The Best Games for Quick Play Sessions
Looking for the best games for quick play sessions? When you’ve only got a short amount of time to play games, you don’t want to spend your time grinding and slowly advancing to the next level. Instead, you want to be able to jump into a game, play for a short period of time, and then move on with your life.
The best games for short play sessions are often rogue-like games, with incremental progress and 30-minute runs that keep players coming back for more. We’ve picked out some of our favourite games from the ever expanding world of indie games, as well as some classics that work well in short gaming sessions.
The Binding of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac is one of the best games for short play sessions on PC, offering randomly generated dungeons and addictive gameplay. Like many rogue-like games, The Binding of Isaac features incremental progress and high difficulty, though you can also play it in shorter bursts. As the name implies, you play as Isaac, who must escape from his basement and fight off his demonic hallucinations.
Although you can complete the game in a few short play sessions, it’s one of those rare games that gets better the more you play. Each playthrough is different, and with hundreds of items to discover and bosses to defeat, The Binding of Isaac will keep you entertained for many short gaming sessions.
Dave the Diver
With the sequel on the way, Dave the Diver is an immersive, underwater game that’s well worth the time investment. One of the best indie games, Dave the Diver tasks you with mining for precious materials, managing your inventory, and fighting off wildlife.
While you can complete each dive in around 15 minutes, each one will take you closer to your ultimate goal of building a new home for your tribe. Like many of the best indie games, Dave the Diver is a little slow to start, but you’ll soon find yourself hooked on its unique gameplay.
Dredge
Dredge is a roguelite game that offers just a little more than most 30-minute games. As you might expect from the genre, Dredge tasks you with exploring a randomly generated dungeon and defeating the boss at the end.
What sets Dredge apart from the rest of the roguelites is its deep crafting and building systems. Rather than simply picking up and using whatever you find on your travels, you can create your own weapons, armor, and even furniture. You’ll need to spend some time managing your inventory, but if you love building in survival games like Minecraft, then Dredge offers a satisfying experience.
Slay the Spire
Slay the Spire is one of the best games to play in short bursts, as each run only takes a few minutes to complete. That said, it’s also incredibly addictive, and you’ll find yourself coming back for more and more short gaming sessions.
As you might imagine from the name, Slay the Spire is a roguelite deck-building game, where you slowly make your way up through a spire, fighting off enemies and attempting to stay alive as long as possible. The combat is challenging, but also satisfying, and each run only takes a few minutes, so if you’re looking for something that you can finish in a short gaming session, Slay the Spire is perfect.
Into the Breach
Into the Breach is a perfect example of a game that you can play in short bursts, but also one that you’ll want to keep coming back to. Each battle only takes a few minutes, but the tactical mech game will keep you coming back for more with its addictive mech-on-mech action.
The hook here is that each of your runs is part of a larger timeline, and every decision you make in one timeline will affect the outcome of another. You can play through each battle in a couple of minutes, but Into the Breach will keep you hooked for much longer than that.
Monster Train
If you’re looking for something a little less serious, Monster Train is a fun, arcade game that’s just as good in short play sessions. In this game, you play as a lonely monster who wants to build a train. While that might sound easy, the various obstacles in your way make building a working train a challenge.
With randomly generated levels and the ability to craft your own tracks, Monster Train can keep you entertained for a while before you move onto something else. And, as you might expect from the name, Monster Train is a light-hearted arcade game that’s perfect for short gaming sessions.
FTL: Faster Than Light
FTL: Faster Than Light is a very challenging game, but if you only have a few minutes, you can still jump into an FTL battle. As you might expect from a roguelite space game, FTL is all about the quick battles, and if you ever find yourself stuck on a planet for too long, you can always just jump out again.
While you might think that a game about jumping from ship to ship would be a quick play, FTL manages to be surprisingly difficult. There are plenty of things that can go wrong on your space journey, and you might get stuck on a planet for longer than you’d like. Still, if you’re looking for a roguelite game with a bit more substance than Into the Breach, FTL is an excellent choice.
Street Fighter V
While Street Fighter V isn’t the best fighting game on PC, it is one of the most accessible and competitive. Most of the fighting games on this list require a lot of practice, but Street Fighter V allows you to jump into a quick, competitive match in no time at all.
That said, if you want to master the game, you’ll need to put in some serious time.
