Like the title says, when I was younger getting near the end of the game felt like I was really far.
For example, in Jak and Daxter, when I got to the red sage hut when I was a kid, God Damn did I feel like I was really far away from the start of the game and have travelled a long journey.
Now when playing it, I still have fun, but I find the game is lacking it's adventurous feel to it what made me love it as a kid, even though I could never complete it.
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Too be honest, I agree with you. Don't get me wrong, games that I played in the last 2-3 years like Mass Effect 2 was big for me, but games like the Metroid Prime series felt very adventurous. It had lots of atmosphere, intense battles, great boss fights, lots of exploration, and more.