Welcome back to The Punished Podcast! Before we dive into the meat and grits of this one, a heartfelt disclaimer: We recorded this one on August 27, right at the tail-end of Gamescom. That was seven weeks ago—an eternity in a year as fast-moving as this.



Back then, people were excited for Starfield. Anything was possible in the tantalizing reaches of space. Fast forward nearly two months, and the hype has waned. The game was good, not great; life moved on. Cyberpunk 2.0 came out. Maybe it’ll be enough to get Amanda to replay it. Who can say.



The point is, I dropped the ball, and I apologize. A special apology to my co-hosts, Amanda Tien and Sam Martinelli, and equal thanks for their patience as I ploddingly put this one together.



The good news? The content’s still fire!



The Punished Podcast Episode 2



This episode, we discuss the ideal game length. What makes a great two-hour game? A great 100-hour epic? Tune in for our thoughts, accompanied by a truly scathing take from yours truly.



Correction: At 43:26, I state that The Shawshank Redemption is a “crisp, 90-minute film.” That movie is two and a half hours, per IMDB. Clearly, I’m not a film expert. (Still a breezy film, though…)







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Timestamps




* 0:00 – Intro



* 2:59 – Discussing Game Length



* 52:08 – David’s Hot Take



* 1:05:16 – Outro




Every Game We Mentioned, Ordered by Play Time



Looking for your next big, medium, or small playthrough? Look no further. We went ahead and compiled every game we mentioned in this episode, then ordered it by “all styles” length on How Long To Beat.



Any title marked with an emoji is particularly great.




* Venba (1.5 hours) 🕹️



* Journey (2 hours) 🕹️



* A Short Hike (2 hours) 🕹️



* Inside (4 hours) 🕹️



* Smushi Come Home (4 hours) 🕹️



* Oxenfree (5.5 hours)



* Titanfall 2 (7 hours) 🕹️



* SEASON: A Letter to the Future (7.5 hours) 🕹️



* Halo 3 (9 hours) 🕹️



* Immortality (9.