What games are Just Too Long? | Long, long, maaaaaaaaaan!
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I absolutely love the Trails series, but yeah you're completely right. I think the best ones for pacing were the Crossbell arc, but I'm almost at the end of Cold Steel II and boy am I tired of playing it. I think I'll finish it then take a break before moving on to III and IV.
Also, most open world games are completely filled with stuff that rarely contributes to the story or the setting, the latest Assassin's Creed games being some of the worst offenders imo.
I just platinum'd Bloodborne. The whole series of Chalice dungeons required for a single trophy almost took as long as the rest of the game for me, haha.
PS - My cloud save is just before the battle for that single trophy, so if someone wants to skip the whole process by jumping into my game and beating her together, hmu lol
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Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Just an absolute slog for a conclusion of the story that I had to watch YouTube videos to understand.
The CRPG Addict took 272 hours to beat the campaign in Fate: Gates of Dawn for the Amiga, and he was using a guide for most of it:
crpgaddict.blogspot.com
Fate: Gates of Dawn: Summary and Rating
A blog in which a dedicated addict plays through all PC computer role-playing games (CRPGs), in chronological order.
crpgaddict.blogspot.com
So many people say Persona 5, but I say Persona 3. That last month or two drags like no other, mainly because at that point you've completed most if not all the night time social links and maxed out your social stats. Pretty much the only things you can do at night are the arcade on days when you can get Persona stat increases, or the shrine. Tartarus is an option, but you've likely gone as far as the game will let you there already. They do a good job of making the game have a "the end is nigh" feeling at this point, but the fact that you basically have nothing you're rushing to do before the end really makes it not feel a sense of urgency.
Persona 5 doesn't need to have the story or the amount of content cut, but I do think the palaces could've been significantly shorter.
Okami I think is just fine the way it is. It's really no longer than your average Zelda game, but it feels longer than it is because of the way it's structured to some extent.
Okami I think is just fine the way it is. It's really no longer than your average Zelda game, but it feels longer than it is because of the way it's structured to some extent.
Last of us II is definetly too long for my taste, but at the same time it feels rushed to me, like outside of the main two protagonists almost everyone else feels underdeveloped, so its in this weird spot where I would have liked tighter pacing but also to expand on the side characters, maybe its because it has so many levels where the main character is alone which was not the case in the first game.
I am close to the end, trying to get in the mood to finish it, though that hasn't happened since december.
I am close to the end, trying to get in the mood to finish it, though that hasn't happened since december.
- Last of Us 2 is the most recent and biggest offender: playtime about double of what's ideal for this kind of gameplay loop. The original had the perfect length, such a shame the sequel was so overindulgent in this regard.
- Alien Isolation: game has about 3 finales or moments when I thought the ending was near, but it just kept going. Moreover these later hours just have you backtracking and don't really add anything, so it just feels even less justified. If this had a more restrained length, it would've been one of the generation's greatest. Now it's the major flaw in an otherwise amazing game.
- BioShock: it's not that long but it's another case of outstaying its welcome after a pivotal finale moment, we all know what it is. After that it just felt the game ran out of steam.
- Okami: been a long time since I played it, but iirc it just kept going... and going
In general way too many games overstay their welcome. No doubt it's more complex in games to cut out material compared to movies, but I feel like games should have dedicated editors too. People who have authority on pacing and length and can decide to cut something when needed. We need more games like INSIDE where the goal was obviously to trim all the fat and finish with an experience where not a single minute feels wasted.
- Alien Isolation: game has about 3 finales or moments when I thought the ending was near, but it just kept going. Moreover these later hours just have you backtracking and don't really add anything, so it just feels even less justified. If this had a more restrained length, it would've been one of the generation's greatest. Now it's the major flaw in an otherwise amazing game.
- BioShock: it's not that long but it's another case of outstaying its welcome after a pivotal finale moment, we all know what it is. After that it just felt the game ran out of steam.
