Baldur’s Gate 3
A lot of folks are listing their favorite games but this is the one that truly fits.
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Unusually long development time by a studio known for DnD-simmiliar RPG games getting the next installation for the series that defined the genre.
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Cast voice actors for several years, ones that are still playing their characters on a variety of platforms.
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Just chock filled references to DnD lore, cute in-jokes, and faithful updates on old characters.
Everyone involved clearly loved it!
It got people not previously interested in DND to actually enjoy DND.
Also, as a literal interpretation, it occurs over 3 arcs.
Unusually long development time
No joke, I installed the open-beta/pre-release years ago, played for a bit, and uninstalled it. When the actual release dropped, I had the most intense déjà vu about it all because I forgot that had even happened. I had to go back to my Steam library to puzzle it all back together.
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As far as labors of love go, Stardew Valley is probably the most current example. People paid for this thing years ago, but Concerned Ape keeps adding new features anyway. The retro graphics give this thing a timeless quality out of the box, so it already looks “dated” - this hasn’t stopped the robust player community around it. We’ll probably see this game stay relevant for a long time.
Ocarina of Time
