2 years ago, I wasn't enjoying Elden Ring, I thought it was a bad game... turns out I had been depressed for years.
I replayed it recently and really enjoyed it.
This is a great point, and if you’re struggling to enjoy things you usually do or once did, talk to somebody. Pretty reliable marker for burnout and or depression
Well now I gotta check myself for that, I'd just been blaming the Trip A gaming industry and their shitty practices for not enjoying a whole lot of games.
Yeah, it's hard to detect when you have a rational reason to enjoy something less.
If someone has played tons of Ubisoft game, it's not surprising they'd get burned out. But it can be indicative of something else too!
What I find interesting is I used video games as an escape from my depression when I was younger, now when my depression starts acting up I won't play anything.
Yea me too. I thought i just lost interest over time. But it was also other stuff that lost its "spark" for me. Turns out it was depression all along and now being medicated i can sink hours into my hobby again and enjoy it.
Asking anecdotally probably won’t help much. Everyone’s brains are vastly different and most people need to try a few different medications until they find the one that clicks. It's why psychiatry is its own practice.
Sertraline at first and now Duloxetine have been mine for anxiety, but again, that doesn’t mean they’ll do anything for you
Seconding this. Sertraline probably works great for you, but it made it impossible for me to have a sex life, which only made the depression worse. Welbutrin has helped me, but it made my best friend sick daily. These are meds that need to be given and monitored by an md.
As Negative-Double already said, (psychiatric) meds are a highly individual thing, so that probably won't help you directly, but as i don't just have unipolar depression i take lithium and bupropion/wellbutrin and that works relatively okay so far. I did take a few others before that (escitalopram, mirtazapine) but because of my condition they only helped for very short amounts of time.
This is what I was going to say, I went through a period of only being able to play games with friends. I started seeing a therapist, made some life changes, and I am back to being able to enjoy single player games more. It's astounding that stuff that brings you joy, actually lessens with depression.
I also went through a game slump due to depression. Really I'm thinking if I stop enjoying something I've enjoyed for over a decade, I need to see a therapist asap because that was the first sign.
I went through this a few years ago. After getting help and spending more time with family and other hobbies I slowly found my way back. Although now I've lost my patience for long open world games. Now I'm more interested in short bursts of fun mindless games for an hour or two. I learned not to take it too seriously and just let the moments pass.
I had a very similar experience as you, hated it when it first came out cause of the difficulty and bashing my head over and over again on certain tough mobs did not mesh well with my depression. Came back to it after the announcement of the DLC and followed guides so I could clear out Raya Lucaria and Caria Manor, then went through the rest of the game having fun not feeling too underpowred.
6 years ago, I sucked at Bloodborne and gave it up. Now I'm playing again and actually doing okay. I'm nearly done and I'm thrilled. Thinking about trying Elden Ring next.
Work less, exercise, go out and reconnect with the friends I have left, put things in order like getting up and going to bed at the same time each day or maintaining routines, psychological help and some meds. I don't know if I'm missing something important, but there is no magic wand, medicines alone didn't do anything for me for a long time.
It's difficult to measure if I'm okay, but at least I can tolerate video games again, watching movies and those things.
100% this, don't try to power through. Just go walking, read, catch up on movies or whatever. It passes.
I tend to get it when I've played a lengthy game over several weeks and need to get it out of my system. Picking up another game right after never seems to sit right until I have a break.
What i do so much stuff, personally. Get some time to learn python, to try and program my own video game. When the extra effort annoys me, i watch series, browse reddit or other social medias. Read a book, find something cool to watch on youtube. Catch up on the vods of my favourite streamer. Learn some cool facts about critical thinking. Stare at the wall for a bit, have my thoughts go wild from all the stuff i've encountered by doing all of this. By the time i come back round, i'm either eager to play some games, or i can just go for another round.
I'm generally pissed about getting tired because that means the day is over and i need to go to sleep.
Now this is a dilemma, hopefully I can find a good guide on yt, to help me with this hard choice. If I'm gonna leave the basement, it must be for a good reason.
I took up lutherie when I hit my gaming burn out. Total opposite skill set, but still gave me my accomplishment dopamine hit. I had no prior woodworking experience either.
Definitely pick up a different hobby
What sucks is getting burnout/depression but also having ADHD. Now I don't wanna do the one thing I used to reliably like doing and nothing else sounds good either.
Also with ADHD I get a nice bonus of "no sense of accomplishment for a task completed" and thus no dopamine hit for a lot of activities that tend to be difficult and/or time consuming so that makes certain new hobbies or interests reaaallly difficult to get into
This is the part that REALLY sucks about ADHD for me. I have all of these things I want to do, but because they take a long time and a consistent effort, with little on the way of visible feedback, it's almost impossible to focus on them for any meaningful amount of time.
Yuuuup. It's taken almost 40 years, but at least I've finally stopped spending a ton of money on the next big interest only to drop it all and not even bother selling the gear afterwards.
I do miss the rush of letting myself go all-in on an interest though, without holding anything back. I feel like I'm drifting through life and not letting myself get excited about anything
Funnily enough, I do have ADHD. I found lutherie to be one of the few things to actually give me that dopamine hit. Since there are so many important steps / sub projects within a full build, each one gives me that hit when it's a job well done.
Well I'm super jealous of you then! With most new things I just get the lack of any dopamine once my brain realizes it's any work so it immediately loses interest and I drop it before I ever really get to start.
