We're only a few weeks away from watching Marvel's Spider-Man 2 swing into action and challenge Baldur's Gate 3 as well as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - sorry, Starfield, we just don't think you're cut out for the award - for the prestigious Game of the Year award at The Game Awards in December. Yet, for the legions of devoted Spider-Man fans out there, a burning question lingers: How much time will they need to dedicate to the upcoming gaming to earn the extremely rare Platinum trophy?

In a recent interview with VG247, Ryan Smith, the senior game director at Insomniac Games, revealed that the Spider-Man sequel will be about as long as its predecessor, stating, "Spider-Man 2 is in the same ball-park as the first game in terms of overall play time".

For those who need a refresher, Marvel's Spider-Man clocked in at around 17 hours for those who stuck strictly to the main campaign. As for the explorers among us, delving into side quests could stretch that playtime to roughly 34 hours. Meanwhile, its spin-off sequel, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, took about 8 hours for the campaign mode and 18 hours to gain 100% completion.

At a time when a significant number of gamers feel like they're not getting value for their money, especially given how expensive games are these days, Insomniac Games seems to be taking a different approach. Smith added, "We don't want this to be an 80-100 hour game, that's not where we want to be. We want to tell amazing stories, the best we can".

Instead, the focus is on delivering a compact, memorable experience, which we certainly think it can deliver on. After all, the Spider-Man series has been a testament to the beauty of shorter, more focused games that respect players' time.

Furthermore, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is poised to establish a new standard for upcoming titles within the franchise. The developers have disclosed that the game will feature ray tracing across all FPS modes, a development that promises to set a high bar, not just for the series but for other developers as well.

Unfortunately, not all developers share this viewpoint. The age-old debate of quality versus quantity has raged on, with neither side ceding much ground to the other. Remember the days when Ubisoft's Far Cry 3's 20-hour completion time was considered lengthy?

Fast forward to today, and we're seeing single-player games boasting over 30 hours or more for main campaigns. As games grow longer, the challenge for players isn't just about beating the final boss but finding the time to complete these sprawling narratives amidst a deluge of new releases. Ultimately, it's not about how long a game is, but how it makes you feel during those hours of blissful play.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is slated for release on October 20 exclusively on PlayStation 5.