What is your preferred game length?

Do you like games that are 8-10 hours, 20-30? More than 30 hours? 100 hours?!

I know it depends on the genre, but in general, which game length do you prefer? I like having a mix of games that are both long and short, but I think 20-30 hours is the sweet spot. Games like Resident Evil 4 come to mind. 8-10 is not bad if there's lots of replay-ability. 100 hours is damn long, and I better love the game to want to play that much. That's like most traditional JRPG's lol. And Skyrim.

What do you think, SW?

Really depends. But if it's a cinematic/narrative heavy game, then just last long enough to tell your story, which is usually 6-12 hours. Don't pad it with dumb climbing sequences or shit like that

If it's a "walking simulator," 2 hours then gtfo

If it's an open world or large RPG with actual interesting shit to do, then 30-50 hours seems fine

What if it's a really good 10 hours

So if a game has a large budget, yet a short length, the publishers should charge a pittance for it because you haven't heard of waiting to buy something?

Depends a lot on the game. Usually I tend to think games are longer then what they need to be. Example, Uncharted 4 was pure torture after 10h or so. Mostly because games tend to feel too repetitive just for the sake of giving a "good" ratio of time vs money.

I understand why most people like longer games but as an adult who loves gaming, and fortunately doesn't have money issues, I really don't care at all about a game's length vs its price point. Would rather have a shorter game than being force into a cheap loop cof cof climbing cof cof Uncharted 4 cof cof.

Definitely not Persona 5 length.

I don't really judge games based on their length of an initial playthrough. As long as the experience is enjoyable and the game time feels right to me in that the developer gives the proper time to convey whatever they intended to do with the game then I'm fine. There's just way too many variables to consider that trying to put some arbitrary time constraints on games seems like a fruitless endeavour. Different genres, whether or not there's replay ability, and if there is multiplayer modes or not are some things that should be considered. Outside of something extreme such as a 100+ hour FPS campaign or a 5 hour RPG I'm pretty lenient on how long I like my games. For me the quality of time is more important then the quantity of time I spend with any game.

Wouldn't being ripped off for me be based on my definition of being ripped off rather than a random person on the internet? Seems like you are severely limited in your understanding of value.

...didn't you say you upgraded to a PS4 Pro just to get a bigger hard drive

nah, that wasn't in the post

It really often depends on the genre. For RPGs, generally 30+ hours is good. Story-driven games (meaning not primarily shooters or gameplay-centric), 10-15+ hours. FPS-->10-12+ hours. Action, gameplay heavy games--->15 hours. Walking simulators---->it depends, but generally 5-10 hours.

So that's a few. Granted, individual games are different. Like, an action game may be only 5 hours, but if it's an exceptional five, then okay. I tend to take my time with games, too, so there's that. I can stretch 5-10 into 15 or more, no problem, if I'm really digging the game.

10 inches... Ha, 15-20 hrs is good. Really depends on the game though. I think until Dawn was like 8 hours, but that's the right length for that kind of game. Horizon ZD took me around 50 hours to beat but I did every side quest I could and did a lot of exploring.

I think a game with truly top tier gameplay and design should be able to keep you entertained for hundreds of hours. If you're getting bored toward the end of a 8-10 hour campaign then there's probably some fundamental problems with it imo.

I think the Uncharted games are prime examples of games that drag after a while. They have great production values and cinematic set pieces and all that but the core climbing/duck and cover shooting gameplay is SO repetitive, SO lacking in depth, and SO unsatisfying.

If a $60 game is not at least 10 hours long, I don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth. If a game is longer than 30-35 hours, I feel less like having fun and more like slogging through.

Whatever is necessary for the game to accomplish its goals. Value to me in software is found in quality, not quantity, and I don't equate value with length but on enjoyment. I've tried about four times to finish The Witcher 3 but've been unable to as it drags on far longer than feels necessary for what it needs to do. I'll not play it again.

It's why I love TLoU so much. Everything in that game feels necessary to me. It does enough to tell the story it needs to tell.

I like a short game jam packed with a ton of optional content or replayability.

Retro's Donkey Kong games are the perfect example of this. They don't take very long to beat if you just rush through it, but it takes quite some time to find every puzzle piece, find every KONG letter, unlock and beat every Golden Temple level, unlock hard mode, beat the whole game on hard mode, and earn gold medals on every stage in the speed run mode.

That's how you do it. It should only take about 10 hours to see the credits, but over 100 hours to experience everything.

Depends on the game, but on balance somwhere between 5-20 hours. Anything more than that for a single player game? Bitch you are not paying for value or getting a "deal" you are a shit heel who is easily fooled by compulsive shit. Congrats.

