Slowing Down My Gaming Habits

[Silver_kas]

With how gaming trends work these days, I feel like it's almost impossible or at least very difficult to keep up with every new release. It honestly feels exhausting to watch a game become the center of everyone's attention for a week, only to be immediately replaced by the next one, and then the next, without ever slowing down.

Of course, everyone enjoys gaming in their own way, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that I've realized it isn't for me anymore.

For the past few years, I wouldn't say I've lost interest in new releases, but I've definitely stopped feeling the need to keep up with them. Instead, I've found a much calmer way to enjoy games. Rather than chasing whatever is new, I enjoy finding something I can truly spend time with discovering a game that came out twenty years ago as if it were brand new, while everyone else is talking about the latest release, or stumbling across an indie title that quietly slipped under the radar among dozens of launches.

I don't feel like I'm arriving late to these games. If anything, I feel like I'm discovering them at exactly the right time for me. A time when I can slow down and appreciate them properly. In a way, it feels like an extension of that kid who couldn't play everything he wanted to.

I don't think this is something unique or extraordinary. I'm sure many people here feel the same way. But I think I've finally found the way I enjoy gaming the most.

Before I built the PC I have now, I used to imagine all the brand-new games I'd finally get to play. Funny enough, life had other plans. Instead, I find myself rediscovering little pieces of my childhood, or experiencing games I had no idea even existed back then.

Has anyone else found themselves slowing down the way they play games?

 

[lestagio]

I've been "patient gaming" for well over a decade now as more and more games have come out. It hasn't been since about the PS2 where I was really trying to keep going on the newest releases, but around 2015 or so, I drastically cut back even more.!

I enjoy the odd new game here and there, and I certainly play quite a few games, but there's so much stuff, old and new, that is phenomenal. I mean, there's an absurd amount of titles on the NES, SNES, and N64 that could keep you busy for YEARS! It certainly kept me busy as a kid, and there were tons of titles I had missed out on. We have practically god-like access to all of these games, some of which are still spoken about the best to ever be created. Not only the consoles, but also on PC. From Doom to Monkey Island to System Shock to Deus Ex to Morrowind... you can be kept busy for YEARS on these games! They still hold up so well!

It's fine if people want to play the newest thing, but come on man... at least play some Mario Galaxy and Mario World, Super Metroid, Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid, or fuckin ZELDA! There's literally not enough time in life to play everything you want to play. Not even close. There's just so many games. And I'm certainly not making the claim that modern releases are BAD in anyway, but I fully agree with you. I'm generally a couple years behind. The newest AAA games I've played are Elden Ring (4 years old), Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Wonder (3 years). I only got to ER this year and I've been aware of FromSoftware for ages now. I snagged Zelda and Mario pretty shortly after release because well... they're two of my favorite franchises ever and the prices aren't gonna ever drop. There's plenty of modern indies that I check out too, but I make sure not to neglect the older games.

I've been seeing the sentiment more and more, and it's very true: Why play a brand new game that's $70, buggy, and unfinished when you can play tons of other stuff, and 1-2 years later that game will be $10, and patched.

The older games will always be there, and so will the newer games. I think in the end, it's good to just pick what you feel like playing. At some point I'll get to Expedition 33, and GTA6, and Death Stranding 1 and 2, and whatever the hell else is out there. But why stress about buying every new release when there's so much old gold to dig through? If you were to curate a list of the absolute best games releasing from 2015 or before (I guess something from 2015 is considered "old" now, huh), you'd have years and years and years worth of games.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

I feel that the saner (notice that I didn't say "sane", just saner) strategy is to attack your backlog first, then seeing if any of those shiny new games have kept any of their momentum and/or traction after a few months — those are usually the ones worth keeping an eye on and getting on sale somewhere down the line.

It's almost amusing how many games don't survive that first week.

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

Disillusion with video games is how I got into board games.

I like to keep an eye out on indie games, but that's about it for newer releases.

For the most part, I stick to old titles or indies, and I like to play at my pace.

 

[Dr.Kisaragi Dr.Kisaragi]

Well since I don't have a powerful to play new release games I always stuck kn 7th gen and beyond there are many hidden gems I was thinking of joining the old pc games so many rabit holes to get lost with.

 

[Silver_kas]

Well since I don't have a powerful to play new release games I always stuck kn 7th gen and beyond there are many hidden gems I was thinking of joining the old pc games so many rabit holes to get lost with.

once you start looking on those rabit holes you never stop, at least for me since last year I keep going more deeper into old games of any platform. :D

 

[JG509]

Going at your own pace is underrated these days. No pressure, no fomo; just simple enjoyment at a -in some days- slower, in other ones faster pace.

I used to play a lot of online games from around 2018 until 2022 (even more during the pandemic) and it was a constant overwhelm of needing to keep up with those games every day constantly.

Since dropping them altogether (the only one that I still play sometimes is Splatoon 3 that has no fomo things of any importance) I've felt that every day has become slower and more enjoyable, that I had more control over every hour. I started using more the older portable consoles that I had in storage for years and it made me realize how much better I can appreciate the moment while outside and only having a PSP with some RPGs at hand, no distractions or pressure.

Newer games, with the exception of indies, are no longer interesting to me ever since diving into the very handpicked catalogue of each handheld I have, even more so with the big ocean of rom hacks and homebrew.

