As much as I love being engrossed in games that are dozens of hours long, sometimes I crave the exact opposite. I want to flop on the sofa and play a short, punchy game in one sitting. It's the satisfaction found in watching a great movie or eating a nice meal, something that's worth my time, but under two hours long. Thankfully, there are plenty of fantastic games released this year that aren't a major time sink, so we've whittled down a mighty list to just five of the very best ones.
GamesRadar+ presents Year in Review: The Best of 2025, our coverage of all the unforgettable games, movies, TV, hardware, and comics released during the last 12 months. Throughout December, we’re looking back at the very best of 2025, so be sure to check in across the month for new lists, interviews, features, and retrospectives as we guide you through the best the past year had to offer.
We've made sure to pick our bundle from a variety of genres, so we're hoping there's something for everyone. Puzzle games, horror games, mystery games, story-driven games, and more. From the best short games to the best relaxing games – blockbusters aside – here are the very best games under two hours of 2025.
5. Despelote
Developer: Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena
Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series X, PS5, Switch
Despelote is a slice-of-life adventure about a young boy living in Ecuador in 2001. It's a big year for Ecuador, as its football team might be about to qualify for the World Cup, and so the country is in a football craze. Matches are on every TV, all the adults are chatting about it, and booting a ball is now every kid's favorite pastime, including eight-year-old Julián. The game is split into chapters throughout Julián's life, from exploring the streets of Quito as a kid to life events and challenges he experiences as an adult.
The way that Ecuador is presented here is like a snapshot of a moment in time. The game uses photos and audio recordings from real-life locations in the game, and it creates such a strong sense of place, I felt myself getting nostalgic for a place I have never been. It's a personal project for the developer, making it an introspective, semi-autobiographical story that's dreamy, wholesome, but also bittersweet. It's a game about football and community, but also the role and creative process involved in making games. It's really something special.
4. Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping
Developer: Happy Broccoli Games
Platform(s): PC
If you're after a more lighthearted evening, then make sure to check out Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping. This is the second game in the Duck Detective series, and instead of our feathered friend solving the mystery of stolen salami, he's now caught up in a supernatural plot involving conspiracy and camping. It's a lighthearted and breezy whodunnit, with fun characters and playful humor.
The game ticks all the boxes of detective work - inspecting evidence, chatting with suspects, and making de-duck-tions. It follows Golden Idol's influential fill-in-the-blank deduction work, but is presented in a much more approachable way. It may at first look childish, but the mystery has its fair share of head-scratches. The comedy is golden too, the main punchline being Detective Eugene McQuacklin himself, a current depressed divorcee, complete with a trilby and a trench coat... who's also a duck. This is one for a cozy evening with a mug of tea and a plate of bourbons. There's also a quack button, if that swings the recommendation for anyone.
Learn more in our Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping Indie Spotlight, which calls the game "a fresh, standalone mystery that smartly evolves its sleuthing mechanics"
3. Carimara: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs
Developer: Bastinus Rex
Platform(s): PC
Critical Reflex is a powerhouse for indie horror games, with their publishing roster including Arctic Eggs, Buckshot Roulette, and Mouthwashing. With this group of fantastic horror games, Carimara is in great company. Playing as a silent sorceress, you're tasked with solving the mystery of an otherworldly entity trapped in the basement of an old woman's cottage. You need to explore her house and the surrounding garden to identify who the spirit once was, who killed it, and what weapon was used.
I really respect a horror game that can conjure a creepy atmosphere without the use of jump scares, monsters, blood, gore, and so on. Carimara creates its uneasy, creeping atmosphere through sound design, visuals, and dialogue. Its soundscape is full of details that sound like they're being played on an old, crackly gramophone, visuals are a wonderful mix of grainy textures and jutting animations, and dialogue is rich with riddles and strange turns of phrase. It's truly one of a kind.
Learn more in our Carimara: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs review, which calls the game "a gothic fairy tale mystery with magical cards"
2. Öoo
Developer: NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi
Platform(s): PC
From the developer behind the exceptional ElecHead, NamaTakahashi is back with another smart puzzle-platformer with an equally cute protagonist. Öoo is a charming exploration platformer where you discover creative ways to use bombs to solve puzzles. You play as a cute caterpillar whose circular segments can detach and explode on command, helping you platform your way through different areas and solve momentum-based puzzles.
The key is to place the bombs in a way that will propel your caterpillar in a certain direction, like blasting yourself across gaps and up onto higher platforms, and when your bomb explodes, a new one grows back on your body. Using this ability, you can navigate through Öoo's world, each screen becoming a puzzle where you need to carefully place your caterpillar and detonate bombs in a way that helps you progress. The number of ideas and puzzle mechanics in this small package is truly astonishing. It's one of those captivating puzzle games where what you think of as a limitation at the beginning slowly unfurls into a whole world of possibilities. A simple puzzle concept with great execution, complete with excellent level design – NamaTakahashi has done it again.
1. Many Nights a Whisper
Developer: Deconstructeam, Selkie Harbour
Platform(s): PC
Many Nights a Whisper is for those who love a little introspection in their gaming. It's a narrative-focused game where you play as an archer tasked with landing a single trick shot with your sling to set a huge torch alight during a ceremony. This single shot has been a ritual in this culture for centuries, and it determines the fate of an entire generation of people. If you make the shot, all the wishes and prayers of this community come true; if you miss, they won't. No pressure.
It's only an hour long, but Many Nights a Whisper makes you feel the immense pressure of this task, which in itself is quite the feat. You have plenty of time to practice your shots in the in-game week leading up to the ritual, and it's also when you get to listen to the townsfolk's wishes - thoughtful, selfish, reality-altering, many involving ethical quandaries. It's a game dense with thematic meaning and rich writing, as you learn what rides on this single shot. It's a game about pressure, but also the meaning of success, failure and self-actualization. Deconstructeam and Selkie Harbour's collaboration has resulted in one of this year's quietly reflective gems.
Learn more in our Many Nights a Whisper review, which says "few games have this tension and impact"
If you're wanting more expansive options, be sure to check out the best games of 2025.
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