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 have a very similar experience to @Zarxrax. When I was younger, I’d play just about anything I could get my hands on. But now, it’s like you, where 99% of what’s out there doesn’t interest me.
I think this happened for a few reasons for me:
Games are a pretty big time commitment compared to other media, and my time has only become more valuable as I get older. I’m just not willing to invest it in a game that isn’t really scratching an itch effectively
There are more games out now than ever before in history. Combined with the previous point, there’s never been a better time to be picky.
AAA games are stagnating pretty badly due to profit incentive. While there a still some that break the mold and show artistic value, most of them are so commodified and painfully derivative, it’s difficult for an older gamer who has already played things like it to get excited
I’ve become more attuned to my preferences in genre, and know what I will and will not enjoy, which is something I didn’t have as much when I was younger, since everything was still relatively new and therefore, interesting enough to play.
But this last one is the biggest reason for me: games are not reaching the potential they have locked within them.
I say that as someone who is a massive fan of storytelling, good writing, and immersion in games. Compared to books and movies, writers are still given extremely low priority in the gaming industry, which results in a tremendous amount of cognitive dissonance, simplistic writing, and a lack of innovative gameplay inspired by said writing.
Indies have been the most willing to experiment, but that’s mostly with pure mechanics or themes, and writing is still often neglected.
There have been a few titles that I think reach that potential, but most of them are quite old now. With so few to truly tickle me in that way, I’ll instead opt for arcade type games that manage to create a tight gameplay loop, as it let’s me not lament the lack of a good story so much.
Disco Elysium (even though I personally didn’t really care for the game due to the setting, the writing is undeniably high quality)
A Mind Forever Voyaging
All of those games have, IMO, a tremendously good sync between gameplay and story, where everything lines up to the point where you can become fully absorbed into whatever experience the writer/designer crafted. I would say Thief accomplishes it the best, while Mafia’s and Deus Ex’s clunky gameplay hold them back, but I can see what they were trying to achieve, and overall are close enough to my ideal.
Oddly enough I actually pre-ordered a physical copy of Primordia, and got a ways into it before stopping for some reason. I should really go back and finish it!
I think BeamNG.drive fits your request. I’m not sure how accurate the model is, but it tries to model car crashes and damage based on a bunch of factors.
What, and I can’t state this clearly enough, the FUCK did I just play?
I wasn’t prepared to have the history of punching explained to me on Mars in a frog platformer.
My only word if caution is that the game will start you on Scout, and it feels miserable. You’ll unlock Gunner pretty quickly, so it doesn’t hurt for too long. The Warthog is completely cracked. If you see it, take it. Have fun, miner!
This (sandbox games that are all about “pure” gameplay, where the narrative is made by the pseudo-random events) is my bag!
In no particular order except for #1, these are my top-10:
KenshiPost-apocalyptic alien planet sandbox that can be a colony simulator, a faction-combat game, an exploration and boss-fighting game, and so much more. This is by far and away my TOP recommendation.
RimworldDwarf Fortress-like colony simulator set on proc-gen alien planets. Supremely mod-able.
StarsectorSandbox space game with a bit of everything. You can play it in so many ways, and there are so many encounters and missions and things to do. Tons of mods.
Mount and Blade: WarbandA medieval-combat “simulator” where you lead a… Warband of soldiers around a faux medieval world. First-person combat with a lot of great complexity. Supports mods.
Derail ValleyA train-driving simulator, where you just take contracts to haul stuff between towns/stations/etc. Multiple engines to drive, and a lot of cool physics to contend with.
Project ZomboidZombie apocalypse survival simulator, with multiplayer. Lots of mods.
SporeA sandbox classic, where you usher a species as it evolves from protozoa to being an interstellar species.
The Sims 3Playing house for adults (and kids). Build a house, decorate it, get a good job, have kids and pets. The unattainable Millennial fantasy.
StarboundUniverse exploration sandbox, with a bunch of humanoid aliens you have to ally with to defeat a big monster thing. Moddable.
X4: FoundationsEconomic simulation sandbox set in space. Build stations, ships, influence wars between empires using economic sway… Very very slow, but fulfilling.
Minecraft. Even with all the shitty updates there is so much to be done in Minecraft that it’s honestly mind boggling. Almost anything is possible especially with mods. Only downside is Microsoft’s greedy ass owns it
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