No one can argue that video games are an expensive hobby. From buying a console or a powerful PC capable of running games decently, to actually buying the games, the tab quickly stacks up.
When a game offers a huge amount of quality content, we all feel the gentle light of the gaming gods shine upon us and we rejoice. We’re talking about games with over one hundreds hours of game play, a huge selection of fun side quests, stories, levels, enemies, and characters to spend many an hour with.
For the purposes of this list, we’ve weeded out titles with infinite playability potential, like Battle Royales, RTS games, MMOs, MOBAs and creative titles like city builders.
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Starting out in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt can feel overwhelming to say the least. The number of missions, side quests, contracts, lore, and creatures is down right baffling. In terms of immersion, you can quite literally inhabit the Witcher world for hundreds of hours, with most players doing so quite happily. The size of the world means getting from one end to the other is an adventure in itself. Then you can just prance around role playing as Geralt for even longer.
2. Dark Souls
A completionist take on Dark Souls easily takes up to 100 hours, yet it isn’t so much a glut of content that earns this title’s spot in the list. Instead, the sheer difficulty of battling hard, and I mean really hard, enemies and the frustration that comes with it, are what makes Dark Souls one of the longest games out there. Getting accustomed to that ‘You Died’ screen becomes a rite of passage, one we all come to miss once we finish the game.
3. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
Might as well just hand in your notice at work and stay at home for a good few weeks with this one. Though exclusively a PSP/Vita title, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is packed full of content with the main missions easily surpassing 150 hours. Completing every last morsel of content sees the counter skyrocket up to 500 hours.
4. Grand Theft Auto 5
Three characters, a huge map, drugs, guns, and fast cars all translate into hours of fun in Los Santos. Beyond actual missions and side quests, Grand Theft Auto 5 is full of detail in the NPCs, the architecture and landscapes, all worth exploring. That’s without even covering the activities and extras like the drug running missions. Let’s not even mention GTA Online, where sinking thousands of hours happens so effortlessly you come to realize you’ve aged 5 years and are whole lot poorer for it.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear games have historically been on the longer side of things, but Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain took it a step further. A completionist play through peaks well into the 150 hours. The relative freedom in terms of how to complete missions means a huge replayability factor, with owners often completing multiple play throughs for the wealth of variety on offer.
