In the past 20 years we have grown accustomed to playing games that provide us with instant gratification. Whether that be the thrill of jumping into a Kill Confirmed game on Call of Duty or the enjoyment of a fast-paced and visually appealing mobile game.
However, in recent years there has been a resurgence of longer form games that test our patience and concentration.
If you’ve grown tired of quick-fire games designed to briefly spike your endorphins and want to play something more challenging, read on to find out which 5 games will truly test your patience, resolve and commitment.
Football Manager
Every football fan in the world has looked at the fortunes of their favourite team and thought that they could do a better job than the manager. The insanely addictive PC game Football Manager gives fans the chance to do just that.
The Football Manager engine does not only have one of the most detailed football databases on the planet but it also has super realistic AI.
If you somehow manage to stumble on a recipe for success in your first season, you can be sure that at the beginning of the next season the AI managers will have worked out the answer to your rampant 4-2-3-1 Gegenpress.
Your board expectations will change and your players will soon be knocking on your virtual door to ask for improved contracts or transfers to bigger clubs.
Success in this game is all about patience. To constantly keep your club ahead of the curve you’ll have to analyse your tactics with a fine toothcomb, manually scout your opponents and trawl through hundreds of South American youth teams to find the next Lionel Messi.
If you want a totally immersive football management experience, there really is nothing quite like Football Manager.
Football Manager 2021 has a whole host of cool features that will eat up your time
888 Poker
Just like the gaming industry in general, online gambling tends to be about instant gratification rather than the long haul.
Slot games, blackjack and roulette are all designed to keep players as excited as possible by delivering them quick and sharp boosts of gratification. One casino game that differs greatly from this mould is poker.
Games between friends and informal meet ups can go on for hours and hours, but the rewards make the outlay in time well worth it.
If you keep your nerve, hold your concentration and remain patient you can scoop serious prize money at the virtual poker table.
If you’re looking for a place to start out on your poker odyssey, 888 poker is a great place to start out with rooms and tables available for all skill levels.
Call of Duty: Warzone
Traditionally, fans of first-person shooters could hop on games like Call of Duty for half an hour to get their gaming fix. If you were good enough you could rack up dozens of kills in just three short games of Kill Confirmed or Team Deathmatch.
In March 2020 Call of Duty released their first ever large-scale Battle Royale game mode Warzone. Set in the fictional city of Verdansk, players drop into the map with 140+ other players and must battle it out to be last man/last squad standing.
Unlike classic first-person shooter games, Warzone doesn’t simply reward those with the best gun skill or movement. Instead, victory in Warzone comes down to long-term tactics, positioning and game sense.
Because of this it can take an awful long time for players to become proficient in the game mode, so if you want a long-term project, download Warzone onto your PC or console now.
Warzone is the perfect blend between fast-paced action and long-term tactical gameplay that will absorb you for hours on end
Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar Games have been one of the most revered development companies in gaming for decades and their latest release Red Dead Redemption 2, shows just why they are so highly regarded.
This prequel follows the travails of Arthur Morgan in 19th-century frontier America and is an absolute gaming delight.
If you want to rush straight through the action in the storyline you can, but such is the detail of the landscape and the missions that it will take you anywhere between 40 and 60 hours to complete.
If however, you want to make the most of the game and explore everything that the developers have put in place for you, it’ll take literally hundreds of hours to complete the game.
For a mindful and immersive gaming experience, nothing comes close to RDR2.
DayZ
Long before Fortnite came on the scene there was another game that was delighting fans with its huge open world, multiplayer map and that game was DayZ.
The hard core zombie survival game sees players roaming around a truly massive map and attempting to stay alive in an environment where a cut foot can prove to be fatal.
Graphically, DayZ doesn’t really stand up to its modern counterparts as it was released over 7 years ago.
However, it does still excel in true immersion and rewards the most patient of players who can come to terms with the harsh realities of a Zombie apocalypse and identify danger at every turn.
If you’re looking for a labour of love to pass the idle hours away, DayZ is the game for you.
In Summary
Mobile games and multi-billion dollar franchises have told us for the past decade that games should be about constant action and instant gratification. However, that is not necessarily true – there is still plenty of room for long-form games.
If you’re looking for a project game that you can absorb yourself in for the foreseeable future, you’ll love the 5 games mentioned above.
