Great Games That Take Forever To Finish

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Video games can be really pricey, especially these days. That’s why it’s great when a game offers a lot of content and takes many hours to finish, or even fully complete. However, a game with a ton of content can also be a drawback, as it sometimes takes an excessively long time to reach the end.

There are tons of fantastic games—even some of the industry’s best—that take a really long time to finish. This can be due to their sheer length, the type of game they are, or just a unique pacing that surprises players. Here are ten games known for being particularly lengthy experiences.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

19 Hours Long (Although It’s Mostly Cutscenes)

The Metal Gear games are known for being lengthy, largely due to their intricate stories and many cutscenes. However, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots takes this to the extreme. It actually earned a Guinness World Record for having the longest cutscene in video game history – its ending sequence alone lasts a remarkable 71 minutes.

The abundance of cutscenes isn’t limited to the end of Metal Gear Solid 4; it’s a characteristic throughout the entire game. With a total playtime of 19 hours, roughly 9 of those hours are spent watching cutscenes, leaving only about 10 hours of actual gameplay. While the game remains a powerfully emotional and conclusive experience that resolves all major storylines, it can sometimes feel drawn out, particularly if you replay it.

Okami

33 Hours Long

Okami is a stunning game with a beautiful, hand-painted art style and innovative gameplay. It’s a true gem of the open-world genre, and one of the few games that can rival the classic 3D Legend of Zelda titles. However, the game’s story doesn’t flow as smoothly as other aspects of its design.

The game Okami begins with the goal of defeating the Orochi, which happens surprisingly early on. This makes the second half of the game feel disconnected and abrupt. It’s made even stranger by a lengthy series of boss battles leading up to the final fight. Ultimately, Okami‘s pacing is uneven, and completing the game feels more challenging than it needs to be.

Yakuza 5

36 Hours Long

The Yakuza/Like A Dragon games are known for their fast-paced action, offering exciting and over-the-top missions you can play in short sessions. But some of the older games – particularly those released before Yakuza 0 – are surprisingly long and expansive, with Yakuza 5 being the biggest example of this.

Yakuza 5 is the most expansive game in the series, featuring five different characters you can play as, five cities to explore, and roughly seventy side quests and activities. The main story alone is a lengthy experience, taking around forty hours to finish. While it’s a fantastic action-adventure game, be prepared to spend a significant amount of time completing it – more so than other Yakuza titles.

Ring Fit Adventure

36 Hours Long

Like Nintendo’s Wii Fit games, Ring Fit Adventure is designed to get you moving, so players might not expect it to take a long time to finish. Surprisingly, though, completing the main story in this unique and effective game takes about 36 hours.

Actually, Ring Fit Adventure is more than just a workout app – it’s a complete role-playing game with over 23 different worlds, multiple difficulty settings, and plenty of boss battles. Because the game relies on your actual movements, even completing a small portion is a real accomplishment. This is great news for anyone hoping to use Ring Fit Adventure to get in shape, as it offers a long-term, engaging experience.

NieR: Automata

37 Hours (Across 3 Playthroughs)

NieR: Automata initially seems like exactly what you’d expect from a team-up between PlatinumGames and Yoko Taro: a fast-paced action game with RPG features and a bizarre, yet captivating story full of unexpected turns. Because of this, when the characters 2B and 9S finally defeat Eve after about 20 hours of gameplay, it feels like a satisfying ending.

That’s just one of the endings in NieR: Automata, so players who get there aren’t quite finished yet. To see the true ending, you’ll need to play through the game twice more – first as 9S, revisiting many of the same areas as 2B (which some might find repetitive), and then as A2. These extra playthroughs bring the total game length to around 37 hours, much longer than most players anticipate.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey / Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

45 Hours Long / 61 Hours Long

The early Assassin’s Creed games were praised for being straightforward, fun stealth and action titles you could complete in about 20 hours. However, Assassin’s Creed Origins marked a major turning point. It transformed the series into a sprawling, content-rich open-world RPG, fundamentally changing what an Assassin’s Creed game was.

While Assassin’s Creed Origins wasn’t overly long, its sequels, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, became known for being incredibly lengthy – and sometimes overwhelming. Though both games are well-made historical adventures, they contain so much content that they can feel bloated, with each requiring an extra 40 to 50 hours to complete everything. This is likely why Ubisoft decided to make later games, starting with Assassin’s Creed Mirage, more focused in scope.

Red Dead Redemption 2

50 Hours Long

It’s hard to judge a massive, open-world game like Red Dead Redemption 2 just by how long the main story is. Most players will want to explore and enjoy the world at their own pace, rather than rushing to the end. However, the game does offer a compelling and beautifully crafted story with a definite start and finish, which will likely take around 50 hours to complete.

Those who’ve finished Red Dead Redemption 2 know it takes a significant amount of time. While some missions aren’t as fun as others – particularly during the Guarma section – and the game even has you play as a different character in the epilogue, completing it is ultimately a rewarding experience.

Bravely Default

54 Hours Long

Bravely Default is a classic Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) known for its lengthy playtime – which is typical for the genre. While many players aren’t bothered by how long the game is overall, they often criticize how the second half of the game utilizes your time.

Players initially adored Bravely Default’s beautiful art, memorable music, and classic turn-based battles that felt like older Final Fantasy games. However, the game takes a frustrating turn in Chapter 5. From there, players are forced to repeatedly replay boss battles due to time-travel mechanics in the story. While there’s a narrative explanation, this quickly becomes repetitive and makes the game feel endless, leading many players to unfortunately stop playing altogether.

The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

60 Hours Long

Completing the main story of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild usually takes around 50 hours, even if you’re not speedrunning or trying to finish it as fast as possible. Surprisingly, the sequel is an even longer experience.

Although The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom features a Hyrule map roughly the same size as Breath of the Wild, it also includes two massive new areas to explore – the Depths and the Sky Islands. This results in a game that takes around sixty hours to complete, only ten hours longer than Breath of the Wild, but feels significantly more expansive. Thankfully, this added length isn’t an issue, as Tears of the Kingdom is a fantastic action-adventure game that allows players to approach and finish the story in incredibly creative ways.

Persona 5

97 Hours Long

Like the game Bravely Default, Persona 5 is a turn-based Japanese role-playing game, so players generally know it’s a long game going in. Still, its 97-hour story is remarkably lengthy, and surprisingly, most gamers don’t seem to mind the time commitment!

Many players connected with Persona 5 because it successfully combines the traditional Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) style with the relaxing elements of life simulation games. The game features challenging dungeons filled with enemies and bosses, but also focuses on everyday life, building relationships, and engaging in lengthy conversations with other characters. Despite being a long game, dedicated fans often wish there was even more content to experience.

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2025-12-11 14:40