There is something very wrong with those times.
The image linked below shows my fastest time completed & I do not rush the game (I`m too noobish to do so lol).

Perhaps it could take longer if you are aiming to get every character unlocked in one run, but definitely nothing like 20 hours, more like one hour.

If I got the stats right, you beat the game 14 times with your best time being 19 minutes. That's easily 20 hours of playtime. If the game is constructed around replayability, this might be the proper value. I consider a game finished, when I've beaten it and can safely uninstall it, knowing I got the best of it. Titles like FTL aren't one-day-games in my opinion for exactly the same reason. However, since this depends on one's perception, it might be a one-day-game after all, but probably not for me.

Thanks for the info. It was very helpful to get a better picture of what to expect.

I just did a search for "shovel" and there were no hits.

Therefore, I think Shovel Knight is missing from this list and needs to be added.

It took me a while just to finish the first world, but I'm no great shakes at those kinds of games. Anyone else beat it in a day?

Mighty No. 9

Got through the main character's campaign in about 4-5 hours on Normal. There's also a few other things you can do (challenge mode, Ray's DLC campaign, etc.), but if you're just focusing on the main campaign it's doable in one day.

Akalabeth is a very short RPG that you could check out, if ancient RPGs are your thing. (The original version didn't even have a save feature, so you *had* to beat it in one sitting.)

Ultima 1 might realistically be beatable in one day, particularly if you are already familiar with the game, but it is definitely longer than Akalabeth.

Hook might almost be too short for you, as I finished it in less than an hour and a half, but it was a nice little puzzle game. (And currently on sale for less than $1 on Steam.)

Someone's apparently done a speedrun of The Witcher 3 in just over 2 hours, so definitely add that to the list...

I'm joking...but not really. So many of the games listed really aren't in the spirit of the thread (i.e. games that technically could be finished within a day). Some of the games here took me many hours over the course of a week to get through. At a certain point you may as well just add anything.

I'd say the norm for this thread should be games without save features or games that are well under an hour.

I could also mention Rogue. From what I hear, that game is short and lacks a save feature; however, it is quite random and you need to have some luck to actually win the game.

If you like ASCII roguelikes, you might want to check out Rogue, the game that the genre was named after.

SCV2N - The eSports Visual Novel

It's a free visual novel on Steam that was crowdfunded. Stumbled on it by looking at Cynical Brit's curator page. It's about a person who moves to Korea to try to pursue esports, specifically Starcraft 2. Most of these Enovels are literally dating sims imported from Japan. This one's subject matter seems unique for the genre. Pretty interesting for RTS gamers or someone who wants to try a light E-Novel. It can be done in a few hours. And its free.

Roguelikes are only short when you die. :)

Most games, if you can avoid death, will last quite a long time. The endpoint in them can take months of grinding to reach. The only one with a hard time limit is Larn, in which you need to recover a potion in time to heal your child. And even there the time limit can be extended through certain means.

I'm a fanatic for the original roguelike text games (my favourite flavour is the Angband series, especially ZAngband). They have tons of replayability and can last for ages.

I just played Bitray- it took me under half an hour, and there's no save feature, so you really have to play it in one sitting :P

I am talking about Rogue in particular; from what I have read, the game is actually quite short even if you manage to win.

I have also seen the term "coffee break roguelike", which refers to some other very short roguelikes, which can be beaten in under a half hour.

Anyway, if you are into roguelikes, it is probably worth playing Rogue just to see how the genre started.

It can be, but again it's sort of in the same camp as games like Don't Starve - one play is short, but it takes a lot of plays to get proficient at it.

Folks looking for info on true roguelikes should check out RogueBasin.

Bulb Boy
Polish P&C adventure without words, similar to Amanita's games, ~2 hours

Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist
free game in the vein of The Stanley Parable, ~15-30 minutes