Retailing for $29.99, it’s also a free upgrade for those who own the PS4 version. Best of all, it includes all the enhancements from the Xbox Series X/S version, including modes with ray tracing and 120 frames per second. It also supports the PS5 Pro and the DualSense’s Haptic Feedback.

Check out our review of the original here for more details. You can also read our thoughts on the PS5 version of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. Alongside support for the console (and PS5 Pro), its release coincides with the Enhanced update, which adds a 60 FPS mode, the Dark Rot Challenge, new Photo Mode features and over four hours of commentary from the cast and development team.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

Serving as a prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain released the year after, two-hour long Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes introduced fresh stealth and traversal mechanics, manoeuvres that became staples in MGSV’s proper release. Set a few months after Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker in 1975, Ground Zeroes follows Snake’s infiltration of American black site Camp Omega as he attempts a daring rescue. Renowned for presenting newfound immersion to the series, the main complaint with Ground Zeroes is it was just too short.

NOTE: There may be spoilers ahead for the games included in this feature, so if you see us beginning to discuss a game you don’t want spoiled, turn back.

SILENT HILL 2 REMAKE

Bloober Team’s remake of Silent Hill 2 was on the receiving end of plenty of skepticism, which, given the developer’s spotty track record up to that point, wasn’t hard to understand. It’s fair to say, then, that the game turned out to be far, far better than the overwhelming majority of us anticipated. Bloober Team and Konami’s Silent Hill 2 remake has been compared to the likes of fellow horror remakes in Resident Evil 2 and Dead Space– and yes, it is that good.

The Stanley Parable

The broad appeal of The Stanley Parable is easy to understand; it lacks a complex control scheme and doesn’t ask for long gaming sessions, and the experimental narrative sandbox is instantly gripping. You can casually sit down for 10 minutes at a time going through different routes as you come up with different ways to annoy the narrator. This narrative choose-your-own-adventure experience breaks the fourth wall many times, constantly poking fun at the illusion of choice in narrative-driven video games. Like others on this list, The Stanley Parable can be categorized as a visual novel just as much as it can a video game, though it smartly pokes at what it means to be a video game through its unique first-person interactivity.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

The first Hellblade was pretty groundbreaking when it came out in 2017. Sure, the combat wasn’t amazing, and the level design left something to be desired, but the immersive quality of the main character’s audio-visual hallucinations was new and interesting. Hellblade helped push the interactive medium by putting players into the mind of someone suffering from Psychosis. The team wanted a game that let players experience the mental illness itself, and not just the reactions of characters experiencing it. This was expressed by voices in Senua’s head rather than just text on a screen. Hellblade was played by many outside the gaming space who wanted to experience something new and different, and that included nurses and doctors wanting to understand Psychosis as well as casual players looking for a different kind of narrative experience.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Any Animal Crossing game could earn a spot on this list, but New Horizons gets an edge up due to being on the Switch and selling a whopping 45 million. Animal Crossing is pretty much the ultimate cozy lifestyle sim, one that doesn’t demand too much time to thoroughly enjoy. The gameplay philosophy of taking on little bite-sized tasks every day can apply to real life, and it’s one of the reasons people from all walks of life love it. The portable on-the-go functionality of the Nintendo Switch adds to the mass appeal of Animal Crossing: New Horizons further, giving otherwise-dull vacations and business trips added fun as players meet new villagers and find ways to pay off Tom Nook’s loan.

The Witness

Braid was one of the first indie games to really go viral back in the late 2000s, and we had to wait quite a long while for Jonathan Blow’s next game. 8 years later, The Witness arrived and challenged what a puzzle video game could be. The Witness is about as pure a puzzle game as you can get. There’s no music, no plot, and no gameplay to speak of other than walking and solving the creative grid-based line-connecting puzzles. Puzzle aficionados can feel right at home with The Witness’s escalating complexity without worrying about control scheme worries or typical multimedia layers like sound and cinematics getting in the way. The only knock against it is that it’s still not available on Android, and that someone hasn’t converted its puzzles into book form yet.

