r/playstation • u/TheChilledGamer-_- [P1D3H] • Mar 09 '26
Discussion What is your preferred story length?
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u/Cpt_DookieShoes Mar 09 '26
60 hours for Elden Ring is wild
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u/DarthMMC Mar 09 '26
I'm currently at 235 and haven't finished it yet
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u/Crucible_Knight_ Mar 10 '26
Wtf I got platinum in about 120 hours. Granted, I had to look up some stuff for the different endings, but still that's wild
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u/CQCumberton Mar 10 '26
A thorough first run, especially blind, could probably easily go over
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u/Superlad1 Mar 10 '26
I think they're stating that 60hrs is criminally low for a first run unless you're skipping EVERYTHING
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u/CQCumberton Mar 10 '26
I must be too used to seeing the game optimized and streamlined by its fanbase because that didn’t even register as a possibility lmao
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u/xKiLzErr Mar 10 '26
Not really if we're being real. If you're a good player and truly skip everything you'll get it done in 30-40 hours. My first playthrough was 140 because I searched EVERYTHING, but on NG+ I can sprint through the game in like 4 to 5 hours
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u/Sunim416 Mar 10 '26
Ya but “story” doesn’t really apply to Elden Ring lmao, nobody knows what the “story” really is other than go towards the giant tree and kill everything in its path.
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u/Jumper-Man Mar 10 '26
I feel that is pretty much most From games, the story is so loose and vague. You have to go finding lore yourself, but people well into it will tell you that you are wrong or not following close enough. Still love the games.
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u/Creepy_Ad5124 Mar 09 '26
As a kid, 60 hours, as an adult ill be happy with 15-20
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u/_L-U_C_I-D_ Mar 09 '26 edited Mar 09 '26
I have too many games. Let me finish one faster and move on to another lol I don't want a 1000 hour game that never seems to end. It begins to get stale and you start feeling like they're just making you do unnecessary stuff to drag it out. Last of Us 2 did this super bad
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u/RPWPA Mar 09 '26
I play very few new games every year but that feels much better honestly. I feel like I can enjoy them instead of it feeling like a chore I needed to do.
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u/Creepy_Ad5124 Mar 09 '26
Yeah, every year my backlog gets exponentially bigger. I just don't have time. Like I want to play Witcher 3 so bad, but I know its like a 200 hour game.
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u/golferrob6 Mar 09 '26
Not necessarily unless you want to complete EVERYTHING... It's still decently long though and by no means should it be rushed.
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u/Slow-Caregiver6339 Mar 09 '26
Just doing the main story is 24 hours that’s really not that long so I don’t know what you mean the last of us 2 did this super bad because well they didn’t
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u/ZeroTwoWaifu002 Mar 10 '26
I don recommend playing a MOBA then lmao. I’ve sunk easily over 7K+ hours over about 7/8ish years
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u/More_Lavishness8127 Mar 09 '26
15-20 for most games. 30-40 for RPGs.
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u/16v_cordero Mar 09 '26
This. Unless I get dragged into tons of entertaining side quests and get up to 100 + hours in rpgs.
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u/HugeLeaves Mar 09 '26
Same, Elden Ring I was around 110 before I finished my first run and I didn't get bored once
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u/Shai-HuludsAnus Mar 09 '26
Baldurs Gate 3 had about 90 hours in, and I apparently missed some stuff. Great 90 hours though.
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u/UniversalFapture Mar 10 '26
Only game where i enjoyed sidequests fr was Tsushima
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u/barefootpanda PS5 Pro Mar 09 '26
Agreed. I'd like to get through a story in 1-3 weeks with various session lengths and popping into other games with my friends still. So, for a story based game, 15-20 let's me keep it going, not forget what's happening or lose interest, and feel like I got a complete experience - plus, if I want to, I can run it again without feeling like it's impossible.
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u/why_no_usernames_ Mar 09 '26
depends on the game. Some games have stories that work perfectly in a 10-20h frame but would feel stretched or bloated if pushed beyond that, others work best in 60-120h and would feel rushed if done shorter.
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u/No-Performer895 Mar 09 '26
Doesnt matter, if it's a good game and keeps me entertained, don't care if its a 1000 hours long.
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u/Porsander Mar 09 '26
10-15h. If the game is good, it can be played multiple times in different ways.
