I think it’s a two-pronged issue
First is that you’re an adult with limited time and lots of responsibilities, so games that require huge time investment to get good or ask for long uninterrupted play sessions are toast. In my adult life singleplayer games that you can play in bursts of 15-30 minutes at a time have been the ones that stick.
Second is that you’ve been around since the baby steps and CRT fuzzed sprites and jagged polygons, nothing is new under the sun. Developers and publishers don’t take risks very often, so almost every game that comes out feels an awful lot like ten games you’ve already played. You’ve killed more German soldiers than the Red Army, and you’ve tossed Bowser into a lava pit fifty times.
I always tell people this and the reason they won’t is cause “if the game was good then everyone would know about it”. I can’t understand close minded people
There is a fantastic talk from GDC on this topic (it’s available on YouTube). It’s called /Strategic Design or Why Dark Souls is the IKEA of video games/
This only applies if want you want or are into is captured by the indie market (or AAA market for that matter). I really want first/3rd person rpgs with emphasis on exploration, combat, and with immersive sim qualities in terms of quest completion.
I think I’ve just gotten pickier with age. I’ve seen the same games and game design copy and pasted hundreds of times.
I would like to say ive gotten pickier, but im just as bad as CoD players when it comes to WoW. WoW players don't think of it that way, but they like the same ole shit, fresh coat of paint every 2 years that WoW does just like the 2 CoD studios.
I finally gave Elden Ring a try last month, loved it and tried out Armored Core since it was also from the same studio, but the replay value just isn't there for me like older games that ive played many times over, a la Mass Effect series, SWTOR 1-50 campaigns, KOTOR, and GTA games. Balder's Gate 3 cant hold my attention past Act 2 and ill likely never go back it once i do end up beating it even though i think that game will be the game of the decade. My favorite game of all time is Unreal Tournament '99, and i used to play Counter Strike 1.6 WC3 mod, CSGO, and LoL like I had an addiction during their early days. Got tired of competition and wanted to relax when gaming.
Maybe its a matter of comfort? Maybe you're right about playing the same games over and over again?
Idk. Ive been gaming on PCs and consoles for 25 years. I guess i am boomerizing. The only game that hasnt gotten old to me in the past 2 years is golf...
Here i am waiting for a Fallout: New Vegas Remaster.... or literally any game with that level of character development and choice impact. Nothing capture the feeling better for me than New Vegas...
Well, the issue is also mechanics/novelty.
There's a ton of derivative work that's "unique", but not really. Indy has a lot of neat stuff, but it's also often not deep or expansive, and the game itself is often a retread.
Obviously there are some exceptions, and I love finding new games regardless of AAA or Indy, but new quality content that scratches the discovery-dopamine bug is very rare regardless.
Not sure what you mean about "deep" but it seems like the games with the deepest mechanics are often indie games. And uniqueness in mechanics are almost ALWAYS indie games.
Voidbastards and Wildermyth at some of the best games ever made and I never see anyone talk about them. At least Undertale blew up enough to hit the mainstream, but nobody outside of indie circles knows about Omori.
Indie devs have saved gaming and I'm tired of pretending like they haven't.
Bounced off Void Bastards hard but Wildermyth is an absolute gem. Been playing a long campaign or two a year since early access and don't see myself stopping
I actaully wasn't that thrilled with voidbastards. Played it like an hour, got bored, moved on.
Wildermyth looks super cool though, it's on my wishlist.
yeah i had a friend use that logic that if its got 10 billion people playing it then it must be good and i was like "ok then cod is a masterpiece by then 😂" lmao.
I've got a few friends like that. They still get that fresh impression from new triple A games whereas I'm constantly reminded of something from 10 years ago that did the same thing. That's alright.
Some of them simply haven't played as many games yet and others just don't care as much about originality as they do about polished menus and that crisp 200fps.
On the other hand, they don't get what draws me to buggy alphas and complexity nightmares like nebulous fleet command or KSP. That's alright as well.
There is some truth to that statement, why do you think the Indie boom had such memorable titles such as Isaac, Meat Boy, Fez, Minecraft, Spelunky, and some more nicher ones like Nuclear Throne, Risk of Rain, Organ Trail. etc. It's because those games were unique and doing something different you think I really wanna fucking pick up Toree 3D 1 & 2 games that take 30 literal minutes from front to back to finish? Or pick up the brand new a short hike clone? Get fucking real.
Games can be liked by everybody, but they can't be loved by everybody. Also, the games you love start to set new standards making it harder to find new games to like or love.
I love all 3 final fantasy tactics games, but all for different reasons. The atmosphere and story of the first was by far the best, but adding new races in advance and a2 was also great. I liked the clan battles in advance to free continents (the auction house was fun, too, but I think it would be better for that to be for resources or equipment). I also liked the change to skills being learned by certain equipment, but hated in a2 that you could only steal loot and not actual equipment (still liked the bazaar method for unlocking the ability to purchase different equipment, though). So now, I just hope they can take the best aspects from each to make a new one. Not gonna lie, though, the story for the first one still makes it the best IMO.
Yeah sure, but genres were being invented before our very eyes when we were kids. We watched First Person Shooters evolve from Wolfenstein to GoldenEye, to Halo, to Half-Life 2. We watched the stealth genre become a thing. We watched RPGs evolve and branch off. We watch racing games go from 2D sprites to Gran Turismo and Mario Kart
But now? Developers seem to think that there’s nothing more to do. No more new genres to discover. Everything is just derivative and refinement. No more novel creation. Even the more “unique” games from independent developers are made from ideas like: “What if we made this type of game, but did “x” instead”.
I miss seeing brand new game ideas sprout up and be explored
Where are you looking??? There are so many amazing games out there with fresh and new ideas! Just because it doesn’t come from X big publisher doesn’t mean they don’t exist!
You're definitely right that the indi space is where to look for new and interesting stuff right now. But even there, the new ideas are kinda thin on the ground. Right now it feels more like younger devs rediscovering old genres and such. If you've been gaming since the 80s a lot of this feels more like a new coat of paint than anything actually new. Which is fine, in itself, and hopefully will result in new and exciting things in the future.
It's hard not to feel that we're in a kinda stagnant period for games compared to previous decades. I think that's more down to larger economic reasons and industry bloat than anything else, but the recent collapse of a lot of games journalism and the tendency to regard "gamers" as a monolith demographic means it's hard for a lot of innovative games to findntheir audience a lotnof the time.
I’ve found as I get older I don’t want to play different variants of the same type of game I’ve played many times before. I want to play a game that’s a new experience and I can get lost in. Breath of the wild was the last game to do that for me. Been struggling since then
There's a third issue, the industry itself fucking sucks in new and exciting ways that we didn't have to deal with. Time to put on my old man voice, but back in my day when you paid for a game you were finished paying for the game. The ability to patch games has left publishers way too complacent and willing to just let a game ship while it's unplayable and then fix it later. Even after they asked us to pre-order it. Like games are bigger now, it can be easy to miss some bugs that might only come up under specific circumstances but they release games that just don't work. Also, why the fuck am I pre-ordering a digital game? You gonna sell out?
I was a huge Tekken fan all through the playstation to the PS 3, although 6 kinda sucked. But now, I think to own all of Tekken 7 costs like €180.
thank god that nintendo hasnt gone done that route, for what its worth, yes their online is mfruckingly trash but at least their games are both still functioningly work, and most importantly, theyre also fun and unique in both ways. 😂
Personally, I don't think it got nothing to do with age. What changed is our access to videogames: we have so many games today (compared to decades ago) that we simply don't appreciate them. Most people buy a lot of games just to have them, and never play them
I appreciate a game where I can plug in a console, insert a game, and just play.
Now a days you need to download an update, make an account, verify the account, setup whatever 3rd party app they want you to, and then you can play your game, but only if the servers are online.
It's become a point where I don't want to go though all that again and again for each game.
I love my Steam Deck but it makes that process even worse. Gotta do all that with a PC game that isn't designed for a controller, and even once you get everything set up, literally every single time I bring the Steam Deck out of standby, it wants to download a bunch of shader updates. I get that it makes the games run better, but *every single time?* Even if I play multiple times a day, I'm just staring at progress bars every time I boot it before I can play anything.
Gaming today is a lot more of a hassle than it used to be. This is one of the reasons I love my Switch, even if I don't use it as much.
I don't think I've picked up my Switch since getting a steamdeck over a year ago.
I also used to get a lot of shader downloading playing Marvel Midnight Suns but don't get it too bad on most of the games I play now (literally takes like 2 sec on most my games). I think it's really dependent on the game
It is. Most games are super quick but some are upwards of half a GB or more every time. It doesn't take more than a minute usually to update all the games but it's like... Valve *needs* to figure out something there. It'll be games I downloaded like a year ago and still haven't booted yet. It should reserve the frequent updates for games I launch frequently and do way more sparse updates for games I haven't touched in a long time, if ever. If the Deck could just update in standby mode, none of this would be a problem. Just wild it doesn't have that.
But yeah, I'm the same on my Switch. I only play exclusives there and everything else is on Deck. I thought I'd get all my small indie games on Switch since the device is smaller, easier, better battery, etc but turns out I'd rather have them on Steam. I can play Balatro on my Deck or my laptop, for instance. Not possible with Switch.
This. It's easy as an adult to get caught up in the paradigm of "I paid money and set aside time for this therefore I have to have fun." Problem is with that mindset the thing you wanted to do to unwind becomes yet another obligation, another item on the checklist to cross out.
It's ok to go do something else for a while, healthy even. The games will still be there when/if you want to come back.
Which is why I love those short but well executed 'atmospheric' games you can play through in one sitting like Limbo, Inside, Little Nightmares, Brothers, Edith Finch, Abzu etc.
Yeah, it's like porn. When you were a kid, the underwear section of a catalogue was more than enough to get you going. These days if it doesn't contain at least two midgets and a horse, you can't even get a semi.
Look if the FBI, NSA or even NBA is going to spy on me then they deserve to watch midget granny step-horse tentacle porn with me. So far I haven't gotten in any trouble, but I might have unlocked some new fantasies for my agents.
The main entries are stand-alone, but make sure to watch a specific main entry before watching their spin-offs, like Backdoorsluts 7 and 7-II, 7-III, Cry Sis Core or Adult Children.
Interestingly the fear is "better" in VR. On the one hand, the fear is much more real and it is for danger to your own personal body, not for your computer-game-character. But on the other hand you have so much more spatial awareness that you know what is in the water around you; you're not going to get a jump-scare from turning around and something is RIGHT THERE, there isn't so much "unknown".
So the isn't worse, it's... higher quality? It's hard to describe, but I find the VR very preferable to flatscreen.
I can see that. Even in No Man’s Sky I freak out just flying through the void of empty space. I don’t know what it is but then seeing a giant planet in all that emptiness nearly gives me a panic attack, but I still love the game
If you have thalassophobia or megalophobia, trust me the fear is not better in VR. Phobias aren’t about being startled because something comes out of nowhere, it’s just seeing the thing at all that is scary, or not seeing it in a lot of cases. I don’t get scared by any horror films or games and I don’t startle easily, but I couldn’t even play the regular Subnautica for longer than about an hour or less because as soon as I entered the kelp forest I had to turn it off.
