Believe it or not, I used to be a hardcore gamer. When I mean hardcore, I would play 24/7—from weekdays to weekends without end.

I would be at school by 7 in the morning, go home by 5 in the afternoon, play until the next day’s early morning hours, and then sleep until 5 in the morning. I still do that sometimes, but not as much and within actual reason.

Grinding in video games used to be part of me, but now? Not so much.

How I got into Grinding in Video Games

Video gaming has been a part of me since 2003. We used to have a PlayStation 1 in our living room and a closet full of PS1 game disks. It was my haven during my primary to middle school years.

My favorite games then were Pepsiman, Bust a Move (Bust a Groove in the American version), Legend of Mana, Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town (now called Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town), and Monster Rancher 2—which was rereleased with Monster Rancher 1 last year on Steam!

Pepsiman was pretty hard and punishing; you would have two lives for each run and no checkpoints even if you were halfway done with the level. Harvest Moon: FOMT was pretty chill but painstaking with the amount of time you need to get enough resources for a better farm and wife. Monster Rancher 2 was pretty much the same, breeding the right monsters and training them for a long time.

This doesn’t even include my fights with my siblings over who gets to use the PlayStation 1. I would also annoy my parents to let me play even though they were watching television.

From an early age, grinding was instilled in my personality. If something was enjoyable and attainable, I would push toward it no matter what it takes.

Grinding over the Years

In 2009, I was introduced to Defense of the Ancients; or Dota. Oh, what a mistake that was by my brother as I learned the thrill of competition.

With my neighborhood bustling with computer shops; or computer cafés for Westerners, I was also introduced to Crossfire, Team Fortress 2, Dragon Nest, Ran Online, and other equally grindy and competitive games.

The more games I played, the more I grew accustomed to the grind and competition to be better.

By 2013, I transitioned to Dota 2 and then League of Legends. I soon focused on League of Legends, and Minecraft—to balance out the sweat I got from the former.

I initially did not go into Ranked Queues as I was still enjoying the occasional wins. But that soon changed.

I eventually played Ranked games and immediately got Gold in my first season of trying. Two years after and I immediately rose to Diamond in 2017 by just using Aatrox.

All the hours, days, months, and years I’ve put into the game were slowly showing results. I was happy and content.

Until Aatrox got reworked. Yes, this is a big deal for me—especially since Aatrox never needed a rework, and this is a hill I am willing to die on. League of Legends patch 8.13 took away a part of my soul.

He was my love. My main. My soulmate. Only to be taken away after grinding a million mastery points and finally getting the name “Aatrox” as my IGN.

Anyway, let’s move along before this becomes a pre-rework Aatrox tribute.

I was still grinding, but I soon reached the last years of my university and adulting was right around the corner. However, it was only a year and a half after graduating that I actually started putting things together.

Giving Up on Grinding

I still love the grind. I still love the competition. I still love losing, learning, and improving. But I now have other baskets that need to be filled.

I plateaued at League of Legends once I got Diamond, and also got more frustrated when games told me to grind for better items, companions, or content—I am looking at you Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Elder Scrolls Online.

Now, I realized I had less patience to put up with my teammates, less time to learn and improve, and less fun with each game. I was losing time, interest, and motivation.

At 23, it finally dawned on me; I don’t think I can do this anymore.

But the Grind Never (Really) Stops

So, what’s the point of this all? Well, I think I’m getting old.

I guess I’ve come to a realization that my priorities and interests have shifted as I’ve gotten older. I used to put so much value into rankings and “catching up” with the times that this felt very new to me.

After reducing the competition and grind in my games, I now get to enjoy other game genres more; like story-driven and resource-management games where I could just sit back and pause now and then.

Being able to stay away from a video game and get back to it anytime I want to without feeling left behind has been a positive shift for me this year.

I still occasionally play competitive games like League of Legends and Valorant but I don’t get hung up on the rankings like I used to.

However, I still only play Ranked Queues when I play them. I just don’t see the point in competing if I don’t know my actual skill—except for ARAM games, they’re exceptional.

