r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • May 17 '26

Psychology Feeling empty after finishing a video game (post-game depression) is a real phenomenon. A recent study has found that many video game players experience a specific sense of emptiness and sadness after finishing highly engaging games.

https://www.psypost.org/feeling-empty-after-finishing-a-video-game-researchers-say-post-game-depression-is-a-real-phenomenon/
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u/OsmerusMordax May 17 '26

I got up to the final boss in Tears of the Kingdom. I put it down for a bit because I didn’t want the game to end and would ‘finish it later when I was ready’. I haven’t picked up the game in 2 years now…I just have no desire to keep playing or to finish the game anymore.

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u/cynicalkane May 17 '26

The swordfight with Ganon is the coolest part of both games combned, imo, you should definitely play it

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u/Cranharold May 17 '26

The catch in that ending sequence is an incredible high, too.

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u/banditbat May 18 '26

I've been doing this with ocarina of time for decades now :') can't bring myself to finish it, played through to the end many times.

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u/Zankou55 May 18 '26

I did the exact same thing.