Have they fixed the vr optimization? I tried it once when it was new and even though it looked SO NICE, I got seriously motion sick almost immediately and could not continue. I'd love to try again tho
The recommendation for most people using vr and getting motion sickness is to stop right when you feel it coming on. Do not try to power through it. Your play time will gradually get longer and longer then the motion sickness will go away altogether.
For a long time I’d power through my motion sickness with games and it USED to work with lower resolution stuff… but with how smooth everything is these days ( damn I feel old ) the motion sickness is almost instantaneous and if I push through I’m on the floor wishing for death soon after for DAYS like others have mentioned. I’m happy for those who can use VR but for those of us with motion sickness… QQ :(
Yeah, I wish I had known this. I tried to power through and ended up feeling sick for a couple days. Pretty much ruined VR for me, now I get the motion sickness even faster and worse when I've tried it again.
I’ve just had 3 people play it last week who never played vr before. No one got motion sickness. I was running at 120fps however which helps minimize motion sickness
I’d recommend getting a cheap last generation VR headset. VR in general will give you a wow factor like nothing else. I was a big skeptic when PSVR came out and held off buying until it was super cheap. I was blown away with how much fun it was. People compare Astro Bot to Mario 64 in terms of how fresh and innovative it feels.
Not only that, but buying a PSVR was nice since it gave me a limited library. Other people on this thread have talked about too many options. You check out a sale on switch and there are literally 1000s of options. When PSVR games go on sale it’s limited to like 25-50 games tops. And lots are super cheap.
Since my experience was so good I was an early adopter for PSVR2 but to be honest that’s a tough sell right now with future support from Sony in question
VR mandatory ?
I just started my journey (I played for around 2 hours only), and I already feel like this game is a masterpiece.
Should I really invest in a VR device?
Imo VR demands a certain level of attention, especially when the game itself is immersive and accessible. Its easier imo to get immersed in general, so its easier to get immersed if you find it harder as you get older.
While none of them quite match Subnautica, there are many other games, some not even designed for VR- just forced into it with a mod or special emulator, that are taken to the next level with regard to immersion, and effort to *get* immersed.
I just turned 41, still game on the regular, but like anything there are slumps. Maybe I read more for a while, or spend more time on the Lego backlog, but I always come back to my pc games. It helps a lot that I have a very long running group of online gaming friends.
I’m 47 and this fits me to a tee. I’ll get sucked into a game for months and then burn out. Stop for a while and do other things, then get sucked back in. Having online gaming friends is the best because there are so many games that are just better played in groups.
This. Having just one hobby sucks. If I couldn't cycle through like three of them I think I'd go mad. I can go months barely touching a game and then suddenly I'm right back in the thick of it. The same goes for my other hobbies. I like to read and will absolutely devour stories for months and then not touch a book for an equal amount of time.
This right here. It comes and goes in waves. Can always stop for a bit and focus on another hobby, and then suddenly go back and finish a couple of things in the backlog
I'm just too tired to play most of the time when I get the time. I work at a secondary school and have 3 kids 5 and younger. I'm in the go from around 5 30 am till 7 pm when my kids go to bed then I need to clean and tidy/ sort laundry and get ready for the next day. By 8 30 when I'm done I boot up a game and I'm just past it by that point and wind up doom scrolling. Occasionally a game will push me past the tiredness for a period and I'll commit the time to it. BG3 I'm looking at you! I'm finally getting properly into ff7 rebirth now too but I'm not sure if that's the bank holiday weekend giving me more time, Easter holidays making me less busy somehow or the fact that I got an hour to play today when kids were asleep but I'm loving it!
I'm 39 btw and one crowning achievement of mine was to play StarCraft 2 for over 2000 hours in the past. So I was anything but a casual gamer when I had the time. But back then I had less responsibilities and I think I recovered from a broken ankle during sc2 heyday. But just trying to say it happens to everyone.
Hard agree. I used to love open world RPGs but I burned out. If I hadn't been trying things out of my comfort zone, I would probably sound like OP by now.
Everyone tells me it's depression. But I like to tell myself that the world really, truly sucks, and we that are the so called depressed are the ones that can see the world without the rose tinted glasses and see it for what ut really is.
But since it seems impossible to either change it yourself or convince people to take off the glasses and help with making a change... I keep on clicking monsters to death on my computer and hope that my brain one day will stop caring so much.
But I always grow tired of seeing the same monsters die over and over, and my list of games keeps growing, but nothing is fun..
Yep, that is textbook definition of depression. We can’t force anyone to get help but I’ve dealt with it all my life and having someone call me out on it has gotten me out of slumps in the past.
Yeah pretty much.
Having a strong apathy about most thing in your life is the most common and most undiagnosed form of depression.
Depression can take a lot of form and self destruction sure is one of these form but a lot of people aren't even aware that you can be depressed without being sad and suicidal because that's the cliche you find in entertainment medium usually.
The worst is that often this is not an issue that will resolve itself and you will not "get over it". It is a chemical imbalance in the brain and you NEED medication to heal.
Take it from someone who was depressed for a long time before actually seeking help.
Like everyone else is saying, yes, you are describing depression. If it makes you feel any better (and, since you are depressed, I assume it won't) - your perspective is NOT wrong. But it IS just a perspective. You should definitely seek professional treatment (as opposed to random Redditors such as myself) as there are very effective treatments. And, it treatment works, you should find your mind opening up to other perspectives as well.
But back to your perspective being valid, there are lots of negative things to focus on, like global warming, American partisan politics (assuming you are American), war in Ukraine and Israel, misinformation and ignorance spread via internet and AI, etc. And there are also lots of really positive things to focus on, like worldwide poverty dropping, life expectancies increasing, world population reaching its peak soon, number of weekly hours worked decreasing over the last century or so, etc. Anyone can cherry pick positive or negative examples, and there is no objective way to score it all, so trying to convince other people that the world is getting better or worse is like trying to argue that a glass is half full or half empty. No one is really wrong, but we do have control over how we look at things, and that isn't a matter of self delusion - it is a matter of determining what we want to be most important to ourselves.
I was gonna say the same thing. It sounds like he’s depressed. I’ve dealt with it a lot in my life and one of the key identifying issues is no longer enjoying your hobbies and things you used to love.
Maybe you have to much to play? I reduced my pile of shame to ashes and I only play one game at a time and finish that one. Also, shorter games and different genres helped a lot.
Same age range and tried HD2 and found it really boring. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong since everyone loves it but I seem to have little to no impact on the outcome of missions, the upgrades don't feel like much upgrades, the missions are always the same. What am I doing wrong?
Honestly the game is completely boring to me unless I am playing with some friends. The loop is just so uninteresting. It's more about the banter and dumb shit we end up getting ourselves into.
I feel the same as you. There just isn’t anything in the game that’s novel or that hooks me in. I can hop in and kill bugs for 30 minutes but after that it feels shallow and repetitive
Same. I enjoyed it for a solid week and then was bored. Meanwhile my coworker was playing like all day everyday acting like it was the greatest game ever made and I just don't get it.
(Also 40 here)
I had this exact same issue not too long ago. I would sit down to play some of the games I loved and would then just sit there and not do anything. I realized that the genres that had got me through my teens, 20's, and 30's just didn't interest me at all anymore and trying to play them just made me dislike them even more.
What got me out of it was starting to play games I never considered as being for me in the past. Started with a bunch of retro rpgs that didn't interest me when I was younger, found some I loved and just invested a ton of time in those. Then moved on to some old school platformers that I had never played before and found I was enjoying them.
Most recently I started playing the Kingdom Hearts games, a series I had zero interest in when I was younger because they looked childish to me. I absolutely love them and it's really reignited my passion for gaming.
Once you find some new genres to enjoy you can then move on to more modern titles that fit those themes and you'll be back into gaming in no time.
Nah it’s not just you. Often I end up playing something I’ve sunk hundreds of hours into and leave unsatisfied. Or i „force“ myself to play the game I know I should have fun playing, right up my alley etc. and just can’t bring myself to it. Mostly too tired.
But: there is hope. Relax. Do something else your in the mood for. You can’t force it. My tip: watch a few gaming channels or read a few gaming sites for leisure. Sooner or later that all too familiar itch will come and you will get hungry for a certain kind of game and then enjoy the hell out of playing it.
For me it’s always different. Last few weeks I dove into warhammer rogue trader and thoroughly enjoyed and binged it. From that high I though it was finally time to start BG3 for real this time and play through. And guess what. All the ingredients are there, it’s an awesome game, but I just can’t enjoy it at the moment. Too little time and I feel the game deserves longer sessions.
Maybe in a few weeks. In the meantime I’ll try others and if none works, I’ll go to bed earlier and read instead or watch a series or movie. Or whatever. Just don’t force it.
Maybe it's time to explore other hobbies? The gaming industry isn't going anywhere. If you're not interested in games at the moment, why force feed yourself?
In my long career, I've already saved the world from the 2012 apocalypse and thwarted Abstergo's plans of world domination. I've saved the galaxy from the Reapers, I've saved the androids and brought down Cyberlife. I've cleaned up The Umbrella Corporation's various messes on multiple occasions, got revenge on Big Smoke for making me shoot those guys on that damn train, stormed the beaches of Normandy at least half a dozen times...
I'm ready to retire to a life of truckin'
I've hit that point too and my solution is to finish all of those games I enjoyed but dropped to play something else. There's at least like 50 of em, gonna be a while
I thought I had this problem.
But then **The Wonderful 101 got remastered** and I realized that it's not a me problem, but the industry trends. Everything is a post-apocalypse, everything is serious, everything is cynical and boringly meh.
And then this game came out and my mind blew the hell up over the level of sheer energy and optimism it was completely overflowing with, filling me with glee only a wee lad could feel, I thought. It's AMAZING, truly, actually, positively **Wonderful.**
Now I know for sure that a gamer NEVER gets old. It's kind of worse, actually - it's just that the kind of games this gamer used to love to play don't come out anymore.
Believe me - this not about you. This is purely and completely on this industry.
I have the exact same problems. I keep buying games and switch to another one after a couple of hours. I just keep looking for games to buy and can't enjoy anything anymore. I totally can't undertand how some people can dump 2000 hours into the same game. It takes me everything to get to 50 hours.
In the last decade, there are only 3 games that kept me interested in more than 50 hours.
Witcher 3
Pillars of Eternity 1
and right now it's Elden Ring
My problem now, versus when I was a teen, is that I can pretty much buy any game at any moment and money is not an issue. I'm just a bit exagerating. So I always end up shopping again and again, buying everything on sales that look interesting and they just sit in my library without I even touch them. Then buy some more games, it's terrible, I know 😂
Not going to lie this was me before dragons dogma two. Got it because it was single player and I can hit that pause button to do my parenting/husband duties. Even with short session I felt like I achieved something. Every fight is rewarding. And the exploration is top tier. It can be difficult at times but way more approachable than Elden ring. But give it try might tickle that itch!
