A review of the titles that can make the confinement somewhat more bearable
Although it is not exactly a vacation, the coronavirus quarantine forces us to spend many hours at home and it is perhaps the most ideal time to choose one of those games that you would normally never buy because you know that it will not give you life to tackle it. From Meristation, we provide you with some suitable suggestions for all platforms and with a variety of prices and genres (although always thinking about games with a single player campaign, it is obvious that multiplayer games can be played to infinity and are not the purpose of this text).
The Witcher 3: Game of the Year Edition (PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
Our game of the year 2015 was already extraordinary that year, but the time has only been improved with excellent expansions that leave the Game of the Year edition as a true cathedral of entertainment. The total content can take us more than 100 hours, and depending on our pace and willingness to do everything we can go to 200 (or beyond, as can be seen in the hour meters of the user reviews on Steam). As if that were not enough, it is currently on sale on Steam along with the entire saga. A great investment.
Persona 5 Royal (PS4)
The improved and expanded version of Persona 5 is a recent release and has received a 10 from Meristation, in addition to being in perfect Spanish, which opens the door for many to immerse themselves in one of the best JRPGs of the last decade. It is a game that as soon as you entertain yourself in its many entertainments, relationships with other characters and activities in the city, you can go to 100 hours and exceed them perfectly.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)
Although just released, Animal Crossing are all games with a reputation for shooting hour counters. Its placid nativity, the amount of content, a game system that encourages you to play for a while each day and other factors make each installment of the saga go to three digits, and New Horizons will be no exception. Take a look at our complete guide to Animal Crossing: New Horizons to complete the game 100%.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (PC, Xbox One, PS4)
Rockstar's great journey at the beginning of the end of the Wild West is not a game for a lazy afternoon. Its gigantic world, the rhythm of travel, its dense history and the amount of dialogues and cinematic scenes will take us tens of hours. Completing it with extras and side missions can lead us to exceed 100 hours with ease. If you decide to embark on this unforgettable adventure, you have our complete guide to Red Dead Redemption 2 and the best tricks of Red Dead Redemption 2.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey (PC, Xbox One, PS4)
The latest Assassin's Creed is not only an excellent game, it also offers a huge amount of content based on its gigantic world and many different side missions, activities and entertainments that we can undertake. The main story can take us 50 hours, but getting all the juice out of it will require a figure closer to 100 hours.
Stardew Valley (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Mobile)
In times of confinement, virtual farming can be a way to go through the imagination. Stardew Valley's rural escapism exercise, spiced up by the search for love and adventure that it proposes with its open structure, is another game that will consume dozens of hours without realizing it while we manage our small farm and interact with the picturesque characters around us.
Monster Hunter: World (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Monster Hunter are, by design, long games in which getting certain equipment or taking down certain creatures is a matter of many hours. Monster Hunter: World put the enormous traditional farming of the sagas certain heights for international success, but it's still a long game that can be done exceptionally long, depending on how you play it. If you also add its fantastic expansion, Iceborne, we have an adventure that can last us weeks.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 (PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch)
Playing one of the best western RPGs in recent years can be a good way to regain a love for the genre or forge a new one. Although it carries a "2", Original Sin can be played perfectly without having played the first one or having never touched a Divinity – the saga is very heterogeneous both in its playable approaches and in its history. The main thing is that we have a great role-playing adventure ahead with more than 100 hours of gameplay, one of the best turn-based combat systems ever made and ample possibilities for action and interaction with characters and surroundings.
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Switch, PC, PS4)
We went from western role to Japanese role, with one of those sagas that has defined the love for video games of millions of players around the world. The latest installment is a celebration of all the virtues of the saga: the sense of adventure, the epic of a great feat, the value of friendship between colleagues. All accompanied by the always welcoming art of Akira Toriyama, the baton of Koichi Sugiyama and the good work of the historical director and father of the saga, Yuji Horii. Completing the story can easily take 60-70 hours, but as with other games, depending on our pace and number of extras, we can go to triple digits with no problem.
Crusader Kings 2 (PC)
The truth is that here we could have put any Paradox strategy game, both Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis or even the most recent Stellaris are strategy games with many hours ahead, the result of long and mechanical campaigns rich enough and varied as so that each one of them is different. We chose Crusader Kings 2 for being somewhat more digestible than the other alternatives and for its rich collection of mods with family themes, which can allow us things like having the best strategy game based on Game of Thrones that exists.
Other alternatives
If the ten suggested games don't convince, there are other options. Games based on construction and management are usually great hobbies and there are modern options such as Kerbal Space Program, a fun but realistic and at the same time understandable title to understand the fundamentals of the space race and what it means to build rockets to reach outer space. Cities Skylines is the successor to Sim City and features a wealth of content through various expansions, though the base game will keep us entertained regularly. And if you prefer something cheaper, Sim City 3000 Unlimited is arguably the best version of the classic and is currently on sale at GOG at € 2.19, a reliable and constant source of entertainment.
Football Manager is another one of the games that usually has very high hour meters, to the point that there are many who do not play video games, but Football Manager, year after year. Especially appreciated in these weeks without soccer and with little soccer debate, a good opportunity to let the soccer coach inside you out. Also, at the time of publishing this, the latest version of the manager simulator is still free on Steam due to the coronavirus crisis.
Other management games with many hours ahead are games like Rimworld, in which you will have to manage to create, maintain and prosper a space colony, taking into account that each of its inhabitants are individual entities, with their own will and needs, which creates a fun contrast between what you want to do with your base and what results in the end. If you can't afford to pay the € 29.99 it's worth, you can turn to the game that inspired it, which is also free: Dwarf Fortress. It is more complex, it gives less facilities and not as "nice" as Rimworld, but it is much richer and the game case that, once you start to master it, you will have a game for life.
If these recommendations do not fill you, do not forget to review our reports of free games for the different platforms, more focused on multiplayer and F2P games, but with a variety of alternatives for each player:
- The best free PS4 games of 2020
- 10 free games (free to play) for your iOS or Android smartphone
- The best free games for Nintendo Switch of 2020
- The best free games for Xbox One of 2020
- The best free PC games of 2020
