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[nkarafo]

Especially in games where EXPLORATION is a vital part of the experience. Like Silent Hill 2.

You urge me to explore to find things and secrets but if i go the "wrong" way (or the intended way, depending on how you look at it) i get myself trapped in a cut scene where my character leaves the area and now i'm in a completely new area. unable to ever go back!

So every time i see more than one path to choose, i just pray i take the optional one first so i can actually explore it. Which is just a matter of luck.

Sure, sometimes you may have a save pretty close that you can load and fix your "mistake". But even those don't help when you have advanced very far into the story and you realize you missed some areas or stuff.

I get not all games are designed in a way that should allow you to go to earlier areas but games like the Silent Hill 2 remaster are very annoying with this. You explore one area and then, for some reason, something breaks behind you and that means kiss any previous areas goodbye. In a game where you are supposed to explore to find stuff like those secret photos or the memories, etc. Basically the game either forces you to re-play it or use a guide to make sure you don't go to the point of no return paths, something that's impossible to know before the mistake is made.

Another recent game i played that did this was Uncharted 4. The game locks you from previous areas on almost every step you take. But at the same time you are looking for those treasures, right? And i just love how you know you missed a treasure because they are listed in order so you get an empty entry in the list, before the last one you got. And most of the times you can't backtrack to find it. It's like the game is trolling you. So the only solution is to replay the whole level. At least don't let me know i missed them so i can continue the game in peace.

I don't know why games like to mess with my OCD like this. Is there any reason why every developer assumes i'm going to replay their game? IMO all these exploration heavy games that have points of no return should somehow warn you that you are missing something. Or simply allow us to revisit previous areas. There is no reason you can't re-explore the town of Silent Hill after you finish a "dungeon". It's a town with a map that you explore! There's also no reason to completely lock the finished dungeons either. Just let them open and let me roam around inside like an idiot if i think i missed something in there.

/Rant

 

[LectureMaster]

I don't know why games like to mess with my OCD like this.

 

[Hohenheim]

I kinda like it in some games, like the FF7 remakes, where it's a sign that it's finally getting close to the end!

 

[Alexios]

If it makes sense in the game/plot it's okay. But I quite disliked it for example in stuff like RE4 and Devil May Cry series as they made the games not feel like cohesive intricate worlds but just old school stages, even though they actually are designed more cohesive than the chapter/stage ends show.

 

[Generic]

Especially in games where EXPLORATION is a vital part of the experience. Like Silent Hill 2.

You urge me to explore to find things and secrets but if i go the "wrong" way (or the intended way, depending on how you look at it) i get myself trapped in a cut scene where my character leaves the area and now i'm in a completely new area. unable to ever go back!

So every time i see more than one path to choose, i just pray i take the optional one first so i can actually explore it. Which is just a matter of luck.

Sure, sometimes you may have a save pretty close that you can load and fix your "mistake". But even those don't help when you have advanced very far into the story and you realize you missed some areas or stuff.

I get not all games are designed in a way that should allow you to go to earlier areas but games like the Silent Hill 2 remaster are very annoying with this. You explore one area and then, for some reason, something breaks behind you and that means kiss any previous areas goodbye. In a game where you are supposed to explore to find stuff like those secret photos or the memories, etc. Basically the game either forces you to re-play it or use a guide to make sure you don't go to the point of no return paths, something that's impossible to know before the mistake is made.

Another recent game i played that did this was Uncharted 4. The game locks you from previous areas on almost every step you take. But at the same time you are looking for those treasures, right? And i just love how you know you missed a treasure because they are listed in order so you get an empty entry in the list, before the last one you got. And most of the times you can't backtrack to find it. It's like the game is trolling you. So the only solution is to replay the whole level. At least don't let me know i missed them so i can continue the game in peace.

I don't know why games like to mess with my OCD like this. Is there any reason why every developer assumes i'm going to replay their game? IMO all these exploration heavy games that have points of no return should somehow warn you that you are missing something. Or simply allow us to revisit previous areas. There is no reason you can't re-explore the town of Silent Hill after you finish a "dungeon". It's a town with a map that you explore! There's also no reason to completely lock the finished dungeons either. Just let them open and let me roam around inside like an idiot if i think i missed something in there.

/Rant

Same. They are evil.

 

[nkarafo]

Yeah, i try to avoid games like this. They are not healthy.