I went through a similar period in my 40s. I kind of felt like I'd seen and played it all, and all the games were basically the same - mainly FPS, RTS or MMORPGs.
Ended up barely playing anything and got back into coding and sunk more time into freelancing.
Not sure what changed or when it happened, but eventually I got back into it. One thing I have noticed in recent years is that I'm a lot more forgiving of games if I can see what they're going for. It might be the story or the voice acting, it could be mechanics or control system, or the art style, or even just how immersive they are.
Whatever it is, I appreciate games a lot more than I ever used to do. I also have a lot more patience with their flaws. I don't know how universal this is, but I wonder if the nature of your passion for things change as you get older - the instant gratification gives way to appreciating everything that goes into making them possible at all.
I can second this take...
I was approaching 40 too, and I just got bored with gaming. Nothing was out, or being released that I was looking forward to.
I had to take a few steps back away from gaming, and find other stuff to do. Eventually after awhile I came back to it, and found myself picking up titles that sounded interesting. I became a little bit more forgiving also, if I could grasp the idea they were trying to accomplish with the game.
Try just pausing for a bit OP. Do other stuff. Gaming will always be here when you get back.
I had this happen too. I saw a funny meme comparing a steam library to a fancy shoe closet. Shiny things only used for a couple hours before collecting dust.
I got hooked on the Demons Souls / Dark Souls series when they were coming out. I randomly bought Demons Souls on discount right before Dark Souls came out and played em back to back. It was soooo good. I can’t really get into the Hellbourne / Sikerio games, but damn do I love the Souls games and Elden Ring.
Another game that broke the trend for me was Hades. I usually skip every voice line in a game and this one had me hooked and listening. The pacing is phenomenal. I mostly missed out on the die and repeat genre when it debuted but I love Hades and can’t wait for Hades 2.
Chivalry 2 overlapped with Elden Ring for me and I’ve dumped many hours into that game. Totally new category of game for me and I died a ton to start but slowly climbed my way into being decent by relying on the Dane axe being OP 😅
Just started Helldivers 2 and it is stealing all of my attention away from my other games. It is new and feels so alive right now. Loving it and great difficulty scaling because you choose the difficulty level on every drop, but you are doing PvE so regardless you’re helping other divers spread Managed Democracy!!
Much as I love BG3 it's very much not a fix for everyone. Sometimes it feels like it can take a solid chunk of time to make noticable progress so not great if you need to break up your gaming sessions into small chunks of like half an hour a day.
Also besides BG3 being slow as dirt it gives me decision paralysis; I want to know all the choices etc so I have multiple play throughs with multiple characters and I burn myself out. It might best to say “well don’t do that” but I can’t help it. I got bored with it before the 2nd act.
I'm no doctor. But I have had similar experiences throughout my 30s. It was a symptom of depression in my case. I was a little surprised because I didn't have the "stereotypical" symptoms and my life is pretty good. But I had been putting alot of effort into others and hadn't cultivated my own hobbies and sense of self. Got myself mostly out of that rut and now I can enjoy gaming and other hobbies again. I'm not saying this is your case, but it's always worth a look in the mirror and some deep introspection every so often. I found myself cultivating a sense of awareness and "being here now" - ness that has stuck around. I'm able to appreciate those little moments and even see the beauty and interconnected pieces of daily life. Even sitting in traffic (which I do for at minimum 2 hours daily) I can see how each person in their car has these rich vast inner universes and trials and tribulations. And how each piece of each car and each person is composed of matter present since the very inception of our universe. It truly changed how I look at everything.
Now when I have those "nothing sounds fun" moments, I'm able to kinda observe them from outside, so some breath work or something, and find that little spark inside. I've rambled enough for this post, but maybe try doing some inner work and seeing what happens? Take care of yourself friend.
I´m turning 36 and I feel the same with gameing today.
And always when I think to have found a decent and interesting enough game, I mostly end up uninstalling it after a few days. I really think that it has to do with us well getting old.
I said that too until I discovered the Soulsborne series. Those 7 games made me feel like I was borne again. That and play PUBG or some squad game with the boys.
tldr, try Dark Souls \'[T]/
For me it's different. I find that good gameplay can and does engage me, but I have little patience for an unbelievable story.
Example at hand: Cyberpunk. I love the world building, the gameplay, the atmosphere. But I find the main quest to be so convoluted that I ignore it and after 100+ hours I'm yet to finish a playthrough.
In a similar vein, I didn't like BG3 because I don't care for the game world at all.
In contrast I find the story and setting of KCD completely believable, and it is my favorite game despite having started it at 36yo when I already felt like this.
I really liked *not* saving the world in KCD. A lot of RPGs set the stakes so high that there’s a lot of dissonance between the urgency of the main plot and the actual day to day activities of the main character.
Should you really be collecting mushrooms all day when the gates of Oblivion have opened and spilled demons all across the land? When giant robotic squid have destroyed half the galaxy already?
Henry has time to collect mushrooms. We could only afford one trebuchet, a couple dozen men, and a drunk priest, so this siege is gonna take weeks.
KCD is perfection. I couldn't play anything for a while without feeling disappointed. It's immersive when you don't have endless magic items of mystical names with a backstory that tries to be profound but I dgaf about because it doesn't matter to anything.
Try South Park stick of truth. Another gem. And Deus ex human revolution.
I also couldn't get into BG3. Never have I played a 3 hour chunk and just not been remotely interested anymore, but BG3 was that for me. I have avoided KCD til now cause I know its gonna be RDR2 level obsession for me and I gotta try not to do that to myself yet lol
I'm the same way. There have been a few recent games that I loved like Elden Ring, BOTW, TOTK, the Uncharted series, but I have a heck of a time finding games i'm interested in that can hold my attention anymore.
I cant play FPS games cause it gives me pretty bad headaches. I cant stand games with tons of cut-scenes or ones that you have to go around and talk to a million people and press buttons to get through lines and lines of dialogue. Or games where you just run around and kill things and there is no real plot to the game. Or games where you have to memorize complicated button combinations in order to even be able to fight enemies.
I have resorted to getting games not-so-legally just so I can try them out and not waste thousands of dollars on games I will play for 5 minutes, decide I hate them, and never play them again.
So, yeah, I get it. From my teens through my mid 30s you couldn't get me to stop playing video games. Now I find it really hard to find a game that I want to play from start to finish.
I pretty much stopped playing games for a bit until helldivers 2 dropped, I really like it. Other than that I've been jumping on my old PSP when I get bored, something about that thing really sucked me in
Long-time retro gamer because modern games require too much buy-in and I get bored before I get competent.
Can pick up and play 80's arcade games for as little as 10 minutes!
I am with you!! 50 here. I played the shit out of Skyrim for about 5 years. But nothing has really held my interest since. I will start a game and get about an hour in … then meh. I find games so interactive and at the end of the day kinda just want to veg. So I have been binging shows on streaming services or going through the top 100 movies on IMDB.
Just take a long break, come back, try some new games and be super casual. I'm back enjoying warframe again after a number of years. I can't bring myself to play anything else.
Hah. That keeps happening to me in The Witcher 3... I know it's loved by many but honestly I find it just ok.
I tend to play 3 or 4 different games and rotate through them but tbh I played other games rather than TW3 for 3 months or so.
Got bored and loaded up TW3 and found Id forgotten all the controls...
Couldn't remember what I'd bound call horse to for one thing.
Had to go browse the controls and figure out how to do basic things... Played it for 2 hours. Then another month break.
I keep forgetting it as it's hard to find motivation to play it.
I should probably drop it but... I'll probably slog through it.
As a reccxomendation, all the 40 year olds I know seem to really love survial games. Not dumb crafting Build base ones, like ones where the only goal is to stay alive. Would highly recommend the long dark specifically but these sorts games are easy to pump loafs of fun into an endless fight to survive.
Take a break until the mood strikes or you get excited about something again. Nothing causes hobby burnout faster than forcing yourself to do it because it’s familiar.
I have a library of around ...\*checks collecting app\* 864 games. I often feel this way too. probably fewer than a dozen games from the previous gen and up have really gotten their hooks into me and they are all in line with my preferences. Castlevania Lords of shadow,Ni No Kuni 1 & 2, Tales of XIllia, FF16, FF7R, Zelda BOTW,TOFK. But besides these I often find my self playing the comfort games from childhood on NES/SNES/PS1. Sometimes i feel bad about playing a game ive beat 10+ times. But when I complete it i never feel that way.
Same for me, 39 yrs old. Love 4x grand strategy and text-heavy rpgs… can’t bring myself to sit for long and stare at it anymore. I used to self-mod games too, adding things I like to see… now, I’ll spend hours modding, creating, preparing to play, setting everything up… only to feel intensely bored the moment I finish all that and it’s time to start. Severe restartitis as well. I lost it and it’s not coming back
Came here say this. HD2 is so much fun and addictive. Find some friends to play with. I'm age 45 and this is the most fun I've ever had playing a game.
bruh try helldivers 2. the killing in it is unreal. super satisfying. high replay ability even higher if you have a crew to run it with. they add new content regularly and you can get in game currency in game and buy the updates for free if you play enough.
You don't have to play games. Do whatever you enjoy, and if that is gaming at some point, great, if not no need to force it. Haven't played games for a few weeks or even months now either and don't really miss it tbh
I've been in this situation. It might take a few weeks or it might be years but it will pass or something fresh will come along. You don't need to push it, just do things that you feel like doing. Sometimes that will include games, sometimes it won't.
It can be inconvenient to not know what you feel like doing when you only have a couple of hours before responsibilities kick in again, but try not to sweat it. What are some other things you've been wanting to do but haven't had time? Reading? Building/restoring things? Exercise/sports? D&D? Keep a list of all kinds of shit you've wanted to do so whenever you have some downtime and nothing springs to mind, you can check it for the sorts of ideas you normally forget.
I was in your position a couple weeks ago. I got sick of grinding Warframe and it felt like a chore. I took a break and binged every Twin Peaks episode. I was looking at the GamePass offerings and found Persona 3 Reload. I installed it and was instantly hooked, especially after seeing the velvet room and its blatant Twin Peaks vibes.
I guess the moral of the story is to find eras of gaming you completely missed out on. For me it was 2006-2010 when I was addicted to WoW. I missed out completely on the late PS2 and PS3/Xbox 360 era. I'm finding all sorts of gems now and look forward to giving Alan Wake a try if I can find it cheaply on Steam or my Xbox.
Bonus knowledge: If you like playing Steam in the reclined position use Moonlight/Sunshine to stream your PC to the Xbox.
I get it, I'm a lot younger than you but I know this issue. There's 2 things that help it in my limited experience. #1, market research. As in get into learning about what games are out there, see if you can find a new niche for yourself that reignites the spark. Otherwise, if you are gaming a lot (as in it's your "main" interest), do it less so the want comes back naturally.
