How I spent my time with video games in 2023

It's been a while since I put more than 100 hours into a game in a single year.

I likely would've accomplished that feat in 2023 if I hadn't dropped Pokémon Violet in favor of first World of Horror then Metro Quester in early December, but I can't say I'm sad I decided to change things up as I did.

Not only have I since returned to Pokémon Violet, but World of Horror and Metro Quester ended up being among my favorite games of the year, so I think the decision was a good one.

World of Horror

Also, I still put just over 80 hours into Pokémon Violet, my most-played game of 2023, so I hardly ignored it despite the temporary switcheroo.

• Pokémon Violet -- 80 hours, 55 minutes
• Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society -- 60 hours, 45 minutes
• Dragon Quest Treasures -- 35 hours, 35 minutes
• Suika Game -- 24 hours, 50 minutes
• Metro Quester -- 22 hours, 00 minutes
• Loop8: Summer of Gods -- 16 hours, 50 minutes
• Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo -- 16 hours, 40 minutes

Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars

• Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars -- 14 hours, 20 minutes
• World of Horror -- 8 hours, 40 minutes
• Octopath Traveler II -- 4 hours, 20 minutes
• Master Detective Archives: Rain Code -- 4 hours, 15 minutes
• About An Elf  -- 3 hours, 20 minutes
• Dragon Question Monsters: The Dark Prince -- 3 hours, 05 minutes
• Uchu Shinshuchu -- 2 hours, 25 minutes

As you can see, Pokémon Violet was my most-played game of last year by a long way. I'm pretty impressed I was able to put more than 20 hours into both Suika Game and Metro Quester, though.

Metro Quester

Which games did you put the most hours into last year? Let me know in the comments section of this post.

See also: how I spent time with video games in 2022, 2021, and 2020

How I spent my time with video games in 2022

I've said a few times before that 2022 was a weird year for me and how I interacted with video games. Not only didn't I play as many games as I did in previous years, but I also didn't spend as much time with those games.

A case in point: in 2020, I put more than 80 hours into three different games. In 2021, I put more than 70 hours into two games. This year, I breached the 70-hour mark with just one game.

At least my 2022 game stats cover a range of genres and systems. I played platformers, RPGs, visual novels — even a couple of classic arcade titles.

Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness

• Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness (Switch) — 90 hours, 35 minutes
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Switch) — 45 hours, 10 minutes
• The House in Fata Morgana (Switch) — 44 hours, 25 minutes
• Pocket Card Jockey (3DS) — 34 hours, 30 minutes
• SaGa 2 Hihō Densetsu: Goddess of Destiny (DS) — 25 hours, 40 minutes
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch) — 15 hours
• The Cruel King and the Great Hero (Switch) — 14 hours, 20 minutes

The Cruel King and the Great Hero

• Yurukill: The Calumniation Games (Switch) -- 12 hours, 50 minutes
• Fuga: Melodies of Steel (Switch) — 11 hours, 20 minutes
• Live A Live (Switch) — 10 hours
• Rainbow Islands (PC Engine) -- 9 hours, 15 minutes
• The Fairyland Story (Switch) — 4 hours, 55 minutes
• Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball (3DS) — 4 hours, 20 minutes
• Nora and the Time Studio (DS) — 4 hours

Fuga: Melodies of Steel

How did you spend your time with games in 2022? Feel free to share your own stats in the comments section below.

See also: my favorite games of 2022 and my favorite games of 2022 that weren't released in 2022

How I spent my time with video games in 2021

Although I played and finished a lot of games in 2021, I didn't spend as much time with those games as I did with the games I played and finished in 2020.

Last year, for example, I put more than 80 hours into three different games. This year, my most-played game topped out at just over 75 hours.

Despite that, I'm plenty happy with how I spent my time with games in 2021. In particular, I'm happy that four Vita games made the cut this year, as did three DS games and one 3DS game. I failed to finish the 3DS game (Etrian Mystery Dungeon), admittedly, but that's how it goes sometimes.

