The 10 Shortest Games Ever

Hot on the heels of its longest games ever list and speed run feature, NowGamer looks at the shortest games ever, depending on genre and a host of other factors. Note, this is shortest game in each genre, not the shortest overall.

[mushroomwig]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[MisterNiwa]

Well this List is not about glitches.

But I don't really get these top 10's at all, because they don't really place it after the time you spent with the game rather more like a personal preference of whats good and bad in a random order.

Megaman Games are pretty short. You can complete some in under 1 hour.

[A Cupcake for Gabe]

It's true, it's not about glitches but I like this one as well.

Mario N64 : http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[darkcharizard]

for the NES = epitome of shortness!

[SeanRL]

MW2

[fastrez]

Yes and no, it's great for the duration, but if they made it too long it wouldn't be as exciting. It would run out of steam too quickly.

[Ocelot525]

if you count out the extra missions, whuch you shouldn't cuz they were fun

[jerethdagryphon]

add jurrassic the hunted to that list 4.5 hours if your decent

and mirrors edge could be completed by a gaming god in less then 1 hour story wise

[k-Lan]

MW2? Really? Did you play it once on easy or something? Try testing yourself on veteran and get back to me with your amount of play time.

[Bloodraid]

Not only does the time it takes to complete a game vary from person to person - [I can be Resident Evil 2 in about 2 hours, for example] - But it's somewhat bias as well. For example, they say Fable is a short game, yet they put the estimated playtime at 7 hours, and say this is only if you do the main-storyline quests, and nothing else.

Then there's the fact that they don't know about every game that's been made (which is obvious). For example; The game "D" requires you to complete the game in less than 2 hours else you will get a game over and need to start back from the beginning.

[pixelsword]

I think this is about games that are short and kinda suck; so Half-life and Heavenly sword wouldn't be on there.

They also both start with the letter "h".

[JohnApocalypse]

I've heard Rouge Warrior is half that length

[xtremexx]

played about 5 mins the dropped it and played Skate 3

[poindat]

Was because it was hilarious constantly hearing that fool swear profusely and talk about how he was going to wrap his testicles around the enemies' necks.

WTF.

[fastrez]

I heard two hours. Still not played it, looks awful. As for Army of Two, that length sounds about right.

[morganfell]

Rogue Warrior a good deal longer than two hours. And it is hilarious. The sad thing is I played a different version of the game before it was taken away from Zombie. It used the Unreal 3 engine then, was a 4 man squad and had the best underwater swimming ever seen in a game.

The joke about many of these games supposedly being short is these naysayers play them on easy.

I am in the last level of Kane and Lynch Dog Days and I have gone through on Extreme the entire time. It damn sure isn't a 6 hour game in that mode.

We also have less than perceptive people discussing their speed run times. They fail to comprehend the vast differences between going through a game rather than actually PLAYING a game.

[NYC_Gamer]

mirrors edge really that short?

[xtremexx]

i didnt exspect it to be short

[fastrez]

The point of the game is speed runs. Yeah it's really short, but a great concept.

[PopEmUp]

me 4hr to complete and thank god eb have a 7 day return policy Haha

[Ocelot525]

an average gamer will complete it in +-8hours, 4 hours is for people who have memorized the game

and don't forget there are whole lot of bonus challenges

[Jallen]

Yeah I was about to say I thought it took around 8 hours. Good game though and I managed to cripple my hands by attempting the trials.

[Koblec]

Hopefully there is a sequel in the works. DICE makes awesome games and ME was a good concept.

[jerethdagryphon]

its short 9 chapeters but intense any longer and it risked outstaying its welcome that said the story the campaign is really a tutorial

the real game is the time trials and speed runs

once you know the levels and what moves work its finding shortest paths within that enviroment very good game

[OSU_Gamer]

I played Fable a long time ago, but I don't remember it being that short.

Am I wrong?

[xtremexx]

Fable should be LOOOOOOOOONG shouldnt it?