But i still liked Elden Ring and The Witcher 3.

 

[Robins]

I think Uncharted games manage it well.

You can just go to chapter select in the menu and replay any chapter without losing your progress. On different difficultly levels too.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Especially in games where EXPLORATION is a vital part of the experience. Like Silent Hill 2.

Just play the game again. These older games in particular were not intended to be "one and done". Hell, Silent Hill 2 remake essentially instructs you to play it repeatedly with the new game plus and multiple endings.

I've been enjoying some old Xbox 360 games repeatedly these days. I played through Alan Wake twice back-to-back. I am currently doing the same with Enslaved. You should try it! Play through on normal, then play again on a harder difficulty.

 

[Fahdis]

There is only one fill for this; either you become a Trophy/Cheevo whore to prioritise collectables. Or you become meticulous like a Trophy/Cheevo whore because they come with built in OCD. Lastly, git gud. - Trophy/Cheevo whore.

 

[Kataploom]

It is a cheap way to add replayability to a game because, you know, everyone will play a game 5 times in a row just to get a voice note they missed somewhere /s

I also hate it, whenever that happens I loose ALL interest I had in trying to find collectibles, I just stop giving an F, instead making me play more by exploring it just makes me play less because I'll go for the story and forget about anything else. I'm not playing a game twice unless I like them so much that I'll want to go back in like 10 years, not right away, I rather play other stuff after beating the last boss.

 

[mitch1971]

My OCD thrives on AC games. Fuck you Ubisoft.

Like most AC games, the first early hours of Syndicate has me mixing up a mission then collectables - checking off all the chests and shit in opened sections. With the London streets being wider than the usual AC streets, I was climbing up then down, up then down, thinking this is not how I usually travel. These London streets are not helping the AC cause. After giving my OCD it's satisfactory fill, I moved on to the 2nd or 3th mission and was finally given a grappling hook. Me and my bloody OCD. Gggggh!

 

[Laptop1991]

Yeah, i never went past that point in New Vegas after doing it the 1st time in my many replay's, it more or less means the game is coming to the end, basically game over, very few missions left, i prefer to keep playing.

 

[Esca]

I always use way markers for where to go next if available so that I can go the opposite ways to find everything first

 

[Badlucktroll]

yeah i’ve fucked over platinum trophies before with this mechanic

 

[ReyBrujo]

As a dungeon crawler myself I am used at them, mostly because you usually don't risk exploring more than necessary unless you want your party completely obliterated and having to start from scratch.

Also at 46 I no longer have OCD/completionist syndrome, I just want to finish the game and move on to the next one. I replayed Secret of Mana on Switch a month ago, finished it, then picked up Trials of Mana (which would be Seiken Densetsu 3, aka "Secret of Mana 2") and in the middle of the game I got a Midget Mallet and thought to myself, that looks oddly familiar... yep, Secret of Mana had it, I had obtained it when I played in my SNES 20 years ago but completely missed (and didn't even think about it) in my replay on Switch. And really didn't care.

Now, people want replayability and one way for that is to put trophies / achievements / unlockables in exclusive paths to force you either replay the game or know exactly where to save so that you can pick them all. The drawback is that many (most?) players end up playing the game watching a youtube video or reading a walkthrough so that they can get everything in as few replays as possible which is kind of nonsense, it's like pausing a movie every 10 minutes to read the next chapter of the book it's based on so that you know what will happen so that you can catch the clues.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Sounds like ure getting old and nothing else. Games, especially linear ones were always like this. Time to move on from trying to do 100% at an older age else you'll never have time to play anything else.

 

[Spukc]

the second i realized everything but the main mission is just added fluff bullshit.. made my life sooo much better <3

 

[Quasicat]

Yeah, i never went past that point in New Vegas after doing it the 1st time in my many replay's, it more or less means the game is coming to the end, basically game over, very few missions left, i prefer to keep playing.

New Vegas is pretty quick if you just play the mainline quests. The first time I played it, I ran straight to Vegas, gambled like crazy, and then did all of the Yes Man quests. I hit the point of no return about 10 hours in…at which point I spent the next 60 hours just doing all of the quests that I had missed. What a great game!

 

[Dr.brain64]

It's bad game design.

 

[Laptop1991]

New Vegas is pretty quick if you just play the mainline quests. The first time I played it, I ran straight to Vegas, gambled like crazy, and then did all of the Yes Man quests. I hit the point of no return about 10 hours in…at which point I spent the next 60 hours just doing all of the quests that I had missed. What a great game!

