Massive RPGs That Don’t Know When To Stop

Recently, role-playing games have faced a challenge. While many are fantastic experiences, they require a significant time commitment, which can be a problem for players who buy multiple games hoping to finish them. It’s tough for RPG fans when so many highly-rated games each take hundreds of hours to complete.

It’s hard for most people to dedicate the huge amount of time needed for these games. Sometimes the story feels like it’s wrapping up, only to have another twist. They can also drag on because of unexpectedly difficult challenges. Even though these RPGs are well-made, they can be pretty overwhelming.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Take Your Time

The beginning of Baldur’s Gate 3 is surprisingly expansive, offering a complete experience focused on resolving a problem in a troubled village. The game keeps things fresh as you progress, with each new area feeling distinct and preventing the gameplay from becoming repetitive.

While the game offers a lot of choices through its conversations, it can sometimes feel repetitive, especially since you can skip those conversations – but doing so misses out on a key part of the experience. The story is quite long, with sections that seem to wrap up, only to continue for many more hours. While the content is good, it requires a significant time commitment that might not suit everyone.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Geralt Going Gray

As a gamer, I can tell you The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is huge – seriously, the world is massive and just begging to be explored. But what really sets it apart is the quests. Forget running around picking up random junk; every single quest feels carefully made and tells a proper story, even if it’s just about finding someone’s missing plates! It’s that level of detail that makes it one of the biggest action RPGs out there.

The game offers so much to do that players will likely spend at least thirty hours just in the starting area, which can be overwhelming. And that’s before they realize how much more content there is! While it’s a sign of a great game, it might be too much for players who already have a long list of other games they want to play.

Persona 5 Royal

Class Is In Session

Persona 5 Royal expands on the original game with a new character and some story adjustments. After finishing the main story, a new dungeon appears, explaining the new character’s role and clarifying certain plot points for a more cohesive narrative.

If you’re new to the Persona series, be aware that these games, starting with Persona 3, are traditional role-playing games played in a set order. You’ll experience the game day by day, balancing school life with after-school activities, and you’ll have a limited amount of time to do everything. This means you can’t rush through the game – completing the main story takes around 90 hours, and even more if you want to experience all the optional content. It’s a significant time commitment!

NieR: Automata

Starting Over

The first part of NieR: Automata typically takes between twenty and thirty hours to complete, a reasonable length for an action RPG. The exact playtime depends on the difficulty setting, as higher difficulties require more gameplay to level up and progress.

Okay, so after you finish the main story as 2B, you get to replay it all as 9S, which is really cool because you see everything from a different angle. And then after that, another character becomes playable with their own version of the story! Honestly, to really understand everything, you need to play through the game at least three times. It’s awesome, but starting the third playthrough can feel a little repetitive, like you’re seeing things you’ve already experienced.

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Getting Past Difficulty Spikes

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the first main Yakuza game to take place in the United States, specifically Hawaii. Players will be able to explore the vibrant streets and beaches of Honolulu, and even develop their own private island getaway.

The game features turn-based battles and a flexible job system where players can unlock and improve different classes, allowing them to create strong combinations of skills. However, the game sometimes throws significantly harder enemies at you, requiring players to spend time leveling up before continuing the story. This can disrupt the flow of the game and feel frustrating.

Dragon Quest 11: Echoes Of An Elusive Age

Stop And Rewind

Besides the Persona series, Dragon Quest games are famous for their long storylines and challenging gameplay, often requiring players to spend a lot of time leveling up. Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age continues this tradition, no matter which version of the game you play.

Players who rush to the final boss might find the initial ending disappointing. However, there’s a much more complete ending that takes around twenty more hours to unlock, and it’s a surprisingly engaging experience – though revealing details would spoil the story. While it makes narrative sense, it can feel anticlimactic to think you’ve finished the game, only to discover there’s still a significant amount left to play.

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy

Stuck On A Loop

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy features a surprising twist – a false ending that really throws you for a loop. Players control a team of four characters in classic turn-based battles, developing their skills and trying to restore life to the world by powering up elemental crystals. But just when you think you’ve finished the game, everything resets and you have to start over!

The game starts a little confusingly, and players soon find themselves replaying it repeatedly. The reason for this cycle isn’t explained, and it caused many players to stop playing on the 3DS. Unfortunately, this issue wasn’t addressed in the Switch remaster either.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership

Super Replay Brothers

The newest Mario & Luigi RPG, Brothership, is known for being particularly challenging. While difficult, it’s manageable if you level up consistently and learn how to dodge or counter enemy attacks.

The game has some unexpectedly difficult sections that can stall your progress, and the advertised final boss isn’t actually the last one. This means you’ll have to revisit old areas, but they’re now even harder, which can be really frustrating.

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2025-12-02 14:37