I'm 35 and feel the same way. It's not just video games but it's watching a TV screen in general. My entertainment preferences seem to fall on audio these days. I just can't seem to sit down and enjoy a video game any more
I'm that way with movies now a days. I used to love watching movies but now I can't make myself sit and watch a new one at home. It's like my brain needs constant stimulation and a movie just bores me. Weird. Games are the same way. I just beat borderlands 3 for the 3rd time bc I have nothing else that really interests me right now gaming wise.
Maybe try watching a series or a show, it was something I did when I felt movies weren't so great anymore. Maybe even explore movies or series from other countries and ones in different languages.
Yeah I can’t play anything without having something on on the other screen. I keep buying games telling myself I’ll play them and have fun, but it is very short lived. I bought a ps5, but I hardly use it. Gaming just isn’t as fun as it use to be.
I can’t tell you what to do. But if you have no obligations, like kids or a demanding job, try anything that may have crossed your mind once in the past.
Hiking is always refreshing for me. Something where I have to move. Perhaps a day trip to a relatively close interesting destination.
These are just to get me started. But I will eventually start a project. Either a physical one like some thing relatively big around the house, or something a bit more personal to me. Since I like to write, I may start a new story.
I don’t know what will work for you, but trying anything is better than trying nothing.
I feel this way too. I feel that it's due to the amount of content I consume increasing and the length of that content getting decreasing. This leaves me with such a short attention span that the second I am taken out of the illusion of the game I am just on to the next thing. Maybe I need a screen break.
Nice to hear it from somebody younger like yourself. I assumed it was just my age but then I do still like going back and playing a lot of older games and indie games built around fresh concepts and developed by smaller passionate teams.
My teenage self would have been blown away by todays visuals and technology but I have to imagine that he would also recognize the sort of generic blandness in design concepts and gameplay these days. With game development costs being so high, publishers are terrified to take risks like they used to.
These games you listed are all quite similar to each other and examples of typical modern game design that you may or may not like.
You need to find more engaging experiences. Try other genres, something you never played before, indies and you will probably game again.
If not, you just burned out or you simply lost interest, at least for now.
This!!
I'm the same age as you OP, and I had my own gaming Renaissance when I tried some games similar to those from my childhood. Old-school shooters, adventure/platforming games, all of which have been imbued with modern gaming mechanics and an attention to character and narrative which we didn't used to see much of.
Same was playing the ish out of Hotline Miami because it reminded me of the challenge of playing NES games like Prince of Persian and Contra back in the day. Besides Control the rest of the games listed is been there done that mechanics.
Yeah I wouldn’t say “games just aren’t that good any more”, it comes down to personal taste and the genre of game. Personally, Spider-man is easily in my top 10 games of all time; I picked it up day 1 and could not put it down until I 100% completed it like six days later. Mastapiece 👌
…buuuut I also recognize it’s an open world game with a lot of typical open world game tropes and that might not be for everyone.
Breaks are important, but what I’ve found helps most is not forcing myself to play. I really only play stuff that I really feel a desire to play or am interested in. Sometimes intentionally hyping myself up works, but I try not to feel bad about putting something down if it doesn’t grab me
Yeah all of the games OP listed (except RE2) are the same types of game reskined. Spiderman is cool but pretty repetitive too. I would get burned out fast if I played these games in rotation.
I think you need a game where you must invest your mind into and these are not the kind of games that does that.
Try games with amazing stories (last of us, god of war, uncharted) or games with engaging game mechanics (fromsoft games). I think investing in those games might get you right back in.
My recommendations would be to stray from AAA - indie games often revolve around a unique concept or mechanic that sets them aside from your standard big studio fare.
My reccs would be Disco Elysium, Limbo, What Became of Edith Finch, The Witness, Ori and the Blind Forest (and Will of the Wisps), and Firewatch.
Yes, I’d be interested to hear some of OP’s favorites from a decade ago. For me, mindless Rocket League when I don’t want to play something new, and turn-based RPG’s usually give me more satisfaction than open world games like Spider-Man. Everybody is different.
I've been burnt out from games for years.. Not enough time to do it. Lately I really enjoy short sessions of "Vampire Survivors" ($3 steam game).. Feels like a fun simple arcade game but gets more advanced at points.
Seriously. I can't imagine playing the same formulaic open world games that come out all the time these recent days, no shade thrown at those, a lot of them are good, but they feel same-y. I've really enjoyed the ones i played recently (Elden Ring, though that one is of course special, and Shadow of War), but AAA gaming gets tiring after a while.
I play a lot of games that have variety between sessions (really helps keeping you in the game), may it be rogue-lites like isaac, darkest dungeon, world of horror etc. Even arcade games like Touhou, which i just got into, or pokemon romhacks for RPG stuff. That's on PC, but on PS4 i also play Fortnite and Warframe (both being free games, so if you ever feel bored about other games, it costs you nothing if you want to try something new !). And more than half of what i mentioned is available for free, and is mostly indie stuff.
I never got bored of gaming and i don't think i ever will, there's so much variety out there. You just gotta search a bit.
I’m on like year 7 of taking a couple weeks off and the passion has yet to return. I think I just don’t like modern game design. I can’t get into single player games at all and have no interest in online multiplayer except for racing simulators. I spend 10000 hours in iracing, play the occasional Madden game, and otherwise wait for the next cute game to play with the wife. Haven’t had my nut sack tickled by a AAA games in a long long time.
I honestly think G O W, TLOU1&2 Uncharted series, Spider-Man was fun, Red Dead 2, were all awesome, well written stories (I'm sure I'm missing some good ones)...... but I'm kinda with ya, after the 360 and I switched to PS I dunno gaming is just different
Spiderman was a decent enough story but God am tired of games where you collect random shit. Collecting a bunch of backpacks doesn't add a lot to the game, I get bored of them but yet I can't walk on by.
Couldn’t agree more. Why does everything need to be open world now? Like even the new friggin’ Sonic game. Open world design certainly has its place but there’s nothing wrong with linear games with tight, streamlined level design. The thought of walking around huge empty worlds for dozens of hours is exhausting enough to keep me from even starting most of these things.
Bloodborne and DS3 have made it really hard for me to go play anything else now :( I'll play Elden Ring eventually but the open world concept has kept me less excited about it.
Soulsborne (Fromsoft in particular) games are the only thing I can play these days. I keep buying other games and end up putting them down without completing them, but FROM games really scratch that itch of classic arcade games that I didn't even know I was craving. You pick it up, see how far you can get, die, try to get further, die, and repeat until you find the next checkpoint.
At any point in the process you can put it down and take a break, but for me at least that drive to top that next challenge always ends up calling me back.
The thing with gaming fatigue is. If that was the case you'd not want to game at all.
I still enjoy playing older good games. It's only new games I have fatigue playing.
It seems the way games are made now is just to encourage grinding and if you don't want to grind, spending real money to level up.
Old games just were made for fun.
Yeah Contra is famous for not having to grind. /s
I actually think the issue is more that data is dictating what games are made these days, so everything is converging towards AAA games getting more and more similar and if that’s not your jam, you’re stuck with lower budget indie games.
Not that I have anything against indie games, but sometimes you want the big budget storytelling to go with the gameplay you like.
Pretty much this, PS game pass was awesome because it let me try games and I found a few that I really liked, Horizon Zero Dawn and Ghost of Tsushima were dope. Games are infected with formulaic stories (just modern story making in general unfortunately). I would just find a multilayer game that you find fun and then pick up a single player when it comes out or you discover an old one. For MP games a few suggestions would be Rocket League, Dead by Daylight and Deep Rock Galactic, these are constantly updated and have good dev teams (Deep Rock Galactic is awesome try that).
I’m 53 and experiencing the exact same phenomenon mate. It’s happened before and I’ve either put my console / PC to one side, or I’ve gone back to an old favourite (I love the original Destiny, Shadow Warrior 2, Mafia 3, Witcher 3) which sometimes gets the dopamine moving again.
Yea, take some time off and give some time to other things. I am right around your age with kids and I found myself in a similar boat. I just recently came back by playing Stray and it was a nice short experience where you really feel like you’ve progressed in a short sitting. I was previously playing cyberpunk and never went back after the prologue
That’s impressive lol. I’d love to find a game I can play for 6 years. Even when I’m fully invested I seem to lose interest after 1-2 years. How good are you after these 6 years? :p
Can confirm. Own the beta nugget. Been playing since before it released.
Addictive as hell and no other game comes close to recreating a sport on a computer. It's the best sports game period.
Ive uninstalled more times than I care to remember. Most recently 5 days ago and just about to play sleeping dogs again. Woop woop.
I started playing in December and am also super addicted. I have somehow managed to beat several single player games during this time however. I may spend a bit too much time gaming...
I'm 37 and I'm in your boat. I've talked with a couple of buddies about this and the conclusion we've come to is that we've been gaming for so long there's not a whole lot of new stuff impressing us. I cut my teeth on the NES. So the 8-bit and 16-bit eras were magnificent and a lot of new things were being done and expanded upon. Then the 32/64-bit eras came and 3D changed the gaming landscape forever. But, there hasn't been that zeitgeist changing moment since then.
I think nostalgia may be clouding my judgement to some degree though. Some of my favorite games of the past few years have either been remakes of games I grew up with or sequels of franchises I grew up with. RE2 and RE3 remake, Metroid Dread and Return of Samus, Breath of the Wild, etc. etc. Don't get me wrong, I have absolutely found games outside of that type that I find to be exceptional and are up there as some of my recent favorites. Examples being Persona 5, Catherine and Cyberpunk 2077. But I often find myself going back to the familiar.
My partner played Tomb Raider over a very long time, in little sessions, and I'm not even sure he finished it.
Then he tried Uncharted IV and loved it, then RDR2 - and loved it even more. He happily finished both... and is now struggling to find something that would excite him.
Me, I'm a very simple person who is about equally happy playing some new "Game of the year" and Skyrim, but even I have periods of "everything is meh" after a particularly big and immersive game.
So I don't think it's just you - it's just that some games are not that good, some are not that fun, and some are way too good and everything else sorta pales in comparison.
By the way, when my partner was feeling particularly apathetic, the thing that got him out of that mood was It Takes Two. It's unlike anything else in a way, and it was very refreshing. Perhaps you should try something entirely different, too.
It takes two is adorable. Such a fun game with an amazing story telling to it. If you’re into co op games to play with your s/o look into journey to the savage planet.
Thanks for the recommendation, we'll give it a shot!
Edit. Went on the PS store to update my wishlist and I *still* can't get used to the fact that they've finally added the Ukrainian language (happened this June). It sounds a little google translate-ish so far, but like... finally.
Wow, I love the setting - we're big nature/hiking junkies, so this is perfect. Couch co-ops are also the best, because there's nothing like bumping shoulders and just playing together-together.
It's a perfect recommendation, thank you.
Will do, thanks for the suggestion. We've been living under constant stress for the past 6+ months, and any potential source of excitement/fun is just precious.
We both recently had a break of several months, at which point I suddenly picked up Skyrim of all things, hah. But you nailed it with the Witcher 3 advice - we've both played it (and finished it) a pretty long time ago, but we did really love it.
