Top 10 Game Pass Games That Won’t Clog Your Hard Drive

We all know that feeling of not being able to install a game because of storage limitations. This can make it tough to try new games, but luckily Game Pass is packed with great experiences that don’t take up too much space. Here are the top 10 games on Game Pass that won’t fill up your storage.

10. DOOM (1993)

Image Source: Bethesda Softworks via Twinfinite

An innovator in FPS gaming, the original DOOM from 1993 is a brilliant jolt of nostalgia in a library filled with current, modern games. The controls are as simple as they ever were, but with all of the same action that started the gory, thrilling franchise in the first place. Not to mention the soundtrack that can be recognized by even a single chord, the original Doom is a great game to run through — especially now that you can get Gamerscore for doing so.

Even though Doom isn’t the longest game in Game Pass’ collection, having a download size of only 412.68 MB, it’s hard to argue against giving it a run through. It’s worth the download even if only to see how far the game has come since 1993, which you can experience for yourself with DOOM 64, DOOM 2 and DOOM 3. DOOM 3 is the only one of these on Game Pass that’ll even take up more than a gig, but at a little over 7 GB, it’s still a great game for its size.

9. SpiderHeck

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SpiderHeck is one of the most aptly named games on this list, being absolute mayhem in the form of just a couple of arachnids. The physics system is refined in a way where you really can learn and improve the more that you play, but the learning curve can be rather steep if you don’t give yourself enough time to get used to it. SpiderHeck is a great game to play with friends or just on your own.

You can do much more in the game than you might expect with a download size of just 1.44 GB. There’s PvE modes where you can hold your own against waves and swarms of enemies, or you can go head to head with friends for a fighting experience like no other. There’s even a parkour mode that you can use to refine some of your traversal tactics, which will be useful given that these spiders don’t quite have the same grace as Peter and Miles do.

8. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

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If you’re looking for something somewhat less involved than the other games on this list, then you can do no better than any of the Ace Attorney games. Luckily, the Ace Attorney trilogy is available on Game Pass for subscribers, so you can immerse yourself in the renowned visual novel without having to wait to find out what happens between each installment.

The trilogy consists of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Justice for All and Trials and Tribulations, which totals 14 chapters for you to navigate. For a game that only takes up around 2.32 GB, there’s plenty to keep you busy with an average HowLongToBeat rating of around 60 hours. If you’re interested in some action-packed legal drama, you really can’t object.

7. Figment: Journey Into the Mind

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Unlike any other game I’ve ever played, Figment: Journey of the Mind takes you through a moving story that’s veiled as a puzzle game. Uncover some of the deepest recesses of a man’s subconscious by unlocking paths, solving puzzles and driving nightmares out of the depths of a mind that hasn’t been dusted off in quite some time. While not an excessively difficult game, Figment: JotM is an experience that you’ve got to play to understand.

With an art style that can’t be matched by the rest of the games on this list, Figment takes multiple senses in mind when appealing to its players. Music is one of the biggest factors in the game, driving some of the combat and scenery to create an all-encompassing gameplay experience. As you play further, you uncover more and more of the mysteries that can be locked away in just one mind.

6. Unpacking

Image Source: Humble Games

A puzzle game that hides itself in a pile of laundry might not seem enticing at first, but once you try playing Unpacking, you’ll see just what is so compelling about it. Coming in at only 945.08 MB, there’s no harm in giving it a shot and seeing why it’s a special kind of game. It’s simple, but it’s a calming way to spend a couple of hours as you figure out what items belong where and how to get them all to fit.

From the art style to the music to the story, there’s a lot to love about Unpacking. It tells the story of the main character’s life without showing you the actual character, but lets you meet them through their belongings. You get to follow them through a different stage of their life in each level, and it all makes it feel like you’re really getting to watch them grow over the course of the game.

5. Pikuniku

Image Source: Devolver Digital

When it comes to a bright and colorful art style in a game, it’s safe to think that not everything is always quite as it seems. This proves to hold entirely true for Pikuniku, a game that mixes exploration and puzzles with controls accessible enough for anyone to pick up and understand. With an install size of 320.86 MB, there’s a lot of fun that you can have as just a little red bean.

The game is filled to the brim with charm and humor, offset perfectly by the art style that makes it look as though it was designed as solely a kid’s game. There are a lot of fun little nooks and crannies to explore that’ll reward you with trophies or new dialogue, and you can work through some of the puzzles to make your way through and uncover everything that’s hiding underneath.

4. Spirittea

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While it’s easy to see a pixelated life-sim and think that it’s simply a knock off of Stardew Valley, in the case of Spirittea, you would be wrong. Spirittea gives you the opportunity to explore and customize a town of your own, with the help of some of the different people who live in the town with you. However, there are more than just living people here to make your life exciting…

The “spirit” part of Spirittea comes from the fact that shortly after coming to the town, you begin seeing and encountering spirits who inhabit the area. The “tea” part of the title comes from the fact that your goal is to run a tea shop in this town, and if you put them both together, you’ll find yourself running a tea shop that’s tailored for the spirits themselves. There’s plenty to do to make the place your own, but there’s also plenty of people to really get to know during your time.

3. Cocoon

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Deserving of the four awards that it’s won since its launch, Cocoon is a game worth experiencing for yourself. With little introduction into the world, you see yourself born of a cocoon before beginning your journey throughout nested worlds. These worlds are ones that you can carry on your back and use to interact with your environment, and you’ll have to find your way between worlds in order to dive deeper into the game.

To say that the game is gorgeous would be a severe understatement, with breathtaking vistas, complex environmental detail and creative level and character design that makes a name for itself. The game only requires about 2.16 GB to install, and it runs great for how much detail there is to the game overall. If you’re already subscribed to Game Pass, Cocoon is one game that you have to try.

2. Lonely Mountains: Downhill

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If you’re looking for a gorgeous, stylized game where you can either relax or test yourself to your limits, look no further than Lonely Mountains: Downhill. Not only are the courses all unique and challenging in their own ways, but the environments that you’re biking through on your way down the trail are really quite breath-taking.

There’s something about games like this that are delightfully iterative. You make your way down the trail a couple of times, and each time you find something that you hadn’t seen prior. It could be a shortcut, an environmental feature or a combination of both, but there’s always something new to see on your way down. You can try new shortcuts and bikes to really feel out what’s the fastest way to get to the base camp, and before you know it you’ll have been playing for hours.

1. Stardew Valley

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The titan that redefined the farming-sim genre, Stardew Valley is a game that keeps on giving. From the vast amount of things to do, animals to raise, fish to catch and crops to grow, for only 651.8 MB, this is one game that just can’t get it wrong. The developer ConcernedApe created the game on his own, and still continues to update it with major and minor additions that keep its loyal fan base constantly coming back for more.

Whether you want to start a relationship and get married or build yourself a farming empire, you can do it all from the comfort of your farmhouse. You can get to know some of the townsfolk to uncover some of the underlying story throughout the game, but you’d be hard-pressed to find something negative about living in the valley. If you’re looking for a game that can occupy hours of your time without occupying your entire hard drive, you really can’t do any better than Stardew Valley.