Do you find it hard to stick to/return to games now?

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Maybe it's because I'm much older now... Or maybe because I'm physically exhausted after each and every day, but I find it almost impossible to stick with games after just a few sessions, even if those games really meant something for me at a younger age or truly do get me excited now.

Very recently I tried going through The Sims: Bustin' Out and, after playing for two hours straight, I just couldn't get myself to return to it, even though it is my favorite entry into that series and the non-Pokemon game I played the most as a teen.

Same with Deus Ex on PS2 -- my last save has been stuck on the last level for close to a year now, despite me beating that one game dozens of times before. I just can't get the energy to finish it now

And Burnout: Revenge? That (along with GTA) is my "unwinding tool", yet it is also gathering dust like crazy.

It looks like now I need an external factor (like my kids wanting me to play) before I actually grab a controller again.

Does this ring true for you as well? I can totally believe that I'm completely burned out as the costs and efforts of living skyrocket, but hopefully I'm not alone here!

 

[GardeniaSky's icon GardeniaSky GardeniaSky]

Yeah. It's very rare nowadays for a game to naturally 'pull' me. The outliers are typically exceptional compared to other titles. Maybe I've become tired of companies pumping out the same thing again and again?

The last couple of years or so, notable titles were Metroid:Dread, Skald: Against the Black Priory, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Baldur's Gate III.

I think as we get older and have less time for games, true quality and 'newness' are high on the priority list. Sure, I'll still find time to replay favorites, but it's not as often as it used to be.

 

[Dany28]

I have that problem sometimes too, but I try to be disciplined when playing; no matter how long it takes, I finish the game.

 

[Cardboardtubeknight Cardboardtubeknight]

It's really depends. I was utterly addicted to Blue Prince

 

[Dr.Kisaragi]

Yesh I feel the age but best course of action is to turn off the distraction like Internet and play on games that one it really helps.

 

[nobitakun]

Due to my OCD, I can't leave a game I started until I finish it.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Yesh I feel the age but best course of action is to turn off the distraction like Internet and play on games that one it really helps.

Yeah, that's very true.

 

[qw90700]

There are many possible reasons for that:

1) After you really enjoyed a game and all you will eventually feel like "nothing else to do anymore" because you had all the fun you could have. After that point you could just enjoy the game after few hours gameplay until long time later you would be in the mood for the game.

2) Liking a game is one thing but what is important to play a game is having the mood for it. The mood will make you enjoy a game you normally wouldn't, don't wanna play a game you normally would enjoy and all.

3) As we get old our our active genes changes and it reflect upon biological aspect of our body that how it works and react changes too so even your taste in food changes so video games are no different.

4) Memory has great affect on our personality. That's why after living a life without internet and getting used to using internet we may feel like we can't live without internet. After we played many great games before it's hard for us to see value in new games that does everything generic and lack of significant content especially to games that released 20 years ago and then opposite is valid too. After playing Sims 4 at least for me it's hard to return to Sims games on my PS2!!!!

5) The brain is an organ that adapts to usual patterns and processing of your current life. Basically it means before getting into "playing video games mode" after a long break you need to warm up your brain. For example as it been like a week I didn't play a game it gets hard to adjust my brain to playing any simple game that I'm even master of. It takes me like fully one day gaming or 1 week gaming to get back into my "gaming mode". Until then playing games are just a drag but afterwards you will be ok.

6) As you get old your brain processes more data and more complex ones but its processing speed reduces. So you may find yourself thinking some games are "too fast" that mentally drain you fast and then some games are so "simple" your brain just says "ugh do you want me to process this shit?" lolol.