[A Cupcake for Gabe]

The first fable was about a 5-8 hour run through on your first go, and about a 12-14 hour game to go both ways of good and evil. There was a lot to do, but it flew by fast. I don't know why.

[PopEmUp]

complete in like 2 days

[fastrez]

Depends which version you played I think, wasn't lost chapters much, much bigger? The original key quests were short, but then again it's been years since I played it...

[asyouburn]

turned me off of the whole series

[xchris92x]

No I finished it in about 15 hours.

[Feckles]

Fable was short for an RPG, especially compared to the likes of Kotor and Jade Empire – the two RPGs it was compared to on Xbox.

[asyouburn]

Jade Empire was kinda short. great game, dont get me wrong, but i beat it in 20 or so hrs, and was like, WTF

[tplarkin7]

You could beat it in a devoted weekend. About 15 hours. However, Fable has a rich world where your character changes appearance with every action.

[koh]

I don't thing the list was about how rich the world was... just the length. A lot of the games were pretty good, just a bit short.

[Montoya]

You sound like big Pete himself..

"Fable has a rich world where your character changes appearance with every action."

[frankymv]

MW1

[kneon]

Was that as short as MW2? it only took me about 5 hours on veteran.

[coolbeans]

It might depend on strategy though. Since CoD4 had respawning enemies, it may have taken longer to get from point A to B on veteran while some may be good at popping-n-shooting on MW2 without worrying about more enemies coming from nowhere. Took me about 30 more mins. to beat MW2 than MW1.

[Kazu0 Hirai]

pretty easy to bullshit when posting on the internet

[El_Colombiano]

Actually, MW2 was the very easy on Veteran. I beat it incredibly fast compared to the hell storm that was World at War.

[kneon]

I don't really care if you believe me, but the fact is that MW2 was hardly any more difficult on veteran than it was on normal. Totally unlike WAW which I'm still trying to finish on veteran.

And I have no need to bullshit, that would imply I care what anyone thinks, I'm too old to care what anyone thinks of me.

[KingOfOldSkool]

Actually, a little bit under 5 hours on veteran does sound about right.. just played through it the other day with that time.

[versusALL]

Final Fantasy XIII was short for an rpg

[fastrez]

By the criteria of this article yeah, the key quests make it short for an RPG, but throw in the crystal hunts/titan trials and it's massive.

[Chug]

Was only short because nobody could stomach it after 5 hrs of play.

:P

[evolution54]

HAHAHA good one!!

[Ocelot525]

85 hours if you want to complete EVERYTHING(much grinding would be needed tough)

[KingOfOldSkool]

It was criminally short by Final Fantasy standards.

[GuruStarr78]

Started and Finished Kane and Lynch 2 yesterday while at work at the firehouse.....I like short games, especially when you use Gamefly.....

[Thecraft1989]

splinter cell convictions was only 6 hours on hardest difficulty for me

[chazjamie]

do it without hand combat

[coolbeans]

Since Conviction's difficulty varied depending on the trial and error ways you took, it took me a bit longer to finish. Finish 1-2 levels completely stealth, shame you didn't have a chance to do it more often.

[oliverasadi]

DBZ Budokai 2

[chazjamie]

devil may cry 4 one day of play on normal (6 hours). devil may cry 3, 4 months on normal.

capcoms reason: appealing to the masses. I wish everyone would stop lining up for nintendo's wii, dmc was never for the casual markets, mgs never, tekken since when. You only deserve that wii money if you hit rock bottom and start all over again. AND NOT GO BACKWARDS.

[MMFGaming]

Arguably side scrolling beat em ups and fighting games are shorter --usually clocking in around thirty minutes to an hour.

[SeraphimBlade]

Heavenly sword was criminally short. It doesn't steal that much God of War, but it could have at least stolen its longer run-time. Or maybe have rewards on latter playthroughs.

