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I'm so sick of bloated games

So I finished Tales of Berseria some time ago and it took me 50 hours. While liking it, the time it took me to finish it was absolutely not justified.

Then I bought Persona 5 and wasn't able to finish it. I just couldn't take the bloated dialogue any longer. Now I'm looking at some unfinished games: Mass Effect, Witcher, Zelda. I'm not saying that these games are bad by any means but the fact that most of them will consist of a lot of running back and forth combined with tedious quests just makes me not want to touch them. I feel that this trend has persisted over the last few years: more content, more hours = better game. To me these games just tend to become a second job. I don't want to feel exhausted while playing games.

I also think that Horizon looks amazing but hearing that it's open world makes me not want to touch it with a ten foot pole. Even though this might sound like a stealth 'open world sux' thread, note that persona and Berseria are no proper open world games. I would also consider Uncharted 4 to be bloated.

Do you feel the same?
 
Zelda is the first open world game I played since... Vice City? So no, I don't feel the same.

You should become more selective in what games you buy, I guess recognizing genre-fatigue is the first step.
 

Rellik

Member
Witcher 3 wasn't long enough. I could have easily continued and ended up having to restart it. So no I don't agree.
 

galv

Unconfirmed Member
As long as the side-content is worth playing, or is skippable, I don't mind playing through it.

The Witcher 3 had worthwhile side-quests that made me want to finish most of them. On the other hand, Assassin's Creed Syndicate didn't, but it let me skip 99% of nonsense that wasn't the main storyline so I did.

Dragon Age Inquisition on the other hand, the side-content isn't worth playing and isn't skippable, so I didn't play it. I think that'd fall under being a bloated game by your definition OP.
 
Getting older i feel myself becoming more and more excited
every time someone tells me that a game is about 10~15 hours long.
 

Rncewind

Member
if the "main" game is good enough and has enough value like in cases with persona why simply dont ignore the side stuff?
 

EricB

Member
I'm there with you. Glorified checklists, the lot of them. I own a lot of those types of games, but I almost never play them.
I prefer shorter, more gameplay-focused games, especially since having a kid and time consuming job.
 

nbnt

is responsible for the well-being of this island.
Don't touch Nier Automata then, I heard you have to play through it 5 times to fully experience the game
 

duckroll

Member
Why do you keep buying longass rpgs if you're getting sick of bloat? Just play other games? Tons of choice out there.
 

MadMod

Member
I'm just gonna say the obvious. You can skip the tedious tasks. You can just play the main story with the juicy content. You don't need to do the other things. Just play the main story like it's uncharted. Missing all the long bloated pointless missions. This is especially true with Horizon. Horizon seperates the more tedious tasks naming them 'Errands'.
 
I feel you. Spent 60 hours with Persona 5 and I couldn't tell you what I got out of it. Zelda was a joy to play though, although even there I felt like I was going through the motions a little bit after the halfway mark.
 

Cracklox

Member
So I finished Tales of Berseria some time ago and it took me 50 hours. While liking it, the time it took me to finish it was absolutely not justified.

Then I bought Persona 5 and wasn't able to finish it. I just couldn't take the bloated dialogue any longer. Now I'm looking at some unfinished games: Mass Effect, Witcher, Zelda. I'm not saying that these games are bad by any means but the fact that most of them will consist of a lot of running back and forth combined with tedious quests just makes me not want to touch them. I feel that this trend has persisted over the last few years: more content, more hours = better game. To me these games just tend to become a second job. I don't want to feel exhausted while playing games.

I also think that Horizon looks amazing but hearing that it's open world makes me not want to touch it with a ten foot pole. Even though this might sound like a stealth 'open world sux' thread, note that persona and Berseria are no proper open world games. I would also consider Uncharted 4 to be bloated.

Do you feel the same?

I beat this not long ago and by the end I couldn't shake the feeling I would have preferred it as a more linear experience with some more open areas for combat, and some side areas to explore.

I mean, it toned back the 'Ubisoft open world elements' but I still feel it suffered ultimately from Go To The Nearest Waypoint To Do The Thing Syndrome
 
You're taking a number of different issues (overlong JRPGs, wordy dialogue, content-stuffed open-world games) and slapping the word 'bloated' on them, while listing Witcher 3 and BotW alongside c+p content open-world games. I don't know if there's a point to be had here, apart from the fact that you should change up your gaming diet every now and then.
 

Polygonal_Sprite

Gold Member
We all get fatigued from certain genres so my advice would be to either have a break from gaming altogether for a month or two (it's summer anyway) or play genres you wouldn't usually play that often.

I like AAA games but I use the simpler and more mechanic focused Nintendo games as my palet cleanser a few times per year. Some others use indies instead of those.
 

