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i think i prefer short games

17 Nov 2024


im starting to realize something about my gaming tendencies: i dont have any drive to finish long games. past 10 hours or so playing starts to feel like a drag but ill watch others play the same games and love it. i think it might be the pacing of the games? like, sunset overdrive is 10 hours long but i havent finished it because it feels like a 20 hour game. meanwhile i only played like an hour of nier automata (21 hours) before putting it down, never to pick it up again. stray is 5 hours and im interested in playing it myself even though ive already seen and enjoyed most of the game. same with oneshot (4.5 hours). new super mario bros wii? 9 hours, have completed. lego city undercover? 15.5 hours, abandoned. hi-fi rush is 11 hours and very appealing. cocoon is 5 hours and next up on my list after knack (10.5 hours). i also cannot for the life of me get into hades at 23 hours despite quite liking the roguelike format, putting far more than 23 hours into balatro. overall ive probably put close to 40 hours into just shapes and beats, a 2 hour long game. i used to play a ton of rocket league, no clue how many hours i racked up before quitting (epic ruined it for me).

its hard to put my finger on exactly why i struggle with some games and not with others. i know i said i think its the pacing but i question that when i think more about it. if it were the pacing why would i enjoy watching someone else play instead? i greatly enjoyed watching someone play horizon forbidden west (28.5 hours) but after getting a few hours into zero dawn (22.5 hours) myself i have no drive to continue. yet if someone else picked up the controller i know id be all over it. i dont get it. at least i now know im likely to finish games that are about 10 hours or less.