Tiny Games, Lasting Impressions

I stumbled across a list recently https://www.roger.com/articles/game/shortest-games-longest-memories/ and it completely changed how I view short games. I tried a few from that collection, and each one hit me in a way longer games never did. The pacing and focus in these short experiences are incredible, every scene matters and there’s no filler, which makes your choices feel more impactful and the story more personal. I’ve had moments where a game under an hour stuck with me for weeks, and I now actively recommend these tiny but intense games to friends who are short on time but still want something meaningful. It also helped me appreciate game mechanics and narrative design on a new level because you see how much can be conveyed with so little time. Some games even made me laugh and cry in a matter of minutes, which is insane when you think about it. Using that list has become part of my routine to find hidden gems because short games can offer these incredible bursts of emotion that linger far longer than expected, and I feel like they challenge how I think about what makes a game memorable.