It's not you, Amaterasu, it's me

I'm just about to hit the 30-hour mark in Okami, and I'm starting to think I've had enough.

Maybe it's the inordinate amount of time I spent tonight doing side stuff, looping back and forwards between areas to pick up items and treasures, but even when I went to progress the story it felt like a slog. I think it's possibly a mistake to have put the ice/show section this late in the game; after the green fields of Shinshu, Ryoshima's blue seas and the red architecture of Seian, the howling winds and grey expanse of Kamui is just... dull.

Then there's more lengthy exposition, more Issun, more dumb battles against friendly NPC just to pad out a game that's already in danger of outstaying its welcome. If the end was in sight it wouldn't be so bad, but this is now essentially the third arc and each of the previous two felt like they could have been the end of the game.

And there's so much more to come - I can remember three more distinct sections of the game (of varying lengths), and I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting some others.

I should be glad I have a title this big to sink my teeth into; when I decided I wouldn't be buying any games this year (except The Last of Us), I would have been relieved to see something as filling as Okami on the schedule. Now, I'm kind of wishing I had more, shorter games.

Maybe it's the way I'm playing it; spending two or more solid hours a night with it, I'm just over-exposed. I started Far Cry 3 last night and have The Cave downloaded from PS+, and there are other games I'd like to replay (I've had an itch to give Catherine another playthrough). Focusing on one game at a time, rather than taking a more buffet approach, could be more draining than I'd have thought.