What's the Greatest Video Game: Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age

This is an ongoing list where I attempt to do the following: Play, Complete, and Rank every video game in the known universe in order to finally answer the age old question "What is the greatest game of all time?" For previous entries find the links on the attached spreadsheet.

How did I do?

This is it! This is the big one.. I have a lot of thoughts going around in my head, so it is possible that this "review" is a long one. There are two things that I can almost certainly guarantee: 1) This review will swing wildly from likes and dislikes because I think it is only fair to treat the review the same way the game treated me. 2) I will get something wrong about the history of the series, because this is the first game I have played through and completed. Let's not waste time with a preamble, we are here to talk about the obsession of my life for what feels like a very long time.

"Dragon Quest 11 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition," is a JRPG-ass JRPG. There are turn based battles, a story of good versus evil, grinding for levels, and some questionably sexual content. I don't normally play Dragon Quest games, it's not because I have anything against them, but I always had put myself in the Final Fantasy camp and in my head those were two very distinct camps like Mario or Sonic. I dabbled in the first two games for the NES, but then I found FF4 and everything Dragon Quest was putting out afterward looked like a step back. When 11 came out, I had heard the buzz from Tim Rogers (back when he was at Kotaku) as well as Giant Bomb's own Jeff G. talking about how this was a great game. That piqued my interest enough to put it on my radar and I eventually picked it up on sale last Christmas. Truth be told, I actually didn't "spin" (the way I pick what game to play) this game. I had started it a long time ago, when I would sit in my kid's room while they started to go to sleep. I'd be up there around 30 minutes, enough time to run through an area or town and then I could play later after they went down. This continued off and on for the first 20 hours of the game, and it wasn't until I was about to spin to see what I should play next, that I realized I had a game started that I already had put some time in. I didn't love the first 20 hours, but I didn't think I had any more then 30 more before I was wrapping the game up. How wrong I was!

This game has a HUGE pacing problem. Now I'm not talking the generic "RPGs are long" pacing problem, that I enjoy. I am instead talking about a pacing problem that doesn't suck you into the game until you have put too much time in. There is nothing that propels the game forward for you from hour one to about hour forty. You exist as the hero, you know you are the hero and yet the big bad that you are presumably born to fight is not known yet. The first twenty hours of the game, you are aimless, you are only progressing forward because you (the player) know that is how the game moves on. I am led to believe that if the hero, at that point, decided to just settle down and have a family, the world would probably be fine. Towns are all in the midst of celebration or very very minor conflict, but there is nothing pushing you forward. I feel like I need to give examples as to why this is a big deal.

In Final Fantasy 7, you are constantly being pushed forward to save the world because Sephiroth, the meteor, or even Shinra is considered a big problem that you need to stop. You see destruction along the way, you see people living ruined lives. There is very much a belief that you can fix the issue and everyone can be happy. Your drive throughout that game is always in your face, you never forget what the plot is. In FFX, the same can be said about Sin, who is wrecking towns and if you don't move fast could take a lot of people's life. In FF6 there is Kefka, in "Chrono Trigger" you have Lavos, hell, in "Ni No Kuni" you have the desire to save your mother and Shadar. Yet here we are in DQ11 and 20 hours in, we know about one king that thinks our hero mark is really the bad guy mark and that's it. It is a huge detriment to the game. I hate when I would hear anyone use the line "It gets good after X hours," because unless that X stand for 3 or less, then it probably isn't worth investing the time in. A week ago I was tempted to write that very same line but the X was going to be 40! Do you know how crazy that sounds? I was going to say that a game gets good after 40 freaking hours. "Oh sure everyone, just playing like 2-3 full length other games worth of rather mediocre content, but then shit gets good."

Lets talk about that. I won't lie, I think from hour 40 to 70 is good content. How much is that Stockholm Syndrome, and how much is quality content. I don't think I can tell anymore. For those that don't care about spoilers Hour 40 is when you lose your battle against Mordegon and evil triumphs. You are now in the back half of the game, and you have to contend with a changed world where evil is all around you. It has been done before in other RPGs, most notably in FF6 with the World of Ruin. In this game Mordegon (not Kefka) defeats the hero and rules as king while you re-gather the strength and allies to take him on again. I genuinely enjoyed myself during this time, because finally the plot had materialized and I knew what I was doing moment to moment. Even if I would get lost in a side quest or extra activity, I always knew what the thrust was. I just wish I could say the same for the beginning of the game.

