I myself get bored of the games quickly, imo. I guess when I feel like devs are ‘cheating’ I lose interest.
Some examples:
Batman Arkham Asylum: Gave up I got to Killer Croc level. Didn’t like how the stealth/action game turned into precision platformer.
Batman Arkham City: Stopped at Mr. Freeze level. I looked up how to beat him and turns out I had to follow specific moves to defeat him. Ain’t got time for that tbh.
Spider-man: Stopped at Rhino + Scorpion level. Again with getting Rhino to headbutt a wall, under heavy load to drop it on him to stun him and beat him up? Bye.
Life Goes On: Gave up on a level where timing was crucial. Until that point I focused on steps to solve the puzzle but at this stage, even though I knew what to do, timing was too important and I haven’t got those reflexes or patience to replay the level again and again.
You see a new game as an investment. Nothing wrong with that. There’s different genres to games and once you’ve explored them it can be hard to put up with something you feel you’ve already played and that one of your favorites did better. You’re probably at the point where you’d have more fun playing with friends / exploring an mmo. Stay curious and be bold.
I realized that I need a certain amount of time with a game to warm up to it or else I‘m always drawn back to known quantities. Seems like playing things I know is just more comfortable. I also realized that I really like racing games for a similar reason: I don‘t have to learn anything new about the mechanics/game, I just have to drive.
There’s no wrong or right way to enjoy games, and so many ways to find enjoyment in those games. Some people love the novelty, or the stories, graphics, music…
Based on the favorites you’ve mentioned, I feel like you really enjoy specific mechanics or the physical experience/practice of the game. Back in the day, I could spend hours running through Diablo 2, and that was entirely based on button mashing and running. Something about its pacing, interface, and the match of its challenge with my coordination just hit exactly right - difficult enough to be rewarding, easy enough that repeatedly dying didn’t frustrate me, and always another fight just seconds away. I played that for years.
Now that game launchers track my time, it’s really obvious that I like certain games for their mechanics - mostly Skyrim & Fallout - other games for sandbox/crafting - Valheim, Rimworld, X4 - hundreds of hours in each, even though I’ll try other games, at least long enough to finish their stories, once. Sometimes just because I paid for it & feel obligated to get to the end. It’s OK to have favorites.
Fair, Satisfactory is a lot heavier on the hardware for sure. But it’s a first person 3D game with a much bigger emphasis on beauty.
I find top down to be less interesting. I like to build factories in 3D with many vertical manufacturing layers in addition to spreading out horizontally. I think 3D factories is a more fun challenge. To each their own though. They’re both interesting games.
Dyson Sphere Program is 3rd person 3-D and it has combat these days. I’m actually wondering what they haven’t implemented yet, since it’s still early access AFAIA.
I find the same thing, but I’m really questioning the taste of others.
Never really did PC gaming, bought a SteamDeck to get into that ecosystem after seeing all the posts about “ZOMG! STEAM SALE!!!”
Are people just… not discerning? Do you just buy ANYTHING because it’s on sale?
The signal to noise ratio on Steam is just nuts to me… Yeah, some game might be $1.99, 90% off, but if it’s not worth the bandwidth to download, why are you bothering? Do you lack the ability to tell good games from bad games?
We don’t really teach appreciation of art enough. People unabashedly “hate watch” shows or go out to see blatant cash grabs in theatre, and buy games they don’t enjoy…
I’ve had arguments with friends who defend shows they admit have no redeeming value, and are only watching it because there’s a lot of it. Like there’s a hole in them that can only be filled with sufficient volumes of content. I can’t even talk to them anymore.
Art is in a way the study of choice. To simply make things without meaning anything by them, without doing anything on purpose except to make money, to me is little more than cheap nihilism - without adding to the conversation in the way that considered nihilism can.
A few game makers actually do contribute to the conversation of games as art, following on what came before and enriching us with new ideas. Those few should be followed closely and supported, when you find them.
82% positive just means that out of everyone who decided to buy it in the first place, 82% feel like they got what they expected. If you don’t expect greatness, then perhaps this game is exactly what you thought it’d be.
The thing is, there’s just so much stuff on Steam that even if you only care about the crème de la crème (hell, even if you only care about a specific genre), you’ll still find yourself with a wishlist longer than you’ll possibly have the time to play. I often go “ZOMG! STEAM SALE!!!” so in my case it’s slowly becoming a backlog but I do intend to play everything I buy.
Eh, I get it. There’s an overwhelming abundance of choice that’s growing faster than the average time it takes to form a connection with any one game. Why deal with the FOMO and misbuys if you know what works for you.
That doesn’t stop me from purchasing way too many (non-refundable) indie titles on the Switch, though. And I’m glad to say some of those feel like they’ll keep me hooked for a good while.
Still, nothing can ever top my love for one classic game in particular: AOE 1 (definitive edition). Why? (It’s unfair to the rest.) Years ago I used to play against my dad over LAN. It’s some of the most fun we had together. Standing outside while he took a smoke break mid-game, I’d explain how I was about to wipe his whole civilization off the map in ways he couldn’t possibly imagine. Sometimes when I miss him, firing up AOE lets me feel closer to him again.
All this to say, nostalgia is a tough bar for any new game to beat.
That's so sweet bonding with your dad over that game. May you retain that memory forever ❤️
I'm with you. The concept of gaming as a disposable medium never really worked for me either. The idea of going through my wishlist like it's a watchlist—beating a game only to move on to the next was just never really for me.
If I don't think a game is built to be organically replayable, I'll probably just lose interest in buying it.