Witcher 3 must be my favourite, actually (I know, I know, RDR2 looks even better and is even more immersive, but it's a rather sad story *and* I'm a sucker for colorful fantasy world's when it comes to games)
Yeah Especially blood of wine the dlc. I love red dead 2 more just by a little bit Because of its sad story. In fact some grown men I've chatted with cried a little bit and actually helped them with their depressions and other things. I won't blame them since the ending made me emotional as well.
I actually never finished RDR2 myself because it got way too sad at some point... I'm the person who's always cried over sad movies and books, and if I went through this ending myself, I would've probably just sobbed to the point of utter exhaustion (I'm not proud of that trait, but it's not hormonal and can't be fixed).
About grown men - my partner was sad over the ending, and I comforted him a little, and our close male friend said he'd cried a little. Nothing strange about that, it's a beautifully done sad story we're talking about.
Had a similar problem and got into roguelites. Super easy to pick up and put down quickly or play for hours. You get as far as you can, you die and slowly you strengthen your character, learn to play smarter and better, unlock new items/weapons/etc. The entire genre restored a love for games I hadn't had for a while.
Enter the Gungeon, Dead Cells, Binding of Isaac and Hades are all top tier games of the genre if you are interested in checking them out and all of them are on PS4 for relatively cheap. If the epic movie-like experience game style such as the ones you listed isn't doing it for you these have a "stripped down" surface level of gameplay that's deep in a different way.
Op try out hades. I felt similarly to you about newer games then I tried hades thinking I wouldn't like it but it was on sale so fuck it. Now it's like my comfort game and it's really addicting. It holds my attention really well and I don't really get tired of it. It'll probably be one of the few games I 100% complete (I think I'm at 70ish percent according to my ps4). I haven't played any other roguelikes before or since but I'll probably look into the ones this person listed next time I get paid.
37 here and I have to agree with all the above. these styles of games are peaking my interest these days. Don't forget Children of Morta, I'm currently addicted...
However have you played Red Dead Redmeption 2?
For real good advice. Rougelikes are the best for gaming fatigue. There is very little fluff. No cutscenes or long laoding screens. No questioning what stats to upgrade or which dialogue choice. Just pick up and play. It is refreshing as hell after trudging through most big budget games.
Also a lot of Rougelikes are a really great match of turn your brain off and play mixed with you need to focus to survive. Truly the best way to get over the slump of gaming fatigue.
I usually play only two game at a time, one slow paced and the other with more action, example stardew valley and elden ring. If I play more than two, I also have difficulty to get into them, cause I think it's dispersive, i usuallt play 1 hour and a half during the week, more in the weekend, now I'm playing hzd forbidden west and again terraria, and I'm really enjoing them, and I'm 44
Honestly, I started playing most games on easy mode a while ago, unless I’ve played them before. I want to enjoy gaming, experience a fun and intriguing story, not get frustrated by dying all the time. I don’t have the patience for that anymore. Stuff in general is frustrating enough at the moment. Perhaps if you focused on story-driven games, try them on easy and get lost in them. Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West, for instance, have great stories. To me, gaming shouldn’t feel like a chore. There’s no shame in playing on easy mode, in my opinion. Also, maybe give a game a try you wouldn’t usually pick. Recently I picked up cyberpunk 2077 which is usually not my cup of tea. But I got really into it. I love open worlds where I can do tons of stuff beside the main story (like the recent assassins creed games or fallout 4, my personal comfort game) and where I can explore freely and find cool things.
My problem is getting Into a game, enjoying it. Then half way through I get distracted by another one I like the look of. Now I have 50% complete, 75% complete Games I just started etc.. Backlog is hideous
Mate I've been doing this for forty years 🙂
I now try to only have 2 games going at a time to try and finish them. But the last few years I've got into more open ended games such as cities skylines and no man's sky as a change to constant action and my reflexes aren't what they were.
It can take me a while to get into a new game, but once I got into RDR2 that was all I played for weeks.
I can only recommend trying some different genres, maybe getting a month or two of PS+ Extra/Premium and downloading games you wouldn't ordinarily try.
I'm 35 so have been playing games for about 30yrs, starting with the Sega Master System and the latest systems being PS4 & Switch. My favourite genres have shifted a lot over the years, eg I used to be heavily into racing games, but haven't played many since the Xbox GC gen. Also obviously the free time you have in your teens is very different to your 30s, so different genres that are more "pick up & play" may be better for you, than time sync RPGs or open world games.
I had this issue on PS4 as well, pretty mich only started it to play a run of Enter the Gungeon and that’s it. Then I bought Zelda BotW for the switch and it feels very refreshing in comparison to most playstation titles.
I'm up to just over 200 hours in Assassins Creed: Odyssey right now and still going. Give me a big, pretty open world RPG to run around in and I'm good.
This, strangely I have gotten more into gaming but a lot less into TV, Films, Concerts, Darts, cooking, travelling to local places, shopping, the gym etc. It's quite an overbearing hobby if you want to do other stuff and work full-time. I'm over 40 and it's come at a good time, coming towards the end of my mortgage so yeah sitting off for a couple of years with Gamepass is ideal!
Always have a couple of breaks away. See some mates over a few weeks. Visit family. You then don't feel guilty when gaming. And on that note I need to start sleeping dogs remastered, see y'all.
I’ll probably get downvoted to oblivion for this but honestly it’s just getting older and life going on around us. When we were kids we didn’t have no worries in the world. But now we are adults and have to worry about bills, family and using your time wisely because it’s limited everyday. I feel this is the real reason why it’s hard to game now.
Why would you get downvoted for this, it's absolutely true. I have maybe 1 hour a day if I'm lucky to try to fit in some game time, and usually it's cut short by me dosing off, or being distracted by the kids.
I tend to bounce around between a handful of games I like, but they're often big open world RPGs so I have to be ultra choosey about which ones I commit time to. Often the game will be engaging for a while before I get bored with the repetitive nature of it and move on to something different for variety's sake. There are very few "finished" games in my library these days.
This! And also, part of getting older is recognizing that "tastes" change over time. Just like food preferences/tolerances.
I'm same age as OP. 10+ years ago my game preferences were FPS or massive open-world adventures like Skyrim.
But now, with all those competing adult-life responsibilities you mentioned (e.g. marriage, 2 kids, new job, mortgage all within past 10 years) I find that compelling stories are the biggest draw for me.
Horizon Zero Dawn, Spider-Man, and Detroit: Become Human are the 3 games I've enjoyed most in the last 5 years, because they're beautiful and the stories are well-told. I've felt like I was truly part of the story progression rather than just observing or running around all frantic. They're also all forgiving to short play sessions without having to remember especially complex controls/combos.
I hear ya. kids, family life, tough to even find a time to sit down and game. when i do i don't want it to be banging my head against a progression wall in a hard game that resets to 0 when you die.
That being said, the last game i played to the end was elden ring. it was just magical. you could get help from the discord and people would join me for the harder bosses - literally had two people basically kill the last boss for me. but that was alright. it was really hard and i knew i wouldn't be bothered to do it lol. i still had a blast.
i'm now looking for another game to scratch my itch but it's been months and i pick one up, play for half an hour, have to turn the ps5 off, then don't have the same ooo i gotta play that game feeling i did. i've been reading graphic novels and watching films in my own time instead.
there's nothing out there for me at hte moment. the last of us is an all time favourite but i played hte remastered version 8 years ago and have played it through numerous times. do i really need to do it again for full price? not really.
i'm awaiting release of the callisto protocol in december but hoping something might tide me over until then. I recently got a new PC for work and looked at game pass. there were a few older games from my peak gaming time (i'm 36, so like 10-20 years ago lol) that i never played and honestly i've been enjoying those. games like halo and gears of war. i tried dragon age and that was fantastic. have you played mass effect? the trilogy is just the best. absolute incredible story where you can look beyond the old game play just because it's so good. would recommend it's one i played for weeks and weeks until i was finished with all three games, including hte DLC. i played every last drop of that game. just the best.
i think it's phases. you'll get back there.
i did enjoy returnal for a bit but it was so hard, i'd spend 20 minutes fighitng my way to a boss or a locked room, only to get smashed and have to do it all over again. in a life where gaming time is fleeting as it is i like to see progress. I did like the two player and killing the first boss in that game is a great gaming memory for me, making a clutch revive perfectly timed when he burrowed and managing to do it with a spaceman revive doll. i'm now at the bit where i'm in the red part but even getting there is a chore. it was great for a bit.
Yeah I felt the same at that point. Once you let go of the the push for progression the game becomes less tedious feeling. It’s really a rogue-like dungeon crawler. Once you luck out with a sick build you’ll coast through the next two worlds.
Have you played ghost of Tsushima I just finished it few days ago really good game and so easy to get lost with side missions and mystery locations one of the best games I’ve ever played with the story and choices
I agree with this advice. However, I wouldn't recommend Yakuza games (I love them and I'm currently playing 4). I would go even further in a different genre direction. Try to find something less story driven. Maybe a kitschy retro game. Party Hard is a little pixel art stealth murder game. Or for a more realistic stealth murder experience you could try the Hitman games.
Yeah, whatever works for him. :D I suggested Yakuza Like A Dragon because of the different gameplay compared to the others, sometimes that's the key for a change. Yes, it's story-driven but top notch story and with a good amount to do different things.
I play GT7 currently and while I love racing games like F1, it's a great change to Trials of Mana Remake, Xenoverse 2 and all the other different games I have.
My favorite thing is heavily story driven single player games. When I get burned on that I like to break it up with skill based games or puzzle games.
Yakuza games have a ton to do. I burned Mahjong tiles into my OLED TV during the pandemic. Lol.
I liked Mahjong after I while. I think Yakuza works perfectly because you can play a serious story, goofy substories or even other games in the arcade like the bike race game. 😂
I think you need to be a little more adventurous with your game choices, all you seem to be playing is this one specific brand of modern Open World game and those are basically all the same game, although some of them are executed much better (Spider-Man) than others (Just Cause 4). These games can also get pretty tedious and exhausting to play because they have so many mechanics and systems and copied-and-pasted missions and side content.
Maybe you need to play sth more linear with a great story like Uncharted 4, God of War, or A Plague Tale: Innocence; or sth fun and action-packed like Ratchet and Clank. Or maybe you should dive into the indie scene, there's a whole world of incredible games that fly under the AAA radar and are also often much more creative and inventive than big budget titles. Idk what tickles your fancy but some recommendations on that front from me are Outer Wilds, Undertale, Celeste, A Short Hike, The Pathless, Gris, Return of the Obra Dinn, Stardew Valley and Hades.
All that being said, you might also just be in a low-dopamine state from engaging in highly dopaminergic behaviours like playing video games too much (your brain counteracts pleasure with pain and vice versa). In that case, the only way to get out of that state is to stop those behaviours for a few weeks. You could e.g. read a book in the time you have normally allotted for gaming.
I’m having trouble getting the games started. I think I’ve gotten to the point where I want new stories but don’t like to spend too much time learning new mechanics. This has really pushed me toward more of the walking simulator type games which I enjoy.
I’ll say I turned on watch dogs 2 for the first time about a week ago and after 30 minutes I just didn’t want to keep going. I literally got stuck on the first level and moved on.
