In defense of short adventure games

Lanterns of the Hollow took me a few evenings to finish, and I've thought about it more than games ten times its length. Short adventures get unfairly dismissed for not offering enough hours, and I want to push back on that.

Length isn't value. A tight, focused story doesn't waste your time with padding, and every scene earns its place. When a game knows exactly what it wants to be, that clarity comes through in every moment.

On mobile especially, a shorter adventure fits how we actually play. You can finish it in a couple of sittings and carry the feeling with you, instead of abandoning a huge game halfway through like so many of us do.

So don't skip a game just because it's short. Some of the most memorable things I've played this year wrapped up before a longer game would have even finished its tutorial.