There are loads of fantastic RPGs out there, but for the life of me I just can’t finish them. I bought Mass Effect: Legendary Edition recently and played through the first few missions. The minimap is crap, but everything else is amazing. Despite that, Shepard and company are currently freezing their arses off on Noveria because my attention has waned. A similar thing happened with Yakuza 0 – I played through the prologue and first chapter, but now Kiryu is just ambling about Kamurocho without even passing chapter three. I love the game, especially the way in which it avoids glamourising crime, but I found myself putting it down and walking away.. I’ve always had this issue with RPGs.
I appreciate short games, but I also love long linear ones. My issue with finishing RPGs seems to stem from how broad they are in scope, rather than the raw time investment required. There’s always more to do and more to see. Take Mass Effect for example. Sure, I only have to do three missions once I leave the Citadel, but I want to find the missing crew, and help the politician find her sister, and sort out the military husband’s request. These side quests continue to pile up until I’ve completely lost track of the main story. No matter how hard I try, forcing myself to press on with the main narrative is constantly upended by distractions.
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I fully understand how our own Eric Switzer didn’t romance anyone during their first playthrough of Mass Effect because they were too busy dealing with Sovereign and the geth. Games require a certain suspension of disbelief when you consider the timeliness of the main plot versus the fun to be had with all the side activities. Like the disbelief that my character in Skyrim would rather build a nice home by a lake over becoming the Dragonborn. The dragons were just pesky nuisances anyway, hardly world ending threats, but still, they’re meant to add a sort of time pressure, yet the rest of the game encourages you to ignore the main plot and just mosey around.
The RPG that I finished quickest was Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I had to write about it for my dissertation, so that added a real world time pressure, but the developer Eidos Montreal knows when to put its foot down and tell you to get moving. The first mission after the prologue places you in an office, and tells you to get to a helipad and deal with a hostage situation. Naturally, I explored the office first. I hacked things, read emails, and broke into offices. I then got an angry call from my boss telling me the situation had escalated because I’d taken too long. Upon reaching the factory housing the hostages I find they’ve already been killed. Woops, my bad, had to check my Gmail.
There’s an inherent dissonance to player agency in most RPGs – do you tackle the super serious main quest or go off and hunt for collectibles and help old ladies cross the street? More RPGs should learn from Deus Ex and know when to give you a kick up the backside. I like having choice, but sometimes I’m like a deer caught in the headlights. Just stick some blinders on me and railroad me through a few time sensitive missions every now and again to keep me on track.
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