A downloadable list

Frequently, when someone finds out that I am a game designer they recommend a game to me.

"You have to play The Last of Us!"

"You must play through Kingdom Hearts 2."

"You have to play this game that I care about and feel is important!"

No, I do not.

Illustration by Phillip Martin

I do not have to play Naughty Dog and Sony Computer Entertainment's The Last of Us. I refuse to have my time or money sucked away by media that does not enrich my life.

This list is the unshackling of the burden of cultural consumption. Will I get around to playing God of War (2018)? I will not 'get around to' any of these games. I will not even think that I will play them possibly. I refuse to play these games unless I am somehow otherwise forced or felt obligated to. This list will hold me accountable to not play them.

This list is a collection of games that I have not yet played any amount of and feel no pressure to play. Games that I have not played but have even the smallest inkling that I want to play have not been included in this list. Games that I have started, moved a character around the screen for 5 minutes and set down and any other larger amount of play are not included.

Illustration by Phillip Martin

In the Title section, many of these games I have thought of from looking at Metacritic, this website, and a majority of Noah Caldwell-Gervais videos I have watched. The 'Hours' section is based on looking at the top number for each of these games under the search results on HowLongToBeat. Most of these games, the amount of hours played is the average completion of the main story, but some of these are online multiplayer games where those numbers do not feel equivalent to a 'main story'. This list is in order from shortest to longest. Though the list is ordered that way, I do not necessarily feel more likely to play something like Firewatch over Hades for a couple minutes or so. However, I do think while making this list, seeing how short some games were made me remove them from this list.

Illustration by Phillip Martin

This list is simultaneously a reaction towards a completionist mindset and social status linked to playing mass amounts of games, but also as a reversed game like list of the games that I have played. Some patterns may reveal the taste of games that I like. Take note of the gaps between game series as a clue to what games I have played or games that I would like to play.

I am firmly taking ownership of my not only my taste but my free time. I like to have an open mind to new experiences. However, by flushing my time down the toilet by playing games that I feel can predict what playing them feels like (and being correct) I may as well play the games in my head, watch a VoD, or not think about them at all.

This is only 200 games I will never play. There is an infinity of games that I will not play. Many of these games do not even exist yet. As time goes on I may come back to update this list when I find a game that I am for certain I will not play.

As per this twitter post, I will remove a game from this list, by striking it out, if a developer of these games retweets this list. Striking out a game from this list, does not mean that I will play it, it only means that now I will consider it.

Title

Hours

Dear Esther

1.5

God of War: Betrayal

2

Journey

2

That Dragon, Cancer

2

What Remains of Edith Finch

2

Tacoma

2.5

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

3

Pinstripe

3

Titan Souls

3

INSIDE

3.5

Little Nightmares

3.5

Firewatch

4

Telling Lies

4

The Red Strings Club

4

Dream Daddy

4.5

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

4.5

Oxenfree

4.5

Red Faction II

4.5

Super Time Force Ultra

4.5

Crysis Warhead

5

Furi

5.5

God of War: Chains of Olympus

5.5

Into the Breach

5.5

Ruiner

5.5

A Way Out

6

F.E.A.R. 3

6

Ghostbusters (2016)

6

Colony Wars

6.5

God of War: Ghost of Sparta

6.5

Shovel Knight

6.5

Crysis 3

7

Far Cry Instincts: Evolution

7

Guacamelee

7

Jericho

7

Prey (2006)

7.5

Call of Juarez

8

Ori and the Blind Forest

8

Red Faction: Armageddon

8

Uncharted

8

God of War: Ascension

8.5

Night in the Woods

8.5

Crysis 2

9

Dead Space 2

9

SOMA

9

Uncharted 3

9

Wolfenstein: Youngblood

9

The Banner Saga 3

9.5

Crysis

10

God of War III

10

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

10

Jak X: Combat Racing

10

Star Wars: The Old Republic

10

A Plague Tale: Innocence

10.5

Conker's Bad Fur Day

10.5

The Banner Saga

10.5

This War of Mine

10.5

Uncharted 2

10.5

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

10.5

Alan Wake

11

BioShock 2

11

Child of Light

11

Far Cry New Dawn

11

Pyre

11

Slay the Spire

11

The Banner Saga 2

11

BioShock Infinite

11.5

Helldivers

11.5

Homefront: The Revolution

11.5

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

11.5

Dishonored

12

Far Cry Instincts

12

God of War II

12

Dishonored 2

12.5

FTL: Faster Than Light

12.5

Hard West

12.5

The Outer Worlds

12.5

Dead Cells

13

Dead Space 3

13

System Shock

13

Thief: The Dark Project

13

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

13.5

Red Faction: Guerrilla

13.5

Diablo

14

Metroid Prime 3

14

System Shock 2

14

Far Cry Primal

14.5

Far Cry Instincts: Predator

15

Uncharted 4

15

Far Cry 3

15.5

FreeSpace 2

15.5

Outer Wilds

15.5

The Last of Us

15.5

Prey (2017)

