It’s a point of pride for the developer
The flashy sword-slashing action game34Everlasthas an eye-catching look and aneven more interesting conceit. According to developer Ogami, players will be able to “complete the game in as little as 10 minutes, so you may finish it before you go to bed.”
In other words,34Everlastis “super-concentrated action entertainment for the gamers of the past who are exhausted from work.” You’ve gotta see the trailer (viaGemtasu).
The game’s bullet points all lean into the time-is-precious hook:
34Everlastshould land in the top 50 in How Long To Beat’sshortest games list, which is full of oddballs likeThose Damn Nipples!,Where is Cat?, andDon’t Shit Your Pants.
In a landscape where many games don’t have a definitive end, and those that do can run fordozens upon dozens of hours, I find this less-is-more direction intriguing. It’s also a clever way for asolo developerto turn a potential “weakness” into a “strength.”
As an upcoming Steam release, I would be worried about players usingSteam’s two-hour refund windowin a way that’s less than generous, but if the experience is short, sweet, and genuine, I can see34Everlastcarving out a big-enough niche for itself.
Even if you aren’t convinced by the footage so far, it’s fun to think about other visually or conceptually high-impact games taking this concise gameplay approach. I don’t really don’t think there’s an “ideal game length” — it depends on the circumstances.
That said, I am generally more interested in playing something that feels too short, rather than too long, as I get older. Where are you at these days?
