Finishing Games is So Weird

There are a lot of benefits, I’m finding, to streaming five days a week. One is the variety. I’m getting a chance to give more time to games I might not’ve given much to in the first place. I’m also revisiting games I’ve not seen in years, all for the sake of entertainment and variety. However, there is one thing that has just been so, so weird to me…

I’m finishing games.

This is so, so strange to me, because in my long, long history of video gaming, I’ve maybe finished five to ten percent of all the games I’ve played. Here’s a smattering of the games I’ve actually finished pre-streaming:

• Starflight 1 and 2
• X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X-Wing Alliance (I’ve not yet finished the X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter campaigns)
• All Wing Commander Games
• Freespace 1 and 2
• Knights of the Old Republic
• Titanfall 2

That might be…it, really? There might be a few others, but for the most part, that’s it. Even if it seems like a lot, out of all the games I’ve played it is nooooot. My gaming ADHD has typically prevented me from finishing games, or heck, even getting halfway in many of them. I mean I’ve gone years, YEARS between finishing games.

I don’t really want to blame the games for this, as it’s not their fault I apparently need a very specific combination of features and circumstances to really click with a game. I can also put together a very short list I’ve put more than twenty hours into over the last few decades.

However, since I began streaming, I’ve now finished:

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Fallen
• Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force
• 3030 Deathwar Redux

AND IT IS SO WEIRD. I don’t even know why it’s weird. I finish movies and books all the time. ALL THE TIME. Why is it so weird, in my mind, to have actually finished a game? The feelings on finishing these games have been mixed as well. For The Fallen, I felt relief, because wow, F that game. Seriously. But for the others? I felt sadness. It’s not like I can’t play them again, but still, they’re over, and that makes me sad.

This’ll definitely be something I have to get used to as I stream more. I’m honestly not sure how to feel about it. I kind of enjoy the stream of consciousness-style gaming I’ve been doing, and there’s nothing to say I can’t continue that on my own time, but still. Weird, y’all.

So what about you guys? Do y’all consistently play a game until you finish it and move on? Do you bounce from game to game, barely finishing anything? Is it a mix? I’d love to hear about your gaming journeys. Thanks for reading!