Detroit: Become Human

With 85 possible endings and a myriad of different paths, Detroit: Become Human is the ultimate choose-your-own-adventure game. The plot revolves around a dystopian sci-fi Detroit being overrun by android sentience, but the developer’s style is what really makes the game unique. Also, it’s got the best branching choice flow chart in a game to date. Detroit: Become Human is a real delight to watch and play, making it an ideal streamer game for gamers and non-gamers alike.

Undertale

It’s difficult to pin down how or what exactly got this RPG indie sensation so popular. Undertale employs a 2D aesthetic and despite its niche and retro inspirations, Undertale attracted many new gamers into the fold, resulting in a surge of people going back to play the older classics out of curiosity and passion for the style. The story isn’t your typical grandiose journey, and the gameplay merges genres like bullet hells into its battle system, making for a unique and fresh experience that has sparked an interest in such genres to newcomers.

Super Mario Odyssey

Being one of the most popular and highly rated Mario games to date with 27 million in sales is no small feat. It’s true that pretty much every mainline Mario game has wide appeal and moves consoles, but Super Mario Odyssey had a trick up its sleeve, or should I say, a hat? The transforming Cappy hat, swimsuit Mario, and Jump Up Superstar big band song instantly entered meme status, capturing a wide audience as a result. And we’re thankful the marketing caught on because Super Mario Odyssey is one of the most fun and well-designed 3D platformers of all time.

Celeste

Despite being a punishing platformer, Celeste has some of the most user-friendly difficulty options in the genre. The options allow you to play how you want with the amount of air dashes, stamina, and invincibility available as a toggle. Also, the game is just so quick to jump in and out of thanks to the snappy respawn and checkpoints for every room. Beyond the flexible gameplay, the story is broadly appealing with the main character’s down-to-earth battles with anxiety, all told through a supernatural mountain climb.

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley ticks all the casual boxes and does it with a surprising amount of depth. You can farm crops and stake your place in the valley at a leisurely pace, or you can work toward seeing the post-game content with a successful farm and wife. Stardew Valley has a lot of management sim meat on its bones despite its casual appearance, leading players to try out more involved games lacking the kind of convenience features this game has.

Firewatch

Firewatch is another one on this list that’s perhaps just as enjoyable to watch as it is to play. The dialogue between the two fire dispatchers, Henry and Delilah, really carries this game with the charm and witty banter. It’s also got a mystery element woven through the narrative as you’re left questioning if Delilah is well-intentioned, working as a spy, going nuts, or all of the above. The down-to-earth nature of its premise and laid-back gameplay help give Firewatch a broad appeal.

Journey

Everyone reading this already knows about Journey, so I’ll spare the summary. Journey is one of those games that gets instantly recommended to non-players, and for good reason. It’s impossible to fail at, has an attractive audio-visual core, and provides an interactive experience you can’t get elsewhere. The lack of UI cluttering the screen eases new players to dive in without hesitation. And who doesn’t like sand surfing? It’s just so easy to pop into a session without needing to use your brain and tense up your gaming reflexes. Journey would go on to be a true journey into the wide world of video games for many newcomers to the hobby.

Portal

Originally developed as a school project titled Narbacular Drop, Portal went on to inspire independent games as a concept. The inventive portal tool gets our brains to think outside the box as we solve Glados’ test chambers. The narrative brims with inventiveness as the test subject, Chell, seeks to break free of the testing and find a new path forward. Portal remains one of the most creative and unique games ever created. It’s one of those games that breaks the boundary of the entertainment box it’s in, compelling gamers and non-gamers alike to experience its quirky and unpredictable narrative. Even with first-person 3D controls, non-gamers couldn’t help but experience such a novel, mind-bending game.