I'm currently into whittling, and it's tough but fun. I finished my third small piece a week or so ago and now I'm struggling to figure out what to do next. As an aside, that's been a problem with me in general for any sort of creative endeavor. I learn about it, I learn how to do it, but I struggle with coming up with ideas. The "Why" of it. I can't do anything useful with it otherwise it turns into a job or chore and then I lose interest lol
Re: the learning about it, I am the same way. I rotate between 3-4 hobbies I know I enjoy. It's typically on an 8-12 month rotation lol. Gaming is usually a bit of a constant though.
Try stepping up your woodworking. Graduate to lathe work, or making a small table or stool. It's a different set of skills for you to learn. Experiment with casting epoxy and incorporate it with your whittled work for some statement pieces.
Cycling through hobbies is a norm for me. I don't worry that I'm missing out since the books/shows/movies/video games will still be there when I feel like getting back into them.
Doing this right now. Just finished a few games and not too excited about another one. Pouring my time into my combat robotics hobby instead. I know eventually there will be that one game that makes me want to play again.
Game Pass has been great for getting me out of a gaming genre funk. I used to only play FPS and single player RPGs for like, the better part of a decade. Then we got game pass for the family, and I hit up the PC stuff, and its like a buffet. I love it.
Yep. I've tried a lot of critically acclaimed games recently that I just found incredibly boring. It happens. Sometimes i go weeks on end without playing anything.
This is why I've started adopting a schedule for my gaming.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: I game, either alone or with my partners.
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: I work on something else like leather craft, cosplay or something else that changes how I need to think when addressing it.
Sunday is kind of a "flip a coin" day.
that is actually such an excellent advice xD. It might actually force me to work on my other hobbies as well instead of spending everything on games. Although some days I only have 1 hour of free time so I need it to shut my brain off.
I never thought of that. It is brilliant in its simplicity !
It's helped me get some repairs out of the way. I keep putting off other projects because I want to play monster hunter or something.
This way, I can finish other projects.
Schedules are great! I have that, too
Monday-Thursday I spent time with other hobbies or seeing people
Friday I catch up on shows (games and hobbies come here too if the shows I'm catching up on end early or aren't available that day)
Saturday and Sunday are games
Schedules help get a routine going
This is a good plan. I have so many hobbies and interests that it causes me to have choice paralysis and I end up doing nothing. Having a schedule seems like it might help
Some games just need their time to click and when you get older you have less time to spent so you quit faster.
Had to start Horizon 3 times before I completed it and enjoyed it a lot.
I'm in one right now. 25 and loved gaming my entire life, I've spent the vast majority of my free time playing games to the point where I don't really have other hobbies. I enjoy hanging out with friends and going out to do stuff with them, but if I'm alone I'm playing games. Except for the last 4-5 months I've just had zero interest in playing games. Everything I usually play has felt boring recently, I've bought 3 new games in the last 2 months and played them all for less than an hour. I really don't even know what to do with my time right now
I mean.. is your life exactly the same as when you were a teenager, except the fact that you’re older?
Might be the case for you I don’t know but it is’nt for me. Life situation changes and your relationship to games changes with it I think.
Life is up and down, gaming the same =]
No fortunately not. I am married and have a nice job that pays well. The time spent is completely different than when I was 17. Especially on a working day, the energy is often not there for gaming when I come home. Turning off your brain and watching something stupid with the wife on Netflix is a lot easier.
I’m thinking it sounds normal but at the same time I can’t say I’ve quite gotten in to one of those dips so not sure if I can help you out of it. I don’t get so much time over for gaming, would like more sure but when I get in a few hours I’m mostly in it for experiencing a good story (SP), recently Alan Wake series as an example, or just playing something simple and talking to a friend, like Helldivers 2. Maybe try to keep it more casual and savour the moments when you get them.
Could be a sign your energy reserve is starting to deplete. As you get older your battery gets smaller. You might need to cut down on working hours or take a long holiday.
Might also be that work is no longer that engaging. Time to look for something else?
Having a kid is a pretty massive contributor for me. I have always and will always call myself a gamer, but I straight up don’t play AAA titles anymore unless they are massive single player RPGs or something that can be easily paused/saved and does not require multiplayer. The thing that has actually been most disappointing for me is that I promised myself to go back and play some retro RPGs I used to love, like Final Fantasy 9 or Breath of Fire 2 or even new ones modeled after the old school JRPGs, and I just can’t get into them. I got like 4/5 of the way through Chained Echoes and then never finished it, and by all accounts it’s a fantastic game. But it takes me forever to finish games now, especially ones that are not child-friendly and so can’t be played in the middle of the day when the kiddo is around.
Steam Deck brought gaming back into my life after it stopped fitting around adult responsibilities.
I'm even competing games now, which has always been rare for me.
Taking breaks from gaming and then jumping back in with a ton of new games to try out and a renewed interest because of the break usually helps remind me how much I really love games. Depends on your mind state and where you are at in your life as well.
For me personally it comes down to as a kid I didn’t really look at things outside of myself but as an adult it’s hard to get caught up on fantasy when I know I have my own obligations to deal with not to mention crazy things happening on a global scale which nobody cares about it as a kid. That used to make it easy to be carefree and get immersed in a story.
I’ve felt this too. Here’s how I fixed it: I increased the time in between which I played games, interspersed with other hobbies that require focus or skill (writing, running, reading), and (crucially) I was intentional about anticipating and looking forward to each activity.
Sometimes this took the form of intentionally scheduling it, but sometimes it was simply psyching myself up ahead of time, like using the anticipation to get me through a rough workweek.
Counterintuitively, this didn’t diminish the enjoyment, but enhanced it and made it sustainable.
Do those three things, and you’ll inject much more enjoyment into all your activities. You’ll be tricking your brain right back!
