How do you feel after finishing a video game you’ve been invested in?

June is almost over, and I’ve completely blown through my personal record for number of games completed in a single year. The Year of the Backlog™ is progressing nicely, although I do have to admit that a good number of the games I’ve completed did not start the year in my backlog. All of this completionism has made me confront a new emotional situation when it comes to gaming: how it feels to finish a game. Previously this wasn’t a concern of mine, as either games got abandoned before completing, or the majority of my gaming was with “unending” games such as World of Warcraft or the Civilization series.

This year, though, has seen me complete a number of games that my brain couldn’t put down even after I put the controller down — but by far the worst is a series titled Persona 5 which I’ve mentioned a dozen or so times in WRUP or the Queue the past few months. I don’t want to let this franchise go — I’ve read all the published manga available in English and am playing every spinoff just to spend more time with the Phantom Thieves. I finished Persona 5: Strikers this weekend, and now I’m out of Persona 5 games to play until November. Frankly, I’m a little concerned with how hard I’m taking it.

Persona 5 isn’t the only game I’ve finished and felt loss or dismayed upon doing so this year. Life is Strange: True Colors is usually not considered as strong as the previous games in the series, but the town of Haven Springs is so wonderfully realized that I can’t imagine anyone chooses an ending where they leave. Heck, even though I completed the story of Diablo 4, I wish I could pursue the narrative right away instead of needing to wait for future content — although I’m not so far gone as to want to live in Sanctuary as a result of playing the game.

That’s not to say I don’t feel a sense of accomplishment when I complete a game, but it seems like the games I’ve been playing lately have been pulling me in so well I don’t want to let go.

So how do you feel when you finish a game? Are you excited or energized by completing one? Or does its end leave you missing it and wanting to go back? What game have you finished that resonated upon completion?