Earning Gamerscore can be a real minefield. Sometimes the requirements are downright ridiculous, there might be an extreme grind to put up with, a crazy difficult challenge to complete, a multiplayer achievement which will have you relying on random teammates, or worst of all, an achievement which is simply unobtainable, whether due to a server shutdown or a glitch.
Luckily it’s not always like that. Some Xbox games out there are so simple to complete, only taking a few hours of casual play at most. So instead of completing hundreds of races or finding thousands of collectibles, why not give the ten games on this list a whirl?
The Walking Dead Collection – The Telltale Series (2017)
Completion Time: 30-35 Hours
Telltale’s games always seem to follow a set formula. They are point-and-click adventure games. They rely on the player making choices and interacting with the environment in order to propel the narrative. They are released episodically. They take place in well-established universes. But most importantly – at least for this list – they all have really easy achievements. Games like Tales from the Borderlands or Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series could be completed in just an afternoon.
In truth, I could have easily picked either of those games as the Telltale representative for this list. So why did I go for The Walking Dead Collection, even though it takes significantly longer to finish? Because it’s just that. A collection. That means there are four games included within, and they each have their own achievement list. That adds up to 139 achievements and a whopping 4000 Gamerscore. Suddenly, that 35 hour estimate doesn’t seem so bad.
And don’t be fooled into thinking that this game is any harder than your standard Telltale title just because it’ll take you longer to finish. It’s not. You’ll earn the bulk of the achievements just by finishing episodes and making the choices you want to make. This is great news, because it allows you to play how you want and really enjoy this beautiful piece of story-telling courtesy of Telltale.
Unfortunately, the studio was shut down last year and this once-reliable source of easy completions has since dried up.
Life Is Strange (2015)
Completion Time: 10-15 Hours
Like The Walking Dead, Life is Strange is an adventure game where your actions have consequences in terms of the overall story. It’s also downright brilliant.
You’ll be playing as Max Caulfield, an amateur photographer who goes to a renowned art school in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a place full of hipsters, jocks, stoners and any other high school stereotype you can think of. She comes to find out that she can rewind time, and the story builds on from there.
The achievements are really easy. There aren’t any tied to specific decisions. Instead, the bulk of the achievements involve taking optional photographs – ten in each episode. Some will require you to use your time-bending abilities but none are really difficult to find. Even if you don’t get them all in one play-through, there is a special ‘collectible mode’ that allows you to grab any you missed without your choices having any effect.
Life is Strange is fairly lengthy and will take up to 15 hours to complete all five episodes. It’s well worth it though, both because of the easy Gamerscore and the brilliant narrative. And after you’ve finished the game, you should check out the prequel Before the Storm. It’s just as good and its achievements just as easy.
Abzû (2017)
Completion Time: 1-2 Hours
You could play Abzû a few times and still not know what is really happening in terms of story. It’s an abstract adventure to say the least. Even so, it’s a beautiful and relaxing experience. You could spend hours just swimming around, watching the diverse and colourful wildlife as well as the peaceful environments they live in.
Whilst I would recommend everyone take some time to appreciate the game’s beauty, you’re reading this because you’re after some easy Gamerscore. It’ll only take you a few hours for all twelve achievements and the full 1000. You can’t die, so you won’t have to worry about losing your progress. You will need a guide however, as there are three types of collectibles to watch out for – hidden pools, meditation statues and shells – and a few are missable.
Apart from that, the other achievements are earned by completing simple tasks like jumping out of the water and watching one fish eat another whilst meditating.
The Station (2018)
Completion Time: 30-60 Minutes
The Station is a science-fiction ‘walking simulator’. What that means is there is a lot of interacting with the environment, reading notes and listening to audio logs in order to propel the story forward. Now, whether that sounds like a good or bad thing is up to you, but you can’t deny that The Station has some easy achievements.
In case you were wondering, the story concerns the fate of three crew members of a malfunctioning space station. You have to work out what has happened to them, and there’s a fairly obvious twist at the end of the game (which I won’t spoil).
Of the eleven achievements on offer, none will really trip you up. They involve the usual things: finding stuff, solving puzzles and listening to audio logs. I would recommend using a guide, in order to cut out any unnecessary exploring (unless that’s your kind of thing). Doing this also means you won’t need to worry about missing the Thorough Investigator achievement, which you’ll earn for listening to all 24 audio logs. All told, you should expect to be finished within half an hour.
Gone Home: Console Edition (2016)
Completion Time: 30-90 Minutes
The second ‘walking simulator’ on this list, Gone Home is both better than The Station and has a really easy achievement list. It’s certainly intriguing and set up almost like a horror game. It’s a stormy night, you’re home alone and there’s a disturbing letter from your sister. And as you wander round trying to figure out where everyone has gone, you half expect something to jump out and get you. Nothing ever does, but that doesn’t stop you from feeling on edge the whole time.
Following a guide is the way to go if you want to finish Gone Home in under 90 minutes (are you seeing a trend here?). There’s an achievement for finding all the collectibles, some of which are in pretty obscure places. There’s another for reading every journal entry and completing the game in under ten minutes. Luckily, it’s not difficult if you know where you’re going.
