Of the many video game genres, open-world titles are often the most lengthy and time-consuming. Whether that means simply progressing through the main campaign or choosing to explore every last location, open-world games are often packed with content and known for lasting dozens, if not hundreds of hours. Dying Light 2 is the next big entry in the genre, launching early next month for most major platforms. Previews and trailers for the game promise an even bigger and more ambitious entry than its predecessor, but exactly how much bigger has recently become quite a surprise.
Techland, the studio developing Dying Light 2, has shed light on just how long it will take players to fully complete the adventure in the game. The number is big, but few could have predicted a staggering total of 500 estimated hours to see and do all that Dying Light 2 has to offer. If this number proves to be accurate, then Dying Light 2 stands as one of the most robust, content-heavy open-world games in history. In fact, the upcoming title even dwarfs some of the most colossal open-world games to date.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
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With the 2017 soft reboot Assassin's Creed: Origins, Ubisoft's flagship franchise ditched the old gameplay style in favor of an open-world action RPG. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey doubled down on the scope of the journey, but the most recent entry Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is even larger in many respects. Spanning across the snowy homes of Vikings, and the endless grasslands of the British Isles, the game is littered with things to do in both the main story and side quests. If a player wishes to fully conquer this world, it will take a massive 135 hours to do so.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar is the grandfather of open-world game design, and with a pedigree like that, the pressure is on to one-up itself with each release. Grand Theft Auto 5 was a big game in its own right, but Red Read Redemption 2 has it beat in terms of the sheer scale of the journey. Meticulously detailed environments, multiple locations to discover and a wide array of missions will leave aspiring cowboys and girls busy for quite some time. To properly explore the entirety of the wild, wild west, it will take gamers around 172 hours.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Providing the Wii U with its last gasp of air while also breathing life into the Nintendo Switch, the 2017 Game of the Year was a bold new direction for The Legend of Zelda series. Nintendo ditched the more linear, story-driven approach of prior 3D entries in favor of getting back to the roots of the franchise, emphasizing exploration and the thrill of discovery. A solid variety of environments, a bevy of quests to tackle, and tons of collectible hidden goodies kept gamers busy for a long time. True adventurers that want to seek out every last Korok Seed will need to set aside 188 hours in order to finish this one.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Even with all the controversy surrounding Cyberpunk 2077, CDProjekt Red is still considered a talented developer by many purely for its 2015 title The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Garnering praise for having one of the most complex and well thought open worlds of all time, nearly every square inch of the experience has something interesting to find and do. This isn't even mentioning the added DLC content, that further expands upon the world and lore of the game. Altogether, it would take players roughly 192 hours to properly accomplish everything.
Fallout 4
Fallout 3 was a landmark achievement in open-world game design in 2008, but Fallout 4 built upon its predecessor for what resulted in an even larger adventure. The post-apocalyptic world within Bethesda's iconic franchise is rife with danger, secrets, and quests to enjoy that will keep players busy for quite some time. Once again, this is without even mentioning the added DLC content, which ramps up the total play time by a significant degree. It's almost ironic that a game that takes place in an empty, barren wasteland would take players approximately 214 hours to finish everything.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Speaking of Bethesda titles, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is so big that despite being released all the way back in 2011, some players are still discovering new things a decade after release. The endless open world makes great use of world-building, with a good variety of towns to visit and enemies to battle. Gamers that want to be truly immersed into this fantasy world had better be prepared to strap in and set aside a good deal of time, as Skyrim can take close to 232 hours to fully complete.
While Skyrim takes the longest amount of time to complete, its total playtime still doesn't even reach half of the estimated 500 hours necessary to beat Dying Light 2. Fans who have been anxiously awaiting the game's release will certainly get their money's worth. To put it into perspective, the 500 hours here translates to around 20 days of nonstop gaming.
Dying Light 2 launches February 4, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.