Finding The Joy of Finishing A Game Again
There’s a certain grief that comes with getting older as a gamer. not dramatic, not tragic, just that soft, quiet loss of free time. The kind of loss you don’t notice at first. You just stop finishing games. You start dozens, leave most in pause menus or main menus, and somehow feel more tired after playing than before.
It wasn’t that I fell out of love with games. I just didn’t have the time or energy for the ones that demanded 60 hours and a wiki tab open at all times. They weren’t made for someone who is living a full on adult life and what comes with it. I didn’t need “more game.” I needed less. Tighter. Leaner. Ones I know I will finish.
So, I stopped chasing epics and triple AAA games. I stopped pretending I’d “get around to it.” I pivoted hard into short games, games that knew what they were doing, said what they wanted to say, and then gracefully left the stage. Two hours. Maybe five. Sometimes even less. And suddenly, gaming felt good again.
Short games gave me back something I hadn’t realized I missed: the joy of finishing something. I wasn’t logging into worlds that expected me to live there. I was dropping in, experiencing a full arc, and walking away satisfied.
You Don’t Need to Grind to Escape
There’s a weird cultural lie we tell ourselves about gaming, especially when we’ve grown up with it, and that is the longer the game, the more “worth it” it is. That epic equals meaningful. That 80 hours of your life sunk into one digital universe is a badge of honor. And when I was younger, I believed that. I had the time and the back muscles for it.
Now? If a game tells me it has crafting, gear loadouts, and three skill trees, I quietly back away like it’s trying to sell me cryptocurrency.
Short games, on the other hand, are honest. They’re not trying to monopolize your life or turn you into a spreadsheet enthusiast. They respect that you probably don’t want to memorize button combos at 10 p.m. on a work night. They don’t care if you walk away for a week and come back not remembering the plot, because chances are, you’ll finish the game before that happens.
And here's the real trick: they’re no less emotionally powerful. Some of the most moving, brilliant, weird, hilarious, and beautifully designed games I’ve played in the last ten years have been very short. These games don’t sprawl, they cut deep. You don’t need a massive world to get lost in something. You just need good design, a clear voice, and an experience that understands your time is precious.
I started thinking of these short games the way I think about books of short stories or one-act plays. They’re small on purpose. They don’t demand weeks of your life. They just ask for your attention, and reward it generously.
Play Smarter, Not Longer
I used to think I’d outgrow gaming. That at some point I’d “mature out of it,” like you’re supposed to do with comic books and instant noodles. But the truth is, I didn’t outgrow games, I just outgrew the wrong ones.
What I needed wasn’t less gaming, it was gaming that fit the way I live now. I don’t want to spend 40 hours grinding just to feel “caught up.” I want to play something tight, weird, surprising, maybe even beautiful. and then go to bed on time. That’s where short games shine. They don’t need to prove anything. They’re efficient, emotional, often daringly experimental. Some don’t even have menus. Some don’t even let you save. And that’s not lazy, it’s deliberate.
I play more games now than I did during my so-called "gamer phase". And that feeling, that simple satisfaction of closing a game and actually seeing the credits roll without a walkthrough or a therapist? That’s worth way more to me than another unfinished epic sitting in my Steam library collecting edust.
Not to mention, the physical reality of gaming changes after 30. I don’t have the spine of a teenager anymore. If I’m going to sit and play something for a couple of hours, I want it to respect my body and my schedule. So yes, I’ve got a good chair/sofa. Yes, I play with the lights off. And yes, I sometimes reduce the difficulty and use a walkthrough if I’m stuck. This isn’t the Olympics. It’s game night.
Short games fit into my life the way stories used to when I was a kid. Not demanding. Not overwhelming. Just enough. And when they end, I walk away not exhausted, but recharged. That’s the kind of hobby I want to keep.
If you're trying to reconnect with gaming, or just want to remember what it feels like to actually finish a game and feel something, start short. Ignore the FOMO and the prestige grinds. You don’t need to climb a mountain to prove you like hiking. Sometimes a walk around the block is all you need, and it’s a whole lot easier on the knees.
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