Want A Long-Term Commitment or A Game to Finish While Waiting For Your Pizza?
Whether you're a fan of epic, sprawling open worlds that take a huge time commitment to complete, or prefer a one-and-done experience that you can play all the way through before you finish your lunch break, the gaming world has the perfect fit for you. Some games take hundreds or even thousands of hours to complete, while others are finished in a literal blink of an eye. Here are 10 of the longest and 10 of the shortest games ever made.
1. Melvor Idle
Melvor Idle is an addictive adventure game inspired by Runescape. The main story takes about 776 hours to complete, but if you're into side quests, it can take almost 1,800 hours.
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an epic game with a sprawling open world, so it kind of makes sense that it takes a lot of time to get through the whole thing. For total completion, it can take around 200 hours.
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3. Ancient Domains of Mystery
Ancient Domains of Mystery is a sprawling RPG where players explore the world of Ancardia to stop an invasion. Full completion can easily take 2,000 hours.
4. Sid Meier’s Civilization V
Sid Meier’s Civilization V is a turn-based strategy game where you lead a civilization through all of history up to the space age. The game can take anywhere from 50 to over 1200 hours, depending on how much of a completionist you are.
5. Elden Ring
In Elden Ring, you're an exile returning to a war-torn world to repair the Elden Ring and become the all-powerful Elden Lord. It's a big job that takes an appropriately long time (60 to over 200 hours) to complete.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
An open-world adventure game, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, is the latest Legend of Zelda iteration and one of the best. Covering every bit of this game can take well over 20 hours, but even basic gameplay is over 50.
7. Dominions 5: Warriors of the Faith
Dominions 5: Warriors of the Faith is a turn-based strategy game. Your mission is to conquer the world and ascend as the supreme deity, a tall order that takes a long time to complete. While there's no fixed length, it's been known to take thousands of hours to complete.
8. Monster Hunter
Monster Hunter is an action RPG where you play as a hunter in a fantasy world. It can exceed 1,000 hours for true completionists tracking every quest and hunt.
9. Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is about a Viking raider leading a crew on longboats from Norway to England. It's a huge RPG that can take 60 to over 150 hours to complete.
10. Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 Royal is a Japanese RPG about a teenager who leads a vigilante group through a supernatural world. Standard play-through takes well over 100 hours.
Now that we've gone over the games that are quite a time commitment, let's talk about the ones that are finished in the blink of an eye.
1. Spectrewoods
Spectrewoods is a surreal horror walking simulator game made all the more surreal because of its shockingly short length. It takes only five to 15 minutes to complete.
2. Fun with Ragdolls
Fun with Ragdolls is a sandbox game where you use physics to build elaborate structures. Players typically complete it in under 15 minutes.
3. Dark Castle
Dark Castle is a 1986 Macintosh platformer game where you navigate a treacherous castle. It only takes around 30 minutes to play through its 14 brief levels.
4. There is No Game
Aptly titled due to its length, There is No Game, is a comedy adventure game where the caustic narrator tries to convince the player that the game you're playing isn't a game. It takes only around 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
5. Strange Adventures in Infinite Space
Strange Adventures in Infinite Space is an indie, fast-paced space exploration game. It was designed to be a full experience in the span of about 15 minutes, and it delivered.
6. A Short Hike
A Short Hike is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a charming indie exploration game about a bird walking to a summit in Hawk Peak Provincial Park. It takes about one and a half to two hours to complete.
7. Kirby's Dream Land
Kirby's Dream Land sees everyone's favorite cute Nintendo character rescuing his home from the evil King Dedede. It generally takes around 45 minutes to an hour to complete.
8. Before Your Eyes
Before Your Eyes is a heartbreaking narrative game where you relive the life of a recently deceased man. As the title suggests, it's completed in the blink of an eye, taking only about one and a half hours.
9. The Bouncer
The Bouncer is a PS2 game where three nightclub bouncers go on a mission to rescue their friend from kidnappers. It's a fast-paced, action-packed romp through futuristic cityscapes that takes only about one and a half to two hours to complete.
10. Aperture Desk Job
Set in the Portal universe, Aperture Desk Job was released as a demo. It's a funny, narrative-driven experience that takes only around 30 minutes to complete.