Inside

It’s astonishing how simple and understated the gameplay and aesthetic of Inside is, yet it’s still hailed as one of the most unique gaming experiences. Like Limbo before it, the intro of Inside has you simply walking forward without any exposition or explanation. You’re left to wander and figure things out through exploration and carefully constructed environments. If the dark atmosphere wasn’t enough, there’s also some horror sprinkled in with little jump scares and tense moments that help push Inside further into the annals of casual game stardom.

The Last of Us: Part 1

The Last of Us manages to hit that sweet spot appealing to those outside the gaming sphere while still being challenging and ‘video-gamey’ in its own right. Now that The Last of Us TV show is out, non-gamers are flocking to the remake of the first game more than ever. The game’s setting ticks all the boxes of a modern series-seller: zombies, post-apocalypse, survival, father-daughter bonding, drama. The Last of Us: Part 1 also happens to punch us right in the gut with one of the most impactful openers in any form of media, let alone video game. It’s easy to see why The Last of Us got its own TV series and a remakes after the original’s release in 2013.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

We all knew The Legend of Zelda could sell systems and rise to the top of Metacritic ratings, but who could’ve predicted Breath of the Wild’s tremendous success? When Breath of the Wild first came out, it was often called the best game of all time. Taking Zelda fully open world revitalized the genre and helped draw in new players who wanted to explore at their own pace. The open exploration is accompanied by flexible abilities like Magnet and Stasis, which allow for a wide range of creative solutions to puzzles and ways to play with items, enemies, and the environment around you. Sure, the weapons break way too fast in Breath of the Wild, but many players could overlook that due to the vast world and limitless ways to play the game. Many fans of Breath of the Wild would go on to try out other games afterward, revitalizing the genre with a new set of admirers.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

PORTAL 2

With a main story about 8-9 hours long, Portal 2 is nearly thrice as long as its predecessor, but just like its predecessor, feels like the perfect length. Valve’s ingenious puzzler sequel throws in plenty of new mechanics and design ideas on top of the first game’s foundations, and over the course of its meticulously chiseled runtime, gets absolutely everything out of all of its best ideas.

With more beautiful visuals, brutal combat and a potentially more haunting story, Hellblade 2 could very well be a potential Game of the Year candidate when it launches on May 21st for Xbox Series X/S and PC. However, what else sets it apart from the first game? Here are 11 key differences you should know.

Helheim vs. Iceland

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice takes place in Helheim, with Senua venturing to revive her deceased lover, Dillion. However, it flits between different times and places, exploring her past and what led her to this predicament. By comparison, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is on a more epic scale. Taking place in Viking Iceland, it sees Senua on a mission to save “those who have fallen victim to the horrors of tyranny.” Based on the events of the first game, it’s indicated that she, with various allied warriors, is taking the battle to the Norsemen to ultimately seek revenge.

Graphics

For its time, Hellblade 1 was praised for its graphical fidelity and presentation values. Few games, even full-priced $60 releases, could achieve that level of detail. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 goes even further beyond – it’s developed on Unreal Engine 5, and its weather effects, environmental textures, lighting, shadows and particle effects are simply stunning to behold. Even the facial animations are light years ahead courtesy of Epic’s MetaHuman technology.

Fully Motion Captured Combat

Compared to the first game, combat in Hellblade 2 is fully motion-captured. Fights are one-on-one, with players only facing one threat at a time, but based on the gameplay footage thus far, the sheer amount of animations is impressive, whether Senua blocks attacks or goes for killing blows. The famous Battle of the Bastards from Game of Thrones was an inspiration for Hellblade 2, per combat director Benoit Macon, lending a personal feel despite the more epic nature of some conflicts.

Combat Performance Capture Time

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice had its share of performance capture for the combat, which took about two days in a “small boardroom” per the developer to IGN. Hellblade 2’s combat, on the other hand, was captured on a proper motion capture stage, purpose-built for the same, and requires around 70 days to record. If that isn’t an indication of how much more time and effort went into combat’s motion capture, nothing is.

