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00:00I'm not gonna fight you.
00:05Yes, you will.
00:06Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we're looking at games that overstayed their welcome and lasted longer than they needed.
00:13To be clear, we're not saying these games are bad.
00:16In fact, they're all, at the very least, decent.
00:19But if they had each been a bit shorter, and cut out some needless padding, they would have been even
00:25better.
00:25Would it not be better to work quietly through diplomacy, gaming alliances, waiting until the day our numbers outweigh our
00:35enemies, and our victory is guaranteed?
00:38But before we dive in, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring the
00:44bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:47Mafia III
00:54The first two Mafia games kept things relatively brisk, and are remembered fairly fondly by those who played them.
01:01But the third game went bigger, and proved that it isn't always better.
01:05The story follows Lincoln Clay, who sets out to avenge his slain family while building his own criminal empire.
01:11The plot actually holds your attention for a while, but the overall game takes around twice as long to complete
01:18as its predecessor,
01:19and doesn't have the interesting mechanics or quest structure to keep that attention.
01:23I want you to help me kill Sal Marcano.
01:26I see.
01:28A few months ago you was trying to kill me.
01:32Now you break in here and expect me to trust you?
01:34If the developers had tightened the focus and cut the fat, complaints of dull missions and repetitive gameplay may have
01:41been less frequent,
01:42and Mafia III would have been much stronger.
01:50Should've saved a bullet or two.
01:52Fallout 4
02:02Unsurprisingly, there will be a few open world games to take up spots on our list.
02:07Fallout 4 is still a strong entry in the series, with a lot of depth.
02:11But Bethesda made the cardinal sin of adding on too much with what they accomplished with Fallout 3.
02:17The main story, which follows you searching for your missing child after the murder of your better half,
02:22is interesting.
02:23But there are a ton of side quests, many of which pull your attention away from what you'd rather be
02:29doing,
02:30making them a chore.
02:31Yes, we're talking about Radiant quests, and how you're called on to defend any settlement you find.
02:38Protect the people at a minute's notice.
02:40That was the idea.
02:41So I joined up, wanted to make a difference.
02:44These were designed to occur endlessly, so they'll always pop up, nagging at any player with a completionist desire,
02:51and extending your playthrough way longer than it should be.
03:02Alien Isolation
03:12I'm going to feel bad about saying anything negative about several games on this list.
03:17And one of them is Alien Isolation.
03:19For the most part, it is an excellent horror game and entry into the pop culture behemoth.
03:24The AI of the Xenomorph is still impressive over a decade later, and every time it crosses your screen,
03:31the panic sets in, making your entire body tense.
03:42But there is a point where that tension lessens a bit in the third act.
03:48The game takes around 18 hours to beat on average, which is a bit too long in the tooth for
03:54a game like this.
03:55Once you have the firepower to deal with your enemies, while still thrilling,
03:59it isn't quite the same strong experience present in the first two thirds.
04:11Dragon Age Inquisition
04:21The Dragon Age series would never reach the same heights as its first.
04:26And while Inquisition is better than two, it still has its fair share of problems.
04:31In general, it takes around 20 hours longer to complete the story than its predecessor.
04:36While the semi-open world biomes outside of those found in the main story are much more interesting,
04:41there are still a lot of needless side quests that inflate the playtime.
04:45Look for other opportunities to expand the Inquisition's influence while you're there.
04:49We need agents to extend our reach beyond this valley.
04:53And you're better suited than anyone to recruit them.
04:56You'll be closing fade rifts, gathering crafting resources, doing whatever Scout Harding tells you to do.
05:02A lot of it feels like padding just because RPGs are meant to be long.
05:06But there are many players who would have preferred just getting to the meat and potatoes, so to speak.
05:12But even that doesn't need to be as long as it is.
05:24Red Dead Redemption 2
05:26Come on, move it! Move it!
05:27We have a life here on a land so stupid.
05:30A backwater so backwards that even we are like geniuses.
05:38Oh boy.
05:39Alright, before you crucify me in the comments, just know that Red Dead Redemption 2 is a remarkable piece of
05:44art.
05:45One that, as closely as it can, translates the experience of living in the Old West into video game form.
05:51Plus, the acting, writing, and music are all top notch.
05:55However, it suffers from the desire of most open world game developers to go bigger than the first just because
06:01it's expected.
06:02The main story captivates you for the majority of your playthrough.
06:05But once you reach Guarma in the fifth chapter, separated from the main game world, you might feel your patience
06:11start to wane.
06:13I'm just trying to make sure that some of us survive, Arthur.
06:19Now, shall we proceed?
06:21This takes away from the climactic, failed bank heist that ended the previous chapter.
06:26And then the game just keeps going.
06:28That's not to mention a several hours long epilogue that feels like it could've been trimmed.
06:33It's all over!
06:42Re-Fantasio.
06:44By this story of fantasy, may this faded world be painted anew.
06:52There are probably many JRPGs you could place on a list like this, but for a recent example, Metaphor Re
06:59-Fantasio feels like several hours could've been removed.