It may not be fair to include fighting games but a story mode in SoulCalibur IV doesn't even last ten minutes. compare that to the half hour it usually took in the third game, not to mention that there was an actual story to see (or at least read) in those.

[Resistance]

What about Portal? That game can be beaten so quickly by almost anyone... awesome game tho lol

[LiLTich92]

i agree, if you know what your doing then portal is very short

[koh]

True, but it never really felt like a full-fledged game to me anyways. Can't beat the price there. Now if Portal 2 isn't at least twice as long that would be a disappointment.

[DelbertGrady]

Heavenly Sword. Now disagree with me ;)

[Acquiescence]

but it's still longer than Halo: ODST.

[coolbeans]

on how much of your time you use going through New Mombasa, actually.

[dragon82]

Actually Heavenly Sword is no shorter than God of War 2. They even give you a trophy for beating GOW2 in under 5 hours. I clocked my run in at 3 hours and 5 minutes. I even opened most of the chests too. If Heavenly Sword would have had more incentives to play again with unlockables like GOW nobody would've complained about its length. As it stands now it is still one of my favorite games this generation across all consoles.

[RyuCloudStrife]

i could have sworn Heavenly Sword was gonna be here... as a coincidence i just finished beating Heavenly Sword and i found it to be very short but i did like it, i would like a part 2 with Kai with some new skills at wielding the sword and better bow for me it was a pain in the ass....

[Chubear]

about the same length as Alan Wake & ODST. It was longer than ODST though. I beat HS normal mode in about 8hrs and hell mode in about 7. I finished ODST in 5 1/2hrs

[LOLconsoles]

God of War 3 : I've seen people beat it in 5 hours.

LOL at the most overhyped game this gen, LOL at SSM claiming it would have visuals on par with beowulf. The graphics were subpar at best.

[wenaldy]

GTFO troll..!!!

[keltickennedy]

I wouldn't call him a troll. Just a person that maybe needs an updated prescription on his glasses, since he seems not to see things right.

[Ocelot525]

worst troll evar, son I am disappoint

[Kazu0 Hirai]

im glad someone had the balls to say it. i own a PS3 and borrowed my buddy's copy of god of war 3. Boring ass hack n slash. decent graphics for a console but if i really want to enjoy good graphics i game on my kick ass PC.

[moneygun2]

..and what "awesome hack and slash game" on the pc would make me leave one of the most polished 3rd person action adventure games this generation for, just wondering.

[Kazu0 Hirai]

PC doesn't need "awesome hack and slash games" because we are real gamers, not retarded kids mashing buttons on a console. Try playing a stategy game like company of heroes, or a creative shooter like crysis where you can choose how you want to play the game. You will never find a console game even remotely close to those 2.

[Rainstorm81]

lack of variety thats all you had to say.....no need to pretend all PC gamers only like RTS-es and shooters.....Im surprised you didnt throw in a MMO then WALAH! The three main genres on PC......

"because we are real gamers, not retarded kids mashing buttons on a console"

GOW & consoles are for kids?? Just say u hate consoles and move on

[RyuCloudStrife]

LOL @ U cuz u suck at trollin stupid PC gamer haha

[Acquiescence]

on average, take 4 hours to complete. It's longer than that.

[Feckles]

Completed it in a little over six hours, reckon you could get that right down with a bit of practice.

But I suppose the point of Mirror's Edge is to flow quickly through the game.

Whatever, we need a sequel.

[BeAGamer]

thats what she said

[jerethdagryphon]

if your playing it forst time with no idea what your doing thne 6 hours if youve played it before 4 hours if you know exactly what your doing and have speed run trophys to prove it, 1 hour for the story

[Basil-Rathboner]

One of my favourite games of the last gen Resident Evil 4 i completed in well under 2hrs on a speed run on normal, just using the Thompson machine gun after plenty of practice.

