Struggling to keep an interest in games lately.

[DoomTim]

I have been having a big struggle finding a game that's unique and not some run of the mill cookie cutter type of game. I've grown bored of every genre I used to play, and have tried other genres to see if they appeal to me at all.

Triple A games drain the wallet or you grind for much longer to obtain end result. Indie games are all the same now, aside from a handful of gems, and it feels like I've dried up my gem mine.

I go through my discovery queue several times on my weekend from work, and I find "____ Survivors" "_____ simulator", insert city builder here, strategy game there, and wacky goofy game in hopes a streamer picks it up because fall guys worked for a week.

I feel like I've become so jaded with games now, nothing feels original anymore, nothing seems to have a spark of originality -- just "this formula worked with this developer, I'm going to copy it all, change textures, and call it XYZ"

Is it because I'm getting older? Is this a common feeling others are having? I've amassed a wishlist and look at it from time to time, only to realize -- aside from the few unique ones on there that haven't released yet-- they too are all the same with a different name.

I wonder if these games actually appeal and my time is basically up, like a flavor that was fantastic, but over time, just becomes ordinary due to prolonged exposure/consumption. Since about 2020, it just feels like everything's become a grey mass of samey games.

Thanks to those who read my rant

[truxtonet]

Sounds like you've burnt out or you need to look for much older games. GOG is full of them

[Ogami]

Sadly something that comes with getting older. Turning 45 in a few weeks and my interest in games has waned a lot over the last few years. I still have games that i enjoy but its mostly older stuff i already know.
Newer releases rarely have any appeal for me.
In the end there is just nothing "new" or exiting in video games. I seen it pretty much all.
What gets released nowadays are the same games as 20 years ago.
Yes they are much prettier and more technical advanced but below the surface its still the same old kind of games.
When we are younger everything is more exiting because its new. The older you get and the more you seen and played the less exited you get about it.

Its all the same in the end. And no, sorry, it wont get any better. There will be phases were you enjoy gaming again for a while but it will never go back to the way it was when you were younger.

Unless something drastically changes how games are made and played that makes them fresh again.

[Crazy Tiger]

When you get older, your interests change due to the experiences you've had. It's part of life for some. Personally I don't run into it, I'm in my 40s and I still enjoy my games (both new and old) as I did for the past 35+ years. Sure, I have periods where I'm a tad less interested and do more reading and such, but that also happened when I was a teenager or in my 20s.

I don't run the discovery queue outside the sales events with trading cards. Not worth it and it's not a good representation of the fun games that exist.

Don't force yourself on games, or anything. That won't work.

[Aachen]

Kinda been at low ebb the last few days, myself, TBH.

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by Crazy Tiger:

When you get older, your interests change due to the experiences you've had. It's part of life for some. Personally I don't run into it, I'm in my 40s and I still enjoy my games (both new and old) as I did for the past 35+ years. Sure, I have periods where I'm a tad less interested and do more reading and such, but that also happened when I was a teenager or in my 20s.

I don't run the discovery queue outside the sales events with trading cards. Not worth it and it's not a good representation of the fun games that exist.

Don't force yourself on games, or anything. That won't work.

DItto here. I suppose its a matter of whether you cultivated a wide range of interests in gaming. If yiou had a relatively narrow fuield of interest.. you're gonna burn out bedcause sooner or later you'll hit the point where everything feels the same.

A wider range of interests means that ones you lose interest in one area you can try out another.

[ReBoot]

A games have been money sinks devoid of any creative energy for years. The survival genre is rather same'ish overall as well (similar to MMS' in that regard). You need a broader game selection! I personally can get bored even from one game if it's a lot of the same so I switch games, switch genres.

Play something different! No wonder you feel burned out from playing the same over and over again.

[crunchyfrog]

I bet it's largely two things. One, you ARE getting older. This part is natural. Two, the games industry or rather the triple A space is out of ideas on how to run things.

For the latter it's dead easy to see - we've had bloated costs incease for years for no good reason, and duw to this you get risk averse, samey games (a la Ubisoft pap) and so they are utterly unfulfilling. Nothing would kill your vibe more than that.

Frankly, as someone who has been gaming since the dawn of it all and has alomst all computers and consoles they've ever bought and still play them, I still have no PS5 nor Xbox Series whatever because there's nothing for them I want yet.

The easy way to tackle that part of the problem is to simply open your eyes more. GO to places like Metacritic and look up what games are available, and make a list of everything interesting, then investigate reviews and gameplay further. You will quickly ignore the triple A find the hidden gems of indies and so on. It's how I've bought games for decades and it keeps me involved.


The other issue may be of your design but is equally easy to deal with - I'm disabled and retired. I have all the time in the world to do what I want, and as more time is housebound these days, gaming is a lot of it. Because of this, it's easy to get too much and get bored.

So I have other hobbies, and here's what I do.

I'll play as long as I want. It might be days, or merely hours, but if I reach a point where I realise I'm just going through the motions or not really decisive on what to do next. I walk away. Doesn't matter if it's for weeks, I simply go and play synths, write music, repair or build electronics, liste4n to music, read books, and so on. Even if I get bored with one of them I can also move onto another.