Yeah it is a great game, i've taken various routes over the years from going to the Strip at level 1 and getting the globes to doing the first part of Lonesome Road first then back to the wasteland, but i never just did the main quest's like you, i can't! i love being immersed in the world too much, Fallout 3/4 as well, but i have only ever finished New Vegas once lol., i've replayed it on countless occasions.

 

[Aesius]

Shadow of the Erdtree is one of the worst offenders. Oops, I went too close to the castle (DIDN'T EVEN ENTER IT), now every NPC questline automatically advanced and I locked myself out of cool items and interactions.

 

[PauloRoberto]

I see no problems with points of no return.... i see ALL THE PROBLEMS with points with no return WITHOUT WARNING! I hated the forest part of RE4 Remake because of that. The map gives all the indications that the forest area is mainly interconnected, but them it's not anymore... did you forget to take something? Ops!

 

[intbal]

OP, you might want to avoid this game:

I suspect you really wouldn't like what happens about halfway through.

 

[Quasicat]

Yeah it is a great game, i've taken various routes over the years from going to the Strip at level 1 and getting the globes to doing the first part of Lonesome Road first then back to the wasteland, but i never just did the main quest's like you, i can't! i love being immersed in the world too much, Fallout 3/4 as well, but i have only ever finished New Vegas once lol., i've replayed it on countless occasions.

The funny thing is, I completely lucked out the first time I played it. I found a stealth boy right after hitting the Powder Gangers and kept my distance from the Deathclaws…next thing you know Benny’s dead and I’m almost done with the main quest. It’s like the first time I played Oblivion, I hit the wrong button and flamed a guard with really powerful armor and weapons and was untouchable for most of the game.

 

[Laptop1991]

The funny thing is, I completely lucked out the first time I played it. I found a stealth boy right after hitting the Powder Gangers and kept my distance from the Deathclaws…next thing you know Benny’s dead and I’m almost done with the main quest. It’s like the first time I played Oblivion, I hit the wrong button and flamed a guard with really powerful armor and weapons and was untouchable for most of the game.

Yeah, i always liked the way New Vegas would react to the choices and action's you made, you had to be careful what you did or you would fail missions and lock yourself out of a lot of content but the game let you do that, everyone's experience was different depending on what you did and when you did it, would love a remaster or a NV 2, don't think it's gonna happen though.

 

[IAmRei]

You might hate older FF then.
in contrary, that's the sense of decision for me, and somehow love and hate relation with it since I first understand it on the FF7-9

 

[Duchess]

I only hate it when they don't tell you.

I'm very grateful to devs who shove up that warning saying that if you progress from here, you'll be in the end game.

 

[Soodanim]

My OCD thrives on AC games. Fuck you Ubisoft.

Like most AC games, the first early hours of Syndicate has me mixing up a mission then collectables - checking off all the chests and shit in opened sections. With the London streets being wider than the usual AC streets, I was climbing up then down, up then down, thinking this is not how I usually travel. These London streets are not helping the AC cause. After giving my OCD it's satisfactory fill, I moved on to the 2nd or 3th mission and was finally given a grappling hook. Me and my bloody OCD. Gggggh!

I had a bit of that with No Man’s Sky. I went off finding this and that to craft everything I came across, then I got to a point where I decided to clear up the quest log.

I then found out that the basic quests hand you or hand hold you through the creation of most of the stuff I had spend hours doing, so it felt like a waste of time crafting and surviving. I got out of my ship with A or S class gear and went through stages to craft or be given C class junk.

---

Points of no return train you to play a certain way to not be stung by them, so when games go out of their way to not sting you they make it feel like you’re stinging yourself.

I’ve seen a few games that actually say, either by tapping the 4th wall or by other means, that you’re at a point of no return of some description. I appreciate the effort there. Although it makes me second guess myself when I’ve explored an area fully and I get a generic message, but it’s like the game is saying “But have you?”

 

[Danjin44]

In my first playthrough for any game I’m not obsessed finding EVERYTHING, I play it naturally and if I miss something it gives me good motivation to do another playthrough.

Then again I’m one of very few people who enjoys playing same game multiple times.

 

[nemiroff]

As an OCD-like gamer I just love it when games have invisible and abrupt one-way triggers for end-of-level..