You just gotta get used to how much you change and have to get to know yourself more on more. Once liked banana? Too bad you may dislike it in like a decade later and then you hated strawberry but now you can't live without it. If you were so patient bad news to people around you, no fucks to give anymore!! Were turn based games too slow for you? After certain age they may be therapeutic for you. Did you think Metal Gear Rising wasn't fast enough? Return 20 years later and it will be satisfying!!! Did you think Radiata Stories was like "no story game"? After decades later you may realize how deep story it actually had!!! Did you like Final Fantasy 7 when you were a teen for how deep its story was? You may start to think how simple cringe BS whole game was!!!! Time make you change so as what you think and feel about stuff!!! That's entropy for ya lol. However there are thing that never will change about your personality and this is your real/core aspect, that's why there are video games I'll always play and avoid to play.

 

[RustySK]

For me it usually works in bursts.
I can go for months with no real interest in or ability to stick to games and then either something clicks internally for me or some random game will resonate with whatever is going on in my head and I'll almost be incapable of putting whatever I'm playing down.
It just kind of happens on its own in my experience - and if that means that sometimes you can't enjoy your primary hobby and have to put it on the backburner in order to find other things to entertain yourself with, then that's fine!
So long as it's still something that's good for you and that you want in your life, it'll definitely come back to you.

I think another factor is this obnoxious, creeping change in the way most people (or at least I personally) consume media - the internet is always on hand, be it via smartphone or PC/Laptop and so there's always this constant potential for and push towards distraction.
Which can be a nice thing of course, but at least for me it also erodes my ability to really settle into an experience of any kind to some extent.
I think the human brain needs downtime, silence and even boredom every now and then to really process and enjoy... well, just about anything, really.

(I hope that made at least some amount of sense, I have a migraine right now and I tend to ramble whenever that happens)

 

[DjQuick2008]

used to be a massive fortnite player but this summer has been crazy were into our 4th heatwave now i simply cant focus in the summer months on winning a game. give me dark nights and the christmas present mode.

 

[Matricks]

Get back to the 'latest' timeline from those fatique, They'ee Amazing again!
[media]

[media]

Playing on PC Handheld is Amazing!

 

[iamthemilkman]

Definitely. The more consoles and games I own, the more difficult I find it to actually finish games. When I was young and had much more limited options, I was far more likely to finish them. Sometimes I have a very ADD way of playing games, bouncing from one to the next and then returning to the previous one only to forget the mechanics.

 

[Vexicrypt]

Yeah I totally get that. These days I just wake up tired and in a bad mood in general so its hard to find motivation to even launch a game. I miss the days when I was constantly playing something but I think I just burned out (and yeah, mental stuff is a huge factor in that too). That being said I still find and finish games depending on the mood. I have a big backlog which doesn't bother me as other people, to me its just a list I can pick something to play from here and there. Sometimes it feels overwhelming even to imagine playing a game that you've never played before so I pick something I'm already familiar with. Overall I don't play as much as I used to and tend to watch others play games on stream or something because I'm too mentally exhausted.

 

[Adrastia]

I find myself getting close to the end of a game then taking weeks to finish it. Not sure why. It doesn't happen with games I emulate. Just games I bought. Maybe because I can't buy as many as I'd like so I want to stretch them out like Caramello.

At least with emulation I know a game isn't for me and I can just delete it.

 

[dropsmegamega]

I feel like that often, but often its because I am not truly interested in said game. Of course, as I get older, its much harder to find games that interest me. I still force myself to finish some games though. But when I find The Game, it's like all I think of during the day is the moment to go back play it!! And I love that feeling. Even though its not very good for my work...

 

[qw90700]

I think the human brain needs downtime, silence and even boredom every now and then to really process and enjoy... well, just about anything, really.

You are right. As neurons are used the more they lose their sensitivity to get triggered and then work. That's why "boredom" and "loss of focus" happen when whatever you give your attention to doesn't stimulate your brain. When that happens naturally better to switch to something else for your brain to use a different set of neurons so the over-stimulated neurons can get sensitive again to work properly. For example if Hideo Kojima games bores you because people talk too much then play games that people don't talk at all to make the parts of your brain that process too much dialogue can get rest while using whatever parts your brain has to use for gamepla. After all neurons are a chemical thing and they working means they using chemicals as fuels that after a while they are choked in "bad chemicals" and thus they can't work properly especially when they lost the fuel until they replenish again therefore they need to get rest for a while to work properly again. But the neurons that were not used much also lose their "chemical power" and eventually die out so too much relaxing is not good either!

