10 Video Games You Play For HOURS Before Starting
2. Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy XIII is one of the most polarising entries into the mainline franchise, and with damn good reason.
While it's perhaps a tad hyperbolic to call FFXIII's overbaked "prologue" a "20-hour corridor," it's absolutely fair to say that it seemingly forgets that it's a Final Fantasy game until around the 20-hour mark. Compared to a 35-hour critical path, no less.
It isn't until the game's later chapters that players are allowed to free-roam in the world of Gran Pulse, and do other frivolities like pick their party leader and customise their party.
Up to that point, it's a shockingly linear affair in which the player's agency is limited far beyond what's expected from a game in this franchise, simply traipsing from one narrowly defined checkpoint to the next.
Given that nobody wants to be told they just need to wait 20 hours for a game to get good, it can make FFXIII an absolute non-starter for more casual fans.
And finally, if you haven't played the first story missions of Starfield yet, MAJOR SPOILERS will follow...