There are plenty of games with huge worlds that take dozens or even hundreds of hours to complete. Sometimes, you don’t have time for all that. There’s something to be said for games that are short and to the point. It’s easier to find time in your busy schedule for a game you can knock out quickly, and you don’t have to worry about forgetting what you were doing the last time you played. If that sounds like your kind of fun, here’s a selection of five games you can play from start to finish in a long weekend.
For a family-friendly adventure: Princess Peach: Showtime!
Playable on: Nintendo Switch
Princess Peach gets her first starring role in almost 20 years in Princess Peace: Showtime! It takes place entirely within a grand theatre, a setting it uses to cast Peach in just about any role you can imagine. She can be a superhero, figure skater, martial artist, detective, and more, each with a different gameplay focus to keep things fresh.
The game is bright, colourful, and cheerful from start to finish. It has simple controls and is not particularly challenging, which makes it a great option if you’re a parent who wants to find a game you can play with your kids. Each of Peach’s roles function a bit like a beginner-level introduction to different game genres, so Showtime! is also a fun way for video game newcomers to learn what other games they might like. With an average play time of only about seven and half hours to complete the story, you can easily complete it in a long weekend. Get your physical copy of Princess Peach: Showtime! from EE for just £39.99.
For a gorgeous work of art: Gris
Playable on: PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, iOS, Android
Simply put, Gris is beautiful — both its art style and its approach to storytelling. You play as a young woman dealing with an emotional crisis. With no dialogue in the whole game, her story is told using music, body language, and colour. The game starts largely colourless and bleak, with just the ability to run and jump between platforms. But as the game progresses, dealing with emotions unlocks new abilities and adds colour both to the story and gameplay experience. You’ll feel like you’re playing a moving watercolour painting.
We’re being as vague as possible here to avoid spoiling things, which you need to experience firsthand to really appreciate. But it’s truly a beautiful journey and a work of art, one that only takes a few hours to complete. Gris is available on just about any platform you play games on, and is currently available through Xbox Game Pass. If you don’t have an Xbox yet, pop over to the EE Game Store for a bundle that includes an Xbox Series S and two years of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
For a fluid, poignant platformer: Celeste
Playable on: PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac
Celeste is a deceptively simple platformer. You can jump, dash, and climb walls. That’s it. But the game introduces mechanics and increasingly elaborate level design to keep you on your toes and expand the ways you use those three basic moves. It can get pretty tough and requires problem solving and meticulous timing to get from one side of a level to the other. But when you die, you instantly reload in the same section and can try again within seconds. Plus, if things get too tough, you can turn on assist mode to slow things down, give yourself invincibility or infinite stamina, or even skip whole chapters.
Celeste also tells a surprisingly relatable story. Just like the gameplay, things start simple. You play as Madeline, a young girl attempting to climb Celeste Mountain. The characters’ you meet on the journey all have synthesised voices that add to the charm of the old-school pixel graphics and soundtrack. But hidden under that adorable exterior is an examination of depression and anxiety. It uses the challenge and fear of climbing the mountain to teach the main character about facing things about yourself that scare you and learning to confront and understand them instead of avoiding them. So if you’re looking for an impactful story and challenging but rewarding gameplay Celeste has both!
While there are lots of additional challenges, including collectibles and more difficult B-sides of each level that will extend your play time, the main story takes about eight and a half hours, perfect for a bank holiday weekend. Celeste is available on both PlayStation Plus Extra and Xbox Game Pass, so users of either service can enjoy it for no extra cost. EE customers can add PS Plus or Game Pass to their mobile bill, so you can take care of your preferred service in one simple payment.
For atmospheric tension: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Playable on: PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC
Fair warning, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is dark, tense, and heavy — uncomfortably so, at times. It puts you in the shoes of Senua, a norse warrior experiencing psychosis, hallucinations, and delusions. Throughout her quest to rescue the soul of her lover from Helheim the audio and visuals will routinely become distorted. Light will get blindingly bright, you’ll see things that aren’t really there, and hear the voices in her head whispering all around you.
When in combat, there won’t be a UI telling you how much health you have or where enemies are coming from, you have to listen to the voices in Senua’s head. They’ll warn you if someone is trying to attack you from behind, and they’ll become increasingly panicked as you get closer to death. It’s a lot to take in and creates an immersive experience that is unlike any other game. To take that immersion to the next level it is recommended you play Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice with headphones, and you can get a Razer Kaira for Xbox headset from the EE Game Store to do just that. Clocking in around seven hours, you can complete Senua’s Sacrifice in a weekend and then move onto the anticipated sequel Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II.
For horror fans: Until Dawn
Playable on: PS4/5
Until Dawn is the video game equivalent of a classic slasher film. A group of eight young men and women drive up a mountain to stay at a creepy lodge together for a weekend. Like a typical teen-focused horror flick there’s sexual tension, cars that won’t start and people getting separated from the group. Given periodic control of each of the young adults, you choose their dialogue and actions as they attempt to make it through the night.
Depending on the decisions you make, relationships will deepen or disintegrate. Each little thing you do will cause butterfly effects that can ultimately determine who lives, who dies, and if you’re able to solve the mountain’s mysteries. There are hundreds of possible endings thanks to the branching pathways of all the decisions you can make. With a talented cast that includes Hayden Panettiere and Rami Malek, it feels like you’re directing a great horror film. Until Dawn is part of the PlayStation Plus Extra catalogue, so if you’re already subscribed, you can play right now at no added cost. If you’re looking to get a new console, a bundle is available from EE that includes a PS5 and two years of PS Plus Extra.
