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%Start Why Longer Games Aren’t Always Better GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO News &gt; Gaming <h1> Why Longer Games Aren’t Always Better</h1> <h2> Less is more</h2> By Jennifer Allen Jennifer Allen Writer Swansea University, Staffordshire University Jennifer Allen has been writing about technology since 2010. Her work has appeared in Mashable, TechRadar, and many more publications.
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%Start Why Longer Games Aren’t Always Better GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO News > Gaming

Why Longer Games Aren’t Always Better

Less is more

By Jennifer Allen Jennifer Allen Writer Swansea University, Staffordshire University Jennifer Allen has been writing about technology since 2010. Her work has appeared in Mashable, TechRadar, and many more publications.
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Natalie Lopez 1 minutes ago
lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 1, 2021 02:06PM EST Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fac...
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Emma Wilson 4 minutes ago
It's easy to assume that when it comes to great meals, a great vacation, or spending time with a...
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lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 1, 2021 02:06PM EST Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr University of Maryland Baltimore County Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Gaming Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming <h3> Key Takeaways</h3> Video games continue to get bigger and more protracted than ever before.Value for money is high, but do games value your time?Tighter experiences can be more rewarding. Rockstar Games More of something is always better, right?
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lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 1, 2021 02:06PM EST Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr University of Maryland Baltimore County Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Gaming Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming

Key Takeaways

Video games continue to get bigger and more protracted than ever before.Value for money is high, but do games value your time?Tighter experiences can be more rewarding. Rockstar Games More of something is always better, right?
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It&#39;s easy to assume that when it comes to great meals, a great vacation, or spending time with a loved one. However, that rule doesn&#39;t always apply when it comes to video games.
Audrey Mueller Member
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It's easy to assume that when it comes to great meals, a great vacation, or spending time with a loved one. However, that rule doesn't always apply when it comes to video games.
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Audrey Mueller 3 minutes ago
Sometimes, more can seem intimidating. That's how I've felt about Red Dead Redemption 2 sinc...
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Madison Singh 8 minutes ago
For a while, I thought the reason why I didn't lose myself within it was because I didn't ha...
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Sometimes, more can seem intimidating. That&#39;s how I&#39;ve felt about Red Dead Redemption 2 since its release in October 2018. It&#39;s huge—terrifyingly huge.
Lucas Martinez Moderator
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Sometimes, more can seem intimidating. That's how I've felt about Red Dead Redemption 2 since its release in October 2018. It's huge—terrifyingly huge.
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For a while, I thought the reason why I didn&#39;t lose myself within it was because I didn&#39;t have enough free time to fully take advantage of it. Then the global pandemic hit, and I realized it still looked scarily vast.
Christopher Lee Member
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For a while, I thought the reason why I didn't lose myself within it was because I didn't have enough free time to fully take advantage of it. Then the global pandemic hit, and I realized it still looked scarily vast.
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Unfortunately, it&#39;s also far from the only game these days to suffer from that supersized nature. <h2> The Spread is Real </h2> I won&#39;t bore you with tales of how you could complete the original Super Mario Land on the Nintendo Gameboy in about 30 minutes, but anecdotally, you can confidently say many games are much longer than they used to be. Rather than quick fixes to distract you from the world and entertain, games are now often positioned as epic adventures that you can lose tens, if not hundreds, of hours to.
Isaac Schmidt Member
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Unfortunately, it's also far from the only game these days to suffer from that supersized nature.

