how do you guys choose games that you will play?

[gabbooo]

i know this could be an age old question but as someone who always get decision paralysis when choosing games specially with a lot of options these days. I find myself not being able to commit on a game at all, and it's been my struggle ever since i became a busy adult. so any tips?
PS The games I usually play are massive RPGs which makes it a commitment

 

[Morgan Katarn]

I pick 20 games make a list then I use a D20 dice. And play the game corispinding to the number that comes up.

Or I look at my steam library and pick the game I owned the longest but not played.

And some day I just play what ever I fancy it could be play fallout 4 for the millionth time or jump in to stardew valley and add another 8 hours to my several 100 hours of it already. Or I play a mmo.

 

[zerodayhx]

my strategy at the point is to self-limit the pool of games i can even consider
you know like curate your collection

lately ive just been limiting my pool to games that have retroachievement sets and then limiting myself from there

like for example, do i really need both shin budokai games on psp? no choose the one i will actually play
do i really need all 10 battle network games? nope

stuff like that

 

[PSVitaForever]

It depends, sometimes I'll scroll through my backlog, sometimes I feel the urge to play THAT title (like when I said "I want to play a Neptunia" or "I want to play a rhythm game").

 

[zombie100379]

i keep it simple , if something reminds me of a game i used to play - i will give it a go , r-type style shmups , 2d fighting/beat em up games , arcade style racing games like tokyo xtreme racer , burnout 3 , midnight club 2 ,3 , or some pinball , i don't think i have the patience for huge games anymore - apart from the special ones like the yakuza series

 

[x_lod]

This is my wishlist; I'm already playing most of these games.

 

[newshoes]

Like a Jackson Pollock painting... I'll wake up, find some neat stuff then see what sticks.

The frequent releases of RA sets just adds to this "kid in a candy store" feeling that's sooo intoxicating as a daily routine.

 

[Onicat]

Boobies
First, I'll check what people I know are saying about it. Next, I'll watch a video review to see how it looks in action. And finally, I'll check if there are any pretty girls there

 

[polter99]

I just pull random ass game using the Mr. Bean technique.

the technique starts at 1:17​

 

[bombatomba77]

I get hankerings, but I get so many most of them don't get attention. Right now I've got hankering to try out New Vegas again, but on a laptop this time instead of my Deck (I suck at FPS with controller); Shadow Tower, because I just discovered it (which is weird); Dragon Warrior 7/Dragon Quest VII (yep, both); and Castlemania I and II, because I get a lot of hankerings from The Repo's main page

 

[JellyjamLu]

I pull up my steam library, close my eyes, flick the middle mouse scroller a bunch then whatever game it lands on I then press play.

 

[AceWhatever]

The easiest way is to group them by console and play by order of release date. It also helps when you play a content-heavy game like an RPG to have a simpler game on the side you can play when you don't feel like you can something done in the bigger game.

 

[daido]

What has helped me a lot is deciding what matters most about a game to me and judge from there. I really appreciate strong art direction and aesthetics—I can commit to very long or difficult games if I like looking at them. But it could be anything that matters most to you. For RPGs, do the combat, leveling, or upgrade systems sound particularly interesting to you? Do the broad strokes of the story stir something in you? That initial connection might help build momentum and commitment.

 

[Kovlak]

Here there is a two fold problem: to make naturally a choice a person needs the time to come naturally to that choice, but with being a "busy adult" comes lack of free time, which makes coming naturally to a choice significantly difficult or impossible. So comes choice paralysis - an overstimulated mind has difficulty making a choice when things die down.

The second problem is the overabundance of choice.

And in your case, there's a third problem: focusing on large games that require a big commitment. That can feel like additional work, I think. Which is a big problem on a brain running on fumes.

Personally I try to play what I feel like it when I feel like it, and not force it. I've finished 14 games this year alone. Mostly smaller games, but still, it's working alright.

 

[ct9983]

My trick involves how I build my collection (and also prune my collection from time to time). I have pretty decently difficult OCD, and my collections are a pretty major thing with that. so I need a way to differentiate between games I like, and games my OCD demon wants me to have for insane reasons.
Anyway: I start by not having a bunch of similar games. because, for example, if I want to play something similar to the PS1 Tomb Raiders, it's better to have 3-4 options than 12.
The way I filter the options down is what I call the 2 folder method:
I imagine 2 folders, literally labeled 1 and 2. Folder 1 contains all the games I absolutely love. 2 contains everything else.
next I go to folder 2 and further sub divide. games I'm actually interested in playing, trying, whatever, all go into sub folder 1. sub folder 2 gets everything else. I then just don't bother with the sub folder 2 games at all. my collection ends up being made from the folder 1 and sub folder 1 games.
sub folder 1 games need to have a concrete reason to go there though. so no "well, I like that series" or "I liked this when I was 12" or "this one is popular" or any of that. because that's not good enough. If I can't think of a real reason, it's not worth it.
being able to articulate why you like games, and also be honest with yourself (and in my case recognize OCD thoughts vs sane ones) is vital for this method to work
I also keep all my roms and PC games in seperate, labeled folders, so it's much easier to do this with 40 neo geo games, 60 NES games and 80 PS1 games than it is with everything all at once

