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Gaming is loads of fun. The engagement and immersion go far beyond what you get from a movie or a good book. However, with so much busywork, what starts as a fun pastime can quickly turn into an annoying chore. I found myself doing things I didn’t want to do, simply because I felt compelled by the fear of missing out (FOMO). I was so caught up in that fear that I didn’t even realize I was missing the whole point of playing.
That’s when I started letting go. One by one, I dropped the habits that drained all the soul and enjoyment from my gaming sessions. Now, instead of serving my games, they serve me, and the experience has gotten way better.
9I Stopped Chasing Secrets and Chests
It feels like every other single-player game is packed with hidden chests, loot stashes, secrets, Easter eggs, and various collectibles, all just waiting to be discovered.
Some of these are genuinely useful—like the Vitis steel sword and Toussaint armor set found near a random pond in the Land of a Thousand Fables quest fromThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wineexpansion.
However, most of these are in such niche locations that there’s a solid chance I’d never stumble upon them, and I would be none the wiser. I’d never be aware that I missed out on that sword and armor set in The Witcher 3 had I not heard about it earlier online. Realistically, by that point in the game, my Geralt was already so powerful that I didn’t need any extra gear to handle enemies.
TheGod of WarandDevil May Cryfranchises are especially notorious for hiding chests and secret challenges in hard-to-reach areas. More often than not, the game teases you with a glimpse of a chest but gives you no clear idea how to reach it.
After hundreds of hours in games like these, I’ve run out of patience trying to figure out every trick and path. Instead of wrestling with frustration or looking it up online, if it’s not immediately obvious, I now simply skip it. Chances are, the loot isn’t that important anyway, so why ruin the pacing by wasting time on it when I could be playing the actual fun parts of the game?
I now let all those chests and secrets find me. If I stumble upon them, great—and if not, I’ll just read about them in an article or watch a YouTube video on everything I missed after I finish the game. That way, I don’t feel like I missed the amusing stuff, especially when it’s something cool like theJust Cause 2"Lost" Easter egg or the Sasquatch inGTA V.
8I Don’t Force Interest in Side Content
There are games where the side quests and expansions are the meat of the experience or, at the very least, are equal to the main story.The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,Fallout: New Vegas,Red Dead Redemption 2, andCyberpunk 2077all come to mind.
However, not all games do a great job of making side content meaningful (and that’s okay). Sometimes, side quests exist purely for immersion, world-building, or to give the player extra stuff to grind. What matters is knowing the difference between content that adds real value and content that’s just filler.
A seemingly simple fetch quest inSkyrimmight spiral into a quest for a Daedric artifact, whereas the same type of quest in anAssassin’s Creedgame will just earn me a handful of drachmae or dirhams to spend on consumables and gear. All those pointless side quests have taught me that I’m not, in fact, missing out on anything, which is why I’ve stopped playing any that don’t seem immediately interesting.
7I Don’t Panic About Taking the “Wrong” Path
The classic “fork in the road” dilemma appears in almost every modern game. Do you take the left or right path? Should you backtrack if your route doesn’t lead to a chest or secret? Which character do you side with? Do you spare the enemy or deliver justice? These choices can be tough.
More often than not, there’s no going back. Well, at the very least, not without reloading an earlier save. I’ve decided to let go of that habit, since the fear of missing out drained all the weight and meaning from my decisions and mistakes.
Now, I stick with my choice until the end, even if it doesn’t lead to the outcome I hoped for. Even if I lose a beloved companion or miss out on the best sword, I don’t retrace my steps. Instead, I keep marching forward with confidence in my decision.
6I Stopped Forcing Roleplay
In case you’re not familiar with the concept of role-playing, it’s when you behave and make decisions as if you were the character you’re playing.
Whether you’re role-playing as an established character like Geralt of Rivia or Arthur Morgan, or as a unique, player-created character with a personality you’ve made up, such as a dark mage or a paladin, that choice is entirely up to you.
Role-playing can be heaps of fun ingames that allow player choice, likeBaldur’s Gate 3.
However, I stopped forcing it when I realized it had turned from fun into pressure. Hopping into a game for an hour after a long workday and trying to act a certain way just to stay in character felt both limiting and exhausting.
Now, I make decisions based solely on how I feel, even if it completely breaks the character or story arc so far. I’ll even kill an NPC in games likeThe Outer Worldsif the mood strikes me in the heat of the moment. At the end of the day, it’s my story to tell—and I don’t want to take that away from myself.
