Summary
- Not every iconic or legendary video game has an opening as bombastic as Final Fantasy 7.
- In act, many of these games have a slow opening, full of tons of exposition, hand-holding and linearity.
- Over on Reddit, gamers discussed the games that had the “worst” opening hours, including the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2, Twilight Princess and Assassin’s Creed 3.
For as legendary as the likes of Okami, Nier Automata and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain are, they have some obscenely long opening hours. We’re talking about hour-plus sections that are some combination of being super linear, lacking in gameplay or full of loads of exposition. As my colleague Rhiannon pointed out, Final Fantasy 8 is another notorious member of the opening slog.
If you made it through that initial slog, then you were almost assuredly treated to a life-changing experience. But if you didn’t, then we can’t blame you for dipping so early. Taking to Reddit, gamers discussed the games that had the “worst” opening hour. It’s a nostalgic and sometimes painful trip down memory lane of gaming’s most notorious slow starters.
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Please Don’t Quit So Soon
Right off the rip, players were quick to mention Red Dead Redemption 2, the 2018 prequel to the original Red Dead Redemption. That particular opening hour is full of exposition with very limited gameplay as its many systems and story are expanded upon. Oh, and it takes place almost entirely in snow, which makes things even slower.
“I’ve wanted to go back and restart it, but I just don’t want to play those first couple of hours again,” one user lamented. Another chimed in, adding, “I lost my save and didn’t play RDR2 for the longest time because I didn’t want to restart.”
Another popular pick among gamers was Assassin’s Creed 3. The American Revolution-based title pulls a bait-and-switch, where its opening hours are focused on a character that isn’t the protagonist. It was a novel idea, but ultimately led to wasted time before things really opened up.
“Assassin’s Creed 3’s first 6 hours were awful,” one user succinctly wrote.
Elsewhere, the likes of the original Kingdom Hearts, Forspoken and Death Stranding are all mentioned, alongside iconic games like Twilight Princess and Knights of the Old Republic 2. Personally, this writer is on board with many commenters in that Assassin’s Creed 3 was painful at times. The game was actually a Christmas gift for me, complete with the limited-edition steelbook, and let’s just say most of my winter break was spent being bored before the game really started.
