies while working out when you can get close enough to them to punch them into oblivion.

There’s little time to think, and definitely no time to find any collectibles.

9

Gunpoint

As Quick As A Gun To Your Head

In Gunpoint, you play as a freelance spy who infiltrates various buildings to fulfill assignments for clients. Similar to Mr Shifty, the game emphasizes your inability to take more than one gun shot to the head, forcing you to play cautiously.

Thankfully, the game has a system called ‘Crosslink’, which allows you to hack into the security features of a building and reprogram them.

Want to amend a light switch to activate a weapon in the building? Or open the final door to allow you to sneak in using your ‘Bullfrog Hypertrousers’ which allow you to traverse great distances and break through glass? You can.

Every feature in Gunpoint is made to allow you to finish a level the way you want to, and with the entire game taking place over 3-6 ½ hours, it’s an experience you can dive straight into.

Like a guard from a 5-story office building.

8

Abzû

The Ocean Is Deep But This Game Knows Where To Go

Abzû is what would happen if you took Journey and submerged it in water. A journey through the ocean, from the surface to the hidden depths, you play as a diver who wants to bring life back to the ocean.

The game is linear, with small, hub areas that allow for exploration and even areas where you can sit and just enjoy the environments if you choose to.

While there are a few optional collectibles to gather, the game overall takes only 4 hours to 100% complete, according to HLTB, so nothing outstays its welcome.

You’ll also find that with such a unique art style, you’ll want to stay in the world for as long as you can.

Journey is an honorable mention for this list as well. I just prefer the ocean to the desert.

7

Undertale

Subverting Random Encounters

Undertale revels in subverting expectations. An RPG which lasts, at most, 20 hours, and that includes all three endings.

As with some of the other games on this list, Undertale initially starts out suggesting there will be a lot of unnecessary grinding and challenges.

But due to its unique take on EXP and combat, every random encounter is actually important for you to understand the games’ morals and how to get all the endings.

One of only a handful of games in which I’ve finished a playthrough and instantly jumped into a new one, Undertale takes the idea of bloat in RPGs and turns it on its head, similar to how you can deal with most of the monsters.

6

Transistor

It’s All Part Of The Process

Transistor is the second game from the indie-legends at Supergiant Games, and the one that inhabits the idea of all-killer, no-filler the most.

A game which took my brother a plane journey from Tokyo to London to beat, in which he spent most of his time glued to the screen, when we weren’t spotting the Northern Lights.

In the game, you take control of Red, a popular singer, who, under mysterious circumstances, comes into control of a greatsword called Transistor.

Without getting into spoiler territory, Red and the sword are inextricably linked, so you can’t just go back to your day-job, instead you have to venture forth to defeat the evil Process.

While there are collectibles and optional challenges, the game pulls you through them with a mix of charm and great game design, as in all Supergiant Games.

5

Contrast

What A Contrast To Other Games

Contrast is the debut game from Compulsion Games, and is like if Portal met the jazz scene. In the game, you control the character of Dawn, an imaginary friend to Didi.

You have to find your way through various levels and puzzles to uncover the mystery of the world and help Didi’s parents.

To do this, you’ll need to interact with objects to create shadows in the 3D realm, which Dawn can then traverse through in the 2D realm.

One of the first games I 100%, Contrast never outstays its welcome, lasting roughly 4 hours, even with collectibles and achievements.

4

Monument Valley II

It’s M.C Escher Time

Monument Valley II along with the rest of the series, takes place in a world inspired by M.C Escher. The world is all twisted and turned around, and it’s up to you to guide Ro and her child through a variety of mazes.

This type of puzzle game requires the entire game to be killer, as the puzzles must take an age to plan and design, and there can only really be one right answer.

An anthesis to most mobile games at the moment, there’s no new game plus, daily challenges or power-ups.

Instead, there’s just some fantastic and mind-bending puzzles, and with Monument Valley III recently released, now is the best time to jump into the series.

3

Into The Breach

Small, Focused Battles

Into The Breach is a tactical, turn-based roguelike, set in the far future whereby humanity fights against a monster army using giant mechs.

It’s also set in a future where the player’s time is prized above all else, with each battle only being able to take a certain number of turns inside a small 8×8 grid.

Compared to games like XCOM or other roguelites like The King is Watching, whereby rounds can take hours, each round in Into The Breach takes roughly 30 minutes, with the player needing to plan moves efficiently to minimize waste and collateral damage.

Otherwise, known as needing to be all-killer and no-filler.

2

Inside

Do You Dare To Journey Inside?

Inside is the go-to game I think of when I think of an all-killer, no-filler game. The follow-up to Limbo, Inside is a 2D platformer/adventure game which absolutely oozes atmosphere.

You play as a child who finds a mysterious building and goes, well, inside. What follows is 4 and a ½ hours of constant subversion and surprise as the game slowly reveals its secrets.

The game’s puzzles are gentle and focus more on creating an atmosphere than being particularly challenging, so you always feel like you’re progressing and getting further, even if you have to try some of them a couple of times.

I completed it in two evenings, felt complete when I beat it and I think of it fondly on occasion. You can’t get much higher praise than that, I don’t think.

1

Outer Wilds

Knowledge Is Power

Outer Wilds is a masterclass in creating a taught, streamlined experience while not compromising on scope.

You are an explorer, sent to explore the far reaches of the solar system, to find further evidence of a mysterious race of aliens.

Without going into spoiler territory, time loops become involved and the only thing that carries on over from each loop is the knowledge you unlock about the universe.

As you prod and poke at the solar system and unlock its secrets, every detail is important and worth noting, from how the gravity of each planet feels to the order you explore per loop.

No side quests or collectibles to speak of, instead a beautiful and reflective journey in the stars.