07:03Granted, Studio Zero and Atlas put out one of the best games of 2024.
07:07The art style is incredible, the worldbuilding is engaging, and the central cast of characters are all superbly written.
07:14Long live Heismay.
07:16But it's another case of feeling like the game is long just because it's expected rather than warranted.
07:22I mean, you fight the big bad Luis multiple times leading up to the climax.
07:27After the second time, you get 30 in-game days to do a dungeon, confront him at the end, and
07:33he runs away.
07:34To another dungeon, which consists of multiple previous bosses, then you fight him again with multiple phases.
07:41It's just unnecessary padding.
07:44Why?
07:46Why do you still stand in defiance?
07:50What drives such tenacity?
07:52Also, it feels like the story runs out of steam, with characters becoming repetitive and themes being hammered into you
07:59over and over.
08:00We get it.
08:01Everyone has personal anxieties to overcome, a good ruler shouldn't be corrupt, and everything else you've been preaching to us
08:07for a hundred plus hours.
08:12My world!
08:15The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword
08:24There are a few Zelda games that shouldn't be as long as they are.
08:29As much as I love The Wind Waker, the tacked-on Triforce quest brings the momentum of its climax to
08:34a snail's pace.
08:35But there's no entry in the series more egregious at needlessly inflating your playtime than Skyward Sword.
08:42One of the biggest complaints surrounding the game is how it forces you to backtrack to previous locations for fetch
08:47quests that must be completed to progress.
08:50This brings the plot, which is actually quite good, to a screeching halt.
09:07Forcing you to navigate familiar terrain that isn't even that interesting the first time around.
09:11And then you have the three fights against the imprisoned, one of the franchise's worst bosses.
09:18Even one of those was too much.
09:28Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain
09:41Most games in the Metal Gear series are a perfect length, which is partially why they remain beloved today.
09:49The Phantom Pain is far from the weakest entry in the series, but it is a bit divisive for various
09:55reasons.
09:55The one that puts it on this list is that it's just too damn long.
09:59On average, it can take between 45 to 50 hours to complete the main story, more than twice the length
10:06of the previous game.
10:07But with optional content, that balloons to around 160 hours, which is frankly insane.
10:15If you get out of here alive.
10:22Not every moment in the campaign is worthy of your time either.
10:26So with repetitive open world missions and base building, there's just a lot more here than there needs to be.
10:32And some of it was even cut after Kojima and Konami had their falling out.
10:40What took you so long?
10:42The Last of Us Part 2
10:44I'll make her pay.
10:46Tommy.
10:46That's what you said when we got back to Jackson.
10:49Tommy.
10:51There's no way to talk about this game without going into spoilers.
10:56The Last of Us Part 2 follows Ellie seeking vengeance against Abby for the murder of Joel, who killed her
11:01father during the events of the first game.
11:03After playing through a three day period as both characters, the game's central theme of losing oneself to revenge seems
11:11to have been succinctly summed up.
11:13Ellie has to live with the horrible things she's done and significant PTSD from Joel's death, but gets her lovely
11:21farm life with Dina and her baby JJ.
11:24Every single one of Abby's friends is dead, but she's regained her humanity through protecting Lev and the two set
11:31out to find the reformed fireflies.
11:34Ending on the farm chapter would've been bittersweet.
11:37Sad, yet hopeful.
11:39But then the game keeps going, not satisfied with giving its characters an ending that's anything but miserable.
11:45I'm not gonna do this again.
11:50Ellie abandons her life to track Abby down again, who has been captured by a group of slavers called Rattlers.
11:57The gameplay feels a bit shallow following the climax of Seattle Day 3, and while Ellie finally realizes that revenge
12:04isn't what she should be chasing,
12:06that realization comes at the cost of Dina and two fingers, taking away her ability to play guitar, a connection
12:13to Joel.
12:14The whole Santa Barbara section just reiterates a message already delivered, while leaving characters we've grown to care for in
12:21a far worse place.
12:23No.
12:26Just take him.
12:32Assassin's Creed Valhalla
12:41You could arguably place several recent Assassin's Creed games here, as many players have complained about the way Ubisoft has
12:49focused too heavily on open-world structure and RPG mechanics.
12:53But there's no game more guilty of being too long than Valhalla.
12:58The central narrative about Eivor, a Viking out to expand the power of their people in England, is engaging.
13:05But honestly, what's there could have easily filled the playtime of an older Assassin's Creed.
13:10The rest is what has become derogatorily known as the Ubisoft formula.
13:15A vast world full of checklists, composed of repetitive quests that make said world feel empty, even in places where
13:22it isn't.
13:23This game truly feels like it goes on forever.
13:26And that's before factoring in DLC.
13:29More than many others, Valhalla is a game that feels like it would've wholly benefited from scaling back and cutting
13:35the fat.
13:44What game tested your patience by going on for way too long?
13:48Let us know about it in the comments.
13:50And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to Mojo Plays for more great gaming videos every day.
13:55If you help us get back our friend and get out of here, we will do everything we can.
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