Gaming is in perhaps the best shape it has ever been, in its long history. This is certainly true when you think of the mainstream acceptance it now has as a hobby and the positive attitude many people have towards it.
The key to modern gaming’s appeal is the sheer variety it offers. This can be seen in how people are just as likely to try fun games at internet casinos as they are to play video games. Top US social and sweepstakes casinos are a great example of this and are very accessible to play at, due to being legal in most states. This type of gaming does not involve risking your own money when playing and has really caught on with many.
Online gaming in general has also brought more people into the sector and made gaming a much more social, outgoing experience. This can be noted in the number of people who play popular online titles such as Fortnite and Clash of Clans.
However you prefer to game, it is the games themselves that are crucial to the experience. While there are lots of genres to choose from, many people prefer short-term play, which enables you to get through a game in a short period of time. While more involved titles like The Sims 4 still find favor, many people with busy lives prefer games that take up less time.
But which are the best titles in this niche to dive into?
Gone Home
If you are looking for games that can easily be completed in one afternoon, Gone Home is a great choice. This cool, mysterious title available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One generally takes around three hours to get through – which is ideal for shorter-term play. The plot centers on your character arriving home after being on holiday abroad and finding no one there. As you progress through the game, various clues pop up, which you have to use to find out what has happened to your family. It is also a pretty open title and you are left to wander around the game world at your own pace to try and piece together what has happened.
Deadlight
Deadlight is another classic shorter-term game. The action is set in a wild, barren, 1980s Seattle. Zombies have overrun the city and you play a man looking for what has happened to his wife and daughter in all the chaos. Rather than being a shoot ‘em up, zombie-style blaster, Deadlight scores well for taking a more cerebral approach to things.
This entails you having to avoid the baddies and move around the city without getting into any confrontations. The side-scrolling game design is also a nice touch and the plot twists come often enough to move the story along at a decent pace. Although it is hard enough to be challenging, you should still be able to get through this in four or five hours.
What Remains of Edith Finch
Like many short-term classics, What Remains of Edith Finch has a brilliant storyline to draw players in and uses a first-person perspective to superb effect. This is also a game that looks amazing and has a very cool soundtrack to make it stand out. Easy to complete in one shorter sitting, it really does reward the player for the time spent playing it. But what is it all about?
The plot centers on the character of Edith Finch, who comes back to her family home in Washington and starts to learn about a curse afflicting her bloodline. This curse causes all but one member of the family in each generation to die in unusual ways. The game involves visiting various rooms in the home to uncover more about what is going on and find out more about the family’s history. Full of striking visuals and superb in-game narration from Edith herself, this is a great game.
Shorter-term games make sense in modern life
There is no doubt that modern life has become a lot busier and a lot faster – this means that the good old days of devoting weeks and months to getting through a game are gone, for many of us! The great news, though, is that you do not have to give up gaming for good.
As well to checking out hyper-casual mobile titles and online casinos games that are over quickly, there are some great video games that can be completed in a few hours. If you need some ideas on the best games around, those discussed above are worth thinking about.