In that regard depending on your genes how your brain works and reacts differs. For example for some people playing Hideo Kojima games and then watching just 1 minute of cutscene can drain the hell out of them while they can play games all day that doesn't have dialogue, and some people get drained so fast with 1 minute of gameplay so they can binge watch Netflix rubbish all day!!! It also matters on what interests you enough to stimulate your brain too.

 

[keefoid]

Maybe it's because I'm much older now... Or maybe because I'm physically exhausted after each and every day, but I find it almost impossible to stick with games after just a few sessions, even if those games really meant something for me at a younger age or truly do get me excited now.

Very recently I tried going through The Sims: Bustin' Out and, after playing for two hours straight, I just couldn't get myself to return to it, even though it is my favorite entry into that series and the non-Pokemon game I played the most as a teen.

Same with Deus Ex on PS2 -- my last save has been stuck on the last level for close to a year now, despite me beating that one game dozens of times before. I just can't get the energy to finish it now

And Burnout: Revenge? That (along with GTA) is my "unwinding tool", yet it is also gathering dust like crazy.

It looks like now I need an external factor (like my kids wanting me to play) before I actually grab a controller again.

Does this ring true for you as well? I can totally believe that I'm completely burned out as the costs and efforts of living skyrocket, but hopefully I'm not alone here!

I find that I can only play short burst games - arcade games and things like Tetris or derivatives of it like Apotris nowadays. I don't have the patience or time for RPGs etc any more.

 

[RageBurner]

Yeah, I guess the dopamine response trickles down too much and most of what I play these days either has very quick turnaround (roguelikes), are games I grew up playing, is a Monster Hunter game or is exceptional in some other way.

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

I find that I'm more ok with not finishing games as I get older. I do still struggle finding energy to go ahead and actually start a lot of them too.
I think part of my problem is too much choice. I have a small handful of game franchises that I will commit to and finish new entries, but actually picking something new to try can be a battle in and of itself. That's why I never subscribe to streaming services either.

So I tend to replay games I already know I like more often than new ones.

I also find it much easier to play through games, watch movies/tv shows etc, when I can catch up with friends. Naturally, getting older means finding less time to catch up so I think I'm just less motivated to do that stuff by myself in general.

 

[stealthRUSH stealthRUSH]

It depends.

If I'm grinding through an RPG I tend to stick to casually playing a few sessions each day to progress. What excites me is usually retro games that have unique gameplay of the time, a twist to the typical formula.

I don't find myself returning to my 'favorite games of all-time' as often these days, since I finished them (sometimes several times in the past) and prefer exploring games I missed out on either due to lack of region release, didn't own the system back then or recent fan-translated projects.

I think there's a time and place for personal favorite games, at least for me- sometimes it'll scratch the itch of nostalgia, other times I can't see myself sitting through the entire game like I use to.

Interesting, if that's the case go for it. Some days I don't feel like playing any game besides fighting genre having a few matches online (usually SF6, COTW on PS4 these days).

External factors can result in burning out, I see where your coming from. Ironically I keep tabs of the games I've recently completed and as of last month I haven't completed (1), which is unlike me. But sometimes Life issues become the top priority.

 

[Blamhammer]

...because I'm physically exhausted after each and every day...

I'm 99% sure it's that. Personally i'm beat when I get back home and simply cannot stay awake to play anything. I tried playing a bit of Euro Truck Simulator 2 one time and fell asleep at the wheel.
The fatigue can be treated by getting a lot more than 4 hours of rest per day. Or by demanding a third weekend day. Or a four day work week.

Seriously we all just need more free time to live.