We might want to play a game forever, but that doesn’t mean we want it to last forever. Single-player FPS games tend to be on the shortish side, with some campaigns requiring as little as 5 hours, and even massive open-world shooters typically avoid main stories that eclipse 20 hours. However, a few of these releases incorporate so much optional content that completionists will feel like the ride never ends.
Personally, I don’t want my FPS games to take a lifetime to complete, and my favorite shooters are nearly all linear romps, like Titanfall 2, Bulletstorm, and Trepang2. Still, I get the appeal of a forever game, particularly ones that don’t rely on live-service drops and actually have a conclusion. If you want something that can keep you busy for a long time, these FPS titles should hit the mark.
No live-service games like Destiny or Payday 2. The focus is on single-player (or co-op) games that can be played almost entirely offline, and we will go with the “Complete” versions.
HowLongToBeat was used as a source for the average completionist times.
1
Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition – 205 Hours
Once You Enter The Commonwealth, You Never Leave
Features:
- Fallout 4 – 160 Hours (approx. 30 hours for the main story)
- “Far Harbor” – 15 Hours
- “Nuka-World” – 15 Hours
As far as I can tell, Fallout 4 is the longest single-player FPS game of all time, at least if we take into account the “Game of the Year” edition that comes with the expansions, workshops, and Automatron questline. Honestly, 205 hours sell Fallout 4 short by ignoring the Creation Club and PC modding scene, which add so much fan-made content that the options become practically limitless.
While you can play in third-person, Fallout 4 actually has decent first-person gunplay, making it a viable pick for a shooter and not just an action-RPG with guns. With no mandatory online, seasons, or dead servers, F4 is an absolute sprawling juggernaut that combines many systems and requirements that are just straight-up a grind, be it settlement approval, faction achievement, and collectible hunting.
2
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl – 131 Hours
The Zone Will Consume Your Life
Features:
Want to know the most incredible thing about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl‘s absurd length? It isn’t even complete yet. GSC plans to drop the “Cost of Hope” expansion in August, introducing two new regions (Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the Iron Forest) and a new storyline. The DLC drops alongside the 2.0 version, which seems set to overhaul the base experience.
Even if the future held nothing, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 would still be an incredible and mostly satisfying time-sink, especially since most people don’t really play the series for the main story. It’s all about surviving within The Zone’s ecosystem, scavenging, exploring, and hunting your way through humans and monsters alike.
3
Borderlands 2: Game of the Year Edition – 130 Hours
Pandora Might As Well Be Your Second Home
Features:
- Borderlands 2 – 60–100 Hours (approx. 30 hours for the main story)
- “Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty” – 10 Hours
- “Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage” – 8 Hours
- “Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt” – 8 Hours
- “Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep” – 10 Hours
Putting aside Tales from the Borderlands, Gearbox’s franchise loves its long FPS adventures, and Borderlands 2 ranks as the biggest by an insignificant margin. A single playthrough is already quite a commitment, but that barely scratches the surface of what the game has to offer. A core part of the Borderlands experience is testing out different characters and builds, with the complete version featuring 6 Vault Hunters.
The 100% achievement doesn’t require completing the campaign with each character, but you will need to play with all the hunters for a bit.
Besides the Handsome Jack storyline, Borderlands 2 comes packed with side quests, endgame raid bosses, collectibles, hunts, and puzzles, and that’s before we get into the four expansions. While they aren’t as extensive as something like “Phantom Liberty,” BL2‘s DLC still adds a respectable amount of hours, and they are fairly high quality (especially “Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep”).
4
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition – 128 Hours
Don’t Be Fooled By The Short Story
Features:
- Cyberpunk 2077 – 100 Hours (approx. 25 hours for the main story)
- “Phantom Liberty” – 30 Hours
Considering the sweeping changes brought on by version 2.0, Cyberpunk 2077 went through a substantial enough transformation to justify replaying everything from scratch. V’s journey doesn’t need to be ridiculously long if you don’t want it to be, with a rushed 20 hours being more than enough for the core story; however, doing so would mean missing out on Night City’s true brilliance. This is an open-world that demands to be absorbed rather than consumed, so take your time and let yourself become truly immersed in this stunning megacorp nightmare.
Achieving a 100% completion requires clearing out every single NCPD Scanner Hustle, Gig, Cyberpsycho, and Tarot Card mural, and that’s without going into the grind of maxing out your Cyberware or buying every vehicle. For the expansion, CD Projekt Red stuck to what worked with The Witcher 3, crafting a package that has more great content than standalone games.
5
Dying Light 2: Stay Human – 116 Hours
Run Away From Zombies Forever
Features:
- Dying Light 2: Stay Human – 102 Hours (approx. 25 hours for the main story)
- “Bloody Ties” – 14 Hours
Famously, or infamously, Techland stated Dying Light 2 would take 500 hours to 100% complete, a claim that naturally proved to be a slight exaggeration. In reality, a traditional 100% completionist run should only require about 1/5th of that length, which is still enough to make Stay Human one of the longest FPS games of all time.
At a glance, Dying Light 2‘s Villedor map seems fairly small compared to other open-world juggernauts like Far Cry 6, but what the city lacks in square miles, it makes up for in density and verticality. Along with overflowing with collectibles, the game’s progression system requires quite a bit of grinding for Inhibitors, and you cannot max out stamina and health in a single playthrough without reloading save files.
6
Devil Daggers – 87 Hours
A Different Type Of “Completionist” Run
Features:
- Devil Daggers – 87 Hours (technically, you can complete it in 8 minutes and 20 seconds)
Now, let’s get to something completely different. A movement-based arena shooter, Devil Daggers drops players onto an ever-shrinking platform and bombards them with skulls, challenging them to survive. On Steam, the FPS game has just one achievement that requires surviving for 500 seconds; therefore, you need to survive for less than 9 minutes to “complete” it.
You will need longer than that.
Rather than through content, Devil Daggers builds a skill wall so high that it might as well reach the heavens. Within a few hours, most people will likely be able to last for around 4 minutes, only for most of them to never reach the 5-minute mark. Rather than just reflexes, survival comes down to learning spawn routes and perfecting enemy management, all the while existing in a tiny space overflowing with run-ending threats. Devil Daggers proves an FPS game can last forever without relying on an open world.
7
Generation Zero – 85 Hours
Talk About A Game That Feels Like It Lasts Forever
Features:
- Generation Zero – 85 Hours (approx 20 hours for the main story)
Hey, nobody said the longest FPS games must be critical darlings.
Although I wouldn’t go as far as to describe it as a hidden gem, Generation Zero is slightly better than its reputation and worth a punt while on a deep discount, especially for survival fans who crave a challenge. The 1980s rural Sweden setting is unique for the open-world genre, its co-op implementation is fairly good, and the storyline doesn’t overstay its welcome. The last part goes against the rest of the game, though, as Generation Zero can be exhausting to complete as a solo player.
At its heart, this is a scavenger game, and players will be scouring each region for schematics, blueprints, and materials, along with other collectibles like audio logs. Generation Zero is specifically designed to be a slow-burn, stealth-focused shooter that expects players to take their time exploring the world, which means limited fast travel and a lot of walking from place to place.
To be fair, Generation Zero‘s Platinum Trophy requirements aren’t that bad and can be completed in about 40 hours, but that doesn’t require truly completing the game.
