How much I missed gaming in 2025
Can you recall your first memory of related to tech or gaming? If you’ve ever heard the intro of a nerd you’ll know by heart what usually follows after the previous question. Not today Commodore 64! Crawl back to your cave! No. On one hand, I'm too young to answer this question about this relic, as I have never seen one in real life. On the other hand, I'm switching things up and I'll uncover my answer at the end. A short hint, that I got into and stayed with PC gaming.
Forza Horizon 5 - completionism
I've always had a soft spot for racing games; I could spend hours progressing and collecting cars. For years, the Need for Speed series was my go-to, then I discovered my love of Formula 1 racing games and tried sim racing with Project Cars. However, my go-to for a decade now arrived from a surprising source: Xbox. Back then, there was a pretty distinct line between Xbox, PS, and PC exclusives, and it seemed I couldn't immerse myself in the Forza Horizon series without an Xbox.
Which would have been awful, as I've been a fan of the series since its second iteration (which was still exclusive to Xbox). One of my former co-workers introduced me to it, and I became hooked instantly. It was such a complete package: accessible, somewhat competitive, and challenging at the same time with a distinct and compelling visual atmosphere. If you want to cruise around or climb online ladders posting better times, Horizon can scratch both itches and a lot more in between.
Passion for completing challenges
The first installment I spent a considerable amount of time on was the 4th. I finally uninstalled it after logging 656,3 hours, right after completing it 100% on Steam. This was an incredibly infuriating feat prolonged by a bug that prevented players from reaching a Steam achievement called "Encore". Before the final uninstall, I had previously deleted the game about 5 times, but I kept following a developer thread with bug fix updates. I was determined to complete the game for good. Had all the cars and everything, just not the achievement. I know, I know how stupid this sounds, but I was determined. I decided that I would make it to 100%, and I did through sheer determination. Does this matter to anybody besides me? No, for sure. But that was the point, it was my challenge and I kept on going for it because I wanted to.
I was pretty excited when I installed FH5, as it was still an actively developed game at the time. It's quite unusual for me to hop into a game that's still actively maintained. I usually wait years to utilize massive discounts and better bundles. After FH4, I was missing a casual racer and craving Forza. So I installed it in late summer of 2023 and kept playing it regularly in the evenings after childcare routines concluded. Being familiar, the game helped me decompress. After that one year, however, there was not much left for me to achieve in-game. My achievement counter sat at a comfortable level, and I was missing only a handful of cars from the whole set the original purchase offered.
Internal drive of competitive skill-building
My completionist side kept the game installed, though. This part is more of a grind than fun, as I kept my eye on what I could still achieve. So lately, I just hop on to see if I can make a little progress, but hardly play at all. It's a bit sad, as one year ago I was motivated to compete on Rivals ladders. This is a mode where you prepare a well-tuned car and race against others' times on a course, searching for perfection.
You complete a selected circuit repeatedly until you truly learn it and understand how you make mistakes, learning from them to gain just 0.01 seconds, which could mean climbing 10+ places up the ladder. Then you discover a breakthrough and 'accidentally' gain 0.1 seconds, jumping a whopping 100 places in just one go. The chase can become exhilarating! All the while, you keep tinkering based on driving feedback, slowly developing your unique racing style. I became fascinated with the process and this kept me going for a long time, chasing better times, easing that competitive itch.
As a cherry on top, I realized I could learn so much, even if it's pretty useless in real life. When I started playing, I left all the assists on like training wheels: ABS, traction control, automatic shifts, and other assists. After years of practice and pushing beyond my comfort zones, I can now confidently switch off all assists and drive with manual shifts and clutch on a controller, something that once seemed impossible to coordinate. The only feedback comes through my hands, eyes, and ears, unlike the full-body sensory experience of driving a real car.
In 2025, I felt the urge to challenge myself even more within this realm, so I joined the Horizon Racing Academy to complete uniquely crafted challenges maintained by the community. Anyone can join, but everyone must complete each challenge sequentially using the same cars. This ensures no one can exploit broken tactics or gain an unfair advantage online. You race purely against a timer and therefore against yourself. You can't progress until you improve by learning from your mistakes and become incredibly precise. This kept me going for months, overcoming stages one by one.
