Can a game be too long?

[Mallefunction]

It depends on the story and what you personally like as a gamer. I wasted 60 hours on AC: Brotherhood because I LIKE dicking around Rome and completing side-quests, etc. Most people just want to go through the single-player campaign and then stop after it ends, but I personally like playing on and exploring the sandbox.

Not everyone likes that so some people will think it's too long because some of the side quests are mandatory. It's all based around what the player themselves chooses to do between the missions/goal of the single player.

 

[Xanadu84]

A game that is too short, you can complain about being ripped off, not getting enough content, and wanting to play more. If it's too long, you can stop playing and watch the ending on Youtube. Besides, even if it's boring, its hard to complain about getting too much of something. If you don't believe me, order a large soda next time your at a gas station. A game can certainly be too long, but it isn't as big of a problem as too short, and you are less prone to complaining.

 

[Kadoodle]

Oh man, there are plenty, but the ones that I deem to be too "long" are often ones that just have too much to do. If I'm not set on a specific mission, I WILL wander off and do other shit. This gives me ZERO sense of urgency for the main quest at hand and makes me believe that my actions are meaningless.

Thank you for that Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas and Read Dead Redemption. I finished none of those games.

I dunno, I enjoyed RDR until the end, simply because it was so incredible. Every mission was fun; perhaps I just can't resist the siren song of the Euphoria Engine.

 

[crudus]

The first game that comes to mind is Devil May Cry 4. Yes, that game is way too long. However, it is becuase the developers got lazy in the levels. If a good game kept having new level designs, enemies, missions, etc then I don't see how it could be "too long". Take Mass Effect 2. That game was massive. There was so much to do. I finished it and still wanted more. So i guess the correct answer is "depends on why it is long". If the game is long because someone copy-pasted levels to arbitrarily lengthen the game, then yes. If the game is long because there it is just a massive world filled with unique/interesting side quests then no.

(A bit like penis.)

How old are you now?

 

[brumley53]

Depends what game, some games feel long at 20 hours, some games feel long at 60 hours, but some games feel the right length at 100+ hours.

 

[Leemaster777]

Okami almost seems to trail off into some rant in the end. The game could pretty much end at several points.

First you slay this demon, then you kill this other demon, then you kill this other demon. But I'm not finished. It's all about aliens. And you fight one. And your friend is an alien too. And you're like, what the fuck.

Agreed, the length of Okami was one of my main gripes with that game.

The only game that springs to mind right off the top of my head is Super Smash Bros Brawl. Subspace Emissary was going just fine... until they made you replay the entire game, and beat every boss AGAIN. It kinda felt like they pulled a Ghosts and Goblins move on us right at the end.

 

[justnotcricket]

I'm with all those who've mentioned Final Fantasy - and the problem is getting worse, because somehow the stories seem to be getting less engaging even as the graphics get better.

Don't get me wrong, I don't *dislike* Final Fantasy or JRPGs in general, it's just that FF games get interminably long after a while, because nothing much is really *happening*.

 

[multiple_man]

Exhibit A: Final Fantasy XXIII.
Case closed.

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

to me it depends on the quality of the game itself, if the writing is bad or the gameplay is twitchy, I think the game may be too long, since if they put more effort into the writing, or the gameplay mechanics than into plugging more length inhancing content into it it makes a more enjoyable experience overall, even though it may be a shorter game, it would be worth more in the experience side of it.... or if a game is just THAT bad, then the fact that it exists, makes it too long.

 

[VaudevillianVeteran]

Once the fun has deteriorated and it feels like work, that's when it's too long. I can't think of a particularly good example right now, apart from any re-playthroughs.

 

[burgbrand22]

I don't think I've ever heard someone complain about a game being too long. Too short, god yes, but never too long. (A bit like penis.) So, tell us in your honest opinion, what game(s) would you consider too long?

I personally think a game that is too long would be one with long stretches of game play between story.

I must admit I'm no longer a fan of "long" games, meaning those games that require like over 30-40 hours to complete. 20 hours aint so bad though. I did beat Mass Effect and Fallout 3.

The reason why I don't play today's epic rpgs and other games along those lines is simply because:
1. I don't wanna spend a long time on one game.
2. Those long games can become quite tedious. Mass Effect and Fallout 3 had its moments but also its snoozefests.
3. You sometimes never know what to expect from those games because they're so big, filled with mundane areas to explore, repetitive side quests, boring NPCs to talk to, and useless cut scenes.

If there's a modern rpg out there that trims away the unnecessary mumbo jumbo, and takes me right into the heart of the game right from the beginning (no boring tutorials) all the way to the end, please let me know.

 

[Hollock]

It can seem like it based on how much free time you have, but probably not.

 

[Lekonua]

I know it's been said about a dozen times already, but Final Fantasy XIII.

When you're still getting TUTORIALS 5 hours into a game, it's too long.

 

[MisterGobbles]

I remember when they announced the second Final Fantasy 13. I was like "The first one had an ending?"

In all seriousness, a game can't be too long as long as it's packed with interesting content; games that wear out their ideas long before the game ends can definitely be too long.

A good game is never too long, even if it ends up being hundreds of hours long.


It's as simple as this, no matter how long a game is, if it's a good game it's not too long. Some people may be like "well, I don't have the time to enjoy a 200 hour game" well, that's your circumstance, the game still rocks and you WOULD like it if you had the time to play it so that problem is bypassed as being irrelevant. Inconvenient games can still be good games, even if not everyone can play them. (not everyone gets to play every game on every console right now anyways, most people only play a few dozen games a year and hundreds if not thousands are released)

Good games are always too short, as you want to play more of them.

 

[drwow]

nope, more then enough content? how could one ***** about that.
unless you're talking about story, that can drag on.

 

[Dfskelleton]

Depends. If it's length has meaning and it all contributes well to the total story, then no, but if it's just reusing levels and using pointless filler levels, then yes.

 

[A Weakgeek]

Someone said Dragon Age: Origins was far too long, but that's just a bullshit claim, in my opinion. I blame that on those newfangled games and their 6 hour campaigns and those crazy kids with their hippity hop music and their shorts down low. Back when I was a lad, I had to walk to the store through 59 feet of snow, and then had to buy a 60 hour game and play it through all the way!
What? Get off my lawn you hippies!

OT: There isn't one, for me. I enjoy long games, so games with 50-300 hours worth of play time are always nice.
Especially considering that most single player games nowadays are only between 6-15 hours of playing, which can get pretty annoying and wallet-damaging.

I think DA:O is too long. The gameplay is repetive (While genious, but stolen from KOTOR) and the story drags out in parts it really shouldn't. Also It humours me that they used the exsact same storyline progression that in kotor: Ok few training stages little story, then you get a massive quest that makes you go all around the gaming world but you can choose order, you do one place: little story, you do 2 more places: major event, you do one more and endgame quests start. To be quite frank in terms of gameplay, this doesent offer me anything new. And as much as I liked the story (not as much as starwars) I don't want to play the game for 80 hours to see the climax.
Call me mad but the 20 hours that kotor offered is, for me the best. Because lets face it, it's a rpg you're gonna try it few more times with different classes. I can do 4 playthroughs of Kotor with 4 different classes before i have beaten DA:O once.