Best Of
5 Video Games With Incredibly High Completion Rates
Did you know that only 35% of people actually play games through to their conclusions? Going by that fact, that means there's an additional 65% who jump ship long before they have reached their final destination. And, believe it or not, it's rare that a game will ever accrue much more than this figure, meaning a completion rate of 50% or above is almost unheard of.
Of course, this isn't to say that it's an impossible feat to overcome. And the truth is, some games have managed to maintain their players' interests from beginning to end without steering them away. But what are these games we speak of, and what is it that makes them so appealing to the vast majority of gamers?
5. Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V is one of the biggest video games on the planet, which is precisely why Rockstar isn't overly keen on moving away from it anytime soon. Even today, nine years after its original 2013 launch, the gaming giant is still accruing interest and revenue from its Online counterpart. And because of how long the game has been around and how many platforms it has graced, millions have had the opportunity to experience its treasure trove of content — story mode included.
Anyway, as it turns out, Grand Theft Auto V has a completion rate of over 70%, which is actually quite high compared to a lot of modern triple-A games. Completing the story mode makes up just 60% of the game, with the remaining 40% yielding to random encounters, assassinations, and activities. All in all, that's about fifty hours of content, give or take. Fifty hours that, believe it or not, over 160 million people have sacrificed for the sake of watching Michael, Franklin, and Trevor's unruly shenanigans come to fruition.
4. The Last of Us: Part II
Given the fact that Naughty Dog's The Last of Us was one of PlayStation 3's best-selling exclusives of 2013, it was only natural for Sony fans to bend over backwards for its long-awaited 2020 sequel. With a rough 60% completion rate to boot, The Last of Us: Part II went on to become one of the most played PS4 and PS5 games of all time.
Of course, this isn't the end of the series just yet. With The Last of Us: Part I on the horizon, players will once again have the opportunity to sink into Joel and Ellie's shoes as the two embark on a quest to locate the rebel firm know as the Fireflies. The question is, will it amass the same level of hype as its direct sequel, or will it struggle to rekindle the wick? Only time will tell on that one.
3. Final Fantasy VII Remake
After what felt like centuries of sitting on the back burner, Square Enix finally made the call to remake Final Fantasy VII, one of PlayStation's highest-grossing RPGs of the nineties, in 2020. This revival was split into several parts, with the first game setting the scene for what would eventually be known as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, a direct sequel to Cloud's epic debut.
It makes sense, seeing a completion rate of 54% on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles. When all's said and done, Final Fantasy has this long-standing connection with the JRPG community, therefore it's only natural that each game it dishes out finds an immediate response from those pledged to its kingdom. And if there's one thing we know, it's that people love a remake — especially of a game that basically revolutionized a genre.
2. Life is Strange: Before the Storm
Story-driven games with an episodic structure have a way with keeping players entwined from first call to last orders. Unlike other games that'll veer off toward multiple unrelated story arcs, linear blueprints, like the one Life is Strange: Before the Storm employs, are perfectly capable of holding a single note and keeping users fully immersed in the stories they formulate.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm was a spin-off that released following the critical success of 2015's beloved episodic adventure, Life is Strange. As a standalone three part series, players could wrap up just about every nook and cranny in six hours or less. Because of that, a solid 59% of its players have been able to see the game through to its final curtain, which is actually quite an impressive figure — even for a relatively short episodic memory.
1. Marvel's Spider-Man
PlayStation is something of a hub for universally acclaimed exclusives, as it has been ever since the PlayStation 3 started broadening its horizons way back in the early noughties. In recent years, though, both PS4 and PS5 gamers have had the luxury of playing one of its biggest releases to date. And yes, we're definitely talking about Marvel's Spider-Man.
Insomniac Games' open world action-adventure marvel has attained global recognition since launching back in 2018, with a spectacularly high 20 million copies sold in its first year. Of these 20 million, just over 50% were able to beat the campaign and see Parker through to the endgame. Surprisingly, this actually makes Marvel's Spider-Man the game with the highest completion rate to date. Or at least, a PlayStation game, anyway. Following closely behind is Ghost of Tsushima, another PlayStation exclusive, which boasts an impressive 49% completion rate.
So, what's your take? Are you at all surprised by these completion rates? Are there any games you straight up refuse to play through to the end? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.