I wonder what separates games from movies as disposable media, especially with games that are meant to be cinematic/telling a story. Like Spec Ops is loosely based on Heart of Darkness and has a strong narrative, but without that is just a sort of middling shooter. So once you know the story it doesn’t have a ton of replayability, but it’s still impactful in the way a good movie is.
Limit Internet usage and avoid games and other entertainment for a few days, then go on itch.io and just play whatever. Not because it looks cool, not because it’s popular. Just anything.
Not to rain on that particular advice—it may actually work for others, I obviously do not know—but I did try that at some point, and got bored really quickly.
For anyone who hasn't tried it, I recommend doing it just to find out if you feel or notice anything interesting.
I usually only find like 2-3 interesting games out of 200, but the ones I did find were pretty sweet. Sometimes you’re not lucky and exclusively play trash.
I mainly enjoy 2 types of games, ones with replayabilty (Stellaris, Rimworld, Slay The Spire, Roguelites in General, some RPGs) and short to medium single player games which I usually only play once. If you don’t like the second category, my recommendation is definitely the wrong approach, yeah
Lots of people have replied with similar experiences.
But personally? I’m having the time of my life currently playing tons of new games. I love trying new ones and getting surprised, and maybe falling in love with a genre I hadn’t considered before.
I feel totally contrary to what others are saying: as I’ve gotten older, I find myself enjoying games way more. My time is more valuable to me now than ever before, so I want to fill it with things that are joyful and meaningful. Often those things are art. Games to me have always been very special in the way they can deliver a powerful artistic experience.
I think they also have a special power to be blatant disgusting soulless cash grabs, to be fair. As the years go by I feel like many aspects of the industry have become particularly unpalatable. But many studios are still releasing good games, and so far I’ve continued to find joy in seeking them out.
Not too many people on this post are actually listing games. So, in no particular order, here are some games I absolutely adored that I played recently. Games from the last ~year that have touched and moved me in some way. Experiences I don’t think I’ll forget.
Sable
Chicory: A colorful tale
Manifold Garden
Signalis
OneShot
The Talos Principle
Night in the Woods
Citizen Sleeper
Webbed
Rusted Moss
Armored Core VI
Iron Lung
Slay the Princess
Ghostrunner
Mundaun
Crosscode
Eastward
Animal Well
Pseudoregalia
Dave the Diver
Nine Sols
Patrick’s Parabox
Cocoon
Smushi Come Home
Not to imply that I expect you or anyone else to take a deep look here or to try any of these games. Just wanted to throw my perspective out there, and to show the games in concrete terms that have left an impression and continue to motivate me to keep looking and keep trying more
Yea! An all time favorite, but I played it a long time ago. I wanted to keep my little list just to recent games. Irl I am very annoying about recommending OW to everyone, as well as its dlc which continued to blow me away
I love that you're having a different experience! This is exactly why I posted about this: I have found that my taste in almost everything else has become broader as I aged, so I was wondering what's the deal with my uncharacteristically narrow taste in video games.
Sadly, I tried most of the games on your list, and found out they're not for me. I'll try the rest though! Thank you for taking the time to list them.
I recommend CrossCode, if you haven’t tried it. It’s a top-down twinstick shooter/fighter so the gameplay is comparable to some of those you’ve listed and the story is long and unforgettable, with tons of fun optional content. Probably my favorite game narrative; there’s nothing like it.
Some other favorites of mine are Revita, but there’s little in terms of story, and Outer Wilds, but it’s a slow burn. And if you’re looking for games to play with friends, these are some of my favorite multiplayer indie games:
Deep Rock Galactic
Roboquest
Gunfire Reborn
Don’t Starve Together
Risk of Rain 2
(Also Starbound, Terraria, & Core Keeper but those are bigger time investments)
Saw where you mentioned being into fighting games, action games, & shmups, so I wonder which games you find yourself bouncing off of more.
Along with reasons other have mentioned that are similar to my own (many games demanding a lot of time, better finding what games really click with me, etc.), I’ve also been put off by other details (hyper-monetization, big budget photorealistic & cinematic styles, etc.). Personally it’s less being into very few games, and more being into more specific kinds of game design and creative style, which are sometimes harder to find.
Like not being into drawn out progression systems immediately narrows one’s options pretty significantly, especially among many recent games.
Oh, absolutely. It probably has a lot to do with falling out of favor with current design and monetization trends, I agree.
Some of the games I've been playing for years: Guilty Gear, Under Night In-Birth, Bayonetta, The Wonderful 101, Crimzon Clover, Smash TV, and Catherine.
Mainly games built for replaying, so arcade puzzlers like Super Hexagon/Tetris Effect/Mixolumia/Equaline/etc, roguelikes such as FTL/BrogueCE/etc, or strangesims like Powder Toy or Vilmonic. Although even with those it’s more occasional, like when I’m uncertain of what I’m wanting to do.
I think my tastes have remained mostly the same, it’s the industry that is losing me as a customer for two reasons:
more and more games now are based on shit that I hate - multiplayer, GaaS, micro transactions, copy and paste gameplay mechanics with new coats of paint, etc.
studios that used to make my favorite games have really gone downhill over the last decade, like Bethesda, Bioware, and maybe CDPR (hopefully the cp2077 release was just a fluke but we’ll see).
maybe CDPR (hopefully the cp2077 release was just a fluke but we’ll see).
Cyberpunk 2077 was Witcher 1 repeat tbh, people forgot Witcher 1 was a mess at launch since they patched it up a bunch and some other stuff to try to make amends
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