I separate games into two categories basically: Games I can play any time/in-between other games, and games I need to follow until the end or I forget everything and have to start over.
I only play 1 big game at a time if I can help it until I either finish it or lose interest. That said, I can play as many secondary games as I want like Binding of Isaac, UFO 50, Balatro, and whatever multiplayer game I’m into right now.
Especially as I got more busy IRL it became really annoying to play a bunch of big games at once. I ended up restarting Ori Will of the Wisps because I came back to it later and forgot where I was and what I was doing.
Add on to this: Slay the Spire, Rouge Legacy 2, that card game… Balatro? Pretty much any rogue like. Hades… Etc.
Secondary games are my main. Sometimes I will play a good story game but it gets broken down into like 1-2 hr segments and only if I can stay awake after everyone goes to bed.
When it comes to "games I need to follow until the end or I forget everything and have to start over" that's when I really focus down the games.
Story heavy games like the Ace Attorney series or Danganronpa are best marathoned so you don't forget the small details that matter (at least until you clear the chaper). Likewise, puzzle heavy games, specially ones that build on your knowledge like The Witness, Tunic, Return of the Obra Dinn or Chants of Senaar are ones I also focus down so I don't forget vital info involved in even playing them.
A few. I’m playing through the bonus campaigns of Etherfields, while looking longingly at ISS Vanguard which I haven’t picked up in a week, while playing one-shot games of stuff like Twinfold and Harmonies and Balatro and Slay the Spire (both table and phone). Finished Silent Hill 2R recently and that was awesome. Sometimes when I’m up to it I’ll break out some sort of random Final Girl game.
I know this isn’t true for everyone, but narrative solo board gaming is really, really good for me, and lets me do a lot of gaming that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to do, what with my brain being all busted with stroke damage.
I work a full time job, but I don't have responsibilities like children, so I have way more free time to play games.
I'm currently playing, Kingdom Hearts 2 and Bug Fables, alongside some friends so we can talk about it together.
With my partner, I'm playing, I was a Teenage Exocolonist, discussing our choices and how our game diverged.
I'm also playing solo: Octopath Traveler 2 and Lies of P.
I'm basically hopping around the various games constantly. I'll play one chapter of Bug Fables, then hop over to Lies of P and clear an area and defeat the boss, then jump over to Octopath Traveler 2 to clear a chapter or two from some characters.
Typically I play Marvel Rivals with my friend group, as it is one of the few multiplayer games these days that supports at least 5 people on a team (we already tried League, Paladins, etc and got tired of that real quick).
On my own, I sometimes feel like playing a retro game, so I have been playing Legend of Dragoon, but recently my save file got corrupted somehow so I haven’t restarted. Instead I switched to playing a less retro game, Need for Speed Carbon. Its been maybe 10 years since I played it last, so it has been interesting dealing with the horrendous rubberbanding and random crashing on PC. I also like to play Goddess of Victory NIKKE as a mobile game whenever I have down time but am away from home.
But I don’t think it is atypical to really focus on playing one game at a time. I’d say that would actually be quite unusual and likely only done by people who have a job playing multiple games per day (a not so good reviewer, streamer, etc).
I mean, you should always check your backups and make 2 for good measure, but supposedly some of these newer ones are made for archival and claim between 10-100 years. Never trust such claims without verification but if true could be the best thing for archival besides punching bits in stone.
heck yeah! my buddies were making fun of me for trying to get an old BD rom to play nice with proxmox, and i have a stack of old bdr’s from 10 years ago lol
I play at most 2-3 games at the same time. 1 story game that requires concentration (currently "Pentiment"), one game I play online with friends (currently "Return to Moria") and one simple game when I don't want to think too much (currently nothing, I just finished "Vampire Survivors")
I'm also a dad with a full time job. As for how I pick my games, if I do the same thing too long I get bored and don't finish the game. And I like finishing games. So I don't do two horror games back-to-back, or two survival games, or two FPS, etc. I like to switch up. Before "Pentiment" my focus games were "SOMA", "Astroneer", "Conarium", "Green Hell", "The Talos Principle" and "Prey". So, quite varied I think.
If you get paralyzed picking which story game to play next, maybe getting really picky about which ones make the list and then literally roll the dice or use an RNG generator to pick one. If they are all good, and your gameplay spread across a long time with work and kids, then any "mood" you are in, in the moment, will be averaged out over time. If you get into a game and find it really just isn't for you, give yourself permission to move on.
In short, make the decision less consequential to avoid paralysis. That was my method anyway, being in similar situation with life time constraints.