New Puzzles

As you’ve probably deduced by now, there’s plenty of combat in Hellblade 2, much like in the first game. However, puzzles also make a return – one of them involves finding three Runic symbols to remove a barrier. This is somewhat similar to puzzles from the first game, but there are some new ones. As IGN noted in their preview, a rock in the environment reveals a face depending on the viewing angle and leads to more information on the story. Again, while not all that dissimilar from Hellblade 1, there’s the hope of fresher cerebral challenges arising throughout.

More Enemy Variety

Hellblade 1 had its share of variety in the bosses, though the enemies boiled down to a few rudimentary types by the end. Thus far, Hellblade 2 is expanding on this, with regular enemies now capable of a wider variety of attacks, both melee (like stomping the ground and stunning Senua) and ranged (including one that breathes fire). The Focus returns, slowing enemies down and providing a better opportunity to take them down.

Digital-Only

Like Alan Wake 2, Hellblade 2 is a digital-only release. Explaining the reasoning for this, studio head Dom Matthews told Xbox Wire that the team “took advantage of the freedom that digital-only distribution offered us to create a game of the length that fits perfectly with our intended experience but could be sold at a lower price to reflect the shorter length of our story. This framework allowed us to focus on the things we really care about – taking our fans on an unforgettable journey into Senua’s unique world.”

However, Hellblade 1 was also a digital-only release at launch. It would receive a physical version on PS4 courtesy of 505 Games, while Microsoft published it physically on the Xbox One. Perhaps that could occur with Hellblade 2 down the line.

Pricing Comparison

Regarding the price, in this day and age, when first-party titles from Microsoft and Sony (and occasionally Nintendo) are launching for $70, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is only $49.99. Hellblade 1 launched for $29.99, with the idea being that it’s “half the size of a AAA game, but sold at half the price,” per Ninja Theory’s Dominic Matthews.

While that’s arguably more noteworthy given its production values, the scale of both games is on a completely different level. As studio co-founder Tameem Antoniades (no longer with Ninja Theory) told NME in 2022, “The goal with Hellblade 2 isn’t to perfect it but to create an experience that feels more believable and more refined. Its ambition in terms of scale is bigger. I think Hellblade 2 will make Hellblade look like an indie game.”

Playtime

Alongside announcing its price, Ninja Theory also revealed that the length of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is “similar” to the first game. A quick visit to HowLongToBeat reveals that Hellblade 1 requires about 7.5 hours on average to complete the main story and nine hours if you complete everything. Remember that this is the median – it could take less time if you rush through or longer, depending on how leisurely your playthrough is.

Xbox-Exclusive vs. PlayStation-Exclusive

Hellblade 2 opts for a larger scale and graphical improvements, but like the original, it’s still exclusive to a specific console – Xbox Series X/S. Hellblade 1 was first released on PS4 in 2017 but would eventually arrive on its way to Xbox One in April 2018 (with Microsoft announcing its acquisition of Ninja Theory in June). Could history repeat itself, especially with Microsoft’s new multiplatform strategy for its first-party titles? Time will tell.

Launch Resolutions and Frame Rates

Like its fellow Xbox exclusive Starfield, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is locked to 30 frames per second on Xbox Series X/S. The resolution isn’t confirmed, but per VFX director Mark Slater-Tunstill to Game Pro, the frame rate is due to wanting a more “cinematic” feel to the title, mirroring films that ran in 24 FPS. There aren’t any other graphics modes, so if you want 60 FPS, playing on PC is the only option.

While Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice ran at 1080p/30 FPS at launch on PS4, it would receive some enhancements on PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, from a 60 FPS mode with a dynamic resolution to 2160p/30 FPS modes (also with dynamic resolutions but sticking closer to the higher end). On the Xbox Series X, a new update would add a 1080p/120 FPS mode, a mode for up to 4K resolution at 60 FPS and Enriched Mode for dynamic 4K up to 30 FPS and ray tracing. Long story short, it isn’t impossible that Hellblade 2 could receive such enhancements on more powerful consoles.

