Some people enjoy jumping between the latest hot releases in the video game world, and some would rather invest hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of hours into a single game. I fall somewhere in between, spending 1,000 or more hours in my favorite titles, returning to them frequently throughout the years. But if you want forever games that’ll eat up your free time and keep you satisfied, here are a few recommendations!
Ten Forever Games You Can Start Playing Now
Of course, the list of video games you could theoretically play forever goes on quite a bit longer than this short list of ten. You could break things down by genre, for instance, and come up with a handful of additional lists.
For now, let’s focus on these:
RimWorld
I’m absolutely biased as, of the many forever games listed here, none compares to RimWorld in my eyes. It’s one of my all-time favorite games, surpassing the many I grew up playing after school. The primary reason for this favoritism is that you can do nearly anything; every run is unique, and with so many mods to expand and alter the game, there are endless opportunities to explore a colony of your choosing.
Do you want a Warhammer 40,000-themed colony? Go right ahead! Would you rather dive back into the medieval ages? You can! Personally, I enjoy a few different playstyles, such as building a paramilitary company that crafts and sells weapons, or a peaceful ranching community, or a cult of Cthulu worshipping cannibals!
Stardew Valley
I don’t think there’s a ton that needs to be said about Stardew Valley, but I want to talk about it anyway. It’s one of my all-time favorite games and, even after all these years, one I return to every other month for another playthrough. I’ve introduced countless friends and partners to the game, started multiplayer farms, and modded the game to enhance the experience (Yandere Haley, anyone?).
On a vanilla playthrough, expect it to take you approximately 200 hours to complete your farm and all of its many challenges with a 100% completion rate. Now, that’s assuming you’re focused on the challenges, like building the obelisks. Who wants to do that, though? I’d rather invest all my time in starting a brewery farm!
Fallout 4
Yeah, I understand this might be one of the more divisive choices on the list, and I am completely okay with any backlash. Let me hear your passion down in the comments. For now, hear me out, because Fallout 4 isn’t a perfect Fallout game, and it’s most certainly not a perfect RPG. It’s barebones in that department. But it is an exceptional open-world game with an immersive setting, unique points of interest, fantastic mechanics, and memorable characters.
One of the reasons why Fallout 4 is a “forever” type of game is primarily because of its extensive modding community. If you visit Nexus Mods, you’ll find many thousands of player-made game modifications that alter the experience drastically, minutely, or in the most bizarre manner imaginable. If you’re at all like me, you’ll add in tacticool weaponry and expand the settlement building mechanics to retake the Commonwealth through military might!
Dwarf Fortress
The granddaddy of all colony sim games, surpassing the complexity and nuance of RimWorld tenfold, Dwarf Fortress is a simulation of a fantasy world in which you’re the invisible force overhead helping your dwarves thrive and survive in a harsh world. From finding water and planting mushrooms underground to dealing with a vampire who won’t leave your tavern because he enjoys the music too much, once you look past the graphics and the controls, you’ll find an immersive, intuitive, and intricate colony sim capable of telling stories unlike anything else I’ve seen before.
Dwarf Fortress isn’t just a colony sim with base-building elements, though. It’s more than a story generator. It’s a living, breathing project with a lifetime of content behind and in front of it, thanks to the brothers at Bay 12 Games. There’s Fortress Mode—the classic colony sim experience—and Adventure Mode, in which you explore the landscape, earn a reputation, and complete quests as a single character. 16 years of content updates, with more to come!
Oh, and part of the soundtrack is in Dwarvish!
Factorio
I like to imagine that I’m a smart individual. I’m learned, I read daily, and I explore topics that catch my interest frequently in the pursuit of knowledge and excitement. Yet, despite all of this, Factorio makes me look like a toddler trying to fit a square block into a triangular hole while screaming profanities. It’s complex in a satisfying way that, like with roguelikes, makes you appreciate a failure as you figure out a better way to approach and solve a situation.
As the factory grows, so too does your knowledge of automation, efficiency, and functionality. You learn how to run power lines without wasting space, how to transport raw materials on conveyor belts without clogging up your rail lines, and how to eradicate bugs. Oh, so many bugs to eradicate.
The factory must grow.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Oh, come on! We all know Skyrim by now, right? It’s the epitome of the open-world RPG, and often considered the flagship of Bethesda’s stable. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has won over 200 Game of the Year Awards, features an insane amount of player-made mods to expand its world, quests, weapons, enemies, and more, and includes an expansive, gorgeous world to lose yourself in straight out of the box.
You don’t have to follow the game’s main story. In fact, I recommend you don’t. It’s so bland, but the world around you is worth exploring and delving into. You can roleplay as a bandit, a trader, become a dungeon-diving adventurer, map out the landscape, learn necromancy, hunt trolls, take contracts as a mercenary, and get paid as a contract killer. It’s a never-ending experience!
Project Zomboid
After finding myself hooked on The Walking Dead, I wanted a zombie survival game in which I could literally live through the end of the world. In steps Project Zomboid, a top-down survival adventure in a sprawling fictional recreation of Kentucky with complex mechanics, physics, and of course, extensive mod support to fuel the never-ending dream of the perfect post-apocalyptic hellscape.
In Project Zomboid, you’re not simply surviving against the undead. You’re fighting against depression, boredom, hunger, thirst, illness, a minor cut from climbing over a fence that’s infected, the electricity shutting off, fresh water failing, and supplies dwindling. You could hole up, fortify a house or fire station, then venture out during the day for supplies. Or, you could join a multiplayer server and help players from around the world clear the map of zombies and take back the world!
Valheim
Valheim is self-described as a “brutal exploration and survival game,” and that’s apt. It’s tough-as-nails, with all manner of wildlife and mysterious beasts vying for your throat. If you look away from the shadows between the trees, you’re liable to wind up respawning back at the clearing with the crow. But if you’re mindful, vigilant, and prepared, then you’ll survive this never-ending adventure into Norse mythology.
But it’s not enough to survive the world of Valheim. You must thrive. Craft weapons and armor, band together with other players to construct villages, manors, and great stone fortresses, then set out to explore and conquer the land. A massive procedurally-generated world with unique biomes means the experience won’t ever feel the same, no matter which server you join.
Elite Dangerous
Were you one of the many backers who threw money at Star Citizen? Yeah, don’t be ashamed, so was I. But listen, there are countless other space-faring simulations out there, most of which have more content out of the box, and they’re available to play right now. One such game is Elite Dangerous, and it’s a free-form galaxy exploration experience in which you sit at the helm of your very own starship and blaze a unique trail across the stars.
In Elite Dangerous, if you can dream it, you can achieve it. You’ll dogfight space pirates, colonize entire systems, trade exotic goods, mine asteroids, explore the outer rim, and it’s all accomplished in a living, breathing world that expands regularly. With a massively multiplayer environment, or play solo, you’ll always have something to do, something to work towards.
Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2 originally launched in 2009 on PC and Xbox 360, and almost immediately, it took the cooperative gaming community by storm. Hell, it took the world by storm. It was perfection. The frantic, adrenaline-pumping first-person shooter gameplay attached itself to your soul, sucking any willpower you had to shut down your system and step outside for an hour in the afternoon.
But hey, that’s okay. It raised a generation capable of withstanding the zombie apocalypse, right? With the overwhelming number of mods—the majority of which add busty anime women to the game—you can alter your experience every round, if you so desire. Swap out enemies, characters, weapons, sound effects, and so much more, then run the levels included in the base game and those added throughout the years repeatedly. It’s never a dull moment, never the same experience!