The Spread is Real

I won't bore you with tales of how you could complete the original Super Mario Land on the Nintendo Gameboy in about 30 minutes, but anecdotally, you can confidently say many games are much longer than they used to be. Rather than quick fixes to distract you from the world and entertain, games are now often positioned as epic adventures that you can lose tens, if not hundreds, of hours to.
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Quality over quantity isn&#39;t always the case here, and for those short on time it can feel pointless to even begin. Take a look at the original Red Dead Redemption and its sequel, for instance. The original Red Dead Redemption clocked in at about 18 hours for the main story, with the sequel taking about 48 hours.
Lucas Martinez Moderator
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Quality over quantity isn't always the case here, and for those short on time it can feel pointless to even begin. Take a look at the original Red Dead Redemption and its sequel, for instance. The original Red Dead Redemption clocked in at about 18 hours for the main story, with the sequel taking about 48 hours.
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Alexander Wang 4 minutes ago
That's two solid days of gaming (with no sleep!). If you want to see everything that Red Dead Redemp...
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Grace Liu 4 minutes ago
Who watches a movie and stops halfway through, simply because they don't have the time? Ubisoft ...
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That's two solid days of gaming (with no sleep!). If you want to see everything that Red Dead Redemption 2 has to offer, then completing it will take a staggering 167 hours, compared to the once weighty feeling of Red Dead Redemption's estimated 46 total hours.&nbsp; Obviously, you can stop any time you want and still feel like you&#39;re &#34;done&#34; with a game, but that&#39;s hardly the point.
Natalie Lopez Member
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That's two solid days of gaming (with no sleep!). If you want to see everything that Red Dead Redemption 2 has to offer, then completing it will take a staggering 167 hours, compared to the once weighty feeling of Red Dead Redemption's estimated 46 total hours.  Obviously, you can stop any time you want and still feel like you're "done" with a game, but that's hardly the point.
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Who watches a movie and stops halfway through, simply because they don&#39;t have the time? Ubisoft There's been a similar-length spread in the Assassin's Creed series.
Brandon Kumar Member
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Who watches a movie and stops halfway through, simply because they don't have the time? Ubisoft There's been a similar-length spread in the Assassin's Creed series.
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James Smith 18 minutes ago
The original Assassin's Creed took about 15 hours to complete the main story, with that figure creep...
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Ella Rodriguez 1 minutes ago
Why get into it when you’ll only ever see a fraction of what’s offered? Can a game even manage t...
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The original Assassin's Creed took about 15 hours to complete the main story, with that figure creeping up to 30 hours by the time of Assassin's Creed Origins' release, and a whopping 53 hours for the latest instalment, Assassin's Creed Valhalla. A completionist playthrough is likely to take well over 100 hours to achieve.&nbsp; Friends with other commitments simply accept they aren&#39;t going to see the end of such games, and may not even start them.
Harper Kim Member
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The original Assassin's Creed took about 15 hours to complete the main story, with that figure creeping up to 30 hours by the time of Assassin's Creed Origins' release, and a whopping 53 hours for the latest instalment, Assassin's Creed Valhalla. A completionist playthrough is likely to take well over 100 hours to achieve.  Friends with other commitments simply accept they aren't going to see the end of such games, and may not even start them.
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Natalie Lopez 10 minutes ago
Why get into it when you’ll only ever see a fraction of what’s offered? Can a game even manage t...
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Amelia Singh 10 minutes ago
Quality over quantity isn't always the case here, and for those short on time it can feel pointl...
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Why get into it when you’ll only ever see a fraction of what’s offered? Can a game even manage to offer 40-50 hours of solidly entertaining fun? It&#39;s a big ask, with many games filling the hours by creating excessively long introductions or encouraging you to complete not-entirely-interesting side quests.
Luna Park Member
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Why get into it when you’ll only ever see a fraction of what’s offered? Can a game even manage to offer 40-50 hours of solidly entertaining fun? It's a big ask, with many games filling the hours by creating excessively long introductions or encouraging you to complete not-entirely-interesting side quests.
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Natalie Lopez 3 minutes ago
Quality over quantity isn't always the case here, and for those short on time it can feel pointl...
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Quality over quantity isn&#39;t always the case here, and for those short on time it can feel pointless to even begin. <h2> Balance is Good </h2> Sony Interactive Entertainment Not all game franchises have struggled with creeping lengths, however.
Julia Zhang Member
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Quality over quantity isn't always the case here, and for those short on time it can feel pointless to even begin.