I'm much more bummed about the fact that I only managed to put three-ish hours into Shin Megami Tensei V between its release and the end of 2021. I didn't dislike the time I spent with this Switch RPG, so my current indifference to returning to it has me stumped.

Who knows, maybe I'll finish it in the new year and it'll appear in my eventual "how I spent my time with games in 2022" post.

• Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk (Switch) — 75 hours, 30 minutes
• Bravely Default II (Switch) — 72 hours, 20 minutes
• Dungeon Encounters (Switch) — 43 hours, 25 minutes
• SaGa Frontier Remastered (Switch) — 32 hours, 40 minutes
• Airship Q (Vita) — 28 hours, 35 minutes
• Gnosia (Switch) — 24 hours, 45 minutes
• Shiren the Wanderer 5+ (Switch) — 24 hours, 30 minutes
• Spelunky (Switch + Vita) — 24 hours, 25 minutes

• Ripened Tingle’s Balloon Trip of Love (DS) — 23 hours, 40 minutes
• Poison Control (Switch) — 16 hours, 50 minutes
• Gravity Rush (Vita) -- 14 hours, 40 minutes
• Pikmin 3 Deluxe (Switch) — 14 hours, 15 minutes
• Pac-Man 99 (Switch) — 11 hours, 50 minutes
• A Kappa’s Trail (DS) — 10 hours, 40 minutes
• Captain Toad (Switch) — 10 hours, 30 minutes
• Deltarune Chapter 1&2 (Switch) — 8 hours, 40 minutes
• Mon Amour (Switch) — 8 hours, 05 minutes
• Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir (Switch) — 8 hours, 00 minutes

• Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind (Switch) — 6 hours, 55 minutes
• Tearaway (Vita) -- 6 hours, 50 minutes
• Etrian Mystery Dungeon (3DS) — 6 hours, 00 minutes
• Umurangi Generation Special Edition (Switch) — 6 hours, 00 minutes
• Princess Debut (DS) — 5 hours, 20 minutes
• Liquid Kids (Switch) — 3 hours, 45 minutes
• Shin Megami Tensei V (Switch) — 3 hours, 45 minutes
• Overboard! (Switch) — 3 hours, 25 minutes

How did you spend your time with games in 2021? Feel free to share your own play-time stats, or simply list your most-played titles, in the comments section below.

See also: how I spent my time with games in 2020

How I spent my time with video games in 2020

It's starting to feel like at the end of every year I either say I played more games than the year before or I spent more time with games than the year before. (See my 2019 write-up for evidence.)

For 2020, both statements are true. Big surprise considering how locked down everything was last year, right?

Speaking of surprises, it may surprise some of you to learn that Animal Crossing: New Horizons wasn't the game I played most in 2020. In fact, I didn't even put 100 hours into it. I gladly poured hundreds of hours into previous entries, so bouncing off this one so quickly shocks me, too.

Not at all shocking to me is that I spent more time with SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions than I did with any other game last year. Even after I finished this most recent SaGa sequel, I didn't want to stop playing it. And although I nearly started a second playthrough right away, I convinced myself to move on to something else (The World Ends With You, I believe) before that happened.

As for the rest of my most-played games of 2020, feast your eyes on the following stats:

• SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions (Switch) — 97 hours, 40 minutes
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch) — 95 hours, 30 minutes
• Pokémon Shield (Switch) — 80 hours, 55 minutes
• The World Ends With You (DS) — 39 hours, 15 minutes
• Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate (Switch) — 36 hours, 00 minutes
• Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch) — 34 hours, 15 minutes
• Void Terrarium (Switch) — 33 hours, 35 minutes
• Raging Loop (Switch) — 29 hours, 50 minutes

