When you think of RPGs, you probably imagine huge adventures that take dozens of hours to complete. For many RPG fans, that’s part of the appeal, the ability to get lost in a game’s world for countless hours. Butnot everyone has 40+ hours to spare on a single game,and that kind of time sink might feel like a huge commitment.
Luckily, not all RPGs take ahuge number of hours to complete. TheXbox Game Passhas a surprising number of excellentRPGs that you’re able to finish in a single weekend,offering a satisfying one-and-done without the grind. These RPGs on the service take13 or fewer hours to beat, according toHowLongToBeat(based on the time it takes to beat the main story).
10Back to the Dawn
Time To Beat: 13 Hours
Back to the Dawnby Metal Head Games is a narrative-driven RPG that largely takes place in an unusual location: a high-security prison. Play as one of two protagonists as theyuntangle a web of lies and corruptionwith wide-reaching repercussions.
Manage your selected character through the complicated world of the prison system, forge alliances, andfind a way out—for the sake of the entire city.
9The Ascent
Time To Beat: 12 Hours
This single- andmultiplayer shooter titlewas the debut game of Neon Giant in 2021, and it’s a promising start to the studio’s portfolio.The Ascentoffers high-octane action as you shoot your way through adetailed isometric cyberpunk city, completing quests for unique characters and trying to uncover what has caused The Ascent Group to shut down.
On one hand, you’d be better off without the group, whichwatches over the sprawling metropoliswhere people live in poverty and under the controlling all-seeing eye of the corporation. On the other hand, you’re still enslaved to them, and you don’t exactly have much choice.
Rise to the literal top of the world as youlevel up, customize your skills, and try different weapons and augmentationsin your quest to save the world—and maybe yourself, too.
8Metal Slug Tactics
Time To Beat: 6 Hours
Though it’s best known for its side-scrolling run-and-gun arcade-style games, theMetal Slugfranchisealso includes the 2024Metal Slug TacticsRPG. Developed by Leikir Studio in collaboration with Dotemu, the series' original creators, this game blendselements of Roguelites with grid- and turn-based combat.
Metal Slug Tacticsadapts the series' characters and lore to a tactical RPG battlefieldthat takes just six hours to complete. Wage combat against the Rebel Army using classic tactics mechanics that pay homage to the original.
7Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand
Time To Beat: 11 Hours
WhenAtlas Fallenwas released in August 2023 by developer Deck13 Interactive, it received mixed reviews from both critics and players alike. Luckily, the version of this game available on the Xbox Game Pass is themuch better-ratedAtlas Fallen: Reign of Sand,which includes the free update that was released almost exactly one year after launch.
Atlas Risingis anaction RPG centered around battling larger-than-life monsterseither solo or in co-op mode, then harvesting their essences to use in future combat. Glide through the sands throughReign of Sand,which includes updates like new voice acting and a revamped campaign, and new content that expands the world and adds new monsters and game modes.
6Costume Quest & Costume Quest 2
Time To Beat: 5.5 And 6.5 Hours
The adorable Halloween adventures ofCostume QuestandCostume Quest 2were created by Double Fine Productions,known for hits likePsychonautsandDay of the Tentacle.
The two short and charming titles will have you reliving your childhood asyou play a group of kids trick-or-treating through their neighborhood. Complete quests and collect new costumes that transform you into the characters they represent in these whimsical and adorable RPGs from the Xbox Game Pass.
5Lost in Random
Time To Beat: 12.5 Hours
Zoink and Thunderful create something truly special inLost in Random,a story set in a world whereevery resident’s fate is decided with the roll of the dice.
Accurately self-described as a “gothic-fairy-tale-inspired action-adventure” game, the game has you rising through the multiple layers of a dystopian world in search of your sister. Battle enemiesusing your die companion to determine your attacks, explore every level, and complete puzzles.
Written by Ryan North (Dinosaur Comicscreator and writer for theAdventure TimeandThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girlcomics), this unique RPG is just under 13 hours and anexcellent way to spend your weekend.
4Volcano Princess
Time To Beat: 8.5 Hours
In most RPGs, you play the hero on an adventure to save the world. In Egg Hatcher’sVolcano Princess,you’re the protagonist’s parent, instead.
Raise the precious daughter of the powerful and benevolent Volcano Goddess. Make choices and help your daughter navigate through her life as she grows up from childhood into an adult.
Your decisions willdetermine what kind of person the princess becomes.Will she become an ordinary citizen, a beloved leader, or someone with questionable morals? This parenting simulator-type RPG on Xbox Game Pass has a lot of replay value, but it’s still short enough to complete within just a two-day binge.
3Citizen Sleeper & Citizen Sleeper 2
Time To Beat: 6.5 And 9.5 Hours
Citizen Sleeperby Jump Over The Age and its sequel are text-heavy RPGs set in space. The games are inspired by TTRPGs, and this shows in theamount of freedom and optionsthat they offer players.
Explore a space station where lawlessness reigns, making decisions that will affect your entire life—and how it ends. Form bonds and friendships, make powerful enemies, and change your future in these two Xbox Game Pass titles thatplay similarly to Choose-Your-Own-Adventure stories.
2Minecraft Dungeons
Time To Beat: 5.5 Hours
Whether you’ve playedMinecraftor not, anyone can enjoy the charming and brief adventure ofMinecraft Dungeons.Created by Mojang Studios and Double Eleven, this RPG isset in the world of the beloved sandbox builder.
Instead of crafting impressive structures and exploring the world, though,Minecraft Dungeonsis a moreguided, bite-sized game inspired by classic dungeon crawlers. Up to four players can fight their way through the dungeons, withplenty of customization optionsfor varied gameplay.
1Shadowrun Returns
Time To Beat: 11.5 Hours
The original 1993 NES version ofShadowrunwasbased on a tabletop RPG created in 1989.Since then, the franchise has maintained a cult following that’s stayed strong over more than 30 years.
Shadowrun Returnsis the shortest of the newest games in the series, making it possible to finish it over a weekend. Choose one of five races, then progress through a story of cyberpunk tech and magic in this short RPG available in theXbox Game Passcatalog.