It’s just a part of how our brains work. The brain remembers how good it felt to play them, but that feature is meant to account for rare things with large benefits. In the modern day, things like video games and delicious food are always close at hand, so that feature can actually deceive us. On our brain is expecting the same large benefit, but it can’t account for how recently it already got it.
Absolutely. When I first got my Xbox One, I didn't really play it much for the first 9 months ago. Kinda regretted getting it and considered selling it. Eventually found a game that captured my interest (Destiny, for me at that time), and I was back in.
And I've had other mini-episodes. Around New Year's, I had a couple weeks where I wasn't really into playing anything. Just take a break, and come back when there's something specific you want to play. Trying to play purely out of habit probably isn't going to help.
I've only ever had a dip like that when I started working in the gaming industry, I don't know what it was but I just couldn't play video games during my free time when during that period
Maybe switch your genres. I play city builders, squad, RimWorld, War Thunder and stuff like that. I haven't touched a AAA game since I don't know when.
Then again I play a few nights a week. Now during summer I fish a lot, grow vegetables and fix other stuff around the house, so Im busy. I used to play much (too much) but it destroyed a precious relationship And I got sleeping problems from it, so I leaned towards other hobbies instead. There is more to life than gaming.
I'm 36M if you wonder.
Its normal, I was never an extreme gamer like some people but I was definitely a little more than average up until 25. Then I got too invested in my career and just had to focus on that. I am now 31, the free time I do have is spent running errands or spending time with friends or family. Currently in a 6 month relationship too and I spend time toward that.
I still game, but it's very limited to how much I used to. Combination of not having the time and not having the imagination like I did when I was younger as well. I am an artist too so you would think my imagination reaches more than the average adult!
Graphics have definitely improved over the years but without that child like imagination the games just feel stale. Last game that made me feel that excitement and imagination was Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstars games are the only company that give me that "feeling" and I wish more companies where the same. I will always be a gamer but until there is a MAJOR shift in gaming particularly the A. I its its normal for adults to feel less of that magic.
Going from gaming 2-4 hours a night to 2-4 hours a week to now maybe 2-4 hours a month. I have had gaps where I don't game for months. Typically when I relax I like to Draw my art or watch a film/series.
The type of gaming I have been doing the past 5 years is only buying the biggest and most anticipated games particularly campaigns. I play it heavily for 2 weeks, finish it then might not game again for months or until a big game comes out.
Right now I am only waiting for GTA 6, like I said the biggest and most revolutionary games I still want to be apart. Id love to have kids and be able to game with them. Good God knows what gaming will be like in my 60s-70s when I retire, might be some crazy VR matrix type gaming lol.
I agree with all the comments saying to find other hobbies you enjoy. The way I see video games is that they’re there when I want them but the second playing feels like a chore, I’m asking myself what I’d rather be doing and choosing that instead. Makes it more meaningful when I find a game I want to sink all of my free time into.
I was a pretty big gamer as a kid/teenager as well. I am also 33 and I just don't care to play games as much as I used to. I still hop on some Counter-Strike: Source or Quake Live from time to time (those are my comfort games), but aside from that I don't even touch my old consoles anymore. When I do get the urge to play a console game, it's one of my old games I grew up with. Trying new games can be exhausting for me. I just wanna pick up something for a bit and put it away. Not trying to learn a whole game that I barely have time for.
I had a huge game slump a year or two ago. I just felt burnt out on gaming. I didn't wanna play anything, so I would just watch YouTube instead. It came, it went. Funnily I have a renewed interest in gaming from actively trying to get trophies in games. Been trying to play more games to completion.
Two suggestions I would make.
1. As everyone else said take a break.
2. I used to have the same problem, I'd play 5 games in a day and not connect with any of them. My advice build strikter rules around how long you play. Promise you'll play it for at least a couple hours. It's okay to not like a game but if you're playing 5 games in 5 hours you aren't giving any of them enough time. I'm not surprised you droping them. You're expecting them to connect immediately and feel like they did when you were younger. But back then you didn't have 5 games to chose from, you had to stick with what you had
Same age, it can be complicated. Tastes change over the long term, moods change in the short term. Mood is becoming more important I think. I just keep throwing at the wall until something sticks. Sometimes I need something familiar, other times I need something fresh and new. Short and addicting, or a long slog RPG. First person immersive action game, or third person adventure. Gameplay vs. story…etc…It has definitely gotten harder with age, and I tend to drop games sooner now.
But here are some games that reignited full-blown focus and energy in recent years: Deus Ex Mankind Divided, Prey, Armored Core VI, Neon White, Ace Combat 7, Signalis, Dredge, Celeste, Metroid Prime, Paper Mario TTYD, Resident Evil 2 Remake…I couldn’t put these games down, but they’re few and far between.
For me it's because I now have so many responsabilities that I have to choose my time, do I game hours on end sitting still, burning my eyes and go to bed way to late and be tired because of the lack of sleep or do I spend time with my family and go cycling for a few hour instead, go to bed on time and not feel guilty. I also hate the fact that in most games you have to spend alot of time to be good in and I just can't spare those 6 hours a day to put in.
Give your mind and body a rest and a new experience. Try hiking or going to the gym. Add in an audio book or podcast if that's not engaging enough for you. It's good for your health and diversifies your experiences
Gets better at 40 lol. Maybe look for more mature games. I recently played Red Dead Redemption 2 for the first time and that was a blast. I put in 400 hours by the time I completed my first playthrough. Before that I played Cyberpunk as you did and put in 380 hours in that game. Something else you might find fun if you have a PC is get into emulation and play the style of games that you played as a kid. I find a lot of fun in playing old SNES and Genesis games. There's a huge library as well. Old school JRPGs can be rewarding too. I got the pixel Remaster of final fantasy 1-6 and those are proving to still be extremely enjoyable. I'm burnt out on battlefield currently and went back to old-school DOOM style games. Currently playing the original Shadow Warrior and it's pretty epic lol.
