Why I Skip Achievements in Games
Discover why I skip achievements in games, focusing on enjoying the main story without the hassle of hunting for trophies.
Trophies and achievements have become important part of gaming today. Many Xbox and PlayStation players love them because they allow you to track all your gaming progress in one place. With each game you play your account collects these achievements offering fun way to look back on everything you’ve accomplished over time. It’s like having a trophy case for your gaming history. However, why I skip achievements in games is simple — I prefer to enjoy the main story and move on rather than chasing every trophy.
However, I’ve never really felt the need to chase after these achievements or trophies when I play games. For me it’s enough to simply enjoy the main story of a game and move on to the next one in my collection. I don’t feel like I’m missing out by not focusing on earning every trophy or completing every achievement.
Reasone to Skip Achievements in Games
1. The Journey Feels Complete Once the Credits Roll
For me once credits roll on a video game it often feels like my adventure is complete. While many players enjoy earning every single achievement to fully experience everything the game has to offer, I’m usually satisfied with the core story alone. Once I’ve seen what happens to all the characters and watched their storylines wrap up, I feel a sense of accomplishment that tells me it’s time to move on.
This feeling is especially strong in large RPGs that take over 50 hours just to complete the main story. After investing that much time into game, I find that I’ve already gotten plenty of value from it without needing to chase achievements. Even if there are still side quests or optional tasks left, I’m content with journey I’ve already had.
That’s not to say I won’t stick around if I absolutely love a game. Sometimes, I’ll continue exploring a digital world if it truly grabs my attention. But in most cases, developers do a great job of making players feel accomplished just by finishing the main campaign. For me that’s usually enough to feel satisfied & ready to move on to my next adventure.
2. Achievements Can Feel Repetitive
I adore games that are quick to the point and allow you to start playing right away. Unfortunately, achievement hunting usually takes the opposite approach. Frequently, the impression is that the game has been extended by adding a ton of superfluous, unneeded stuff.
Many games have achievements that involve doing simple, repetitive tasks like wandering around a map, collecting random items. This type of gameplay doesn’t add much excitement and can make overall experience feel dull compared to the main story.
Personally, I’d much rather spend five hours diving into a new game than waste those same five hours collecting random things like feathers just to get an achievement. Skipping those tasks doesn’t take away from my enjoyment of the game.
Additionally, some accomplishments are unduly complex. For instance, to unlock the Overdesign II accomplishment in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, you must take out three formidable foes without damaging their shields—all while your character is on fire! It seems like such a strange, narrow purpose, and it’s not enjoyable. Even while some players might find the task enjoyable, I don’t think it’s worth spending hours on something that is so tedious and irritating.
3. My Backlog of Games Is Too Exciting to Ignore
One of the main reasons I don’t spend time hunting for achievements is because I have an exciting backlog of games waiting for me. I always try to keep up with the big game releases throughout the year, but it’s almost impossible to play them all. So, once I finish the main story of a game, I’m already looking forward to the next adventure in my library. Even if a game has interesting achievements, they don’t compare to the thrill of starting a brand-new game.
With so many amazing titles coming out in 2024 like Dragon’s Dogma 2, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Helldivers 2, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Astro Bot, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Space Marine 2 and Persona 3: Reload—there’s just too much excitement to focus on achievements. I’d rather dive into a new world than revisit old content just to check off a list of tasks.
Even if I were interested in completing achievements, excitement of the latest releases would pull me away before I could finish them. Since there are always fresh and exciting games to play and my backlog keeps growing, I just don’t have time to chase milestones. There are ton of incredible games available.
4. Achievements Aren’t Always Worth the Effort
One of the reasons I don’t focus on achievements is that they’re not always rewarding. There’s no standard rule for how achievements are created, so they can be very different from one game to another. This makes achievement hunting an unpredictable experience—what feels satisfying in one game can feel dull and tedious in another.
Because of this, unlocking a Platinum trophy or finishing all the achievements doesn’t always mean the same thing across different games. While some may only include repeated chores that don’t really add much to entire experience, others may call for great deal of expertise and effort. Since you never really know what to anticipate until you start chasing after milestones, this inconsistency, in my opinion, takes away part of the thrill.
Achievements are occasionally thoughtfully crafted to entice players to take on intriguing side missions or interact with unique characters which can be satisfying. Sometimes, though, they’re merely tiresome tasks that force you to explore dull areas of the virtual world. Because of this fluctuation, I’m not as interested in looking through a game’s achievements list and trying to get them all.
Sure, unlocking a rare achievement that only a small percentage of players have earned can be thrilling, but those moments are few and far between. When earning an achievement becomes more about spending extra hours on repetitive tasks rather than experiencing new and exciting content, I’d rather spend my time on something else. For me, there are plenty of other things I could be doing that feel more worthwhile than hunting down every achievement.
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5. Multiple Playthroughs for Achievements Are Too Time-Consuming
Requiring several plays to get achievement is one of most annoying kinds of gaming achievements. I think it’s more trouble than it’s worth replaying a game more than once even though some players like doing so to see the tale from a different perspective or take on more difficult tasks in New Game Plus. Sure, playing through game again with stronger enemies can be fun for some, but the time commitment to unlock just few extra achievements can feel overwhelming.
What’s even worse are achievements that you can miss on your first playthrough. In order to unlock these, you have to restart the game. Replaying the same content for hours on end just to get a single achievement may not bother you if you enjoy the game, but most people find it tiresome.
I’m not saying honors and accomplishments are bad. They are a fun method to gain more value out of games and give some players a sense of success. However, I don’t think they’re necessary. Even if I haven’t unlocked every achievement in the game, I’m more than happy to move on to the next one in my collection.
At the end of the day, there are other ways to feel like you’ve finished a game than just earning trophies and achievements. I’m content to enjoy the main event and go on without feeling obligated to linger too long by pursuing every last victory.