A common point of conversation in the gaming medium is how long games are and which are the Longest video games of all time. It’s little surprise given their price nowadays, and we can’t blame anyone who wants to ensure they get the maximum bang for their buck.
Luckily for these life-long min max-ers, there are a healthy slew of titanically sized titles that can suck you in for months or even years on end. They range from epic action adventures to exceptionally immersive RPGs, and each has more than earned their long-held acclaim. Of them, these are our picks for the top 30 longest video games of all time.
Before we kick off this list of the longest video games of all time though, we should note something very important: This list is a combination of our own personal experiences plus data shared by HowLongToBeat, a site that collects game completion data. Your experiences with specific games may vary greatly, so don’t expect a 1-to-1 translation of how long a game will hold your interest.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Complete)
Though this gem from the Xbox 360 era of consoles does show its age compared to more modern games, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a gargantuan game to play through.
Just like in most other Bethesda-made titles, the actual story of Oblivion will probably take you around the same as your average RPG; that being around 30-40 hours. However, we all know that barely anyone just plays these types of games for the story. You’re guaranteed to get sucked into side quests along the way, and that will put your average play time well into the 100+ realm.
And this is before you factor in the DLC. Between the Knights of the Nine storyline and the massive Shimmering Isles expansion, it’s entirely possible to drop another hundred hours or so on the game before you’re through with it.
Fallout: New Vegas (Complete)
Seeing a running theme here? It won’t last throughout the whole article, but yes: Fallout: New Vegas is yet another Bethesda game that can clock in at a monstrously long playtime.
Main story-wise, the playtime weighs in at a manageable 30 hours or so. Just like with Oblivion though, there’s a wealth of side content and interactions to get lost in and distracted by with every settlement you reach. And once you start going down the rabbit hole of exploring the desert wastelands, you can start to dip into a 100+ hour experience with ease.
Even after you see everything the Mojave Wasteland has to offer, there’s a wealth of DLC to explore. Just make sure you make multiple saves during your playthrough, as the game isn’t exactly known for its technical stability and lack of glitches.
Divinity: Original Sin II
Divinity: Original Sin II is easily one of the longest video games out there, and that’s even compared to more recent releases.
Its a D&D-inspired WRPG that gives you so much freedom to create your own personalized character, and allows you to approach quests with a lot of latitude and creativity besides. The campaign alone is lengthy enough to clock in at around 50 hours. However, you can expect to spend around a 100 hours+ just interacting with the world, completing side quests, or messing around with friends in co-op.
And that’s if you stop your time with the game at one playthrough. The title’s wealth of character origins and options for solving problems makes it ideal for replays, and means you can spend well over 500 hours with the title and its world if it really clicks with you.
Baldur’s Gate II
Baldur’s Gate II is one of the all-time great classic iso-RPGs and the inspiration for modern games in the genre like the excellent Pillars of Eternity, and like a lot of other iso-RPGs, it’s long… very long.
Just going through the main quest of this one will probably take around 70+ hours, and you can easily up that number into the 100s by going all-in on the side quests. Likewise, you can replay the game for a very different experience, doubling or even tripling that playtime counter.
About the only draw back is that the game definitely shows its age so many decades on from release. Still though, it’s hard to deny this title still has plenty of charm to offer and more than enough content to keep you hooked long-term.
Final Fantasy XII
Most Final Fantasy games are going to cost you at least 40 hours, but Final Fantasy XII takes the cake for the non-MMORPG entries.
Assuming you don’t go out of your way to blaze through the main story with the lowest stats possible — and that you take on quests, complete hunts, and otherwise immerse yourself in the game’s world — then you’re looking at roughly 100 hours for a completionist’s run.
The Zodiac Age remake can considerably speed this up via its fast-forward mechanic, but it’s still a sizable amount of time; especially if you try to nab all of the secret final weapons for every character.
Xenoblade Chronicles II
Xenoblade Chronicles II carries on the series’ tradition of being long AF.
It can easily clock in at 100 hours+ just for a normal run-through, as it’s host to a beefy main scenario with plenty of storytelling to keep you engaged. If you want to dive into the side objectives though, it can easily approach 200 hours, and that’s assuming you don’t get lost in the sheer beauty of its massive world or the deceptive depth of its combat.
