Over the weekend, developer Techland made waves connected societal media by tweeting that its upcoming open-world zombie sequel, Dying Light 2: Stay Human, would instrumentality "at slightest 500 hours" to afloat complete. While the workplace apt thought this was bully messaging to showcase conscionable however overmuch contented is successful its branching-narrative story, the announcement was met with immoderate backlash amidst the excitement, arsenic immoderate players bemoaned the magnitude and disquieted astir bloat oregon that they would ne'er spot the extremity of specified a monolithic adventure.
Later, arsenic the workplace saw immoderate of the antagonistic response, the Dying Light Twitter relationship clarified to 1 fan that you tin implicit the communicative and side-quests successful 70 to 80 hours, "if you're not successful a rush." Then, the authoritative Twitter relationship took the messaging wide, saying that "500 hours is related to maxing retired the crippled – finishing each the quests, endings, and exploring each portion of the world, but a regular subordinate should decorativeness the communicative + broadside quests and bash rather a batch of exploring successful little than 100 hours, truthful don't worry!" Then, the Twitter relationship further clarified that you tin mainline the communicative successful conscionable 20 hours and bash overmuch of the communicative and broadside contented successful astir 80 hours – a acold outcry from the archetypal "500 hours" messaging.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human
Even with that clarification, 80 hours is inactive rather the committedness to get done the communicative and the broadside quests (especially considering however bully and integral to the communicative the broadside contented seems from my hands-on league backmost successful November). I adjacent poked a small amusive astatine the announced magnitude of the crippled connected Twitter, joking astir however I thought I was prepared to reappraisal immoderate crippled aft playing done Persona 5 Royal connected a deadline. While I was mostly joking successful that tweet, it got maine reasoning astir however Dying Light 2: Stay Human's reported magnitude compares to immoderate of gaming's astir famously (and infamously) long games.
As a result, I visited HowLongToBeat.com, which takes users' play times and aggregates them to present 3 antithetic times for each game: main story, main + extras, and completionist. Seeing arsenic however the archetypal Techland tweets were focused connected the "completionist" and "main + extras" numbers (and 20 hours for the mainline communicative isn't thing retired of the ordinary), that's what I decided to absorption connected erstwhile comparing the numbers. It is worthy noting that these numbers are user-generated, and as such, whitethorn not beryllium wholly accurate. Still, they are the astir accessible tools we person to estimation play times for a wide swath of games.
I began by looking astatine however Dying Light 2's estimates look against Techland's archetypal introduction successful the series. According to HLTB, the archetypal Dying Light takes 55 hours oregon conscionable nether 80 hours to bash completionist runs (depending connected if you're playing the base game oregon the Enhanced Edition). While main + extras playthroughs take between 35 hours and 46.5 hours, depending connected the mentation you're playing. It goes without saying (if the Techland-reported numbers are, indeed, accurate) that Dying Light 2: Stay Human has an tremendous magnitude of contented erstwhile compared to its predecessor.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Let's commencement the cross-company contrasts with Techland's Polish compatriots implicit astatine CD Projekt Red. The workplace is champion known for the monolithic worlds it created successful The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077. However, neither of those giant-sized experiences clasp a candle to Dying Light 2's reported completionist time, arsenic according to HLTB, The Witcher 3 takes 173 hours to spot everything it has to offer, portion you request 103 hours to indulge successful each the thrills of Night City successful Cyberpunk 2077. However, if you privation to comparison however agelong it takes to implicit each the main communicative and side-quest content, the experiences are overmuch much comparable. Cyberpunk 2077 comes successful astatine conscionable nether 60 hours successful that realm, portion The Witcher 3 really surpasses Techland's estimates for Dying Light 2, with Geralt's quest clocking successful astatine 103 hours for main + extras.
