Games That Punish You for Being a Completionist

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Most video games are built around a main goal, like beating a final boss or finishing all levels. But even after achieving that goal, players often find tons of extra things to do – side quests, collectibles, and other optional challenges. In fact, the longest games are usually filled with this kind of content, appealing to players who like to complete everything.

Lots of games offer many achievements for dedicated players who enjoy completing challenges. However, sometimes developers jokingly ‘punish’ players for going above and beyond, making their hard work feel pointless or like a joke. Essentially, be prepared for unexpected outcomes when you try to do everything.

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The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

All That For Nothing

Details:

  • Collecting every Korok seed ends with a literal gag item
  • Completionism becomes a commentary on obsessive play

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is well-known for hiding 900 Korok Seeds throughout the game world, pushing players to thoroughly explore every area. While collecting all of them seems like a huge accomplishment, the ultimate reward—Hestu’s Gift—is intentionally a silly, golden item, a clear joke meant to be anything but a satisfying prize.

This changes how players approach collecting items in the game. Nintendo seems to be suggesting that getting every seed wasn’t the point, and the game playfully pokes fun at players who feel compelled to complete everything. While the game generally encourages exploration and rewards it, this addition is a clear jab at those who go to extreme lengths just to finish a checklist.

NieR: Automata

Money Is The Answer

Details:

  • Achievements all the way up to the platinum can be bought
  • Undermines the traditional value of completion tracking

NieR:Automata is full of surprises, constantly subverting what players expect, both in its story and how you play. But the achievement system takes this to another level. Once you’ve finished the main story and Route C, you can actually buy achievements with in-game currency, instead of earning them through gameplay – if you have enough money, that is.

I was really surprised when I first encountered this in the game. I’d planned on playing through it multiple times, but seeing the platinum trophy available for purchase in a store completely altered how I viewed the entire experience. Usually, achievements represent skill or commitment, but NieR presents them as just another item you can buy – which, considering the game’s story, actually feels fitting.

Shadow Of The Colossus

The Fruits Of Your Labour

Details:

  • Secret garden only accessible after several playthroughs
  • Reward is a fruit that actually decreases the Wanderer’s stats

Few games manipulate players’ feelings as powerfully as Shadow of the Colossus. Throughout the game, players improve their character’s abilities, but even with fully upgraded stats, the final challenge – climbing the Shrine of Worship – proves incredibly difficult, often resulting in failure.

I was pretty confused at first. Without giving away too much about what you get at the end, I had to look it up online and discovered you need to play the game multiple times to build up your stats enough to succeed. So, I played through it a second and then a third time, started climbing, and found a hidden garden with a fruit that actually lowered my stats, making all my previous effort completely pointless in seconds.

The Stanley Parable

Breaking Every Wall Possible

Details:

  • Go Outside achievement requires the player to wait 5 real years to get (without cheating)
  • Completion plays into the absurdity of the game

The Stanley Parable is famous for being incredibly self-aware, constantly breaking the rules of typical games. It frequently acknowledges it is a game, and playfully highlights its own absurdity. This extends even to its achievements – one challenges players to simply not play the game for five years, or even ten in the deluxe edition.

I’d finished the game multiple times when it first came out, and I was pretty annoyed to see that achievement. I really wanted to unlock everything legitimately, without resorting to cheats. Luckily, after taking a break, I went back and finally earned it. It turned out completing everything wasn’t about being good at the game, but just having a lot of patience.

Super Mario Sunshine

Appreciation For Your Efforts

Details:

  • The secret ending is just a postcard mocking the player.
  • Tedious collection process

Super Mario Sunshine stands out as a particularly unique game in the Mario series, and that’s largely thanks to its setting and how challenging it is to fully complete. Getting 100% completion isn’t easy; players have to find many hidden blue coins. These coins are often located in unpredictable places, requiring a lot of repeated attempts and unusual actions just to collect a few.

However, once players overcome the final challenge after completing the beaches, they receive a humorous postcard wishing them a pleasant vacation – a playful way of signaling the game is over. While amusing, this ending can be surprisingly frustrating, particularly for players hoping for a more rewarding conclusion to their efforts.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch

Boss After Boss

Details:

  • Philmobile, which lets players drive around without encounters, despite already clearing the map
  • Represents the catalyst for all the game’s events in the first place

In Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, players can earn a very unusual reward by completing all of the game’s optional content. If you finish everything the game has to offer, you’ll unlock the Philmobile – a quirky vehicle inspired by the car seen at the beginning of the story.

Looking back, the situation is powerfully ironic. Philip’s death in the car is what initially sends Oliver into the world of Ni no Kuni and starts the whole story. After dedicating many hours to rebuilding the world, collecting creatures, and finishing almost everything the game offers, the final reward turns out to be a reminder of the tragic event that began the journey – and it isn’t even very useful, now that there’s nothing left to do in the game.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Grinding The Fun Out Of It

Details:

  • After completing all side activities, the endgame bosses become a cake walk
  • Actively punishes those seeking all the content

E33 exceeded all expectations, proving that a small team with strong ideas can create a groundbreaking RPG. Players are captivated by its world, story, and combat, all of which combine to create a vast and engaging game with lots of optional content and areas to discover.

When the final part of the game starts, you can head straight for the last battles or explore optional side quests. However, if you complete everything the game offers, the final challenges become much easier. I personally preferred focusing on the main story, and initially found the final bosses very difficult. Seeing others breeze through them after spending many more hours on side content, I realized I enjoyed the more focused and challenging experience of sticking to the core game.

God Of War Ragnarök

Becoming A True God

Details:

  • Overpowered level of strength in the later stages
  • Hard to tell how much side content is too much

In God of War Ragnarök, players aren’t forced down a single path. You’re free to explore lots of optional quests and activities, and there’s no level cap. This means that if you spend time completing everything and collecting powerful gear, you can become incredibly strong, often far exceeding the difficulty the game expects at that point in the story.

This change focuses more on overpowering enemies than on skillful survival, which can feel good at first, but ultimately makes defeating challenging bosses less rewarding. While briefly satisfying, it simplifies fights, removing the need for thoughtful tactics and creating an unbalanced experience instead of just a slight advantage.

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2026-05-16 02:10