30s, New homeowner, wife, house needs repair, cars need repair, wallet needs repair, someone has to cook, full work week, 90 minutes spent on commuting. No kids or pets, but I feel we might have similar availability. And I’m always wondering the same because I’ll never have the time to play like I did as a teen. But, here’s what I have. PC and Xbox.
I generally play one story game at a time. I’ll play for a couple weeks or couple months. I just try to make progress and enjoy it for what it is, not set any goals. How would I know how much time I need anyway? Could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours per session. Something like Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, Tomb Raider(don’t worry, I have bigger triggers next). I’m hoping this month I “finally get around” to Fallout 3, NV, or 4.
I have other options, though, depending on immediate time availability. Some borderline storyless games (maybe with cosmetic reward progression) for the shortest of times or highest of mental fatigue (forza horizon, fortnite, rocket league, ace combat, borderlands). My two slow burn games are Valheim and Elite Dangerous. They both take probably an hour to get up to speed if I’ve been out of it for a few weeks, but I’ll be good for a week between sessions after that. I’ll sink 2+ hours per session into those. Regarding remembering controls, ED amuses me because I use an Xbox controller to play. Every button is mapped and there’s a combo for every (ABXY) + (D-pad or bumpers). 14 buttons and 24 combos. Putting the controller in my hand unlocks subconscious memory of most of them. Even in other games where crouch and jump are shuffled around, it only takes a couple mistakes for me to remember.
It’s not an impressive list, but I try to not beat myself up over it. I’m busy, I’m tired. I stopped being elitist about the Epic and Ubisoft bullshit because I don’t have time to waste giving a fuck. There’s 100 better similar games but this is what I’m doing. I’m sitting down for a good time, not a long time.
Another aspect I had to reexamine was my notion of productivity, progression, and entertainment. Did gaming fulfill a fantasy version of real “campaign” progression? Does the building and repair I do in real life actually contribute to the same feeling of accomplishment as beating a game? Does socializing in real life fulfill that need for story progression? So far… Yes. Mostly. The fantasy game version definitely looks cooler.
Only other comment is about not choosing a title. I wouldn’t play a game I started because I needed to play a newer game before I was left behind. I think it’s been 2 years since I last bought a game. I can’t keep up. I can’t finish what I have. So I more or less decided to work through my library for now. It’s hard to get over the fomo of skipping titles or being multiple titles behind in a series. But so what? I have hyped games from 2015. I have hyped games from 2020. And from 2010. And from 2005. I’m missing newer games hyped in 2023. But in 2026, there will still be hyped games. And 2030. And 2035. I don’t have the time for every title. So I’ll see what’s out when I have room again. For now, it’s just about 4 story game so cycle through. Doesn’t really help you decide, but maybe makes it easier to avoid not deciding.
Just one. Playing two at once would be tricky, I’d need like a second computer or something. And switching back and fourth between keyboards really quickly would probably lead to lots of deaths.
There are always a few fighting games I’m playing; typically Skullgirls, Guilty Gear Strive, and Street Fighter 6. When a new one comes out, I tend to spend a few dozen hours learning it before moving on.
Then there’s a story/campaign game. Right now, it’s Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Then there’s a “shut your brain off”/“second screen”/“podcast” game. Currently that’s Borderlands. It doesn’t mean that I’m always listening to something while playing it, but it does mean I don’t have to think too hard to enjoy it, and I can consume it like junk food. I may not have the highest opinion of these games, but it’s good to have some of them as palate cleansers.
Then there’s whatever game I’m in the middle of playing co-op with friends. Currently that’s V Rising.
The above is what my plan is, but it rarely goes that way. Often times I’m in the middle of a campaign/story game, and then the new, shiny thing came out before I finish it, and I can’t help myself but to start up the new one too, so I’ve accumulated a running total of other games I’m in the middle of and haven’t finished. As for time management, mine is a DINK household, so there’s plenty to go around, even after social gatherings and such, but our schedules tend to be fluids that will expand to fit their containers. I’ve begun to arrive at something similar to an Agile board, if you’re familiar with software development. I’ve got a number of games that I intend to finish before the month is out, and based on HowLongToBeat data, I’m estimating how much time I’ll probably have to play them and how long it will likely take me to finish them. This is a new development for me from the past few months, but it’s starting to pay dividends…then again, that may also have to do with new releases slowing down at the end of the year.
I’m also using the same system as you. Currently I’m playing Skyrim as a story/ambiance game and Doom 2 (community maps/mapsets, which are releasing every day) as forever playable game. I have time to play more, but I somehow settled on this as I find it very comfortable and enjoyable. Before current Skyrim playthrough I played Steins;Gate and before that original Silent Hill 1 and so on. As infinite games I also sometimes play Quake (community maps/mapsets) and modded Minecraft.
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Aktywne