Open-world games are known for their typically vast maps and lengthy stories, with some being so big that they last over 100 hours. While it can be said that such games already don’t know when to end, some go even further. Several open-world titles use clever techniques to catch players off guard for a spectacular result.
7 RPGs That Officially Last More Than 100 Hours
Even for hardcore RPG fans, each of these massive titles can easily keep players hooked for at least a month.
This list looks at open-world titles that most definitely surprise with how their storylines unfold, or even unlock entirely new gameplay mechanics or playable characters many hours into the game. It’s also not unusual for them to deliver false endings, where the credits roll… but the story actually continues. Moments like that can be used to great effect to shock players and surprise them in the best ways possible, so here are some titles that truly excel at that.
The focus here is largely on story-driven open-world games rather than free-form sandbox projects, where players are mostly in control of the finale (meaning games like Kenshi are excluded). Also, only base games are considered, without any expansions that may add continuations to the main story after the original finale or New Game+ modes to extend the experience.
Spoiler Alert! Given the very nature of this list, major spoilers for several games’ endings below are unavoidable. Proceed with caution!
NieR: Automata
Beat the Game Once? Haven’t Seen Anything Yet
As of today, Nier: Automata is widely known for its unique approach to story, not only packing 26 different endings, but also requiring numerous playthroughs to fully understand its complex narrative, experience multiple perspectives, and reach the true ending with a truly special epilogue.
Fortunately, unlike many similar cases (for instance, the recent Silent Hill f), that doesn’t mean that players have to play the same game over and over with only minor differences, akin to a roguelike. Instead, Nier: Automata has three separate campaigns with different playable characters (even though some parts of the 2B and 9S story may be largely similar), and only by completing them all does the game’s grand narrative come together into the bigger picture with a true emotional resonance. A definite must-play for fans of mind-blowing stories.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Wait, Are There Actually Templars in the Game?
True to the series, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a gigantic open-world game, with an enormous map and dozens of targets to hunt and assassinate. Starting the journey as Naoe, players are taken into the classic revenge story, where a shadowy organization known as Shinbakufu needs to be eliminated for the sake of all of Japan. Wait, but aren’t Assassin’s Creed games supposed to be about Assassins versus Templars?
While it’s no secret that Assassin’s Creed Shadows features two playable characters, Naoe and Yasuke, many players were surprised by just how massive the game and its story are. Some players were shocked to unlock Yasuke as a fully playable character after over 20 hours, and even though many refused to play as him at first (players can stick to their favorite most of the time), soon they discovered that Yasuke is no less fun to play. Moreover, his personal arc actually involves Templars, but it is unlocked so late into AC Shadows that many fans won’t even know it’s there.
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Congratulations, You’ve Beaten the Game! It’s Time to Wake Up
Dragon’s Dogma 2 feels less like a drastically different sequel to Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, and more like a definitive re-imagining of the original, largely relying on the same (albeit pretty special) mechanics and unique systems like Pawns. However, when it comes to the ending, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is much bolder than its predecessor, serving as one of the most notable examples of “fake” endings in the open-world genre to date.
Upon completing Dragon’s Dogma 2, defeating the final boss, and rolling the credits, players are suddenly returned to the game with their characters, only to awaken in the so-called Unmoored World. This represents a special post-game continuation, changing the entire world visually, while also throwing a bunch of extra story quests at the players, who are forced to urgently answer the call. No rest for the wicked, right?
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Never-Ending Search for Ciri Is Far From Everything
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s plot is pretty straightforward: as Geralt, players follow Ciri’s trail to find out what happened to Geralt’s adopted daughter, and where she is now, while crossing paths with numerous major characters from the Witcher universe, both from Sapkowski’s books and brand-new by CDPR themselves. Given how vast the explorable world of The Witcher 3 is, and how long the main quest of searching for Ciri goes on, it’s easy to assume that after finally reaching her, the game will be over.
