#4iF is now well under way, so tell us: how’s it going for you so far?
You haven’t started yet? You don’t even have a list of games? What have you been doing all this time?! Lucky you! I’m here to save your ass.

Four in February can be quite the stressful thing. Finding time to play games in-between work, sleep and whatever else it is people do, can be a hassle by itself. So no wonder some of you see the task of finishing four games in the shortest month of the year as something too daunting to even try. But not every game takes 20+ hours to complete. Here is a list of short but worthwhile games, so you don’t have an excuse.

 

Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist

Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Long Name is the first game by Crows Crows Crows, a studio masterminded by William Pugh, known for his role in the development of The Stanley Parable. It’s short (like “sub one hour” short), it’s funny and it’s free (on Steam). Do I really need to sell you more on this one?

 

The Beginner’s Guide

Now we can’t have one half of The Stanley Parable team on this list without the other getting jealous, especially since he made one of the most interesting pieces of fiction I’ve seen last year. Davey Wreden is a genius when it comes to “walking simulators”. Yes, that’s a stupid statement in itself, but seriously, that guy is responsible for four of the best ambulation based narrative games released to date. You could fill your #4iF up with his work only and you would have a great time, at least until they’re coming to take you away ho ho hee hee, to a funny farm, where life is beautiful all the time and you’ll be happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats and they’re coming to take you away haa haaaa…
Where was I? Beginner’s Guide, right. Despite sharing the “genre” with Stanley Parable, the narrative structure is a clear departure from Davey’s previous work. The level design and melding of those two aspects is still fascinating, but the goal is something very different. The Beginner’s Guide is a much more personal experience, though that might be a “me” thing, because as a faux-critic with higher ambitions, it did speak to me on a more intimate level. Nevertheless, there is a message in it for everyone. A message that shifts from person to person, since it’s a message that is not dictated by the narrative, but by what your mind deciphers from the experience. And that, in my opinion, is a sign of great art.

Sure, $15 for a two hour experience might sound like a “bad investment” on paper, but give it a try. You might be surprised.

 

The Stanley Parable / The Stanley Parable Demo / The Stanley Parable Mod for Half-Life 2

Ok, I’ve already spent enough time on narrative brainfucks, but just a quick bit of information in case you didn’t know: There is this Half-Life 2 mod called The Stanley Parable. It’s free, you don’t even need to own Half-Life 2 for it (unless you are a Mac user) and it’s great. It’s also quite different from the full game you can buy on Steam, which by the way has a free demo available that is also different than any of the other Stanley Parables and by my definition counts as a unique game. So if you are in a real hurry, at least give the demo a try.

 

Undertale

Much has been said about it, so let’s boil it down: It’s inspired by classics like Earthbound, it delivers more emotions in crude 2D pixel art than David Cage has in all his fancy 3D games combined, it has a Metacritic score of 92, and it does some very cool and smart things. Also: make sure you play it soon, because not stumbling upon spoilers gets harder with each day and believe me, you want to stay spoiler free.

 

Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons

I might not love it as much as some people, too obvious too early is the direction it’s taking, but it still manages to achieve something only few games have before, if any at all: making the control scheme an integral part of the storytelling and characterization of the main protagonists.
Brothers is basically a casual puzzle platformer with the twist of controlling two independent characters at once. This is done by dedicating one half of the controller to each character and then running against every single obstacle because your brain can’t handle it, at least at first. The set up is easy. Small brother and big brother embark on a journey to save their sick dad and encounter a bunch of fantasy tropes. The environments are beautiful, the emotional connection extends into a physical one through the unique control scheme, it’s short and it’s cheap. What more do you want from a worthwhile #4iF game?

 

Spec Ops: The Line

Spec Ops: The Line is the most recent entry in the hardly recognized Spec Ops series, and it’s a mediocre shooter. That’s all it shares with its predecessors however. Unlike previous entries, it does not suffer from the fact that it’s a cheap, second tier shooter. On the contrary, it takes this trait to make a statement about the contemporary shooter and its audience. Even if you aren’t into that, it does some pretty cool and fucked up shit. You could argue that it’s also an anti-war game, but that’s like saying Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now is an anti-war book/movie. Oh, right… The story is based on those two by the way.

Is it a fun game? Not by any definition, but it spawned some of the most interesting conversations about games to date and it’s worthy of your time just so you can enjoy them to the fullest.

 

Thirty Flights of Loving

A more serious and less confused Jazzpunk, in a way. It’s also much shorter and streamlined (you should be done in less than an hour). Just like the first three games in this list (and arguably the next one) Thirty Flights of Loving falls under the bipedal motion replication moniker, yet it couldn’t be further removed from the likes of Gone Home or Dear Esther. The game might gently grab your hand, but as soon as it grips, it catapults you through a myriad of scenarios telling the tale of a heist gone wrong (?). The way it’s structured also encourages multiple playthroughs, despite there being no “choices”.

Sure, it’s $5 for approximately 40 minutes of playtime and it might not be for you if you are looking for gameplay over narrative, but if that hasn’t chased you away then I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

 

The Order: 1886

Ahahahahaha, no seriously, besides that one frustrating insta-fail stealth section at the end, it’s really not THAT bad.