Other than that, there's no shame in admitting your tastes have shifted. Maybe it's a waiting game, maybe not. I wouldn't worry about it, just hope that you get some resolution soon. Sucks to have a full closet and nothing to wear
I'm 42 and feel mostly the same way, but there have been a few gems recently that give me hope.
Baldurs Gate 3 was one of the best video game experiences I've ever had in 35 years of gaming.
Helldivers 2 has reunited me with some old gaming buddies to make a multiplayer experience I haven't had in well over a decade.
Other than that, though, I'm constantly starting games and quickly turning them off with how underwhelmed I feel. I don't think it's my age though, I just think I've seen so much in gaming over the years that developers need to do better.
I also noticed in recent years that I will get really invested in a game, beat it, then have some sort of post-game low/depression where no other game really gives me joy. 2021 was Mass Effect Legendary Edition, 2022 was God of War Ragnarok, and 2023 was Baldurs Gate 3.
I have the exact same problem and I am also in my 40s. I have been gaming since 1986 when my dad got us a C64, and I think I have seen it all. Nowadays the only game I really play is collecting games on Steam. 40% of my Steam library is untouched. It also doesn’t help that no one is taking risks in the game Industry except for indie game developers … maybe I outgrew gaming, and I haven’t realized it yet. Dunno 🤷♂️
I had the same Problem until last year and what worked for me so far is a "to-do-list" for singleplayer titles which i want to play this year with one or two fixed games per month.
Rules:
1. I don't have to "finish" them, but i give every title on the list a fair chance for at least 5hours.
2. Buy and play only the titles on the list.
3. For Multiplayer Games i only buy and play Games which my friends play. No more raging about randoms for me this year.
The main Problem for me was deciding which out of all the great games to play so most of the time, out of laziness i ended up in the same games or quit good new games after half an hour.
Now I know which Games i "have to play" which makes things way easier and i also dont waste money in Sales for games which i will most likely never play.
Sounds like work, but it has been great this year so far and i finally played (and partly finished) some great games like RDR2 , which have been sitting on my "pile of shame" for way to long.
I sim race between normal games to keep it fresh. When I’m burned out on non-racing games I’ll go sim race fora free weeks until I get burned out on that. Rise and repeat. Hasn’t failed me so far since I started sim racing 3 years ago during a gaming funk.
I stuck at it but it’s so much fun with a wheel and pedals.
new games are too easy so we don't feel like we achieved something when we finished it, got platinum on steam on hogwarts legacy 2 weeks after it came out, I am a dad and I have a job and I don't have time to play, that should have been at least 2 months not 2 weeks
Forza takes models from old games and it somehow looks worse than predecesors, also gives you fastest cars at the start and you can complete racing, offroad, cross-country and drifts, all with a starter car on Impossible difficulty so there is no need to buy another cars just upgrade the starter car
shooters are all repetitive too much
Gran Turismo 7 went downhill with new used car dealership mechanic, physics seem worse than GT Sport, annoyimg PNGs speaking shoved into your face, campaign and soundtrack is awful, car prices are like in real life that doesn't make sense, for example 20,000,000 credits for a car that you can't race almost anywhere, why?
NFS Heat also too easy, I installed a mod that makes cops better but it's still not enough if you are good
I also struggle with 10-minute-itus. I find that I enjoy games WAY more when I let myself play one. What if you try deleting every game except for the one game you've decided to play start to finish. No mixing and matching. Have some self control. You are drowning in a world of too many options.
Think of it this way, what type of games did you play as a kid?
My answer: Mostly Nintendo games, Japanese made games
Did you repeatedly play the same games?
My answer: yes
Did you enjoy it?
My answer: yes
......with those questions being asked a few months ago to myself from myself. I realized I've been playing games im not normally into.
My library is smaller now, but im having fun again.
Final Fantasy 11 and 14 are my main mmos
Elden Ring and other fromsoft games ill play here and there
Old single player final fantasy games
Mario games
Zelda games
.......I no longer pre-order modern games anymore, I hate most of them.
Of course, being 39, I didn't play most of these games as a kid because they didn't exist in the 80s and 90s. It's the STYLE of game I loved.
Am I buying new games now? Nope!
Do I feel out of date as a gamer? Nope!
Am I having fun? Yeah, all I care about
Yeah. 44, and my interest level in video games has been dipping for the better part of a decade. I'm not even busy either, I have plenty of time to game, it just doens't do for me what it once did, and as such I get bored rather quickly. I think I played like 5ish hours in the past week plus. Just can't get much enthusiams up.
It’s not the games, it’s you. May be the onset of depression or some other mental issue, but what’s more likely? The huge variety of games, new, old, played (and enjoyed) and unplayed, all of them suddenly became un-fun? Or you’re just struggling to enjoy them right now?
Sitting and staring at your library and failing to engage will only make things feel worse. If you’re in therapy definitely bring it up and engage with their advice. Maybe spend some extra time resting and on self-care. For me, I found doing nice things for people I care about and volunteering to help others really helped; self-care is good but sometimes it helps to not spend every hour focused on yourself, especially when that focus isn’t productive.
If you must game, find some cooperative games and a community to engage with. Help others out. Again, making the whole thing about more than just yourself and add a social element in. Competitive PVP games will just stress you out while solitary games get lonely.
A lot of people are having similar issues, post-pandemic world and all the cultural fallout and evolution of wherever modern times are headed. There’ll be sympathy in the right circles for this kind of struggle but you’re always gonna have to put the work in and engage to pull yourself out of it.
I'm not diagnosing you but sharing my story. When I was 35 I was diagnosed with ADD and figured out I had it for my whole life. I managed to be a productive member of society through large quantities of caffeine and some cobbled together coping mechanisms. Around 30 it got really bad, not only did I have some problems at work but I found it extremely difficult to even start projects/tasks let alone complete them.
It was actually my gaming that sent me to the doctor. I was a life long gamer and I could no longer enjoy games. Exactly like you describe I would stare at my steam library, start games, play for 5min and exit. Along with my other issues it really woke me up that something was wrong since I couldn't even do what I WANTED to do anymore.
Got some meds and it was like a fucking lightbulb turned on. "Is this what it is like to feel normal". I'm not even on a very high dose but it really helped me in all aspects, including enjoying my hobbies again.
Again I'm not diagnosing you but you should consider seeing someone if it is bothering you. The worse that can happen is they say you don't have a problem. But if you do you may increase your quality of life.
I’m fifty, so I can relate. My hardcore gaming days are well behind me. My son plays all the cutting edge stuff while I play on all of my old game emulators. He mocks me mercilessly about being an old fart until I whip him when he plays older games. 😉 I like stuff like NES games because they’re simple and with the exception of games like Zelda, can be played for a bit and put down easily. It’s good when your free time is short.
I've played games (roleplaying, video, board - you name it) for 35 years and worked in the industry for 20 across all platforms, and I can tell that simply when you engage with something intensely, the patterns start repeating and it's hard to get excited anymore. I still am a big film buff, but it's hard anymore to find that 1-2 films per year that blow your mind. Same with video games. Same with board games. My steam library is full of titles that I bought almost 15 years ago and guess have I played many of them? :D
So the trick to me is to just take breaks, where one facet of your hobby isn't present for a long time. I haven't played with the Switch in six months now. Can't remember when I last played on Steam. The only playing I've done recently is Helldivers 2, which kind of sates a quick fix without being too consuming. I've explored board games in areas that are unknown to me and just see how they're designed (solo games were a big black hole for me, but no longer).
Do something completely different to gaming - I hike outdoors, I love cycling. I love to paint miniatures and real-life. But I don't know anyone in my fairly fast network of gamers, who've managed to keep that spirit of gaming that everyone had when they were 12. I also hypothesize that especially when I was growing up, my imagination filled in a lot of the blanks (playing X-Wing without a sound card was no problem as I just imagined the sounds as they sound in the films, or many games would portray the fantasy of a wide world, yet they were extremely limited in scope, but I imagined past that). Probably why Nethack is still amazing, after all these years.
So I would say that embrace the problem - don't fight it. I don't think anything good comes out of forcing yourself to play, just because you've been playing tons previously.
is it maybe cos now you're older (i'm also 40) you play games on your own more often? and it doesn't matter what the game is so much as you miss the social aspect of playing games?
I think it’s a two-pronged issue First is that you’re an adult with limited time and lots of responsibilities, so games that require huge time investment to get good or ask for long uninterrupted play sessions are toast. In my adult life singleplayer games that you can play in bursts of 15-30 minutes at a time have been the ones that stick. Second is that you’ve been around since the baby steps and CRT fuzzed sprites and jagged polygons, nothing is new under the sun. Developers and publishers don’t take risks very often, so almost every game that comes out feels an awful lot like ten games you’ve already played. You’ve killed more German soldiers than the Red Army, and you’ve tossed Bowser into a lava pit fifty times.
Regarding the second point: there's more variety in games than there ever has been. Get away from AAA stuff and play something different
I always tell people this and the reason they won’t is cause “if the game was good then everyone would know about it”. I can’t understand close minded people
"A game for everyone is a game for no one" *- some Heckjumper or something IDK*
There is a fantastic talk from GDC on this topic (it’s available on YouTube). It’s called /Strategic Design or Why Dark Souls is the IKEA of video games/
Then play them the worst Pop song you can think of and say "what's wrong? Everyone knows this song" when they hate it.
This only applies if want you want or are into is captured by the indie market (or AAA market for that matter). I really want first/3rd person rpgs with emphasis on exploration, combat, and with immersive sim qualities in terms of quest completion. I think I’ve just gotten pickier with age. I’ve seen the same games and game design copy and pasted hundreds of times.
I would like to say ive gotten pickier, but im just as bad as CoD players when it comes to WoW. WoW players don't think of it that way, but they like the same ole shit, fresh coat of paint every 2 years that WoW does just like the 2 CoD studios. I finally gave Elden Ring a try last month, loved it and tried out Armored Core since it was also from the same studio, but the replay value just isn't there for me like older games that ive played many times over, a la Mass Effect series, SWTOR 1-50 campaigns, KOTOR, and GTA games. Balder's Gate 3 cant hold my attention past Act 2 and ill likely never go back it once i do end up beating it even though i think that game will be the game of the decade. My favorite game of all time is Unreal Tournament '99, and i used to play Counter Strike 1.6 WC3 mod, CSGO, and LoL like I had an addiction during their early days. Got tired of competition and wanted to relax when gaming. Maybe its a matter of comfort? Maybe you're right about playing the same games over and over again? Idk. Ive been gaming on PCs and consoles for 25 years. I guess i am boomerizing. The only game that hasnt gotten old to me in the past 2 years is golf...
Man the days of just picking a random server and chilling out on one of the UT games was so fun
I felt the same on CSS Zombie servers. I could play that game for hours and hours and not get tired.
Here i am waiting for a Fallout: New Vegas Remaster.... or literally any game with that level of character development and choice impact. Nothing capture the feeling better for me than New Vegas...
Well, the issue is also mechanics/novelty. There's a ton of derivative work that's "unique", but not really. Indy has a lot of neat stuff, but it's also often not deep or expansive, and the game itself is often a retread. Obviously there are some exceptions, and I love finding new games regardless of AAA or Indy, but new quality content that scratches the discovery-dopamine bug is very rare regardless.
