Highlights
- Small PC games like Peggle, Downwell, and The Binding of Isaac offer quality gaming experiences without massive storage requirements.
- Older games like OpenTTD and Papers, Please prove that fun and memorable gameplay can come in small sizes.
- Games like Afterburn and The Two of Us show that small games can still pack a punch with engaging mechanics and co-op play.
Every day, the ever-changing ways of the gaming world unveil something new and improved—be it a fresh device, a new game, or a long-awaited TV show adaptation. In essence, the gaming industry is changing drastically; it's getting bigger and better. There's superior technology, greater variety, and definitely much better graphics in the market now. But there's a major downside to all of this, and it's something that keeps getting "worse" by the minute: the ever-growing size of games.
29 Of The Biggest PC Games By File Size, Ranked
Which PC game is going to take up the biggest slice of your hard drive? These are. Here are the ten biggest PC games according to their file size.
Game sizes have always been a hot topic in the gamer part of the internet. 2020's Cyberpunk 2077, with its 70GB size, generated quite a buzz in the community before its release (although in retrospect, 70GB is relatively insignificant compared to some other games). The outrageous ARK: Survival Evolved also demands over 250 GB of space with its expansion packs and maps. So yes, PC users tend to have it rough regarding storage problems. The good news is, there's a flip side to the spectrum too. With games as big as the ones mentioned earlier come low MB games for PC, and while they may not have the highest quality graphics or the most technical gameplay, they're perfect for what they offer.
Updated June 6, 2024 by Fatima Naeem: Not every game has to take up most of the disk space to be able to be played properly. Sure, a heavy game naturally alludes to that particular title being good in terms of—well, pretty much everything—but, to think that that's only where the fun lies, is completely wrong. Older games barely took up any space; they were small, simple, and dainty, yet they always packed a punch, and are still remembered fondly.
And maybe that's exactly what keeps these smaller games so popular among players; it's their unassuming simplicity and casualness (something that is often missing from AAA titles). Ultimately, not every small game is bad, and neither is every big game good.
10 Peggle
Total Size on Disk: 19 MB
Peggle, a puzzle game released by PopCap in 2007, falls into the category of casual arcade games that might not appeal to everyone. However, for those players who do eventually get the hang of it, it becomes magnetizing.
Peggle has fifty-five levels the player has to clear. Each level starts with blue pegs distinctly arranged on the screen. Twenty-five of these blue pegs change into orange once the game starts and the player's goal is to get rid of all the orange pegs by launching a ball at them. Players are given a finite number of balls in each level, and they're supposed to clear the level within that specified number. If they fail, well, they start again.
9 Downwell
Download Size: 28.6 MB, Total Size on Disk: 40 MB
Downwell is a game that might not seem like much on the outside, but it manages to catch everyone off guard with how "powerful" it is. It's a 2D-pixelated shooter game that goes all out with its shooting sequences. It was developed and released in 2015 by Devolver Digital for PC and iOS and was later released for other platforms.
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Games that blend an open world with pixel graphics can be just as fun as any modern AAA title in the same genre.
The game's idea is simple. Navigate Welltaro (the main character) through his descent into a nearby well, and make sure he survives the onslaught of aggressive enemy mobs. Survival is based on Welltaro shooting as many monsters as he can during his descent.
8 AFTERBURN
Download Size: 13.6 MB, Total Disk Size: 48.2 MB
- Platform(s): PC
- Released: 2019-12-11
- Developers: MorfeoDev
- Genres: Third-Person Shooter
For a game as small as AFTERBURN in terms of size, it hits particularly hard in terms of graphics. Frankly, it does not look like a game that's only 13.6 MB in download size. It was developed by a small indie developer that goes by MorfeoDev and was released in 2019.
AFTERBURN has bold—almost aggressive—mechanics. It's sort of like a third-person shooter game and does a great job of acting like one. Its gameplay is quite straightforward: lots of shooting and lots of moving, that's all there is to it. This is precisely why players only require a mouse and a little bit of patience to get through the initial learning curve. The mini-campaign mode, featuring new missions daily, keeps the game from going stale and redundant. For someone who just wants to aimlessly play a game without having to worry about progress and missions, there's the endless mode too, and it goes on for as long as the player can keep playing. To infinity and beyond, that sorta thing.
7 The Binding Of Isaac
Total Size Disk Size: 48.5 MB
The Binding of Isaac
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Released
- September 28, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Edmund McMillen , Florian Himsl
- Genre(s)
- Roguelike
For a game that has a main character as cute as Isaac is, one would think it's a casual, feel-good, adventure survival that offers gameplay exactly as advertised. Well, they'd be wrong because The Binding of Isaac is anything but cute and feel-good.
It's an indie-action roguelike that consists of one of the most bizarre and twisted storylines players would encounter in similar genres. The game thrives on its randomly generated levels, which infuse each map with a unique sense of originality since no dungeon is the same. Despite its 2D graphics, it's pretty much a full-time RPG with over 20 bosses and more than 50 unique aggressive mob types. It also has multiple endings, depending on the path the player goes for during their playthrough, and even allows Isaac to be upgraded and progressed based on the loot and unlockables found throughout the game.
