The Assassin's Creed franchise has been running smoothly since its inception in 2007. After a tonal shift in 2017 with Assassin's Creed: Origins, the titles have been massive open-world adventures longer than most gamers can even finish. The latest release, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, pushes the envelope even further in terms of scope.
According to howlongtobeat.com, simply going through the main story takes over fifty hours, and that's before getting into the side content. The game is so big, one could run through any of the ten series below in their entirety before finishing Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. We're not telling you to play these games instead, but just understand what you're signing up for before starting Ubisoft's most recent entry in its storied franchise.
10 Max Payne (24 1/2 Hours)
Fans had to wait nine years to receive Max Payne 3 in 2012 from Rockstar Games, and it sure was worth the wait. Fortunately, the two older titles also hold up. Being linear third-person shooters, one knows what to expect in terms of length. Max Payne 2 is particularly short, only taking between five and seven hours. Add the Game Boy Advance version of Max Payne to switch things up too.
9 Gears Of War (54 Hours)
While Halo dominated the original Xbox, Microsoft was able to diversify during the Xbox 360 era. Gears of War came out early in the 360's life and quickly became one of the most iconic games in the Xbox's catalog. Epic Games no longer has anything to do with Gear of War, but Microsoft is doing a good job of keeping the third-person shooter alive. Going through the mainline entries in a row takes about 47 hours, and adding the prequel, Judgment, makes it about 54.
8 Uncharted (49 Hours)
Uncharted was Naughty Dog's first step into mature titles instead of cartoonish worlds like Jak and Daxter or Crash Bandicoot. Every mainline entry except Uncharted 4 is a brief journey, ranging from between six and ten hours. Uncharted 4 is the only beefy one, taking about 14 to 16 hours. This is ultimately a part of its genius, as the pace of the first three games never lets up. Maybe they are short, but it is easy to beat any of Nathan Drake's adventures three or four times. Even adding on The Lost Legacy still leaves the franchise shorter than Valhalla.
7 Mortal Kombat (50 Hours)
Fighting games are always a weird thing to talk about when it comes to game length. Really, a fighter lasts for however long it continues to be entertaining. However, at least four games in the Mortal Kombat franchise have story modes, starting with Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe. Even before that, two games had Konquest modes, telling unique stories with definitive endings. Going through the arcade ladder and story modes in all of them would take less time than it takes to beat the most recent Assassin's Creed.
6 Syphon Filter (50 Hours)
This is probably the oldest and most dormant franchise on the list. Syphon Filter was a solid third-person shooter on the original PlayStation, and the final two PSP games even became more critically adored. Developer Bend studio most recently developed Days Gone, which contains an Easter egg referencing the older franchise. Fans are hoping for a return eventually, but until then take a 50 hour trip down memory lane by charting the franchise's trajectory from the PS1 to the PS2 and finally the PSP.
5 Walking Dead (44 Hours)
Telltale's games are never particularly long, and the episodic format allows them to be broken down into digestible chunks. After all is said and done, its Walking Dead series is now a beefy adventure.
Going through all of the seasons from start to finish takes slightly upwards of 40 hours, which is still a little bit shy of Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. Be prepared to make some devastating decisions when playing.
4 Crash Bandicoot (45 Hours)
By 1996, Nintendo already had its slew of legendary platforming franchises. Sony had a few great ones in the PlayStation's early life, but they did not have a memorable mascot until Crash Bandicoot. The original trilogy on the PS1 are all classics, and the recent Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is a worthy successor. Going through all the levels in all the games, including the PS2 titles in between Crash 3 and 4 takes about 45 hours.
3 Half-Life (45 Hours)
Gordon Freeman's life has been a wild ride since the incident at Black Mesa. While it may be confusing torture for him, players have been eating up every entry. With titles released between 1998 and 2020, one may be surprised to learn all the content only adds up to about 45 hours. To be fair, no game in the series was released between 2007's Half-Life 2: Episode 2 and Half-Life: Alyx. Throw in the Portal games and one still would not take up more time than going through Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.
2 Donkey Kong Country (37 Hours)
Donkey Kong Country is one of the most celebrated SNES platforming franchises, and that's saying something considering this is the same console with Super Mario World.
After a long lull, Retro Studios brought the series back on the Nintendo Wii. Like most platformers, simply going through the levels does not take a lot of time, but going for 100% completion takes a little more effort.
1 Halo (56 Hours)
Halo not only revolutionized the first-person shooter, but it also made Microsoft a force to be reckoned with and saved the original Xbox from obscurity. While multiplayer is the main attraction, one cannot forget the compelling single-player campaigns packaged with each entry. They never overstay their welcome, and can all be tackled cooperatively with at least one friend in under ten hours each. Halo Infinite looks to significantly expand upon the single-player with an open-world format.