I feel that I barely play games just for the sake of it since past year, outside of slowly replacing every game I would play for their japanese versions for learning, since I can't really play without an real objective and not using the time for something I can learn instead, and that's fine by me, no one is going to hammer me back into that and I can go around at my pace and with DS in hand right now.

 

[Silver_kas]

Going at your own pace is underrated these days. No pressure, no fomo; just simple enjoyment at a -in some days- slower, in other ones faster pace.

I used to play a lot of online games from around 2018 until 2022 (even more during the pandemic) and it was a constant overwhelm of needing to keep up with those games every day constantly.

Since dropping them altogether (the only one that I still play sometimes is Splatoon 3 that has no fomo things of any importance) I've felt that every day has become slower and more enjoyable, that I had more control over every hour. I started using more the older portable consoles that I had in storage for years and it made me realize how much better I can appreciate the moment while outside and only having a PSP with some RPGs at hand, no distractions or pressure.

Newer games, with the exception of indies, are no longer interesting to me ever since diving into the very handpicked catalogue of each handheld I have, even more so with the big ocean of rom hacks and homebrew.

I feel that I barely play games just for the sake of it since past year, outside of slowly replacing every game I would play for their japanese versions for learning, since I can't really play without an real objective and not using the time for something I can learn instead, and that's fine by me, no one is going to hammer me back into that and I can go around at my pace and with DS in hand right now.

that's exactly what I felt at some point, I still play some online games, but I don't do constantly or daily, much of this games offers you rewards for log in every day and that is at some point, very difficult to make, more now that I have another life responsabilities, I preffer now to use that free time in something that I enjoy at my please, and not to do "homework" in a game for some poor rewards or to be at the last viral trend

 

[4C374552A1CA2638]

With how gaming trends work these days, I feel like it's almost impossible or at least very difficult to keep up with every new release.

I know it's not what you meant, but have you looked at the full list of releases on your platform of choice? Just on July 3rd alone, I counted over 70 games released on Steam in English. I don't know how many a day there were before the recent machine-made boom, but it's giving me pause. There's something for every taste, but how do you get noticed in the deluge of other releases? Better have killer marketing...

But for what you meant (major or notable releases), in my case, it generally hasn't been a problem. I either couldn't run it, didn't have the system for it, didn't have the money, didn't have a way to get it for free, or didn't care about it otherwise usually due to one of the above. In my experience, most of what I've played when I've been keeping track has been fairly old by the time I got around to it, and why would I buy a recent game when it's still too expensive and I don't have the desire to play it right away? And even if I think I have that desire, look not upon my backlog full of games who suffered the same fate!

Has anyone else found themselves slowing down the way they play games?

I have, but in a different way from most. I've been recording games footage and uploading them with commentary to the point where I've become a sort of Let's Play-er lately (sorry, no link). I have some pretty shitty work ethic and keep getting distracted like by visiting here so it takes quite a while to work through each video, but I enjoy this part of 'gaming' even if it's slowing down how quickly I can get through games.

But it's been useful! Reviewing footage can help me see mistakes I made playing live, having footage uploaded is a good way to refresh my memory about something (ever played something and years later remember absolutely nothing about it?), and I find it's kind of a good way to decompress, sort out my thoughts and so on between sessions. I'm still involved with the game even if I'm not actively playing it during video work, if that makes sense. And I've learned a little bit about editing videos too! Nothing flashy, but I'm happy with what I'm doing.

 

[Silver_kas]

I know it's not what you meant, but have you looked at the full list of releases on your platform of choice? Just on July 3rd alone, I counted over 70 games released on Steam in English. I don't know how many a day there were before the recent machine-made boom, but it's giving me pause. There's something for every taste, but how do you get noticed in the deluge of other releases? Better have killer marketing...

But for what you meant (major or notable releases), in my case, it generally hasn't been a problem. I either couldn't run it, didn't have the system for it, didn't have the money, didn't have a way to get it for free, or didn't care about it otherwise usually due to one of the above. In my experience, most of what I've played when I've been keeping track has been fairly old by the time I got around to it, and why would I buy a recent game when it's still too expensive and I don't have the desire to play it right away? And even if I think I have that desire, look not upon my backlog full of games who suffered the same fate!


I have, but in a different way from most. I've been recording games footage and uploading them with commentary to the point where I've become a sort of Let's Play-er lately (sorry, no link). I have some pretty shitty work ethic and keep getting distracted like by visiting here so it takes quite a while to work through each video, but I enjoy this part of 'gaming' even if it's slowing down how quickly I can get through games.

But it's been useful! Reviewing footage can help me see mistakes I made playing live, having footage uploaded is a good way to refresh my memory about something (ever played something and years later remember absolutely nothing about it?), and I find it's kind of a good way to decompress, sort out my thoughts and so on between sessions. I'm still involved with the game even if I'm not actively playing it during video work, if that makes sense. And I've learned a little bit about editing videos too! Nothing flashy, but I'm happy with what I'm doing.

that's another cool way to do it so, in fact, I tried myself the same thing, going live on twitch an play something that i want to, I had like 3 viewers per sometimes, but the goal was not to be famous, just do it so I can get used to talk while I play and talk about things that I liked or not about that game, and then I try to edit that streams for youtube, by that time I was working as a video editor so it helped me to practice.
it's a great way to do it I think, hope sometimes you can show us a little :D