• Deadly Premonition Origins (Switch) — 29 hours, 15 minutes
• Animal Crossing (GameCube) — 22 hours, 50 minutes
• Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers (Switch) — 22 hours, 15 minutes
• Heroland (Switch) — 20 hours, 30 minutes
• Moon (Switch) — 19 hours, 05 minutes
• Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories (Switch) — 17 hours, 15 minutes
• Kirby Mass Attack (DS) — 13 hours, 20 minutes
• Clubhouse Games (Switch) — 12 hours, 40 minutes
• Hey! Pikmin (3DS) — 12 hours, 35 minutes

• Again (DS) — 12 hours, 20 minutes
• Super Princess Peach (DS) — 11 hours, 50 minutes
• Mad Rat Dead (Switch) — 10 hours, 20 minutes
• Alice in Wonderland (DS) — 7 hours, 20 minutes
• Yomawari: Night Alone (Switch) — 7 hours, 05 minutes
• Time Hollow (DS) — 6 hours, 30 minutes
• Part Time UFO (Switch) — 6 hours, 05 minutes
• Cruel Bands Career (Switch) — 4 hours, 35 minutes

How did all of you spend your time with games in 2020? Feel free to share your own play-time stats, or simply list your most-played titles, in the comments section of this post.

See also: how I spent my time with games in 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015

How I spent my time with video games in 2019

Not only did I finish more games in 2019 than I have in many years (read about them here and here), but I simply played more games in 2019 than in recent years, too.

Also, I spent more time with the games I played in 2019 than I can remember doing in ages.

Don't take my word for it; scan the following list and then compare what you see there to what you see on the similar lists I prepared for 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.

My 25 most-played games of 2019:

• Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS) — 65 hours, 40 minutes
• Ever Oasis (3DS) — 50 hours, 15 minutes
• Pocket Card Jockey (3DS) — 43 hours, 30 minutes
• Mother 3 (GameBoy Advance) — 32 hours, 35 minutes
• Lapis x Labyrinth (Switch) — 29 hours, 35 minutes
• World of Final Fantasy Maxima (Switch) — 26 hours, 30 minutes
• Romancing SaGa 3 (Switch) — 26 hours, 25 minutes
• Crimson Shroud (3DS) — 22 hours, 15 minutes

• Dandy Dungeon (Switch) — 22 hours, 10 minutes
• Heroland (Switch) — 20 hours, 25 minutes
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Switch) — 20 hours, 10 minutes
• A Witch’s Tale (DS) — 17 hours, 45 minutes
• Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Switch) — 17 hours, 30 minutes
• The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Switch) — 15 hours, 45 minutes
• Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (DS) — 15 hours
• Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (DS) — 14 hours, 40 minutes
• Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn (3DS) — 14 hours, 40 minutes

• Tetris 99 (Switch) — 12 hours, 45 minutes
• Ghost Trick (DS) — 12 hours, 30 minutes
• Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS) — 10 hours
• The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince (Switch) — 9 hours, 30 minutes
• Katamari Damacy Encore (Switch) — 8 hours
• Dragon Quest XI S (Switch) — 7 hours, 45 minutes
• Yo-kai Watch 3 (3DS) — 7 hours, 45 minutes
• Touch Detective (DS) — 7 hours, 15 minutes

So, how did all of you spend your time with games in 2019? Feel free to share your play-time stats in the comments section of this post.

How I spent my time with video games in 2018

I don't know about you, but the 3DS has spoiled me as far as tracking the time I spend with games is concerned.

And let there be no doubt: I like tracking the time I spend with games.

Why? I honestly have no idea. I guess it's just pure curiosity--as in, I think it's interesting to see how much time I put into the games I play (especially ones I finish).

Anyway, because none of my other systems track play time like my 3DS does, I have to track it the old fashioned way--by keeping my eye on the clock as I play and then compiling the results in a text file after I'm done.

