10 RPGs You'll Need A Lifetime To Complete

If you’re a big fan of long and seemingly endless RPGs, there are plenty of incredible options out there that will take you countless hours to complete. From the epic D&D-based Baldur’s Gate 3 to incredible JRPGs like Persona 5, you’ll need a lifetime to get through all of these.

The following RPGs are games that can take you ages to complete. Whether it’s due to their massive worlds, seemingly endless additional content, or simply because they always have so much left to do, you can sink hundreds of hours into any of them.

10

Fallout: New Vegas Can Take Over 130 Hours To 100%

Enjoy The Apocalypse In This Essential Fallout Experience

Fallout: New Vegas is a quintessential Fallout experience that will keep fans of massive open worlds and endless side content busy for weeks. As a deep open-world RPG with a rich narrative, it can take dozens or even hundreds of hours to complete. Set in a post-apocalyptic Mojave Desert, players take on the role of the Courier, free to explore, make choices, and align with various factions.

The game’s branching storyline, numerous side quests, and expansive map make it easy to get lost in its world. Each decision influences the game’s outcome, encouraging multiple playthroughs.

With a wide range of weapons, character builds, and dialogue options, players are constantly rewarded for exploration and experimentation. This depth, combined with its replayability and various mysterious storylines, means that completing Fallout: New Vegas can be a lengthy, immersive journey, upwards of 130 hours according to How Long To Beat.

9

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Requires Upwards Of 170 Hours To Fully Complete

Toss A Coin To Yourself If You 100% Witcher 3

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a massive story-driven RPG that can take well over 100 hours, with the How Long To Beat average noting 174 hours for completionists. Players step into the role of Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter navigating a richly detailed world filled with political intrigue, moral choices, and dangerous beasts.

The main storyline is lengthy and emotionally complex, but it’s the side quests, contracts, treasure hunts, and the incredibly addictive in-game card game, Gwent, that significantly add to the playtime. Each quest is carefully written and often ties into the larger narrative or The Witcher’s eclectic lore.

Completing every task, collecting every item, and exploring every area requires dedication and patience. With two expansive DLCs, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, the total content is staggering, making 100% completion a long yet rewarding endeavor.

8

Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time Is An Epic RPG With Incredible Scale

Till The End Of Time Is True To Its Name, Requiring Over 350 Hours To 100%

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is a deep, complex action RPG originally released for PlayStation 2 that can take an incredibly long time to fully complete. The main story alone spans dozens of hours, filled with plot twists, sci-fi lore, and intense real-time battles.

However, it’s the post-game content and optional challenges that make 100% completion a monumental task. The game features over 300 Battle Trophies, many requiring specific conditions or presenting extremely difficult challenges. Unlocking them all can take hundreds of hours and multiple playthroughs.

There are also super bosses, extensive item creation systems, multiple difficulty levels, and hidden dungeons like the Maze of Tribulations and Sphere 211. With so many systems to master and secrets to uncover, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is a game that demands serious dedication for full completion.

7

Xenoblade Chronicles X Is An Infamously Long Sci-Fi Journey

This Game Will Take You Weeks To Conquer

Xenoblade Chronicles X is a huge open-world RPG that can take well over 250 hours to fully complete. Set on the alien planet Mira, players explore vast continents filled with dangerous wildlife, hidden secrets, and rich lore.

The game’s main story is lengthy, but it’s the overwhelming amount of side quests, exploration, and customization that extend playtime significantly. Players can build and upgrade powerful mechs called Skells, customize weapons and abilities, and manage a squad of characters with different strengths.

The affinity system, collectible items, and deep crafting mechanics add even more complexity. Large-scale monsters, known as Tyrants, provide some of the toughest challenges in the game. With so much content, including online squad missions and world events, Xenoblade Chronicles X is a game that rewards time investment, patience, and vast exploration.

6

Elden Ring & Shadow Of The Erdtree Eat Up Hundreds Of Challenging Hours

The Base Game & DLC Combined Can Take Over 180 Hours To 100%, & That’s If You’re Good

Elden Ring and its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, offer a vast, challenging Soulsborne experience that can take a very long time to complete, especially if you’re not very good with Souls games. However, the journey is incredibly rewarding if you can power through.

Elden Ring features a massive open world filled with secrets, dungeons, and tough bosses that demand honing your skills and coming up with solid strategies. Exploration is key, and players are constantly rewarded with new gear, lore, and hidden areas.

Shadow of the Erdtree builds on this by adding an entirely new region packed with even more brutal enemies, complex environments, and powerful weapons. Both the base game and DLC require time, patience, and experimentation in terms of builds and playstyle to completely master.