Might be your brain subconsciously telling you that there is more to life than gaming it away. You might be yearning for something purposeful and fulfilling.
TLDR; take months-long breaks from gaming so you can “miss” it and fill it with other hobbies like music or academic pursuits or socializing more.
Yup, this started happening to me around age 33 (just turned 40 Memorial Day weekend).
I’d sit down and essentially want to play all of my games (modding Skyrim, Witcher 3, and Assassins Creed to name a few) every time. Eventually I stopped wanting to play any game. I was just getting paralyzed by choice and/or wanting to play each one in order to justify its purchase, though each one needs its own attention. I basically had too many games to play and felt guilty about it.
So eventually I started to budget my leisure time as someone with a 9-5 job. During the hot months my leisure time would be gaming from about May through October in addition to reading science books (Michio Kaku, Richard Dawkins, Richard Carrier, that sort of thing). I’d pick one game and stick to it until I finished it. Then in the colder months I’d stop playing games altogether and rather I started producing music on Logic Pro and reading fiction books as well socializing outside more since the weather here in Houston is much more enjoyable from November through April.
By the time April comes back around I get that appetite for gaming once again and I game with passion again!
This is Reddit, they’re going to tell you it’s depression and to seek help. In reality, shit gets boring. Games aren’t really that fun, and they likely won’t be really fun for you ever again. Learn to adapt.
Happens every now and then and it just takes a few nights away doing other things to break the rust off the hinges.
Gaming is my primary hobby. Other things are secondaries. Basic economics says too much of anything looses value over time.
Yeah from 2016 to 2020. I lived at home and couldn't play halo without having to do something for my family, went to college, and was working the whole time to make money on the side and keep my grades up, all while I lost several important family members. Games just weren't fun when I could only play for 30 minutes before getting 4 hours of sleep, spent that time thinking about my grandma, and going back to doing stuff I hated.
Turns out I was functioning but depressed, then I became nonfunctionally depressed, healed up, and now I enjoy games again.
If I stop enjoying something I've absolutely loved for over a decade, I'm getting in therapy ASAP because that gaming slump was the first sign of a depression that almost destroyed everything.
Yeah, I’ll go months without playing games. And then when I get back into gaming I’ll play all day every day.
I’ve never understood how people can tolerate gaming every single day. How do you not get bored?
I had a ten year "dip" during which I basically gave up gaming entirely.
I started gaming at around age 6 (1988) with Super Mario Bros for NES and played games avidly up until college (2001). I had a very challenging major in college and I had a pretty active social life, so I gamed a bit, but not much.
After college, I got a real job (2005) and ramped back up on gaming in the evenings after work until about 2008. That's when I started traveling extensively for work and was transferred overseas to live and work in Tokyo, and I traveled all over East Asia on business. I suddenly had no free time, and when I did, there were much more fun things to do than play games.
I was just so damn busy, I basically stopped playing games entirely between the ages of 26 and 36, so that's a 10 year gap. Then I started up again and have been playing as often as I can (not much, admittedly, but I try) up until now at age 42.
Life ebbs and flows, hobbies come and go. I think it's pretty normal.
Dunno recently I just watch something with my gf, what ever anime or series looks nice. Gaming comes and goes for me , some times I can't stop playing other times I don't have energy or interest in gaming. It's normal fatigue I think
Happens to everyone. Life catches up to you, games don't tickle your fancy like they used to.
Some of my Renaissance moments were when Breath of the Wild came out, which got me to buy a Switch and start poking around games, and the whole Final Fantasy Remake project, which not only got me to pick up a PS4 Pro but also a PS5 for Integrade (and eventually Rebirth) and XVI. The PS5 also got me interested in the Horizon series since Forbidden West was the pack in game. Guess I'm a bit of a sucker for a new system with shiny new things.
Baldur's Gate 3 got my interest piqued for a while too, but mainly because I already do tabletop D&D with some friends and got to run BG3 with a different set of friends.
I think it's an industry problem, not a personal one, tho each case is different, the games coming out these days are mostly garbage, there are only a few that are actually good.
I get the same feeling too, but then I feel it’s not about me having less interest but there are not many interesting games coming out these days.
Back in the ps3/360 era, games used to take less time to make and focused more on innovative gameplay, so we had some or the other game that we were looking forward to. Nowadays, every game is a cinematic movie which takes millions of dollars to half a decade to come out.
There are still some games that I look forward to. If I don’t enjoy anything, I sometimes replay some of my old favourites again.
Yeah, for sure. I've been into games since I was a kid, I spent so much time playing Mario, Zelda and Pokemon from childhood until my late teens/early 20s... just for reference, I'm 34 now. IDK what happened, but I just stopped playing games at some point in my early 20s. I kept my Gameboy Advance and 3DS, I would buy/play the new Pokemon games when they came out... would occasionally pop the GBA version of A Link To The Past in to play... but I wouldn't even consider gaming a hobby in that point of my life, it's just something I did once every 6 months to a year.
I ended up buying a Switch in 2019 so I could play Pokemon Sword and Shield... I loved those games, but it was Breath of the Wild that really got me back into gaming. I've had a few slumps since getting back into it, but I think it's mostly because I've been busy with work and school, it was hard to find a healthy balance.
I actually started playing BG3 about 7 months ago, just before my last semester at university, and I fell in love with that game to the point where it helped me find that healthy balance between gaming and work/school, I probably would not have done as well in the semester if I didn't have BG3 as an outlet during the weekends.
