Used to spend most of my days playing live service games that required a huge amount of time, or big AAA titles that are critically acclaimed. For example, Fallout 4/76, Battlefield 2042, rainbow six, World of Warcraft, RuneScape, Skyrim, Destiny 2, OverWatch… Basically any really big game that you would find on the top 20 of steam or by player count, I would spend a huge amount of time playing that. But I got pretty bored of all these really big games having overplayed them so much, and now I have no idea what to play anymore…
So I’ll spend a few hours playing something, and then jump to another game and then another game and none of them give me any Joy. For example, playing 3 hours of 7 Days to Die, 10 hours of No Man’s Sky, 5 hours of stardew Valley, play fortnite with a friend for 2 hours, login to World of Warcraft and get bored Within a day or two. Tried going back to Battlefield 2042 because it saw a small uptick of players…
Honestly have no idea what to play anymore. So I just bounce around trying to look for something that’ll bring me some joy and don’t get much luck
I enjoy playing older games I missed out on years ago. Recently I finally played Silent Hill 3 and 4 for instance. Now I plan on doing Resi 1-3 and games like it. Other than that my guilty pleasure is League of Legends. I have accepted that I will play it until they shut it down.
Sounds like you’re over saturated and need a break from gaming. Happens to a lot of us.Try not gaming at all for like 2-3 months. It’ll feel fresher afterwards
Maybe try something different? A strategy game perhaps?
Or you might actually need a dopamine detox in combination with practicing a more rewarding and sustainable hobby. Read a book or start a project if some sort.
It could also be that you’re experiencing a depression.
You need to try new genres. Spend some time away from the top 20 and find new things that excite you
I don’t know if they are your vibes but might be something a bit different for you to try.
Cataclysm DDA
Space station 13
Looks like all the games you’ve listed are games where you can spend hours just to grind to the next level, or are filled with mundane fetch quests to keep you busy. If you don’t want to take a break like someone else suggested, you could try to play a single player game with a definite ending. Even if it’s a short game that is only a couple of hours long, you might just need something that has a final cutscene/boss fight and then the credits roll.
Not really sure what games might interest you, but look into Turnip Boy Commits Tax Fraud for a short, 4-6 hour long fun adventure. Or TUNIC if you want something similar to a Dark Souls esque experience, without getting all sweaty and try-hard
Agreed, seems OP is getting tired of the live service grind. Subnautica (start with the first) and Hollow Knight are both excellent single player games to try out.
Sone more suggestions:
- Journey
- Donut County
- Furi
- event[0]
- Inside
- Katana ZERO
I picked up a little game called Night Stones recently and it’s a cute little adventure game. Only about 5-6 hours.
My 5 year old freaking loves Donut County.
Try UFO 50, it’s got 50 games to bounce around between.
This was me. I eventually bounced around games and tried Satisfactory, a game type I never thought I’d like. Now it’s my new meth and daddy needs his fix.
There is always a need for those 3, 5 or 10 hour games. Something short and sweet instead of the mindless grind of a live service game. I recommend looking in your backlog for something different every now and then.
The bouncing around isn’t a bad thing.
In fact, if anything, I try to be sensitive to when I start to burn out on a game, and when that happens I avoid playing until the desire is really strong again.
Sometimes looking for something to play means having a LARGE number of false starts before I find the thing, but I make a note of not trying a bunch of similar games whenever something isn’t scratching the itch. I make each attempt with something very different.
And coming back to a game can take years.
That’s kind why you need a TON of games if you don’t want to take breaks from gaming entirely, because otherwise the medium just doesn’t have enough variety to keep the human brain engaged.
You should try shorter games, and completely ignore whether something is “big” enough to be worth your time. The big stuff is what’s boring you right now, so don’t waste time on trying to force the enjoyment.
Plus, if you’re restricting yourself to stuff that achieves critical acclaim, you’re limiting yourself to games everyone likes. That means you’re probably missing some stuff only you and people like you would like.
Not all good things are enjoyed by everyone universally, some things are just for a subset of people.
This actually sounds like depression. Being unable to find joy, and then unsuccessfully searching for it in places where you used to find it. I would consider talking to a professional if you can.
Or try Dragon Age Veilguard.
If we are going down this path, I’d actually recommend touching grass first (proverbially), before a sinking time and money into a professional. It’s an easy, non-committal step, that may do wonders.
Not disagreeing with you necessarily, but ADHD also fits the bill. I’m very much a happy person at the moment, I wouldn’t change anything in my life, yet I subscribe to what OP says. Games are too long, too boring to grab my attention long enough.
I managed recently to complete GTA V because I found the story hilarious, and I only managed that by skipping all side missions. That’s the only long / AAA game I’ve managed to finish in recent years.
What helps me is understanding that if I get 5h of enjoyment out of a game rather than getting to the intended 50h playtime, that’s also valid. 5h of fun also counts as fun and this is a game, not work, so there’s no pressure to finish it.
I’ve been doing this for decades. I just get bored easily. But every now and then I find a game that works for me and I spend 1000s of hours playing it. At this point I probably have a 1000+ games and 70% of them I played 2 to 4 hours…
I never heard of this. I play wow.
Do you not realize you’re doing the same content over and over and over again?
that content being fun? where’s the issue in that?
You’d think the game is fun but people on wow are so miserable. They’re always upset, DOTA2 energy tbh kicking each other from groups and harassing each other, hating on their own game
This happens to me when I don’t have somebody to share my progress in a game with. It’s definitely some sort of failure to achieve dopamine or something.
Having a second person to talk to about the game and your progression may help you to overcome this hurdle.
Alternatively, try some indie stuff? AAA+ games are made by soulless companies who don’t actually care about your joy. Have you ever played Stardew Valley? Made by ONE dude with love. Give that a shot.
Yes I do I won’t even make it a few hours most times before jumping to a new game