[Basil-Rathboner]

A disagree from a jealous pr!ck . That time i did happens to be among the fastest times ever for RE4.
My first playthrough took took about 20 or so hours, so i am not implying the game is in any way short.
Just that with enough practice and playtime i was able to blast a quick time.

[triodepunch]

this guy is way off, firs of all bouncer is a beat em up in the tradition of final fight, most of those games duration where less than an hour, and kane & lynch 2 it takes like 6 or 7 hours on the first run, even metal gear snake eater can be completed in 3 hours.... stupid list

[ARamirez0052]

If we are talking shortest games EVER, I'd say Mario, the first one. You could beat that game in under 10 minutes if you wanted to.

[Rubberlegs]

No Heavenly Sword? Mirrors Edge is much longer then that. You can do speeds runs but your first time playing its going to take you a lot longer.

[barakiu]

You Have To Burn The Rope

[Jallen]

True if you know what you're doing, but many people spend hours attempting to kill the boss with their axes not realising they need to burn the rope.

[Sasuke159]

SO what about Modern warfare 2 is one of the shortest game ever.

[swishersweets20031]

i know alot of people hate FF13 but i felt good about paying 60 dollars for a game i knew would last me over 50 hours.

I've been very dissapointed in the games that have been AAA games and yet i can complete them in a few hours. This trend needs to end. Same with well buy the game for 60$, complete the game in 3, but hey everyone, if you just pay 9.99 you can have extra stuff that should of been in the game in the first place. I can see DLC comming out a long time after release to justify buying it for the price but when stuff is out the same day the release of the game... it puzzles me people buy into this crap.

[Tommykrem]

I can't remember Mirror's Edge being that short, but ODST is.

[TheLastGuardian]

why is pokemon snap not number 1

[Jallen]

That's a good point. Their #1 shortest game ever would come joint fourth according to their times. They needed a better title but hey nobody stops to read articles titled; "Here are some short games we once played".

[monkeybizz]

No ODST ?

[keltickennedy]

Also failed to mention games that have also been given such high praise, such as, COD4, MW2, Gears of War. Seems like this "list" should be way more then ten. Currently, with recent games, I am very surprised if a game goes past the 6 hour mark.

[monkeybizz]

Totally agree with you mate and then there are downloadable only titles. But they are more palatable.

[BlueEye]

Id like to nominate The Legend of Spyro: A new beginning. Its about 6 hours long if you know the game well enough to go the straight line that this game is. (Seriously if you die at bosses they will have the same amount of health as before and you can die as many times as you want without a game over)

[dragon82]

I think its a little unfair to list games based on the time it takes you to beat if you know exactly how to get through it the fastest way possible. Games should be ranked and judged on how long it takes you to beat the very first time you play them. Difficulty should also be factored in. Most games are significantly longer if you play them on NORMAL as compared to EASY.

[kasasensei]

True and i must may even more. A non-casual gamer usually plays a game in hard (or harder or impossible difficulty setting). And if you do so, and TAKE THE TIME TO ENJOY THE GAME, almost none of the game in this list (or in the comments) can be beaten in so little time. Except if you know it perfectly, but in this case, you obviously CANT say it is SHORT!
And it is sad how many people here are saying shit about great games they obviously never played.
Many here call themselves gamers, but it seems they are nothing more than achievements/trophies whores who don't enjoy games, skip every cinematic, don't care about story/environment/music.
Oh God....

[JaeKuro]

After finishing the Bouncer, I honestly had to drop my controller and ask out loud...."WTF dude?"

[Sidewinder-]

takes me back a bit tht does.

[ElementX]

A lot of 8-bit games were much shorter than some of the games listed here.

[Shaymin]

Rouge warrior should be at number 1

I only played the game for 5 minutes and I couldnt stand it

What a waste of ten bucks down the drain......

[Inspector_Max]

Where's Resident Evil 3?

[ZeroTolerance]

This site thinks games were invented in the year 2000. There are a ton of games a lot shorter than this on older consoles.