Dozens, sometimes hundreds of hours of play: some titles are true time sinks. This Top 100 gathers the retro games with the longest playtime, based on RomWize's reassessed scores. For each title: its current score, its versions, their rarity and their collector value, more than enough to get your money's worth.
"The creative story mode is merely the doorway: the powerful, bottomless level editor opens onto a million community creations to play and share. Add the hunt for customisation items, the hidden challenges and four-player local co-op, and the appeal compounds. As long as the community keeps building, the game never really ends, and that is its whole charm."
"Skyrim lays itself bare without a single barrier: walking the Dragonborn's path, joining the Companions, the Brotherhood or the College, or simply trekking from ruin to peak is enough to swallow dozens of hours. Smithing, enchanting, collecting dragon shouts and stacking side quests feeds near-bottomless replay value. That total freedom keeps its place in the RPG pantheon."
"Stacking and clearing lines without ever reaching an end turns every game into a race for the best score. The accelerating difficulty and the urge to push one notch further create a loop as simple as it is inexhaustible. A legendary companion to the console's launch, this puzzle owes its immortality to that immediate addiction you never quite exhaust."
"Short on the surface, the journey multiplies the moment you grasp that sparing or striking changes everything. A pacifist run, a genocide run, dozens of endings and reactions tied to your choices: it takes several passes to see the whole picture. That replay value built on the player's conscience rather than padding secures its lasting place."
"John Marston's twilight Old West sprawls across a vast frontier where hunting, bounties, gunslinger challenges and random encounters keep pulling you off the main road. The mature storytelling carries an already lengthy campaign, extended by online Free Roam and an endgame that shifts perspective. It all stays coherent and unforgettable, keeping the title among the peaks of narrative gaming."
"This GOTY edition fleshes out the original with memorable themed packs, from Metal Gear Solid to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Beyond the story mode and the bottomless editor opening onto endless community creations, these bonus costumes and levels reignite collecting and customisation. A version built to linger over, to create and to share for a long time."
"Filling a garage with hundreds of licensed cars, climbing the licences and World Tour championships, tweaking every setup circuit after circuit: Polyphony Digital's simulation plays out like a long-haul career. Photo mode, sixteen-player multiplayer and the chase for gold on every event keep pushing the horizon back. A benchmark whose sheer breadth of content remains legendary."
"Joel and Ellie's journey across a devastated America stretches over a generous narrative campaign, paced by the exploration of rich settings full of resources to scavenge and artefacts to find. A punishing survival mode and a higher difficulty invite a wholly different replay, while the constant tension lends weight to every hour. A story you linger over on purpose."
"Four sprawling acts, dialogue that reacts to your characters' very origins, and a rare freedom of resolution: almost every situation accepts several solutions. Four-player co-op, the arena and the Game Master mode pile on dozens more hours. That role-playing depth, rewarding curiosity rather than patience, makes it a genre benchmark."
"Forty-eight tracks bundled from the start, every racer and kart part to unlock, plus a refreshed battle mode: it's the most complete edition the series has had. Chasing three stars in 200cc, polishing your racing lines and challenging the world online sustains a ceiling-free replayability. Instant approachability paired with genuine depth makes it a long-haul companion."
"Crowned Game of the Year, this edition slips the original western, the Undead Nightmare DLC and the multiplayer content into one case, nearly doubling the offering. John Marston's long manhunt gains a full zombie campaign and expanded Free Roam modes without ever diluting the quality. That well-judged richness is why the GOTY remains the recommended version to this day."
"The Spec II update further refines an already colossal simulation: hundreds of cars, dozens of circuits, licences and World Tour championships compose a career counted in seasons. Photo mode, sixteen-player multiplayer and the hunt for gold on every event feed an endless endgame. These additions cement the reputation of a title whose generosity of content still impresses."
"Gathering everything in one box, the Spec II-patched game and downloadable content included, embraces from the outset the most complete breadth of Polyphony's simulation. A sprawling garage, licences, World Tour championships and the gold hunt on every event sketch a career counted in seasons. For anyone wanting the most generous version of GT5, this edition lays out a near-unlimited reserve of play."
"The first hunt for Nathan Drake carried by this edition weaves gunfights, climbing and puzzles through a treasure chase that never lets up. Tracking hidden treasures, chasing the challenges and replaying chapters on high difficulty lengthens the experience, and this odyssey stays an emblematic showcase of cinematic adventure gaming."
"Witcher contracts often outclass the main quests of other games entirely, and that's the whole strength of the journey. Between the two expansions, the hunt for Gwent cards and the sweep across Velen and Skellige, you clear a hundred hours easily without any filler. Writing that refuses throwaway quests is why its density is still held up as a model."
"The branching story choices that sway the ending already invite a campaign replay, yet it is the whole ecosystem that holds you: densely customizable competitive multiplayer, Strike Force missions and a Zombies mode enriched with secret-laden scenarios. Mastering maps and unlocks soaks up months. That versatility is why players keep returning long after release."
"Setting off after 120 brand-new stars, this time aided by Yoshi and fresh powers, restarts a platforming loop even more inventive and demanding than the first game. Ghost mode pushes you to refine your times, while the Luigi challenge and post-credits content stretch the quest for 100 % considerably. This generosity, married to an unapologetic difficulty, makes it a masterpiece that holds out for a long time before giving up all its secrets."
"Recruiting a full crew and then earning each one's loyalty multiplies the missions, and the famous suicide mission rewards every detail neglected or tended. Exploring, talking and importing your choices invites several playthroughs. This narrative density, the trilogy's peak, sustains a reputation as an RPG as rich as it is lasting."
"The modern campaign left a mark, but it was the multiplayer that redefined the genre: a system of customizable classes, killstreaks and rank progression set a standard and gripped players for years. Replaying the campaign on higher difficulty and chasing every unlock extends the run. As a celebrated pioneer, it keeps the aura of a timeless benchmark."
"The main adventure is already hearty, but it's the post-credits content that tips the scale: a whole second half of the game opens up once the story seems wrapped. Side quests, crafting, the casino and optional battles add to a world that reinvents itself. That old-fashioned generosity, faithful to the most welcoming JRPGs, earns it lasting affection."