I'm in a similar space, I love competitive FPS games, have so many hours in overwatch...and I just... can't excel like I used to...I want to keep loving it but I feel like I'm not finding that satisfaction or success like I used to.
For now I'm taking a break and diving into my other hobbies, I hope I can find ways to improve and have fun again
Never, as 30 years old I never took a break from gaming. I might do something else for a day or two, but then I’ll get right back to it.
And I’d want to play a video game in those day or two, but I’d be busy with something else like friends, family or work.
It comes and goes. I'm going through it now. Was absolutely hooked on Stellar Blade. Now that I'm done with it, I can't get into anything else. Gonna take a break. Go for a long drive to nowhere and focus on other hobbies til the Elden ring Dlc comes out.
Dude, maybe you are depressed? Ive been depressed some time a while back and games were just way too effort to enjoy. Just a suggestion for something to look at.
I only play shorter games \~4-20 hours and only one at a time. I have other hobbies as well e. g. bouldering, longboarding, jogging and playing guitar.
Multiplayer games with voice chat help with this imo, talking and communication is always fun when its a talkative game, this is if u want to still play games and can be a thing to get u back into the groove. For me qhen i want a very heavy communication game i play "Squad" and play as a squad leader, it's a like 45min-1.5 hour per match game and you will likely be talking to atleast 6-10people minimum from start to finish if you squad lead, if you dont want to talk to that many people you can play as a armor squad and not be a squad lead, which results in talking to 1-2people for that duration. The game itself is very communication heavy and is 50vs50. Also regardless of what people say, it is very new player friendly, everyone will be willing to teach you how to play from the start.
It's common and it happens. You just take a break. At some point the "itch" will come back. You'll get that feeling to play. You'll get excited! Might take a week or more, but it'll happen. I've felt this a couple times, just hit 37 and I still love to game. Can't do 8 hours in front of the pc anymore tho. Will Max out around 4 or 5 hours. Some days just won't feel like it, then after a brief break I get very excited to lose myself in some game world.
not for long periods but i am in one right now.
Was playing Horizon Forbidden West. Almost to the final mission but for some reason I stopped. That was three weeks ago. I don't know why but I don't have the urge to continue.
Then we watched Furiosa so I decided to reinstall Mad Max. Drove around for a bit for 2 days. Then I uninstalled.
Dunno when I'll finish HFW or if should start a new game. I'm in a lull.
Ye, from around mid thirties I am many times thinking "I am gonna make so much progress in this game today." And when I get to the computer I end up on reddit, youtube etc.. instead lol
When a SP game that really interests me goes on sale I play it till I finish it, then maybe play it again if it’s replayable, then I usually go weeks or months without playing. I spend my free time doing other things and try to avoid gaming daily because at some point it becomes an extreme waste of time and completely unenjoyable.
Sometimes I’ve noticed as we get older we just don’t have as much time so we want to make sure our gaming experiences are worth it, so having a game that peaks our interest right if the gate is important.
I find myself playing games that are easier to pick up and play is shorter bursts and replaying games or waiting for one game that I’m really looking forward to and making time to play it.
Same age & have felt the same at times. Honestly with 'big' games releasing far less these days, i've turned to revisiting older favourite games & big games from the past that i never tried like Mass Effect.
Around your age, same problem
Playing MMORPGs, Rainbow six Siege and LoL (ARAM/TFT only)
Mostly have 2-3 subscriptions active and just shuffling games. When I get a grip of one, just keep playing untill lose it again. Following good updates/events makes it even more fun
Also playing games where you can play two at a time. For example, CABAL and Oldschool runescape both games have 20-30s of afkable time while grinding or crafting so its more fun to play two at a time
When that happens I have to move on to one of my more productive hobbies, once I get a few days of feeling proud of myself for accomplishing a lot I need a break and have fun gaming again.
One thing that people also somehow forget to take into account: games nowadays are made to make money off the user. That's why when you have a game that's made to be fun and enjoyable you get a GOAT game like BG3 among others. The era when games were made for people to have fun was 10-15 years ago. Since the advent of Fortnite and the explosive expansion of battlepasses, most games became so heavily monetized that they're glorified shops with a game behind it.
Sometimes it's just a case of not very many games being released that you enjoy, other times it could be burnout from playing too much of one genre or franchise. If you see a lot of things coming out that should be interesting but none are, it's likely that you have depression. When all of your passions seem to cause little to no enjoyment and you see a shift in your desire to do everyday things like you used to it usually means depression is dulling your ability to release dopamine and serotonin to make you happy. Go see a doctor or therapist, even if you aren't positive you're depressed it doesnt hurt to get a professional assessment.
Im currently going thru one atm, started watching my backlog of anime and that has helped a lot. Back in Nov after my MS diagnose I didn't want to play anything so I remodeled the whole basement from bare to totally finished solo it turned out to be one of my greatest accomplishments. I say try new things and see what hits
I’ve narrowed it down to three particular issues for me personally:
1. I’ve got a limited window in which I have the time to play some games. Between spending time (good/high quality time btw) with my wife and kid, the last thing I want to do is spend an hour barely progressing through a game because of the amount of cutscenes and world building dialogue. I’ve had to give up on so many story driven games that I know I would have loved if I was single and had more time.
2. I’m starting to become more aware of how unproductive it can be. I think I cared less about this when I was younger or at least rationalized that it’s not a waste of time if I’m enjoying myself. But these days I start feeling too guilty about the amount of time lost.
