When replaying a game, is there a specific point towards the end that makes you sad that the playthrough is almost over?

(This topic is inspired by Jess's comments on Run for the Hills 008!)

I don't replay games often, so when I do so, it's because that experience means something significant to me. Getting to the Reaper IFF in Mass Effect 2 means you're on the home stretch, and that's always a bummer. Defeating the Wild Hunt's invasion of Kaer Morhen means you're nearing endgame territory (for the main game at least).

An additional aspect that Jess brought up is that the more times you have played something, the further up the timeline your perception of what constitutes "endgame" starts. My most egregious example is Half-Life 2, where basically everything after Ravenholm feels like late-game content.

So, have you ever experienced a feeling of not wanting a replay to end? Personally, I have trouble even finishing games once because I never want the thing I'm currently enjoying to end!

Hmm! I'd get a little bummed after Crete in Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. The music track in Greece was so relaxing, I loved it. :D

Whenever Indy and Sophia would board that submarine I knew that the underwhelming endgame in Atlantis was coming.

I think your Mass Effect 2 example is a fine one, too.

I think going throught the last chapter of the various Phoenix Wright games does that to me. Since the games are clearly divided up into chapters you now it's coming while thinking "I could do with an extra chapter or two". Some of them actually do have an extra chapter (unrelated to the main plot, though).

..Not really. 99% of the time I'm glad to complete a game, and if I'm replaying a game then the nostalgias worn off by the end. I do get this with books, though, like "damn, what the hell am I going to read now?" With games, I'm usually glad to move on to the next one. With books, it's like a chunk of my brain has been transplanted into a fictitious person's head, and I lost a bit of it after the final page.

This is probably a person defect of mine but this usually applies to shows, games and sometimes books that I enjoy. If I feel like I am getting to close to the end I end up playing something esle. For example I have no desire to ever finish Breath of the Wild. The idealize version of that game in my head is a picturesque world of untapped adventure and I prefer to keep it that way.

I shouldn't say this but there are quite a few analogs of this behavior with my person relationships. Staying too long in something that should have ended long ago and prolonging it. Seems unhealthy but it is what is it. TMI.

Hades did this to me. I got to the epilogue and didn't feel like grinding trophies so I quit, but I still did a few extra runs because of how much I enjoyed the ride. First and only rogue-like that really grabbed me, and a lot of that is thanks to the characters and writing.

@gordonzilla: I love The Fate of Atlantis, i really need to replay it.

The only game i can think that makes me sad it's over is Metal Gear Solid 2, i don't think i enjoy playing anything as much as messing around with guards in MGS2, so everything after the Vamp fight is bittersweet since there's not much stealthing left to do.

Not on replay, but during the first run of a game i tend to be sad that the end is drawing near. This often means that i will take as much time as i can, either by scouring the map for small tidbits i missed, or simply not playing the game all that often unless i really need that 'fix' of playing a bit of the game again. I remember i never finished Final Fantasy XIII because i was at the final battle and i only wanted to end the game if i really felt like i could focus for a good amount of time to take in the entire ending.

This usually happens when I play through the game the first time, especially modern games where there is usually a message letting you know that you're about to play the final part of the story and to do everything left undone first before continuing. This is especially true if I really enjoy the characters and the storyline in the game and want to see more of it.

I don't replay games enough to have this apply during replays, but a melancholy always sets in when a game dumps you back into the open world after the main questline is concluded. It fills me with a sense of loss and not belonging, like when I revisit a town I no longer live in or a school I no longer attend.

The double scarab battle in Halo 3 is definitely one of these for me, it's not an especially long sequence but I'm always looking forward to it