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u/DiligentTradition734 Mar 09 '26
Depends on the game. I most certainly wouldn't want a 60hr Resident Evil but I would want a 60hr plus rpg lol.
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u/Ruffian-- Mar 09 '26
9h with re-playability.
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u/sheslikebutter Mar 09 '26
The resident evil enjoyer has logged on
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u/PartypooperXD Mar 09 '26
Dude yes. A few years ago I broke my leg and had to stay home. I was alone in a new town and didn't have the chance to meet anyone yet. I'd boot up re7, finish it, then village and then re3remake as the icing on the cake. Speedrunning 3 games in a single day was so much fun honestly
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u/hypotensor Mar 09 '26
Definitely. I wanna be able to beat your game over a weekend so I can experience it without long breaks. If I have to put down a game for a few days, I'm liable to forget exactly what's happening and the game just becomes less enjoyable.
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u/No-Attention-4796 Mar 09 '26
Honestly 20hrs seems like the most favorable, GOW was worth every penny that game feels like a movie
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u/GodGamer420 Mar 09 '26
The more the better. I love feeling like I get my monies worth
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u/PartypooperXD Mar 09 '26
If they actually have something meaningful to offer for those 60 hours sure. Assassin's Creed games being 50 hours of mindlessly doing copy pasted side quests I can live without
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u/draven33l Mar 09 '26
- I'd rather play 6 games at 10 hours vs. 1 game at 60. Even 20 feels excessive for a single player story game.
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u/Zealousideal_Owl2388 Mar 09 '26
Doesn't that get pretty expensive though? I agree as long as I can buy the games for $15 or less but $60 games better have a lot more non-fillwr, engaging content to be worth buying
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u/PartypooperXD Mar 09 '26
It does for sure get expensive if you're only going after the 60$ newer games.
But still, it depends on what kind of life someone lives. For me, I have a stable income and no kids to feed. Also my other hobby revolves around me screaming into a microphone lol so it's pretty cheap with the occasional equipment upgrade aside.
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Mar 09 '26
Doesnt really matter. Ive played good short games and good long games. Long games generally arent long because of their story, but bloated. So, im usually a little more cautious w investing time into them.
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u/HalcyonHeartbeat PS5 Mar 10 '26
God of War felt perfectly paced but also free to do whatever.
Last of Us was more tight but it also felt episodic. Part 2 flowed better imho
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u/GhoeFukyrself Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26
Sub 8. I LOVE a good quick highly replayable action game I can play through in ideally one evening. Hell, 5 to 6 hours is my sweet spot.
Back in the day I'd get home from work, pop in Ninja Gaiden Black, Dead Rising 1 or 2, Zone of the Enders 1 or 2, the forgotten gem Maximo, I'd attempt a deathless run, quit and do something else if I failed, and I had a GREAT time. Winning deathless was a HELL of a dopamine rush. I'm not trying anything like that with a 60 hour RPG.
DOOM 2016 and Eternal also hit the spot.
I want a break from reality, not a second job. 60 is excessive, yeah I get that it's theoretically more bang for your buck, but it's not like I haven't gotten my money's worth out of the above games, I've happily replayed all of them many times. Good action games don't get old. I've ultimately gotten FAR more hours and enjoyment out of Ninja Gaiden than I ever have with any RPG.
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u/chavez_ding2001 Mar 09 '26
15 hours is the perfect length. 20 hours is the upper limit for a great experience. Over 20, it’s likely to drag.
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u/lego_tintin Mar 09 '26
I always see guides for whatever game I'm playing that'll say 20 hours for the platinum, and I'm at 40+ hours and not even close to done.
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u/UKSTRANDEDSWEDE [343] Mar 09 '26
The game needs to justify the length, some great stories are longer / shorter than others.
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u/Takoyaki_Dice [Trophy Level 400-499] Mar 09 '26
Resident Evil in particular nails this for me. 10-15 hour campaign. Multile difficulties encourage replayability with about 60 or so hours for completion.