as for picking what game to play, it's all about steps. go from big to small. make decisions.
so what am I feeling troday? fun, engrossing, shooting, what?
ok, fun. what's fun? Racing, platformers, tetris clone?
platformer. so which series? crash. sonic, mario, DK...
yeah, DK. so 1, 2, 3, land, returns or tropical freeze?
Then you're gonna have to just decide. but this is where filtering helps. so lets say you dropped land, Freeze and 3. now you only have to pick between 1, 2 and returns. which is much easier.

 

[Kovlak]

My trick involves how I build my collection (and also prune my collection from time to time). I have pretty decently difficult OCD, and my collections are a pretty major thing with that. so I need a way to differentiate between games I like, and games my OCD demon wants me to have for insane reasons.
Anyway: I start by not having a bunch of similar games. because, for example, if I want to play something similar to the PS1 Tomb Raiders, it's better to have 3-4 options than 12.
The way I filter the options down is what I call the 2 folder method:
I imagine 2 folders, literally labeled 1 and 2. Folder 1 contains all the games I absolutely love. 2 contains everything else.
next I go to folder 2 and further sub divide. games I'm actually interested in playing, trying, whatever, all go into sub folder 1. sub folder 2 gets everything else. I then just don't bother with the sub folder 2 games at all. my collection ends up being made from the folder 1 and sub folder 1 games.
sub folder 1 games need to have a concrete reason to go there though. so no "well, I like that series" or "I liked this when I was 12" or "this one is popular" or any of that. because that's not good enough. If I can't think of a real reason, it's not worth it.
being able to articulate why you like games, and also be honest with yourself (and in my case recognize OCD thoughts vs sane ones) is vital for this method to work
I also keep all my roms and PC games in seperate, labeled folders, so it's much easier to do this with 40 neo geo games, 60 NES games and 80 PS1 games than it is with everything all at once

as for picking what game to play, it's all about steps. go from big to small. make decisions.
so what am I feeling troday? fun, engrossing, shooting, what?
ok, fun. what's fun? Racing, platformers, tetris clone?
platformer. so which series? crash. sonic, mario, DK...
yeah, DK. so 1, 2, 3, land, returns or tropical freeze?
Then you're gonna have to just decide. but this is where filtering helps. so lets say you dropped land, Freeze and 3. now you only have to pick between 1, 2 and returns. which is much easier.

That folder method is definitely interesting in dealing with clutter.

 

[nobitakun]

I elaborate a list of 10 titles, 5 in english and 5 in japanese. I let my friend choose the next game I play.

 

[gekiganwing]

1. Which one of my devices is charged?

2. Do I need to update Switch files? (Usually two minutes.) Do I need to update Steam Deck files? (Could be a while.)

3. On Miyoo Mini Plus, I have way too many options. So I'll either choose some short and easy game (any Pac-Man variant, 2D Castlevania, early Sonic), or a slower game I can set down without worrying (8-bit Dragon Quest, SNES SimCity).

 

[stealthRUSH stealthRUSH]

Focus on (1) game to come back to make progress with (particularly RPG) and (2) arcade style casual games.

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

For new acquisitions/finds: looks interesting, imma play it.

For things I already know or have: I just get the whim to play it to completion.

 

[Pearly]

I pick whatever I am feeling like.

FFXII really, really stands out to me at the moment, so I am playing that.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

I just see what's the first thing YouTube shows me and start from there... Maybe I don't like THAT specific game, but something along the lines of, etc.

 

[Disgaean]

It looks cool...

 

[SpcDaicon SpcDaicon]

If I like the visuals or by genre or by mechanic.

Does this game looks good/cool? I go and play it.
I'm in the mood for a X type of game? I go and play it.
Does this game has X mechanic I'm in the mood for playing? I go and play it.

 

[Rakoniomm]

I do not choose games. My mood chooses for me and I just obey

recently my mood has been constantly choosing a game that goes by the name "sleep" I don't know why but it's a really good and comforting game I admit it