NHL 25: Repetition Is a Refuge
Gaming reflections from the pause menu of life
By mid-February, my gaming habits tend to change. Not because I have finished everything worth playing. Not because there is nothing new pulling at my attention. But because the part of me that chases novelty gets tired before the rest of me does.
That is usually when I open NHL 25 and load into Franchise Mode. Same team. Same structure. Another season that looks almost identical to the last.
For a long time, I told myself this was about productivity. Managing contracts. Developing prospects. Tuning lines. Learning systems. All of that is true, but it is not the full truth. The fuller truth is simpler and harder to admit. Sometimes I return to Franchise Mode not because it helps me improve, but because it helps me feel safe.
Franchise Mode is predictable, and I mean that in a positive way. You know the cadence of the season. You know injuries will test your patience, and when they recover, stretches of calm will return. The menus are easy to understand. There is a quiet logic for game planning based on opponent strengths or weaknesses each match. Nothing jumps out to surprise you. Nothing demands that you reinvent yourself just to keep going. That sameness has dignity.
Repetition often gets unfairly framed as a lack of ambition, especially in games. We are told to chase new mechanics, new challenges, new stories. But repetition can also be a form of care. It can be a place you go when the rest of life already feels like a constant series of decisions and adaptations.
Franchise Mode does not ask you to prove anything. It does not reward urgency. It allows you to move at a pace that respects your attention instead of competing for it. You can sim a week. You can play a game. You can stop after ten minutes or lose an hour without feeling like you have failed either way. That matters more than it sounds, especially when fatigue from daily life has set in.
By February, many of us are worn down in ways that do not show up on productivity charts. The year is no longer new. The days are still short. Momentum exists, but it requires maintenance. In that context, repetition stops being a warning sign and starts becoming a shelter. Another season is not avoidance. It is continuity. And continuity is not stagnation. It is how you keep moving without exhausting yourself.
Franchise Mode reminds me that rest does not always look like stopping. Sometimes it looks like returning to something familiar and letting it hold you steady for a while.
💬Where does repetition act as a refuge for you, in games or outside them? Is there something you return to not because it helps you optimize, but because it helps you stay grounded when everything else feels demanding?
If this piece sparked recognition or resistance, you are welcome to share your thoughts in the comments. These essays are meant to be shared spaces, not finished arguments.
⭐If you enjoy reflective writing about games that values steadiness over spectacle, you are invited to subscribe to Pause Menu. New essays arrive weekly, offering room to pause, notice, and return.
Disclaimer:
This post contains commentary on NHL 25, a game developed by EA Vancouver and published by Electronic Arts. This newsletter is not affiliated with or endorsed by EA Vancouver or Electronic Arts. All trademarks, characters, teams, player likenesses, and game content referenced are the property of their respective owners. This article reflects personal commentary and analysis and is transformative in nature, in alignment with fair use and fair dealing copyright law guidelines. Any images used are created using DALL·E by OpenAI (2025) and are not affiliated with or representative of any official game assets. I do not claim any copyright ownership of NHL 25 or its content.