Nowadays, I spend more time enjoying single-player games like Kingdom: Come Deliverance, Red Dead Redemption 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018), the Middle Earth series, the Wolfenstein series, and Outbound Ghost.

What I get in return for reducing the grind is that I get to invest more time in other skills. I get to develop old skills and discover unexpected interests like doing voiceovers, video editing, and exercising.

But honestly, the grinding never really did stop. I just changed where I put my time and effort.

In other words, I get to grind things outside of gaming and I love it. And maybe you will too.

Game Recommendations

Before I close things out, I’d like to recommend some of the most enjoyable and unique games I’ve played this year.

The Outbound Ghost – A story game that should charm you with its Paper-Mario style and adorable characters.

Little Ghost – A surreal game that uses its paper cutout visuals with alluring music and podcasts. A perfect game to pass the time.

Cult of the Lamb – I never thought I would enjoy it but I did. A great mix of Don’t Starve and The Binding of Isaac, you could spend the entire day playing this game.

Doggone Hungry! – I think this is a student project that happened to be released on Steam. It’s pretty cute and nice, but a little bit buggy. A nice short game that shows the developers’ potential, I hope they get big.

Legend of Mana – Just like Monster Rancher 1 and 2, Legend of Mana got a rerelease on Steam. I finally got to relive a part of my childhood, but I still have to finish it though.

Kingdom: Come Deliverance, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Middle-earth: Shadow of War – I’ll just keep these three together. They are the most enjoyable and immersive games I have ever played this year, and I would experience them again for the first time if I could.

Degrees of Separation, and Unravel Two – I’ve always hated puzzle games, but these were nice breaks from the usual games I played. I liked the concept of Summer and Winter in Degrees of Separation, while I liked the connected rope mechanic of Unravel Two.

Project Zomboid – If I could just learn how to play this, then I probably would have fun with it. Sadly I have to park this for another time.

Barotrauma – Same with Project Zomboid, this game is super punishing. I hope I could play it again.

The Forest – A fun game to play with friends. Building a base and fighting off against monsters with friends is something I enjoyed in Minecraft, and I am glad I get to have that fun again with The Forest.

Elden Ring – One of the few games I wholeheartedly grinded. They polished everything they introduced in the Dark Soul series and I enjoyed it. All the backstories and side characters shaped the world perfectly. I hope for a better sequel.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – Probably the easiest FromSoftware, Inc. game. It was smoother and more interactive than their other releases.

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator – The hardest roguelike game I have ever faced. Just kidding, I did it for the memes and it was fun. Would revisit it when I get the chance.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Pretty fun and quick coop that resembled Left 4 Dead 2 but in a medieval fantasy setting. I actually spent money on DLCs so it was pretty fun.

Dead Island Definitive Edition – If only my friends and I could actually set up a schedule for this game. I have never finished this game but it is always a joy to play it.

V Rising – I feel bad, I only got to play it for a few hours. I guess I’m that much of a fan of the mixed base-building and Diablo-style exploration mechanics. Still fun, but probably not for me.

A Way Out – A good coop game that did not overextend its playtime. Not the best coop game, but it is worth playing with your friends or partner.

Assassin’s Creed: Unity, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – There are so many things I want to talk about with this series, but it would have to wait until I finish Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. If anything, Arno Dorian and Bayek of Siwa are my favorite characters so far.

Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018) – I’ve always wanted to play this game and I finally have the resources to do so. I love the intuitive web-swinging and combat mechanics. I just wish they never changed the original Peter Parker model.

Cyberpunk 2077 – Perfect game, 10 out of 10. You should read some of my articles about it if you want to know my thoughts on it. Here is one about one of the endings, here is one about V and Jackie, and here is one about V and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’ David.

Boxing Club Manager – I enjoyed creating my friend named Jason in it and letting him get beaten up. Surprisingly, he became a strong boxer.

Attentat 1942, Brukel, and Svoboda 1945: Liberation – Excellent games that talk about war history. It lets me be grateful for the peace I have now.

That is pretty much it! By the looks of it, this list should show that I still “grind” video games.

But I think I should say my focus now is exposing myself to more characters and stories, it helps me broaden my horizon and appreciate other things.

I guess you could say that the grind never stops.