It’s well worth this time investment though, and we guarantee you won’t be disappointed if you’re a fan of the previous entry in the series
Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 might have one of the longest games in terms of pure main story time completions on this list. If you’re trying to get all the social links and Personas, you’re looking at 150 hours+ easy. Even when you casually play through side objectives and go through the game with the main story as your priority, it’s easy for a playthrough to exceed 100 hours.
With the Royal content added on though, this can balloon even further to as much as 250 hours. A lot of this is thanks to the new characters you can interact with and a new true ending to unlock, which has multiple outcomes to find through different choices made throughout the story.
On the plus side, most of the new content is worthwhile and builds on an already enticing gameplay experience. You won’t be disappointed if you choose to dive into this enhanced version of the already lauded original game, and can count on it to keep you hooked for many weeks or months on end.
Rainbow Moon
Right up there with Persona 5 is Rainbow Moon, a tactical RPG from the eighth generation of consoles.
The storyline alone can run people a few dozen hours if not more, but the sheer amount of gameplay options afforded to players swells this playtime average substantially. All of your main characters are customizable, and there are typically several different ways to overcome the game’s many challenges and scenarios across its many environments.
So long as the title’s premise hooks you early, you can expect to spend well over 100 hours in the experience the game provides.
Fallout 4 (Complete)
What makes Fallout 4, another super long open-world WRPG from Bethesda, stand out from some of the other games on this list is its substantial amount of DLC both official and fan-made.
While the base game has enough content to keep you occupied for nearly 100 hours, the DLC packs for the game only build on this total further. Nuka World alone adds a very sizable area to explore on top of the already massive Commonwealth zone, and Far Harbor also offers a nice side area to explore and get lost in for at least a dozen more hours.
Likewise, there have been several fan made add-ons for the game released over the years. Some are minor and offer a few hours worth of new content, while others aim to offer entirely new areas like a post-apocalyptic Miami.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Like Fallout 4, Skyrim is a massive experience to start that becomes even bigger thanks to its DLC.
During a vanilla run, there are guilds to join, side quests to complete, and oh so many secrets to uncover as you explore the massive snow-covered province. All of this alone can result in a total playtime of 80 to 100 hours, and that’s if you have a guide handy to make sure you go exactly where you need to when you need to.
After that comes the sizable Dawnguard and the massive Dragonborn expansions, which throw a lengthy DLC questline and the Morrowind-based locale of Solstheim into the mix respectively. And this is to say nothing of the fan-made content and additions made official by the release of the Special Edition.
Like all of the other open-world WRPGs on this list, your experience is going to vary. But honestly, we can confidently say you should get ready to sign on for as many as 200 hours of playtime to complete everything.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Xenoblade Chronicles X takes the cake in a series of games that are very long, and is arguably the longest JRPG of all time (depending on your definition of it).
The main story will run you long enough, but there is so much extra content for completionists that you can easily spend over 150 to 200 hours in Xenoblade Chronicles X if you wanted to. There are an absurd amount of side quests to complete, and your choices can impact whether or not certain characters live or die; and, by extension, who you carry on specific side missions with.
To be sure though, it’s not the most perfectly optimized experience compared to the series entries that followed it and your mileage isn’t guaranteed. all the same, it’s worth a look if you want something a little different from what the series has now established as its core elements.
Final Fantasy XIV
While MMORPGs are usually a bit tricky to fit in here, Final Fantasy XIV is a different beast since the majority of its content is tied to actual story content.
You’re looking at roughly 30-40 hours at least to complete the initial story section of the game, and you can easily lump another few dozen hours on top just to get through each of the game’s expansions. Of course, this is if you mainline the story content without getting into the game’s side content and other miscellaneous distractions which can further balloon your total playtime.
For the average player not optimizing their playthroughs, you’re looking at 200 to 250 hours easy before you get into the grinding and typical MMORPG stuff.
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Complete)
Although Skyrim gets more attention these days, Morrowind still has the heart of the purists of the series. It’s the game that bridges the early years of the franchise with the modern age, and does so with an absurd amount of content.
It features many of the same open-world elements modern gamers know and love, but without the luxury of total fast travel and map marker hints. Because of the extra work you’ll need to put in, you’ll be spending a lot more time in Morrowind without a guide, with most estimates falling somewhere around 100 hours for a standard run and 300 hours for a completionist’s run.