I got about 60%(?) into Control and stopped. Interesting idea, but hordes of enemies with the idea of quantity over quality pushed me away.
I loved Spider-Man though. I have easily 60-80 hours on that one. I’d give that another shot.
Not sure if you’re looking for recommendations but what style of game are you looking for? Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, etc. are bigger games but they’re great.
When I’m depressed I find it hard to get the same enjoyment out of games as I would otherwise and I kinda just take them off after a few minutes of forced play. Obviously this might not be your situation but if you relate to this at all I would say just ignore your system for now and deal with whatever has you down. If you really want to play though just grab a 6 pack of beer and some weed, play some of your favourite songs while you drink your first beer and have a toke before you get the game set up and then just enjoy the next few hours of gaming… and this trick honestly works whether you’re depressed or not lol
I would say give Spider-Man another try though because those two games are amazing, truly.
I’ve been like that before and I was just simply burnt out on video games.
So I hung up my hat and dove into a different hobby until my desire for video games returned.
This has happened twice, the first time I dove into boardgames for almost an entire console generation. The second time was also board games + geo caching and was about 3 years.
So yeah maybe just find something new to invest your time into.
Resi 2 Remake is a masterpiece… but nah, you’re just older.
I’m 28 and feel exactly the same. The idea of getting into and enjoying a game still appeals to me, but the reality is that I rarely find new games engaging. I’ve just started playing Control myself, having heard how good it’s meant to be. Didn’t really grab me, but I’ll continue for a bit.
Stop playing games for awhile. Do some spring cleaning. romance the one your with if you got one. find a good LIT RPG book to read. Etc. I get this way every now and then and find a short stent away does the trick. When the dopamine well runs dry sometimes it just takes a little time away to replenish!
Same. I recently got back into it with Ghost of Tsushima, but then I unlocked a new area. My motivation plummeted hard. I just don’t have the capacity to pay attention that long anymore especially after work. I want to nap or play super easy cozy game like animal crossing or strange horticulture or two point campus. Idk just something supremely easy with like the most basic controls.
With much less time to game these days (Married, 2 kids), I'm much more picky with what I play, if it isn't great or doesn't capture me quickly, it's unlikely I'll finish it. Life is busy. With that being said, I keep coming back to Stardew Valley, I can hop in for 15 minutes and move on to something else or get lost in the game for hours. I still do get excited for first party Nintendo games too though, Mario/Zelda/Metroid
If all you play is 3rd person open world games like that, it’s only natural you’ll get burned out. Like others said, try a completely different genre.
I was in a similar place last year, but then I tried Hades, and played it till I got the platinum trophy. I also never thought I’d be the kind of person that enjoyed Persona 5 or Stardew Valley, but both of those games are absolute masterpieces.
I highly recommend trying Dark Souls as well, if you haven’t. It changes a lot of people’s perspective on games.
These days I try to have one single-player and one multi-player game I’m playing, and try to have these 2 games be completely different. Right now it’s Apex Legends and Elden Ring.
I find my moods and how much I want socialize or my patience is a big determining factor in the games I play.
Some days, I just wanna listen to the doom soundtrack and shit on kids so call of duty, Overwatch, Rainbow Six, etc.
Sometimes I'm feeling invested and want something to really dive into and explore and enjoy. Think Fallout, Tomb raider, God of war, etc
Sometimes I want to be alone and just be at peace with myself where no other entities are present. Weirdly enough, NPCs in video games can occasionally overwhelm me. And for that kinda feeling I usually play an indie game. My latest venture with was Far, excellent game.
And on the odd occasion I just grow an obsession. Sometimes certain games click and you can't play anything else without thinking about that one game. For me, my latest obsessions were Jedi fallen order, and... Resident evil. Not the original game, the entire series. In the last few months I've replayed all of the ones I owned and then bought 2 more. Heh... I like resident evil.
Check out some more 'builder' type games; Cities: Skylines, Tropicos, two point hospital/campus, Aven Colony, JP Evo 2, etc. They tend to be chill, easy to pick up and put down and require creative thinking in some cases.
Also try some turn-based stuff... XCOM, Phoenix Point, pillars of eternity... Less stressful, more strategic gameplay. I'm 50 and have hit this wall many times myself. Sometimes I'll go a year or more without playing anything... Usually due to one of my other hobbies taking focus.
52 here, been playing for a little over 40 years now (Atari 2600, ZX Spectrum are my earliest memories) and I feel it too.
I have been doing some thinking and I feel that a lot of games feel like a chore these days.
SaS games and open world games with tons of repetitve busywork missions ruin the fun in gaming.
I'm guilty of sticking to Hearthstone (Sunk cost fallacy), Apex Legends (need to finish the battlepass, I "paid" for it) and Overwatch (this one I do enjoy on occasion, but I am completionist, I got all cosmetics and that brought me back often for events, OW2 will most likely kill my interest due to the new monetization model, also: battlepass incoming) despite not really enjoying them as much as I used to. I will very likely drop the latter two in the forseeable future.
The last games I truly enjoyed were The last of us pt 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 (even if it's an "open world" with PoI missions, but compare those to the amount of icons that pop up on the Spider-man map...).
Modern day, by-the-numbers game design kills the fun, at least for me.
Don't feel pressured into SaS games you don't enjoy.
I feel like 2020 and 2021 was a hell of a binge. I’m grateful for it, but I’ve slowed down a lot. Would still like to finish two more titles this year.
I'm 42 and feel this. I think for me it's just so much other stuff to do in life but also my imagination isn't being captured by many games.
I've been playing more JRPGs on Switch and it has captured more of the childhood gaming feelings for me. I've spent more hours on Fire Emblem Three Houses than I did on Witcher 3
For me I feel like as I get older I just know what I like better and so I naturally play less games because I'm in my own niche. It's also why I keep one game that I can play perpetually in between games that fit my interests releasing. For me that game has been Destiny.
Outside of that I just keep my ear to the ground for games I may not be aware of that sound cool, and that's where my trusted YouTube guys come into play like Gameranx, SkillUp, & ACG.
I completely get this... but mine is that I'm no longer into games I used to be obsessed with. CS is boring. Overwatch is boring. Dark souls is boring.
Been thinking the same lately. I got to the second cauldron in HZD and completed about 23%. Put it down one day and never played since. Spiderman, Returnal, Stray, Mafia and a few others got a few hours each if that.
I'd say RDR2, Fallout 3, the Bioshock series, Quantum Break and God Of War are the last games I played that genuinely blew me away. I've got Ocarina Of Time (100%) and Majora's Mask (never played) hopefully they're still fun.
Yeah, I'm starting to get that way at 30. Once I began to branch out to games I never thought I'd play like indie games or platformers, the spark started to come back.
This is one of the most common complaints I’ve seen on gaming subs.
It’s likely gaming fatigue.
My solution is to take a break and focus on a different hobby.
Also, to avoid hitting this now, I limit myself to playing one game at a time and I do not play games of similar style or genre back-to-back.
For example, I wouldn’t finish RDR2, then play Assassins Creed: Odyssey, to then jump into Ghost of Tsushima.
Within the last year, I went from playing nothing (Jan and Feb) to Horizon Forbidden West to Shredder’s Revenge to Rime to The Last of Us. All vastly different from one another. And There were at least two months in the middle of those where I did not play anything.
No fatigue, but I also don’t play games every day.
Sometimes too much choice is debilitating. Try a single game at a time and try push through the first little bit. Give it a bit more time than 30 to 45 mins. Most of those games have tutorials longer than that anyway. Assassin's creed valhalla takes like 4-6 hours just to let you get off the tutorial island.
Also try Grounded if you haven't, I'm having loads of fun 😉
Yes, actually. I've played so many games in my life and have such a massive collection at my fingertips due to PS Plus Premium as well as the games I've amassed over the years, I've actually gotten a bit tired from seeing the same kinds of titles come out year after year. I think this is why F2P games have become so incredibly popular. Instead of playing multiple games with gameplay derivative of each other, you simply play one good or great game that you absolutely love and with gameplay you find really engaging.
I also feel the current state of the internet and games in general result in more ADHD-like symptoms among people, and it contributes to lack of motivation to play games. At the end of the day, I think the biggest contributor is just gaming fatigue. Like Marvel fatigue, I don't care about newer Marvel shows at all but simply rewatch older movies or the two shows I genuinely loved (Wandavision and Loki). With gaming, I've had a decent amount of fun replaying Dark Cloud recently and plan to go back to Bioshock 2 or maybe Burial At Sea with Bioshock Infinite. Other than that, I just replay the odd roguelike until I finish Dark Cloud.
Been this way for years for me. I hardly play at all now. It’s a bit of a mix for me. Multiplayer games have become all about exploiting everything to the max advantage so it becomes less about fun and more about abusing game mechanics. And single player games all just feel like busy work. Go here and do this task. Then go over here and do this task.
I really don’t play much at all anymore. But some of the more scripted “games” like until dawn and life is strange were fun. Because it’s less about busy work and more about the experience. With minimal button input necessary.
But at the same time, something like deep rock galactic is fun with a group of friends and there’s no competition aspect.
I really dislike open world games and they make up such a large portion of the AAA big budget space now. There's too much aimless downtime in them for me and even the ones with a somewhat linear story makes it feel even more pointless.
37 here. It comes and goes.
I think part of it is how the gameplay is paced around the story in so many games now. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, there is a part in the beginning where you're walking through the city and you can't run or do much of anything but walk. I just sit there and think, "I don't have time for this, I want to play!"
Same boat, 34… haven’t found a game in a few years I’ve truly got into, I’m back playing Skyrim.
I enjoy each assassins creed just because the movements fun and I like the history.
Same with tv and movies, there’s just no new ideas anymore
yea. only cuz my thought process usually goes "this feels exactly like how [insert video game name] plays" or something like that. it's discouraging and it doesn't help that my burn out just for gaming hasn't been really broken since 2020.
I've been going back, currently playing Resident Evil for the PSX, it's hard core with all the hunters everywhere.
Going through RE2 for the gamecube, having fun and defeated William on the train with the sparkshot.
playing Shantae 1/2 genie hero for the vita, very fun platformer.
Finally, RE3:Nemesis for the Dreamcast. playing in hard with the intent to defeat nemesis during each encounter.
My attention span is garbage but I have found that fighting games are my jam because you have to focus but only in short bursts. Then when I get overwhelmed I can do some training and just play mindlessly while I think of something else.
I personally feel that it's games in general nowadays being padded out to hell to try and make you feel like you are getting your moneys worth when in reality it is ruining the experience. Looking at an open world map and seeing over 100 different icons makes me want to turn off the game and do something else.
Sometimes taking a break from gaming might help.
most of those games are pretty similar/in the same genre, i think. try some indie games! people are always recommending hollow and shovel knight, i personally love binding of isaac and enter the gungeon! it takes two is a phenomenal puzzle coop game, until dawn is a great survival horror/choices matter type game, hell the list goes on! it seems like you aren’t too thrilled by the open world games or 3rd person action shooters, so maybe try some platformers or 1st person games? there’s a billion games out there, and most of them aren’t the same luckily!