Resident Evil 2 (2019)

Like the original, the time required to beat the Resident Evil 2 remake can be deceptive for first-time players. You can easily breeze through a single character’s story in ten hours, six if you’re good enough. However, getting the entire story requires playing as Leon and Claire, complete with exploring both routes. Still, if you want an incredible survival horror with great gunplay and visuals, this is more than a given.

Signalis

Known for its cryptic story-telling, Signalis from rose-engine is a survival horror throwback, with players investigating a strange facility for answers. Despite the overhead perspective, it has manual aiming, plenty of back-tracking and a retro aesthetic that’s gorgeous to behold. Perhaps best of all, you can finish it in less than 10 hours, though there are some additional extras and endings.

Sunset Overdrive

Before Insomniac Games became the Marvel’s Spider-Man game studio, it released Sunset Overdrive. The bombastic art style, the approach to movement and style over straightforward third-person shooting, and best of all, the enjoyable setting all made for an incredible experience. You’ll want to complete the story for its set pieces and boss fights, but there are tons of optional challenges, side quests, and collectibles in Sunset City.

Cuphead

Studio MDHR’s Cuphead is the perfect mix of challenging and run ‘n’ gun action, replete with memorable bosses. Each has unique hooks and mechanics, whether you’re fighting Grim Matchstick through the skies or experiencing Sally Stageplay’s lethal drama. It’s all brought to life by the rubber hose-style visuals rife with details and an incredible old-timey soundtrack. Even if you ignore all the secrets and Expert Mode, it’s a tough but worthwhile action platforming journey.

Mafia Definitive Edition

The Mafia series faced scrutiny when 2K Games released Definitive Editions for the second and third games, effectively introducing new bugs and worse performance. However, Mafia Definitive Edition is a proper remake that added motorcycles, a rebalanced difficulty (and Classic for those who wanted it closer to the original), and Free Ride Mode. Don’t go into this expecting a Grand Theft Auto-scale adventure, and the narrative should more than carry you through.

Metro: Last Light Redux

Before Metro Exodus offered bigger levels with crafting on the go, Metro: Last Light Redux built on what the first game did best: A post-apocalyptic setting with tout pacing, terrifying mutants and excellent gunplay. As Artyom, players are caught up in a civil war weeping the metro and must sneak, assassinate and slay their way to survival. Be careful, though, as a morality system will influence the ending.

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

MachineGames’ sequel to Wolfenstein: The New Order has some nagging concerns with its level design, but the story-telling, characterization and gunplay are fantastic. The campaign sees B.J. Blazkowicz on a journey, once more, to battle the Nazis by unloading copious amounts of bullets into their foot soldiers (whether you play stealthy or not). From Manhattan to Venus, there’s much to see in this epic campaign. Perhaps the only real downer is that it’s followed by Wolfenstein: Youngblood.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

You can complete Nintendo’s acclaimed Super Mario Bros. Wonder within 10 hours or so, and that’s very much intentional. The side-scrolling platformer is rife with incredibly designed levels and excellent new power-ups like Elephant Form and the Drill Hat, while the Wonder Flowers dramatically change levels in trippy and exciting ways. Still, those who want more can collect all the Flower Coins, Wonder Seeds, and more while experimenting with different Badges.

Gears of War 3

Gears of War 2 was beloved but came dangerously close to jumping the shark at many points. Gears of War 3 brought things back on track while introducing new mechanics, weapons, enemies and impressive set-pieces to set up the potential end of the world. If you’re only in it for the story-telling, there’s more than enough great content. However, the revamped Horde Mode and its tower defense-like mechanics also provided plenty of reason to stick around.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

From a confused project under Kojima Productions to one of the most beloved hack-and-slash titles under PlatinumGames, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is unmatched in many ways. The boss battles, the characters, the story, the memes, the parry mechanics and Blade Mode allowing players to dismember enemies – it all came together so well. Its length was criticized, but those who want more nowadays can pick it up with all the DLC and armor sets for even more fun.