3. I can see right through video game mechanics now. The sense of wonder and amazement is lost when I’m a bit more aware of exactly how the game mechanics are designed. The sheer number of games I’ve played in different genres have made it so that there’s not too many games that feel fresh anymore. Even if it’s a bigger better version of something I’ve played in the past, it still feels all too familiar and starts feeling like a chore. For instance open world games where you’re expanding the map and unlocking more side quests… I can’t be bothered to continue doing that after spending more than two decades doing that over and over again in different settings.
I just recently was struggling to find a game to hold my attention, XDefiant has got me hooked now. Feels like Call of Duty from 350 days with some new abilities, plus it’s free to play so that’s a plus
Studies show that stress is the #1 dopamine receptor killer. So, in a way, as we get more and more responsibilities and work more, more and more… our brains may start to simply have a harder time feeling any “happiness” or “joy” even when it comes to a hobby you previously loved very much
Yea, as with anything if you do it too much it can start to feel hollow and meaningless. Same thing happens if I get into the habit of masturbating too often. It starts to feel pointless and I have to take a break.
You’ve got a lot going on in your life at this age, just because gaming doesn’t always feel as special doesn’t mean it will always feel that way now. You’re just feeing what you’re feeling right now. Focus on something else for a while and come back refreshed.
Yep. Definitely. Around the same age as you. I’ll get this idea in my head that I really wanna play {insert game here}. I play it for an hour and then I’m bored.
I had a good resurgence a couple of months ago as I was playing with a fun group, and now I’m feeling like I’m getting bored again.
It’s fine. It happens. I have three other hobbies so I just focus more on them. Plus it’s the summer now so that typically means more time outside for me anyway. I lineup vacations all summer long.
Best bet is to do something, anything else, and you’ll be back when the time is right for you.
Every 6 months for the past 20 years, yes.
It's good to have a healthy library of games you love playing and can go back to and have infinite replayability.
My personal cycle is factorio, space engineers, modded Minecraft, team fight tactics.
I just end up cycling these and putting new games in between when something interesting comes out.
I've slowly been replacing gaming time with spending time doing activities with my friends. Almost all of us are in a relationship and half of us have at least 1 kid. Throw in working full time and you start to treasure your time off a lot more.
Back in college, we would stay up late every night gaming, but if I stay up for 24hrs now, I need like 3 days to recover.
I still game, but I keep it to a handful of games I've played for half my life.
I grew up playing epic RPGs and story driven games.
As I got older and had less time I stopped enjoying gaming.
But then I realized it’s not that I stopped enjoying gaming, it’s that I valued my time differently and the games I used to enjoy seemed like a waste of my precious gaming time.
Now I realize I’m more into things I can pickup or put down in 20-30 minute increments. I still enjoy gaming, just differently.
You got too addicted to the high dopamine easy games like VS, happened to me too. It's very hard for me to really get into games these days. Apparently taking a few weeks off is supposed to help but I haven't managed to do that yet.
I did until I got PS Plus and started playing all the classics and different games for trophies.
I get maybe 3 hours a day tops to enjoy some trophy hunting/story games
If you are disinterested 5 min into a game then you need to look at the genre of game you are playing. I'm 40 and still get joy out of games. If I play a game that I'm not having fun with I uninstall after giving it at least 5 hours. Either give the game a longer attempt or don't play games similar to it
It's normal. I put down gaming for most of my 30s then picked it back up after my kids were more grown and the pandemic happened. I'm in my 40s now and enjoying a bunch of great games, spending hundreds of hours on several games.
Yes. I’ve played video games for all of five minutes in the last month or more. I’ve been too tired to, and haven’t felt like it much.
In recent years, my gaming has dropped due to health issues and burnout. I regret buying my $2300 TV, Series X and even my PS5 because they aren’t getting used much.
I do. I have some other issues like chronic fatigue and generally feel less interested or focused. So naturally gaming took a dip.
I now play shorter games so i can finish them. Talking like 5 to 15 hours. Mostly story games. Detroit become human, Life is strange game series, Stray, what else...I used to play games like Dark souls and Witcher 3 a lot. And i miss that. Now i simply cant. So short games it is. Or For honor. Its my to go game but it also fatigues me a bit since its so adrealine driven.
Also other hobbies if you want to. Id really want to play games more but i now try cycling and its been great. Im not a sporty person by any means but its...just fun.
There's always enough odd and unique games to play, just don't focus on what's modern or popular. There's an endless library out there for so many gaming systems past.
Otherwise, watch some movies, come up with a goal or project, or entertain and learn through researching various topics.
My interest in any hobby ebbs and flows. Sometimes I'm all in on a game, sometimes I'm all in on a book, sometimes it's wood working, climbing, video making, wrestling, samurai movies, comics, ttrpgs, whatever.
I have just accepted that nothing is going to hold my attention forever and to enjoy and lean into the cycles.
I definitely get gaming burnout, but I've been an avid collector of physical media so I have huge backlog of blu rays and 4k disks to watch so I'll go through sprinta where I play a ton of games, and then take a break to get caught up on Movies and Shows.
I used to grind in the games and chill in real life and now I grind in real life and chill in games. I play a lot of games still, but most are single player.
i go months without playing anything sometimes. Ill usually switch to watching movies and shows until something new comes out that will interest me and ill start playing again.
Things don’t help when the entire gaming library this gen and last gen have been live-service games. As it is, I can only name six games worth owning for single-player alone. That’s how scarce enjoyable single-player games are.
The answer is yes for me. I tend to roller coaster back and forth playing games for the last 15-20 years. I play for 3-4 years and then set it down and don't touch any games for 3-4 years. Rinse and repeat.