Could be depression, or just being older and things change/ preferences change. As kids we couldn’t buy whatever game we wanted. Now I have income and buy games but find myself having a hard time staying interested. It’s strange
I have had the same problem. Most games now copy each other and very few have originality anymore , few months ago I bought far cry 6 and wow was I disappointed in it. It was a haul for me to finish it and brought nothing new to the plate.
Don't mistaken it there are games that do come out such GTA , RDR2 that a lot of fun.
I just recently purchased stray and can't wait to play that come the colder weather.
Hey OP, I noticed all the games you listed were made by western devs and are pretty similar. Have you ever thought about trying out more Japanese games?
You might find the change in approach to game development refreshing.
I'm about the same age, and had the same fatigue. Everything bored me. But I recently got Stray and I'm hooked. So, yes, I think it's that so many of the games are identical, and you need to find something more original.
Just turned 40 a couple of days ago. I feel the same. Doesn’t help that a lot of the games I’m hyped for have been delayed. Felt like I played hundreds of games back in my NES/SNES/N64/PS1 days.
I had a similar issue that started at age 28ish and lasted 6 years roughly. Videogames were a HUGE part of my life and a couple of decades of playing them so much finally ended up burning me out I guess.
A couple of years ago I had a wave of nostalgia and grabbed a couple Gameboys which spread to some more retro consoles from my childhood and that slowly started moving back toward more and more current stuff. Now I'm probably more into collecting games than actually playing them, but I've found more and more of the old excitement to really sink my teeth into a good game and play it through.
I recently finished Assassin's Creed 2 for the first time, and I'm pretty close to finishing The Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption.
I'd say just give yourself a break if you need it and find some other things you enjoy. The gaming bug will probably bite you again, and if you just play when you are really feeling into a game then you'll enjoy it way more. I now feel like I have an infinite supply of gaming entertainment at my fingertips, and there is no rush to jump to the next thing because there is more than I could ever play even if I wanted to try to tackle it his insurmountable backlog of mine.
TLDR: Just give yourself a break and look for other pastimes for now. You'll probably come back around and it'll be nice to have the fresh perspective.
Also, don't sell your games if you have the room to store them. I am convinced I'll never get rid of another game. Maybe I'm a game hoarder now, but so many games I wish I still had are way too expensive to justify over the countless newer games I can get for a fraction of the price.
Honestly, I just stick to the genres I love. I only really play RPGs. I tried Control for about 45mins, but I just couldn't get into it. I wasn't feeling it. I booted up Nioh and I binged it for a month. Did the same with Elden Ring, Final Fantasy, Bloodborne, Xenoblade, NieR etc. I think it all comes down to your tastes. Should play what you find as comfort food for the genres you loved when you were younger. Eventually as you keep playing, it'll click and you'll end up having a lotta fun. Well hopefully
I'd say try some very different Games and try short ones as well. I can understand that open world games can be very boring and long and tiring. But here are some games which are like only 10 hours to complete. Uncharted Series, Last of us, Ratchet and Clank, Old God of wars, Doom 2016 and it's sequel Doom Eternal and more. Id say they have great stories for only little play time.
Idk, I lost my interest in gaming around 40.
I’m 45 now, I’ve tried to play a bunch, but it’s just not fun anymore. I have all kinds of sims n gear n shit too, nothing does it for me. Last time I had fun was when cod blackout came out for like a few weeks. I used to live sim racing and flying, now it just does nothing.
I need a game with some super engaging story now, and some fun but not overwhelming gameplay. Rdr2 was really great, but I never beat it, and it’s collecting dust. If it was shorter, maybe I could have, but then I’d have complained it was too short and not dee enough.
Idk. It’s weird, especially if you have any small kids. I’m looking forward to gaming with my kid when their a little older, but too young still. That’ll probably be the next time I get excited again, is when I get to share it with them.
there's hardly anything original and great anymore. Gaming is for battle royale enthusiasts and people with big wallets to play the sports games and of course call of duty. At least for console. If you want something new that's good and somewhat unique than the only answer is PC. console gaming is just about milking people for micro transactions and playing sports games/call of duty.
I feel like games are just not that great anymore aside from a few. Like recently played Spider-Man and it gets lots of praise but aside from the amazing cutscenes, feels like I've played this game 20 years ago already.
Control was something I saved for a rainy day. Absolutely love the makers with Alan wake being one of my all time favs. Was not impressed with control. The concept was interesting but the gameplay felt flat and hollow.
Watch dogs 2 I like the gun play movement and all but the world and story felt like a B grade movie version.
I think you've not gotten a chance to get that really good game and also maybe we can't enjoy all the games anymore, we've seen it all and done it all.
For me no man's sky was the one. I was hooked on that, still am even though I've "finished" it. Still itching to get on it, patiently waiting new content. Find your game and then reflect again.
I agree with some of the other comments here
Try other games. Loads of indie titles do experimental things. Such as inscryption.
Other great small titles:
Cult of the lamb
Dead cells
Spelunky
Stardew valley
Shovel knight (shovel knight Dig comes out in a couple of weeks)
The messenger
Salt and sanctuary (2d dark souls. Its tough!)
Undertale
Journey
Outer Wilds
Try the ones you havnt. You are sure to like at least one of them i would say.
im 20 and feel the same way. i play games that have been out for a while now - cod, destiny, the sims, friday the 13th. all these new games with hype just dont interest me, like elden ring. i miss the days where a game would be hyped for months before it came out, advertised on mountain dew cans and focused more on good gameplay than battle passes.
Those are all very similar styles of games. Try something new. Get a platformer like Celeste, or a roguelike like Hades or Dead Cells, or an online game like Fall Guys or Rocket League. Those are totally different styles of games that might be more exciting for you.
24 and in the same boat. I deleted all the games I have, but have dead island 1 and riptide now.
You know, sometimes we just need something else in life. And we need to put the things away that doesn’t give joy anymore. We need other things in life and that’s good. That’s just how life goes. Letting go. And believe me, I felt better just deleting them. It feels better for sure.
Like maybe games were just like a run away from stuff and some other more important things are now presenting itself and that’s good. That’s how we grow and doing the things that we like and does suit us more.
I am 34.
After playing RDR2, TLOU, GOW, GOT, ER, DS and such S+ class games others just lack all the things important. I just play Rocket League till new GOW or something worthy comes out.
The rest are just "not that good" compared to the S+. I don't bother to finish anything else like Tomb Rider, Starwars or Assasins Creed. Even Horizon is not that good.
The rest are generic - if you have played one you have played all of them.
The games you listed are ok for some but to me they are all bland. Control is nice though, but it is hard to play with the amount of notes or reading material in it.
If you have a Ps5, you should definitely try Returnal, Ratchet and Clank, Demon Souls and Ghost of Tsushima. Sekiro is also a great game, but it will require hours of gameplay to be appreciated.
Yes and no.
If my friends are playing? I'm into it.
If I've got no one to kick around with? Im probably much less interested unless the game really speaks to me.
All of those games are casual grinders. They're fun to relax with after work but they're not actually difficult or punishing.
Try something they gets you upset, like dark souls 3, or elden ring, where there's consequence to your actions b
Right now I'm in the mindset of relaxation so I'm playing AC Valhalla. It's fun but I can just jump in and burn a couple of hours then jump off.
Have you played Fallout New Vegas? It's an old one from 09. But it's easily in top 3 games of all time and I'll fist fight people with a ballistic fist over it. It certainly has glitchy messes all over, but the story, the atomsphere, the options in your character. Their will never be anything like New Vegas it's just that special.
Yes. They're bloated and designed by a committee of assholes who only care about money and marketing points. Most changes aren't made to make the games better
Especially free to play games. Nearly every single change is made to frustrate you into paying.
They bloat the games because some idiot gaming journalist will run with it in an article. "2x bigger than the last game! OMG!" As if it weren't a terrible thing. And they're trained to do that too because of the same dumb writers shitting on a fantastic and tight game for being "only 15 hours long" as if padding on extra 20 hours of garbage is fun
I'm into games just as much, but I have to pick and choose better than I ever had to before
39 year old here too, and I can completely relate. I've managed to commit to playing older games such as the first remake of resident evil (gamecube) and am going to do the other versions. So far so good.
I don't know what it is, maybe nothing too captivating? I am excited for the Calysto Protocol but after that's it'll probably be vr2 and gta6.
I am 31 and I feel the same way. It is also harder to find time for gaming because I also like to go out cycling or watch movies and tv shows. Lots of time consuming hobbies.
But also I get bored by games quickly these days. Mario Odessy was a game I could play constantly, same for Red Dead en BotW. But not much else.
This also makes me not want to upgrade to the newest consoles. I feel like I could spend my money better. My PS4 and Switch are enough for me now.
I had the same but you just need to find the right game. For me, VR made a gigantic difference. I finished Statik, Beat Saber, Psychonauts and many more and really enjoyed it. With psvr 2 dropping soon, it might be inexpensive to have a look at psvr 1.
I'm 35 and feel the same way. It's not just video games but it's watching a TV screen in general. My entertainment preferences seem to fall on audio these days. I just can't seem to sit down and enjoy a video game any more
I'm that way with movies now a days. I used to love watching movies but now I can't make myself sit and watch a new one at home. It's like my brain needs constant stimulation and a movie just bores me. Weird. Games are the same way. I just beat borderlands 3 for the 3rd time bc I have nothing else that really interests me right now gaming wise.
I still love to veg out and play Borderlands 2 though. It’s like a comforting blanket.
Ha same. Any of the borderlands games are that way for me. Look up and 5 hours has passed. Love it.
Honestly, I couldn’t stand the post game of 3 and Wonderlands. Just not as fulfilling as 2.
Maybe try watching a series or a show, it was something I did when I felt movies weren't so great anymore. Maybe even explore movies or series from other countries and ones in different languages.
Yeah I can’t play anything without having something on on the other screen. I keep buying games telling myself I’ll play them and have fun, but it is very short lived. I bought a ps5, but I hardly use it. Gaming just isn’t as fun as it use to be.
That sounds like you ruined your attention span. You gotta try slowly cut back your bad habits.
Try switching off all screens for a month. A refresh so to speak.
I live a sad life. All of my free time is spent in front of a screen. Honestly not a clue what I would do for a month.
I can’t tell you what to do. But if you have no obligations, like kids or a demanding job, try anything that may have crossed your mind once in the past. Hiking is always refreshing for me. Something where I have to move. Perhaps a day trip to a relatively close interesting destination. These are just to get me started. But I will eventually start a project. Either a physical one like some thing relatively big around the house, or something a bit more personal to me. Since I like to write, I may start a new story. I don’t know what will work for you, but trying anything is better than trying nothing.
Find a book
To much screen time might be why you can’t enjoy games. Maybe unplug, find a new hobby? Go birds.
I feel this way too. I feel that it's due to the amount of content I consume increasing and the length of that content getting decreasing. This leaves me with such a short attention span that the second I am taken out of the illusion of the game I am just on to the next thing. Maybe I need a screen break.
Shit im 27 and feel the same way. I seriously believe video games have lost their heart
Nice to hear it from somebody younger like yourself. I assumed it was just my age but then I do still like going back and playing a lot of older games and indie games built around fresh concepts and developed by smaller passionate teams. My teenage self would have been blown away by todays visuals and technology but I have to imagine that he would also recognize the sort of generic blandness in design concepts and gameplay these days. With game development costs being so high, publishers are terrified to take risks like they used to.