Obviously some exceptions to this rule, but rare as **** exceptions. Even this years big critical darling: Breath of the Wild should not be nearly as long as it is.

8-14 hours, it really depends on the game. Some games can wrap up perfectly in less time than others and vice versa.

I don't have one. It depends on the game and I play all kinds of games. So called AAA games that aren't longer than 5-10 hours are usually cinematic bullshit games, and I tend to stay away from those.

There is no simple answer for me: It really depends on the game and how much I enjoy it.

Agreed. I have played games that felt like a slog that were 15 hours and I have played games that were a delight but 40-50 hours.

It adult diapers...er Depends. lol :P

It really depends on the type of game. On a good RPG i'd like a main story of maybe 20ish hrs and then a good 100 hrs of other things to do (not that i necessarily do them all). For most of the games I play i expect a minimum of 50 hrs return and often in the 100's or even 1000's of hrs (civ v!)

However on alot of console style games I don't want crap time padding to make a game longer.

I don't have a lot of free time for gaming anymore, so 8-12 hours is pretty much perfect. I do play RPGs that takes a lot more time but I am too old to be playing 80+ hours games anymore, where most of the game is just padding or time sinks.

If i get at least 12 hrs of fun quality gameplay i'm good with that. The more the better.

Its all about quality not really the time, if a game sucks awful but gives you 80 hrs of gameplay, what the hell is the point, its punishment at that point. Quality first!

10-15hrs on a non RPG

40-80 on a RPG

5 - 10 hours

I tend to get bored when games drag on and end up never finishing them.

I primarily play RPG's so I normally want about 50-100 hours but pretty much any other game can do it's own thing. About 10-20 hours and we're good. I just don't like games that can be beaten too quickly and easily. Someone on this forum said they beat Abzu in a single sitting and it kind of ruined it for me. I never played it again lol

It isn't about the length, it's about the replay value.

Games on the PS4 are NOT a good example of games with replay value.

I would say;

10-15 hrs for shooters
15-20 hrs for Act/Adv (and similar sp games)
50+ hrs for RPGs - I'm not defining a clear upper limit, can depend on side quest design and how engaging it is

For games like COD, Halo etc I don't mind the length of the campaign being 8-10 hours because i am going to spend a ton of time on multiplayer. If it is a single player only game I prefer them in the 30-60 hour range

In the last 10 games I played, I've played anything from 2-hour Abzu to 120 hour Persona 5, and a lot in between. 35 hour NieR Automata, 12 hour Life is Strange, etc.

It all depends on what the game is and how it captures me. I couldn't do Abzu for 5 hours. I'd feel shortchanged on Persona 5 being 30.

As long as there is enough variety in the gameplay/narrative that I don't get bored, then it doesn't matter to me. Few devs can achieve this and attempt to pad out games to make them seem longer than what they needed to be.

For me 18-20 hours is the sweet spot. I loved Quantum Break but my main gripe is it was only 8-10 hours long. And I did replay it to get my 1,000 and see the whole story. But 60 is too much for a game that short with no multiplayer or free DLC.

Other side of the coin with Fallout and Far Cry 80-100 plus hours becomes too much of a grind. And with Fallout 4 adding Minecraft elements made me pass even though I loved 3 and Vegas.

8-10 hours

As a kid I got games on special occasions only (After the golden spectrum era of course) and so I bought games for value. I still take that ethic with me. I don't mind short games especially if they are cheap and have replay value but I will always prefer a game like skyrim where you can basically get what you want from it and play it for a long long time.

10-15 hours

More than that and the game just gets tiresome and "grindy". Some games just drag for waaay too long than they should (okami and more recently, NieR Automata)

Depends on the game, but usually Ubisoft games are too long.

As others have said, depends on the game. Those that manage to consistently capture my interest I could easily play for a 100 hours. As a result, I'm sometimes left wanting more out of certain games (Deus Ex: MD and Dying Light for example).

In general, I think around 100 hours is a decent length for open world RPGs, 40-50 hours for games with some open world elements (Deus Ex, Dishonored, etc.) and around 20 hours for story-driven games.

Totally depends on the game but I definitely feel ripped of by a single player game with a 5 hour campaign, unless I've bought it specifically for multiplayer and the SP campaign is just a tack on.

My favourite game series, such as Total War, have thousands, of hours played.

@SolidGame_basic:

When the game ends and I feel I enjoyed it and am satisfied. Doesn't matter if that's 2 hours or 1 million and the cost of that experience is irrelevant.

People always bitch about the strangest things.

@lrdfancypants: "People always bitch about the strangest things."

Aren't you Bitching about people Bitching about their preferences?

I think it entirely depends on the game, and what it's trying to show. At the end of the day, don't overstay your welcome.

They should stay as long as possible without overstaying their welcome