Does anyone else have this problem with games? I struggle to enjoy them now due to having to obsessively explore every corner and check everything for loot. I never used to be like this.

Depends on the game but whenever i get a severe itch for looting then i turn on Diablo, Grim Dawn, Titan Quest etc and it's cured.

I never really get obsessive about exploring every inch of the map in open world games just for the sake of it.

This is considered a problem?

Wait! Did I miss any drawers or heaps of leaves in that area? Must recheck everything or I will not be able to sleep. (3.15 am).

Stay away from Subnautica then. This game will devour your life if you obsessively collect loot. XD
Yes, I have had issues moving on from a game because I wanted everything completely done. And it ruins things in several ways:
1. You spend so long collecting that you lose interest and lack the energy to finish
2. Once pretty locations become flat and lifeless because you harvested everything of value.
3. You start getting frustrated that the game has given you too much to collect, rather than realising it's your problem trying to collect it all in the first place.

And so on. The trick is once the game starts to bore if you're collecting, rush towards the ending and get out while you can.

Please stop giving me Borderlands flashbacks D:

"Those green lights are so tantalizingly alluring. Must resist, must... move... on... (Sprints towards the outhouse to loot the $5 in cash and a trash white item)....

My first time playing Fallout 1&2, I went around stealing EVERY SINGLE item I was given the opportunity of stealing. Needless to say, I've stopped investing even a single point into stealing skills, for all the games I've played since. I don't have the time for that much saving and reloading.

I have found myself tuned off from games for the tedium of exploration, definitely. Just recently I was playing God of War (original) and I get annoyed at missing out on things, to the point I looked up a walkthrough of the relatively small (but obscured) desert to make sure I didn't miss any chests....

I've had that issue with arpgs and mmorpgs (back when I've played them) - tried to reveal 100% of map, kill 100% of enemies, loot 100% of chests and breakables, etc. Partially coz I didnt want to miss any secret quest or location, partially coz I have OCD irl. After I've noticed this, it took a while to work on myself (also thanks to grim dawn, in which you need to complete game 3 times with your first character, in order to unlock top difficulty (which is almost the only viable place to farm for legendaries) - it becomes extremely boring to do, if you are playing like that) - but now I only perform said actions on initial playthrough, if game is known to feature hidden rewards

I spent about 2 hours looting a camp in Kingdom Come once, not the most entertaining of streams, but there's a charm about sifting through the good stuff and sellable stuff :P

Nah, exploring and looting are almost my favourite parts of gaming, second only to killing things. Especially old tile based RPG's where I have to uncover every single square to see what's there.

i guess it depends on the game as to whether it's a problem. But every single RPG I've ever played has had random stashes of loot off the path. It's just part of the genre I guess.

UnderRail has an experience points system where you find Oddities in the world to gain xp. In that mode finding somewhat plot-relevant oddities for exploring just a bit extra feels rewarding.

I don't I've ever felt like my experience diminished from excessive exploring/looting, but I also enjoy grinding and whatnot. The one downside I have found is that sometimes, because of all the extra fighting that comes with extra looting/exploring, I am over leveled for a while afterwards.

Oh I've also had this, but I've always had it.
I can see it in my nephew playing broforce having to kill EVERY SINGLE ENEMY.
It stuffs me up playing Spelunky if i'm not mindful of my completionist bent (going after gold and kills).
It only really became really noticeable when I use to play Final Fantasy, but lets face it those games were worth just having every ounce of gaming milked out of.
I wanted to get all the best gear as it goes, but how much is necessary grinding and how much of it are the games forcing you to invest early to get their hooks in you or fall behind in essentially tech level.
I mean sure a D&D roleplayer could be level 10 with no magic gear in 3rd edition and fight against equivalent level +2 mobs and heroes; but I've passed vindaloo with less pain than keeping up with the entrenched leveling of gaming systems & mechanics like that.
Playing witcher 2 trying to figure out if i've got absolutely everything in an area on the highest difficulty (man I hated how everything but your swords were as good as wiffle bats even against normal humans).

Exploring is one of my favorite aspects of gaming, and I wouldn't mind looting that much either, but yeah, I also feel compelled to do it, and the issues arise if a game does not reward exploration and looting in appropriate ways.

I have difficulties with games like Diablo and Borderlands that are full of areas to explore and loot to collect but don't really offer much of interest for doing that. You're better off if you just speed through them and ignore most of the sidepaths and items, and I don't find it easy to switch to that playstyle that's completely opposed to my usual, completionist approach. I'd rather have smaller worlds and fewer loot opportunities but have them be more exciting and rewarding instead. I don't really enjoy mapping out wastelands and sorting through junk, but the OCD still tells me "what if you miss something important and worthwhile?".

I also dislike collectibles creating ludonarrative dissonance. If the story claims urgency, or the gameplay suggests moving quickly, it doesn't make sense for me to search every nook and cranny for audio logs, letters, book pages or other collectibles, extras and upgrades. I will feel compelled to search for them anyway, in order to get the most of the story and the game, but paradoxically, at the same time, enjoy my time with the title less ...

And I really despise weight and inventory space restrictions (particularly those ungenerous ones). XD