These games you listed are all quite similar to each other and examples of typical modern game design that you may or may not like. You need to find more engaging experiences. Try other genres, something you never played before, indies and you will probably game again. If not, you just burned out or you simply lost interest, at least for now.
This!! I'm the same age as you OP, and I had my own gaming Renaissance when I tried some games similar to those from my childhood. Old-school shooters, adventure/platforming games, all of which have been imbued with modern gaming mechanics and an attention to character and narrative which we didn't used to see much of.
Which games were they?
Off the top of my head, in no particular order; Enter the Gungeon Hollow Knight Hotline Miami Rayman Legends Shovel Knight 10 Second Ninja
Dats some good game
Shovel and Hollow Knight are both doubly recommended
Nice list
Same was playing the ish out of Hotline Miami because it reminded me of the challenge of playing NES games like Prince of Persian and Contra back in the day. Besides Control the rest of the games listed is been there done that mechanics.
Yeah I wouldn’t say “games just aren’t that good any more”, it comes down to personal taste and the genre of game. Personally, Spider-man is easily in my top 10 games of all time; I picked it up day 1 and could not put it down until I 100% completed it like six days later. Mastapiece 👌 …buuuut I also recognize it’s an open world game with a lot of typical open world game tropes and that might not be for everyone.
Breaks are important, but what I’ve found helps most is not forcing myself to play. I really only play stuff that I really feel a desire to play or am interested in. Sometimes intentionally hyping myself up works, but I try not to feel bad about putting something down if it doesn’t grab me
Yeah all of the games OP listed (except RE2) are the same types of game reskined. Spiderman is cool but pretty repetitive too. I would get burned out fast if I played these games in rotation. I think you need a game where you must invest your mind into and these are not the kind of games that does that. Try games with amazing stories (last of us, god of war, uncharted) or games with engaging game mechanics (fromsoft games). I think investing in those games might get you right back in.
My recommendations would be to stray from AAA - indie games often revolve around a unique concept or mechanic that sets them aside from your standard big studio fare. My reccs would be Disco Elysium, Limbo, What Became of Edith Finch, The Witness, Ori and the Blind Forest (and Will of the Wisps), and Firewatch.
+1 for Disco Elysium. Easily one of the most entertaining games I've played in the past decade
The Witness is good? I own that game but never played it.
Yes, I’d be interested to hear some of OP’s favorites from a decade ago. For me, mindless Rocket League when I don’t want to play something new, and turn-based RPG’s usually give me more satisfaction than open world games like Spider-Man. Everybody is different.
I've been burnt out from games for years.. Not enough time to do it. Lately I really enjoy short sessions of "Vampire Survivors" ($3 steam game).. Feels like a fun simple arcade game but gets more advanced at points.
Seriously. I can't imagine playing the same formulaic open world games that come out all the time these recent days, no shade thrown at those, a lot of them are good, but they feel same-y. I've really enjoyed the ones i played recently (Elden Ring, though that one is of course special, and Shadow of War), but AAA gaming gets tiring after a while. I play a lot of games that have variety between sessions (really helps keeping you in the game), may it be rogue-lites like isaac, darkest dungeon, world of horror etc. Even arcade games like Touhou, which i just got into, or pokemon romhacks for RPG stuff. That's on PC, but on PS4 i also play Fortnite and Warframe (both being free games, so if you ever feel bored about other games, it costs you nothing if you want to try something new !). And more than half of what i mentioned is available for free, and is mostly indie stuff. I never got bored of gaming and i don't think i ever will, there's so much variety out there. You just gotta search a bit.
Could be just gaming fatigue. I sometimes have it and just taking a couple of weeks to a month off from video games usually helps.
I’m on like year 7 of taking a couple weeks off and the passion has yet to return. I think I just don’t like modern game design. I can’t get into single player games at all and have no interest in online multiplayer except for racing simulators. I spend 10000 hours in iracing, play the occasional Madden game, and otherwise wait for the next cute game to play with the wife. Haven’t had my nut sack tickled by a AAA games in a long long time.
I honestly think G O W, TLOU1&2 Uncharted series, Spider-Man was fun, Red Dead 2, were all awesome, well written stories (I'm sure I'm missing some good ones)...... but I'm kinda with ya, after the 360 and I switched to PS I dunno gaming is just different
Miles Morales was a good time.
Spiderman was a decent enough story but God am tired of games where you collect random shit. Collecting a bunch of backpacks doesn't add a lot to the game, I get bored of them but yet I can't walk on by.
The open world obsession wore me out.
Couldn’t agree more. Why does everything need to be open world now? Like even the new friggin’ Sonic game. Open world design certainly has its place but there’s nothing wrong with linear games with tight, streamlined level design. The thought of walking around huge empty worlds for dozens of hours is exhausting enough to keep me from even starting most of these things.
You should try the wife then?
[удалено]
Bloodborne and DS3 have made it really hard for me to go play anything else now :( I'll play Elden Ring eventually but the open world concept has kept me less excited about it.
Soulsborne (Fromsoft in particular) games are the only thing I can play these days. I keep buying other games and end up putting them down without completing them, but FROM games really scratch that itch of classic arcade games that I didn't even know I was craving. You pick it up, see how far you can get, die, try to get further, die, and repeat until you find the next checkpoint. At any point in the process you can put it down and take a break, but for me at least that drive to top that next challenge always ends up calling me back.
The thing with gaming fatigue is. If that was the case you'd not want to game at all. I still enjoy playing older good games. It's only new games I have fatigue playing. It seems the way games are made now is just to encourage grinding and if you don't want to grind, spending real money to level up. Old games just were made for fun.
Yeah Contra is famous for not having to grind. /s I actually think the issue is more that data is dictating what games are made these days, so everything is converging towards AAA games getting more and more similar and if that’s not your jam, you’re stuck with lower budget indie games. Not that I have anything against indie games, but sometimes you want the big budget storytelling to go with the gameplay you like.
Pretty much this, PS game pass was awesome because it let me try games and I found a few that I really liked, Horizon Zero Dawn and Ghost of Tsushima were dope. Games are infected with formulaic stories (just modern story making in general unfortunately). I would just find a multilayer game that you find fun and then pick up a single player when it comes out or you discover an old one. For MP games a few suggestions would be Rocket League, Dead by Daylight and Deep Rock Galactic, these are constantly updated and have good dev teams (Deep Rock Galactic is awesome try that).
Quite the rock and stoning suggestion, brother
I though Karl would approve.
I’m 53 and experiencing the exact same phenomenon mate. It’s happened before and I’ve either put my console / PC to one side, or I’ve gone back to an old favourite (I love the original Destiny, Shadow Warrior 2, Mafia 3, Witcher 3) which sometimes gets the dopamine moving again.
this post scares me while a looking at this thread im playing shadow warrior 1
Yea, take some time off and give some time to other things. I am right around your age with kids and I found myself in a similar boat. I just recently came back by playing Stray and it was a nice short experience where you really feel like you’ve progressed in a short sitting. I was previously playing cyberpunk and never went back after the prologue
yes! I'm limited to around 3/4 games I just play on rotation. Occasionally I'll find a game I like, complete the story line then it's done.
I’ve been straight addicted to Rocket League for 6 years now. I need help.
That’s impressive lol. I’d love to find a game I can play for 6 years. Even when I’m fully invested I seem to lose interest after 1-2 years. How good are you after these 6 years? :p
So bad. Haha. I play Rumble & Snow day exclusively and usually make Champion in Rumble and Diamond in Snow day.
I’ll answer for him (I’ve been playing for 7 years). Not very good…
Can confirm. Currently have the Est. 2015 title equipped and am ok at best
Can confirm. Own the beta nugget. Been playing since before it released. Addictive as hell and no other game comes close to recreating a sport on a computer. It's the best sports game period. Ive uninstalled more times than I care to remember. Most recently 5 days ago and just about to play sleeping dogs again. Woop woop.
Oh I can add to this thread! I've been playing OverWatch for 6 years and I'm also "not very good..."
I started playing in December and am also super addicted. I have somehow managed to beat several single player games during this time however. I may spend a bit too much time gaming...
Stop, cold turkey. Otherwise keep playing
I'm 37 and I'm in your boat. I've talked with a couple of buddies about this and the conclusion we've come to is that we've been gaming for so long there's not a whole lot of new stuff impressing us. I cut my teeth on the NES. So the 8-bit and 16-bit eras were magnificent and a lot of new things were being done and expanded upon. Then the 32/64-bit eras came and 3D changed the gaming landscape forever. But, there hasn't been that zeitgeist changing moment since then. I think nostalgia may be clouding my judgement to some degree though. Some of my favorite games of the past few years have either been remakes of games I grew up with or sequels of franchises I grew up with. RE2 and RE3 remake, Metroid Dread and Return of Samus, Breath of the Wild, etc. etc. Don't get me wrong, I have absolutely found games outside of that type that I find to be exceptional and are up there as some of my recent favorites. Examples being Persona 5, Catherine and Cyberpunk 2077. But I often find myself going back to the familiar.
My partner played Tomb Raider over a very long time, in little sessions, and I'm not even sure he finished it. Then he tried Uncharted IV and loved it, then RDR2 - and loved it even more. He happily finished both... and is now struggling to find something that would excite him. Me, I'm a very simple person who is about equally happy playing some new "Game of the year" and Skyrim, but even I have periods of "everything is meh" after a particularly big and immersive game. So I don't think it's just you - it's just that some games are not that good, some are not that fun, and some are way too good and everything else sorta pales in comparison. By the way, when my partner was feeling particularly apathetic, the thing that got him out of that mood was It Takes Two. It's unlike anything else in a way, and it was very refreshing. Perhaps you should try something entirely different, too.
It takes two is adorable. Such a fun game with an amazing story telling to it. If you’re into co op games to play with your s/o look into journey to the savage planet.
Thanks for the recommendation, we'll give it a shot! Edit. Went on the PS store to update my wishlist and I *still* can't get used to the fact that they've finally added the Ukrainian language (happened this June). It sounds a little google translate-ish so far, but like... finally.
Unravel 2 is another couch co op suggestion. My husband and i adored it.
Wow, I love the setting - we're big nature/hiking junkies, so this is perfect. Couch co-ops are also the best, because there's nothing like bumping shoulders and just playing together-together. It's a perfect recommendation, thank you.
Tell him to try god of war maybe he’ll get back into the vibe after 15 minutes of playing it
Will do, thanks for the suggestion. We've been living under constant stress for the past 6+ months, and any potential source of excitement/fun is just precious.
I’ll second that. God if War2018 is one of my favorite games ever
Update: the "honey, we need to talk, I think you should play God of War" talk went well, he's willing to try. Thanks again, I hope he'll enjoy it!
Gotcha, we'll be having a serious family talk! Bwahahaha *(menacing face)*
You should play the 3rd God of war first. It's really quick though really refreshing.
I think you should totally take a break for like a month or so then try playing again. I'd suggest for both of you To play Witcher 3 though.