With deep customization, engaging combat, and rich storytelling told through the world itself, every hour spent is fulfilling. Completing both fully will easily take hundreds of hours, especially if you don’t hone your skills and learn each boss’s unique move sets.

5

Stardew Valley Isn’t Your Typical RPG But Will Take You Hours Nonetheless

Players Will Sink Hundreds Of Hours Into Stardew Without Realizing Where The Time Went

Stardew Valley isn’t your typical role-playing game, but it certainly qualifies as one, and it will take up more of your time than most games on this list. If you’re unfamiliar with the farming-sim-RPG sensation that is Stardew, it might be time to give it your proper attention.

Stardew is more than just a farming simulation game, though if that’s how you want to treat it, that’s perfectly fine. The beauty of Stardew is that it has an incredible narrative that can take players deep into a complex and intertwining story through its world, characters, and the relationships players form within the Stardew community.

To beat the game to full 100% completion, i.e. reaching Perfection, is a rare feat, and most players sink hundreds of hours into the game without ever worrying about actually beating it at all. You can easily get lost in the day-to-day gameplay of Stardew Valley, and it’s an incredibly immersive experience that gives players a sense of really holding the fate of their farm in their own hands.

Skyrim Demands That Players Explore & Get Lost In Its Expansive World

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a legendary open-world RPG that offers players unmatched freedom and countless hours of gameplay. Set in a vast fantasy world, it allows you to explore mountains, dungeons, and cities at your own pace.

The main quest is compelling, but the real fun lies in side quests, establishing and building guild relationships, and of course, exploration. You can become an assassin, thief, mage, or warrior, or all of the above.

Crafting, enchanting, and skill progression also add a ton of depth to every playthrough, and the game’s overall replay value is incredible. With so many characters, choices, and paths to follow, it’s easy to get lost in its world.

Mods and expansions only add to the experience. Fully completing Skyrim, or even just trying everything it offers, can take hundreds of hours, making it a long but enjoyable adventure.

3

Persona 5 Is A Time-Consuming But Beautifully Made JRPG

Persona 5 Takes Nearly 100 Hours To Complete The Main Story

Persona 5 is an incredible turn-based JRPG that can take a long time to fully complete, especially if you’re aiming for 100%. You play as a high school student who leads a double life as a Phantom Thief, battling shadows in surreal dungeons while managing school life, friendships, and part-time jobs.

The game follows a strict calendar system, meaning every action uses valuable time. To reach 100%, you must max out all Confidant relationships, complete the Persona compendium, unlock all endings, and master various mini-games and side quests.

Some events are missable, requiring careful planning across multiple playthroughs and a main story that can take almost 100 hours to finish. With its complex systems, rich story, and stylish presentation, Persona 5 offers a long but incredibly rewarding experience for completionists.

2

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate Might Be The Longest RPG Ever

It Can Take Over A Month Of Playing NONSTOP To 100% Generations Ultimate

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate is an enormous action RPG that can easily take over 800 hours to 100% complete due to its sheer amount of content and depth. The game features hundreds of unique quests, dozens of large monsters, and six distinct hunting styles to master.

To fully complete it, players must hunt every monster multiple times, craft and upgrade countless armor sets and weapons, complete all village and guild quests, and tackle incredibly difficult G-rank and Deviant monster hunts.

Each monster requires different strategies and gear, adding to the challenge. Collecting every item, unlocking every hunter art, and achieving all in-game awards and titles takes extreme dedication. Its deep gameplay loop and endless customization make it addictive, but they also turn it into a massive time investment that could take over a month of nonstop gameplay to fully complete.

1

Baldur’s Gate 3 Is An Incredibly Immersive World Of Seemingly Endless Possibilities

BG3 Is Extremely Replayable & Will Immerse Players Better Than Any RPG Out There

If you still haven’t picked up 2023’s Game of the Year winner, Baldur’s Gate 3, you haven’t experienced a truly immersive role-playing game yet. There’s a reason this is a critically acclaimed success that players are still spending time completing to this day.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is among the most immersive games ever made, with player choices and decisions being of the utmost importance and having dramatically varying impacts on the story. Completing the main story isn’t even what most players enjoy about the game, but that in itself can take upwards of 70 hours. Add another 100 hours onto that if you’re looking to 100% it.

All told, Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the most expansive and compelling RPGs ever made, and it will absolutely make you want to start over and play again, even if you never make it to the end of the story. Its dynamic characters, profound and branching storylines, and massive scale make it one game that players could spend a lifetime on and never get tired of playing.

Source: How Long To Beat

Baldur’s Gate 3

Systems

Released

August 3, 2023

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence

Developer(s)

Larian Studios

Publisher(s)

Larian Studios