Thank you for your perspective! Now that I think about it, your theory doesn’t seem that far out there.

Thank you, this is the kind of context I was looking for!

Yes, maybe I was looking for more than there is to it. For me, it felt very pathos-y and as if it wanted to convey a deeper message, but when I found none at the end, maybe that’s exactly what Anderson was going for here. Or is going for in many of his movies. I think I’ll see another one of his to try and make this clearer to me.

And I agree on there being a lot of characters! It’s a great cast that shows up surprisingly little, so to say. :D

Interesting that the Hitman games make you feel like this, I thoroughly enjoyed them because of the ability to replay levels endlessly, which made me feel like I can’t miss anything because I can just start over if I want to try a different approach.

Totally agree on them taking too long and I’ve also found myself being annoyed with Addison quite quickly. The koroks I don’t mind as they offer a different challenge every time and it’s not very relevant to complete them all. But Addison’s tasks are. always. the. same. Boring!

100% agree with you, being a completionist also sucks the enjoyment out of games for me. I feel like I’m not as far along as you and still have to “get” that I don’t HAVE to explore and find everything. Just takes a while, probably. :) It’s hard for me to decide whether a game is worth exploring extensively or not.

Very well said, you’re right! There’s definitely too much to see for a single person in a single playthrough.

Truee, Fallout also made me feel like this! I’ve only ever started FO4 but I had to return it within the first two hours of playing because I felt forced to loot every house and find every little story in that giant world. Too much for me!

I feel this 100%, I’m also currently playing it with a friend (well, we’ve been at it for more than 6 months) and I’m so so glad he’s pulling me through the game, I’d never ever finish it on my own.

Glad to see you’re also a bit confused about TotK! It definitely feels like it has less of a direction it pushed you in than BotW. There was another comment that suggested completing a bit of the main story first, I think I’ll try that for now.

Oh wow yeah I definitely missed that memo. But that goes in line with what another person said about persuing the main quest first and exploring a bit later. Thanks for the tip!

True lol, I’ve purposely been steering clear of that game because even seeing other people play it makes me think about what they could’ve missed. :D

Anti-completionist! I like that. That makes a lot of sense, I think it really might be my inner completionist that wants me to see every nook and cranny of a game. But you’re right about that taking away the magic. Similar to when you replay a game you played as a kid and realise that there’s a lot less to the once magical game world than you thought.

Oh, that’s interesting that you feel that way about sandbox games. I get that it can be irritating to not have a clear goal or end to the game. They’re more about making up your own challenges and by that your own gameplay experience on the way. Reminds me of Minecraft!

Somehow, sandbox games don’t induce that kind of anxiety for me because I never feel like I’m “missing” something if I tackle a challenge one or the other way because there’s always another playthrough up next to explore the other route.

Thanks for your perspective, that sounds like a good way to tackle that game. In my last session, I just felt that there was so so much to do and wanted to do everything at once. Maybe I’ll also focus on the main story for now and get to exploring a bit later. It’s like you said: We have all the time in the world, Hyrule’s literally sitting there waiting for us to come and explore.

Funny you should mention Disco Elysium and LiS! I loved Life is Strange because it felt very purpose-driven and really led you into a clear direction story-wise. On the other hand, I feel like I’m one of the three people who didn’t bother to finish Disco Elysium :D I tried and tried to like it for more than 15 hours of playtime, but in the end I had to admit that its dialogue is too lengthy and that it felt a little too slow story-wise, for my taste at least!

That’s probably the best way to go about it!

I’m what I call a seasonal reader - I almost only read during the warmer months on my cute little balcony. I don’t know what it is, but that’s just my perfect setting for reading. I just can’t get myself to read more than a few pages when I’m indoors. A cold glass of water, the warm summer sun and a great book are what I need!