In fact, the only real ‘tough’ achievement is Homerunner, which asks you to finish the game in under 60 seconds. I only say it’s tough in that you need to know the exact route and it’ll take you a few tries. As with the other achievements, watch a guide, nail the route and you should have this in no time.
Cubot – The Complexity of Simplicity (2016)
Completion Time: 30-60 Minutes
Cubot is a 3D puzzler where your task is to move coloured blocks onto their corresponding squares. Sounds simple, but what you’ll quickly find is that it’s easier said than done. Things will start out easy enough with just one coloured cube, but soon you’ll be dealing with blocks of all colours with their own unique mechanics. There’s also teleporters and blocks that change the colour of cubes it comes into contact with. Every block is controlled by the left thumbstick simultaneously, so you’ll have to factor that in too. You’ll quickly find that one wrong move could lock you out of the solution and you’ll have to restart.
Luckily, you’ll only have to worry about any of that if you choose to go solo. Using a guide makes Cubot a cakewalk that you can complete in under an hour. You’ll earn all the Gamerscore just by completing all 80 levels.
NBA 2K6 (2005)
Completion Time: 30-48 Minutes
What would this list be without a sports game? After all, they are notorious for having some of the easiest achievement lists going. This whole list could simply be ten different sports games, from FIFA to Madden to NBA 2K. That’s no fun though, so I’ve chosen NBA 2K6 as the sports games representative for this list. Mainly because you can earn all five achievements in a single game of basketball if you know what you’re doing. That’s only 48 minutes (or less depending what you set the quarter length to).
All you need to do is mess with the sliders in the settings beforehand. By doing this, you can turn your team into basketball gods and your opponents into literal garbage who act like they’ve never seen a basketball before in their lives. You’ll never miss your shots, will win every ball, and generally just dominate. You can also change the rules, so that you can hold the ball as long as want. This is useful for running down the clock when you’ve done all you need to do for your achievements. After the game ends, all five will pop and 1000 Gamerscore will be yours.
If you’re looking for some more easy sports games to complete after dominating in NBA 2K6, then I’d suggest picking up NHL 2K6, Fight Night Round 3 or Madden NFL 06.
Jack N’ Jill DX (2018)
Completion Time: Around 20 Minutes
In recent years, Ratalaika Games have released some of the easiest games going. If you’re looking for cheap and easy completions, Ratalaika is the company for you. Super Destronaut DX, InkSplosion, Access Denied, FullBlast – the list goes on. But it’s the black-and-white platformer Jack N’ Jill DX that takes the cake and the third spot on this list. The game boasts 140 levels, but you’ll only need to complete twenty for the full 1000.
The achievements are so simple. I mean, you’ll earn 270 Gamerscore just for one button press at the start of the game. 270! For one button press! Sounds pretty good, right? There’s also 90 for dying once. Another 90 is earned for bouncing on an enemy. Yet another 90 for collecting 250 coins (which you can’t miss). And you’ll get another 90 for completing a world (twenty levels). After that, all you’ll have to do is play a minigame from the main menu, earn a shop ticket and buy something from the in-game store. All this can be done in twenty minutes. Not bad.
Storm Boy (2018)
Completion Time: 15-30 Minutes
You don’t often see games based on books but Storm Boy is one such example. Based on the 1964 book of the same name, it’ll have you exploring a beach where there are mini-games for you to complete. It’s a beautiful and relaxing experience but extremely short. As far as story goes, you’ll find three orphaned pelicans and one of them, Mr. Percival, grows up to be your best friend. I won’t spoil what happens to your feathered friend but it’s not great.
To earn Storm Boy’s achievements, you’ll need to perform certain actions in the various mini-games. Don’t fear though, because these are so trivial. For example, in one mini-game you’ll have to change direction fifteen times. In another, you’ll have to stay underwater for the maximum amount of time. You should have all eleven achievements within thirty minutes. The quickest players will be able to do it in fifteen.
Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Burning Earth (2007)
Completion Time: 2-5 Minutes (!)
Ask any achievement hunter to name the easiest completion they can think of, and Avatar will be the answer they give nine times out of ten. It’s famous for its simplicity and five minutes is all you’ll really need for the full 1000 and all five achievements. For reference, it’s probably taken you longer to read this article up to this point. It has earned its title of ‘easiest completion on the Xbox’ and the top spot on this list.
The key to the 1000 Gamerscore is to earn a fifty point combo. Which you can do just after the first cut-scene. Run to the left side of the arena, and use your long range attack on the enemies that are slowly advancing toward you. That’s all you need to do.
It’s probably a good thing that the achievements are so easy because it means you don’t have to play through the rest of the game. Avatar is average at best. It relies on button mashing far too often and it gets repetitive really quickly. Avatar falls in line with most other video games based on TV shows and movies in the sense that its rubbish.
So, tempted to pick up any of these games just for that sweet Gamerscore? Have you found a game that delivers even easier points than these? Let us know in the comments below.
Avatar is for xbox 360 only