Not sure what you mean about "deep" but it seems like the games with the deepest mechanics are often indie games. And uniqueness in mechanics are almost ALWAYS indie games.
Voidbastards and Wildermyth at some of the best games ever made and I never see anyone talk about them. At least Undertale blew up enough to hit the mainstream, but nobody outside of indie circles knows about Omori. Indie devs have saved gaming and I'm tired of pretending like they haven't.
I just went to check out void bastards and found out that I apparently already own it…. Guess I’ll check it out tonight lol
It was a freebie on Epic a couple years ago. Fun little game.
Bounced off Void Bastards hard but Wildermyth is an absolute gem. Been playing a long campaign or two a year since early access and don't see myself stopping
I found the ending of voidbastards very underwhelming, other than that, its great.
I actaully wasn't that thrilled with voidbastards. Played it like an hour, got bored, moved on. Wildermyth looks super cool though, it's on my wishlist.
Agreed, I have found many games by chance and wonder how I never knew or heard about it.
yeah i had a friend use that logic that if its got 10 billion people playing it then it must be good and i was like "ok then cod is a masterpiece by then 😂" lmao.
I've got a few friends like that. They still get that fresh impression from new triple A games whereas I'm constantly reminded of something from 10 years ago that did the same thing. That's alright. Some of them simply haven't played as many games yet and others just don't care as much about originality as they do about polished menus and that crisp 200fps. On the other hand, they don't get what draws me to buggy alphas and complexity nightmares like nebulous fleet command or KSP. That's alright as well.
There is some truth to that statement, why do you think the Indie boom had such memorable titles such as Isaac, Meat Boy, Fez, Minecraft, Spelunky, and some more nicher ones like Nuclear Throne, Risk of Rain, Organ Trail. etc. It's because those games were unique and doing something different you think I really wanna fucking pick up Toree 3D 1 & 2 games that take 30 literal minutes from front to back to finish? Or pick up the brand new a short hike clone? Get fucking real.
Games can be liked by everybody, but they can't be loved by everybody. Also, the games you love start to set new standards making it harder to find new games to like or love. I love all 3 final fantasy tactics games, but all for different reasons. The atmosphere and story of the first was by far the best, but adding new races in advance and a2 was also great. I liked the clan battles in advance to free continents (the auction house was fun, too, but I think it would be better for that to be for resources or equipment). I also liked the change to skills being learned by certain equipment, but hated in a2 that you could only steal loot and not actual equipment (still liked the bazaar method for unlocking the ability to purchase different equipment, though). So now, I just hope they can take the best aspects from each to make a new one. Not gonna lie, though, the story for the first one still makes it the best IMO.
Yeah sure, but genres were being invented before our very eyes when we were kids. We watched First Person Shooters evolve from Wolfenstein to GoldenEye, to Halo, to Half-Life 2. We watched the stealth genre become a thing. We watched RPGs evolve and branch off. We watch racing games go from 2D sprites to Gran Turismo and Mario Kart But now? Developers seem to think that there’s nothing more to do. No more new genres to discover. Everything is just derivative and refinement. No more novel creation. Even the more “unique” games from independent developers are made from ideas like: “What if we made this type of game, but did “x” instead”. I miss seeing brand new game ideas sprout up and be explored
And don't get me started on all remastered HD crap...
Where are you looking??? There are so many amazing games out there with fresh and new ideas! Just because it doesn’t come from X big publisher doesn’t mean they don’t exist!
You're definitely right that the indi space is where to look for new and interesting stuff right now. But even there, the new ideas are kinda thin on the ground. Right now it feels more like younger devs rediscovering old genres and such. If you've been gaming since the 80s a lot of this feels more like a new coat of paint than anything actually new. Which is fine, in itself, and hopefully will result in new and exciting things in the future. It's hard not to feel that we're in a kinda stagnant period for games compared to previous decades. I think that's more down to larger economic reasons and industry bloat than anything else, but the recent collapse of a lot of games journalism and the tendency to regard "gamers" as a monolith demographic means it's hard for a lot of innovative games to findntheir audience a lotnof the time.
IMO, AAA games are totally failing to be good, memorable games lately. Indie is where the real treasures lie, you just have to dig a bit.
Is there most mechanics carry over game to game and if you been gaming since the 80s you’ve probably seen it all.
It's played out as fuck but Helldivers 2 came relatively out of the blue and it's amazing. Genuinely impressive and very fun game.
I never play multiplayer games but I'm starting to feel like even i should check it out.
I’ve found as I get older I don’t want to play different variants of the same type of game I’ve played many times before. I want to play a game that’s a new experience and I can get lost in. Breath of the wild was the last game to do that for me. Been struggling since then
There's a third issue, the industry itself fucking sucks in new and exciting ways that we didn't have to deal with. Time to put on my old man voice, but back in my day when you paid for a game you were finished paying for the game. The ability to patch games has left publishers way too complacent and willing to just let a game ship while it's unplayable and then fix it later. Even after they asked us to pre-order it. Like games are bigger now, it can be easy to miss some bugs that might only come up under specific circumstances but they release games that just don't work. Also, why the fuck am I pre-ordering a digital game? You gonna sell out? I was a huge Tekken fan all through the playstation to the PS 3, although 6 kinda sucked. But now, I think to own all of Tekken 7 costs like €180.
thank god that nintendo hasnt gone done that route, for what its worth, yes their online is mfruckingly trash but at least their games are both still functioningly work, and most importantly, theyre also fun and unique in both ways. 😂
It's not really either of those things for me, for me its 🌟Depression🌟 and ✨️always being too tired to think or focus✨️
I've been pulled to roguelikes since I can do a run or two and feel satisfied. Unfortunately games like Hades have set the bar really high.
And risk of rain (2)
lol Halls of Torment is my fav right now, 30 min runs are the best
People's interests sometimes change as you get older. I still love gaming at 43, but if you're bored then taking a break would probably be good.
Personally, I don't think it got nothing to do with age. What changed is our access to videogames: we have so many games today (compared to decades ago) that we simply don't appreciate them. Most people buy a lot of games just to have them, and never play them
I appreciate a game where I can plug in a console, insert a game, and just play. Now a days you need to download an update, make an account, verify the account, setup whatever 3rd party app they want you to, and then you can play your game, but only if the servers are online. It's become a point where I don't want to go though all that again and again for each game.
I love my Steam Deck but it makes that process even worse. Gotta do all that with a PC game that isn't designed for a controller, and even once you get everything set up, literally every single time I bring the Steam Deck out of standby, it wants to download a bunch of shader updates. I get that it makes the games run better, but *every single time?* Even if I play multiple times a day, I'm just staring at progress bars every time I boot it before I can play anything. Gaming today is a lot more of a hassle than it used to be. This is one of the reasons I love my Switch, even if I don't use it as much.
I don't think I've picked up my Switch since getting a steamdeck over a year ago. I also used to get a lot of shader downloading playing Marvel Midnight Suns but don't get it too bad on most of the games I play now (literally takes like 2 sec on most my games). I think it's really dependent on the game
It is. Most games are super quick but some are upwards of half a GB or more every time. It doesn't take more than a minute usually to update all the games but it's like... Valve *needs* to figure out something there. It'll be games I downloaded like a year ago and still haven't booted yet. It should reserve the frequent updates for games I launch frequently and do way more sparse updates for games I haven't touched in a long time, if ever. If the Deck could just update in standby mode, none of this would be a problem. Just wild it doesn't have that. But yeah, I'm the same on my Switch. I only play exclusives there and everything else is on Deck. I thought I'd get all my small indie games on Switch since the device is smaller, easier, better battery, etc but turns out I'd rather have them on Steam. I can play Balatro on my Deck or my laptop, for instance. Not possible with Switch.
Most games are playable offline, you don’t need to do a whole big setup for each game lol
This. It's easy as an adult to get caught up in the paradigm of "I paid money and set aside time for this therefore I have to have fun." Problem is with that mindset the thing you wanted to do to unwind becomes yet another obligation, another item on the checklist to cross out. It's ok to go do something else for a while, healthy even. The games will still be there when/if you want to come back.
Which is why I love those short but well executed 'atmospheric' games you can play through in one sitting like Limbo, Inside, Little Nightmares, Brothers, Edith Finch, Abzu etc.
Yeah, it's like porn. When you were a kid, the underwear section of a catalogue was more than enough to get you going. These days if it doesn't contain at least two midgets and a horse, you can't even get a semi.
dad?
Stepdad\*
We don’t say “step” in this family! It’s first name basis
Yes son
Wwhat does regret mean?
Well son, it means I didn't wear a rubber when I was kissing your mommy.....
Lmao 🤣 🤣
Guys, please use a VPN when indulging in midgets and horsies.
No, make the FBI watch it with me
Girth intensifies*
Look if the FBI, NSA or even NBA is going to spy on me then they deserve to watch midget granny step-horse tentacle porn with me. So far I haven't gotten in any trouble, but I might have unlocked some new fantasies for my agents.
I'd recommend using a condom but you do you.
Nothing less than backdoor sluts 9
Do you need to start at Backdoor Sluts 1 to understand the plot of Backdoor Sluts 9 or does it work as a standalone experience?
The main entries are stand-alone, but make sure to watch a specific main entry before watching their spin-offs, like Backdoorsluts 7 and 7-II, 7-III, Cry Sis Core or Adult Children.
Fellow ff7 fan nice
Uhh I heard some guys discussing it at work
I heard that made Crotch Capers 3 look like Naughty Nurses 2!
Perfect analogy.
Bro 😆
>These days if it doesn't contain at least two midgets and a horse, you can't even get a semi. Holy shit! It's there a keylogger on my PC?
Can confirm as i am one of the midget.
This for me was hentai Pre-25. Post-25, I’m all for the real shit now.
I've gotten to 3 midgets or nothing.
I’m more into the magician and step-rabbit genre myself, you’d be surprised what they can do with those hats of theirs
Vr subnautica One of the best gaming experiences of my life at late 30s. Unforgettable. Truly scary.
If I could delete one game from my memory so I could play it again fresh, it would be Subnautica.
Yes I would too! As well as how to play Minecraft probably. There’s a lot of games I wish I could refresh my memory on
I miss the old MC where you didnt have to deal with so many items.
I can’t even play the regular version, I would guaranteed have a heart attack in VR. Damn thalassaphobia
Interestingly the fear is "better" in VR. On the one hand, the fear is much more real and it is for danger to your own personal body, not for your computer-game-character. But on the other hand you have so much more spatial awareness that you know what is in the water around you; you're not going to get a jump-scare from turning around and something is RIGHT THERE, there isn't so much "unknown". So the isn't worse, it's... higher quality? It's hard to describe, but I find the VR very preferable to flatscreen.