Nev

Banned
Don't play them? Sometimes people talk as if they were forced to play every AAA open world that is released.

There are plenty of linear/focused games out there that don't waste the player's time unlike the ones you posted. You just have to look for them.

I'm personally done with checklists, loot, busywork, fetch, crafting, wandering around empty spaces from A to B and whatever open world-esque trash the AAA industry likes so much nowadays, and I'm still having fun with videogames.

Try indies.
 

Pennywise

Member
Why do you keep buying longass rpgs if you're getting sick of bloat? Just play other games? Tons of choice out there.
This.
Also don't waste your time on side tasks if you don't like them.

Why are you forcing yourself through games that are known to be massive, when there are so many alternatives.
I'm sick of people buying stuff they don't wanna play and complain afterwards :p
 
Why do you keep buying longass rpgs if you're getting sick of bloat? Just play other games? Tons of choice out there.


Bloat isn't restricted to long rpgs. REVII is a relatively short game and I still felt like they should have cut an hour or two off the end. At least the entire cave section.
 
This.
Also don't waste your time on side tasks if you don't like them.

Why are you forcing yourself through games that are known to be massive, when there are so many alternatives.
I'm sick of people buying stuff they don't wanna play and complain afterwards :p

Well, I was incredibly hyped for P5 and enjoyed it a lot till the 4th palace. Same goes for Nier route a.

I don't have a problem with games being long as long as they stay engaging and can justify their length. But my impression is that many long games fail to do so thus becoming bloated.
 
Horizon is great up until you beat the story. If you manage to do all the side quests before that, you'll end up padding your run time doing filler before reaching the conclusion. If you skip them, the pacing from start to finish is better, but then you don't feel like doing the rest. It doesn't help that the quests are all more or less the exact same thing.

I personally have a lot of fun playing a longer game provided the combat and world is interesting and the missions aren't repetitive.
 
Without getting spoilery, that's not really accurate. This is why you don't go off hearsay.

It's more like 1 30 hour game that has 5 credit sequences thrown into it.
I feel like Automata's length is fine

No, you don't ACTUALLY play through it 5 times. It's presented that way, but it's actually just one playthrough.




Route B was pretty damn awful. I took a break from it near the end.

I'm pretty sure that was a post just making fun of this thread lol.
 

Peroroncino

Member
Play something faster paced then, more linear, no need to throw yourself at big rpgs one after another.

Witcher 3 wasn't long enough. I could have easily continued and ended up having to restart it. So no I don't agree.

Agreed. Currently at my 4th playthrough, but this time with both expansions at once - already managed to do 100% on my trophy list, all there's left now is to finish up BaW... and then emptiness :(
 

godeveau

Member
I wish RPG would have an option for how long you want to spend with the game. 20 hours? 40 hours? 120 hours? I'll take 200 hours of Zelda, but after 20 hours in a Tales of game, I feel like it's time to wrap up.
 

MGrant

Member
I thought Zelda was too lean, actually. Still had a blast with it, but I would have enjoyed a more substantial main quest.

It sounds like you should take a break from story-driven games for a while. Get some Rocket League, Overwatch, Siege, that kind of thing going. Games you can play for an hour or two every now and then and not feel compelled to complete anything.
 

xuchu

Member
Why do you keep buying open world games and long jrpgs? Is this some sort of 'fear of missing out thing or something?' There's a ton of choice out there and it seems as though you just need to play shorter, linear and more focused games.
 
Then I bought Persona 5 and wasn't able to finish it. I just couldn't take the bloated dialogue any longer. Now I'm looking at some unfinished games: Mass Effect, Witcher, Zelda.
Are you speaking specifically about BotW? That's the kind of game where you only need to play your fill. I mean, the same can be said of any game but you can pretty much "check-out" in BotW whenever you want and still see the credits roll. A lot of other Zeldas are definitely bloated though.
 

holysan

Member
I am playing Yakuza 0 right now. Chapter 2 atm and the sidequests are one of the funniest I saw recently. Maybe try that.

Also pls: The "You need to play Nier Automata 5 times for the full story" meme needs to stop.
 

Roufianos

Member
Yea, it seems like many games this gen are emphasising quantity over quality. Only game I can forgive is Witcher because all of the content was brilliant and felt hand crafted instead of coming out of a level editor.
 

iswasdoes

Member
Im just about to finish zelda, having deliberately spun it out, Bloated is not the word I'd use, but its definitely a very dense game, and I wouldnt want to play another like it for a while.

Im definately gonna play a few palate cleansers before any big adventures. Im thinking a brainless shooter, or maybe resi 7
 
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