You can keep playing after the story ends!

...But do you want to?

I got to thinking during work that- well, first that I think about video games during work far more than I should, but also that generally when a game gives me the option to play the game after I've beaten it, I either hold off from beating the game or stop playing after I've actually done it (should the story be too compelling to hold off of).

And generally that's because, when I do beat the game a game that doesn't really have any follow-up story- such is the case mostly with Open-World games that do this- I never really feel the same drive to play after the main goal is completed, even if there are still quests to do or challenges to complete. Not always, of course; I can name a number of games that held me over after the game ended, but I've also played enough to know that it definitely happens even with games I'm particularly fond of for their gameplay.

Can anyone else relate on this? I've never actually talked about it before, though I suppose this would've been a much hotter topic back in the Fable release-era when this type of feature was something that was advertised as a selling point.

I only play a game after I beat it for achievement/trophy clean-up. And sometimes that doesn't even last that long.

Usually when I finish a game's story I don't have any desire to continue without restarting the game. The ending is usually the driving force that makes me want to finish the game. It doesn't feel like there's anything for me to work towards unless there's something like a big secret final boss or something else of the sort that I really want to fight.

The only time that this doesn't happen is with games that I really really want to 100% like Deus Ex and Mark of the Ninja. And I don't know why this is sometimes the case... but it is.

Hmmm that sweet smexy New Game+ or post game/end game content...

I honestly love Post-game content since it gives me a reason to keep the game for a long period of time. A fine example of this is in Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls where upon finishing the main campaign of the game, there is the Adventure Mode in which the player can just run around Sanctuary and do some bounties, hunt for some more loot, and do some of the end-game content such as the Nephalim Rifts and Greater Nephalim Rifts.

Another great and even far better example of Post-Game content would be from Path of Exile. Upon defeating the main campaign on every difficulty setting (Normal, Cruel, Merciless), the players can now have access to even more end-game content such as the Maps System (Procedurally generated levels that , hidden dungeons, and other content to test out and finalize the build specs of the players, and of course a chance at getting some of the rarest loot.

Heck, Path of Exile's overall gameplay is something that I would like to discuss about. Essentially, what this is is that PoE doesn't really want characters to be just stuck doing end-game and nonstop farming or facerolling with their already souped up/maxed out character. What makes PoE such a different game compared to most other Action-RPGs RIGHT NOW is that it uses a "League System" for its general content. Essentially what PoE's League system is --> A temporary realm where the game has specific modifiers and content that are available ONLY to that respective League/Realm. These leagues are intended to introduce and test new content while providing players with a fresh economy. Challenge leagues have been three or four months long. In addition, each pair of leagues has a set of optional challenges that can be completed for a prize.

When a challenge league ends, all characters and their stash will be sent to their respective parent league (either Standard league or Hardcore League). The Permanent Leagues serve as a storage for all characters that have been played in previous leagues hence previous iterations of the game.

I really love this system because every time a BIG PATCH is announced, it encourages existing players to start back from square one by rerolling or recreating new characters to be played under that League/Realm. Path of Exile's developers have made this kind of system so that new players who get introduced to Path of Exile get to experience what the game is like while having the potential to play with long time players. This makes it possible for both old and new players to experience the game's content together.

Having played PoE for quite a while, and if people are quite confused with what i said? Feel Free to PM me for your PoE related questions.

Its been a while since I played those games, and having played Borderlands 2 for an excessively long period of 420++ hours made me realize that other then Digistruck Peak, Raid Bosses, UVHM at level cap, and of course the Overpowered Levels, there's really nothing much else to the end game that adds more to the game. Should Gearbox really want to step up the end game content in Borderlands 3, they should take ideas from how Diablo 3 and Path of Exile make ridiculously good End-Game and even New-Game+ content.

Aww yeah all the time. I'll sink 50 hours into a play then beat the MQ, then for maybe the next day keep playing then lose all interest in playing. Even if I have my own goal and whatnot like getting X set of armor or completing Y mission or building a Z character build I just lose interest.

I've already saved my tiny low-detail slice of world what can I possibly do to top that?!

At least until a mod or DLC that I need to play comes out...

The only game this hasn't happened to me in was Fallout 3. I played it every single day for 2 years straight. I played it so much that when I finally broke the habit I didn't want to buy New Vegas as I was worried it would happen again (Luckily I had more control with that one! Even though it was better in every way). Fallout 4 I did not have to worry as it had no where near that kind of effect with it's boring world/characters/ugly weapons/etc.. Sad as Boston is where I was born too....

Anywho to sum it all up. This happens to me all the time.

P.S I didn't think anyone was ever going to post outside the Switch thread again!

In many of the games I've played and beaten the main storyline, I've gone back to revisit certain areas and pick up items that I didn't get, or go into nooks and crannies that I didn't get to during my initial playthrough. I also tend to play through over again to unlock whatever content there is to unlock.

It depends on the game, that is if the incentive is worth it and if it's not too frustrating.

I like having games where you have something to do after completing the main story, and being able to wrap up what sidequests and whatnot that I missed.

I think this depends entirely on how good the end-game content/open world is, but in general I'd say I do like being able to continue after the main quest ends, if I'm allowed to.

The Elder Scrolls games did it well, for example; in both Oblivion and Skyrim, I'd get so immersed in side quests and factions that after a while, the main quest just feels like a very small part of the game to me. I've started many characters just to keep all the titles separate and so the lore makes sense - I didn't like having one character bear all the titles because it didn't make sense for one dude to be in every faction since some of them conflict in morals and stances lore-wise, so I'd have one Dark Brotherhood character, for example, who would be separate in playstyle from my main story character or mage-only character. And in a lot of the non-main story characters, I usually wouldn't even touch the main quest at all and just focus on the faction or playstyle I made the character for, and only pick up relevant side quests for them.

The ability/option to do stuff like that is what makes an open world good to me, and keeps me going even after I've fully explored the main story. The rest of the game, and sometimes even just wandering aimlessly in search of new locations and dungeons to clear, is good enough that I don't feel compelled to just finish the main quest and lose interest. And a good modding community doesn't hurt either, but that's kind of a separate thing. :P

I just realized in my first post that I totally referenced Action-RPGs that usually have a servicable story, but no one really gives a sh*t about the story when Shooting, Slashing, Looting, and FaceRolling content is all that matters.

As far as continuing after the main in-game campaign has been completed, and there's still some post-game and end-game content to do, I highly encourage people to do so. Heck, some games like the previous video games I mentioned before, have built their games to have a focus on end-game.

The more i think about it, the more i should definitely suggest to Gearbox that Borderlands 3 should have a post-campaign content that IS NOT DLC, like Diablo 3's Adventure mode or Path of Exile's Maps System. Then the more i think about it, The more i feel like every RPG (and its derivatives) should have some post-game content to let players know that there's still more to be done, and more issues to resolve, but the players are now free to do whatever they wish as long as they wish within the game's world, and then some Raid Bosses, new dungeons, new treasure chests, and new bosses arrive.

It always bugged me in certain games that there wasn't a new game+ option, like Final Fantasy Tactics. The game just... ends, but your save data is always stuck on the last save you ever did before fighting Ultima, the Arch Seraph. Once it's beat the game is beat and no more game. All the effort if pretty much nothing and if you miss secrets, that's it. No returning to get them.