I urge any video game naysayers to check out Stalker 2. Hell, if you have a high end PC it's worth a buy, especially considering the devs are Ukranian, i'm sure they could use the help.
For an open-world game with light RPG elements, it's not that long nor does it have those cancerous "grinding" mechanics. The world and its environment is brimming with SOUL instead of the typical plastic, pointless, uncaring environments with nothing interesting to see or do except filler. The game world feels like a REAL, lived in environment with a sense of purpose.
Looks like it only takes about 30 hours to beat the main story, or 60 for a full completionist run. You cannot possibly tell me anyone can't spare 5-10 hrs a week to play a game like this and beat it in a month or two. Get the hell out of here.
I truly believe games like Stalker, Dishonored, Deus Ex, Bioshock, etc are in fact art and their stories and world building rival some of the best films and books. The fantastic Russian novel "Roadside Picnic" from 1970s was turned into a film "Stalker" that same decade, then decades later the Stalker games were based off both of these. If someone tries to tell me it's as much of a waste of time to play this game as it is to read the book, you're an absolute clown. These games are art and if anyone disagrees with me, they're wrong.
Not necessarily an idiot.
Nor does video game addiction make you an idiot. Video game addiction (past a certain age) is simply pathetic.
It's pretty pathetic for any age, and it tires me that the word "gamer" is associated with toxic, cancerous PVP games like Call of Duty or LoL, or mind numbing "forever games" like Minecraft.
The best games the single player games with polish and soul, worldbuilding lore, interesting characters, beautiful aesthetics, with a fixed length of maybe 5-30 hrs or so. These games are basically impossible to get "addicted" to. But these are
never the types of games people associate with a "gamer" sadly, instead it's been associated with hyper autistic Minecraft or LoL gamers who sicken me.