Of course there is a reason I included the phrase "a week ago," because I don't feel that way anymore. Do I still think hours 40-70 are good? Yes, yes I do. That was before I learned that there is a post game from hours 70-90 that is for the sake of this review required. Why is it required? Easy, because when you beat the regular content of the game your ending is the equivalent of when you beat an NES game and you read the words "Congrats you Win! Now do it again." This isn't a spoiler, but your team basically says "we did it, I think its time we all go home," and then credits roll while you drop off your team members one by one at the locations where you picked them up. That's it!? After 70 hours I get a pat on the back that says good job? So, then you learn (or you already knew) that in order to get the real ending you have to play even more of the game where they ramp up the difficulty and ask you to submit another 20 hours or more to the game in order to see the true ending.

Is the true ending worth it? Fuck no! After pouring in 93 hours, I expected to put my control down, watch an epic ending and cry with all the revelations that were going happen. While it is certainly better then the first ending, it didn't give me the satisfaction that I craved. The tree of life basically saying that evil won't be destroyed for long because without darkness, there is no light, is shit I heard during the game well before the ending. Maybe because I didn't play all the previous Dragon Quests, I missed what made this one special. If there was something there besides a little montage of the previous games being played, then it was either super subtle or way over my head. Both are possible.

Okay.. Okay.. you get it! The pacing is bad, but there is more to the game then pacing. Yes, there are some good things to. I don't know if these are new to the series, but I enjoyed them very much. When your character levels up, they get skill points that can be used on a skill tree. While at first I was very lukewarm on the skill tree (because you barely get any points for the first few levels) eventually I came to appreciate it. Every character has a unique skill tree and unless you are going to max out your characters level, then you have to pick a specialization for that character. A very generic example is that each character can usually use multiple different weapons, but some of the buffs you use your hard earned skillpoints on are specializations or abilities that only apply to one weapons set. Do I want my hero to use Greatswords or a sword and shield? If I spec in just one direction instead of trying to play the middle, then I can get the more powerful moves for that weapon, and deal extra damage with it. For weapons its obvious, but some characters there were whole playstyle differences. Rab who I used as a healer, could have been upgraded to use claws instead of wands and be more of a physical damage dealer with spells, instead of a spellcaster with minor physical attacks. I liked the little bit of freedom I got to choose for each character. In something like Bravely Default or FF5, sometimes I get a little too much freedom, when every character can do everything, but I liked that in this game I could pick between 1-3 options and either go hard on just 1 or make someone a mix of 2 classes.

I am not normally someone who likes crafting in video games, but the forge in DQ11 I think is pretty fun. Throughout the game you will find recipe books and little items that you can pick up that will allow you to craft all sorts of items from weapons and armor to accessories. However, simply putting the ingredients together is only part of the crafting aspect, as you also have to play a minigame where you are actually creating the item. Your goal is to basically hit parts of the item enough so that they stop within the desired range, but you only have so much energy to do so. The better you are at this game you can get a + 1-3 on the item which might only mean small stat differences, but it does mean that you might be able to skip a weapon shop here or there, because you crafted something better then the default items. In addition to normal crafting, every time you successfully create an item, you earn a pearl which can be used to upgrade an item you currently have in an attempt to get it up to +3 as well. You still have to play the same mini-game, but now you might not have to abandon or sell an item because you can always re-work it to make it more powerful. I easily used the forge way more than I did buying weapons or armor in shops.

Its surface level, but the game absolutely looks fantastic. Its bright and colorful, there is detail throughout the world. Each map design is fairly unique and while monsters and characters will repeat their looks, I never felt that way when going through a dungeon or overworld strip of land. Each area felt unique to me.

Speaking of characters, this game really has some boring ones. I remember when this game came out, everyone was talking about Sylvando. I remember the chatter was, how he was the best character in the game (not ability wise, but personality), and I think that is only because every character is so flat and their personalities are so generic for the rest of the cast. Sylvando stands out because he is the only one that isn't just one note. Sure, everyone has their one side quest or main quest where they see the world a little more different, or you learn their backstory, but they don't really change or grow during the story. Rab is the old grandfather, Jade is the badass Martial Artist, Veronica is the hothead. After spending so much time with these characters, I would hope that they would have grown over the course of the game, but they really don't change. I never felt a need to put certain party members in for story beats, I never really knew what they were thinking at any one moment, besides we should save the world. In the Definitive edition, most characters get their own chapter, where they are the star of the show, and this is where Sylvando shines, but the other character's chapters don't do them the same justice Sylvando's does for him personally.

