One of the core emotions in System Arrival is built around a very simple choice:

— leave now and keep the loot;
— stay a bit longer and try to bring back more.

We want extraction to feel less like a “leave mission” button and more like a tense decision.
Once the player understands that one more step forward can make the way back much worse, the loop starts to work for real.

What do you enjoy more in games like this: a safe exit or greedy risk?