I’ve been reading a lot on Twitter lately about how games are “beaten”. “I beat Animal Crossing”. “I beat Final Fantasy 7”. “I beat”… whatever it was that needed beating, I suppose.

I don’t beat games. I play them, experience them and finish them. Perhaps this is because I enjoy playing any of the games I play, and I don’t have to beat them. Perhaps it is because I don’t like the language we use in connection to games? I think I feel a bit sad that we use violent language to describe and explore what could be such a joyful experience. Yes, even headshotting with Bayek and Shepard are joyful experiences to my mind, because I get to feel competent when doing it.

I think we sometimes lose sight of the joy amid all the violent conflict in triple-A games. At the same time I see people rushing through games like Animal Crossing just to “beat” them. I have a hard time believing Animal Crossing is there to be beat. I believe it’s there to be enjoyed and experienced.

So no. I don’t beat games. I play them. If I like them, I play them again and I always enjoy them if I do.