Dying Light 2's Techland revealed a 500-plus-hour completion time — controversy followed, but why?
Source: Techland S.A.
In the postal service-Skyrim era, even before I was a writer, I distinctly retrieve marketing discourse for open-earth games that revolved entirely around comparisons to Skyrim. "Our earth is ii times bigger than Skyrim," publishers would say, and articles professing gameplay length would be seen every bit emphasizing value for money. In the final few years, however, something has inverse.
This past week, Dying Light 2 publisher Techland revealed on Twitter that the game has a 500-plus-hr completion fourth dimension, painted wholly in a positive light. Perhaps unexpectedly for them, the internet didn't react entirely favorably to this news.
Instead of being happy nearly the 500-plus potential hours of amusement Dying Light 2 may contain, people reacted with skepticism and even horror about the gameplay "length," worrying that it would be too big, or but filled with padding and busywork making up said 500+ 60 minutes figure. The reactions even forced a climbdown from Techland, where they continue to explain the main quests would warrant around 80 hours of gameplay.
I thought the responses to this marketing attempt were quite interesting, especially because I can distinctly retrieve a time in my younger days where 500-plus hours would exist met with excitement, rather than lamentation. What inverse?
The Ubisoft Effect
Source: Windows Central
Ubisoft tin't be blamed entirely for this, but being completely honest, they are a massive proponent of why I think people accept become fatigued with the open-world format.
Ubisoft is an open-world game factory. Each of their games, from Far Weep, to Ghost Recon, to Assassin's Creed, popularized the open up-world action game to the point where the company barely even considers making linear experiences anymore. There was a cursory flicker of fourth dimension where Ubisoft would build unique games similar Child of Light, and more cinematic activeness games like Splinter Jail cell, but those times are long past.
Ubisoft besides churns out these kinds of games at an nearly alarming rate. Just over the past few years, we've had Watch Dogs: Legion, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Far Weep 6, and Ghost Recon Breakpoint, all of which share many of the same story themes, gameplay systems, navigation, and mission structure. To say Ubisoft-style open-world games are formulaic would be an understatement at this betoken. I remarked upon it in my Far Cry 6 review. I kept having to remind myself while playing, "Imagine you lot're someone who isn't absolutely sick of Ubisoft's games." I say this because, on the surface of it, all of these games are of more often than not high quality as a standalone experience. The problem is, they all morph into this homogenous hulk that has come to typify what people expect of an "open up-world" game these days.
Source: Ubisoft | Windows CardinalFar Cry feels like Assassin's Creed, which feels like Watch Dogs, which feels like Ghost Recon.
I call up similar thoughts while writing my Halo Infinite preview. The opening of the game is exciting and cinematic, immediately embedding you into this perilous new situation in which Principal Chief finds himself. After the intro, yous emerge from the bowels of Zeta Halo onto the surface ... an open world, and a tutorial started rolling showing me how to unlock new areas, towers, I idea, and a familiar sense of dread done over me. "Is this Halo: Far Cry?" I thought to myself. Thankfully, information technology very much wasn't, focusing on interactive sandbox tools in what is ultimately a wide-linear structure, rather than Ubisoft's artificially large plains designed for maximum engagement, rather than fun.
Therein lies 1 of the reasons I recall people reacted with warning to Dying Light 2'due south "500 hours" quip. Is Dying Light 2 going to exist another flat, repetitive, and bland open-world with high-allegiance busywork masquerading as gameplay, designed entirely around building a nice graph for a shareholder meeting? Or is Dying Light 2 going to be more like The Elder Scrolls, with manus-crafted interior locations, with unique and interesting grapheme-driven quests?
Even if Dying Light 2 is comprised entirely of raw fun and mitt-made content, in that location are plenty of other reasons why reactions to "500 hours" at present is different from what it was 10 years ago or more.
Backlogs a' growin', gratis time a' shrinkin'
Source: TwitterGamers react to Techland's 500-hr completionist play time.
Gamers are getting older. Yeah, you reading this. You're getting old. I'm getting old. We're all getting old. And it seems that in correlation with getting old, comes with macerated free fourth dimension. I know it'due south certainly true of myself, despite literally working in a job that revolves around game coverage. I probably completed fewer games than ever last year, mainly focusing on those I played for work. Outside of that, I've barely had the time.