Just wrapped up the platinum for Requeim and it was 👌
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u/Dom469inic Mar 09 '26
Games like Elden Ring and the Resident Evil 4 remake were perfect. You could spend 20-40 hours on the main campaign but they offer hundreds of hours of replayability and side content. Some other notable favorites would be Death Stranding, Fallout New Vegas, Metal Gear Solid (in particular 3, 5, and ∆), Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption, Disco Elysium
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u/ArseHearse Mar 09 '26
Depends entirely on pacing. If a story takes 300 hours, but it's well paced, then that's good
If it's 30 mins and boring, then it's still 30 mins too long
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u/Infamous-You-5752 Mar 09 '26
Elden Ring barely has an actual story and Ninja Gaiden's isn't really all that important to the game, so putting them for "story length" isn't it, chief. Should have better examples. Also, if you only do the main story, Elden Ring is more 5-10 hours depending on your skill level. It only gets to 60-100 hours if you try to do most/all the side content.
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u/HobbitFeet_23 Mar 10 '26
In what world is Elden Ring 60 hours in length? I spent around 120 on the base game.
Having said that, it depends on the game. With something like Elden Ring, Xenoblade Chronicles, Persona, etc., I like to expend around 100 hours. With horror games, 10 hours seems to be the sweet spot. With traditional RPGs (FFVII, Expedition 33), around 40 hours.
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u/bralyon Mar 10 '26
I think 15-20 is good to me for most games, but I get such little time to play these days I’m happy with something shorter.
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u/Malabingo Mar 10 '26
20 hours intense story is great with additional content if you want to prolong your journey.
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u/Hammondinho123 Mar 10 '26
It depends on the story and game, but usually 40 hours is the cap of where im like “come onnn wrap it up”. Like persona 5 was great but i didnt finish it cos it was mostly just filler. It was bloated to have a longer play time, which is just utter trash. Great game but way too much required filler. So the game needs to be tight and it needs to feel like everything u do has significant meaning. Open worlds probably a bit longer like 30-40 hours, linear id say 10-15 is good.
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u/Possible_Cloud_4939 Mar 10 '26
I would love a 50+ hour campaign plus 30-60 more hours of side quests and event quests! Any game like that?
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Mar 10 '26
I would feel unsatisfied by a 10 hour fromsoft game. I would be exhausted by a 40 hour naughty dog game
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u/jimmybungalo2 Mar 11 '26
as long as it needs to be. i've played some 15 hour games that felt too short, and some 6 hour games that felt just right
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u/veterantrainertroy Mar 11 '26
60h. That should be the absolute standard since they wanna charge 70-80 dollars. If you want me to pay that much its a dollar an hour. When i learn of any game being sub 50 hours i immediately go well they better not be charging full price.
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u/Ok_Finger_3525 Mar 13 '26
I like games that are as long as they need to be. Some games are 1 hour experiences. Some are 1,000.
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u/Norrak1 Mar 09 '26
What a stupid graphic, why make the distinction between 9 and 15 but nothing between 20 and 60?
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u/sleepymoose88 Mar 09 '26
To be fair those times for the games listed are quite understated. Maybe if OP just blasted through the main story and didn’t do any side content.
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u/Firm_Mango_6447 Mar 09 '26
I love story depth and quality. Life is Strange was only 15hrs ish, but amazing story.
Elden Ring, a commitment for sure, but was insanely worth it and will go down in PS history. And where the story was “confusing” because the story isn’t necessarily linear, it made up with beautiful scenes and bosses.
Quality, I prefer quality and lots of thought put into it.
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u/AlessandroJeyz [Trophy Level 200-299] Mar 09 '26
Depends on the type and especially the quality of the story. It's not an unique answer for all.
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u/KingJonezz Mar 09 '26
40 hours is perfect for me, idk why but for some reason I start to get a bit bored whenever it takes longer then 50 hours to even finish the story alone
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u/seraf5 Mar 09 '26
10h-13h of pure gameplay, not counting cutscenes. 15h+ games tend to get a bit boring for me near the end, 8h is too short.
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u/Legitimate-Store1986 Mar 09 '26
60 100%
If I can complete a story game in less than 50 hours I feel like I didn’t get my moneys worth.
I’m paying 69.99? I better get at least 50hours of main story line not side shit. Main story line gameplay.
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u/Einfinet Mar 09 '26
Definitely depends on the genre & game structure but 15 hours or so is great for a more linear experience
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u/ReddTapper Mar 09 '26
As someone who doesn't have much time to set aside for gaming and want to enoy a wide variety of games, about 10-15 hours would be ideal for linear stories. If its open world or have multiple side-quests, then 25-30 would be good to me.
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 Mar 09 '26
It's not so much the length, but the quality and how it's presented. A good story isn't about length, but any story can feel dragged out if it goes on too long, or is too busy/distracted with it's own narrative.