- Okami: been a long time since I played it, but iirc it just kept going... and going
In general way too many games overstay their welcome. No doubt it's more complex in games to cut out material compared to movies, but I feel like games should have dedicated editors too. People who have authority on pacing and length and can decide to cut something when needed. We need more games like INSIDE where the goal was obviously to trim all the fat and finish with an experience where not a single minute feels wasted.
I've never really fatigued from open world games, but Assassin's Creed Valhalla brought me to my breaking point. I take months long breaks now every 15 - 20 hours played. I'm 70 hours in and still halfway through England. I beat Odyssey in that time.
While on said break I started Days Gone to mix it up and man, that game is also far too long and padded out. Having both these games staring at me on my PS5 dashboard gets me too tired to game some evenings.
While on said break I started Days Gone to mix it up and man, that game is also far too long and padded out. Having both these games staring at me on my PS5 dashboard gets me too tired to game some evenings.
wandersong its like 10 hours but i think they could have trim 1 or 2 and it would have end up being even lovelier
Exactly. Well put.
To some extent, we the players, get to do the editing job. Concerning games with enormous wealth of sidecontent, people will say "well, it´s not mandatory, so just don´t play it".
The problem is that I don´t know what sidecontent is fantastic and what is garbage. I´m just fumbling around as a player trying stuff out. The result often being, that I find out the the quality ratio is about 1 good sidequest to 9 terrible ones and just stop doing them at all. Potentially missing out on great content while simultaniously getting burned out on inferior parts of the game.
So like you said, just edit your games and focus on quality.
As someone who just finished the game and its last DLC last night for a total of 125hours, my vote goes to AC Odyssey. Amazing game nonetheless, but finishing it at 100% completion is too much.
They actually have no Idea how fast I'd buy sequels if they were shorter. Like, I want to play Valhalla and would be willing to play it right now, but only if it lasts 30hours. As it is, I'll wait for massive sales in the distant future.
They actually have no Idea how fast I'd buy sequels if they were shorter. Like, I want to play Valhalla and would be willing to play it right now, but only if it lasts 30hours. As it is, I'll wait for massive sales in the distant future.
Most Assassin's Creed games but i think Valhalla suffered the most imo
Came here to say this. AC Valhalla should have been half the length to see the credits. I don't mind millions of side quests, but let me enjoy the main story in a reasonable amount of time.
A bunch of Sony games already mentioned on this thread: TLOU2, Ghost of Tsushima and Days Gone. All of them are either good or great games but they go on for way too long.
I hate how so many JRPG fans want their games to be bloated as fuck. 100+ hours to beat a game, just gross.
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can't wait for your DQ7 LTTP
altho i guess 11 counts as i've heard how long it iS: Defintiive Edition
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i've never actually felt like i wasted time on a game*
*except assassin's creed 1 (PS3)
Final Fantasy 3 (DS)
ok maybe a few others I played out of OCD-driven series completionism
i tend to think if i didn't smoke i could literally buy one million more video games every day
Most JRPGs are far too long for their own good. I strongly believe there is a huge market in more 20 or even 10 hour long JRPGs out there but most companies assume saying your game is 100+ hours is exclusively a positive. Meanwhile like 10% of players even see that ending.
Yeah I think the fact that the game "concludes" multiple times, only to pull a bait and switch, gives the impression that it's longer than it really is. Each third of the game is about the length of the child segment in OoT.
Yup. Long playtime does not automatically mean, that a game is to long. P5(r) and Dq11 were absolutely fine, imo. Ff7R could have been shorter (or without the added KH bullshit) and that is only a 30 hour game.
While not as long as those games, I thought Castlevania Lords of Shadow still takes forever to finish
I do miss the days when a lot of AAA games were 8-12 hours and done. I feel that is good enough value for money and meant it was straightforward enough to complete and feel a constant sense of progress and accomplishment. The games that needed more took longer or made me want to replay them.