That's what I did to come up with almost all of the figures you see below, which represent how I spent my time with a variety of video games in 2018:

• Octopath Traveler (Switch)—106 hours, 40 minutes
• The Alliance Alive (3DS)—65 hours, 30 minutes
• Miitopia (3DS)—62 hours, 30 minutes (plus 7 hours, 45 minutes from 2017)
• Sushi Striker (3DS)—51 hours, 30 minutes
• Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! (Switch)—47 hours
• Black Bird (Switch)—37 hours, 40 minutes
• Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux (3DS)—26 hours
• Pocket Card Jockey (3DS)—21 hours, 45 minutes
• Dragon Quest Builders (Switch)—19 hours, 10 minutes
• Dark Souls: Remastered (Switch)—17 hours, 40 minutes

• Sweet Home (Famicom)—12 hours, 10 minutes
• Death Mark (Switch)—11 hours, 20 minutes
• Space Dave! (Switch)—10 hours, 30 minutes
• Luigi’s Mansion (3DS)—10 hours, 25 minutes
• Undertale (Switch)—9 hours, 05 minutes
• Dillon’s Dead-Heat Breakers (3DS)—7 hours, 15 minutes
• Tobu Tobu Girl (GameBoy)—5 hours, 45 minutes
• Creeping Terror (3DS)—5 hours, 00 minutes
• Phantasy Star (Master System)—4 hours, 45 minutes
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)—4 hours, 30 minutes (plus 7 hours, 45 minutes from 2017)

If you'd like to learn a bit more about some of these games, by the way, click on the links above.

Also, do you keep track of how much time you spend with games? If so, share your 2018 stats with me via a comment.

See also: how I spent my time with video games in 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014

How I spent my time (with video games) in 2017

The 2016 version of this post focused entirely on Nintendo 3DS games. There was a good reason for that: aside from a few "retro" titles, I only played 3DS games that year.

That certainly wasn't the case in 2017. Of the 20 titles listed below, only seven are 3DS releases. Five others are Switch games, three are for Vita, and the rest are divided between the Famicom, GameBoy, DS, and Wii.

With that out of the way, here are the games I put the most time into over the last 12 months:

• Dragon Quest VII (3DS)--43 hours, 50 minutes
• Mother (Famicom)--23 hours 30 minutes
• Opoona (Wii)--20 hours
• Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World (3DS)--17 hours, 45 minutes
• Golf Story (Switch)--17 hours, 15 minutes
• Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)--16 hours, 45 minutes
• Dragon Quest Builders (Vita)--12 hours
• Miitopia (3DS)--10 hours, 45 minutes
• Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS)--9 hours
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)--7 hours, 45 minutes

• The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (GameBoy)--6 hours, 45 minutes
• Yomawari: Night Alone (Vita)--6 hours, 45 minutes
• VA-11 HALL-A (Vita)--4 hours, 30 minutes
• Monster Hunter Stories demo (3DS)--4 hours, 15 minutes
• The Starship Damrey (3DS)--3 hours, 45 minutes
• Boxlife (DS)--3 hours, 15 minutes
• Great Greed (GameBoy)--3 hours
• Project Octopath Traveler demo (Switch)--2 hours, 50 minutes
• Elliot Quest (Switch)--2 hours, 45 minutes
• Witch & Hero III (3DS)--2 hours, 20 minutes

As strange as this may sound, I have a strong feeling 3DS, Switch, and Vita games will dominate the 2018 version of this post as well.

I don't expect the 3DS to lead the way as it did in 2017, though; if I had to guess, I'd say the Switch will move into the pole position this year, followed by the 3DS and then the Vita.

If you know how much time you spent with various games in 2017, please share the details in the comments section that follows.

My 3DS Play Time stats for 2016

Before I checked my 3DS Play Time stats for 2016--so I could write this post, of course--I was pretty sure I'd spent far less time playing games on Nintendo's current handheld than I had in 2015.

Imagine my surprise, then, when it became clear the reverse was true. In fact, I spent exactly 39 hours with my most-played 3DS game (The Legend of Legacy) last year. This year? I spent nearly 60 hours with my most-played 3DS game--Pocket Card Jockey.

