5 “One More” Games That Will Keep You Awake at Night

It's 4 a.m., and you're teetering on the edge of reality, drawn to the pad for “one more game” before daylight falls. The thing is, you've said that before — and you'll probably say it again. Rewind a smidgen and you probably told yourself that, come twilight, you'd be done for the night, ready to start anew with a fresh mindset for the day ahead. But you're still here, sweating over the pad and keeping your eyes pinned back like post-it notes on a sandpaper board. It's happened again. 

It's safe to say that we've all done it at some point in our gaming careers — and that's okay. The fact is, some games just don't want us to call it quits until the journey is well past completion. Whatever it is that draws us in, we sometimes can't help but run the course and see it through — be it another match, a final battle, or an alluring bonus level. The point is, video games have a way of channelling their addictive nature through to us, and we can't always resist the temptation. Just take these five appealing treasures, for example.

5. Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires

While there are plenty of territory-based video games out there, as well an abundance of hack and slash Warriors titles to chew through, Empires definitely finds ground on another scale, with its winner-takes-all formula that conjures an addictive style like none of its predecessors. The aim of the game, simply enough, is to divide and conquer, rule and render China to your own creation. And as complex as that may seem on paper, the gameplay itself, surprisingly, couldn't be easier to follow.

You begin your journey as an unknown officer in war-torn China, desperate to acquire a foothold on the ladder and unite the kingdom under one ruler. How that's done, however, is entirely up to you and the decisions you make each and every month. So, will you be the hero inspired by benevolence — or the rival stoked by vigour? Whatever your path, you can guarantee you won't rest until China is sitting contently in your own two hands. Believe me.

4. FIFA 21

Contrary to what you tell yourself, it isn't physically possible to play just one match in FIFA. Even if you're simply stopping by to play a “quick round” online or with a local friend, odds are, you'll play a minimum of five. And that's okay —  because we've all done it. Even if you've toned the settings up to forty-minute halves and ramped up the difficulty to ultimate, you're still likely to grovel through twenty games before calling it a day. But that's FIFA for you.

Like most sports games, FIFA is pretty easy to pick up and navigate, meaning you can conveniently lose yourself to a blocked-out session without thinking twice about the consequences. Fast-forward a couple of hours, and you ultimately find yourself glossing over fifteen whistles and a boatload of penalty kicks and ninety-minute goals. And that's after we tell ourselves we'd only play “one more game”, funnily enough. Although to be fair, I think we can place most sports games in this thread, with Madden and NBA both being as equally as addictive. So, sports in general, I guess?

3. League of Legends

Like most (if not all) MOBA games, you can pretty much expect to spiral down the rabbit hole of addictivity, with the ladder leading home slowly waning with each trip to Wonderland. In fact, games like League of Legends have become so well-known for players losing their spare time to honing their in-game skills, that tutorial videos on how to actually quit the game have surfaced, with plenty of professionals sharing a love-hate relationship with Riot Games and their world-class platform.

Saying all this, our aim isn't to put anyone off from playing League of Legends. Truth be told, Riot Games have built quite the remarkable franchise over the years, with the competitive side still brimming with hefty prize pools and stacks upon stacks of hungry newcomers. And that's exactly it. League of Legends, to put it plainly — is stupidly addictive, meaning “one game” is rarely on the cards when jumping back into the rabbit hole. But we'll let you decide whether or not that's a good thing.

2. Fortnite

Like League of Legends, Fortnite has enjoyed a healthy ascent ever since its debut, with millions of players flocking to the realm to compete over the mouth-watering prize pools put on display. Of course, the battle royale chapter may have deviated from the staggering figures it was once boasting back in 2017, but that isn't to say that it no longer employs an enormous player base. And, as far as addictive games go with guilty players itching for a cluster of rounds — Fortnite still loiters near the apex.

Perhaps it's the fact that seventeen-year-old gamers are raking in millions in cash prizes for tournament wins, or that Epic Games continue to shovel in content with each passing season. Whatever it is that causes players to stay loyal to the platform and continue stacking up hours of playtime, there's no denying that it's worked a charm these past four years. Epic Games, whether we like it or not— know how to captivate an audience, meaning there really is no such thing as “one more game” when these guys are steering the ship.

1. World of Warcraft

While there isn't a place in World of Warcraft for you to use the worn-out phrase “just one more game”, there is an ocean of content that has you following a similar pattern. Of course, it could very well be a raid, or a dungeon, or that spare quest chain you've been meaning to tackle since yesterday. Whatever it is, Azeroth and its abundance of material has players hooked for the long run, and it's downright terrifying to see exactly how much time one can lose to such a jam-packed journey.

For years, Blizzard has been funnelling expansions and a variety of elements into its flagship MMO, with players still swarming the platform to dive headfirst into the latest upload. But that's something that'll never change, even with rival MMORPGs lighting the way with whole other worlds to discover. World of Warcraft, despite its decade-old tenure, will always be a guilty pleasure of ours, and one we'll always truck back to for “one more game”, mindless of whether or not there's a goal in sight.

Looking for more? You could always take a look at one of these lists:

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