In today's spoiler-free episode of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Ducce discusses the anxiety that rises while making game-changing decisions in Mass Effect 3. Is this immersion, or is he slowly going insane?
I have for the first time in my gaming life been exposed to pure decision-angst.
I have been playing through (what I guess) about half of Mass Effect 3 now, and since I frequent Kotaku and other gaming sites I have feverously tried to avoid any spoilers of the end. But as you know there have been a lot of spoiler-articles about how this circus ends and all sorts of opinions on said ending. This discussion has had a really bad effect on me, It have made me to start questioning everything I do in the game so much that I no longer enjoy it.
I play the multiplayer even though I do not feel like it, I dread every choice I make in the campaign. I walk through every crevasse and small room of the game itself — not because I want it, but because I am afraid to miss something important or lose someone.
Now, the thing is: I don't know if this is a good or bad thing? Superficially it seems the game makes me feel bad about not "doing my job" but on a deeper level isn't this just how we should feel when we are completely immersed? A game where you feel that something is on the line?
I can't decide – All I know is that tonight I'm taking a break from it.
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