Balance is Good

Sony Interactive Entertainment Not all game franchises have struggled with creeping lengths, however.
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Mason Rodriguez 11 minutes ago
The 2018 title, Marvel's Spider-Man, and more recently its remaster, takes about 16 hours to complet...
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Sofia Garcia 10 minutes ago
That tighter experience goes even further with Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales—a spinoff from t...
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The 2018 title, Marvel's Spider-Man, and more recently its remaster, takes about 16 hours to complete. It's a mostly enjoyable time, too, with relatively little filler. Simply web swinging around NYC is a joyful experience, with a series of collectibles that actually add to the story by telling you more about Spidey, rather than feeling like an excuse to make the game longer.
Dylan Patel Member
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The 2018 title, Marvel's Spider-Man, and more recently its remaster, takes about 16 hours to complete. It's a mostly enjoyable time, too, with relatively little filler. Simply web swinging around NYC is a joyful experience, with a series of collectibles that actually add to the story by telling you more about Spidey, rather than feeling like an excuse to make the game longer.
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That tighter experience goes even further with Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales—a spinoff from the original game. The main storyline only takes about eight hours to complete, and even a full run of acquiring everything the game has to offer takes a mere 17 hours. It's a far stronger experience, too, cutting back on needless extras and focusing on being a cool superhero and solving puzzles.
Kevin Wang Member
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That tighter experience goes even further with Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales—a spinoff from the original game. The main storyline only takes about eight hours to complete, and even a full run of acquiring everything the game has to offer takes a mere 17 hours. It's a far stronger experience, too, cutting back on needless extras and focusing on being a cool superhero and solving puzzles.
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Thomas Anderson 11 minutes ago
Such relative brevity feels empowering.

Don' t Forget the Privilege

When looking at th...
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Such relative brevity feels empowering. <h2> Don&#39 t Forget the Privilege </h2> When looking at the length of games, it&#39;s easy to forget one&#39;s privilege. I&#39;m financially secure and, therefore, able to buy more games than I ever could as a child.
Chloe Santos Moderator
access_time 60 minutes ago
Such relative brevity feels empowering.

Don' t Forget the Privilege

When looking at the length of games, it's easy to forget one's privilege. I'm financially secure and, therefore, able to buy more games than I ever could as a child.
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Sophia Chen 1 minutes ago
In contrast, when I was younger, I'd deliberately seek out longer games to get better value for ...
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Harper Kim 37 minutes ago
However, it's important to consider a game's value for your time, too. One recent title that feels l...
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In contrast, when I was younger, I&#39;d deliberately seek out longer games to get better value for money. I get the struggle.
Sophia Chen Member
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In contrast, when I was younger, I'd deliberately seek out longer games to get better value for money. I get the struggle.
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Sofia Garcia 30 minutes ago
However, it's important to consider a game's value for your time, too. One recent title that feels l...
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However, it's important to consider a game's value for your time, too. One recent title that feels like it lacks respect for your limited free time is Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Ethan Thomas Member
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However, it's important to consider a game's value for your time, too. One recent title that feels like it lacks respect for your limited free time is Final Fantasy VII Remake.
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Nathan Chen 17 minutes ago
It's a remake of an early section of the original Final Fantasy VII—a section that originally took...
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It's a remake of an early section of the original Final Fantasy VII—a section that originally took around eight hours to complete. The remake stretches that out to nearly 35 hours.
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It's a remake of an early section of the original Final Fantasy VII—a section that originally took around eight hours to complete. The remake stretches that out to nearly 35 hours.
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Lucas Martinez 71 minutes ago
There's a lot of filler in there with so-called "fetch" quests distracting you from the more interes...
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There's a lot of filler in there with so-called "fetch" quests distracting you from the more interesting parts of the story. It feels long, especially if you remember how the original felt, with its vibrant and fast moving tale.&nbsp; Is more really better if you&#39;re unable to see it all?
Evelyn Zhang Member
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There's a lot of filler in there with so-called "fetch" quests distracting you from the more interesting parts of the story. It feels long, especially if you remember how the original felt, with its vibrant and fast moving tale.  Is more really better if you're unable to see it all?
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Oliver Taylor 40 minutes ago
I'm not so sure. Such games may last longer, but they'll certainly feel that way too....
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I&#39;m not so sure. Such games may last longer, but they&#39;ll certainly feel that way too.
Sophia Chen Member
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I'm not so sure. Such games may last longer, but they'll certainly feel that way too.
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Daniel Kumar 12 minutes ago
Sometimes, shorter truly is sweeter. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know!...
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Sometimes, shorter truly is sweeter. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know!
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Sometimes, shorter truly is sweeter. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know!
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