But what astir the standard-bearer of open-world action? You tin descend a seemingly endless fig of hours into Grand Theft Auto Online, but the crippled it's built connected apical of, Grand Theft Auto V, is overmuch much manageable. According to HLTB, completionist playthroughs of Rockstar's best-selling crippled instrumentality 79 hours, portion the main + extras tally takes 48 hours. In fact, of the full GTA series, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition features the longest completionist play time, with that mentation clocking successful conscionable nether 100 hours to spot everything Liberty City has for you. Meanwhile, Red Dead Redemption 2 offers more, with completionist runs done Rockstar's Wild West lasting 172 hours, with main + extras runs lasting 79 hours. However, Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis takes conscionable 6 hours to play done the main + extras, with nary completionist information available.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
One of the astir lauded open-world games successful caller representation is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While that crippled is notable for its hugely explorable rendition of Hyrule, adjacent completionist playthroughs volition lone past you 188 hours, portion main + extras playthroughs instrumentality 97 hours. If you look astatine a crippled that came retired specified days anterior to Breath of the Wild successful 2017, Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy's archetypal outing lets you spot everything successful the Complete Edition successful 76.5 hours, with a main + extras fig of 54.5 hours. Even the immense worlds of Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Valhalla lone connection betwixt 130 and 140 hours for completionists.
Bethesda is different workplace known for crafting monolithic unfastened worlds with activities to bash successful each nook and cranny. When looking astatine its numbers on HLTB, the Maryland-based workplace comes person than either CD Projekt Red oregon Rockstar successful the realm of the completionist. According to the idiosyncratic data, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition gives players up to 211 hours of contented if they privation to spot everything, with 116 hours of that being main communicative and extras. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion besides delivers respectable numbers, with 184 hours completionist and 86 hours main + extras. The Fallout bid besides delivers its just stock of noteworthy showings with Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition providing players 214 hours of completionist play clip and 113 hours main + extras. However, Bethesda's king of contented is The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind – Game of the Year Edition, providing completionists a whopping 392 hours with a main + extras fig of 101 hours. We creep ever closer.
While I've truthful acold focused my comparisons connected different open-world games, possibly different genres tin service up immoderate contention to Dying Light 2's reported completionist playthrough time. Several renowned role-playing franchises person made a sanction for themselves providing worlds successful which players privation to suffer themselves for hundreds of hours. Persona 5 Royal is the crippled I instantly drew a examination to, inspiring this precise article. However, acknowledgment to assorted streamlined elements, the vanilla version of the beloved RPG is really longer for completionists, clocking successful astatine 173 hours to acquisition everything and 113 hours for main + extras. Royal's main + extras is inactive longer, giving players 125 hours of content. Even Final Fantasy can't support up with what Techland is touting, with Final Fantasy X offering up the longest completionist play clip astatine 149 hours, with Final Fantasy XII giving players the longest main + extras fig successful the mainline bid (not including MMOs) with 92.5 hours. The Xenoblade bid maxes retired astatine 270 hours for completionists with Xenoblade Chronicles X, portion The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel delivered its longest completionist clip with 147 hours successful the 4th entry.
Crusader Kings III
Dragon Quest is different franchise known for its length, and according to HLTB, completionists tin walk 750 hours successful Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, with a main + extras fig of 87.5 hours. We yet did it. We recovered a crippled that puts Techland's touted "500 hours" fig to shame. But that's not the lone crippled that beats the 500-hour people for completionists. Crusader Kings III, which came retired past year, offers 585 hours of contented for completionists and 172 hours for main + extras playthroughs.
Also, arsenic mentioned above, MMOs similar World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV, and competitory online multiplayer games similar League of Legends and Dota, connection endless replayability, with numbers successful the thousands on HLTB (though multiplayer games usage antithetic categories connected the site). Dying Light 2's assertion to person 500 hours of contented for completionists definite is shocking, but it's hardly the highest we volition ever spot if that magnitude really comes to walk and isn't conscionable an eye-popping selling number.
Of course, arsenic the archetypal Twitter backlash indicates, agelong play times don't needfully measurement quality. If said contented isn't engaging capable that we'd privation to really acquisition all 500 hours, past what's the point? While everything we've seen, heard, and played of Dying Light 2: Stay Human has been affirmative to this point, we won't cognize however bully it genuinely is until we get our hands connected the game. Given however agelong the developer says the crippled is if you don't program connected staying connected the captious path, and the existent proximity to its merchandise date, I definite anticipation that time is soon. Dying Light 2: Stay Human hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch (via the cloud), and PC connected February 4.
For much connected Dying Light 2: Stay Human, cheque retired our caller hands-on preview and New Gameplay Today. You tin besides spot the game's awesome E3 2019 demo successful its entirety here, oregon work astir the team's aboriginal ambitions done an in-depth preview I wrote successful 2019.
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