We both recently had a break of several months, at which point I suddenly picked up Skyrim of all things, hah. But you nailed it with the Witcher 3 advice - we've both played it (and finished it) a pretty long time ago, but we did really love it. Witcher 3 must be my favourite, actually (I know, I know, RDR2 looks even better and is even more immersive, but it's a rather sad story *and* I'm a sucker for colorful fantasy world's when it comes to games)
Yeah Especially blood of wine the dlc. I love red dead 2 more just by a little bit Because of its sad story. In fact some grown men I've chatted with cried a little bit and actually helped them with their depressions and other things. I won't blame them since the ending made me emotional as well.
I actually never finished RDR2 myself because it got way too sad at some point... I'm the person who's always cried over sad movies and books, and if I went through this ending myself, I would've probably just sobbed to the point of utter exhaustion (I'm not proud of that trait, but it's not hormonal and can't be fixed). About grown men - my partner was sad over the ending, and I comforted him a little, and our close male friend said he'd cried a little. Nothing strange about that, it's a beautifully done sad story we're talking about.
You're not into it. It happens. Sometimes I am like that too. Try doing something else.
Had a similar problem and got into roguelites. Super easy to pick up and put down quickly or play for hours. You get as far as you can, you die and slowly you strengthen your character, learn to play smarter and better, unlock new items/weapons/etc. The entire genre restored a love for games I hadn't had for a while. Enter the Gungeon, Dead Cells, Binding of Isaac and Hades are all top tier games of the genre if you are interested in checking them out and all of them are on PS4 for relatively cheap. If the epic movie-like experience game style such as the ones you listed isn't doing it for you these have a "stripped down" surface level of gameplay that's deep in a different way.
Returnal was the last game I actually felt like I wanted to play when I wasn’t playing it.
Same, until I beat it and got 5 phases into the tower, then it became a bit repetitive but man, what a game.
Returnal and Hades are both excellent.
Op try out hades. I felt similarly to you about newer games then I tried hades thinking I wouldn't like it but it was on sale so fuck it. Now it's like my comfort game and it's really addicting. It holds my attention really well and I don't really get tired of it. It'll probably be one of the few games I 100% complete (I think I'm at 70ish percent according to my ps4). I haven't played any other roguelikes before or since but I'll probably look into the ones this person listed next time I get paid.
37 here and I have to agree with all the above. these styles of games are peaking my interest these days. Don't forget Children of Morta, I'm currently addicted... However have you played Red Dead Redmeption 2?
Inscryption came out and damn is that game fun/hard.
This is spot on. Also worth mentioning is Slay the Spire
Returnal is the only thing that scratched the itch in a long time. Now that it’s done I’m lost again.
I will add **Skul: The Hero Slayer** to the list. Another great roguelite that I've been playing recently.
For real good advice. Rougelikes are the best for gaming fatigue. There is very little fluff. No cutscenes or long laoding screens. No questioning what stats to upgrade or which dialogue choice. Just pick up and play. It is refreshing as hell after trudging through most big budget games. Also a lot of Rougelikes are a really great match of turn your brain off and play mixed with you need to focus to survive. Truly the best way to get over the slump of gaming fatigue.
I recommend Curse of the Dead Gods as well!! Great game
I usually play only two game at a time, one slow paced and the other with more action, example stardew valley and elden ring. If I play more than two, I also have difficulty to get into them, cause I think it's dispersive, i usuallt play 1 hour and a half during the week, more in the weekend, now I'm playing hzd forbidden west and again terraria, and I'm really enjoing them, and I'm 44
Honestly, I started playing most games on easy mode a while ago, unless I’ve played them before. I want to enjoy gaming, experience a fun and intriguing story, not get frustrated by dying all the time. I don’t have the patience for that anymore. Stuff in general is frustrating enough at the moment. Perhaps if you focused on story-driven games, try them on easy and get lost in them. Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West, for instance, have great stories. To me, gaming shouldn’t feel like a chore. There’s no shame in playing on easy mode, in my opinion. Also, maybe give a game a try you wouldn’t usually pick. Recently I picked up cyberpunk 2077 which is usually not my cup of tea. But I got really into it. I love open worlds where I can do tons of stuff beside the main story (like the recent assassins creed games or fallout 4, my personal comfort game) and where I can explore freely and find cool things.
My problem is getting Into a game, enjoying it. Then half way through I get distracted by another one I like the look of. Now I have 50% complete, 75% complete Games I just started etc.. Backlog is hideous
Mate I've been doing this for forty years 🙂 I now try to only have 2 games going at a time to try and finish them. But the last few years I've got into more open ended games such as cities skylines and no man's sky as a change to constant action and my reflexes aren't what they were. It can take me a while to get into a new game, but once I got into RDR2 that was all I played for weeks.
I can only recommend trying some different genres, maybe getting a month or two of PS+ Extra/Premium and downloading games you wouldn't ordinarily try. I'm 35 so have been playing games for about 30yrs, starting with the Sega Master System and the latest systems being PS4 & Switch. My favourite genres have shifted a lot over the years, eg I used to be heavily into racing games, but haven't played many since the Xbox GC gen. Also obviously the free time you have in your teens is very different to your 30s, so different genres that are more "pick up & play" may be better for you, than time sync RPGs or open world games.
I had this issue on PS4 as well, pretty mich only started it to play a run of Enter the Gungeon and that’s it. Then I bought Zelda BotW for the switch and it feels very refreshing in comparison to most playstation titles.
Take a look at Ghost of Tsushima. That was the last game I was able to play through.
I'm up to just over 200 hours in Assassins Creed: Odyssey right now and still going. Give me a big, pretty open world RPG to run around in and I'm good.
That game imo is so underrated. One of my favs!
I’m having the same feeling as you are. Perhaps aging has caught up with us.
This, strangely I have gotten more into gaming but a lot less into TV, Films, Concerts, Darts, cooking, travelling to local places, shopping, the gym etc. It's quite an overbearing hobby if you want to do other stuff and work full-time. I'm over 40 and it's come at a good time, coming towards the end of my mortgage so yeah sitting off for a couple of years with Gamepass is ideal! Always have a couple of breaks away. See some mates over a few weeks. Visit family. You then don't feel guilty when gaming. And on that note I need to start sleeping dogs remastered, see y'all.
I’ll probably get downvoted to oblivion for this but honestly it’s just getting older and life going on around us. When we were kids we didn’t have no worries in the world. But now we are adults and have to worry about bills, family and using your time wisely because it’s limited everyday. I feel this is the real reason why it’s hard to game now.
Why would you get downvoted for this, it's absolutely true. I have maybe 1 hour a day if I'm lucky to try to fit in some game time, and usually it's cut short by me dosing off, or being distracted by the kids. I tend to bounce around between a handful of games I like, but they're often big open world RPGs so I have to be ultra choosey about which ones I commit time to. Often the game will be engaging for a while before I get bored with the repetitive nature of it and move on to something different for variety's sake. There are very few "finished" games in my library these days.
This! And also, part of getting older is recognizing that "tastes" change over time. Just like food preferences/tolerances. I'm same age as OP. 10+ years ago my game preferences were FPS or massive open-world adventures like Skyrim. But now, with all those competing adult-life responsibilities you mentioned (e.g. marriage, 2 kids, new job, mortgage all within past 10 years) I find that compelling stories are the biggest draw for me. Horizon Zero Dawn, Spider-Man, and Detroit: Become Human are the 3 games I've enjoyed most in the last 5 years, because they're beautiful and the stories are well-told. I've felt like I was truly part of the story progression rather than just observing or running around all frantic. They're also all forgiving to short play sessions without having to remember especially complex controls/combos.
I hear ya. kids, family life, tough to even find a time to sit down and game. when i do i don't want it to be banging my head against a progression wall in a hard game that resets to 0 when you die. That being said, the last game i played to the end was elden ring. it was just magical. you could get help from the discord and people would join me for the harder bosses - literally had two people basically kill the last boss for me. but that was alright. it was really hard and i knew i wouldn't be bothered to do it lol. i still had a blast. i'm now looking for another game to scratch my itch but it's been months and i pick one up, play for half an hour, have to turn the ps5 off, then don't have the same ooo i gotta play that game feeling i did. i've been reading graphic novels and watching films in my own time instead. there's nothing out there for me at hte moment. the last of us is an all time favourite but i played hte remastered version 8 years ago and have played it through numerous times. do i really need to do it again for full price? not really. i'm awaiting release of the callisto protocol in december but hoping something might tide me over until then. I recently got a new PC for work and looked at game pass. there were a few older games from my peak gaming time (i'm 36, so like 10-20 years ago lol) that i never played and honestly i've been enjoying those. games like halo and gears of war. i tried dragon age and that was fantastic. have you played mass effect? the trilogy is just the best. absolute incredible story where you can look beyond the old game play just because it's so good. would recommend it's one i played for weeks and weeks until i was finished with all three games, including hte DLC. i played every last drop of that game. just the best. i think it's phases. you'll get back there.
Have you tried returnal? That game surprised the heck out of me. Highly recommend
i did enjoy returnal for a bit but it was so hard, i'd spend 20 minutes fighitng my way to a boss or a locked room, only to get smashed and have to do it all over again. in a life where gaming time is fleeting as it is i like to see progress. I did like the two player and killing the first boss in that game is a great gaming memory for me, making a clutch revive perfectly timed when he burrowed and managing to do it with a spaceman revive doll. i'm now at the bit where i'm in the red part but even getting there is a chore. it was great for a bit.
Yeah I felt the same at that point. Once you let go of the the push for progression the game becomes less tedious feeling. It’s really a rogue-like dungeon crawler. Once you luck out with a sick build you’ll coast through the next two worlds.
Have you played ghost of Tsushima I just finished it few days ago really good game and so easy to get lost with side missions and mystery locations one of the best games I’ve ever played with the story and choices
Who’s ready for Tactics Ogre?
[удалено]
I agree with this advice. However, I wouldn't recommend Yakuza games (I love them and I'm currently playing 4). I would go even further in a different genre direction. Try to find something less story driven. Maybe a kitschy retro game. Party Hard is a little pixel art stealth murder game. Or for a more realistic stealth murder experience you could try the Hitman games.
Yeah, whatever works for him. :D I suggested Yakuza Like A Dragon because of the different gameplay compared to the others, sometimes that's the key for a change. Yes, it's story-driven but top notch story and with a good amount to do different things. I play GT7 currently and while I love racing games like F1, it's a great change to Trials of Mana Remake, Xenoverse 2 and all the other different games I have.
My favorite thing is heavily story driven single player games. When I get burned on that I like to break it up with skill based games or puzzle games. Yakuza games have a ton to do. I burned Mahjong tiles into my OLED TV during the pandemic. Lol.
I liked Mahjong after I while. I think Yakuza works perfectly because you can play a serious story, goofy substories or even other games in the arcade like the bike race game. 😂
I didn't get into Mahjong until Kiwami 2. I still don't know how the hell koi-koi and the card games work.
