Today’s game was very much inspired by collecting all the clusters in Saints Row 4. And then doing it again when the game was re-released. And then doing it again when replaying the game after that. And maybe doing it a fourth time because I’ve given up and lost count.
Our players starts off in an open world game and you’re tasked with doing open world things. You quest, you uncover new areas, and you’re probably saving a city or a world or the kind of thing an open world protagonist does. And like all open world games, the play space is littered with collectibles and upgrades. Players love that kind of task. It makes them feel like they’re accomplishing things, they unlock new abilities, and who doesn’t love seeing the numbers go up.
Finally, at the end of the game, it's revealed that the story antagonist is the one that scattered the collectibles around so you'd waste your time on picking them all up. And the more time you wasted picking all these doodads, the more time you were allowing him to power up and accomplish his goals. So your first time through the game, you'll be super strong because you got all the items, but he’ll have accomplished his goal so even if you can beat him at the end of the story, he’s already won and you get the worst ending.
Your second time through, you know that the more items you pick up, the stronger the antagonist is going to get. You'll know to avoid all the extras, but since you're weaker, the game is now a lot harder. You have to pick and choose what upgrades you can’t do without and which ones you can just skill your way around or learn new routes to avoid needing. That grappling hook was right there and so enticing on your first run, but now you have to find how to scale the skyscraper on your own and learn to live with yourself when you don’t have a sweet bionic arm. The game’s difficulty becomes dynamic, not through fancy tricks, but by encouraging you to not make yourself overpowered.