Do something like this. And if you're also finding that other things are doing similarly, then you may be depressed and should do the instant thing of going out and walking round the blokc a couple of times. NOTHING gets you more easily motivated than doing that.

[Qbert ⭐]

From my own burnt situation I can advise 2 things:

1. Get out of the gaming space for a while and find another thing that picks your interest (I found myself liking photography recently and has been working really well)

2. If going out is not an option (for whatever reasons you have, not judging here) find a genere that you never played before; are you into shooters? go get some RPG or ARPG and so on...

In my case, #2 works for a while (I totally recommend you this game)



But in the end, my burn was really deep so I took #1, concentrate more on my work and social life, took vacations (a trip to Japan) and got interested in Photography with a cheap camera

I play once in a while mainly for achievements (not a hunter) and found out a lot of humble bundles that I never add to my library so I gave them a chance, again, for achievements (hentai games are short)

You also need to understand that time is a relentess b...tch so in fact, you're getting old, but that's not a bad thing, getting over this stage of life depends mainly on how you see this and take it with the best attitud possible.

Cheers!

[mdesaleah]

Nah, its not "getting older" its being stuck playing the same genres over and over again and only looking at whats widely advertised.

What you need to do is experiment in different genres, and also indie games/smaller teams that clearly like what they are making.

[RadCazz]

Sir, I feel the same way most of the time nowadays! Been playing Skyrim, for example, and I'm getting tired of 'go there. do that. find loot. repeat.' Oh look! Another bounty to kill a bandit leader, lol.
I've been a gamer since the 80s, when my go-to-place for pinball, got Space Invaders - so new, fresh and exciting! But that was then.
Now, I have a hard time 'getting into gaming' and 'picking up the sticks.'
Trying different hobbies now... Chainmailling, fishing, etc. But I still play ever so often.
I think it's because I'm old now, ha ha ha.
I remember a time when I'd spent hours - till dawn - playing Final Fantasy on the SNES. Now, I play for an hour or two at most.

Can anyone recommend some different games?

[mdesaleah]

Originally posted by RadCazz:

Sir, I feel the same way most of the time nowadays! Been playing Skyrim, for example, and I'm getting tired of 'go there. do that. find loot. repeat.' Oh look! Another bounty to kill a bandit leader, lol.
I've been a gamer since the 80s, when my go-to-place for pinball, got Space Invaders - so new, fresh and exciting! But that was then.
Now, I have a hard time 'getting into gaming' and 'picking up the sticks.'
Trying different hobbies now... Chainmailling, fishing, etc. But I still play ever so often.
I think it's because I'm old now, ha ha ha.
I remember a time when I'd spent hours - till dawn - playing Final Fantasy on the SNES. Now, I play for an hour or two at most.

Can anyone recommend some different games?

What genres do you play the most?

[76561198343548661]

What about Assassins Creed Odyssey , The Division 1/2, Days Gone , Grid Legends , Detroit Become Human , Rise of The Tomb Raider , Ghost Recon Wildlands , Guardians of The Galaxy , Outriders , Anthem , Marvel Avengers , Watch Dogs Legion and so on !?

[mdesaleah]

Originally posted by smallcat:

What about Assassins Creed Odyssey , The Division 1/2, Days Gone , Grid Legends , Detroit Become Human , Rise of The Tomb Raider , Ghost Recon Wildlands , Guardians of The Galaxy , Outriders , Anthem , Marvel Avengers , Watch Dogs Legion and so on !?

Those are probably the last games someone who is sick of games would want to play. It would make them quick playing games entirely after not even getting through half of those.

All of those fall into the AAA pit of sharing many many trends with each other and don't really have that unique spark that would get someone back into playing games.

[Thordred]

No need to struggle. If you're not interested in playing games at the moment just don't and spend your time with stuff you enjoy more. Games will always be there and you will always be able to return to the hobby when you feel like it.

As someone in my 40s I never really had the experience you describe. Gaming in some form or another has always been an important part of my life. Digital games are not always my main focus, from somewhere around 2016 to 2022 I took my last break from PC/video games and didn't play any at all but that wasn't a conscious decision, my interest just shifted a bit. I spent a lot of time with tabletop games instead, tcg tournaments a couple of evenings every week, international travels to conventions whenever my work schedule allowed it... I mean A LOT of time (Covid lockdowns threw a wrench in that and I've not yet picked it up again at least not nearly to the same extent.) So I can't really claim I took a break from gaming in general, I just played a different kind of games. :D

When it comes to PC games I have never cared about their age, release dates are completely irrelevant to me. I'm still discovering games with interesting mechanics and/or stories that were relased in the 90s that are new to me. Even if there weren't any new games developed that appeal to me ever again, there are so many games in existence already that my lifetime still isn't enough time to discover all the great ones.

[Start_Running]

I suppose when you identify yourself as a gamer and that defines some core part of you, one feels obligated to game.