Like Elden Ring, but shorter

Elden Ring's main story is about 60 hours. These keep the part you came for (bosses that teach you their pattern, levels that loop back on themselves) and finish in half the time or less.

Shorter games like Elden Ring, shortest first, with each one's main story in hours and its share of Elden Ring's 60 hours.
Game	Main story	Of Elden Ring
Death's Door Action adventure 9 h15% of the time A crow who reaps souls for a living. Zelda's dungeons with FromSoftware's shortcuts, and jokes. Keeps Doors that open back to the last checkpoint, and bosses with a pattern to learn. Drops The open world and almost all of the stats.	9 h	15%
Cuphead Run and gun 10.5 h18% of the time Almost nothing but boss fights, drawn like a 1930s cartoon. Each one is a pattern you learn by losing to it. Keeps Bosses you learn by dying. Drops Exploration, levelling and swords. It's a shooter.	10.5 h	18%
Mortal Shell Action RPG 10.5 h18% of the time Souls with the build sheet torn out: four bodies to wear, a parry, and a button that turns you to stone mid-swing. Keeps Stamina, parries and bosses that kill you until they don't. Drops The stats. You pick a body, not a spread of points.	10.5 h	18%
Tunic Adventure 12 ha fifth of the time A small fox in a world that hides half of itself. The manual you collect in pages explains more than it first lets on. Keeps A stamina bar, bosses that punish greed and secrets in plain sight. Drops The scale. You can hold the whole map in your head.	12 h	a fifth
Salt and Sanctuary 2D action RPG 16.5 h28% of the time Dark Souls pressed flat. Same bonfires, same build sheet, same giant who kills you in two hits. Keeps Stats, builds and a map that loops back on itself. Drops The third dimension, and the horse.	16.5 h	28%
Demon's Souls Action RPG 24 h40% of the time The 2020 remake of where FromSoftware's formula started. Five worlds off one hub, each a level you end up knowing by heart. Keeps Hand-built levels, shortcuts and bosses that are puzzles as much as fights. Drops The open field between them. You pick a world from the hub.	24 h	40%
Hollow Knight Metroidvania 27 hhalf the time A ruined bug kingdom with more bosses than most Souls games. The map is sold separately, by a cartographer you have to find first. Keeps Dropping your money where you died and walking back for it. Bosses worth the walk. Drops The third dimension and the summons. You fight alone.	27 h	half
Lies of P Action RPG 28.5 hhalf the time Pinocchio retold as a Bloodborne tribute, and better than that sounds. The closest thing here to playing Elden Ring itself. Keeps Hard bosses, weapon builds and a city that folds back on itself. Drops The open world. It's one long route through one city.	28.5 h	half