I used to like open world games that would take 50+ hours to beat but I feel like as I get older these games can be intimidating to even start and I often get sidetracked with other games frequently only getting half to three quarters of the way through.
Vanquish took me about six hours to beat and I think that’s what I’m looking for these days. I like games that I can beat in one weekend. Eight hours I think is perfect for me.
It’s led me to playing some GB© and NES games because they often feel a bit more finite.
I don’t think I have a minimum. Little Misfortune and Bright Infinite Memory only took me about three hours to beat but I enjoyed the ride. If a game took under half an hour to beat, like some indie games, I might not be as invested or impacted enough to think about it much afterwards.
Edit: I’m not looking for a definitive answer. Just a ballpark.
Mmm i dont think its at all a static number. What matters is trimming it down to whats important. If you can keep bringing in new game mechanics, or exploring existing ones in new and interesting contexts, or keeping me engrossed in the story, it can go as long as it wants. Like, Chrono Trigger is considered a pretty short jrpg, because its very condensed for how broad of a scope it has, but boy is it a great game. Mario Odyssey got some criticism for how many moons are in the game, but i loved getting each and every one.