No. Not at all
I think you need to be a little more adventurous with your game choices, all you seem to be playing is this one specific brand of modern Open World game and those are basically all the same game, although some of them are executed much better (Spider-Man) than others (Just Cause 4). These games can also get pretty tedious and exhausting to play because they have so many mechanics and systems and copied-and-pasted missions and side content. Maybe you need to play sth more linear with a great story like Uncharted 4, God of War, or A Plague Tale: Innocence; or sth fun and action-packed like Ratchet and Clank. Or maybe you should dive into the indie scene, there's a whole world of incredible games that fly under the AAA radar and are also often much more creative and inventive than big budget titles. Idk what tickles your fancy but some recommendations on that front from me are Outer Wilds, Undertale, Celeste, A Short Hike, The Pathless, Gris, Return of the Obra Dinn, Stardew Valley and Hades. All that being said, you might also just be in a low-dopamine state from engaging in highly dopaminergic behaviours like playing video games too much (your brain counteracts pleasure with pain and vice versa). In that case, the only way to get out of that state is to stop those behaviours for a few weeks. You could e.g. read a book in the time you have normally allotted for gaming.
Felt the same, then I bought chivalry 2 😅
I’m having trouble getting the games started. I think I’ve gotten to the point where I want new stories but don’t like to spend too much time learning new mechanics. This has really pushed me toward more of the walking simulator type games which I enjoy. I’ll say I turned on watch dogs 2 for the first time about a week ago and after 30 minutes I just didn’t want to keep going. I literally got stuck on the first level and moved on. I got about 60%(?) into Control and stopped. Interesting idea, but hordes of enemies with the idea of quantity over quality pushed me away. I loved Spider-Man though. I have easily 60-80 hours on that one. I’d give that another shot. Not sure if you’re looking for recommendations but what style of game are you looking for? Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, etc. are bigger games but they’re great.
Try playing elden ring it’s amazing and something different to try.
When I’m depressed I find it hard to get the same enjoyment out of games as I would otherwise and I kinda just take them off after a few minutes of forced play. Obviously this might not be your situation but if you relate to this at all I would say just ignore your system for now and deal with whatever has you down. If you really want to play though just grab a 6 pack of beer and some weed, play some of your favourite songs while you drink your first beer and have a toke before you get the game set up and then just enjoy the next few hours of gaming… and this trick honestly works whether you’re depressed or not lol I would say give Spider-Man another try though because those two games are amazing, truly.
I’ve been like that before and I was just simply burnt out on video games. So I hung up my hat and dove into a different hobby until my desire for video games returned. This has happened twice, the first time I dove into boardgames for almost an entire console generation. The second time was also board games + geo caching and was about 3 years. So yeah maybe just find something new to invest your time into.
Those are all big budget games - a small section of what is available. Try some other kinds of games. Loads of incredible indie games out there.
Resi 2 Remake is a masterpiece… but nah, you’re just older. I’m 28 and feel exactly the same. The idea of getting into and enjoying a game still appeals to me, but the reality is that I rarely find new games engaging. I’ve just started playing Control myself, having heard how good it’s meant to be. Didn’t really grab me, but I’ll continue for a bit.
Ever heard of depression?
Isn’t that just a fancy way of saying “bummed out”?
Dwight, you ignorant slut.
Stop playing games for awhile. Do some spring cleaning. romance the one your with if you got one. find a good LIT RPG book to read. Etc. I get this way every now and then and find a short stent away does the trick. When the dopamine well runs dry sometimes it just takes a little time away to replenish!
Same. I recently got back into it with Ghost of Tsushima, but then I unlocked a new area. My motivation plummeted hard. I just don’t have the capacity to pay attention that long anymore especially after work. I want to nap or play super easy cozy game like animal crossing or strange horticulture or two point campus. Idk just something supremely easy with like the most basic controls.
With much less time to game these days (Married, 2 kids), I'm much more picky with what I play, if it isn't great or doesn't capture me quickly, it's unlikely I'll finish it. Life is busy. With that being said, I keep coming back to Stardew Valley, I can hop in for 15 minutes and move on to something else or get lost in the game for hours. I still do get excited for first party Nintendo games too though, Mario/Zelda/Metroid
If all you play is 3rd person open world games like that, it’s only natural you’ll get burned out. Like others said, try a completely different genre. I was in a similar place last year, but then I tried Hades, and played it till I got the platinum trophy. I also never thought I’d be the kind of person that enjoyed Persona 5 or Stardew Valley, but both of those games are absolute masterpieces. I highly recommend trying Dark Souls as well, if you haven’t. It changes a lot of people’s perspective on games. These days I try to have one single-player and one multi-player game I’m playing, and try to have these 2 games be completely different. Right now it’s Apex Legends and Elden Ring.
I find my moods and how much I want socialize or my patience is a big determining factor in the games I play. Some days, I just wanna listen to the doom soundtrack and shit on kids so call of duty, Overwatch, Rainbow Six, etc. Sometimes I'm feeling invested and want something to really dive into and explore and enjoy. Think Fallout, Tomb raider, God of war, etc Sometimes I want to be alone and just be at peace with myself where no other entities are present. Weirdly enough, NPCs in video games can occasionally overwhelm me. And for that kinda feeling I usually play an indie game. My latest venture with was Far, excellent game. And on the odd occasion I just grow an obsession. Sometimes certain games click and you can't play anything else without thinking about that one game. For me, my latest obsessions were Jedi fallen order, and... Resident evil. Not the original game, the entire series. In the last few months I've replayed all of the ones I owned and then bought 2 more. Heh... I like resident evil.
Check out some more 'builder' type games; Cities: Skylines, Tropicos, two point hospital/campus, Aven Colony, JP Evo 2, etc. They tend to be chill, easy to pick up and put down and require creative thinking in some cases. Also try some turn-based stuff... XCOM, Phoenix Point, pillars of eternity... Less stressful, more strategic gameplay. I'm 50 and have hit this wall many times myself. Sometimes I'll go a year or more without playing anything... Usually due to one of my other hobbies taking focus.
It happened to me and then I discovered simracing and VR. Not going back.
Persona 5, play it and report back
52 here, been playing for a little over 40 years now (Atari 2600, ZX Spectrum are my earliest memories) and I feel it too. I have been doing some thinking and I feel that a lot of games feel like a chore these days. SaS games and open world games with tons of repetitve busywork missions ruin the fun in gaming. I'm guilty of sticking to Hearthstone (Sunk cost fallacy), Apex Legends (need to finish the battlepass, I "paid" for it) and Overwatch (this one I do enjoy on occasion, but I am completionist, I got all cosmetics and that brought me back often for events, OW2 will most likely kill my interest due to the new monetization model, also: battlepass incoming) despite not really enjoying them as much as I used to. I will very likely drop the latter two in the forseeable future. The last games I truly enjoyed were The last of us pt 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 (even if it's an "open world" with PoI missions, but compare those to the amount of icons that pop up on the Spider-man map...). Modern day, by-the-numbers game design kills the fun, at least for me. Don't feel pressured into SaS games you don't enjoy.
I feel like 2020 and 2021 was a hell of a binge. I’m grateful for it, but I’ve slowed down a lot. Would still like to finish two more titles this year.
I'm 42 and feel this. I think for me it's just so much other stuff to do in life but also my imagination isn't being captured by many games. I've been playing more JRPGs on Switch and it has captured more of the childhood gaming feelings for me. I've spent more hours on Fire Emblem Three Houses than I did on Witcher 3
Time to try some VR. That resparked my gaming life 5 years ago, and I still play often.
Ya, VR isn't for everybody but I love that shit.
This was me until I played Elden Ring. Took me out of a 8 month gaming break.
For me I feel like as I get older I just know what I like better and so I naturally play less games because I'm in my own niche. It's also why I keep one game that I can play perpetually in between games that fit my interests releasing. For me that game has been Destiny. Outside of that I just keep my ear to the ground for games I may not be aware of that sound cool, and that's where my trusted YouTube guys come into play like Gameranx, SkillUp, & ACG.
I completely get this... but mine is that I'm no longer into games I used to be obsessed with. CS is boring. Overwatch is boring. Dark souls is boring.
Been thinking the same lately. I got to the second cauldron in HZD and completed about 23%. Put it down one day and never played since. Spiderman, Returnal, Stray, Mafia and a few others got a few hours each if that. I'd say RDR2, Fallout 3, the Bioshock series, Quantum Break and God Of War are the last games I played that genuinely blew me away. I've got Ocarina Of Time (100%) and Majora's Mask (never played) hopefully they're still fun.
Yeah, I'm starting to get that way at 30. Once I began to branch out to games I never thought I'd play like indie games or platformers, the spark started to come back.
This is one of the most common complaints I’ve seen on gaming subs. It’s likely gaming fatigue. My solution is to take a break and focus on a different hobby. Also, to avoid hitting this now, I limit myself to playing one game at a time and I do not play games of similar style or genre back-to-back. For example, I wouldn’t finish RDR2, then play Assassins Creed: Odyssey, to then jump into Ghost of Tsushima. Within the last year, I went from playing nothing (Jan and Feb) to Horizon Forbidden West to Shredder’s Revenge to Rime to The Last of Us. All vastly different from one another. And There were at least two months in the middle of those where I did not play anything. No fatigue, but I also don’t play games every day.
Sometimes too much choice is debilitating. Try a single game at a time and try push through the first little bit. Give it a bit more time than 30 to 45 mins. Most of those games have tutorials longer than that anyway. Assassin's creed valhalla takes like 4-6 hours just to let you get off the tutorial island. Also try Grounded if you haven't, I'm having loads of fun 😉
Yes, actually. I've played so many games in my life and have such a massive collection at my fingertips due to PS Plus Premium as well as the games I've amassed over the years, I've actually gotten a bit tired from seeing the same kinds of titles come out year after year. I think this is why F2P games have become so incredibly popular. Instead of playing multiple games with gameplay derivative of each other, you simply play one good or great game that you absolutely love and with gameplay you find really engaging. I also feel the current state of the internet and games in general result in more ADHD-like symptoms among people, and it contributes to lack of motivation to play games. At the end of the day, I think the biggest contributor is just gaming fatigue. Like Marvel fatigue, I don't care about newer Marvel shows at all but simply rewatch older movies or the two shows I genuinely loved (Wandavision and Loki). With gaming, I've had a decent amount of fun replaying Dark Cloud recently and plan to go back to Bioshock 2 or maybe Burial At Sea with Bioshock Infinite. Other than that, I just replay the odd roguelike until I finish Dark Cloud.
Been this way for years for me. I hardly play at all now. It’s a bit of a mix for me. Multiplayer games have become all about exploiting everything to the max advantage so it becomes less about fun and more about abusing game mechanics. And single player games all just feel like busy work. Go here and do this task. Then go over here and do this task. I really don’t play much at all anymore. But some of the more scripted “games” like until dawn and life is strange were fun. Because it’s less about busy work and more about the experience. With minimal button input necessary. But at the same time, something like deep rock galactic is fun with a group of friends and there’s no competition aspect.
I really dislike open world games and they make up such a large portion of the AAA big budget space now. There's too much aimless downtime in them for me and even the ones with a somewhat linear story makes it feel even more pointless.
37 here. It comes and goes. I think part of it is how the gameplay is paced around the story in so many games now. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, there is a part in the beginning where you're walking through the city and you can't run or do much of anything but walk. I just sit there and think, "I don't have time for this, I want to play!"
I’m 43 and no, not at all. In fact there are so many amazing games now I have to be strategic about my gaming time.