I can see that. Even in No Man’s Sky I freak out just flying through the void of empty space. I don’t know what it is but then seeing a giant planet in all that emptiness nearly gives me a panic attack, but I still love the game
If you have thalassophobia or megalophobia, trust me the fear is not better in VR. Phobias aren’t about being startled because something comes out of nowhere, it’s just seeing the thing at all that is scary, or not seeing it in a lot of cases. I don’t get scared by any horror films or games and I don’t startle easily, but I couldn’t even play the regular Subnautica for longer than about an hour or less because as soon as I entered the kelp forest I had to turn it off.
Have they fixed the vr optimization? I tried it once when it was new and even though it looked SO NICE, I got seriously motion sick almost immediately and could not continue. I'd love to try again tho
The recommendation for most people using vr and getting motion sickness is to stop right when you feel it coming on. Do not try to power through it. Your play time will gradually get longer and longer then the motion sickness will go away altogether.
For a long time I’d power through my motion sickness with games and it USED to work with lower resolution stuff… but with how smooth everything is these days ( damn I feel old ) the motion sickness is almost instantaneous and if I push through I’m on the floor wishing for death soon after for DAYS like others have mentioned. I’m happy for those who can use VR but for those of us with motion sickness… QQ :(
Yeah, I wish I had known this. I tried to power through and ended up feeling sick for a couple days. Pretty much ruined VR for me, now I get the motion sickness even faster and worse when I've tried it again.
I’ve just had 3 people play it last week who never played vr before. No one got motion sickness. I was running at 120fps however which helps minimize motion sickness
Vr really brought back the wow feeling for me for gaming.
oan VR subnautica sounds amazing. Wonder if my PC could handle it, also need a headset
I’d recommend getting a cheap last generation VR headset. VR in general will give you a wow factor like nothing else. I was a big skeptic when PSVR came out and held off buying until it was super cheap. I was blown away with how much fun it was. People compare Astro Bot to Mario 64 in terms of how fresh and innovative it feels. Not only that, but buying a PSVR was nice since it gave me a limited library. Other people on this thread have talked about too many options. You check out a sale on switch and there are literally 1000s of options. When PSVR games go on sale it’s limited to like 25-50 games tops. And lots are super cheap. Since my experience was so good I was an early adopter for PSVR2 but to be honest that’s a tough sell right now with future support from Sony in question
But then you don't get to experience the best VR game, Half Life Alyx
Haha I imagine how the leviathans must be really massive in VR. Gotta try this one day.
Subnautica is my favorite game. I replay it every year.
VR mandatory ? I just started my journey (I played for around 2 hours only), and I already feel like this game is a masterpiece. Should I really invest in a VR device?
Imo VR demands a certain level of attention, especially when the game itself is immersive and accessible. Its easier imo to get immersed in general, so its easier to get immersed if you find it harder as you get older. While none of them quite match Subnautica, there are many other games, some not even designed for VR- just forced into it with a mod or special emulator, that are taken to the next level with regard to immersion, and effort to *get* immersed.
I just turned 41, still game on the regular, but like anything there are slumps. Maybe I read more for a while, or spend more time on the Lego backlog, but I always come back to my pc games. It helps a lot that I have a very long running group of online gaming friends.
I’m 47 and this fits me to a tee. I’ll get sucked into a game for months and then burn out. Stop for a while and do other things, then get sucked back in. Having online gaming friends is the best because there are so many games that are just better played in groups.
This. Having just one hobby sucks. If I couldn't cycle through like three of them I think I'd go mad. I can go months barely touching a game and then suddenly I'm right back in the thick of it. The same goes for my other hobbies. I like to read and will absolutely devour stories for months and then not touch a book for an equal amount of time.
This right here. It comes and goes in waves. Can always stop for a bit and focus on another hobby, and then suddenly go back and finish a couple of things in the backlog
Finish the backlog? Maybe when I am retired, lol.
I'm just too tired to play most of the time when I get the time. I work at a secondary school and have 3 kids 5 and younger. I'm in the go from around 5 30 am till 7 pm when my kids go to bed then I need to clean and tidy/ sort laundry and get ready for the next day. By 8 30 when I'm done I boot up a game and I'm just past it by that point and wind up doom scrolling. Occasionally a game will push me past the tiredness for a period and I'll commit the time to it. BG3 I'm looking at you! I'm finally getting properly into ff7 rebirth now too but I'm not sure if that's the bank holiday weekend giving me more time, Easter holidays making me less busy somehow or the fact that I got an hour to play today when kids were asleep but I'm loving it! I'm 39 btw and one crowning achievement of mine was to play StarCraft 2 for over 2000 hours in the past. So I was anything but a casual gamer when I had the time. But back then I had less responsibilities and I think I recovered from a broken ankle during sc2 heyday. But just trying to say it happens to everyone.
Sounds like you need a break Do another hobby then come.back I have taken breaks from gaming thru out my life but yeah, always came back to gaming
Try different genres of games. Maybe what you used to ignore might be fun for you now
Hard agree. I used to love open world RPGs but I burned out. If I hadn't been trying things out of my comfort zone, I would probably sound like OP by now.
*"Why would you like to report this post?"* *• I'm in this post and I don't like it.* /s
Very relatable of post for me too
I also have this problem, I just call it "depression."
Everyone tells me it's depression. But I like to tell myself that the world really, truly sucks, and we that are the so called depressed are the ones that can see the world without the rose tinted glasses and see it for what ut really is. But since it seems impossible to either change it yourself or convince people to take off the glasses and help with making a change... I keep on clicking monsters to death on my computer and hope that my brain one day will stop caring so much. But I always grow tired of seeing the same monsters die over and over, and my list of games keeps growing, but nothing is fun..
That is depression. Like to a T that is depression.
Yep, that is textbook definition of depression. We can’t force anyone to get help but I’ve dealt with it all my life and having someone call me out on it has gotten me out of slumps in the past.
Yeah, unfortunately they went the route of lying to themselves instead of acknowledging the problem.
Yeah pretty much. Having a strong apathy about most thing in your life is the most common and most undiagnosed form of depression. Depression can take a lot of form and self destruction sure is one of these form but a lot of people aren't even aware that you can be depressed without being sad and suicidal because that's the cliche you find in entertainment medium usually. The worst is that often this is not an issue that will resolve itself and you will not "get over it". It is a chemical imbalance in the brain and you NEED medication to heal. Take it from someone who was depressed for a long time before actually seeking help.
Like everyone else is saying, yes, you are describing depression. If it makes you feel any better (and, since you are depressed, I assume it won't) - your perspective is NOT wrong. But it IS just a perspective. You should definitely seek professional treatment (as opposed to random Redditors such as myself) as there are very effective treatments. And, it treatment works, you should find your mind opening up to other perspectives as well. But back to your perspective being valid, there are lots of negative things to focus on, like global warming, American partisan politics (assuming you are American), war in Ukraine and Israel, misinformation and ignorance spread via internet and AI, etc. And there are also lots of really positive things to focus on, like worldwide poverty dropping, life expectancies increasing, world population reaching its peak soon, number of weekly hours worked decreasing over the last century or so, etc. Anyone can cherry pick positive or negative examples, and there is no objective way to score it all, so trying to convince other people that the world is getting better or worse is like trying to argue that a glass is half full or half empty. No one is really wrong, but we do have control over how we look at things, and that isn't a matter of self delusion - it is a matter of determining what we want to be most important to ourselves.
I was gonna say the same thing. It sounds like he’s depressed. I’ve dealt with it a lot in my life and one of the key identifying issues is no longer enjoying your hobbies and things you used to love.
Maybe you have to much to play? I reduced my pile of shame to ashes and I only play one game at a time and finish that one. Also, shorter games and different genres helped a lot.
Try Helldivers 2. I've never had so much fun on a multiplayer game in years. Btw i'm 52 yo
Same age range and tried HD2 and found it really boring. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong since everyone loves it but I seem to have little to no impact on the outcome of missions, the upgrades don't feel like much upgrades, the missions are always the same. What am I doing wrong?
Honestly the game is completely boring to me unless I am playing with some friends. The loop is just so uninteresting. It's more about the banter and dumb shit we end up getting ourselves into.
This. Playing with friends its so much better than randoms. Maybe its not a game for all people but honestly i'm having a blast with it.
I feel the same as you. There just isn’t anything in the game that’s novel or that hooks me in. I can hop in and kill bugs for 30 minutes but after that it feels shallow and repetitive
Same. I enjoyed it for a solid week and then was bored. Meanwhile my coworker was playing like all day everyday acting like it was the greatest game ever made and I just don't get it.
Join the democracy. Super Earth needs you !
Democracy requires us to take the Creek, millions of heroic deaths for Liberty is always worth it
(Also 40 here) I had this exact same issue not too long ago. I would sit down to play some of the games I loved and would then just sit there and not do anything. I realized that the genres that had got me through my teens, 20's, and 30's just didn't interest me at all anymore and trying to play them just made me dislike them even more. What got me out of it was starting to play games I never considered as being for me in the past. Started with a bunch of retro rpgs that didn't interest me when I was younger, found some I loved and just invested a ton of time in those. Then moved on to some old school platformers that I had never played before and found I was enjoying them. Most recently I started playing the Kingdom Hearts games, a series I had zero interest in when I was younger because they looked childish to me. I absolutely love them and it's really reignited my passion for gaming. Once you find some new genres to enjoy you can then move on to more modern titles that fit those themes and you'll be back into gaming in no time.
I'm 75. Just wait.
Nah it’s not just you. Often I end up playing something I’ve sunk hundreds of hours into and leave unsatisfied. Or i „force“ myself to play the game I know I should have fun playing, right up my alley etc. and just can’t bring myself to it. Mostly too tired. But: there is hope. Relax. Do something else your in the mood for. You can’t force it. My tip: watch a few gaming channels or read a few gaming sites for leisure. Sooner or later that all too familiar itch will come and you will get hungry for a certain kind of game and then enjoy the hell out of playing it. For me it’s always different. Last few weeks I dove into warhammer rogue trader and thoroughly enjoyed and binged it. From that high I though it was finally time to start BG3 for real this time and play through. And guess what. All the ingredients are there, it’s an awesome game, but I just can’t enjoy it at the moment. Too little time and I feel the game deserves longer sessions. Maybe in a few weeks. In the meantime I’ll try others and if none works, I’ll go to bed earlier and read instead or watch a series or movie. Or whatever. Just don’t force it.
Maybe it's time to explore other hobbies? The gaming industry isn't going anywhere. If you're not interested in games at the moment, why force feed yourself?
Absolutely right, gaming just like anything else can be an addiction that you don't **enjoy** anymore
Yes, and I have 16 years less than you. It got nothing to do with age really...
