When Rewards aren’t Worth It

People always say that you won’t get anywhere without working hard. I definitely believe that to be true. However, this statement is something that I have always felt to be a bit misleading. You can work very hard and not be rewarded for your efforts after all. Sometimes it isn’t about just putting in all of your effort into something, but instead it is about how patient you are in being able to see it through until the end. That patience can only last for so long though, especially when you know that the benefits are not worth the efforts that you are making. Gamers are unfortunately the type who let their curiosity get the best of them. Not a single person who games regularly stops and thinks to just go along with what the game wants of them. They resist as best they can to see what they can get away with in the game engine. The mark of someone who enjoys games is often dictated by the amount of time they invest in one. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it was really worth it. At the time I’m writing this post I have over 700 hours of playtime in The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. Does that mean I enjoyed all of that time going for different achievements and unlocking new content? Absolutely not. That is to assume that I am some sort of god gamer who can turn a terrible playthrough into a broken one at the drop of a hat. While I have had my fair share of fun runs, maybe more have been panic inducing to say the least. Will all the stress stop me from trying to reach full completion. No, but I will definitely feel drained if I ever do manage it.

You see I started thinking of this topic while I was playing some more Pokémon Legends Arceus and trying to complete the Pokédex. I was just playing through the game like normal when it suddenly dawned on me that I had never completed the Pokédex before in any Pokémon game. Back in the day, I had good reasons for that as I needed multiple people to collect all of the Pokémon and unfortunately I didn’t know many people back then who wanted to play games with me. Eventually that would eventually blossom into the idea that I just can’t be bothered to try and collect them all. I realized that there was not much incentive for me to do so unless I really wanted to go shiny hunting. Oh, and let us not forget that fancy virtual certificate that you get. Woo. I mean really, what is the point of putting in all that effort for a certificate. It is one thing if the experience is enjoyable, which I can say it is in this latest installment. Heck, I even found a shiny for the first time in years and I caught it too. So why do it? The answer is because you can. At least they give you a legitimate reason this time. If you want God, then complete the Pokédex. Nice and simple. I know that I am doing this for good reason, so there is that at least. However, I will not forgive some of the sidequests in that game. Relying on RNG and specific timing to activate certain events can be so annoying. It is not even like they are that hard and yet they feel like they take an eternity. Those who have completed them know which ones they are. You might say that I should just move on since it isn’t worth it at this point, but I can’t. Why? Because if I do that, then the game developers have beaten me. UNACCEPTABLE.

Okay, calming down a bit. We’re back now. Look, I think the thing that bothers me the most is not that the rewards aren’t worth it. I am not doing it for the rewards most of the time. The main thing is that they put this kind of stuff in to challenge you, knowing full well what you will have to go through to accomplish your goal and then still give you a garbage reward. It is basically a form of torment. If you are going to make me live through pain, at least give me a break at the end. I bet there is even going to be some DLC later that will make me jump right back in again like The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth did when it came out with DLC multiple times. While I appreciate more content, part of me stills dies a little inside at seeing all this new content spring forth at a rate where I can’t even digest it. It just is a lot to take in sometimes. Look, maybe I am a little bit out of it while writing about this. I will admit to be a little bit unhinged today, but know that I mean it when I say that when I play I like to feel a sense of accomplishment. If I want to experience fear and pain, I can always go shoe shopping or something. I definitely don’t need that when I am trying to unwind. How can I possibly get so stressed about the time in a videogame? Am I losing my mind here? I don’t need bragging rights, I need useful items. I need things to mean something. Don’t have me waste my time while I am wasting time! That sentence does make sense, I promise. Anyway, I should wrap up by saying that sometimes I have a problem with trying to solve everything, so I would appreciate it if the game would stop enabling me and then making me feel like garbage afterwards. Looking at you Buizel. See you all next week.