Dishonored

Dishonored is Arkane Studios at its finest. An imaginative setting with astounding visuals rife with political intrigue and betrayal, not to mention a plague threatening to overtake it all – perfect for a supernatural assassin. As Corvo, the framed bodyguard to the slain Queen of Dunwall, players were tasked with discovering the truth. It meant lots of sneaking and slaying, but you could get creative with your approach, acting chaotically or bypassing missions without ever being seen. It’s an essential title for stealth fans that’s as tightly paced as they come.

Ori and the Blind Forest

As beloved as games like Hollow Knight can be, it’s nice to have options that don’t demand around 30 hours to experience the story, like Ori and the Blind Forest. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that the aesthetics and music are simply awe-inspiring or that the level design is meticulous and the controls responsive. Whether on a mission to restore the forest or going out of your way to unearth all its secrets, Ori and the Blind Forest is a tight-knit journey.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

With Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 being about as long as the first game and promising a focused narrative, it’s easy to forget just how great Senua’s Sacrifice is. Roughly six years later, it still boasts cutting-edge visuals and facial expressions with an emotional narrative centred on Senua’s tortured state. Hellblade is precise, unforgettable and powerful, telling its story without overstaying its welcome.

Batman: The Enemy Within

Before its bankruptcy and eventual reformation, Telltale Games’ titles varied in quality. Batman: The Enemy Within is a standout though, improving on the first season’s writing, narrative and decision-making. Its take on the Joker is surprisingly refreshing as he works with Batman as a vigilante, depending on the player’s choices or against him. The gameplay may still feel more rigid compared to some more contemporary narrative adventures, but Batman: The Enemy Within is still worth playing.

Quantum Break

Will a standard playthrough of Quantum Break offer all the answers for its time-bending adventure? Probably not, but it’s an enjoyable journey regardless, backed by Remedy Entertainment’s penchant for gorgeous graphics and an immaculate presentation. Opinions are mixed on the TV side of the story, yet the third-person combat and abilities are on point. It’s not Remedy’s finest work, but it still provides an intriguing narrative with some solid performances by Aiden Gillen and Shawn Ashmore.

Batman: Arkham Knight

How ironic is it that Batman: Arkham Knight looked incredible on PS4 and Xbox One while running better on both consoles than on PC? Probably as ironic as it looking better than Gotham Knights, even though it’s also stuck at 30 FPS on consoles. I digress. Either way, there’s no denying that Arkham Knight is gorgeous with excellent texture quality and character models.

The rain effects and how they realistically interacted with the environment; the lighting and fog quality; the draw distance, and sheer attention to detail – it’s spectacular and ran at a rock-solid frame rate. Regardless of the Batmobile hate, almost everyone can agree that Arkham Knight is a technical marvel. Again, on consoles, but the PC version has improved over time.

Resident Evil 2 (2019)

Resident Evil 7: biohazard was the first RE Engine title, but it arguably shone brighter in Resident Evil 2. It leveraged the engine to reimagine many iconic levels and creatures in exquisite detail while providing excellent character models and animations. The effects and lighting depict events like meeting Mr X for the first time in ways that are in keeping with the original while feeling memorable on their own. It’s crazy that the RE Engine was created in 2014 and still provides some of gaming’s most gorgeous games.

Of course, each of these approaches caters to different kinds of audiences, but in recent years – the industry has seen a shift wherein the length of a game becomes a bullet point in the marketing of a game itself. A prominent example of this kind of marketing is Techland’s Dying Light 2: Stay Human which claims to have 500 hours worth of content. Another example of such behavior was Bethesda’s showcase of its upcoming Starfield, which is said to have over 1000 planets that players would be able to explore during their space travels.