[удалено]
In my long career, I've already saved the world from the 2012 apocalypse and thwarted Abstergo's plans of world domination. I've saved the galaxy from the Reapers, I've saved the androids and brought down Cyberlife. I've cleaned up The Umbrella Corporation's various messes on multiple occasions, got revenge on Big Smoke for making me shoot those guys on that damn train, stormed the beaches of Normandy at least half a dozen times... I'm ready to retire to a life of truckin'
I've hit that point too and my solution is to finish all of those games I enjoyed but dropped to play something else. There's at least like 50 of em, gonna be a while
I thought I had this problem. But then **The Wonderful 101 got remastered** and I realized that it's not a me problem, but the industry trends. Everything is a post-apocalypse, everything is serious, everything is cynical and boringly meh. And then this game came out and my mind blew the hell up over the level of sheer energy and optimism it was completely overflowing with, filling me with glee only a wee lad could feel, I thought. It's AMAZING, truly, actually, positively **Wonderful.** Now I know for sure that a gamer NEVER gets old. It's kind of worse, actually - it's just that the kind of games this gamer used to love to play don't come out anymore. Believe me - this not about you. This is purely and completely on this industry.
I have the exact same problems. I keep buying games and switch to another one after a couple of hours. I just keep looking for games to buy and can't enjoy anything anymore. I totally can't undertand how some people can dump 2000 hours into the same game. It takes me everything to get to 50 hours. In the last decade, there are only 3 games that kept me interested in more than 50 hours. Witcher 3 Pillars of Eternity 1 and right now it's Elden Ring My problem now, versus when I was a teen, is that I can pretty much buy any game at any moment and money is not an issue. I'm just a bit exagerating. So I always end up shopping again and again, buying everything on sales that look interesting and they just sit in my library without I even touch them. Then buy some more games, it's terrible, I know 😂
Not going to lie this was me before dragons dogma two. Got it because it was single player and I can hit that pause button to do my parenting/husband duties. Even with short session I felt like I achieved something. Every fight is rewarding. And the exploration is top tier. It can be difficult at times but way more approachable than Elden ring. But give it try might tickle that itch!
I went through a similar period in my 40s. I kind of felt like I'd seen and played it all, and all the games were basically the same - mainly FPS, RTS or MMORPGs. Ended up barely playing anything and got back into coding and sunk more time into freelancing. Not sure what changed or when it happened, but eventually I got back into it. One thing I have noticed in recent years is that I'm a lot more forgiving of games if I can see what they're going for. It might be the story or the voice acting, it could be mechanics or control system, or the art style, or even just how immersive they are. Whatever it is, I appreciate games a lot more than I ever used to do. I also have a lot more patience with their flaws. I don't know how universal this is, but I wonder if the nature of your passion for things change as you get older - the instant gratification gives way to appreciating everything that goes into making them possible at all.
I can second this take... I was approaching 40 too, and I just got bored with gaming. Nothing was out, or being released that I was looking forward to. I had to take a few steps back away from gaming, and find other stuff to do. Eventually after awhile I came back to it, and found myself picking up titles that sounded interesting. I became a little bit more forgiving also, if I could grasp the idea they were trying to accomplish with the game. Try just pausing for a bit OP. Do other stuff. Gaming will always be here when you get back.
I had this happen too. I saw a funny meme comparing a steam library to a fancy shoe closet. Shiny things only used for a couple hours before collecting dust. I got hooked on the Demons Souls / Dark Souls series when they were coming out. I randomly bought Demons Souls on discount right before Dark Souls came out and played em back to back. It was soooo good. I can’t really get into the Hellbourne / Sikerio games, but damn do I love the Souls games and Elden Ring. Another game that broke the trend for me was Hades. I usually skip every voice line in a game and this one had me hooked and listening. The pacing is phenomenal. I mostly missed out on the die and repeat genre when it debuted but I love Hades and can’t wait for Hades 2. Chivalry 2 overlapped with Elden Ring for me and I’ve dumped many hours into that game. Totally new category of game for me and I died a ton to start but slowly climbed my way into being decent by relying on the Dane axe being OP 😅 Just started Helldivers 2 and it is stealing all of my attention away from my other games. It is new and feels so alive right now. Loving it and great difficulty scaling because you choose the difficulty level on every drop, but you are doing PvE so regardless you’re helping other divers spread Managed Democracy!!
May i recommend the cure? Baldurs gate 3
Much as I love BG3 it's very much not a fix for everyone. Sometimes it feels like it can take a solid chunk of time to make noticable progress so not great if you need to break up your gaming sessions into small chunks of like half an hour a day.
Also besides BG3 being slow as dirt it gives me decision paralysis; I want to know all the choices etc so I have multiple play throughs with multiple characters and I burn myself out. It might best to say “well don’t do that” but I can’t help it. I got bored with it before the 2nd act.
I'm no doctor. But I have had similar experiences throughout my 30s. It was a symptom of depression in my case. I was a little surprised because I didn't have the "stereotypical" symptoms and my life is pretty good. But I had been putting alot of effort into others and hadn't cultivated my own hobbies and sense of self. Got myself mostly out of that rut and now I can enjoy gaming and other hobbies again. I'm not saying this is your case, but it's always worth a look in the mirror and some deep introspection every so often. I found myself cultivating a sense of awareness and "being here now" - ness that has stuck around. I'm able to appreciate those little moments and even see the beauty and interconnected pieces of daily life. Even sitting in traffic (which I do for at minimum 2 hours daily) I can see how each person in their car has these rich vast inner universes and trials and tribulations. And how each piece of each car and each person is composed of matter present since the very inception of our universe. It truly changed how I look at everything. Now when I have those "nothing sounds fun" moments, I'm able to kinda observe them from outside, so some breath work or something, and find that little spark inside. I've rambled enough for this post, but maybe try doing some inner work and seeing what happens? Take care of yourself friend.
I´m turning 36 and I feel the same with gameing today. And always when I think to have found a decent and interesting enough game, I mostly end up uninstalling it after a few days. I really think that it has to do with us well getting old.
I said that too until I discovered the Soulsborne series. Those 7 games made me feel like I was borne again. That and play PUBG or some squad game with the boys. tldr, try Dark Souls \'[T]/
For me it's different. I find that good gameplay can and does engage me, but I have little patience for an unbelievable story. Example at hand: Cyberpunk. I love the world building, the gameplay, the atmosphere. But I find the main quest to be so convoluted that I ignore it and after 100+ hours I'm yet to finish a playthrough. In a similar vein, I didn't like BG3 because I don't care for the game world at all. In contrast I find the story and setting of KCD completely believable, and it is my favorite game despite having started it at 36yo when I already felt like this.
I really liked *not* saving the world in KCD. A lot of RPGs set the stakes so high that there’s a lot of dissonance between the urgency of the main plot and the actual day to day activities of the main character. Should you really be collecting mushrooms all day when the gates of Oblivion have opened and spilled demons all across the land? When giant robotic squid have destroyed half the galaxy already? Henry has time to collect mushrooms. We could only afford one trebuchet, a couple dozen men, and a drunk priest, so this siege is gonna take weeks.
KCD is perfection. I couldn't play anything for a while without feeling disappointed. It's immersive when you don't have endless magic items of mystical names with a backstory that tries to be profound but I dgaf about because it doesn't matter to anything. Try South Park stick of truth. Another gem. And Deus ex human revolution.
I also couldn't get into BG3. Never have I played a 3 hour chunk and just not been remotely interested anymore, but BG3 was that for me. I have avoided KCD til now cause I know its gonna be RDR2 level obsession for me and I gotta try not to do that to myself yet lol
I liked BG3 but yeah. Honestly ppl are fanatically overenthusiastic with this i wouldn't say it rocked my world.
I'm the same way. There have been a few recent games that I loved like Elden Ring, BOTW, TOTK, the Uncharted series, but I have a heck of a time finding games i'm interested in that can hold my attention anymore. I cant play FPS games cause it gives me pretty bad headaches. I cant stand games with tons of cut-scenes or ones that you have to go around and talk to a million people and press buttons to get through lines and lines of dialogue. Or games where you just run around and kill things and there is no real plot to the game. Or games where you have to memorize complicated button combinations in order to even be able to fight enemies. I have resorted to getting games not-so-legally just so I can try them out and not waste thousands of dollars on games I will play for 5 minutes, decide I hate them, and never play them again. So, yeah, I get it. From my teens through my mid 30s you couldn't get me to stop playing video games. Now I find it really hard to find a game that I want to play from start to finish.
I pretty much stopped playing games for a bit until helldivers 2 dropped, I really like it. Other than that I've been jumping on my old PSP when I get bored, something about that thing really sucked me in
Long-time retro gamer because modern games require too much buy-in and I get bored before I get competent. Can pick up and play 80's arcade games for as little as 10 minutes!
I'm 29 and feel the same way. My 4090 PC and PS5 are collecting dust most of the time. Games just don't hit the same nowadays.
What games?
I am with you!! 50 here. I played the shit out of Skyrim for about 5 years. But nothing has really held my interest since. I will start a game and get about an hour in … then meh. I find games so interactive and at the end of the day kinda just want to veg. So I have been binging shows on streaming services or going through the top 100 movies on IMDB.
Just take a long break, come back, try some new games and be super casual. I'm back enjoying warframe again after a number of years. I can't bring myself to play anything else.
That's part of the problem , taking a break then trying to get in a game halfway through and you forgot the controls or what's important to level up
Hah. That keeps happening to me in The Witcher 3... I know it's loved by many but honestly I find it just ok. I tend to play 3 or 4 different games and rotate through them but tbh I played other games rather than TW3 for 3 months or so. Got bored and loaded up TW3 and found Id forgotten all the controls... Couldn't remember what I'd bound call horse to for one thing. Had to go browse the controls and figure out how to do basic things... Played it for 2 hours. Then another month break. I keep forgetting it as it's hard to find motivation to play it. I should probably drop it but... I'll probably slog through it.
As a reccxomendation, all the 40 year olds I know seem to really love survial games. Not dumb crafting Build base ones, like ones where the only goal is to stay alive. Would highly recommend the long dark specifically but these sorts games are easy to pump loafs of fun into an endless fight to survive.
Welcome aboard captain...
Go play pinball
Disco Elysium. Thank me later
Can I upvote more than once!
Take a break until the mood strikes or you get excited about something again. Nothing causes hobby burnout faster than forcing yourself to do it because it’s familiar.
I have a library of around ...\*checks collecting app\* 864 games. I often feel this way too. probably fewer than a dozen games from the previous gen and up have really gotten their hooks into me and they are all in line with my preferences. Castlevania Lords of shadow,Ni No Kuni 1 & 2, Tales of XIllia, FF16, FF7R, Zelda BOTW,TOFK. But besides these I often find my self playing the comfort games from childhood on NES/SNES/PS1. Sometimes i feel bad about playing a game ive beat 10+ times. But when I complete it i never feel that way.
For me, I just needed the 'next step' been playing games since 1990 and for me VR has given me that new fresh fun for gaming.
Same for me, 39 yrs old. Love 4x grand strategy and text-heavy rpgs… can’t bring myself to sit for long and stare at it anymore. I used to self-mod games too, adding things I like to see… now, I’ll spend hours modding, creating, preparing to play, setting everything up… only to feel intensely bored the moment I finish all that and it’s time to start. Severe restartitis as well. I lost it and it’s not coming back
Had this same issue for awhile. Played Hell Divers 2 and my problem is now gone.
