10 Great Video Games That Are WAY Too Long

If you're a casual gamer who doesn't want to spend endless hours on a game, you should cut out as many side missions as possible. Although you may miss out on a couple of cool collectibles, this mentality can shave off hours of needless playtime. However, there are certain titles that encourage players to take part in quests that aren't meant to be mandatory.

Which brings us to Dragon Age: Inquisition. In Mike Laidaw's fantasy sequel, you must use Power Points to unlock areas and story missions. 

Of course, accessing compulsory missions later in the game costs a pretty penny, pushing players to explore the world to obtain more Power. This system forces you into additional missions to advance the plot, defeating the entire concept of "optional content". 

Now, this wouldn't be too bad if there was a narrative payoff. Instead, these gratuitous excursions serve no real purpose except to farm resources or Power. These jaunts are lazily put together and repetitive, since they usually involve fetching items, gathering items, or killing a certain number of enemies, often with little character interaction or story depth.