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.
I loved the original and the Ezio titles, found the American Revolution one ran a little too much on rails (here you ride with Paul Revere, and here’s an unskippable ghost-train ride of a sequence where you have to shoot some goons; meh), and found the Victorian London one a bit dull. I haven’t yet played Black Flag, but may do so next, given that people rate it, though am not excited by any more recent ones.
Unity is really good, contrary to its reputation (at least on PC). The parkour flies flows nicely and doesn’t suffer from the grappling hook bypass of Syndicate, it’s still the best-looking game in the series, there’s a lot of attention to detail and the story doesn’t overstay its welcome, even if it sometimes annoys with time jumps and the series habit of having to cram in historic events that you already mentioned. Yes, the map is overflowing with icons, but at that point in the series, that’s to be expected.
Compared to Black Flag, parkour, combat, stealth (especially stealth), presentation, architecture and NPCs are vastly superior, but it’s less whimsical and of course doesn’t have those fun (if repetitive and far too easy, unless you go for the big ships right in the beginning) arcadey ship battles and boarding attacks. Black Flag is definitely better at hiding and spreading its collectibles out, making discovering them a bit more of an occasion instead of an (admittedly still highly addictive) checklist chore due to its larger and more varied game world as well as the novelty of being able to leave your ship at any time, even in the middle of the ocean or near a tiny sand bank to go out and explore.
Yeah sorta. I write the review as I go. Whenever a thing jumps out at me or I have moments where I’m focusing on a specific thing frequently, I’ll write about a paragraph about it and then move on. Sometimes a long one, sometimes a short one. Once I’m finished with the game, I go back through and edit and restructure and get rid of some things that ended up not being important or change some of my thoughts based on how the game develops. Sometimes, early on, something jumps out at me and I write something about it, and then later on that thing gets fixed and I just get rid of the whole paragraph.
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.
I can play any number multiple repetitive/nonlinear games that don’t require keeping track of a story or events. So racing games, most FPS, etc. Right now I can switch between Helldivers 2, Call of Duty, Forza Horizon, Valheim, Tekken, and so on at the drip of a hat. I do end up customizing controls so they are similar within a genre, so HD and COD get trmapped to my standard first person shooter control scheme.
But I cannot stay engaged with more than one game that has a storyline/things to rememeber like the Witcher, Red Dead Redemption 2, or Horizon Zero Dawn even if they have handy in game reminders for what to do. Switching between stories is my dealbreaker for playing at the same time. I also have trouble sticking with a story long enough to complete those types of games which is a bummer because I like the idea of them.
I basically grew up with Altair’s and Ezio’s AC. Had a hard time getting into AC3, but when it clicked - it clicked. Black Flag was the shit, I reached 100% twice, which is a big deal for me.
The new ACs (Origin and forth) just don’t do it for me. It feels extremely cheap and overwhelming at the time. The scope of these games is so gargantuan, and it’s too much for their own good. These games are just clunky, imbalanced, and extremely unpolished.
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