The Witcher 3: Complete Edition
The Witcher 3 is a massive game with a ton of well-written content and worthwhile side content. It’s all so well done that it’s almost impossible to resist going off the beaten path to complete them.
Whether you decide to take part in a series of fist-fighting contests or delve deep into the Gwent trading card game, there are a wealth of ways to lose dozens of hours to the game’s world before you know it. The game also features lengthy expansions, so there’s plenty to do even after you complete everything the vanilla game has to offer.
Put that all together and you have an experience that could take over 200 hours to complete.
Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite
The Monster Hunter series is known for being a massive time sink because of the amount of grinding that you’ll need to do to see the game through to its end. While there’s a lot of choices in the series we could have gone with, Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite takes the cake.
Most players according to HowLongToBeat report taking almost 150 hours just to complete the main story and completionist runs taking a massive 455 hours. All the styles averaged together ended up at 237 hours roughly, which is nothing to sneeze at even if you’re a seasoned veteran when it comes to long games.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
If you find yourself wanting to escape into a game for an extended period, there are far worse options than The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Filled to bursting with odd quests, hidden temples, and collectibles to uncover, the world is one which offers players more than enough to keep them occupied well past the point when other games would be rolling their credits. An average playthrough focused on the main story will typically clock in at 100 hours, but if you’re doing everything you possibly can, then that total will be closer to 187 hours.
What’s even better is that you can fight the final boss and end the game whenever you wish. as such, there’s a sense of freedom and open-endedness other titles on this list could only dream of.
Red Dead Redemption 2
There’s a reason so many people have claimed that they got lost for weeks on end in Red Dead Redemption 2.
A culmination of Rockstar’s open world design, the game is a scarily detailed portrayal of life in the dying days of the wild west. There are bounties to track down, hidden treasures to find, strangers to interact with, and secrets aplenty to uncover. All of them intermingle seamlessly too, which makes it incredibly easy to get drawn back into the game’s world again and again.
To even take a passing glance via the main story could run you over 100 hours, and a completionist’s run doubles or even triples that time frame depending on your skill level.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Hideo Kojima put everything and the kitchen sink into Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Whereas other Metal Gear Solid games put you in open but linear settings, MGS V sets you loose in several open world sandboxes. Each one has a wealth of missions to complete and secrets to uncover, and that’s all before you try to progress the sizable main story.
Though its open world may seem a bit barren compared to more recent titles, it still contains a bevy of content to experience at your leisure. As such, completing everything the game has to offer takes a fair bit of time, and most estimates sit around 162 hours.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The total playtime of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a tricky one to nail down, especially since it continues to see support from Nintendo well after release.
On one hand, you can spend several dozen hours gathering enough Bells to payoff your mortgage. Likewise, you can completely forgo that to focus on cultivating your island and still drop well over 100 hours into the game.
However, it has been determined that if you aim to complete all of the game’s base content, you can expect to sink as much as 366 hours into the game. Yes, you read that right. For context, that’s a whopping 15.25 full 24-hour days of your life dedicated to the game.
The Binding of Isaac (Complete)
Don’t let The Binding of Isaac’s indie status fool you. It’s a gargantuan game to take on, especially when you factor in all of its DLCs and updates.
Undertaking the main story alone will run you roughly 50 hours, and that’s if you’re good at twin-stick shooters. If you’re not, you can expect to tack on another 30 hours thanks to how much you’ll be dying. If you’re aiming for a completionist’s run though — meaning you’re aiming to get every character, item and secret ending — then that playtime will grow to upwards of 230 hours.
It’s a gargantuan task for even the most dedicated players, and you can bet it’ll quickly become one of the longest games you’ve ever played.
Cyberpunk 2077
CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 didn’t get off to the best start — especially on Xbox One and PS4 consoles — but following a number of major updates, the game has come on leaps and bounds and now warrants its titanic runtime.
While its main story quests don’t run quite as long as other games on the list, there’s a huge amount of side content to sink your teeth into across Night City that’ll keep you busy for hours on end. We’d estimate it taking you anywhere between 60-100 hours depending on how much of that side content you dive into.
And that’s just the vanilla game. The sizable Phantom Liberty DLC expansion tacks on another 30 to 40 hours, which can mean you’re in for a playtime of around 140 hours if you try to do absolutely everything.
