I tried making a 2026 Media Thread on Bluesky, and I deleted the entire thing the following day because I don’t know what counts as "finishing a game" anymore. How does anybody manage to keep something like that going for an entire year?

Anonymous

I don’t do media threads like that. But, for, like, that post I made where I count up all the games I played in 2025? I didn’t think it was so hard.

A game you finish is one you see the credits roll on. DLC is expansion content, so finishing the base game is finishing the game. It’s when the story is over.

If it’s a live service game like a Genshin Impact or one of those other f2p things? I personally could not and would not mark them as “finished,” unless you are confident a specific story arc has come to a close. Regardless, in the context of a year-end wrap up like I did, I would at least note you played it.

Like I write at the top of that post, “more than once, for more than 10 minutes.” Because there’s a difference between browsing and actually dedicating yourself to playing an entire thing. I have a bunch of games on Steam where I installed them, played once or twice, and never looked back.

That’s also why that post for me is more “games I played” and not “games I finished.” I am an adult with a lot going on, and I only really play games for maybe 60-90 minutes per night most nights.

For example, I started Control in September and according to the PS5 I’m about 41% through the game. I haven’t touched it in over a month. I will finish it, eventually, but it’s the sort of thing I play in short bursts. Similarly, I started Final Fantasy 9 in October-ish and I’m about 12 hours into the game; somewhere on Disc 2 (I just reached Cleyra).

And, most famously, it took me four years to finish Mother 3.

If I ever did do a thread like that, I would simply log games I felt like I played for long enough to have something to say. Looking at things with the distinction between a “one night stand” and something longer term, you know? Longer term relationships would be worth logging. Finishing a game is something truly special, but it’s not the end-all, be-all. I own 1,700 games just on Steam. I’m never clearing that backlog. Finishing games is not my goal anymore.

But you can know what a steak tastes like without cleaning your plate, you know?