RDR2 and Uncharted 4 are both games for me that stood out for being way too long, which probably wouldn't have been noticeable if so much of their playtime wasn't slow, barely interactive storytelling/ exposition dumps.
to mention one that didn't get any mentions so far: DmC (2013). I really enjoyed the gameplay, and felt like it was a fun update after not loving DMC4 as much… but the game definitely outstayed it's welcome and felt like it reiterated plot points far too much
RDR2 and Uncharted 4 are both games for me that stood out for being way too long, which probably wouldn't have been noticeable if so much of their playtime wasn't slow, barely interactive storytelling/ exposition dumps.
to mention one that didn't get any mentions so far: DmC (2013). I really enjoyed the gameplay, and felt like it was a fun update after not loving DMC4 as much… but the game definitely outstayed it's welcome and felt like it reiterated plot points far too much
Most games are too long and could have been better if some parts were removed - like repeated sections / mechanics / padding. Unfortunately, for some reason this is one of important factors for everyone buying a game (I guess it makes sense, because they are expensive) so having something under 10 hours is seen as a bad thing.
Red Dead 2 was like 20 hours too long. That entire tropical chapter should have been cut and by the end i just wanted them to wrap it up. Then there's a long ass epilogue too .
Yep, I put like 35 hours in and just quit when the story, as bad as it is just kept going. The writer had to be smoking crack.Not to beat a dead horse, but Days Gone is a perfect example of this. That game should have been a tight 15-25 hour experience, but for whatever reason they decided to make it a 40-50 hour epic. Combine that with some of the worst open world pacing in recent memory and it's no wonder the reception was so meh.
I really enjoyed AC Valhalla but just playing my natural playstyle it took me 70 hours to get to the halfway point.
I'm nearly 50 hours into Valhalla. Enjoyed it a lot. But feel rather burnt out by it now. And looking at the half uncovered map thinking I'm never going to see many of those places.
I know some people will play it all, so I'm not begrudging the size of the game. But perhaps I'd like a shift in the design so the game would take you all over the whole map earlier. It could still then make changes later that increase the challenge in some areas.
I know some people will play it all, so I'm not begrudging the size of the game. But perhaps I'd like a shift in the design so the game would take you all over the whole map earlier. It could still then make changes later that increase the challenge in some areas.
Persona 5 dungeons. I think the game as a whole doesn't overstay its welcome, it's the dungeons that's the issue: they could be half the size and still be good enough
AC: Valhalla: it took me 150hrs to beat it and I didn't do all the side quests. I didn't even finish the Asgard arc. I was just burnt out. I might go back to it and finish that arc and the DLC at some point.
Days Gone: I loved that game but man did it take its time to get going. It took me around 300hrs to beat it: did all the side content too but didn't get the platinum. Once you unlock the second part of the map, the game finally kicks into gear. They could have cut a lot of the meat at the start, maybe even merge the 2 first camps into one as some people had suggested.
It takes two: great game but surprisingly long for that kind of co-op experience. I was ready for it to end by the halfway mark
Witcher 3, as a counterpoint, took me 400hrs including the DLCs andI wouldn't call it too long. I even started a NG+ right after finishing it just because I'd hadn't had enough of it yet.
AC: Valhalla: it took me 150hrs to beat it and I didn't do all the side quests. I didn't even finish the Asgard arc. I was just burnt out. I might go back to it and finish that arc and the DLC at some point.
Days Gone: I loved that game but man did it take its time to get going. It took me around 300hrs to beat it: did all the side content too but didn't get the platinum. Once you unlock the second part of the map, the game finally kicks into gear. They could have cut a lot of the meat at the start, maybe even merge the 2 first camps into one as some people had suggested.
It takes two: great game but surprisingly long for that kind of co-op experience. I was ready for it to end by the halfway mark
Witcher 3, as a counterpoint, took me 400hrs including the DLCs andI wouldn't call it too long. I even started a NG+ right after finishing it just because I'd hadn't had enough of it yet.