RPG titles are notoriously hard to 100%, but games made by developerBethesdahave some of the most content in the genre to complete. From the vast wastelands of a nuclear future to fantasy worlds packed with quests and characters, Bethesda’s games can be incredibly long. Even from their own library, a few games in particular stand out for the innumerable tasks it takes to have nothing left to do.
Bethesda is the architect behind several RPG series, includingFalloutandThe Elder Scrolls, which each have multiple entries with huge lists of content players can explore.Withsome Bethesda games being remasteredrecently, players might get to re-experience the huge worlds that grew into massively popular RPG games. However, some titles might take a heavy time investment to 100%.
5The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Land Of The Nords Is Filled With Different Objectives
One of the most celebrated Bethesda games isThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, whose open-world has been explored by millions of players across multiple playthroughs.There are tons of characters, side quests, unique locations, and other features to investigateinSkyrim, but each can take time to get through. Even the base story of the game is fairly lengthy, causing players to sink many hours just pursuing the main campaign.
One of the reasonsSkyrimtakes a lot longer to 100% compared to other Bethesda titles is the size of its DLC expansions. Both theDawnguardandDragonbornDLCs introduce new areas, quest storylines, characters, and new skills that add a considerable amount of playtime to the game.
If you don’t rely onBethesda’s classic bugs and glitches, the sheer number of achievements inSkyrimmakes 100% completion a daunting task.It can easily take over 300 hours to finish everything the game has to offer, especially when you factor in how every location and faction has some sort of questline tied to them. Reaching different endings from unique choices during quests gives you different achievements, so you have to replay content to finish it entirely.
In theory, you might not ever 100%Skyrimdue to a feature calledRadiant Questspresent in the game. Thissystem refers to procedurally generated quests provided whenever your character talks to an innkeeper, bartender, or other NPCfor rumors to earn new missions. While there are some"official"quests that are never brought up again, these mini-missions can keep you playing endlessly.
4Starfield
Vast Galaxy With Hundreds Of Planets To Explore
Bethesda’s most recent RPG,Starfield, is a true sci-fi title where your character can explore the vast regions of space to discover new worlds and experiences. While not as content-rich asSkyrim,Starfieldstill has a wide variety of side content that adds an ungodly amount of hours to your playtime. Even though it was released in 2023, I still do not have save files that have reached the ending yet due to how sidetracked I get.
The main story sits at a much shorter 20–23 hours, buttrue completionists will spend their time trying to visit every planetin the game. Although many of theplanets inStarfield’s galaxyare procedurally generated, getting to all of them and their systems can be daunting. When you factor in unlocking all aspects of starship and Outpost customization as well, you have a lot of traveling and crafting to do before the game runs out of content.
Overall,you could easily spend close to 300 hours trying to do everything inStarfield. Similar toSkyrim, you’re able to constantly keep finding new things to do, especially if your goal is to find every planet and explore it at least once.
3The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Multiple Playthroughs Are Required To Finish Everything
The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowindis perhaps Bethesda’s first major RPG success, or at least the one to adopt the mechanics andgameplay seen inOblivionandSkyrim. With a much longer 40-45 hour story compared to the games to follow it,Morrowindremains a game packed with activities for you to pursue. Nearly 200+ more hours of side quests just scratch the surface of the game, with far more RPG depth that’ll keep you playing for even longer.
Some ofMorrowind’s systems are somewhat dated due to the game originally releasing in 2002. This can make it even more challenging to 100% complete without the aid of mods or other third-party tools.
Another factor that will lengthenMorrrowind’s playtime is the branching storyline impacted by your choices. While other Bethesda games have features that easily let you go back and replay decisions,Morrowindhas far longer-lasting consequences for your actions. More in line with a game likeBaldur’s Gate 3,you’ll want to complete multiple playthroughs to see 100% of the possibilities within the story.
Since it is impossible to see all the game’s content with just one character,the replayability ofMorrowindis necessary to see everything the title has to offer. Even long-term veterans ofMorrowindare still discovering quests they’ve never seen on a seventh or eighth playthrough, causing their total playtime to confidently slip into the 400 to 500-hour range and beyond.
2Fallout 76
Live Service Games Feature Constant Expansions To Discover
Although suffering adisastrous launch for Bethesda,Fallout 76has continued to grow and evolve into a truly large live service experience. Toted as the largest world Bethesda claims to have created, the wastelands of thisFallouttitle are teeming with quests that seem to pop up everywhere you go.Fallout 76also has some of the most achievements out of any game in its series, giving players a vast number of goals to work through.
72 different achievements inFallout 76can take upwards of 250–350 hours to do, depending on your knowledge of the game. Since you can’t play in an offline single-player mode, players have to constantly contend with online servers to start pursuing different goals. When you include these achievements with the 35-40 hour story of the base game, you have quite the grind ahead of you.
Similar toSkyrim,Fallout 76has expansions that increase the amount of time you have to put in to finish everything100%. TheAtlantic Cityupdate is but one of several updates that add more items, quests, locations, and other features to the game, creating pockets of objectives that are easy to finish individually, but stack up together for an imposing collection of things to do.
1The Elder Scrolls Online
Massive Online Multiplayer Equals An Infinite Game You’ll Never Complete
While this pick is somewhat a bit cheating, let me be clear - you’ll never truly 100% completeThe Elder Scrolls Online. As Bethesda’s only MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online RPG), this game is still being updated to this day since its release in 2014. This means to finish it,you need to go through 11 years of content, including new quests, achievements, storylines, and explorations added through various expansions.
There are around 20 expansions toThe Elder Scrolls Online, with a 21st coming soon. Each of these takes anywhere between 10–30 hours to fully explore, if you attempt to find every new location, talk to all introduced NPCs, and complete every questline added within those expansion zone locations.
The total playtime ofThe Elder Scrolls Onlineeasily dwarfs the competition, clocking at around 1,000+ hours to experience everything. This includes the main story and its DLC, but also dungeons, group events, and tasks in the unique PvP mode that pits players against each other.With a plethora of achievements in every aspect of the online title, you almost have to coordinate with othersto finish some milestones.
There are multiple crafting and housing activities that will also increase your playtime, with daily and weekly missions adding even more content to keep up with as well. As an MMO, it is clear thatThe Elder Scrolls Onlineis, without a doubt, the hardestBethesdagame to 100% complete, but I personally doubt anyone besides the most dedicated fans has done so.