6 And Yet It Moves
Total Size Disk Size: 67.4 MB
- Platform(s): PC, Wii
- Released: 2009-04-02
- Developers: Broken Rules
- Genres: 2D Platformer
Games, especially of sizes as small as 67.4 MB, do not really invoke a sort of sentiment in their players. Small games are meant to be played, enjoyed, and forgotten. However, And Yet It Moves, with its very unconventional graphics akin to ripped paper, is among the most memorable.
It's a puzzle platform game that employs simple physics for its mechanics. The game pretty much works like an average platform game—run forward, and jump over obstacles. However, what makes it stand out from other games of its kind is its very unique feature that lets players rotate the entire map at a 90-degree angle. The point? To solve especially difficult puzzles, and for fun, of course!
5 OpenTTD
Download Size: 27.7 MB, Total Size on Disk: 69.1 MB
- Platform(s): PC, Android
- Released: 2004-03-06
- Developers: OpenTTD Team
- Genres: Business Simulation
OpenTTD stands as a tycoon amidst a sea of basic games, no pun intended. OpenTTD, or Open Transport Tycoon Deluxe, is a 2004 open-source business simulation game that serves as a remake of the widely acclaimed 1994 title Transport Tycoon Deluxe. Even though the game is pretty old, its community and development remain considerably active; the developers recently launched a stable version of the game on July 5, 2023.
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Business simulators may not sound like the most exciting games on paper, but they're surprisingly addictive. These are the best of them.
The game aims to have players build a decent business that generates maximum profit. While that sounds breezy and straightforward, there is a significant amount of micromanagement and strategy involved. Some may even consider the game a real-time strategy, albeit without all the wars and battles.
The simplest way of explaining the gameplay to a new player would be: build a transportation network to ship cargo from one area to another and in turn, receive a profit for it. Players can play against AI or other players.
4 SteamWorld Dig
Total Size on Disk: 79.7 MB
SteamWorld Dig, as a loose analogy, would be like a side-scrolling 2D Minecraft with metroidvania features included. It was released in 2013 by Image & Form and is the second installment in the SteamWorld series.
The game features a main character who goes by the name of Rusty. Rusty is a robot who is tasked with exploring and digging through a mine left for him by his uncle in the town of Tumbleton. He initially uses a pickaxe to mine around for ores but can upgrade that to other kinds of equipment eventually. Rusty also has to face and defeat enemy mobs to advance through the game.
3 The Two Of Us
Download Size: 19.7 MB, Total Size on Disk: 80.15 MB
- Platform(s): PC
- Released: 2021-12-18
- Developers: Ethan Fitzgerald
- Genres: Platform game, Puzzle Video Game, Indie game, Free-to-play, Casual game, Strategy
In a world of mega-hit, record-breaking, blockbuster co-op games like Baldur's Gate 3, Phasmophobia, and well, Among Us, cute indie games like The Two of Us frequently go unnoticed. The Two of Us is a 2021 2D co-op side-scrolling game that's as cute and fun as it looks.
The game places a strong emphasis on co-op and the concept of 'working together.' Each level functions as a miniature puzzle that can't be solved without assistance from the second player. Consider it a much more storage-friendly version of It Takes Two.
2 Papers, Please
Download Size: 35.7 MB, Total Size on Disk: 90.7 MB
Fans of Spy x Family rejoice! Papers, Please is essentially Ostania and Westalis navigating their way out of the war. Okay, maybe not precisely that, but the game's premise shares an uncanny similarity with the anime. Papers, Please is an indie puzzle sim game that was released by 3909 LLC in 2013 for PC.
7 Minimalist Puzzle Games
Players who enjoy simple aesthetics while solving puzzles will love these minimalist games.
The game is extremely unique in terms of its gameplay. It features a fictional country, Arstotzka, that recently got out of a war with the neighboring country of Kolechia and now has to be careful with managing the flow of people across its borders (does no one see the resemblance to Spy x Family?!). The player role-plays as an immigration officer who now has to do all the work to make that happen.
They must bear in mind the specific criteria for allowing individuals into the country and make sure everyone meets those. Every day, the criteria change. The difficulty of the instructions gets progressively harder, requiring the player to stay on top of them and apprehend anyone who appears suspicious.
1 Ion Fury
Download Size: 94.7 MB, Total Size on Disk: 97.6 MB
An FPS game that doesn't hog half the space on everyone's PC? Who wouldn't be up for that? Ion Fury is an indie first-person shooter with cyberpunk elements that was released by 3D Realms in 2019. The game was well-received and even managed to get the 2019 'Indie of The Year' award at IndieDB.
Ion Fury is seen as a successor to classic shooter games such as Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior. It even carries a strong resemblance to House of The Dead. Like every old-school shooting game, the premise of this one is straightforward: use massive firepower to shoot a path through the bad guys. Who are the bad guys? They're a bunch of 'cybernetically-enhanced' cult followers wreaking havoc on the streets of a fantasy city called Neo D.C.
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