On a tangent can we also talk about some weird sexualization here. First, I know that this is a Japanese centric series, and I know that they still think its pretty cool when underage looking girls are put in revealing clothing, and while I am glad that there isn't any tentacle stuff in this one, it still has some odd choices. For instance, Jade is clearly supposed to be the sexy character. Her breasts are vacuum sealed into her top so they are always present and accounted for, and her costumes that you unlock are all set on showing off how sexy she is. She gets a bunny costume, a bathing suit, a sexy princess dress (that no Disney princess would wear), a schoolgirl uniform, and while all of this is fine (I guess), she is the character that is supposed to be as close to one of your relatives as possible. If I am the Hero, then I shouldn't want to see basically my sister-in-law dressed like that. Also, she is supposed to be a martial artist, where are clothes that would fit that description? Also Puff-Puff girls.. what are we doing here. I know this is a legacy thing that has worked its way through the series, but it seems so prevalent in this game for no reason. There is a puff-puff girl in every town that you can go to, there is even one in a dungeon. Getting a puff-puff, does not do anything in the game. You don't get your health or magic refilled, you don't get a boost to your next attack, nothing happens. Sure you can get a trophy by finding all the ladies, but to what end? It's funny (I guess) to go through it once, and tell your friends that aren't in the loop what is really happening, but why put it in every town? Is someone playing the game and really that horny that the mere thought of doing it in the game is enough for them. The screen goes black anyway.

Last topic, I promise, and its side quests. A majority of the side quests in this game are pretty disappointing. While these are all pretty much fetch quests or kill this monster quest, the rewards never seem to be worth it. I can count on one hand, how many times I completed a side quest and then equipped the weapon or armor I received right afterwards. In addition, this game has a lot of side quests that are very specific to the direction in which you spec'd your characters. You will be tasked with fighting a baddie, but in order to beat the task you have to finish them with a special move. Usually this move will require you to have a certain skill unlocked for two or more characters, which means that you either need to get lucky with how you currently are spec'd, wait until you gain those skills (almost certainly making that reward even more trivial), or constantly re-allocate your points at every save point just to win a side quest. I'm skipping over the fact that the side quests "story" aspect is also always lacking, none of these side quests will challenge the Witcher 3, but there are some good side quests out there. Mainly there is a location that opens up where you can partake in side quests that have your team travelling back in time to the land of 2D dragon quest, to locations that are probably familiar to series fans. Despite having no nostalgia for these games, I enjoyed going back in time to take on a self contained side quest, that was usually just "go kill monster A in Area B." I never finished all of the side quests, or even all of these flashback ones, so I don't know if there is a super cool reveal for doing them all, but I am going to go out on a limb and say, there isn't.

Does it sound like I am down on this game? Yeah I can certainly see that. I think my issue with this game, is that when I was in, I was really in, but it doesn't do enough to keep me in that space. I dropped everything to try and finish this game. I went through nearly all my backlog of write-ups because I haven't been playing anything else besides DQ11, trying desperately to finish it by year end. I didn't hate my whole time with it. Sure, I got to a point where I just had to mainline the game in order to finish it, because I couldn't put another 10 + hours in mopping up side quests just to say I did it all. I was also prepared to say that some of the early pain was worth it, because I felt the ending of the original content was solid, but then it kept going and going and going. It took a game where you don't really need to grind, and made a post game where you certainly need to in order to do basically anything in the Post game. All of it for an ending that can't hold a candle to the ending to Super Dodgeball on NES (I'm kidding, but only slightly). I wanted this game to convert me to the DQ series, I had an open mind and I was watching some Ebay auctions for older titles, but I don't think this one convinces me.

I love JRPGs. They are the series that I grew up with, and easily the genre I have the most games in. I also love turn-based battles, I was one of those people who lamented the change that FF12 made to ditch it. This is a game that for nostalgia reasons, I should have loved more then I did. Perhaps I was expecting a more modern story telling approach, to go with its look, but truly I was the wrong one.

