You ever sit there and wonder why some games just feel different? It’s not just the graphics. It’s that weird, intangible sense of purpose. We’re talking about all good things for the glory, a concept that sounds kinda lofty but basically boils down to why we play the way we do.
People think "glory" in gaming is just about a leaderboard. They’re wrong. Honestly, it’s about the intersection of high-level mechanics and that specific, endorphin-heavy rush of achieving something that actually feels earned.
It's rare.
When developers nail this balance, you get a masterpiece. When they miss, you get a grind. The difference matters because players today are smarter than ever and they can smell a shallow reward system from a mile away.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Glory
If you’ve ever stayed up until 3:00 AM trying to beat a boss in Elden Ring or perfecting a frame-perfect movement in Super Mario Odyssey, you’ve chased this. It’s the "glory" part of the equation. But "all good things" refers to the journey—the polish, the fair mechanics, and the respect for the player's time.
Think about the way FromSoftware handles difficulty. It’s brutal, sure. But it’s fair. Hidetaka Miyazaki has talked extensively in interviews about how the goal isn't just to make a game hard, but to give the player a sense of accomplishment. That is the literal definition of all good things for the glory. You aren't just clicking a button to see a number go up. You’re mastering a system.
Compare that to the average mobile "gacha" game. There’s no glory there. There is only the credit card.
The industry is currently in a weird tug-of-war. On one side, you have the live-service models that want to keep you on a treadmill forever. On the other, you have these singular, high-art experiences that remind us why we started playing in the first place. You've probably felt the fatigue. We all have. The market is saturated with "content," but content isn't the same as a meaningful experience.
The Psychology of the Win
Why does our brain care? Dopamine is a hell of a drug, but it’s finicky.
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Neuroscientists often point to the "Flow State." This is that zone where your skills perfectly match the challenge presented to you. If the game is too easy, you get bored. If it’s too hard or feels "cheap," you quit. All good things for the glory happens exactly in that middle sliver.
- The challenge must be legible. You have to know why you failed.
- The reward must be aesthetic or mechanical, not just a stat boost.
- The "glory" must be shareable, either through a recorded clip or just the internal knowledge that you did something difficult.
The Mechanics Behind All Good Things for the Glory
Let’s get technical for a second.
Game design isn't just art; it's a series of psychological triggers. To achieve all good things for the glory, a developer has to balance three specific pillars: agency, feedback, and stakes.
Agency is your power. If the game plays itself, you’re just a spectator. Feedback is the game telling you that you’re doing well—the "thwack" of a sword hitting a shield, the screen shake when you land a headshot, the swelling music. Stakes are what you stand to lose.
Look at Hades by Supergiant Games.
Every run feels like it’s contributing to a larger narrative. Even when you die, you win. You get a little more story, a little more currency, a little more insight into the characters. They’ve essentially figured out how to make the "all good things" part of the loop feel constant. The glory isn't just finishing the game; it's the 50 hours of incremental mastery that got you there.
Why Modern "Live Services" Often Fail This Test
Most "Battle Pass" systems are the opposite of glory.
They are chores.
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When you’re told to "get 50 kills with a submachine gun" just to unlock a slightly different shade of blue for your character, the glory is gone. It’s a job. You’re working for the developer. A lot of gamers are starting to push back against this. We’re seeing a massive resurgence in single-player, high-polish titles because people are tired of the "glory-lite" experience provided by corporate engagement metrics.
It's why games like Baldur’s Gate 3 exploded.
Larian Studios didn't include a shop. They didn't include daily login bonuses. They just made a game where your choices actually mattered. The glory came from the story you built, not the currency you bought. That’s the "all good things" philosophy in action. It’s a respect for the medium.
Real Examples of the "Glory" Peak
To really understand this, you have to look at the moments that define the hobby.
Take the "Evo Moment 37" in competitive fighting games. Daigo Umehara parrying Justin Wong’s entire multi-hit special move in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. If you haven't seen it, go watch it. It’s the peak of all good things for the glory.
It wasn't a scripted event. It wasn't a cutscene. It was a player using the "all good things" (the deep mechanics of the game) to achieve "the glory" (an impossible-looking win).
- Speedrunning: This entire community is built on this. Taking a game like Metroid Dread and stripping it down to its bare bones to find the fastest path.
- High-Level Raiding: In World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV, the world-first races are the pinnacle of coordinated glory.
- Creative Construction: Think Minecraft or Terraria. The glory here isn't combat; it's the "good thing" of building something massive and showing it to the world.
The Future of Chasing the Win
We’re heading into an era where AI might start generating content on the fly. This scares me a bit, honestly.
If a computer generates a level specifically for you to win, does the win still matter? Probably not. The glory requires an obstacle that was placed there by a human mind—a puzzle that has a solution, a boss that has a pattern. Without the intent of a designer, the "all good things" part of the phrase starts to crumble.
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However, there is hope. VR and AR are opening up new ways to experience this. Imagine a game where the "glory" isn't just on a screen, but something you physically feel like you’ve accomplished through movement and spatial awareness.
We are also seeing a shift toward "cooperative glory."
Instead of just "I beat you," it's "We survived this." Helldivers 2 became a cultural phenomenon because it leaned into this. The glory was shared. The "all good things" were the chaotic, emergent moments—the accidental airstrikes, the narrow escapes, the ridiculous physics. It felt human. It felt messy. It felt real.
Actionable Steps for Finding the Best Gaming Experiences
If you’re tired of the grind and want to find games that actually offer all good things for the glory, you need to change how you shop. Stop looking at the "Top Grossing" lists. Those are lists of games that are good at taking money, not necessarily games that are good for the soul.
Look for "Auteur" Games
Seek out titles where a specific director or small team had a clear vision. Think Hideo Kojima, Lucas Pope (Return of the Obra Dinn), or the team at ZA/UM (Disco Elysium). These games are built around a core idea of glory that isn't dictated by a board of directors.
Prioritize Mechanics Over Graphics
A game can look like a million bucks and play like a cent. Read reviews that specifically mention "gameplay loop" and "mechanical depth." If the reviewers are talking more about the ray-tracing than the controls, move on.
Embrace the Challenge
Don’t be afraid of games that have a learning curve. The "glory" is directly proportional to the effort you put in. If you breeze through a game in five hours with no resistance, you won't remember it in a month.
Check the Monetization
Before you buy, check if the game has "time-savers" for sale. If a developer sells you a way to not play their game, they’ve admitted that the "all good things" part of their game is actually boring. Avoid those.
Support Independent Spirit
Indie games are currently the keepers of the flame. They are the ones taking risks. They are the ones defining what glory looks like in 2026. Look at sites like itch.io or the "Indie" tag on Steam to find the next big thing before it gets sanitized by a major publisher.
The search for all good things for the glory isn't just about gaming; it's about how we spend our limited time. We deserve experiences that reward our focus, respect our intelligence, and leave us with a sense of genuine achievement. Don't settle for anything less than that.