And not only that, but I spent just over 50 hours with Dragon Quest VII and a smidgen under 40 hours with both Nintendo's StreetPass Mii Plaza titles (Monster Manor, mostly) and Yo-Kai Watch.

Will Pokémon Moon, above, make an appearance in the 2017 
version of this post? I have no idea, but I hope so!

Overall, I devoted 253 hours to 3DS games in 2016. Here's a breakdown of how much time I put into the 10 most-played:

1. Pocket Card Jockey--59:41
2. Dragon Quest VII--51:23
3. StreetPass Mii Plaza--39:25
4. Yo-Kai Watch--38:31
5. Nintendo Badge Arcade--13:34
6. Pocket Card Jockey demo--5:41
7. Witch & Hero II--4:37
8. Rusty's Real Deal Baseball--3:51
9. Final Fantasy Explorers--2:58
10. Bravely Second demo--2:58

If you'd like to see how this year's list stacks up against last year's, check out my "3DS (and DS) Play Time stats for 2015" write-up.

Also, please share your 2016 3DS Play Time stats with me (and others) in the comments section of this post. It'd be fun to compare notes about this sort of thing, don't you think?

My 3DS (and DS) Play Time stats for 2015

If you read through (or at least glanced at) the "favorite games of 2015" post I published a few days ago, you may have walked away from it with the idea that I didn't play a whole lot of games last year.

Although it's true that I spent less time on video games in 2015 than I did in the couple of years before, that's mostly because I got a "real" job (as in, one that requires me to go into an office every day) in January and that put a damper on my ability to play the many 3DS, DS, PSP, Vita and other titles in my possession.

The "misty pink" Japanese 3DS I no longer own

Still, looking at the list below--which I cobbled together after reviewing the "play time" stats gathered by my three 3DS systems--I'm pretty impressed I was able to devote as much time as I did to the following 3DS and DS titles.

(Note: if I could figure out how long I played Dokuro and Danganronpa on my Vita, or Undertale on my Mac, I'd include them here and broaden this post's focus a bit. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be possible.)

1. The Legend of Legacy--39:00
2. Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley--24:13
3. 999--21:41
4. Hotel Dusk--17:18
5. Fantasy Life--13:41
6. Contact--13:15
7. Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus--12:45
8. My World, My Way--10:09
9. Okamiden--8:37
10. Pokémon Picross--5:17

Bonus round: I also spent nine hours and 15 minutes with the Nintendo Badge Arcade and nearly five hours with the DS version of Chrono Trigger by the time last year came to a close. And since the calendar flipped over to 2016, I've put another hour-plus into the latter release.

Here's how I spent my 2014 (3DS edition)

In case any of you are wondering: no, I won't be publishing other editions of this "series," as none of the other systems I used in 2014 were capable of recording how many hours I spent playing games on them.

At any rate, here's how much time I spent playing various 3DS games in 2014 (as per the "Activity Log" files on my Japanese and North American systems):

• Tomodachi Life ... 127:43
• Bravely Default ... 99:45
• Fantasy Life ... 88:08
• Etrian Odyssey IV ... 59:20
• Solitiba ... 57:30
• THE "DENPA" MEN 3 ... 42:19
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds ... 20:30
• Yoshi's New Island ... 12:31
• Super Mario 3D Land ... 12:10
• Rusty's Real Deal Baseball ... 6:30

The only "results" that surprised me were Etrian Odyssey IV and Rusty's Real Deal Baseball, as I had no idea I spent so much time with either title. Also, I'm kind of shocked I've yet to put more than six hours and 30 minutes into Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3. I guess that means I have to devote a bit more time to it in the coming days and weeks.

One last tidbit some of you may find interesting: apparently I spent just over 580 hours playing 62 "titles" (which includes the eShop, Activity Log and other apps, by the way) on my pair of 3DS systems in 2014.

Now that I've shared how I spent my 2014 (in regard to 3DS gaming, at least), please feel free to share how you spent yours in the comments section of this post.