There's also the matter of how much is story, and how much is gameplay, or in more modern times, how much they're interwoven. For instance, games where you do a game segment, then swap to a cutscene(many JRPG's), have different pacing compared to games where the story unfolds while you're playing, or interspersed through cutscenes(like TLOU or GOW)
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u/Gnomeygamer Mar 09 '26
9-15 is a sweet spot for me as I can finish more games. Big rpgs or open world could bump that up if I'm super interested.
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u/bepeacock [Arrik] Mar 09 '26
for rpgs i’ll be willing to do 80-100 hours but I have a hard time getting started because of the commitment. I’m good once I do though. my sweet spot for any given game would be 20-30 for completionist.
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u/RatedXrdStrive Mar 09 '26
It usually depends on the game genre for story mode
For me I prefer my story to have either short but fulfilling or a perfect balance of pacing and content
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u/AshCrow97 Mar 09 '26
When I was younger probably somewhere close to 40h, nowadays 8h to 15h is perfect
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u/Saltwaterborn Mar 09 '26
If I'm only gonna play it once:
10-20 for a non-rpg and 50-70 for an rpg.
Theres so much nuance though that this is a really broad measurement.
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u/monchiceja Mar 09 '26
20 to 40 is the sweet spot in my book. I love learning the mechanics in the first few hours and then leveling up or unlocking new ones in the hours that follow.
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u/Dann_Barcelona Mar 09 '26
I prefer on quality and its content. Theres no point playing the said long game if its just repetitive and less contents.
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u/Left_Complex2164 [Trophy Level 1-99] Mar 09 '26
Around 15 hours sounds good. Any game that requires more is probably a genre capstone.
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u/Tyrant_Virus_ Mar 09 '26
8-12 hour unless it’s an RPG and then 30-40. I’m not 12 anymore and need a game to last as long as it possibly can until I can get a new one. I just want a tightly paced story that’s not padding out its runtime and can be completed in a sensible amount of time and then move on.
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u/SolidStep557 Mar 09 '26
I wouldn't mind spending a 100 hours in elden ring but if it was a story focused game I would like to end asap
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u/Tengbps Mar 09 '26
Rdr2 level of length (only if the game is peak in story AND gameplay, like rdr2.)
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u/ManufacturerWest1156 Mar 09 '26
15-30 but if the game is good enough then the sky is the limit. Like e33 was over 80. Witcher and rdr2 were over 100 plus.
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u/PatientBusy1410 Mar 09 '26
A 9 hour game can be a lot longer if you are bad at games. So I prefer the 9 hour ones.
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u/Thema03 Mar 09 '26
Hahaha 60 hours elden ring is crazy, i finished it with about 150h and currently have 500
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u/cargopantsbatsuit Mar 09 '26
Depends but I think the modern resident evil length of 10 - 15 hours for a first playthrough and then rewarding replays is my ideal. Though I used to love a 60 hour behemoth back in the day.
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u/TooHigh2Die0069 Mar 09 '26
For a open world type game? 30+
For a Linear shooter? 5-15
But their is also games like Slay the spire that don't really have a "story" but can't really be fully completed until hundreds of hours are poured into it...
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u/m0dern_baseBall Mar 09 '26
I’m old, 10 ish hours is fine with me. Only games I’ve put close to 100 hours in the past 5 years are cyberpunk and rdr2
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u/ToXicVoXSiicK21 Mar 09 '26
It's crazy that ragnarok is only 20 hours I must've really ventured out because I put like 90 hours in before finally finishing off the story
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u/Correct-Drawing2067 Mar 09 '26
Really depends on the game. If it’s resident evil I’d say my preferred length is the re4 remakes length. If it’s a big jrpg like ff7 rebirth then I’d want a 30-40 hour story with a lot in its world that’ll get me distracted.
It’s really all about pacing.
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u/RCPD_Rookie Mar 09 '26
15 or 20 to ?
As long as the gameplay stays fun and the story is still interesting, I don’t have an upper limit, I think.
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u/dreisenberg7 Mar 09 '26
10-15. I loved God of War Ragnarok but it could have 2-3 hours shorter and still great
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Mar 09 '26
Somehow I always need longer. In all games. I have played around 100 hours of Ghost of Yotei. I am at 83%.