Is this the greatest game of all time?: No

Where does it rank: This isn't a bad game. I need to stress that. It plays well, it looks fantastic, it is everything you could remember about a JRPG made in the early 90s, except for the fact that it wasn't made in the 90s. It's story and characters hold it back the most, and for me personally, that is the most important part of a JRPG. I need to know that investing 40 + hours into a game is worth it, in terms of a story payoff or character payoff, and this game just doesn't deliver. I know I will get shit for this, but I have this at the 58thgreatest game of all time out of 95. It sits above "Simpsons Road Rage" (59th) and below "EQQO" (57th). Could I potentially say that you will love this game as long as just the mechanics of a JRPG is all that you care about, and enough driving factor until you get to the good story bit, 40 hours in? I could, but I think that the pacing is so poor that I can't have anyone sit through a 93 hour game and enjoy about 20-30 hours somewhere in the middle of the game.

Up Next

1. Shovel Knight (Switch)

2. Golf Story (Switch)

3. Snipper Clips (Switch)

4. Top Spin (Xbox)

Anyone looking for it: here is the link to the list and more if you are interested in following along with me (this is not a self promotion). Here. I added links on the spreadsheet for quick navigation. Now if you missed a blog of a game you want to read about, you can get to it quickly, rather than having to scroll through my previous blogs wondering when it came up.

Thanks for Listening.

I enjoyed this a lot, and power to you for getting through 93 hours of a game (no small feat). I found myself in agreement with pretty much everything you've said. There is a lot about the game that I liked...the voice acting was corny and goofy in a way I mostly enjoyed and it was colorful and well designed (for a "classic" JRPG that is), and above all else it wasn't annoyingly difficult during my time with it. Having said all of that, I still haven't finished it. Even when I got to the point that you justifiably call the best point of the game (after the midway battle), I still couldn't keep with it because my strength by that point was so completely sapped from just the COUNTLESS meandering story points up until then. I recognized that "big things" had happened, and I liked that it did a lot of shake up and appeared to gain a ton of focus, but to me the damage was already done and I just could not bring myself to engage with that world or its systems any longer.

Nice review. The line "her breasts are vacuum sealed into her top so they are always present and accounted for" gave me a good chuckle. I played the demo for this game but I wasn't a fan of the art style and I hated the music, so I stopped. Still, many others like it so I'm sure it has a lot of things going for it. Cheers.

@sethmode: thanks for the read.. I don't blame you for stopping. If I wasn't for this arbitrary limit on myself where I have to finish games I start, I wouldn't have even made it that far. It's just a shame, because if they tightened this game up it could have been great, but to spend the first 20+ hours with no direction make it hard to recommend except for the die-hardest of fans.

@wollywoo: thanks for the read as always. Yeah I'm not the biggest fan of the character designs, but at this point they are locked into it forever. For the world design, color palette, and enemies I thought it worked well with the game. It's good of you to use the demo as a test, so you don't have to realize it 20 hours into a 100 hour game. The game certainly has its fans, but I would be curious how much of those are legacy fans and how much are converts because of this game.

Dragon Quest is definitely an interesting type of game.

The way I would describe it in the JRPG space to a newcomer is that, while Final Fantasy games are movies with (often) very clear antagonists and each event having something to do with stopping that antagonist, Dragon Quest is a monster-of-the-week TV series, where you are meant to deal with a small subset of problems then move on to the next. You then repeat this formula until your party is strong enough to get at the root cause of most of these problems, which is usually some rather nebulous central antagonist.

Only Dragon Quest VIII has a "central antagonist" relative to the rest of the games in the franchise, and even that game's structure is still meted out in this monster-of-the-week, episodic format.

For some people, it's a very relaxing sort of experience. You don't feel rushed, you don't feel pressured, you're just enjoying your time adventuring and accomplishing tasks at your own pace. For those who prefer binging their games, they come off as slow. Personally, I can't sit for long periods of times and give games my undivided attention, which is why I prefer games like Dragon Quest to Final Fantasy. If you were to play Dragon Quest for 5 hours straight, I could totally understand why a person would think it has bad pacing. These games are meant to be played here and there, now and then. That's why the church asks you explicitly if you're done adventuring for the day when you save.

I think both are valid takes on the genre that cater to different tastes.

