I’m a video game completionist. I’m trying to kick that habit in 2025

digitaltrends.com:

My relationship with games has changed many times over my lifetime, but one constant has always been how I approached them from a completionist standpoint. From my younger years all the way through to young adulthood, I have been in a position where I only got a couple of new games a year. Because gaming was my passion, I would squeeze every ounce of content out of a game to make it last. That started out as things like finding every secret or completing every challenge, to the modern tradition of Trophy and Achievement hunting for an “official” 100% completion.

Reflecting on my last few years of gaming — especially in 2024 — I have realized that this habit is diluting my enjoyment with gaming rather than strengthening it. I don’t intend on playing fewer games in 2025; instead I want to break my habit of feeling so obligated to complete games and let my time with them end naturally.

Watered-down memories

I never intended to be a completionist. It was something I sort of fell into out of necessity when my gaming options were so limited and I was desperate for more ways to get any kind of mileage out of the games I had. That took a bit of creativity prior to getting an Xbox 360, but after I was introduced to Achievements (and later Trophies on PlayStation) I suddenly had clear objectives to chase. At the time, I was happy to get some kind of recognition and feedback for doing everything the game asked of me in some kind of record. Like with many people out there, it even became a bit of an obsession to get that 100% or Platinum Trophy, despite knowing it is meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

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I mostly regret the effort I put into that pursuit — and it isn’t just because I can afford new games whenever I want. It’s because I am tarnishing