The Best Games Worth Replaying Time and Time Again

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

• Release Date — July 16, 2003
• Publisher — LucasArts
• Developer — BioWare
• Genre — RPG
• How Long to Beat — 30 hours (Main Story), 50 hours + (Completionist)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox

Both a strong contender for the best Star Wars game and a legitimate entry into a list of the best RPGs of all time, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a title that ages like a fine wine. BioWare would end up taking all of its experience crafting the excellent Baldur’s Gate games (both of which are also worth revisiting again and again) and apply that knowledge to a role-playing game set in the distant past of the Star Wars universe, free from any of the baggage of the Skywalker saga that serves as the narrative foundation for the films. As a result, each playthrough of KOTOR ends up being something new, offering players multiple moral pathways to take as they ultimately decide whether to align with the Light Side or the Dark Side as the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy.

Final Fantasy VII

• Release Date — January 31, 1997
• Publisher — Square
• Developer — Square
• Genre — JRPG
• How Long to Beat — 35-40 hours (Main Story), 100 hours + (Completionist)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

Despite not featuring any branching pathways or ending-changing decisions, Final Fantasy VII is undoubtedly one of the most replayable RPGs in history. That replayability purely boils down to its near-perfect RPG systems and mechanics, which take many of the highlights from Final Fantasy VI and streamline them for even more freedom and flexibility with how players build out their ideal adventuring party. The Materia system is one of the best and most robust magic systems in any Final Fantasy game, and getting to experiment and tinker with combinations across party members results in some absolutely game-breaking load-outs that never stop being fun. Along with its supremely satisfying mechanics, though, FFVII features one of the most iconic casts and narratives in the series, and it’s even more poignant today than it was nearly 30 years ago.

Super Metroid

• Release Date — April 18, 1994
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Developer — Nintendo R&D 1, Intelligent Systems
• Genre — Action Platformer/Metroidvania
• How Long to Beat — 7 hours (Main Story), 9 hours (Completionist)
• Platforms — SNES, Nintendo Switch

It feels a little strange to call Super Metroid a “Metroidvania” given that it’s arguably the genre’s progenitor (more than the original Metroid on NES), but its brilliance and foundational approach to action platforming still ring true as the pinnacle of the subgenre it helped create more than 30 years ago. Super Metroid is also a perfectly paced game with nary an ounce of fat on it, swiftly guiding players through one of the most intuitive worlds to explore and continually rewarding them with drip-fed upgrades that result in the game having one of the most satisfying power curves. Combined with its near-perfect gameplay is a timeless presentation that incorporates some stunning environment and enemy design, a blissful soundtrack, and an atmosphere dripping with mystery, tension, and isolation. A timeless classic from the SNES library.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

• Release Date — April 13, 1992
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Developer — Nintendo EAD
• Genre — Action Adventure
• How Long to Beat — 10-15 hours (Main Story), 20 hours + (Completionist)
• Platforms — Game Boy Advance, SNES, Nintendo Switch

Speaking of timeless classics from the SNES library, it’s impossible to talk about games worth replaying over and over again and not include The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Long considered the pinnacle of the series’ 2D era, A Link to the Past includes everything that makes the Zelda series special, and its gameplay also serves as the blueprint for the franchise’s transition into 3D with Ocarina of Time. Players have not one overworld map to explore but two, each of which is absolutely brimming with secrets to uncover, items to acquire, and adventure to be had. Fittingly, LttP‘s dungeons are some of the most ingeniously designed levels in the Zelda series, and they never stop being fun to explore whether it’s your first or hundredth time in its version of Hyrule.

Mass Effect

• Release Date — November 20, 2007
• Publisher — Microsoft Game Studios
• Developer — BioWare
• Genre — RPG
• How Long to Beat — 20 hours (Main Story), 60 hours + (Completionist)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic before it, Mass Effect is yet another home run from BioWare, delivering on the promise of an epic sci-fi space opera across its three installments. Though you could include the entire trilogy on a list of the most replayable games, the first entry is perhaps the one that warrants the most repeat plays thanks to its somewhat shorter length and the variety of important decisions that players must make throughout its runtime. Thanks to the Mass Effect series’ connected narrative, every decision Shepard makes in the first game ends up reverberating throughout the subsequent two entries, meaning replaying the first game is the only way to see different outcomes and form different relationships with the many excellent heroes that join the Spectre in his fight against the Reapers.

