Live service games that start getting long in the tooth adding too much content.
There’s plenty to hate on with Dead by Daylight, but I was at one point pretty good at it both killer and survivor. Eventually I started to feel there were too many perks and characters to keep track of and I lost interest.
I felt the same about Team Fortress 2 when they started adding new weapons. That’s probably not a popular opinion but the initial updates tying weapon unlocks to achievements really soured me on the game, permanently. I stopped playing.
Games that don’t allow you to pause and skip cutscenes.
I don’t want to have to miss half of the cutscenes just because someone interrupted me or the phone rang or something half way through. Alternatively, when I’m on my 23rd replay of a game, I do not want to have to sit through every cutscenes I already know by heart.
Oh, and modern games that allow manual saving at any time, not having any kind of regular auto save (looking at you here BG3).
If you’re fine from a gameplay pov with having the player save whenever, then there’s really no good reason whatsoever to not have one or two auto save slots that get saved every 10-20 minutes or so, at least as an option in the menu. ESPECIALLY in open world games (like BG3…) where you can easily go literal hours at a time without hitting a checkpoint save. And yes, I am still salty over learning about BG3’s lack of regular auto save when I lost like 2.5 hours of progress on my first run.
I’m left-handed. Key rebinding has gotten better in some ways throughout the evolution of gaming, but it has recently regressed in the past few years.
I make custom layouts for every game I play. IJKL to move, Semicolon to sprint, Quote to crouch, M to interact, etc. I find many games where “I” is hard-bound to inventory, some bindings overlap keys I’ve bound with no way of fixing without going outside the game, some keys are unable to rebound entirely in-game, some keybindings menus require jank to actually work, some keybindings menus completely glitch out as I change entries, some games require .ini edits, some keys seem like they are working fine rebound, but completely bug out in unique ways, some games allow keys to be bound with modifiers (e.g. Shift + Mouse Button) and some don’t, and so forth.
It’s very frustrating. I can only imagine what people with physical disabilities and assistive devices deal with if it’s this hard for me. I’ve tried using my right-hand for my mouse and WASD, but I get way too much pain doing so - even if I could properly learn to use a computer and game that way. I can’t use WASD and my left-hand on the mouse as it is incredibly painful.
I just have to imagine this is all the case because QA is nonexistent and developers are overworked.
When the game let’s you rebind some but not all keys it is like spraying lemon on the wound, at least when no key is refundable you can guess they could not be arsed to do it, but when they just do a shitty job on it is like it was almost there, why not do it right?
Yeah, really. Like a lot of games refuse to let me (re)bind:
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Like c’mon. I need those keys to be modifiable. It feels like laziness and is sometimes the result of a console-focused development cycle (with PC as an afterthought). They add all the major keys, but those special characters?
If the game supports voice chat in-game, then it is not ok to play background music while talking in-game. Just mute yourself and don’t make us listen. It’s the same as people walking around neighborhood and blasting their music from their phone as if they’re the only ones with ears.
Currently, I’m replaying The Witcher 3, and the main annoyance I’m having right now is not being able to pause during timed choices (and timed choice are a whole other problem in games too).
You can pause during non-time-sensitive dialog choices, but not during timed ones. I don’t know why they specifically deny pausing for those. Maybe to prevent people from pausing and thinking it out? But, some of these times sensitive choices greatly effect the story. I want to be able to think about these choices when they effect the story.
Timed choices have their place in games as a valid storytelling mechanism but please not in my open-world, RPG, fantasy hack-n-slasher.
Like if I’m playing a role I need to think about my choice and make sure it fits the character I’m trying to play. I’m not playing myself so my knee-jerk choice might not be the same as what I’m trying to experience.
I mean that is kinda exactly what the developers want to provoke with timed dialogue choices. Timed dialogue choices are a game design mechanic to try and get a player to answer on instinct/gut feeling, rather than over analysing and trying to optimise the dialogue.
You not getting to think about it long is very much the intended effect, and allowing a pause would entirely defeat it.