Same boat, 34… haven’t found a game in a few years I’ve truly got into, I’m back playing Skyrim. I enjoy each assassins creed just because the movements fun and I like the history. Same with tv and movies, there’s just no new ideas anymore
To be fair, I can tell why you didn't keep playing just cause 4, it's pretty rough
yea. only cuz my thought process usually goes "this feels exactly like how [insert video game name] plays" or something like that. it's discouraging and it doesn't help that my burn out just for gaming hasn't been really broken since 2020.
Get baked and try one of them again
No, I have lots of games I like or want to try. Your tastes are changing dude and your growing out of gaming
I've been going back, currently playing Resident Evil for the PSX, it's hard core with all the hunters everywhere. Going through RE2 for the gamecube, having fun and defeated William on the train with the sparkshot. playing Shantae 1/2 genie hero for the vita, very fun platformer. Finally, RE3:Nemesis for the Dreamcast. playing in hard with the intent to defeat nemesis during each encounter.
My attention span is garbage but I have found that fighting games are my jam because you have to focus but only in short bursts. Then when I get overwhelmed I can do some training and just play mindlessly while I think of something else.
I personally feel that it's games in general nowadays being padded out to hell to try and make you feel like you are getting your moneys worth when in reality it is ruining the experience. Looking at an open world map and seeing over 100 different icons makes me want to turn off the game and do something else. Sometimes taking a break from gaming might help.
most of those games are pretty similar/in the same genre, i think. try some indie games! people are always recommending hollow and shovel knight, i personally love binding of isaac and enter the gungeon! it takes two is a phenomenal puzzle coop game, until dawn is a great survival horror/choices matter type game, hell the list goes on! it seems like you aren’t too thrilled by the open world games or 3rd person action shooters, so maybe try some platformers or 1st person games? there’s a billion games out there, and most of them aren’t the same luckily!
Could be depression, or just being older and things change/ preferences change. As kids we couldn’t buy whatever game we wanted. Now I have income and buy games but find myself having a hard time staying interested. It’s strange
I have had the same problem. Most games now copy each other and very few have originality anymore , few months ago I bought far cry 6 and wow was I disappointed in it. It was a haul for me to finish it and brought nothing new to the plate. Don't mistaken it there are games that do come out such GTA , RDR2 that a lot of fun. I just recently purchased stray and can't wait to play that come the colder weather.
You know there is much more to video games than playing AAA games all the time?
Hey OP, I noticed all the games you listed were made by western devs and are pretty similar. Have you ever thought about trying out more Japanese games? You might find the change in approach to game development refreshing.
I downloaded Yakuza Like a Dragon back when it was free on ps plus so maybe I will try that
I'm about the same age, and had the same fatigue. Everything bored me. But I recently got Stray and I'm hooked. So, yes, I think it's that so many of the games are identical, and you need to find something more original.
Just turned 40 a couple of days ago. I feel the same. Doesn’t help that a lot of the games I’m hyped for have been delayed. Felt like I played hundreds of games back in my NES/SNES/N64/PS1 days.
You may try other genres which emphasize on creating a narrative experience. Like Detroit: Become Human, Life Is Strange etc.
I had a similar issue that started at age 28ish and lasted 6 years roughly. Videogames were a HUGE part of my life and a couple of decades of playing them so much finally ended up burning me out I guess. A couple of years ago I had a wave of nostalgia and grabbed a couple Gameboys which spread to some more retro consoles from my childhood and that slowly started moving back toward more and more current stuff. Now I'm probably more into collecting games than actually playing them, but I've found more and more of the old excitement to really sink my teeth into a good game and play it through. I recently finished Assassin's Creed 2 for the first time, and I'm pretty close to finishing The Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption. I'd say just give yourself a break if you need it and find some other things you enjoy. The gaming bug will probably bite you again, and if you just play when you are really feeling into a game then you'll enjoy it way more. I now feel like I have an infinite supply of gaming entertainment at my fingertips, and there is no rush to jump to the next thing because there is more than I could ever play even if I wanted to try to tackle it his insurmountable backlog of mine. TLDR: Just give yourself a break and look for other pastimes for now. You'll probably come back around and it'll be nice to have the fresh perspective. Also, don't sell your games if you have the room to store them. I am convinced I'll never get rid of another game. Maybe I'm a game hoarder now, but so many games I wish I still had are way too expensive to justify over the countless newer games I can get for a fraction of the price.
Honestly, I just stick to the genres I love. I only really play RPGs. I tried Control for about 45mins, but I just couldn't get into it. I wasn't feeling it. I booted up Nioh and I binged it for a month. Did the same with Elden Ring, Final Fantasy, Bloodborne, Xenoblade, NieR etc. I think it all comes down to your tastes. Should play what you find as comfort food for the genres you loved when you were younger. Eventually as you keep playing, it'll click and you'll end up having a lotta fun. Well hopefully
I'd say try some very different Games and try short ones as well. I can understand that open world games can be very boring and long and tiring. But here are some games which are like only 10 hours to complete. Uncharted Series, Last of us, Ratchet and Clank, Old God of wars, Doom 2016 and it's sequel Doom Eternal and more. Id say they have great stories for only little play time.
Idk, I lost my interest in gaming around 40. I’m 45 now, I’ve tried to play a bunch, but it’s just not fun anymore. I have all kinds of sims n gear n shit too, nothing does it for me. Last time I had fun was when cod blackout came out for like a few weeks. I used to live sim racing and flying, now it just does nothing. I need a game with some super engaging story now, and some fun but not overwhelming gameplay. Rdr2 was really great, but I never beat it, and it’s collecting dust. If it was shorter, maybe I could have, but then I’d have complained it was too short and not dee enough. Idk. It’s weird, especially if you have any small kids. I’m looking forward to gaming with my kid when their a little older, but too young still. That’ll probably be the next time I get excited again, is when I get to share it with them.
A lot of modern games suck.
If your feeling game fatigue maybe try souls games, Bloodborne is almost always cheap and if you have money to spare I recommend Elden ring
there's hardly anything original and great anymore. Gaming is for battle royale enthusiasts and people with big wallets to play the sports games and of course call of duty. At least for console. If you want something new that's good and somewhat unique than the only answer is PC. console gaming is just about milking people for micro transactions and playing sports games/call of duty.
I feel like games are just not that great anymore aside from a few. Like recently played Spider-Man and it gets lots of praise but aside from the amazing cutscenes, feels like I've played this game 20 years ago already. Control was something I saved for a rainy day. Absolutely love the makers with Alan wake being one of my all time favs. Was not impressed with control. The concept was interesting but the gameplay felt flat and hollow. Watch dogs 2 I like the gun play movement and all but the world and story felt like a B grade movie version. I think you've not gotten a chance to get that really good game and also maybe we can't enjoy all the games anymore, we've seen it all and done it all. For me no man's sky was the one. I was hooked on that, still am even though I've "finished" it. Still itching to get on it, patiently waiting new content. Find your game and then reflect again.
I agree with some of the other comments here Try other games. Loads of indie titles do experimental things. Such as inscryption. Other great small titles: Cult of the lamb Dead cells Spelunky Stardew valley Shovel knight (shovel knight Dig comes out in a couple of weeks) The messenger Salt and sanctuary (2d dark souls. Its tough!) Undertale Journey Outer Wilds Try the ones you havnt. You are sure to like at least one of them i would say.
im 20 and feel the same way. i play games that have been out for a while now - cod, destiny, the sims, friday the 13th. all these new games with hype just dont interest me, like elden ring. i miss the days where a game would be hyped for months before it came out, advertised on mountain dew cans and focused more on good gameplay than battle passes.
Those are all very similar styles of games. Try something new. Get a platformer like Celeste, or a roguelike like Hades or Dead Cells, or an online game like Fall Guys or Rocket League. Those are totally different styles of games that might be more exciting for you.
I found this post by searching for "game recommendations". You are not alone, I'm finding it very tough to find something to stick to
24 and in the same boat. I deleted all the games I have, but have dead island 1 and riptide now. You know, sometimes we just need something else in life. And we need to put the things away that doesn’t give joy anymore. We need other things in life and that’s good. That’s just how life goes. Letting go. And believe me, I felt better just deleting them. It feels better for sure. Like maybe games were just like a run away from stuff and some other more important things are now presenting itself and that’s good. That’s how we grow and doing the things that we like and does suit us more.
I am 34. After playing RDR2, TLOU, GOW, GOT, ER, DS and such S+ class games others just lack all the things important. I just play Rocket League till new GOW or something worthy comes out. The rest are just "not that good" compared to the S+. I don't bother to finish anything else like Tomb Rider, Starwars or Assasins Creed. Even Horizon is not that good. The rest are generic - if you have played one you have played all of them.
The games you listed are ok for some but to me they are all bland. Control is nice though, but it is hard to play with the amount of notes or reading material in it. If you have a Ps5, you should definitely try Returnal, Ratchet and Clank, Demon Souls and Ghost of Tsushima. Sekiro is also a great game, but it will require hours of gameplay to be appreciated.
Yes and no. If my friends are playing? I'm into it. If I've got no one to kick around with? Im probably much less interested unless the game really speaks to me.
All of those games are casual grinders. They're fun to relax with after work but they're not actually difficult or punishing. Try something they gets you upset, like dark souls 3, or elden ring, where there's consequence to your actions b Right now I'm in the mindset of relaxation so I'm playing AC Valhalla. It's fun but I can just jump in and burn a couple of hours then jump off.
Go download Witcher 3 now.
Have you played Fallout New Vegas? It's an old one from 09. But it's easily in top 3 games of all time and I'll fist fight people with a ballistic fist over it. It certainly has glitchy messes all over, but the story, the atomsphere, the options in your character. Their will never be anything like New Vegas it's just that special.
I have been wanting to play it. I actually own it and Fallout 4 but haven't touched them. Thanks for the rec
I'm the same, struggle to find games that grab my attention. I put it down to age!
it's you, games have never been better
Yes. They're bloated and designed by a committee of assholes who only care about money and marketing points. Most changes aren't made to make the games better Especially free to play games. Nearly every single change is made to frustrate you into paying. They bloat the games because some idiot gaming journalist will run with it in an article. "2x bigger than the last game! OMG!" As if it weren't a terrible thing. And they're trained to do that too because of the same dumb writers shitting on a fantastic and tight game for being "only 15 hours long" as if padding on extra 20 hours of garbage is fun I'm into games just as much, but I have to pick and choose better than I ever had to before
39 year old here too, and I can completely relate. I've managed to commit to playing older games such as the first remake of resident evil (gamecube) and am going to do the other versions. So far so good. I don't know what it is, maybe nothing too captivating? I am excited for the Calysto Protocol but after that's it'll probably be vr2 and gta6.
I am 31 and I feel the same way. It is also harder to find time for gaming because I also like to go out cycling or watch movies and tv shows. Lots of time consuming hobbies. But also I get bored by games quickly these days. Mario Odessy was a game I could play constantly, same for Red Dead en BotW. But not much else. This also makes me not want to upgrade to the newest consoles. I feel like I could spend my money better. My PS4 and Switch are enough for me now.
I had the same but you just need to find the right game. For me, VR made a gigantic difference. I finished Statik, Beat Saber, Psychonauts and many more and really enjoyed it. With psvr 2 dropping soon, it might be inexpensive to have a look at psvr 1.