Value is not determined by external validation
Will these skills save me when the final days arrive? Absolutely not. Did I challenge myself and overcome boundaries my mind kept telling me I couldn't, by being consistent and driven towards a goal? Heck yeah! Not all your achievements have to be meaningful to others. Sometimes they just have to mean the world to you, and that's perfectly fine.
All in all, I had it installed in 2025 but didn't really progress or achieve anything major. I just kept grinding because the tracker wasn't at 100% yet. I did try some unique challenges, but they didn't entirely reignite my love for the game.
Pokémon TCG Live - sometimes I miss playing chess
Tell me you're Gen Y without telling me. I mean, Pokémon - come on! For me, it was the anime first - those precious weekend mornings when I was allowed to watch TV. You knew exactly where to find me. Then came collecting tazos from Cheetos bags - insidious marketing, by the way - and playing games on GameBoy. What a core childhood memory. What interests me, looking back, is that I never started collecting Pokémon playing cards - and I'm still not sure why.
Nevertheless, I was looking for something I could play while multitasking. By multitasking, I mean I enjoyed catching up on world events by watching or listening to long-form YouTube content. Everything from politics and economics to video game essays and science. I couldn't do that while playing something as intensive as Forza. Then I discovered Pokémon TCG Live, an online trading card game where you craft a deck and try to outsmart players worldwide.
Strategic approach to casual gaming - find joy in the process
It felt familiar from the start, as I had played a ton of Hearthstone years ago and loved most aspects of it. Collecting cards? Check. Competing with real humans? Check. A completely new game mechanic? Check. It follows an identical formula with card rotations that lock certain sets out of ranked play. This means you can pick up the game almost anytime without a significant collection disadvantage - you only need game knowledge. With some effort, you can become averagely competitive. So I thought I'd give it a try - playing occasionally without spending money, just to break the everyday cycle.
And so began my journey with TCG Live. I'm far from being good, as I don't spend nearly enough time to improve, but the ranked ladder isn't too punishing when you lose occasionally. That's engaging - and as I've mentioned, I love the feeling of completing something. That's why the ability to complete sets within the game is brilliant to me - you can actually collect individual cards. Does this grant anything valuable? Don't kid yourself. But it looks fulfilling to me!
The beauty of failing
What’s so good about this? A fair question, really. Games like this hit a similar nerve to what chess did for me as a teenager. I was almost completely silent because I was afraid to speak up. I had a feeling that I would say something stupid in front of adults. I thought they were very intelligent and knew everything better than I did, so I didn’t even try. This is why chess was a revelation to me. My godfather taught me how to play when I was about 7 or 8 years old and it fascinated me. I learned the basic moves - how each piece could move - and that was it. I was off to the races. The best part? Complete, mandatory silence while playing to create an even playing field. Marvelous for a shy kid like me. Oh yes and that meant no one could dominate anyone by talking smartly. No, everyone has to earn victory by acting. Understanding the opponent and figuring out how to get ahead. You can talk big game anyway you’d like, but then you have to prove it as well. Simply brilliant.
I grew to love chess so much that I signed up for countless tournaments in elementary school and even got selected for a chess team. You’ve probably seen the miniseries The Queen’s Gambit. Watching it completely changed how I remembered those days - it showed me just how intricate the game really is. I never learned openings, complex tactics, or how to strategize through each stage of the game. I just sat down and tried to beat whoever was across the table at that moment. That’s when it hit me: I didn’t really know how to play chess.
