People play games for all kinda of reasons from uncomplicated fun, engaging stories, or difficult challenges. While I enjoy games with a strong story line I also enjoy the challenge offered by games. Specifically, I enjoy the satisfaction that comes with accomplishing a difficult task in a game. These are some of the gaming moments I have found most satisfying.
Ranking Up in League of Legends
I’ve enjoyed League since I started playing it in 2012, but I played mostly casually until last year when I began playing ranked games on a regular basis. Winning was often difficult (as was dealing with some of the people in my games) but almost every win felt satisfying because I knew that the quality of my play directly contributed to the outcome. The culmination of those victories, moving up a ranked division or tier, is one of the most satisfying things I have experienced in gaming because it indicates that my skills have grown significantly over time.
Finishing Mass Effect 3
Given my love of RPGs, sci-fi, and Bioware’s previous games, Mass Effect quickly became one of my favorite game series. While I will admit that I was disappointed by the ending of the series, I was less so than most people I encountered (especially after viewing the Extended Cut). I enjoyed the journey so much that even a subpar ending could not spoil the experience. Though I was sad to see the trilogy end, the fact that I had seen the story through to the end and closed the book on a story I had spent a hundred hours experiencing provided great satisfaction to me.
Beating Hexagonest mode in Super Hexagon
Unlike League of Legends, Super Hexagon involves no human opponents. Instead you are competing against the game itself. The simplicity of the game means that the challenge is distilled down to your ability to recognize what is happening on the screen and react to it. Instead of being able to say “the other player is better than me” you are forced to say “‘I’m not good enough to pass this level.” This made finally beating the highest diffiuclty (before the hyper difficult hyper modes) incredibly satisfying.
My First Rock Band Full Combo
I purchased Guitar Hero as soon as I saw it at my local GameStop and spent the next few weeks playing through the whole setlist on each difficulty, not stopping until I had beaten the game on Expert mode. My friend eventually joined in on the fun and we’d play Guitar Hero any time they came around. When Rock Band came out I moved to playing the drums, just to have a new instrument to master.
While it is no where near playing the songs on a real instrument, rhythm games let you enjoy the music in a new way because they make you feel part of it. The first time that I hit every note in a song I didn’t even need to look at the results screen because playing the song had just felt right. To this day landing a full combo on one of my favorite songs is one of the most satisfying experiences in gaming.
Winning a 1v5 in Counter Strike: Global Offensive
Returning to competitive games, winning a 1 on 5 in Counter Strike is a unique experience. Unlike League of Legends where the character you are playing largely determines your capability in fights, everyone is equal. Winning a 1 on 5 requires patience and pure skill and can give your team a huge amount of momentum. The feeling of clutching victory from the jaws of defeat combined with the knowledge that you played significantly better than your opponents makes clutching a round in Counter Strike one of gaming’s most satisfying experiences.