Rant: The shelf of shame used to be a badge of honor

Back in 2018, my unplayed game collection was a point of pride, like a trophy case. Now, seeing Gloomhaven still in shrink just makes me feel guilty for wasting the $140. When did we stop bragging about our piles and start feeling bad about them?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_hayes13d ago

Gloomhaven is still in the shrink wrap? That's a crime against cardboard. You could have played that massive box like fifty times by now. The guilt is real because that's a whole other game budget just sitting there. The shelf of shame stopped being cool when we all realized we were just hoarding expensive dust collectors.

reese_rodriguez8613d ago

Man, you are so right. That big box guilt is a special kind of awful. I finally cracked my sealed copy of Nemesis last month after two years, and it just made me wonder why I waited so long. It's like the buying part tricks your brain into feeling like you did the thing. Now I just feel dumb looking at all that wasted time.

xena_bailey1813d ago

Saw a whole thread about this last week, the "shelf of shame" thing is so real. People were saying buying the game gives you the happy brain chemicals, not actually playing it. My copy of Scythe has been collecting dust for a year, feels bad man. That big box just stares at you, judging your life choices.