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Have you ever played a game for 500 hours?We share our biggest time sinks
We share our biggest time sinks
Much has been made of how long games take to complete this week. AfterDying Light 2developers Techland boasted that it would take500 hours to fully complete the gameover the weekend, the internet’s collective groan over the revelation was reportedly heard from the far reaches of space. Personally, I think it’s a preposterous figure for a single-player game, but as someone who also maintains an active spreadsheet of all my various playtime stats (yes, really), it also got me thinking. Is 500 hours really so nonsensical in the grand scheme of things? I asked the team what their most played game on Steam is to find out.
And as it turns out,Dying Light2’s 500 hour completion time ain’t got nothing on some of our favourite time hogs…
RPG Music Quiz - Can You Guess The RPG From The Tune?Watch on YouTube
RPG Music Quiz - Can You Guess The RPG From The Tune?
Alice BeeMy most played games on Steam aren’t really a true reflection of my most played game. Top of the list isSkyrim, at92 hours. I have presumably seen that opening cart cinematic several times. There’s a surprise entry from the originalMass Effectfrom 2007, at 40 hours (Mass Effect 2is sitting comfortably below it at 32, which is apparently the same amount of time I’ve spent playingDisco Elysium). My actual most played game isDragon Age: Inquisition, which I had on PlayStation to start with, and which I know I have played forover 200 hours. Predictable. But the times, they are a-changin'. Those games are all from the time when I was in my late teens and early 20s, when I had nothing todo, and so the most important factor when considering what game to buy was how much of that blank space it would fill. These days I have, like, a job, and other hobbies. My most recently played list is very different. Snatches of indie games during lunchbreaks; 3 hours of WorldBox.
Alice0I guessed my most-played game on Steam would be the endlessly delightful roguelikelike weeping ofThe Binding Of Isaacbut nope, it’sDestiny 2.Over 2000 hoursinto Bungie’s MMOFPS, apparently. Considering that I’ve seen and done just about everything in it, repeatedly, over several years, yeah, that checks out. Roguelikelikes and multiplayer games: the things I have played the longest. I’m both thankful and sorry that I don’t have stats for oldQuakeandHalf-Lifemods; maybe it’s best I don’t know exactly how much of my teenagehood and early twenties went there.
EdAt university, a housemate and I decided we needed a break from two exhausting years ofLeague Of Legends. So, we switched over toCounter Strike: Global Offensiveand got really into aim training and mouse DPI settings and whether we were claw grippers or palm grippers. That translated into362 hoursof concentration I’ve never managed to replicate since. I suppose it has left me with some transferable skills, like having semi-good aim in FPS games and a nice Zowie mouse. University really does leave a lasting impression, huh.
HaydenMy time sink game is almost definitely the amorphous blob that is Modern Cold Warzone Vanguard Royale, but that uses Battle.Net and my playtime is all mixed up between the four titles.Warzonealone boasts214 hours, so let’s not delve further into all that. Over on Steam, things are actually a lot tamer, withAssassin’s Creed Originstaking the crown at92 hours. There’s just something about those rolling deserts that screamed replayability and I loved every second. It’s strange really because I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.
JamesI have somehow accumulated2815 hoursinDota 2. Here’s some stats to consider as I slowly turn to stone in my chair: that’s 117 days, 14 Apollo 11 missions, and according to Google Maps, enough time to walk from my flat in London to a nice restaurant in Singapore. With a few days to spare.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Crystal Dynamics
KatharineAs I’velamentedin the past, my most-played game on Steam (much to my enduring, burning shame) isShadow Of The Tomb Raiderat130 hours. At least 100 hours of those hours have been spent poring over its benchmark, though, so I’m declaring that as an automatic disqualification (hey, I make the rules around here), leaving myactualmost-played game asDeath Stranding, coming in at99 hours. I’ve never really had an ongoing live service game to while away the hours with, and the 100 hour mark tends to be the time I tap out of most single-player,open world gamesthese days. I also stopped playingAssassin’s Creed Odysseyat 99 hours over on Ubisoft Connect, althoughValhalladefinitely takes the crown at112 hours.
RebeccaTaking the #1 spot in my Steam library* isMax Gentlemen Sexy Business!at63 hoursand still counting. MGSB! was released at the end of February 2020, perfectly timed to become my obsession during the UK’s first lockdown. It’s an addictive mixture of dating sim, business sim, and surreal comedy that frequently found me still in my pyjamas at 1pm on a dull day early in the pandemic, wondering where my morning went but at least having had great fun during an otherwise grim time. I eventually dropped off after the original storyline fizzled around the 48 hour mark, but a chunky 2.0 update last October (including loads of new stories, minigames, and unlockables, plus a real ending) drew me back in. Now, the sheer amount of extra content means I’m expecting to easily break 100 hours before I’m truly done.
- For proper comparison, though, it’s worth noting that I’ve racked up wellover 700 hoursonThe Sims 4over on Origin.
But you, dear reader, have you ever spent 500 hours+ playing a video game?
