As the costs for AAA games continue to soar, players are increasingly seeking titles that offer extended gameplay and abundant content. Nonetheless, there’s a compelling argument for big-budget games that prioritize concise and focused experiences. Rather than sprawling across vast open worlds, some AAA games concentrate their resources on delivering an outstanding 10-hour adventure that players are likely to cherish.
While any game can become prolonged through 100% completion runs or challenging gameplay, it’s the core campaign elements that often define the overall experience. Several AAA titles manage to create an engaging and lively setting that leaves a lasting impression in a relatively short playtime.
The following list highlights ten games that, although brief, deliver a rich and enjoyable gaming experience worth exploring.
10 Astro Bot
No One Does Fast Like Platformers
When it comes to brief gameplay experiences, platformers are often a top choice, epitomized by the straightforward mechanics of moving forward and jumping. Although modern AAA titles have largely steered away from this genre, Astro Bot stands out as a remarkable exception—offering a rich experience in just about 11 hours.
The brilliance of Astro Bot lies in focusing its development resources on gameplay and artistic presentation. With simple characters and minimal plot complexity, the game emphasizes mechanical enjoyment across its numerous platforming challenges.
At its core, Astro Bot celebrates the joy of gaming, serving as a vehicle for showcasing PlayStation technologies like the DualSense controller. While cinematic narratives have their place, even AAA titles should prioritize user engagement above all else.
9 Titanfall 2
Selling Point Turned Major Draw
Initially, Titanfall 2 was designed primarily as a multiplayer experience, with its single-player campaign serving as a secondary feature. However, as interest in multiplayer waned over time, the campaign emerged as a consistent highlight, despite its brevity of around six hours.
This linear action adventure pays homage to classic shooters, combining traditional gameplay with innovative mobility and titanic mechs. Combat arenas are designed to showcase these massive robots, allowing players to navigate with agility and speed. Even while inside your Titan, the frantic pace persists, delivering intense, explosive actions akin to a shopping cart racing down a hill.
Perhaps most impressive is how, within this condensed narrative, the story remains engaging, thanks to the exceptional voice acting of Glenn Steinbaum as BT-7274.
8 Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
A Bite-Sized Manhattan Adventure
One of the main attractions of Marvel’s Spider-Man is the freedom to navigate Manhattan, faithfully replicating Spider-Man’s iconic web-swinging and climbing abilities. While the original game presents a sprawling map paired with a lengthy narrative, Miles Morales streamlines the experience, trimming the runtime to a mere 7.5 hours.
This installment revisits substantial sections of its predecessor’s environment while focusing on a self-contained story featuring Miles Morales as the city’s only Spider-Man. The reduced character roster allows for a more streamlined plot, ensuring that the story remains focused.
While its open-world design allows for extended gameplay if desired, Miles Morales effectively delivers a quick, engaging Spider-Man experience for those who prefer a shorter adventure.
7 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Decimate The Multiverse In A Few Easy Steps
The Ratchet & Clank franchise is known for its expansive worlds, often set across various planets. Yet, in terms of gameplay, these titles are level-based adventures, where different planets represent different levels.Rift Apart skillfully utilizes this design and can be completed in approximately 11 hours.
Even with its focus on interdimensional travels, most of Rift Apart comprises linear pathways that cleverly disguise their true size. The game’s design allows for the integration of hidden secrets and collectibles, rewarding players who pay attention to the environment.
This method disproves the notion that AAA titles must feature massive, explorable worlds, emphasizing instead how focused, corridor-like design can lead to a richer gameplay experience.
6 Control
Work Days Pass Quickly
Anyone familiar with office life knows how time can seem to warp during a long workday. This is especially true in Control, where players navigate the Federal Bureau of Control within a convoluted environment that can be completed in just over 11 hours.
This game offers a pseudo-open world filled with large rooms and twisting corridors that can extend playtime if exploration is your aim. However, if you’re focused on completing the main story, the pacing allows for swift progress.
Control’s enigmatic storytelling also enhances the gameplay pace, with minimal cutscenes and an atmosphere steeped in mystery that keeps the action moving forward.
5 Resident Evil 7
Made It Better Without Making It Longer
The Resident Evil series has always maintained relatively brief playtimes, with the original game clocking in at just around 7 hours. Even the longest entry, the remake of Resident Evil 4, stands at approximately 16 hours, which remains shorter than many AAA offerings. Among the series, Resident Evil 7 achieves an excellent balance at roughly 9 hours in length.
This title’s intense focus on streamlined gameplay successfully revitalized the series’ image after the previous installments strayed too far from its roots. Opting for depth over breadth, the game features intricately designed environments filled with terrifying monsters.
Resident Evil 7 emphasizes a smaller scope while providing players with a tense, compact experience rich in scares and surprises.
4 Portal 2
Longer Than The Original, But Still Short
The initial success of Portal stemmed from its brevity; completed in just a couple of hours, it was a game-changer for the time.Portal 2, however, is an in-depth sequel that retains a shorter runtime, typically around 8 hours when played effectively.
The original Portal consisted of just two main gameplay segments, whereas Portal 2 features nine chapters. Each chapter offers a variety of new environments and puzzles, yet remains rapid-paced, allowing players to efficiently navigate through the game’s challenges.
Most puzzles in Portal 2 can be tackled quickly, ensuring that unless you encounter significant difficulties, your overall playtime remains manageable.
3 Doom (2016)
Demon Destruction Done Fast And Cheap
Interestingly, the original Doom was considered lengthy for its time, taking about five hours to complete. In contrast, the reboot of the franchise, Doom (2016), lasts around 11 hours, making it shorter than many modern AAA titles while still packing in plenty of action.
Speed remains a fundamental aspect of Doom, which focuses on frantic gameplay within confined arenas, pushing players to rapidly engage and eliminate demonic foes. It fostered a return to fast-paced, chaotic combat, standing in stark contrast to the slower-paced shooters dominating the market.
2 Devil May Cry 5
It’s All About Action Setpieces
Many may not realize that Devil May Cry originated as a prototype for Resident Evil 4, sharing key design principles. This includes a penchant for brevity, as exemplified by the Devil May Cry series, where most entries can be completed in under 15 hours. Specifically, Devil May Cry 5, despite being the highest-budget title, can still be cleared in around 11 hours.
Character-action titles like this are generally linear, simplifying the creation of an engaging combat system. By keeping levels relatively confined, Devil May Cry 5 ensures that its thrilling battle mechanics remain the focal point.
Designed with the series’ fans in mind, it delivers spectacular action sequences featuring iconic characters, making it a rewarding experience for players.
1 Wolfenstein: The New Order
A Few Battles Can Turn A Tide
Similar to Doom, Wolfenstein‘s origins trace back to the early days of shooter games. Today, the Wolfenstein series has evolved while maintaining a fast-paced core gameplay experience, exemplified by Wolfenstein: The New Order, which can be completed in roughly 11.5 hours.
This title cleverly utilises confined combat arenas, encouraging players to adopt strategic approaches and stealth techniques as they battle enemies. While BJ Blazkowicz isn’t as resilient as the Doom Slayer, players are still urged to act swiftly and decisively.
Despite this strategy, the game maintains a linear progression that ensures a steady gameplay pace, meaning that, barring difficulty spikes, players can conclude their journey relatively quickly—at least until they are ushered into the next chapter with Wolfenstein II.
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