I'd go with "Hide the Sausage".
Gaming
Minecraft. Mods are like magic, and can totally change the game. I've lost countless hours just poking around and building fun things, even on vanilla.
Probably Rimworld. With the storytelling aspect, each playthrough feels like a different experience.
Plus the pure number of mods that can totally revamp and refresh things.
I have about ~9,000 hours logged in Skyrim over the last twelve years thanks to mods, and I'm sure I'm not done. So I'll stick with that.
Have you had a chance to try modded + in VR? Refreshes it completely once again.
Skyrim would probably be mine as well. There is just a lot that can be done with mods to vary it up.
Yeah, even unmodded you can easily dump 200+ hours into a single playthrough just exploring. Then another 100+ if you add just Legacy of the Dragonborn.
Chess
Chess people really are a different breed. I WISH I could be more passionate about it, but it feels so pointless to even try.
The Mass Effect trilogy (I consider it one game) - no matter how many times I play it, it still feels fresh.
For me, it would definitely be Red Dead Redemption 2. I've played the main story several times now and will probably soon start over again.
Skyrim
In fact, this is the only game that I have played for the last 6 months lol
Let's see how Starfield turns out to be. If it is any good, it will entertain me for thousands of hours and if it has good mod support, why not commit for it for the rest of my days? Still a lot of ifs tho
Probably RimWorld. Somehow I've managed to accumulate nearly 4,000 hours. I'm pretty sure I could play for another 4,000 easily and then for the rest of my life. I love the stories that come out of each colony and how attached I get to pawns. I'll never forget Dinkleberg, the troublesome cat that has nearly wiped my colony twice by leaving doors open for invaders then when out by snorting too much cocaine
Rocket league. I know some people consider it the same thing over and over, but to me it plays like a sport. Every match is different, I've been playing almost daily since the pandemic, which is when I got into it. And apparently I'm in the top 5% of players. Which just shows how much the game clicked with me
I would love to say Crusader Kings, but it's probably chess.
Rocket League
And I'm gonna hate the rest of my life
Rimworld with mods. The shear amount of wild and bizarre experiences that I have in that game could easily keep me entertained for a lifetime. I doubt I’d get bored with it. Other than Stardew Valley and Zelda BOTW, it’s the only game I keep coming back to and unlike those two games, I don’t get bored of it. I simply have to tear myself away from it so I can function like a normal human being again.
It's 6 AM and I've just spent an hour "testing"* a patch I wrote. Send help.
*It was immediately apparent the patch was fine, I just couldn't escape after verifying. It'd be a shame to waste all that load time, after all.
Dark Souls remastered
Yeah I’ve played that a TON but am nowhere near as good as a lot of people seem to be at it. So I guess a lot of time to git gud?
When Dark Souls clicks you'll be amazed you ever found it difficult. Until the next game and then suddenly it's hard again.
Cribbage, mainly because I like calling out 'one for his knob '.
Minecraft with mods definetly - really adds a lot of variety, and even though I take long breaks i've been playing it a ridiculous amount of time since early beta maybe 11 or so years ago.
Age of Empires 2. I am playing it for 24 years already, so why not 50 more?
Guild Wars 2
Honestly, yeah. If I'm allowed Mods, then the roof is just the level of my creativity. If I'm only allowed one game, it's a damned good one.
Can I add Mods? Then Skyrim VR.
If I can't, I'd choose a Game as a Service type of deal, if we could also make the assumption that the game would also be actively developed for the rest of my life.
Destiny 2 comes to mind, because I really love the lore and the gameplay.
If we can't add mods or the game won't be updated for the rest of my life, I'd still choose Destiny 2. After it gets cancelled, I'd just go outside and touch grass then, I guess. 😅
hahaha if you can add mods i would then DEFINITELY still choose minecraft and have x9999 more fun!
waiting to get cancelled to escape the purgatory, nice! hahahaha
Age of Wonders 4, the sheer replayability of the game is bonkers. And they will only release more content as time goes on, both through DLCs, free content updates, and workshop mods.
Before I had kids: PUBG. I went real hard on that game for 18 months. I played 10+ hrs a week and never lost interest.
After kids (PUBG is stressful, I don't need more of that) it'd be Rocket League. I've been playing it consistently since Day 1 and whilst I don't see myself improving much anymore, I still get a kick (ahem) out of scoring a nice goal, or a laugh at totally missing an empty net.
What rank? 33 with a toddler here in C1 and always looking for my next doubles or triples partner(s).
Binding of Issac, for me one of the few games I could probably continue playing for a decade and still enjoy.
Slay the Spire is a strong contender, but overall the Isaac devs seem more like they would be swayed to create even more content for me.
Oh wait I forgot about MMOs, maybe FFXIV is a better choice in that case, I just forgot about it cause I am taking a long break until the next expansion.
Dota. It's a game with infinite depth and variety. A game where the first 1000hours are the tutorial. A game where there are A LOT of players with over 10k hours in it. Nothing compares with its highs and lows.
Nethack. But definitely not in vr.
TheoTown, it's such an underrated mobile game and i would love to just play it for the rest of my life
Probably path of exile. I've already put so much time into that game and still have no idea what the hell I'm doing, I think I could easily put a lifetime in without trying everything.
Elden Ring is a contender for sure
For me it's Assetto Corsa (modded, in VR). Most-immersive, addictive, exciting gaming experience possible, in my opinion. I did thousands of miles on the Tokyo interstate at night alone, just trying out different cars. Sometimes raining. Sometimes not. Listen to music while you drive/race. Really amazing.
Probably Diablo 2 LoD. Best ARPG ever made.
Single player - F-Zero GX. The skill cap in this game is astronomical - mastering it akin to mastering a musical instrument. There's nothing else quite like it.
Multiplayer - Smash Ultimate. The amount of unique character matchups and interactions is so massive that there's always something new to see.
Honestly, I already rotate through maybe 4-5 games. Skyrim or Minecraft could probably hold me over.
Pull up a chair and let me tell you about a little game called Nethack.
Considering how many hours I’ve lost to FFXIV, I think that’s gonna be my choice!
I would probably say morrowind with all the community mods and modern engine.
FFXIV as a large majority of my friends play that game
With friends, it'd probably be World of Warcraft. I already have 20k+ hours in the game, and would likely play it even now, if Blizzard wasn't just complete garbage right now.
Solo, a Diablo game I think, although I don't know which. I haven't played D4 (and won't for a while, same reason as I mentioned above), I love the fast and fluid combat in D3, but D2 might have more variety.
Street Fighter 6. Hell, i know some who will only play that for a few years. FGC be damned.
Edit: Whoops, misread and thought it was for a year. I change my answer to Unity, lol.