@mamba219: Thank you for your comment. As a newcomer to the series this might have been the insight I needed to enjoy the game more. The monster of the week idea sounds interesting, but I don't remember a lot of the monsters having interesting plot points that would make me intrigued enough to stop them, it's usually just the mayor of the town saying "hey a dragon is terrorizing the town." It's clearly different strokes for different folks, but yeah for me without having a story to help pull me through, just the act of leveling up to fight a boss that hasn't been revealed yet makes the game feel long.

I also can't imagine in this climate (with all the games being released) how you could slowly drip feed this game. Even if you stopped before the post game. You would have to play around 60-70 hours, and if the game is meant to be played in half hour or hour sittings, that means this game would be a forever game for a lot of people.

By "monster-of-the-week" I didn't really mean literal monsters, I meant more in terms of structure. Usually Dragon Quest games have you visit a town and solve its weird, random issues before moving on to another town and doing the same. They don't feel particularly connected, is what I meant.

Recall, or perhaps imagine yourself as, the true target demographic: people living in Japan. They have stressful work lives that keeps them out at all hours. Most of the time they have to spend playing games is done in short, incremental play sessions on commutes or in the evenings. For this audience, the Dragon Quest formula makes perfect sense. The relaxing, cheerful, and upbeat music is calming and enveloping. The monster designs pop and are clear. The game is designed in such a way as to drag on for many play sessions, but each play session feels important because you are accomplishing small tasks.

That's because many people who play Dragon Quest aren't worried about the "climate" you discuss. They don't really care about all the games being released. They just want their one piece of comfort food to get them through the tedium of the day. To come home to something relaxing and enjoyable that isn't too taxing.

The best-selling games in the franchise in Japan are Dragon Quest III, Dragon Quest VII, and Dragon Quest IX. Just going to tell you now: Dragon Quest VII has far, far less direction than XI does. It is also probably the longest JRPG ever made. You think the 90 hours of Dragon Quest XI are a lot, you haven't seen anything - Dragon Quest VII is easily 150 hours at a normal pace. Yet it sold unbelievably well. IX is similar, and emphasizes multiplayer. Multiplayer! In an RPG! It's hard for many of us who view games as a mainstay of our lives to fathom why a game like this could have such wide appeal, but there it is. They are marathons, not sprints. It sounds like your initial experience with this game was actually pretty much as the developers intended.

@mamba219: thanks for the follow up.. then this tells me that the series is just not for me. I was hoping I would be enamored with the newest version and then it would make me want to experience the back catalogue, but if the games are even more directionless.. then I'll just depart before I get too settled.

I suppose if this is the only game series you play (the equivalent to call of duty or madden bros.. here in the states) then I suppose having a 90 or 150 hour game is appealing.

@imunbeatable80 said:

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I have been playing Dragon Quest XI on and off for the past year and this is how I've been enjoying it. I play for a few hours, knock out a section and then come back when I want to progress more. It is definitely one of the more relaxing JRPG's I've played. I appreciate the recap when you first load your game.

@selmy0806: thanks for the read and comment.. clearly that is the way to go as evident by these comments, but I know that if I approached it that way, I would never finish or get to the late game, because the beginning didn't hook me enough to keep going back to it.

So in order for me to experience the game in full, I had to play it more often. Whether or not I enjoyed the game less because I played it that way, I'll never know.

It's still a solidly made game, and can be really fun in spots. I just wish the pacing and story were better to keep me hooked.

mamaba points on DQ are very on point especially in regards to everything after DQVII. VI is a weird transitional game that sort of has these tendencies but it is the one I would describe as the most FF like of the game. The game hinges itself on like an interesting metaphysical concept with multiple worlds and a central mystery.

I wouldn't let your XI experience dissuade you from trying out the earlier entries in the series up until 5 they are really innovating and building the JRPG genre in gameplay and storytelling techniques. They are interesting if you find any value in just seeing the origins of things and they all hold up remarkably well. You've played XI just now they've pretty much always had the same level of polish from a playing perspective. The characters are still simple and they concept go high concept on the plot but I would argue that structure DQ4, for example, uses to tell it's story will still impress a modern player and asking why every game hasn't ripped off DQIV. Which is also understandable given 1-4 are NES games.