Co-ordinate to a study past Statista, in 2022, 41% of 35- to 44-year-olds responded to the question of, "Have you lot played a video game?" leaping up a massive rise to 76% in 2022. A huge portion of that tin can undoubtedly be attributed to the pandemic, but even in earlier years, gamers in older demographics were growing steadily yr over year, and the pandemic likely pushed that trend even further. I suspect many older gamers who got into the manufacture as a result of piece of work-from-home policies the world over are probable going to stick with gaming even further, which could further bear on the style completion times are perceived as being "as well long."
Having kids, demanding jobs, doing school runs, having side-hustles, and so on, all put a stressor on our availability for leisure. There are growing calls around the globe to reduce the working week to four days as a event of this pressure on free time, but at that place are other factors as well.
Source: Matt Dark-brown | Windows Primal
There besides seems to be more contest for our gratis time than ever besides, owing to on-demand streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix. Xbox Game Pass coupled with EA Play as well increases the availability of loftier-quality entertainment experiences too.
Increasingly, game publishers need to manage the conflict between forced engagement and respecting players' time. I know for myself, it volition likely be a very, very long fourth dimension before I consider playing a Ubisoft open up-world again, but because I don't retrieve these games are designed to respect my complimentary fourth dimension, with development led entirely by engagement at the expense of edifice a fun, lasting experience. Information technology's somewhat ironic that I've been finding more enjoyment from lower-budget games lately, purely because they often don't have the ways to make something that demands my unabridged supply of complimentary time to fully enjoy.
That beingness said, if a game is fun enough, I'll however happily spend dozens of hours within it, but that's just me. It does seem to have become a tendency in recent years that open up-world games aren't fun past pattern, thanks to Ubisoft and other publishers who are edifice these sparse experiences. I wonder how much of the skepticism revolving effectually Dying Light 2's completion time stems from the fear that information technology won't actually be a fun and varied experience.
What if Dying Lite 2 is actually fun, though?
Indeed, I have no thought what to wait of Dying Light 2. My final preview of the game was several years ago. I did Dying Light 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 previews back to back at E3, and I distinctly remember thinking Dying Light ii looked more polished and interesting than Cyberpunk 2077 did. It's as well easy to hide a game'southward flaws in a congenital-for-press preview slice, potentially.
Dying Light 2's evolution has been difficult, according to some reports. The developers famously opted to remove all of the content in the game penned by Chris Avellone, following corruption accusations, which no doubt farther frustrated development besides. The beginning Dying Light launched all the way back in 2022, and this sequel has certainly been a long fourth dimension coming.
The original Dying Light was a pretty slap-up game in its own right, but I accept to admit — much like the Ubisoft open-worlds, I concluded up getting tired of the busy work, and ultimately never fully finished it. Dying Light 2 looks to be far more story-driven than its predecessor, with gameplay decisions that can dramatically impact its zombie-infested world, although information technology remains to be seen whether they tin break through the Expletive of Ubisoft, and deliver something that is unique and has some lasting affect. The fact that Dying Light 2 shares a launch month with Elden Ring — another demanding open-earth game — just adds to the force per unit area.
I remain optimistic for Dying Calorie-free 2, however, and it remains one of my most anticipated Xbox games. If a game is fun enough, I'll happily stick with it for dozens upon dozens of hours, because ultimately, this is all about fun. I have several hundred hours in Monster Hunter World, and I suspect I'll end upwardly with a few hundred hours in Dark Souls too, which I only got into relatively recently.
It'southward understandable that the industry has become skeptical of these hundreds of hours gameplay claims, specially in an era defined by open-earth blandness. Volition Dying Light two interruption the expletive? I suppose we'll find out on Feb. 4.
Prep for sundown
Dying Light 2: Stay Human
Four-player co-op, a zombie-infested open up world, and murderous and fell human factions await players of Dying Calorie-free two, which launches on Feb. 4, 2022.
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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/dying-light-2-revealed-500-hour-completion-time
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