Direct Download

So this episode turned into more of a “what we’ve been playing” than specifically being about long games. It’s an odd conundrum that I continually run into, where some players demand a game be as long as possible while others yearn a return to more brief experiences. Unspoken by me in the podcast yet uttered frequently over the past few years, I long for shorter games if only so I can more easily return to them in the future. It is easier to justify replaying an eighteen hour game than it is an eighty hour game.

The only game whose length did not bother me was Breath of the Wild, and in large part because I was in control of that. Though I commented on the Korok seeds being a padded completionist item, there’s nothing within the game calling their total number to the player’s attention. There’s a simple reward for the player that collects each one, but they are only so numerous so as to guarantee the player has a chance to discover them. They are, after all, a currency of sort, and therefore there is a good chance most players will stumble upon a large enough quantity so as to obtain better upgrades. Yet the game is not constantly reminding the player of how many total Korok seeds there are or how close they are to completion.

It makes the land of Hyrule truly feel more like a sandbox. Once the player has had their fill, they can complete the necessary objectives and move on with their life. For me, it took around ninety hours to reach that point. If Ghost of Tsushima wasn’t tallying up the total number of Inari Shrines, cricket baskets, side quests, and banners, would I be feeling nearly as exhausted by the desire to fill out the map? Or would I have already moved on and completed the first act, having my fill of that first zone?

What do you think of the length of modern games? Please leave a comment below or send us an e-mail with what you’ve been playing.

Opening theme music by my buddy Brandon, a.k.a. Fallen Prophecy.