Do any of you obsessively check your progress in a game? (Including using walkthroughs and such)

[Sabretooth]

I feel like I have the weirdest habit. I am obsessed with checking how far along I am in a game, kind of like how you'd check the seek bar when watching a movie or number of pages when reading a book. It's gotten to the point where it seems like I can't stop it if I wanted to. (Do I want to? *shudder*)

I love it when games actually tell you your progress by showing you a percentage, or at least the number of levels/areas etc. But if a game doesn't provide that, I get desperate and end up looking at walkthroughs of the game just to grab their table of contents and track my progress that way. Then I calculate my progress percentage after each game session, and it gives me a weird feeling of accomplishment.

Now you'd think that this means I may not actually enjoy playing games, if I'm so obsessed with getting them "over with". But I do this for all games (at least the ones that have clearly demarcated sections), regardless of how much I enjoy playing them. I will love, love, love a game, and I still can't resist checking how much more I have left to play.

Normally I wouldn't be such a snowflake about this, but it kind of gets to me because I wonder if I'm having an inferior experience by knowing how long a game is, and by sometimes being spoiled because of the chapter titles when looking up walkthroughs.

Does anyone else do anything like this?

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Nope.

 

[Kamiyouni]

lol that is an interesting case. I don't have that tick

 

[PurgeVIII]

No

 

[Jacobson]

I usually do, when the game has missables. Idc when people say I'm ruining the game for myself, they're not me, I enjoy when I play that way.

edit: well, not exactly the same as you OP, i don't constantly check walkthroughs for progress, i just want to make sure i don't miss any stuff

 

[Zeron]

Haha I do the exact same thing, OP. I keep a google docs spreadsheet where I mark off levels/chapters/etc and it calculates % complete.

 

[Themaddestgamer]

I only look something up if I'm stuck for quite a long time.

Before the www I was stuck on a spot in Tomb Raider for two weeks. Finally figured it out.

 

[angelgrievous]

I like trophies so I'll consult a guide on my second playthrough if it's a new game, say like God of War or something. If it's a remaster or a PS2 game with trophies added and I've already played the game I'll use a trophy guide during my initial playthrough.

If a game doesn't have trophies I'll just play it blind and accept whatever I end the game with.

 

[Sabretooth]

Haha I do the exact same thing, OP. I keep a google docs spreadsheet where I mark off levels/chapters/etc and it calculates % complete.

Click to shrink...

Yesssssssss, there are dozens of us! Dozens!

I hope!

 

[mindsale]

I monitor achievements, yes. Unless I'm on my Switch.

 

[CannonFodder52]

Yes, I do this way too much. Although, if I'm really loving a game I won't be as inclined to check.
I do this the most with backlog games.

I often check long plays on YouTube to see how far in I am based on the length of the video and what percent way through it I am.

This is a problem because knowing how much is left can ruin stuff, like potentially an unexpected epilogue.

 

[ClickyCal']

Erm, no. Sometimes will happen to check if a game shows it, but I don't really think about it unless a game is really draghing on.

 

[PrimeBeef]

Nope. I just play and have fun. If I miss something it's no big deal. I am a collector of strategy guides though. I hardly use them. Maybe on a second playthrough I'll try to get some things I missed out on. But for the most part I don't care about 100%ing a game, getting the good endings, or that super secret boss/weapon.

 

[Nax]

I do sometimes. Depends on the game. For certain games, like God of War, I go in completely blind and stay away from guides throughout.

 

[Brazil]

Sometimes I like checking how many chapters I still have left to complete a game. It usually happens when I'm starting to get tired of it :P

 

[Goldenroad]

Sometimes on repeated playthroughs. Like I always go back through the Souls games using a guide after I've beaten them blind, because there is usually some really obtuse stuff that I would have missed otherwise.

 

[Scheris]

Only for JRPGs, since usually they have asinine requirements and I don't really want to replay through it again if the NG+ mode, if available, isn't worth it.

 

[texhnolyze]

No, not really.

I do look up some guides/walkthroughs but only when I'm stuck at doing something. And sometimes I do check my progress if there's something I missed on the way, especially near the end of the game. 99% of the time, I play games at my own pace.

 

[Deleted member 1476]

Kinda? If a RPG has missables then yes, I'll keep checking to see if I missed one.

 

[Deleted member 864]

Not often, the only times I really do this are for big JRPGs or RPGs in general (while trying to avoid any story spoilers if at all possible).

 

[badnewsbeers]

I do it constantly. It's a ridiculous habit. Developed after having kids and game time dropping - I like to know where I stand so I can budget time accordingly.

I recently beat Wolfenstein The Old Blood without checking, and it was something of a relief.

 

[Jawmuncher]

My style of this is usually just checking walkthroughs to see my current progression. I enjoy knowing how close I am to the end of a game I'm playing.

 

[CrocoDuck]

Yes, in trophy achievements and activity logs.

 

[DrScruffleton]

I usually always follow achievement or trophy guides. But even when I don't, I usually load up playthroughs occasionally to see how much I have left. Another weird thing I do is read along with plot summaries as I am watching a movie or shows

 

[Rhaknar]

not obcessively no, but I do like to know how far into games I am, at least once during it.

or in special cases, for example I'm playing 999 right now, and I've been checking / will keep checking which paths to take to get the various endings, in as spoiler-free way as possible of course.