The common thread between TCG and chess is that you can outsmart your opponent if you practice and master your craft. Over time, you start to notice patterns in behavior, and by consistently showing up, you learn how to respond to them. At first, you’ll fail - most of the time, in fact - but that’s okay. That’s part of the progression. I love the phrase “learning by failing,” because to me it means you were brave enough to try. And by trying, you might uncover a conclusion that was hidden before. You keep repeating this process until you figure out the solution, apply it, and just like that, you’re golden. For a moment, anyway, because life never stops. But you progressed. You’ve tasted how it all works: learning → doing → failing → adapting → winning → failing again. The cycle starts anew. When you learn to love that cycle, you discover how to keep moving forward - like a shark. Humans are the same: if you stop and don’t adapt, you fall behind. Learn to love repetition. That’s how masters are made.
Kingdome Come deliverance
But hey Csaba, you clearly played plenty of hours, so how can you say you missed it in 2025?
Exactly! I’m grateful I managed to squeeze in some precious gaming hours here and there. But I really miss those years when I could sit down on a Saturday morning and lose myself until evening - sometimes even spilling over into Sunday. Especially with gems like The Witcher 3. Oh boy, do I miss that feeling of experiencing it for the first time. I won’t even dive into that beast because I’d never finish this piece. It’s my all-time favorite, and it definitely deserves its own post.
I had similar expectations for Kingdom Come: Deliverance - medieval setting, immersive survival elements, deep character development, and more. Ever since playing The Witcher 3’s story, I’ve craved something similar: good pacing, interesting twists, unexpected consequences - the usual stuff. But somehow, everything felt dull ever since - not even close.
I realized pretty quickly that KCD wasn’t going to hit the mark either. Still, I’d already invested time, so I couldn’t just uninstall it. My curiosity kicked in, and I kept going to at least finish the story. And I did - but more out of commitment than genuine interest. On the bright side, the mechanics were solid, and I even grew to like the combat, clunky as it was for me. I promised myself I’d at least try one DLC, just to see what I might be missing. That kept me going for another ten hours or so, but that was it. After three months, I realized I hadn’t even thought about booting it up - even when I had time. So I finally uninstalled it at the start of summer.
It wasn’t bad - it just couldn’t live up to my inflated expectations, which wasn’t its fault. That’s how much I still love The Witcher 3 - I haven’t been able to give anything else a real chance since. Maybe I need to work on letting things go.
What’s next?
I don’t really have anything big on my radar right now. I’ve started to enjoy this phase where I just casually fire up a game for 30 minutes, then get back to working on my projects until I crash for the night. I’m consciously avoiding the hunt for the next gem I’d fall in love with because I need to keep my focus on other things now. And that’s okay - I’ve learned to love this process too. Honestly, I really enjoy those short, rare 30-minute sessions where I can outsmart someone in an online trading card game. It’s a great way to switch gears and think about something completely different for a while.
I actually wanted to write about all the other activities I’ve started enjoying instead of gaming, but I just realized this post is already long enough. Those wind-down activities will get their own post soon.
How it all started as I promised
Hats off to you if you made it this far, thank you! And if you cheekily skipped the whole piece just to peek at my gaming roots, I like you too!
So, back to where it all began. The first video game I remember playing was Jazz Jackrabbit 2. I didn’t understand a word of English back then, I was about five years old, so I had to ask my dad to launch the game and set everything up for some good old hopping around. That also meant I couldn’t just play mindlessly for hours; my gaming time was strictly monitored, and I had to take turns with my sister. Simpler times, really. Just 2D art, moving in four directions, and one boss fight at the end of each stage - which we usually failed. Progress was slow until a friend handed me a floppy disk with a folder on it called “Pizza Trainer” or something. Peak information security that was. Suddenly, cheats unlocked the game for us, and we could finally move forward. No achievements, no item collecting, no deep story (not that I’d understand anyway) - just pure fun and my impatient self waiting for my sister’s turn to end. Still, we celebrated each other’s victories whenever we got further than before. That’s it, that’s how it all started for me. Thanks for tagging along today!
It’s perfectly okay to ask for support. You don’t have to figure everything out on your own. While I believe everyone is their own best expert, I’m also a big believer in asking for help to create change together. It’s comforting to have someone by our side as we go through transitions. If you’re feeling motivated to expand your comfort zone and curious about how I can support you on your journey, let’s talk.