5I Don’t Take the Game Too Seriously
This ties into my previous point but focuses more on game mechanics and design than story. By reminding myself that I’m just playing a video game, I give myself permission to use the game’s systems to my advantage.
For example, I’ll use fast travel directly from the map instead of waiting for a horse-drawn carriage, train, or whatever travel mechanic the game provides. If that option isn’t built in, I might eveninstall a modto make it possible.
Similarly, I don’t force myself to follow designated roads. Instead, I’ll cut across forests and hills. I’d much rather spend a few minutes jumping and dashing to climb up a 90-degree hill inOblivionRemasteredthan following the winding mountain path.
I also use all the game mechanics, whether intended or not. That means chugging 10 Restore Health and Magicka potions inThe Elder Scrollsafter pausing the game. In fact, I’ll eventurn to cheatsif I really need to!
4I Stopped Forcing Hard Difficulty Settings
I used to always start my gameson hard mode. I considered myself a bona fide gamer, so I wanted to prove I still “got it.” Unfortunately, I didn’t. Games have become much harder than they used to be, often featuring extreme difficulties beyond hard mode, like the infamous one-life mode.
I am now mature enough to realize that the difficulty slider isn’t there to be maxed out; it’s there to tailor the experience to my preferences and skills. I no longer pretend it doesn’t exist and will gladly turn it down if I find myself dying too often, to the point where it disrupts the game’s pacing. I’ve also come to terms with the fact that I’ll probably never finish aSoulslike game.
I especially appreciate games that offerexpanded difficulty settings. These let me tweak specific parts of the game that I deem too hard, such as puzzles, combat, or stealth.
3I Let Go of Completionism
Back in school, kids wouldn’t let you say you’d finished a game unless you hit 100% completion. I carried that mindset into adulthood, feeling like I had to squeeze every last drop out of a game to justify the money I spent on it.
But once I let go of that compulsion, games instantly became more enjoyable. Even when I love a game and haven’t burned out on it yet,I no longer aim for 100% completion. More often than not, it involves chasing pointless collectibles or grinding throughchoresthat just aren’t fun, so why spoil the fun with something like that?
Now, I simply play until I’ve finished the main story and the side content that interests me. This way, when I wrap up, the game feels like it hasn’t outstayed its welcome. And as a bonus, should I ever decide torevisit the game, I’ll have some unfinished content to look forward to in the quests that I skipped the first time around.
2I Stopped Hoarding Items
I’ll admit it: I’m a hoarder in real life. Letting go of things is tough for me, and that character trait carried over into games. I meticulously organize all my items across different rooms and chests, just in case a quest needed a specific ingredient or material.
Now that I’m playingOblivion Remasteredand carry weighty heavy armor, I’ve had to face reality: I can’t lug around a hundred different potions “just in case.” My full armor, shield, and sword already weigh over 100 units.
With a ~200-unit limit before becoming encumbered, there’s simply no room for stacks of 0.5-weight potions. Instead, I travel light so that I have space for new gear or valuable loot to sell later.
I also don’t bother stashing tons of stuff at home, either. It’s easier to sell off the extras and carry weightless gold instead. If I ever need an ingredient, I can usually just buy it.
1I No Longer Look for Help Online
While sites likeGame RantandTheGamerare fantastic resources when you’re stuck, I try not to check online for help anymore.
Much like with my other points, I’m now focused on making my own adventure. If I look up how a quest decision affects my reward, I’m just spoiling my own experience for something I likely won’t need a few in-game hours later. As for important story decisions, well, I’ll have to live with the consequences of my actions (and watch the other endings on YouTube).
By trusting my choices and solving puzzles on my own, the outcomes feel meaningful and way more satisfying when I get them right.
The only exceptions are when I’m 90% sure I’ve run into a game-breaking bug and need to verify it, or when I’ve spent more than fifteen minutes stuck on something. That’s when I’ll turn to the pros. Otherwise, I try to figure things out on my own now.
Playing video games is undeniably one of the most fun and rewarding hobbies out there, but your approach makes all the difference. As I became more mature and self-aware, I learned to recognize the bad parts of gaming that spoil all the fun.
Now that I can identify those habits, I’ve stopped doing them, and I enjoy games so much more because of it. I encourage you to do the same—trust me, it’s far better to make time for more great games than to waste your time trying to squeeze every last drop out of just one.
Xbox Series X
The Series X is the most powerful current-generation console and offers access to Microsoft Game Pass for a large library of subscription games out of the box. It also doubles as a UHD Blu-Ray player!
