Destructoid reports, from Gamescon (which is taking place in Germany right now), that BioWare’s upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition could potentially be a very long game:

Speaking to Flynn directly, I asked how long it would take for the average person to complete the game if they didn’t feel like getting everything. In response, he said, “if you just took on the story and nothing else, roughly 55 hours is the time we’ve achieved during our playtests. But naturally, players are going to stop and do optional objectives, so it’s going to take them a little longer than that. If you did everything, it would come in at around 150 hours.”

Having played the game, I can partially back that claim up. Dragon Age: Inquisition is made up of multiple “exploration” zones, which are very much like an MMO sandbox. These zones have a ton of activities to locate, such as puzzle boxes, optional quests, collectible objects, and even secret bosses or NPCs. During our playtests, we had at least an hour to run around in each exploration zone, and it wasn’t even close to enough time to achieve one full goal.

I keep finding myself reminded of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning when I hear about how the world of Thedas has been built for Inquisition. It’s not a true open world, but instead is sub-divided into several large (as in: genuinely expansive) zones, each of which can be more or less freely explored by the player. And it sounds like Inquisition, as is the case with Reckoning, will have a lot of things to find hidden a ways off the beaten path in each area, so as to reward those players who opt to explore.

Which, of course, any good Ultima fan would opt to do.