There are of course definite accessibility concerns that should be considered and worked around, such as people with dyslexia who may not be able to properly parse the dialogue options before the timer runs out, but as a game mechanic I think forcing the player to pick on instinct definitely has merit. It helps make the game more immersive, because it puts you under the same pressure to react as your character is in the story right now, and it can lead to more interesting and ultimately enjoyable games by forcing players to potentially make a mistake, and having to find out a way to deal with the fallout.
Oh most of the games I play are also super old (2011, and whatnot) but I said 2023 because at least back then I’d play a random new indie game every so often
when you can rebind movement keys (I’m an esdf player as opposed to wasd), but it does not rebind consistently. So a map is panned using wasd still, or menu browsing is, or even basic movement in a mini-game, or driving using a vehicle etc. It seems developers rarely really test anything but wasd…
Worst was cyberpunk, which always jettisoned me from the car in a super dramatic leap… on every right turn. XD
edit: also, when rebound keys are not represented correctly in tutorials or prompts… ugh.
I think in cyberpunk its because cars use a separate control set that can/has to be separately rebound. Its so you can use a joystick for driving and a gamepad for walking
Putting too many game mechanics into a game, like fighting system, bonus crystals, combinations of stuff to upgrade other stuff, plus pets, minigames, repetable quests, party combinations, crosswords, and more, in a single player game especially.
Yeah, I particularly hate when crafting mechanics get shoehorned into a game, simply because market studies told the publisher that games with crafting sell better. Especially when the crafting system is clearly an afterthought, and the game is entirely unbalanced as a result of it.
For example, the game had crafting added after the inventory system was designed. And crafting doesn’t really become viable until near the end of the game, because it requires a wide variety of materials and you only have access to half of them for the first half of the game. So now you’re drowning in crafting materials that are taking up inventory space/weight for the entire first half of the game.
Another example, devs had an end game build in mind, but decided to lock it behind 35 hours of crafting material grinding. Crafting isn’t really used for anything else in the game, but the end game builds all require a ton of extra grind, with obscure materials hidden behind rare or secret enemy drops. The only purpose is to artificially inflate the playtime, so the publisher can claim the game has “over 100 hours of gameplay” in the ads.
Another example, devs were told to add crafting after the game’s equipment was balanced. In order to encourage players to actually use the crafting system, it is full of super overpowered gear that completely wipes the floor with anything else in the game. Or inversely, the devs didn’t want you to be able to grind materials for gear before you were “supposed” to have it, so all of the crafting gear is subpar at best.
That shit has ruined so many single player games that were otherwise fine.
I think shotgun slugs would be good loot from a werewolf, but they should be a junk item or a crafting item to combine with gunpowder and casings to make new ammo, not ready to use shells that’s just silly why does a werewolf have those?
In Hades II, there is a zone which has sentient gold bag enemies and flood littered with gold. Neither of these things provide you gold apart from standard drop rates.
Wresting control away every time I take ten steps for some stupid exposition. Just leave me the fuck alone. Damn. I want to explore and discover stuff by, you know, playing the game.
This is why Final Fantasy is my favorite game in the series.
Far Cry 5 was the fucking worst with this. Every single thing you did added to a sort of “story progress” bar. And when it filled, you were forcibly dragged away to do a story mission. They literally sleep-darted you from off screen, and had you wake up at the start of the story mission. Like you couldn’t make a more comically overdone “get forced to do story mission” scenario if you tried.
The devs said it was because they wanted to avoid that he Skyrim Syndrome, where players quickly forget about the main story in favor of all of the side content. But the implementation resulted in player agency taking a cudgel to the teeth every few hours.
I didn’t play Detroit for so long because I expected it to be like most other interactive movie type games where you maybe make 3 total decisions that actually have an effect on the whole story. Checked it out on PS+ and still felt that way up until I finished the first level and it shows the fucking massive decision tree of all the possible choices you could have made in that segment and was blown away. Hella them I didn’t even notice were viable things I could have tried.