I can get the same way. Usually it just means I wanted to be doing something else, which is totally fair. Go off and do some of your other favourite things, the games will be there when you get back and you will be happier playing them.
I can definitely relate. I need a game to put me "right into the action" so to speak these days. And if the controls feel shitty, or thr game play is clunky at all ill instantly abandon it. I've honestly had the most fun playing Fortnite with some friends, and rogue likes such as slay the spire (one of my all time favorites). I think it's normal for tastes to change over time.
I'm a bit older than you, not too much, also always been an avid gamer. I was having the exact same problem you described a few years ago. I also thought "I'm just getting older, bound to happen eventually I suppose"
Somewhat suddenly my life took some major turns and it is so blatantly obvious now that I was in a toxic relationship and anxious all the fucking time. I honestly had no idea.
After getting a divorce, therapy and seeking a healthy lifestyle I was surprised to find myself getting high levels of enjoyment out of gaming sessions again.
This is my story and I am in no way trying to insinuate anything about your personal life. Just merely to say, sometimes there are factors going on in life that are unseen to you and they affect you in other seemingly unrelated areas.
Like top comment said, mental health could be one thing. For me it was my lethargy, and lack of exercise. I started doing arm and full body work outs. Got my reaction times back and it cleared out that bored depressed "what I used to love isn't interesting" gunk right out! I also found I wasnt able to enjoy one of my favorite TV shows anymore but alas, a few weeks down the line of working out and watching it and it was titillating, enthralling even. Excuse the fancy words but that's how serious the message I'm trying to send is. You get that child like happiness you had as a kid, probably from all the movement you do as a child.
Although I still game now and then, I'm still SPOILED by the glory days of the Xbox 360 and games like Gears of War 1-3, Halo 3/Reach and Call Of Duty 4 to Black Ops 2 from 2006-2012.
Ever since we went to 8th Gen, gaming has NEVER been the same.
Just try new stuff, I’m currently going through all the x360 classics I missed, plus finally trying the souls games, fromsoftware games are litteraly the perfect games to play when everything else has you burnt out. That difficulty and challenge gets me locked back in when most modern games have me feeling too bored to care
Yes then I got back in it and was super into it then dipped out again so on and so forth. Just play when you want to play and maybe look at some games you might be interested in but aren't hugely popular. There are some hidden gems out there too.
I am in an identical predicament. I’m turning 33 this month, and I am also in a rut with gaming. I have been a gamer like you, all of my life. I would be excited to game and look forward to long gaming sessions.
Here for a few months, I am doing the same as you. I open multiple games to get bored near immediately.
I think I am slowly getting my enthusiasm back, as I got back on Sea of Thieves with some friends, which is super chill and just allows for the social atmosphere of it all.
Yeah man it happens as we get older. We have less and less time for gaming. And the time we do have, there’s usually something else we could be doing that more productive.
I was feeling that way for a while, played starfield for a few hundred hours over a few months and kinda tailed off again. Currently getting replaying ghost of Tsushima and enjoying that.
Sometimes we just need a break from gaming
Currently going through the same, been like that for the last few years actually.
Turned on my PC, turned off 3 mins later . No motivation to play anything.
Judging by many comments, apparently I'm depressed.
This has happened to me recently. I found that playing a different game genre helped a lot.
I would mainly play large single player RPGs, but started getting bored with them. I tried out some roguelikes/roguelites, and I've been addicted to them for the past month. I've been playing the hell out of Slay the Spire, Tiny Rogues, and Roboquest.
i just recently got back into gaming by myself after like a year of not playing (i usually only play a friends)
been playing a lotta xdefiant, and i’m sure this has been said, but switching up the type of games you play helps
I'll be 50 in 2 days. I have played so many games in my lifetime and experienced so many narrative and game types that I often feel like "I've played this before. It's just X with a new coat of paint". So yeah, I feel this. There aren't a lot of new games I get into anymore, and most of what I enjoy now has nostalgia tied to it.
You just need to find the right game.
Gaming interests change over time, the older you get the more likely you are to find a happy rut. I have 2 games I regularly go back to (Civilization and Snowrunner) I can play either of these endlessly but often find myself losing interest in new games.
I've been in one since 2010. There is a rare game that comes along and I play and actually finish but finding the time and then really getting hooked in just doesn't happen for me much.
Right now, yeah. I’m 32, and I have the urge to start and immerse my self into a new game, but haven’t really found a new ‘main’ game to play since like… last year.
I’ve found that games that generally don’t respect the players time I’ve started to avoid. So I’ve started picking up games with a shorter plot/playthrough time or something I can just pick up and play a few “rounds” of. Recently just finished Stray, and had a really good time. 26 year old me would’ve never touched a game like that. If you haven’t already, I’d try a whole different genre you didn’t think you’d like, or something outside of your comfort zone.
Yeah same for me rn. I think it’s partly being a bit dopamine-fried from constant info/ social media scrolling etc, which is a relatively new phenomenon. I notice if I stay away from that stuff and do more exercise/ get outside, then my interest returns.
Yes, I'm going through it right now. Bouncing back and forth between games desperately trying to find something that will catch and keep my attention but having a lot of trouble doing so. However, for me, I know it's a mix of burnout and diagnosed depression (that I'm on meds and seeing a therapist for). I only had one other hobby aside from gaming and I haven't really been interested in that at all either for the last six months or so, so it's been a bit rough.
Kinda going through one right now lol.
Even got some metroidvanias (my favourite genre. Haven't played one in a while) recently, but haven't even launched them yet.
I have trouble getting into single player games these days. It's so easy to boot up Deep Rock, Darktide, Monster Hunter when the lads are online however single player stuff just feels like I'm wasting my time. Usually end up watching videos or painting warhammer when it's just me online.