But does more always amount to better? Well, not necessarily. Like most things, there are two sides to this argument as well. You see, unlike movies or TV – the cost associated with a purchase of a game is dramatically higher. Furthermore, prices of games are getting higher and higher, with Sony and most major multi-platform publishers asking upwards of $70 for their hottest current-gen games. So when you are spending that kind of money on a product, you’d naturally want it to last a while. You’d want to have it last more than just a weekend, and when viewed through this lens – a longer game offers a better value proposition than a shorter game.

But for a long game to work, it needs to nail a handful of things. Let’s take the example of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is an excellent action RPG that’s bursting with engaging content throughout its gargantuan open world. The developer has filled the landscape with different types of activities such as character-driven side-quests and adrenaline-pumping monster hunts. But most of this side content is optional, and anyone wanting to make a beeline through the critical path can do so without noodling around the open world so much. And even if you venture off the beaten path and pursue these side activities, you will be rewarded with useful gear, engaging stories that are just as interesting as the main story, and much more.

Sectioning out the main content clearly from the side content like this without compromising on their quality allows different players with different amounts of free time and attention spans to enjoy the game the way they choose. So, completing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt can be a pretty lengthy endeavor if you want it to or it could be a relatively brief one at least when compared to other contemporaries of the genre. Either way, you are getting a great experience on both ends which is what ultimately matters.

Compare that to something like Odyssey, which is also a sprawling open-world RPG filled with oodles of content. But unlike The Witcher, this open-world forces players to invest copious amounts of time into pursuing side-content by gating story-critical missions behind arbitrary power levels. As such, completing the game can quickly become an exercise in pain – since there’s a clear distinction between the many grindy fetch quests peppered throughout the game and the main missions that advance the story forwards. Having such a grindy progression system makes a game artificially bloat up in length, which makes getting through the game straight-up not fun. To add fuel to the fire, such stingy progression systems and artificially elongated games can’t be enjoyed by most players who don’t have a lot of free time – even if they may have a lot of interest in the game’s premise or setting.

Pacing is also important in the case of a lengthy game, especially when the gameplay doesn’t evolve much over the course of the campaign. A good example, in this case, would be Red Dead Redemption 2, which is a great game with a lot of merits – but mandatory sections like Guarma adversely affect the game’s pacing as they don’t contribute much to the overall plot and instead subject players to one shootout after the other. Kojima Productions Death Stranding also suffers from the same issue – as the game’s story beats are scattered far away from each other and the supporting gameplay isn’t as thrilling as fans have come to expect from modern AAA releases.

But what about games that aren’t expansive trudges through a litany of distinct locales? Short games can use their length to their advantage and craft experiences are more focused in their scope – both from a narrative and gameplay perspective. Something like Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice can serve as a good example here, as it uses its short runtime to firmly establish an intimate connection between the player and the protagonist. Supporting gameplay elements like the combat and puzzles aren’t as fleshed out as a longer game, but that works well for the game’s relatively short runtime and you don’t get bored of these one-note mechanics.

But that comes with a catch, of course. Having experiences that last for just a handful of hours is fine if the game isn’t full-priced, but if that isn’t the case – such experiences become a hard pill to swallow despite their many merits. Good examples of this would be Max Payne 2 and The Order: 1886 just to name a few. Each of these games has a ton of great things going for it – but those qualities can get undermined when you try to evaluate these games against the money you’re spending on them. Something like Dishonored can get away with having a short campaign, since the game is built around repetition and obtaining a mastery of the handful of levels – but that isn’t the case with the examples I mentioned before. The price of a game can be a non-factor for a utopian world, but practically speaking – these are factors that the majority of gamers consider before a purchase.

To conclude, both long and short games have their own sets of pros and cons – and none can be termed definitively better than the other. Everything depends on the quality of the experience that a game delivers within that runtime, and whether you’re left wanting for more after the credits roll or not. With subscription services like Xbox Game Pass becoming more and more popular as of late, the runtime of a game is starting to become a non-factor for many more people than before which should hopefully, nudge developers to focus on what matters the most instead of trying to market their games around the amount of content they offer for the price tag.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.