Super Mario World

• Release Date — August 23, 1991
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Developer — Nintendo EAD
• Genre — Platformer
• How Long to Beat — 5 hours (Main Story), 10 hours (Completionist)
• Platforms — Game Boy Advance, SNES, Nintendo Switch

For anyone who grew up playing games on the Super Nintendo, it’s impossible to talk about games worth replaying without mentioning Super Mario World, perhaps the greatest system pack-in throughout the history of the medium. When we booted up our SNES for the first time on Christmas morning in 1991, the first game we played was, of course, Super Mario World. Even being relatively fresh from having played dozens of hours of Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World felt like a quantum leap forward, a true glimpse into the power and potential of the Super Nintendo. Nearly 35 years later, there’s still not been a 2D platformer to outdo its perfect mechanics, sense of speed, precision, and pure fun factor. There’s a reason the true 2D Mario games stopped after Super Mario World, and that series peak is worth revisiting time and again.

Dark Souls

• Release Date — September 22, 2001
• Publisher — Bandai Namco
• Developer — FromSoftware
• Genre — Action RPG
• How Long to Beat — 25-40 hours (Main Story), 110 hours + (Completionist)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Every so often, a game comes around that completely rewrites the direction of a particular genre thanks to how innovative it is, and in the 2010s that game was Dark Souls. What makes Dark Souls infinitely replayable isn’t its story or its brisk pacing. Instead, what makes Dark Souls a game worth replaying over and over again is its brilliance when it comes to theorycrafting and builds, giving players an almost endless supply of ways to experience and adventure through its world without one ever feeling quite like another. Depending on the build that players plan for and execute, one playthrough of Dark Souls can feel completely different from the next, and that’s to say nothing of all the optional content players can either engage with or skip right past depending on their aims for a particular run.

Civilization VI

• Release Date — October 21, 2016
• Publisher — 2K
• Developer — Firaxis Games
• Genre — Strategy
• How Long to Beat — 25 hours (Main Story), 375 hours + (Completionist)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

Sid Meier’s Civilization series really got a shot in the arm with Civ VI, which is one of the longest-standing entries in the franchise before the arrival of a new game. Originally released in 2016, millions of Civ fans are still playing the game almost a decade later, which is a testament to how infinitely replayable the title is. While a single playthrough of Civilization can take many hours, the game does offer some flexibility in the speed of how matches unfold, allowing players to take either a more granular approach and spread out their victory over multiple play sessions or try to dominate civilization in just a few short hours. As the best games do, Civilization continually incentivizes and invites players to stick around for “just one more” attempt, potentially turning a few hours of playtime into hundreds before we ever notice.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

• Release Date — March 20, 1997
• Publisher — Konami
• Developer — Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo
• Genre — Action Platformer/Metroidvania, Action RPG
• How Long to Beat — 8 hours (Main Story), 15 hours (Completionist)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PlayStation, PS4, PSP, Sega Saturn, Xbox 360

On the other half of Super Metroid‘s coin is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Together, these two titles are responsible for the Metroidvania portmanteau, and they are both games whose brisk pacing and perfectly balanced difficulty warrant repeat visits. While Super Metroid leans more into exploration and environmental puzzles, SotN is all about its combat and RPG mechanics. As the first game in the series to feature the talents of Koji Igarashi, Symphony is technically the first “Igavania”, and it establishes all the hallmarks of that particular blend of Metroidvania. Between its RPG-style progression and dozens of items and equipment, Symphony gives players a lot of flexibility in how they approach exploring Dracula’s castle, and it’s an absolute blast each and every time.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

• Release Date — April 28, 2017
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Developer — Nintendo EAD
• Genre — Driving/Racing
• How Long to Beat — 6 hours (Main Story), 55 hours + (Completionist)
• Platforms — Nintendo Switch

Like Civilization VI, players can spend just a handful of hours unlocking all the content in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but that is in no way indicative of the total replay value the game houses. Across its single and multiplayer modes, players can potentially squeeze hundreds of hours from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which is arguably the best game in the Mario Kart series by a country mile thanks to the staggering amount of content it includes. But more than its “bang for your buck” approach to its roster and tracklist, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a must-have for Switch owners that continues to stand as the best racing game on the console. It’s one of the few titles, too, that players can put down for a year and then pick back up with absolutely zero learning curve, speaking to the intuitive nature of Nintendo’s flagship franchises.