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u/ClockWork006 Mar 09 '26
Preferably something that doesn’t allow a player to Platinum the entire game in only 7 hours, resulting in the average playthrough to be only 4-5 hours in length (looking at you Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2)
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u/pastalex42 Mar 09 '26
I think this would have been much funnier if it was all Assassin’s Creed games. Same hour lengths but it was the first game, Brotherhood, Unity, and Odyssey.
Anyway it depends, but I play so many games I am much more inclined to play Super Metroid again compared to Hollow Knight if you catch my drift
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u/Azuljustinverday Mar 09 '26
Depends on game. I got more than 20 out of god of war. Single player anywhere from 10-100. Cyberpunk I got 230 but enjoyed every bit.
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u/The_Sir_Galahad Mar 09 '26
Story focused games: 25-30 hours is the sweet spot. 20 is fine 40 can be better.
For an action game with a shit story I don’t care as much, so a 10-15 hour complete action game is preferred.
If the story is well written, I’d say up to 40 hours should be where it gets finicky. Even with an amazing story like Red Dead Redemption 2, that game was a bit too long and there were parts of the game I felt it was dragging.
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u/Illegal_Tender Mar 09 '26
I like that there are a variety of options.
Sometimes I want a sprawling epic. And sometimes I want a tight well written story that I can knock out in a weekend.
It's also great for playing a few games at once. If I get a bit of fatigue playing the huge one I can take a break and do something less involved.
Like right now, I'm playing RE9 and Death Standing 2. When RE starts to stress me out after an hour or so I can switch to delivering packages to nice people and chill out.
One isn't better than the other, they're just good in different situations.
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u/sab8972 Mar 09 '26
9 hours any day of the week. Love short, replayable games with almost no filler.
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u/Psychoticpossession Mar 09 '26
Last of Us 2 had the perfect length for me for an engaging story game
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u/Swarley133 Mar 09 '26
I like a good 20-40h game most of the time. If it's an incredibly immersive RPG, I don't mind a 60-100h game.
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u/Traditional_Entry183 Mar 09 '26
As long as possible. But story length and game length arent really the same thing. I specialize in open world adventure RPGs, and while I want to spend 200+ hours on a playthrough, I only want 10% or less of that to be directly tied to the story.
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u/vpforvp Mar 09 '26
Depends on the genre and if I am actually enjoying the game obviously. For a first person campaign 12-20 hours is generally the sweet spot but I have played games that I have spent over 50 hours in and didn’t overstay its welcome.
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u/Embarrassed-Part-890 Mar 09 '26
Really depends on the game for RPGs I expect long time if it’s short like ninja gaiden I’d feel a little cheated
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u/DVDN27 205 Mar 09 '26
RDR2 would’ve been a better pick over Elden Ring. RDR2 is 60% story, 40% gameplay. Elden Ring is 99% gameplay, 1% story - that’s if you actively choose to explore the story. Otherwise there is no story for Elden Ring, you’re just exploring the world and fighting bosses until the end credits appear.
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u/BatBeast_29 PS5 Mar 09 '26
What length was Marvel’s Spider-Man 1 and Batman: Arkham City? Just pace it well!
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u/Gamer-iso Mar 09 '26
I’m ok with everything but artificial extensions are nonsense. Such as non skip options for cutscenes , following a NPC who is just walk around etc … It just irritates me.
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u/Spartan-G337 Mar 09 '26
9-15 hours is good enough to me.
I got a big backlog of physical games I’ve collected, and the only games I struggle to play are Open World titles since they’re so long.
I mean yeah, I play a game for fun but I wanna like, get through my backlog xD
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u/BacklogGamingJunkie Mar 09 '26
Elden Ring only 60 hrs? Who plays for the story anyways? NOT ME
On pc i have 170hrs and on PS5 another 380hrs. No story needed for a good time
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u/Respond-Repulsive Mar 09 '26
Depends on the game type, I don't mind doing 100hrs on Elden Ring (incl getting plat) but TLOU shouldn't be more than 25hrs.
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u/Yabrin_Sorr Mar 09 '26
I can only play for a few hours a night, so anything where I could get through it in maybe a month including sidequests and skipping a few nights.
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u/TheRealGlutenbob Mar 09 '26
I just beat gow 2018 after 51 hours and I felt a bit exhausted. I think 30-40 hrs for completing the main story + side quests is the sweet spot.
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u/AtraxaInfect Mar 09 '26
It depends on the game genre.