16

The Evil Within

16

Dragon Quest II

16.5

Fallout 1

16.5

Rogue Legacy

16.5

Dying Light

17

Far Cry 2

17

Far Cry 4

17.5

Far Cry 5

17.5

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

17.5

Watch Dogs: Legion

17.5

Mass Effect: Andromeda

18.5

Prison Architect

19

Shin Megami Tensei If...

19

This is the Police

19

Watch Dogs

19

Watch Dogs 2

19

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

19.5

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II

20.5

Disco Elysium

20.5

God of War (2018)

20.5

Hades

20.5

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei

21.5

L.A. Noire

21.5

Horizon Zero Dawn

22.5

Fallout 3

23

Final Fantasy IV

23

Vagrant Story

23.5

The Last of Us 2

24

The Witcher 2

24

Ghost of Tsushima

24.5

Mass Effect 2

24.5

Mass Effect 3

24.5

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

25

Hollow Knight

26

Torment: Tides of Numenera

26

Dragon Age II

26.5

Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword

26.5

Path of Exile

26.5

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands

26.5

Dragon Quest IV

27

Fallout 4

27

Shin Megami Tensei Nine

27

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner

27

Dragon Quest III

27.5

Fallout: New Vegas

27.5

Final Fantasy XV

28

Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers

29

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

29

Final Fantasy III

30

Dragon Quest V

30.5

Fallout 2

30.5

Fire Emblem: Awakening

30.5

No Man's Sky

30.5

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

31

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

31

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

31

Dark Souls 3

31.5

Dark Souls 2

32

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

32

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2

32

Final Fantasy V

32.5

Don't Starve

33

Planescape: Torment

33

Bloodborne

34

Fallout 76

34

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

34

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2

34.5

Final Fantasy VI

35

Diablo II

35.5

Pillars of Eternity

35.5

The Witcher

35.5

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

36.5

Days Gone

38

Dragon Age: Origins

40.5

Dragon Quest VI

41

Skies of Arcadia Legends

41.5

Shin Megami Tensei II

42.5

Shin Megami Tensei IV

43

Baldur's Gate

44

Skies of Arcadia

45

Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition

46

Dragon Age: Inquisition

46.5

Dragon Quest IX

48.5

Final Fantasy XIII

48.5

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

48.5

Red Dead Redemption 2

48.5

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

49.5

Mount and Blade

51

The Witcher 3

51.5

Neverwinter Nights

53

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne

53

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

54

Darkest Dungeon

56

They are Billions

56

Dragon Quest XI

57

Dragon Quest VIII

62.5

Xenoblade Chronicles

68.5

Persona 4

70.5

Dragon Quest VII

73

Apex Legends

93

Rust

94

Persona 5

97

Mount & Blade: Warband

118

Final Fantasy XIV

233

Mount & Blade: Warband - Napoleonic Wars

900

League of Legends

1476

Dota 2

1595

Sincerely,

Blake Lee Andrews

StatusReleased
CategoryOther
Rating
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars
(11 total ratings)
AuthorBLA?

Comments

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

(+6)

Very good picks! You've inspired me to also not play some of these

(+2)

this is an excellent list. It physically hurt a little to see Brothers on here, but I've moved through the pain and I've grown from it

(+3)

good list ~ i remember one time i made a performance video making fun of top game lists and was having this studio visit with a gallery curator & we're watching the video and watching and he starts critiquing why i don't refer to any racing games and that he's put 500 hours into skyrim and what the heck do i know about games anyway, etc etc he said lol 

(+2)

I'd play most racing games over any of this stuff, at least give them a try. Skyrim would be on this list if I hadn't played it for an hour or so one time.

(+2)

i hope square enix retweets it and suggests you to play dq3 -__-