No Finish Line
When you find a good game to play, it's almost like finding a good book. "Just one more level," you tell yourself. But while some titles give you a tidy ending before rolling the credits, some seem to go on, and on, and on, and on. Alas, no matter how much time you spend glued to the screen, you're always sent out on another quest or given somewhere new to explore. If you prefer things that wrap things up in a neat bow, you should probably avoid these 20 video games.
1. Minecraft
Minecraft does have an Ender Dragon to defeat and credits you can eventually watch, but the game isn't really meant to end. You can continue on your adventures indefinitely, exploring the sandbox, gathering resources, building entire cities, or starting over entirely. Some players have come back to the same saved worlds for years.
2. No Man's Sky
No matter how dedicated you are, you're probably not going to see everything No Man's Sky has generated for you. After all, the universe contains numerous planets, so you never have a shortage of places to land, creatures to scan, and bases to construct. There's always something to explore beyond the one you're currently visiting.
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
While you can defeat Skyrim's major enemies and finish its biggest questlines, other missions still await. The freedom to create different characters also makes starting over surprisingly tempting. More than a decade after release, many players still find reasons to come back, again and again.
Behnam Mohsenzadeh on Unsplash
4. Stardew Valley
Restoring the farm is only half the mission. In Stardew Valley, seasons continue cycling while you go about your day planting crops and working toward your goals. The more successful your farm, the easier it might feel like a long-term project you never walk away from.
5. The Sims 4
The Sims 4 doesn't need a final boss—your complicated virtual family provides enough work already. And as long as you have time on your hands, you can follow your fictional household for years. There's no definitive point at which the game tells you that you've done enough.
6. Terraria
While you eventually face enormous bosses and other milestones to conquer, Terraria never stops giving you tasks to work through. Like Minecraft, you can hunt rare items, build a perfect base, or create new worlds. Multiplayer also adds another reason to begin again with a different group and different objectives.
Harry Wood from London, UK on Wikimedia
7. RimWorld
Survival is more important than reaching an ending in RimWorld. As your settlement grows more complex, it's all about developing relationships, gaining skills, and dealing with the unpredictable. If you want, you can simply keep the colony operating instead of planning an escape route, or start another settlement with a different storyteller.
8. Factorio
Launching a rocket might look like the natural conclusion to Factorio, but it doesn't have to end there. In fact, the game even includes infinite late-game technologies for players who want to keep improving the factory. In other words, there's pretty much no finish line.
9. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Similar to Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing: New Horizons runs on everyday routines. Your island can constantly be redecorated and populated with whatever happens to catch your attention next. Plus, with seasonal events and changing visitors, you have more than enough reasons to check back throughout the year.
10. Sid Meier's Civilization VI
Different civilizations, opponents, and victory goals make restarting Civilization VI almost unavoidable for dedicated strategy fans. Even after you reach an ideal condition, you can always challenge yourself again, and the game's "One More Turn" option makes it easier than ever.
Koichiro Ohba from Japan on Wikimedia
11. Cities: Skylines
Ever wanted to build your own city? Well, Cities: Skylines fulfils that wish. You'll probably spend so much time refining roads and transit systems that you won't want to stop! Plus, as your population grows bigger, you'll only be faced with new problems to tackle.
12. Euro Truck Simulator 2
Euro Truck Simulator 2 takes your dream of being a truck driver to the absolute extreme. Jobs keep appearing, money keeps accumulating, skills keep developing, and the game just grows and grows. You're essentially finished whenever you decide you've driven enough, which could very well be never.
13. Elite Dangerous
Space is vast, and Elite Dangerous sates your curiosity pretty thoroughly. Its recreation of the Milky Way contains roughly 400 billion star systems, and participating in the larger galactic economy can keep you occupied indefinitely. Even after hundreds of hours, the galaxy has plenty left that you haven't seen.
14. Old School RuneScape
Before you've even mastered it, prepare to spend a lot of your free time glued to Old School RuneScape. After all, skills require substantial dedication, quests accumulate across the world, and ambitious players can continue pursuing increasingly difficult achievements. For many, leaving RuneScape means you'll eventually return to RuneScape.
15. World of Warcraft
From leveling up to participating in an enormous multiplayer economy, World of Warcraft gives its players plenty of reasons to log back in. Plus, with expansions, you're periodically offered another round of locations and objectives to explore. Even if you exhaust the current storyline, that doesn't mean you've finished the game.
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16. Warframe
In Warframe, there are always different combat units to acquire, weapons to level, and resources to gather—all of which are bound to make gameplay seem infinite. And that's not even including the additions that have been released over the years! Whether you're a newcomer or a veteran, you can keep setting more specific goals that make you want to come back.
17. Path of Exile
Path of Exile constantly keeps you occupied; whether you're building characters or acquiring better equipment, tackling the game can take far longer than simply reaching the story's conclusion. Seasonal leagues have also encouraged players to start anew and approach the game differently.
18. Grand Theft Auto
Pick up Grand Theft Auto, and you'll never put it down. There's never enough to do, no matter if you're racing or conducting a heist. Because the experience revolves around continuous progression, it's easy to keep going indefinitely.
19. Don't Starve Together
Surviving a few days in Don't Starve Together is one thing, but maintaining a thriving world for hundreds of them is another. Even if you're a seasoned player, the game continually gives you something to prepare for and larger projects to pursue. An established world can remain running until you eventually call it quits.
20. Tetris
Ah, Tetris. Of course, it had to be on the list. Here, the challenge is simple, and you can keep going until you max the high score and the speed outpaces you. Different versions have added their own modes and rules, but the central appeal remains endlessly repeatable. Even if you play hundreds of rounds, you still have a reason to start over.