5 Open-World Games Where Ignoring The Main Quest Is The Only Right Way To Play
The main stories in these games aren’t bad, but it’s often more fun to take a detour, enjoying freedom and endless activities along the way.
As some may guess, that’s not the case. Even after finding Ciri in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which may easily take over 50 hours, the game continues, with arguably the best and most epic of the game’s moments still ahead of the players. It’s safe to say that finding Ciri marks around 2/3 of the game’s sprawling narrative, and players get to spend lots of rewarding time with her after two entire games of hints and foreshadowing, leading perfectly into the protagonist switch in the upcoming The Witcher 4.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Farewell to Arthur, Hello to John
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the perfect open-world game, no strings attached, with some of the longest and most memorable stories in all of gaming. Players become Arthur Morgan for some 50 to 80 hours, living through the Van der Linde gang’s ups and downs all across the changing face of America. As Morgan’s story reaches its emotional climax in the finale, RDR2 finds the perfect solution to make the ending meaningful, while keeping the player’s world state as is, and letting them continue.
This is achieved by an unexpected protagonist switch after the finale, as players unlock the story epilogue with playable John Marston, who can also freely explore the world and tackle all the side quests that Arthur Morgan missed. Not only that, the entire Red Dead Redemption 2 epilogue has a surprisingly lengthy story too, offering 17 missions for almost 10 hours of play, and even taking the players to new regions of the map.
Ghost of Yotei
This Time, Saito Surely Won’t Escape
Ghost of Yotei isn’t as groundbreaking in its narrative tricks as some other games on the list, yet Sucker Punch’s samurai open-world adventure deserves mentioning for at least a couple of strong points. The first is the now-famous “Chapter 2” screen that welcomes players all of a sudden after some 40 hours in Atsu’s story. Needless to say, it proves an effective way to remind fans of how long and epic this adventure is, and judging by the game’s subreddit full of shocking posts, it definitely hits the spot.
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Second, while players may guess that they are nearing the ending by the portions of the explored map in Ghost of Yotei, the game still manages to surprise several times with its Yotei Six targets that keep slipping from Atsu’s grasp, especially Lord Saito himself. So many times it seems that Saito is finally cornered, only for him to evade again. Moreover, the game’s final missions are placed sort of outside of the main explorable map, making it even harder for players to predict when the finale actually happens.
Unfolding True to Its Espionage Themes, so Trust Nothing
Even though it’s only natural to expect surprises from Hideo Kojima’s creations, as he is known for toying with audiences throughout the years, the legendary game designer more than outdid himself with Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Not only does the game feature a separate Ground Zeroes prologue, serving as a sort of smaller demo of the full game’s stealth mechanics, but the real surprise comes near The Phantom Pain’s finale, as the game abruptly ends on Mission 31, rolling the credits without any proper closure, leaving fans scratching their heads.
The good news is that Metal Gear Solid 5 continues after that, allowing players to complete side objectives, upgrade their base, and tackle numerous post-game story missions. However, it’s merely a distraction from the game’s secret unlockable Mission 46 that finally offers a true ending with a shocking twist to turn things upside down after some 80 hours. Who even dares to say that Kojima isn’t a genius after that?
Elden Ring
An Epic Finale That’s Hard to Predict
Last, but not least, Elden Ring is among the biggest and longest open-world games of this generation so far, and even though Hidetaka Miyazaki’s masterpiece isn’t interested in specific tricks aimed just to surprise the players, it’s simply a colossal game that doesn’t know when to end. Numerous large regions are hidden under the original map’s surface, so players can never guess how much of the game is left simply by evaluating the portion of the explored map, as new areas are constantly introduced depending on the characters’ quests that players follow.
Elden Ring also packs an unexpected twist in its narrative near the ending, as many would expect reaching the Forge of the Giants to burn the Erdtree to be the finale, only for the game to prove them wrong. Instead, the story continues in the forever-changed world under the burning tree, and the game’s toughest boss encounters and major revelations are yet to be faced.
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