What's The Most Enjoyable Thing To Collect In A Video Game?

The world of Skyrim is massive; there's so much to explore and uncover collectibles in the traditional sense aren't really necessary. What the RPG does have is a collection of Daedric artifacts that can only be acquired in very particular ways. Hidden throughout the game world are a series of Daedric altars where demonic creatures offer the player short quests in exchange for powerful items.

These items range from weapons to armor, and all have unique abilities that make them stand out from the game's normal loot. Collecting them all means traveling into a literal world of nightmares, piecing together a very drunk night, and filling a role in a bizarre Alice In Wonderland style adventure.

This last endeavor nabs you the Wabbajack, which is arguably the most powerful weapon in the game; it can transform any enemy into a non-threatening animal like a rabbit or chicken, make your opponent explode in a burst of flames, or morph them into a sinister and deadly Dremora Lord. The only catch is the specific effect is totally random. 

Bethesda did their best to make the collectibles in Fallout 3 as fun to find as possible. When the game world is huge, it's important to encourage players to go out and explore in a way that doesn’t feel too forced. The bobbleheads are an excellent solution to this conundrum. 

These little figures are hidden away in interesting locations you might not necessarily visit otherwise. Once found, they can be displayed at your in-game home and each provides a permanent skill boost that's extremely difficult to gain any other way, making them both valuable and rewarding.

Super Mario Odyssey is well aware of how enjoyable it is to collect things. For the first real Mario game on the Switch, Nintendo packed the world full of more treasure than ever before. On top of a slew of unique costumes, regional purple coins, and regular gold coins, there's 999 Power Moons (roughly 10 times as many as past Mario games) to hunt down. 

The player only needs a fraction of these moons to reach the end of the story, meaning there are plenty of optional moons to collect, and they are everywhere. Early in the game, it's pretty normal to be unlocking a new moon every few minutes, leading to a near-endless cycle of satisfaction. For dedicated players, there are tons of cool unlockables tied to collecting extra moons, including brand new levels. 

The Arkham games feature a slew of Riddler Challenges to collect and complete, and designers were smart enough to give the player a variety of reasons to search them out. Each one unlocks a piece of Batman lore, allowing players to learn more about the villains and locations they encounter in-game.

Even if you don't care about the franchise's story, you'll still probably have a good time hunting for Riddler Challenges, as many of them can only be located by solving actual riddles. These range from uncovering secret passages to finding seemingly mundane objects hidden in the world that are instrumental to the Batman canon (such as a picture of security guard Aaron Cash's family or an advertisement for Bludhaven). 

To top it all off, every single challenge nets the player experience points, so focusing on the riddles makes it easy to level up and unlock new gadgets. 

Generally speaking, first-person shooters are focused on fast-paced action, so taking time to slow down and search for collectibles goes against the grain. When shooters do include them, they often feel tacked on, like the hidden bags in Mirror's Edge that don't actually give the player anything new. 

The Halo series is a bit different. The vast majority of Halo games include a set of hidden skulls stashed away in tricky to reach places. They often require the player to do specific actions before they show up on the map, such as jumping through a set of rings in a particular order.

Even though each game only features about a dozen, all are very rewarding to find. By getting players to experiment with the gameplay mechanics and exploit "broken" parts of the world, Bungie made collecting the skulls incredibly fun. On top of that, each skull unlocks a new gameplay variant ranging from difficulty boosters like the Iron Skull, which eliminates mid-mission checkpoints, to goofy Easter eggs like the Grunt Birthday Party Skull, which makes weaker enemies explode in bursts of confetti when you shoot them in the head. 

BioShock made in-game collectibles feel worthwhile by tying them to an integral part of the story. Each audio log adds valuable background to the world of Rapture, the characters you encounter, and the events leading up to your arrival at the underwater city. They are hugely satisfying to find as each adds a new perspective to your experience.