Resident Evil 2

• Release Date — January 25, 2019
• Publisher — Capcom
• Developer — Capcom
• Genre — Survival Horror
• How Long to Beat — 8-10 hours (Main Story), 35 hours + (Completionist)
• Platforms — iOS, PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Outside of being worth revisiting at least once a year as one of the best modern survival horror games, Resident Evil 2 is worth replaying over and over again just to see all four of the campaigns the title includes. Like the original, players have an A and B Scenario to complete for both of the game’s playable protagonists, Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy, and each one switches up enemy and item placements to make things feel fresh and lead players into a false sense of security. As an added bonus, multiple playthroughs lead to players getting more familiar and comfortable with Resident Evil 2‘s gameplay, which will ultimately lead to unlocking some of the game’s completely broken (and incredibly fun) infinite ammo bonus weapons. Resident Evil 2 is an example of how to approach a remake of a classic game.

Tetris

• Release Date — January 29, 1988
• Publisher — Various
• Developer — Alexey Pajitnov
• Genre — Puzzle
• How Long to Beat — N/A
• Platforms — All

Of course, Tetris is going to be on a list of the most replayable games. Alexey Pajitnov’s brilliant puzzle game is perhaps one of the most important video games ever made, as evidenced by the fact it’s been ported to just about every conceivable platform in history across hundreds of different releases. The genius of Tetris comes down to how easy it is to pick up and play. Falling block puzzlers are, by nature, fairly intuitive, and Tetris‘ limited set of Tetrominos makes it the poster child for games that are easy to pick up and play, but difficult to master. But while the difference between casual and pro Tetris players is miles wide, their enjoyment of the game isn’t. Tetris is a game that remains fun not because of a player’s skill level, but in spite of it.

Hades

• Release Date — September 17, 2020
• Publisher — Supergiant Games
• Developer — Supergiant Games
• Genre — Action Roguelike
• How Long to Beat — 25 hours (Main Story), 95 hours + (Completionist)
• Platforms — iOS, PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

There are no less than 5 action roguelikes that could go on a list of the most replayable games. In fact, roguelikes are replayable by their nature, which is what makes it hard to choose just one to go on a list of games worth replaying. But few games, roguelike or otherwise, are as rewarding to play over and over as Hades. Most roguelikes nail the gameplay loops that make them addictive, but few titles in the genre deliver a consistently surprising narrative to go along with that gameplay. Its excellent rendition of Greek mythology and its understanding of how to craft a compelling narrative are what set Hades apart from other action roguelikes, and each attempt to escape the underworld is different from the last thanks to an impressive pool of worthwhile upgrades and meaningful meta progression.

Elden Ring

• Release Date — February 25, 2022
• Publisher — Bandai Namco
• Developer — FromSoftware
• Genre — Action RPG
• How Long to Beat — 60 hours (Main Story), 135 hours + (Completionist)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

For the most part, Elden Ring is replayable for many of the same reasons that Dark Souls is. But what ultimately sets Elden Ring apart into a league of its own is its open world sandbox, The Lands Between. Few open worlds, if any, match the density and scale of The Lands Between. It follows, then, that few open worlds are as rewarding to explore as Elden Ring‘s. Combined with the staggering amount of systems at play in Elden Ring‘s combat (Ashes of War, Summon Tears, hundreds of potential builds based around specific weapons, etc.), The Lands Between helps make Elden Ring an infinitely replayable experience where the only constraint on gameplay variety is your own imagination. Together with the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, it’s one of gaming’s peak experiences.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

• Release Date — November 11, 2011
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Developer — Bethesda Game Studios
• Genre — RPG
• How Long to Beat — 34.5 hours (Main Story), 235 hours + (Completionist)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

It may be hard to believe, but we are approaching 15 years since the release of Skyrim. However, the passage of time has done little to take away from the sense of wonder it first instilled in players. Quite the contrary, as there are still players who revisit the lands of Skyrim at least once a year, whether they’ve spent 100 or 1000 hours adventuring across it in times past. So what makes Skyrim so replayable? Well, I suppose that depends on who you ask.

With 18 Skills to allocate points to, there’s build variety. Further, Skyrim excels at providing emergent gameplay, with each trek across Skyrim feeling like its own micro-adventure. But beyond its unpredictable nature and rich RPG systems, Skyrim is a once-in-a-generation title that illustrates the magic of video games. Its world is one worthy of getting lost in, and for many players, it’s a setting that they can’t get enough of no matter how much time they may have already spent in it.