How much does the length of a game matter?

For every new game, whether it is a shooter or a RPG, one question has to be answered: How long is it? Most people will say the longer the better. We even have websites that will tell you the average time to be a game. So, why is it that some of the better games are shorter? Why is it that after some games, no matter how much you liked it, you feel relieved when it is over?

I get why people want long games. Dropping $60 on a hobby can be expensive and not something a lot of people can do regularly. And people don't want to blow that money for only a few hours of fun. Believe me, I get it. I've done that and have regretted some of the purchases I've made. But I don't need a game to be sixty hours long.

For me, a game that can be played over a few times is more important. I have played all of the Mass Effect games twice. Yes, they are long games, but the chance to make different choices is fun. If you want to talk about shorter games, how about The Wolf Among Us? Yes, I only spent fifteen dollars for that, but that game is only eight to ten hours long. I've played it three times. Talk about a bargain.

Another thing that I want from a game? For everything that I do to matter. I don't like games that try to be longer by adding things to add things. Fetch quests and collecting things can be tiring. And they can be a hindrance instead of a help. Something that is meant to give you more hours of fun can start feeling like chore. And for all the time we spend in some worlds, we don't always get a chance to know the side characters. Sometimes we do. But a lot of times, companion quests and side characters quest can get lost in the sea of other ones.

A thing that some games have started doing to add more time to games is adding online multiplayer and co-op. Games like Halo, Call of Duty, and The Last of Us have benefited from this. Others like Uncharted, Tomb Raiders, and Mass Effect just feel like an after thought. More often than not, if it is not a shooter or racing game, multiplayer is not often great. Co-op has been much more effective, but can still be something not used often.

Who is to blame for this? Though I hate to start pointing fingers, but a portion of this has to be us gamers. If the next Mass Effect or Elder Scrolls game came out and it was only twenty hours long, people will throw a fit. Even if all twenty hours was story, people would have issues. I wouldn't, but I get why some people would. So, I understand why studios are trying to make games longer.

A game's length does matter. At least to a point. The studios know this, as well as the gamers. As long as gamers put a lot of emphasis on how long they can play a game, the longer games will get. A solution? Maybe cut the price for shorter games. I know I will be more willing to play a horter game if it cot less.