This is what these kinds of games should be. It’s fucking amazing. It actually gives replayability to something that, in the past, was more of a one and done deal.
Bruh, yes, I know exactly what you mean. I’m actually getting ready to replay D:BH again because the last time I played was about 1.5+ years ago, and I think I’ve finally forgotten all my decisions. My husband said I got one of the best endings he’s ever seen someone get, and I really didn’t want to be tempted to answer everything the same. There’s SO MANY ways that game can go/end, and I want to explore them all!
I made the mistake of playing Until Dawn first, then D:BH, and then I downloaded the Dark Pictures Anthology and played 2 out of the 4 of those. I’m sure those would have hit different had I played them first, but knowing that the ending is ultimately the same no matter which direction you go definitely ruins the replayability. All 4 run into the very issue you were worried about with Detroit.
OP, you would love the Steam Deck, or in a few months the Steam Machine. Or any other PC with Steam for that matter. With Steam Input you can rebind the controls of even the most stubborn game.
Money. Disabled unemployed. Very limited funds that are pretty much keeping me fed and the occasional $5-$10 game on sale if I treat myself.
Steam Machines are just gonna be priced like a regular computer and still needs a setup. If I’m playing PC I’m using my mouse and keyboard. I much prefer it over a controller with my fingers how they are.
Back then I would play games for hours and hours to the point my parents would get angry at me. Now above my 18s I can not even play more than 50 minutes because for some reason everything quickly gets boring.
Something inside you is not being satisfied by gaming, and you need to listen to that voice. It doesn’t mean you won’t ever enjoy games again, but it also means you need to find that fulfillment in order to enjoy them again.
I recommend figuring out what the last thing you did was that you really felt free from outside thought and were focused on, or what left you feeling satisfied with your own efforts. Was it an art project? Something you cooked? A hike you went on?
Your brain is screaming at you to make something of your experiences, to have a sense of growth and proceeding forward towards a goal. It doesn’t have to be career or studying either, we’re not wired to feel fulfilled from answering the phone for 8 hours a day, nor are we wired to feel fulfilled extracting virtual loot, at least not long-term, we’re wired to feel fulfilled creating things with our hands or moving our body.
I stopped enjoying games, so I started making games. Totally new experience, feels completely different and after getting past some initial hurdles of feeling overwhelmed, it’s now addicting. I have no idea if I’ll ever launch a real, finished game, but there’s incredible satisfaction in making your first hallway that you can run and jump through, it feels far different than buying and downloading even the most expensive commercial game release. I’ve played a thousand hallways and crates and jumping, but that first one I made myself beats them all. And now I have new appreciation for some indie game that some person made, I feel a connection and it makes games more enjoyable.
I used to draw a lot back then. My loss of interest for games gradually made me go back to drawing and I am fine with it, it is nearly a decade I have not drawn until I decided to work on something yesterday on a paper. Did my first dedicated drawing yesterday and I am planning to do more in the next weeks 🙂.
I still play games sometimes though (warframe, minecraft, worldox) but again just for a few minutes and rarely an hour or more.
That’s awesome, one day someone who can draw pictures with their hands will be seen like an ancient fucking wizard, do not abandon the Old Ways! Also, I highly recommend joining an art club, a forum or discord/chat group for art, whatever the genre is, social connection while being creative is a driving force that can open entire new avenues in your life :)
I have this feeling about niche, hardcore survival experiences and social games that have slow-burn like Project Zomboid or SCUM. It’s really hard to find someone who doesn’t just want instant satisfaction and action and wants to get lost in a world and enjoy the process instead of the objective.
Maybe it’s just the type of games you play that you’ve lost interest in. Steam has lots of demos for games from just about every gaming genre, so maybe try out demos for highly rated games of genres you don’t normally play. You may end up surprising yourself. Maybe you do like cosy games, or real time strategy, or management simulations, etc, but because you’ve never tried them, you never realized that you like them.
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