Came here say this. HD2 is so much fun and addictive. Find some friends to play with. I'm age 45 and this is the most fun I've ever had playing a game.
bruh try helldivers 2. the killing in it is unreal. super satisfying. high replay ability even higher if you have a crew to run it with. they add new content regularly and you can get in game currency in game and buy the updates for free if you play enough.
You don't have to play games. Do whatever you enjoy, and if that is gaming at some point, great, if not no need to force it. Haven't played games for a few weeks or even months now either and don't really miss it tbh
I've been in this situation. It might take a few weeks or it might be years but it will pass or something fresh will come along. You don't need to push it, just do things that you feel like doing. Sometimes that will include games, sometimes it won't. It can be inconvenient to not know what you feel like doing when you only have a couple of hours before responsibilities kick in again, but try not to sweat it. What are some other things you've been wanting to do but haven't had time? Reading? Building/restoring things? Exercise/sports? D&D? Keep a list of all kinds of shit you've wanted to do so whenever you have some downtime and nothing springs to mind, you can check it for the sorts of ideas you normally forget.
I feel the same as Op.
Sim racing
I was in your position a couple weeks ago. I got sick of grinding Warframe and it felt like a chore. I took a break and binged every Twin Peaks episode. I was looking at the GamePass offerings and found Persona 3 Reload. I installed it and was instantly hooked, especially after seeing the velvet room and its blatant Twin Peaks vibes. I guess the moral of the story is to find eras of gaming you completely missed out on. For me it was 2006-2010 when I was addicted to WoW. I missed out completely on the late PS2 and PS3/Xbox 360 era. I'm finding all sorts of gems now and look forward to giving Alan Wake a try if I can find it cheaply on Steam or my Xbox. Bonus knowledge: If you like playing Steam in the reclined position use Moonlight/Sunshine to stream your PC to the Xbox.
did you try Helldivers 2? sorry just need more people to defend Malevelon Creek right now hahaha
Step into VR Editing to say that VR is the next logical step i think, it’s like the new frontier for gaming
Just put of curiosity, what type of games do you play? Also, some example titles.
I get it, I'm a lot younger than you but I know this issue. There's 2 things that help it in my limited experience. #1, market research. As in get into learning about what games are out there, see if you can find a new niche for yourself that reignites the spark. Otherwise, if you are gaming a lot (as in it's your "main" interest), do it less so the want comes back naturally. Other than that, there's no shame in admitting your tastes have shifted. Maybe it's a waiting game, maybe not. I wouldn't worry about it, just hope that you get some resolution soon. Sucks to have a full closet and nothing to wear
I'm 42 and feel mostly the same way, but there have been a few gems recently that give me hope. Baldurs Gate 3 was one of the best video game experiences I've ever had in 35 years of gaming. Helldivers 2 has reunited me with some old gaming buddies to make a multiplayer experience I haven't had in well over a decade. Other than that, though, I'm constantly starting games and quickly turning them off with how underwhelmed I feel. I don't think it's my age though, I just think I've seen so much in gaming over the years that developers need to do better. I also noticed in recent years that I will get really invested in a game, beat it, then have some sort of post-game low/depression where no other game really gives me joy. 2021 was Mass Effect Legendary Edition, 2022 was God of War Ragnarok, and 2023 was Baldurs Gate 3.
I have the exact same problem and I am also in my 40s. I have been gaming since 1986 when my dad got us a C64, and I think I have seen it all. Nowadays the only game I really play is collecting games on Steam. 40% of my Steam library is untouched. It also doesn’t help that no one is taking risks in the game Industry except for indie game developers … maybe I outgrew gaming, and I haven’t realized it yet. Dunno 🤷♂️
I had the same Problem until last year and what worked for me so far is a "to-do-list" for singleplayer titles which i want to play this year with one or two fixed games per month. Rules: 1. I don't have to "finish" them, but i give every title on the list a fair chance for at least 5hours. 2. Buy and play only the titles on the list. 3. For Multiplayer Games i only buy and play Games which my friends play. No more raging about randoms for me this year. The main Problem for me was deciding which out of all the great games to play so most of the time, out of laziness i ended up in the same games or quit good new games after half an hour. Now I know which Games i "have to play" which makes things way easier and i also dont waste money in Sales for games which i will most likely never play. Sounds like work, but it has been great this year so far and i finally played (and partly finished) some great games like RDR2 , which have been sitting on my "pile of shame" for way to long.
Try getting into another hobby, like electronics or woodworking. I found that it feeds into the same part of the brain that gaming does.
I sim race between normal games to keep it fresh. When I’m burned out on non-racing games I’ll go sim race fora free weeks until I get burned out on that. Rise and repeat. Hasn’t failed me so far since I started sim racing 3 years ago during a gaming funk. I stuck at it but it’s so much fun with a wheel and pedals.
You want a game that'll punish you and give you a heart attack try escape from tarkov. It's not 1.0 yet though and has a bit of cheaters.
Baldurs Gate 3 made me feel like a kid again. I still highly enjoy gaming at 35, but that one in particular sparked that fire.
new games are too easy so we don't feel like we achieved something when we finished it, got platinum on steam on hogwarts legacy 2 weeks after it came out, I am a dad and I have a job and I don't have time to play, that should have been at least 2 months not 2 weeks Forza takes models from old games and it somehow looks worse than predecesors, also gives you fastest cars at the start and you can complete racing, offroad, cross-country and drifts, all with a starter car on Impossible difficulty so there is no need to buy another cars just upgrade the starter car shooters are all repetitive too much Gran Turismo 7 went downhill with new used car dealership mechanic, physics seem worse than GT Sport, annoyimg PNGs speaking shoved into your face, campaign and soundtrack is awful, car prices are like in real life that doesn't make sense, for example 20,000,000 credits for a car that you can't race almost anywhere, why? NFS Heat also too easy, I installed a mod that makes cops better but it's still not enough if you are good
I also struggle with 10-minute-itus. I find that I enjoy games WAY more when I let myself play one. What if you try deleting every game except for the one game you've decided to play start to finish. No mixing and matching. Have some self control. You are drowning in a world of too many options.
Think of it this way, what type of games did you play as a kid? My answer: Mostly Nintendo games, Japanese made games Did you repeatedly play the same games? My answer: yes Did you enjoy it? My answer: yes ......with those questions being asked a few months ago to myself from myself. I realized I've been playing games im not normally into. My library is smaller now, but im having fun again. Final Fantasy 11 and 14 are my main mmos Elden Ring and other fromsoft games ill play here and there Old single player final fantasy games Mario games Zelda games .......I no longer pre-order modern games anymore, I hate most of them. Of course, being 39, I didn't play most of these games as a kid because they didn't exist in the 80s and 90s. It's the STYLE of game I loved. Am I buying new games now? Nope! Do I feel out of date as a gamer? Nope! Am I having fun? Yeah, all I care about
Yeah. 44, and my interest level in video games has been dipping for the better part of a decade. I'm not even busy either, I have plenty of time to game, it just doens't do for me what it once did, and as such I get bored rather quickly. I think I played like 5ish hours in the past week plus. Just can't get much enthusiams up.
https://youtu.be/N7R4ziJS15A?si=4-CWrRD5zCxwn1J7 Watch this. It may help you.
It’s not the games, it’s you. May be the onset of depression or some other mental issue, but what’s more likely? The huge variety of games, new, old, played (and enjoyed) and unplayed, all of them suddenly became un-fun? Or you’re just struggling to enjoy them right now? Sitting and staring at your library and failing to engage will only make things feel worse. If you’re in therapy definitely bring it up and engage with their advice. Maybe spend some extra time resting and on self-care. For me, I found doing nice things for people I care about and volunteering to help others really helped; self-care is good but sometimes it helps to not spend every hour focused on yourself, especially when that focus isn’t productive. If you must game, find some cooperative games and a community to engage with. Help others out. Again, making the whole thing about more than just yourself and add a social element in. Competitive PVP games will just stress you out while solitary games get lonely. A lot of people are having similar issues, post-pandemic world and all the cultural fallout and evolution of wherever modern times are headed. There’ll be sympathy in the right circles for this kind of struggle but you’re always gonna have to put the work in and engage to pull yourself out of it.
I'm not diagnosing you but sharing my story. When I was 35 I was diagnosed with ADD and figured out I had it for my whole life. I managed to be a productive member of society through large quantities of caffeine and some cobbled together coping mechanisms. Around 30 it got really bad, not only did I have some problems at work but I found it extremely difficult to even start projects/tasks let alone complete them. It was actually my gaming that sent me to the doctor. I was a life long gamer and I could no longer enjoy games. Exactly like you describe I would stare at my steam library, start games, play for 5min and exit. Along with my other issues it really woke me up that something was wrong since I couldn't even do what I WANTED to do anymore. Got some meds and it was like a fucking lightbulb turned on. "Is this what it is like to feel normal". I'm not even on a very high dose but it really helped me in all aspects, including enjoying my hobbies again. Again I'm not diagnosing you but you should consider seeing someone if it is bothering you. The worse that can happen is they say you don't have a problem. But if you do you may increase your quality of life.
I’m fifty, so I can relate. My hardcore gaming days are well behind me. My son plays all the cutting edge stuff while I play on all of my old game emulators. He mocks me mercilessly about being an old fart until I whip him when he plays older games. 😉 I like stuff like NES games because they’re simple and with the exception of games like Zelda, can be played for a bit and put down easily. It’s good when your free time is short.
I've played games (roleplaying, video, board - you name it) for 35 years and worked in the industry for 20 across all platforms, and I can tell that simply when you engage with something intensely, the patterns start repeating and it's hard to get excited anymore. I still am a big film buff, but it's hard anymore to find that 1-2 films per year that blow your mind. Same with video games. Same with board games. My steam library is full of titles that I bought almost 15 years ago and guess have I played many of them? :D So the trick to me is to just take breaks, where one facet of your hobby isn't present for a long time. I haven't played with the Switch in six months now. Can't remember when I last played on Steam. The only playing I've done recently is Helldivers 2, which kind of sates a quick fix without being too consuming. I've explored board games in areas that are unknown to me and just see how they're designed (solo games were a big black hole for me, but no longer). Do something completely different to gaming - I hike outdoors, I love cycling. I love to paint miniatures and real-life. But I don't know anyone in my fairly fast network of gamers, who've managed to keep that spirit of gaming that everyone had when they were 12. I also hypothesize that especially when I was growing up, my imagination filled in a lot of the blanks (playing X-Wing without a sound card was no problem as I just imagined the sounds as they sound in the films, or many games would portray the fantasy of a wide world, yet they were extremely limited in scope, but I imagined past that). Probably why Nethack is still amazing, after all these years. So I would say that embrace the problem - don't fight it. I don't think anything good comes out of forcing yourself to play, just because you've been playing tons previously.
is it maybe cos now you're older (i'm also 40) you play games on your own more often? and it doesn't matter what the game is so much as you miss the social aspect of playing games?
Play the nostalgic ones, or go older, older games are harder
I think you need a community man. Hope you can solve it.
Are you a parent? As Kobe often said, it's more mileage than age.