 

[Pyro]

Not obsessively. I think more games should give the option of seeing that progress bar though.

 

[Zafir]

I'll often check if there's missables when it comes to certain genres like RPGs, you can usually find spoiler free guides for stuff like that. I've had far too many bad experiences of going through a long game and missing one tiny thing that I'd never have guessed in a million years which cost me the better ending. Some JRPGs in particular have some truly awful ending requirements.

In terms of progression, I wouldn't say I check how far I am along as such, but I do sometimes check say howlongtobeat or something to see how long a game is. Just so it gives me a rough idea of what to expect.

 

[TheBeardedOne]

Unfortunately yes. More than I should for sure.

 

[Red Arremer]

Only to see if there's missable things, or, once I have completed the game, see what say, collectibles are still out there.

 

[LonestarZues]

I typically check how many chapters/levels a game has before I play it. Main reason I do it is so I can pace myself as I'm usually playing multiple games at a time.

 

[Dec]

I sometimes look up how far I am, or how much is left. Usually when I'm deciding if I'm going to be able to maintain interest in it long enough to complete it.

 

[RpgN]

Are you me OP? You're describing me, aren't you? :P

I've had this often when a game's plot gets spoiled due to the headlines inside walkthroughs. I've had this happen recently with Tales of Hearts.

Sometimes I use trophies or achievements to calculate a playtime. When games have percentages, I appreciate it too but even those are unclear sometimes when it takes hours to clear just one percentage.

It started happening after I built a backlog and it stayed ever since. I NEED to know how long a game might take to plan my playtime better and decide on a game to play next. For instance, I felt like playing a new game on the PS3. I picked Ico without hesitation because I knew it was a short game that would not affect my backlog much.

 

[Kolx]

If I feel bored and just want to see the ending or if I have a limited time and wanna know how long is remaining then yes.

 

[Chocobo115]

Only if I start to feel that I'm not enjoying the game and just want to reach the end of the game, movie, book.
But that's more to gauge how much more time I have to invest.

 

[Handa]

I definitely find myself looking up this info when a game starts to drag. Usually always ends up being around the last third of the game.

 

[The Mango Sentinel]

I'll do this when I feel like I'm really close to the end of a game that I'm not enjoying that much and I want to know if it's almost over.

 

[Zoroaster]

Only on my second run

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Not at all. I feel like this would hinder my enjoyment.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

Yeah I occasionally find myself getting curious and seeing just how far along I am in a game and how much more I have left.
It's weird.

It's kinda like wanting to know how much you have left so you know how much to savor what you've got or if you can still keep blasting through.

 

[Arebours]

it's the best way to sabotage your experience.

 

[Samanosuke Akechi]

Yesssssssss, there are dozens of us! Dozens!

I hope!

Click to shrink...

Add me to that. Sorta. I looked up on ign walkthrough for the evil within 2 for how many chapters it has so I knew how close I was getting to beating it.

I don't do it for every game though. Just the ones that are stressing me out or sorta starting to drag and I want to end soon.

I remember doing it for alien isolation too. That game felt like it was never gonna end.

 

[GameAddict411]

I wasnt obsessed with statistics of the games, but I was into getting platinum trophies among other things. I would feel bad about not playing every single thing a game has to offer. But engineering school came into the picture. So it's either spend incredible amount of time to beat a game, or do all the important things to enjoy the game, and move on. I choose the latter.

 

[cfer50]

Coincidentally, this doesn't resonate with video games but I can relate with movies, podcasts and books etc.

I think it can enhance the experience, knowing there is a finite length of time to wrap things up..!

 

[kubus]

If a game has story trophies I will check how many there are and calculate my progress that way. For example, AC Odyssey has a trophy for each chapter so it was easy figuring out how many chapters there are.
With jrpgs I always check my progress using a walkthrough. I like to know how far ahead I am. It even gives me a sense of accomplishment to know that I'm exactly 2/3 or 1/4 in the game and it gives me motivation to play just a little more that evening to get to that milestone. I know that it sounds like I want these games to be over with... but I'm actually having fun. It's more enjoyable that way for me. Maybe also because I don't have a lot of time to game. It helps me budget my time.

So I feel ya OP.

 

[Nose Master]

The only time I really care is super long JRPGs, but not quite the way you're describing it. More of a "is this over yet"

 

[Bitanator]

I do this

 

[Laserbeam]

I occasionally become curious about how far along I am in a game and will sometimes ask or try and check spoiler free, but it is mainly for no other reason than curiousity, or if something feels like it is really dragging.

 

[Kizuna]

Guilty of this as well. Wish I didn't do this to be honest, but I can't help myself getting curious. "Story completion percentage" may just be the best feature in the Uncharted series.

 

[matrix-cat]

I usually look at the Trophy list before I start a game to get an idea of how many chapters there are, and sometimes if I'm starting to get sick of a game I'll check a walkthrough to see how much longer I have to go and if I really want to stick it out.

 

[Tygerjaw]

Yeah, sometimes. Time is limited.