A long campaign is not automatically a better campaign. These seven games develop one clear idea, reach a proper ending and can usually be completed in roughly two to five hours.

Playtime varies with exploration and puzzle difficulty. The list is unranked; choose according to the type of evening you want.

Journey

Two robed travelers crossing the desert in Journey.
Journey completes its silent trip in roughly two hours.thatgamecompany / Annapurna Interactive

Journey uses movement, music and anonymous online cooperation to carry a dialogue-free trip toward a distant mountain. It takes roughly two hours and requires little prior gaming experience.

Get Journey on Steam.

Before Your Eyes

A painted memory scene from Before Your Eyes.
Before Your Eyes uses webcam blink tracking to move through a life story.GoodbyeWorld Games / Skybound Games

Before Your Eyes follows a life through memories and uses webcam blink tracking as its intended control method. Each blink can move the story forward, connecting the input directly to the subject of time passing.

Get Before Your Eyes on Steam.

What Remains Of Edith Finch

The Finch family house in What Remains of Edith Finch.
Each family memory uses a different interaction and visual structure.Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive

Edith Finch returns to her family home and investigates a series of deaths. Each chapter uses a different visual and mechanical format, allowing the game to cover an entire family history in about two to three hours.

Get What Remains of Edith Finch on Steam.

Portal

A test chamber and portal in Valve's Portal.
Portal develops one complete puzzle language without filler.Valve

Portal is the strongest pure puzzle game here. Its test chambers introduce, combine and fully develop the portal gun without extending the campaign after the central mechanic has proven its range.

Get Portal on Steam.

Inside

The boy moving through an industrial area in Inside.
Inside combines precise platforming with a wordless dystopian mystery.Playdead

Inside combines precise platforming, environmental puzzles and a wordless dystopian story. The campaign lasts roughly four hours and ends before its oppressive atmosphere loses its effect.

Get Inside on Steam.

Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons

The two brothers crossing a fantasy landscape in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.
The original game assigns one brother to each side of the controller.Starbreeze Studios / 505 Games

The original Brothers assigns one sibling to each side of a controller. Coordinating both characters is the main puzzle, and the control scheme becomes part of the story rather than remaining a novelty.

Get Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons on Steam.

Firewatch

A fire lookout tower in the Wyoming wilderness in Firewatch.
Firewatch builds its mystery through radio conversations and isolation.Campo Santo

Firewatch follows a Wyoming lookout whose main connection is a supervisor speaking over the radio. Its four-hour mystery is strongest when the conversation and isolation receive more attention than optional exploration.

Get Firewatch on Steam.

Which One Should You Play?

Choose Portal for puzzles, Journey for a quiet two-hour trip, Inside for tension, or Firewatch and Edith Finch for writing. Before Your Eyes and Brothers are the strongest choices when you want the controls to carry part of the story.