Most importantly they are way shorter games prior VI. 30-40 hours tops each game. DQ 1 is like 10 hours. You could do that in one play session. It's a fun, great game that is still very playable. Definitely holds up better than FF1 for example. Though be warned it is a game about the grind but it is also about highlighting how the grind can be fun of RPGs. The excitement you feel when you save up for that expensive sword or acquire your next spell never quite hits the same heights ever again in the genre. Watching the numbers go up truly at it's finest and also it's only 10 hours long.

DQ 1-5 I would argue can easily stand up to SNES FF entries.

@imunbeatable80: No problem, thank you for sharing your thoughts. It is always interesting to see how people approach games differently. I totally understand, I think sometimes games can do a better job in communicating their intended pace.

@ryuku_ryosake: thanks for the read and comment. I'm sure I will still give the earlier versions a play.. I did see a physical cart with the first 3 games that I might pickup to have them.

In terms of the grind, I'm not opposed to it at all. Up to FF6 I feel a lot of the final fantasy games really embraced the grind. Probably not as much as FF1 did, but it's something I've lived with before.

@selmy0806: I think the signs were there (a recap after every load, the towns plots not really tying into the main one) I was just oblivious to them.. because outside an episodic game I haven't played or heard of a game that wants you not to constantly be playing it.

Got this on Gamepass after I figured I might be up for another "well-made JRPG that knows exactly what it is in a storied series" after Ys IX...

Unfortunately I stopped off at Guardians of the Galaxy on the way, and MAN! The way that game handles the characters and plots and juggles the inter-personal relationships within the party SO WELL that this once again feels less like an intentional throwback (like Zeboyd's wonderful output) and more just resting on laurels of past accomplishments.

I'm only an hour or so in, and I'll probably pick it up again, but it'll probably be during another dryspell. I just clicked into both Firepro Wrestling and Fights in Tight Spaces, and talk about stuff that you only need about an hour to get into, as opposed to 40.

@undeadpool: thanks for the read and comment. I'm excited to get into fights in tight spaces, and after all the positive talk of guardians, I'll have to pick it up at the next sale.

Getting it for $38 definitely made the straightforward/little replay sting a lot less. Honestly, just getting a 12-15 hour narrative/character-driven experience with a little bit of RPG XP growth was <chef's kiss>

And apparently while you can't affect the actual endings, your choices in the middle of the game can branch in some entertaining ways, and there's enough meat left on the bone that I'll probably blow through a NG+ playthrough, if that tells you anything.

I thought I was resistant to slow burns (I have beaten every Yakuza game), but I honestly couldn't get past the DQ11 demo before growing bored with the story. After you escape from the dungeons (and the bad guys are threatening your village) and you STILL decide to fart around in the city I gave up on it. Does the pacing pick up somewhat or is the story-telling as glacial through the whole game? EDIT: After reading the OP, apparently not... I have beaten DQ5 (great game) and DQ8 (decent game) but I don't think I have the patience for this.

It definitely is an oddity for a game not to want to consume your time or be your main game, at least with western games. With Japanese games, this seems to be more regular, or certain series are like this. I think this might be why there are still people that have trouble getting into certain Japanese games or more engrossing jrpgs in general. I think a lot of rpgs and jrpgs want you to take your time and enjoy the ride.

@theonewhoplays: honestly I think it depends on the slow burn game. I love the yakuza series and a lot of rpgs are slow burns. I did find DQ11 to be a bit egregious in how long they want you to play before you get to a semblance of a main plot. Others in the comments are saying that is intentional as the game is supposed to be played in micro doses, but it just didn't work for me.

@selmy0806: I don't know if I agree completely with this sentiment. While I am no expert in all things Japanese or RPG, I feel like I have played my fair share and I don't think all of them are meant to be played in small micro doses that DQ11 is apparently supposed to be played in.

You could say that the DQ series specifically is meant to be played this way, and I'll believe you because I haven't played others from the series, but other games I have played either JRPG or otherwise wants to get your attention and keep it.

@imunbeatable80: in regards to jrpgs consuming time compared with western games i was more leaning into many western games wanting to be your go to game for a long time or be a service game.

I think jrpgs generally do want to get your attention and keep it, but they don't seem as worried if you are checking in regularly or playing them in small bursts or marathoning them.

@selmy0806: very true.. the trend now is for every game to be a forever game.