14 Of The Best Free Online Video Games

14 Of The Best Free Online Video Games

14 Of The Best Free Online Video Games

Slow day in the office? Of course it is, that's why you're here. Best fire up a new browser window and open something mildly work related or business-worthy - anything with which you'll be able to cover the procrastination you are no doubt looking to embark upon. 

Now, you're all set to delve into our collection of totally free, incredibly addictive video games - no downloads, no purchases, all ready and waiting to play in your browser. From 10 minute puzzlers to life-consuming adventures, plug in your headphones and prepare to become gloriously unproductive. 


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YOU MUST ESCAPE

Genre: Puzzle/Logic 

What do you do: Ever awoken from an impromptu nap on the sofa at 3am and cursed your lack of echo location as you locate the coffee table with the tender side of your shin? You Must Escape realises this wish. Arrow keys move you around darkened corridors, with each step revealing your location thanks to a series of 'echoing' white lines emanating from your feet. As you proceed through the levels, traps begin to make things that little bit trickier.

Procrastination potentialA lunch hour or two should exhaust the blacked out levels of this gem. 

Play it here


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N: THE WAY OF THE NINJA

Genre: Platformer 

What do you do: Despite resembling pajama-clad gymnasts, you've probably wanted to be a ninja since the age you could pronounce the word. N allows you to do just that. This award-winning 2D puzzler will push your reactions to the limit as you dodge all manner of traps and foes in your attempt to escape each hellish level. 

Procrastination potential: With a hundred 'episodes', two player mode and user-generated levels, you can easily sink a few weeks into N.

Play it here


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DOOM

Genre: Classic first person shooter

What do you do: A game that needs no introduction - but it's getting one anyway. A nameless space marine finds the spawn of hell attacking a colony on Mars' moon, Phobos. There's no princess to save, just wave after wave of demonic hordes and buckets of gore. A classic. 

Procrastination potential: You can dip into this for a brief hit of nostalgia, but experienced players should clear it in a matter of days. 

Play it here


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THE LAST TANGO

Genre: Shooter/Dancer

What do you do: Superspies James and Anya find their honeymoon plagued by a string of syndicates, governments and evil masterminds. It's up to you to keep the romance alive by guiding their deadly dance, throwing in combat moves that will counter the approach of enemy agents. Slick, different and highly entertaining, this neat little shooter was built in only 48 hours. 

Procrastination potential: The dance fever should wear off after a day or two. 

Play it here


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SUPER HOUSE OF DEAD NINJAS

Genre: Action platformer

What do you do: All charm of a retro arcade game with an injection of modern speed. Descend a seemingly endless tower filled with undead foe in this furious, creative platformer.

Procrastination potential: With heaps of unlockable weapons, you could be plunging into the depths for the better part of a month.

Play it here


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MEAT BOY

Genre: Platformer

What do I do: A novel take on the traditional "Save the girl" formula, Meat Boy is a blocky dose of brilliance. You play the eponymous hero, on a quest to save his fleshy girlfriend. Funny and frustrating in equal measure, this will test your wall jumping skills to the max.

Procrastination potential: This should provide a meaty feast for the next week of lunch ours.

Play it here


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WONDERPUTT

Genre: Arcade golf

What do you do: Crazy golf without the physical restraints. Beautifully simple to play, the deceptively simple courses are immensely inventive: you'll think you've got the submarine-scope par 4 sown up, until that third shot slings you round the wrong side of the pond.

Procrastination potential: If you're looking to score maximum points on every hole, Wonderputt is going to eat into the rest of your year

Play it here


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TODAY I DIE

Genre: Puzzle

What do I do: A beautiful mix of storytelling and puzzle gaming, Daniel Benmergu's Today I Die will remind you why you love indie internet games. By changing certain words in a short paragraph, you're able to influence the world of the game. Interacting with the characters and settings then reveals further words for the paragraph, allowing for several possible endings. Released in 2010, this is the one you'll be sharing on Facebook tonight.

Procrastination potential: A lunch hour should exhaust the secrets of this marvellous little puzzle. 

Play it here


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Slender: The Nine Pages

Genre: Horror survival

What do I do: A follow up to the hugely popular game Slender: The Eight Pages (which you can download for free here), Nine Pages takes place in a shadowy basement. Armed with a temperamental torch, you must explore the corridors in search of nine pages of a journal before a strange, faceless figure known only as the Slenderman tracks you down and ends your search. 

Procrastination potential: As the location of each page is randomised, there are endless scares to be had in Slender

Play it here


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FLOW

Genre: Cellular simulator?

What do I do: This captivating game was created in 2006 by Jenova Chen and Nicholas Clark to accompany Chen's Master's thesis (which will immediately make your own academic exploits look feeble in comparison). You play a small cellular snake-like creature, whose purpose appears to be to eat tiny glowing microbes that - once found - take you into a deeper layer of cellular activity. Avoid aggressive blobs, eat more blobs and drink in this beautiful experience.

Procrastination potential: Whether you dip in for 10 minutes or explore for hours, there's a wealth of experiences to be had from Flow.

Play it here


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CATLATERAL DAMAGE

Genre: Cat simulator 

What do I do: This is one for the cat people amongst you. You are a cat, trapped within the lonely confines of a house. You must score points by knocking as many objects of shelves, tables and ledges as possible. Listed items will help you rack up more points. It's as fun as it sounds.

Procrastination potential: There's a week of chaos to be had in this title before the charm begins to wear thin. 

Play it here


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HOTLINE TRAIL

Genre: Arcade racer

What do I do: The lightcycles of Tron meet the winding roads of Mario Kart's Rainbow Road in this endless racer. Just when you think you've mastered the skill of nailing a tight right-hander, a new corner will emerge to ruin your run.

Procrastination potential: To get the most out of Hotline Trail, grab a mate and crowd around the keyboard for some intense two player action. 

Play it here


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GODS WILL BE WATCHING

Genre: Point and click thriller

What do I do: A narrative puzzle that's heavy on bleak themes of sacrifice, death and survival. The game follows Sgt. Burden and his crew in six tense chapters from hostage situations to wilderness survival. There are no wrong choices, only decisions that could see you and some of your team live longer than others. 

Procrastination potential: There isn't an easy mode for Gods Will Be Watching - if you're going to find one of the many conclusions to this story, you best prepare to spend several weeks clicking through the brutal decisions. 

Play it here


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ONE CHANCE

Genre: Narrative puzzle

What do I do: You are a scientist - a very successful one, having invented a cure for cancer. It's then discovered that your cure is actually a plague on all living things. In six days every living thing will be dead. You have one chance to find a cure and save the world. 

Procrastination potential: This is an exhausting, rewarding experience - every decision you make will effect the outcome of the game, meaning that one mistake amongst dozens of choices might result in wide-spread carnage. Prepare to lose a week trying to save the world.

Play it here

Marc Chacksfield
Content Director

As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.