The best games you can finish in one day on the ROG Ally and ROG Ally X
The ROG Ally and its souped-up brother, the ROG Ally X, bring the promise of PC gaming to the portable realm, giving you a handheld that can play your favorite titles on the go. But some games are better suited to portable play than others; after all, there isn’t much better than taking your Ally on a plane and beating an entire game within a single flight. Here are a few short gems that you can pick up, play, and complete in five hours or less — which in some cases, will even be a single battery charge if you’re playing on the new ROG Ally X.
This is part of our ultimate guide to the ROG Ally series of articles. For more great games, check out our best-of roundups.
En Garde!
Image credit: Gamesplanet
If you’re a fan of a certain Spanish cat who wears boots and wields a rapier, you have to check out En Garde! It’s a 3.5-hour adventure where you play as a feisty swashbuckler intent on liberating her people from the villainous Count-Duke. This game puts a heavy emphasis on feeling cool and cinematic, so expect to stylishly swing swords, kick crates into bad guys, light cannon fuses, and look like a movie hero. You can grab En Garde! on Gamesplanet.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Image credit: Gamesplanet
For players who want the satisfaction of beating Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain but don’t have the time to do so, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is an easy alternative. It can be beat in two hours but features many of the same mechanics and systems as The Phantom Pain, giving it AAA depth that most short games can’t rival. Whether you want a tactical espionage simulator or an action bonanza, Ground Zeroes will accommodate you and give you a heavy metal, gritty war story alongside fine-tuned, mechanically sophisticated gameplay. You can buy Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes on Gamesplanet.
Gris
Image credit: Gamesplanet
Anyone who wants to inhabit a living, breathing watercolor painting for three and a half hours owes it to themselves to give Gris a shot. It’s one of the most visually distinct platformers out there, and it’s very relaxed, meaning just about any player should be able to reach the end of the journey and experience its satisfying conclusion. Gris is available to purchase on Gamesplanet and is also playable on Microsoft’s Game Pass.
A Short Hike
Image credit: Microsoft
A Short Hike is an exploration-based hiking adventure that can be completed in less than two hours — about the length of a casual recreational hike in real life. But that’s the game’s charm; it’s short and sweet, features a pleasant soundtrack, and gives you a cleaner, climate-controlled alternative to a real hike for days when you want indoor calm just as much as outdoor zen. You can buy A Short Hike on the Xbox store.
Defunct
Image credit: Gamesplanet
Defunct is a high-speed 3D adventure game where you play as a little robot that can manipulate gravity to speed itself up when going downhill. It’s a very short game, clocking in at just an hour to beat, but it’s highly replayable thanks to its finely tuned core mechanics, weighty physics, and addictive gameplay that’ll see you coming back again and again for high-speed thrills. You can buy Defunct on Gamesplanet.
Orwell: Ignorance Is Strength
Image credit: Gamesplanet
Fans of conspiracies, choices with consequences, and plot-heavy three-hour games will find a lot to love in Orwell: Ignorance is Strength. Playing as an agent of the government, you’ll choose between manufacturing fake news for the “greater good,” distorting the truth, or protecting the facts from those who would use misinformation to their advantage. Whatever route you take, there will be dire consequences for the citizens you’re spying on and manipulating. You can pick up Orwell: Ignorance is Strength on Gamesplanet.
Mosaic
Image credit: Gamesplanet
Fans of introspective games, here’s one for you: Mosaic is a three-hour exploration of what it means to be a lonely adult working a thankless office job in a joyless city devoid of soul. If any part of that resonates with you, you’re the target audience for this title. Mosaic is light on gameplay and is mostly an interactive art piece, but for those who enjoy thematically heavy narrative fare, it’s a thoughtful way to spend a few hours. You can grab Mosaic on Gamesplanet.
Sonic Mania
Image credit: Gamesplanet
Sonic Mania is a throwback title that puts everyone’s favorite blue hedgehog in a 2D pixel platformer designed to look like a direct continuation of his Sega Genesis heyday. Featuring an abundance of visual originality in its level themes and an incredible soundtrack by Tee Lopes, Mania is an absolute feast for the eyes and ears. While an average playthrough can take up to five hours, the name of the game is speed — the better you are at maneuvering Sonic through loop-de-loops and trap-laden environments, the more likely it is you can whittle that number down to two hours or less. You can grab Sonic Mania on Gamesplanet.
Etherborn
Image credit: Gamesplanet
If you’re after a gorgeous, wildly inventive 3D puzzler featuring levels that look like Rubik’s Cubes trapped in M. C. Escher paintings, Etherborn has you covered. And if you want a subtle meta narrative touching on what it means to be a living being without a voice, the game has that, too. You can take away as much or as little as you want from the two-hour experience. Etherborn is available on Gamesplanet.
Little Nightmares
Image credit: Gamesplanet
Experience a world of pure horror through the eyes of a child in Little Nightmares, a game with a uniquely haunting art style that depicts adults as literal monsters, all hell-bent on destroying you in grotesque, disturbing ways. For those who want nearly four hours of frighteningly tense platforming and spooky puzzle solving, this is the game to get. You can grab Little Nightmares on Gamesplanet. And if you like it, you can check out its sequel, Little Nightmares II, on Gamesplanet as well.
Omno
Image credit: Microsoft
Gamers who want a brilliantly constructed platformer-adventure need to check out Omno, one of the most tranquil and cozy games on this list. The game’s peaceful journey will take you through a plethora of imaginative biomes wherein you’ll see plenty of interesting sights, all portrayed in the game’s signature “soft angles” art style. Couple the aesthetic delights with movement physics that feel buttery smooth, and you’re in for a good three and a half hours. You can buy the game on the Xbox store.
For even more great Ally games you can beat in a day, be sure to check out first-person truck-hopping simulator Clustertruck, skateboard shoot-’em-up My Friend Pedro, and Lethal League Blaze, a game that can best be described as “Smash Bros. meets racquetball.” Take a look at our other favorite ROG Ally games and share your personal favorites with us over on Discord.
