We all lead busy lives, and it can be hard to find time to sit down and commit hours to play a single game. Sometimes, we need to scratch the gaming itch but don’t want to have to quit partway, so what do we do? Well, some games are designed to be completed in one sitting, one way or another.
These games vary in length from half an hour to a few hours, but can all be completed within a single gaming session. What I’m essentially doing here is giving you a game to play every day for a week, and even a couple of bonus ones along the way. You’re welcome.
DOGWALK
(⏱️ 30 mins to 1 hour)
DOGWALK was created by Blender Studio to test and improve the workflow between Blender and Godot. It’s an adorable tale of a child and their dog exploring a snowy landscape to find items needed to finish a snowman.
How quickly you get through DOGWALK will depend on how quickly you find the individual items needed to complete the snowman, and if you have a good sense of direction to avoid getting lost. It’s possible to complete DOGWALK in as little as half an hour, but it could take longer if you get distracted by how pretty everything is or lose your way.
DOGWALK is entirely free and available to download through Steam now.
Without a Dawn
(⏱️ 30 mins to 1 hour)
Before I get into this, a warning: If you’ve suffered or are suffering from mental health ailments, Without a Dawn can be extremely triggering, with some very dark themes. It’s a dark game, but if you can look past the obvious darkness, there are moments of light to be found.
In Without a Dawn, you play as a woman who has sought sanctuary in a remote cabin in the woods. She suffers from dark dreams, and the lines between those dreams and the reality around her begin to blur progressively as the story goes on. Eventually, it’s impossible to tell what’s real and what isn’t. In the midst of this darkness, though, there are glimpses of light and inspiration in the dialogue, and those are the moments that stand out.
Without a Dawn was developed by solo developer Jesse MacKinnon and is available to purchase in full through Steam right now.
Frog Legs
(⏱️ 30 mins to 1 hour)
Frog Legs is an insane mashup of games like DOOM, Resident Evil, and Frogger, combining the three into something that’s utterly insane and yet lovable in a special way. There are puzzles to complete, epic boomer-shooter moments with the Big Froggin’ Gun, and a whole lot of heart to be found within this crazy ride.
As a baseline, Frog Legs takes about 30 minutes to complete, but this can vary depending on how good you are at solving puzzles. There are also collectibles to be found that could hold you back a little, but you can ignore those and plow ahead if you want to speed-run this bizarre and wildly enjoyable experience.
Developed by solo developer Eliott Dahle, Frog Legs got its full release in May 2025, so you can go and get the full game right now.
D3AD HAND
(⏱️ 2 to 4 hours)
To be clear, when I say that D3AD HAND can be completed in three hours, I am talking explicitly about the main game and not the R3D STAR additional content. R3D STAR takes significantly longer to get through, and would likely require more than one sitting.
D3AD HAND is a dark Soviet comedy of ballistic missiles and potential apocalyptic annihilation. It’s a point-and-click that’s filled with humor to drown out the darkness, and completing it will take anything from a couple of hours to four hours at most. With a fairly straightforward story and characters that you’ll love, there’s a lot of fun to be had down in the bunker.
D3AD HAND was developed by Duck Made of Wood and released fully in September 2024. If you buy it, you’ll also get the R3D STAR additional content included, which extends the story and introduces new characters.
Pants Quest
(⏱️ 1 to 3 hours)
Pants Quest is a point-and-click adventure that doesn’t venture out the front door, and it’s incredibly relatable. You play as a man who stumbles out of bed into a day where everything that could possibly go wrong decides that it’s going to. The universe is hell bent on making life a misery, and he has no choice but to deal with every problem as it arises.
If you’ve played before or have a walkthrough handy, Pants Quest shouldn’t take you longer than an hour to an hour and a half to complete. However, if you’re going in blind and have no idea what to expect, some of the puzzles are difficult to figure out, so you might find yourself playing for closer to 3 hours at most.
Pants Quest was developed by Ghost Cat Games and was released in 2022. If you want to play, you can get the full game through Steam right now.
Stars in the Trash
(⏱️ 1 to 2 hours)
Stars in the Trash is what happens when you take a Disney movie and turn it into a video game. You play as a cat as they set out on an adventure with their best friend, a disabled dog, in tow. It’s a heartwarming tale of love and friendship, with a few scary moments thrown in for good measure.
Stars in the Trash is infinitely lovable, and it only takes less than two hours to complete, depending on how good you are at 2D platforming and how quickly you solve the various puzzles. You’ll easily lose track of time with this gorgeous hand-drawn game, though, so you’ll have fun however long it takes to complete.
Stars in the Trash was developed by Valhalla Cats and released in full in 2022, so you can go and play the full game right now. The team are working on another very short game called Kimchi: A Stars in the Trash Story, which will take about 30 minutes to complete and will be released on August 8.
Paddle Paddle Paddle
(⏱️ 30 mins to ? hours)
Paddle Paddle Paddle is a rage game that can be played solo but is better with a friend that you don’t mind yelling at. If you play solo, it’s fairly easy to reach the end of the rowing-based obstacle course within a few minutes, but bringing a friend along makes it infinitely harder, and how long it will take depends on how well you work together.
If you’re playing with a friend, you’re more likely to rage quit early than reach the end in under at least an hour, so your completion time will vary wildly. If you’ve got patience and a trustworthy friend who won’t spam click to send you into the lava? You’ll be fine either way.
Paddle Paddle Paddle is available to purchase in full as of July 25, 2025, and you can get it through Steam.
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