3 of the best Xbox Game Pass games you can finish in under 4 hours

A while ago I wrote about the best PS5 games you can finish in under four hours, and I’m willing to bet there are just as many Xbox players who appreciate brevity in a sea of 100-hour blockbusters.

Xbox Game Pass naturally has its fair share of gigantic games as well, but dig through the library and you’ll find plenty on the shorter side that you can breeze through on a lazy Sunday afternoon (other days of the week are available).

Here then are three of the best Game Pass games you can finish in under four hours.

LIMBO - Trailer - YouTube

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Limbo

Playdead’s minimalist monochromatic masterpiece (try saying that after a few glasses of wine) turned 15 years old this year, but it’s still one of the most striking and smartly designed indie games ever made. Indeed, it's a big reason why the term “indie” took off so much in the first place.

If you missed Limbo on Xbox Live Arcade originally, or any of its numerous ports since, it’s a 2D side-scrolling puzzle-platformer which relies on environmental storytelling to convey its bleak narrative.

You play as a boy who is never given a name or a backstory, with the only apparent aim being to guide him through a series of environments littered with traps and hazards in pursuit of his sister.

Progression is very much a case of trial and error, with the latter usually resulting in a grim and instant death. Mechanically, Limbo is a bit less polished than its sequel, Inside, but it remains stunning to look at and the perfect length at just under four hours.

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion - Launch Trailer - YouTube

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Marvel Cosmic Invasion

Beat ‘em ups are designed to be played over and over again on your own and with friends, which means they’re usually pretty brief, and therefore perfect Game Pass material.

The latest addition to the genre – which is currently undergoing a bit of a modern revival – is Marvel Cosmic Invasion. It comes from the same team that developed 2022’s excellent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, and if anyone can match the Turtles for 90s nostalgia, it’s Marvel superheroes

This brilliant brawler lets you choose from 15 of them, from the likes of Spidey and Wolverine, to more deep cut picks, such as Beta Ray Bill and Phyla-Vell.

Marvel’s Cosmic Invasion employs a tag team system that lets you swap between two of your chosen heroes at will as you’re playing through a level. It’s a great feature for indecisive solo players, and allows for lots of creative combo scenarios.

I’m not sure the overall package is quite as strong as Shredder’s Revenge (which is also on Game Pass), but if you’re a Marvel comics nerd of any age, it’s hard to see why you wouldn’t fall immediately for Marvel Cosmic Invasion.

Firewatch - September 2016 - YouTube

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Firewatch

In the near-decade since Campo Santo’s Firewatch first released, there have been countless “walking simulators” in a similar mould, but I’m not sure many have had such a strong sense of place and vibe.

In this first-person adventure game set in a sprawling forest in Wyoming, you play as a lookout named Henry, with only your supervisor on the other end of a walkie-talkie for company. Much of the game is spent simply wandering around the wilderness and chatting to Delilah, but the initially relaxing pace of the game eventually gives way to a more tense atmosphere – and a mystery that keeps you guessing until the end.

Firewatch’s distinctive colour palette and not-quite-cartoon-like visual style has always stood out, and while its specific sub-genre is now a pretty crowded one, there remains something novel about playing a first-person game that isn’t about shooting things.

A game as deliberately low-stakes as this one might start to drag at twice the length, but you can see all of Henry’s quiet summer adventure play out in under four hours, which feels just right.