Elden Ring
FromSoftware’s latest and arguably greatest Souls-like is also easily one of the longest games of all time.
In one of our Elden Ring playthroughs, it took us a staggering 220 hours to become an Elden Lord, and while it’s certainly possible to complete it sooner if you’re a series veteran, there’s still a staggering amount of content to dive into, side quests to complete — and remember to go back to — and boss battles that’ll make you launch your controller out the window.
Yes, we’re looking at you Malenia.
Horizon Forbidden West
This may surprise those who beat the game in a much shorter timespan, but Horizon Forbidden West can cost you several dozen hours if you try to do everything it offers.
The follow-up to the 2017 PS4 exclusive sees Aloy venturing into the Forbidden West, hence the game’s name. It brings a more varied map, an epic and cinematic story, and an improved climbing system that all make the world feel so much more immersive and interactive, which is why it can be easy to fall into its various activities for days on end.
A beeline through the main story will take around 30 hours, but if you go for a 100% playthrough, you’re looking at closer to 100 hours. There’s a ton of side quests to complete and collectibles to grab, as well as additional combat challenges to grind out for the highest scores.
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Fans hail Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age as one of the best JRPGs in recent memory, but they also warn any newcomers about its length.
The game follows the journey of a hunted Hero who must uncover the mystery of his fate with the help of a team of friends that’ll help him fight through the perilous dangers of the world. It’s a typical Dragon Age adventure when it comes to gameplay, as it features plenty of fun side content to go along with its lengthy main story.
Speaking of which: Completing just the main story will see you sinking upwards of 55 hours into it, but if you’re looking to finish all of the game’s side content, you’re looking at upwards of 120 hours.
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
The 3DS and Wii U entry in the Monster Hunter series is one seriously massive game.
It follows the same sort of gameplay loop as the rest of the entries in the series, with players hunting down monsters, defeating them in battle, and then using their body parts to craft new and improved armor and weapons to tackle tougher monsters and so on and so forth.
You’re looking at 75 hours alone to beat the main story, but if you’re wanting to go the full completionist route, it’s upwards of 600 hours!
Baldur’s Gate 3
Larian Studios’ critical darling Baldur’s Gate 3 has earned many accolades since its release; key among them being that it’s one of the longest games out there.
Even a standard playthrough can run you between 60 and 80 hours, but that total balloons to as much as 160 hours if you try to do all the side content. And this doesn’t even cover replays, which are a must given the number of different choices and outcomes there are to uncover.
The scariest part is that you’ll barely notice the time fly by. One minute, you’re playing through the opening section in the emerald grove; the next, you’re in the shadow Cursed Lands and 20 hours have passed.
Starfield
Bethesda’s spacefaring epic is right up there with its Elder Scrolls and Fallout counterparts in being one of the longest games you can buy.
Its story of celestial observers and finding your place in the universe is substantial enough, as you can spend over 100 hours during your initial run through of the game. Once that’s done though, the post game and new game plus are basically must-play content, which can double or even triple that playtime.
Bear in mind, this is all before factoring ihn the game’s planned DLC, which is sure to increase that hour count all the more.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Given how massive Breath of the Wild was, it should come as no surprise that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a properly sizable title.
The main story can take as many as 59 hours to finish on its own, but the side content can easily double that figure. But that’s not all: Thanks to the game’s addictive crafting mechanics, many players have spent several times more time in the game, with playtime counters exceeding 200 hours on a regular basis.
Persona 3 Reload
Persona 3 Reload is right up there with Persona 5 Royal as one of the longest gaming experiences the RPG genre has to offer.
The main story can take about 50 hours to complete, and that’s if you don’t partake in any of the side quests. Going for a completionist’s run, meanwhile, doubles this playtime, and can keep you invested in its characters and world for well over 100 hours if you aren’t careful.
It’s anyone’s guess whether or not that total will get longer with some sort of DLC, but for now it easily stands among the longest games out there.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
The latest entry in the Final Fantasy VII Remake series is, to put it bluntly, a giant game.
It’s main story might only take about 50 hours to complete, but there’s a massive 100 more hours worth of side content you can dig into. This includes minigames like chocobo racing, various Quests, and some truly humbling boss fights with the game’s summons.
Toss in the series’ hard mode and its ramped up difficulty, and you have an RPG that will hold your attention for a good long while.
Published: Feb 29, 2024 04:56 pm