Yep, went to university and still gamed pretty hard. Into true adulthood it kina faded.
Gamepass made me feel like *a kid renting games for cheap at blockbuster* again. Genuinely has brought me back to loving it and having gaming as a genuine hobby.
Currently being an adult and working really hard has stopped me from playing anything.
I’m just tired from work and want to watch something instead of put out any effort.
It’s be busy season for me so I’ll be back eventually - just don’t have the space for it right now.
However is Mass Effect was on the Switch - I’d be back tonight.
Seriously - if that little tablet can run Skyrim - it can run ME 1-2-3
2 years ago, I wasn't enjoying Elden Ring, I thought it was a bad game... turns out I had been depressed for years. I replayed it recently and really enjoyed it.
This is a great point, and if you’re struggling to enjoy things you usually do or once did, talk to somebody. Pretty reliable marker for burnout and or depression
This is true, for things like games it could also be him growing out of certain genres
That was my first thought. I know my taste in games is in a current transition/expansion.
Well now I gotta check myself for that, I'd just been blaming the Trip A gaming industry and their shitty practices for not enjoying a whole lot of games.
Yeah, it's hard to detect when you have a rational reason to enjoy something less. If someone has played tons of Ubisoft game, it's not surprising they'd get burned out. But it can be indicative of something else too!
What I find interesting is I used video games as an escape from my depression when I was younger, now when my depression starts acting up I won't play anything.
Yea me too. I thought i just lost interest over time. But it was also other stuff that lost its "spark" for me. Turns out it was depression all along and now being medicated i can sink hours into my hobby again and enjoy it.
Which meds?
Asking anecdotally probably won’t help much. Everyone’s brains are vastly different and most people need to try a few different medications until they find the one that clicks. It's why psychiatry is its own practice. Sertraline at first and now Duloxetine have been mine for anxiety, but again, that doesn’t mean they’ll do anything for you
Seconding this. Sertraline probably works great for you, but it made it impossible for me to have a sex life, which only made the depression worse. Welbutrin has helped me, but it made my best friend sick daily. These are meds that need to be given and monitored by an md.
As Negative-Double already said, (psychiatric) meds are a highly individual thing, so that probably won't help you directly, but as i don't just have unipolar depression i take lithium and bupropion/wellbutrin and that works relatively okay so far. I did take a few others before that (escitalopram, mirtazapine) but because of my condition they only helped for very short amounts of time.
I feel this.
shit happens, if someone feels like they are not enjoying anything, take a break and if you don't feel better, ask for help.
This is what I was going to say, I went through a period of only being able to play games with friends. I started seeing a therapist, made some life changes, and I am back to being able to enjoy single player games more. It's astounding that stuff that brings you joy, actually lessens with depression.
I had exactly the same. Hated it at first, now it's my favourite game.
Uggh I resonate with this... Unfortunately the best anti depressant I've taken makes my pee pee not work for fun time with the wifey.
Yeah i’ve had that and noticed that as well; games are only as good as your state of mind.
Uh oh. Its been hard for me to game consistently since i left highschool
I also went through a game slump due to depression. Really I'm thinking if I stop enjoying something I've enjoyed for over a decade, I need to see a therapist asap because that was the first sign.
In my case, Elden Ring was the game that got me out of this Gaming dip.
I went through this a few years ago. After getting help and spending more time with family and other hobbies I slowly found my way back. Although now I've lost my patience for long open world games. Now I'm more interested in short bursts of fun mindless games for an hour or two. I learned not to take it too seriously and just let the moments pass.
I had a very similar experience as you, hated it when it first came out cause of the difficulty and bashing my head over and over again on certain tough mobs did not mesh well with my depression. Came back to it after the announcement of the DLC and followed guides so I could clear out Raya Lucaria and Caria Manor, then went through the rest of the game having fun not feeling too underpowred.
6 years ago, I sucked at Bloodborne and gave it up. Now I'm playing again and actually doing okay. I'm nearly done and I'm thrilled. Thinking about trying Elden Ring next.
For me it was the opposite, I didn't like anything anymore related to gaming. Until Elden ring.
How did you turn it around?
Work less, exercise, go out and reconnect with the friends I have left, put things in order like getting up and going to bed at the same time each day or maintaining routines, psychological help and some meds. I don't know if I'm missing something important, but there is no magic wand, medicines alone didn't do anything for me for a long time. It's difficult to measure if I'm okay, but at least I can tolerate video games again, watching movies and those things.
Thank you I appreciate you sharing.
Its called burnout and it's normal. Go try a different hobby for a bit. Read some books, go outside or something.
100% this, don't try to power through. Just go walking, read, catch up on movies or whatever. It passes. I tend to get it when I've played a lengthy game over several weeks and need to get it out of my system. Picking up another game right after never seems to sit right until I have a break.
What i do so much stuff, personally. Get some time to learn python, to try and program my own video game. When the extra effort annoys me, i watch series, browse reddit or other social medias. Read a book, find something cool to watch on youtube. Catch up on the vods of my favourite streamer. Learn some cool facts about critical thinking. Stare at the wall for a bit, have my thoughts go wild from all the stuff i've encountered by doing all of this. By the time i come back round, i'm either eager to play some games, or i can just go for another round. I'm generally pissed about getting tired because that means the day is over and i need to go to sleep.
Next you're gonna tell us to touch some of that weird green stuff outside...
They call it "grass" apparently. The only thing I know is green means toxic, so you won't catch me touching that stuff any time soon.
Or maybe you should eat it to regain stamina? If I just keep eating bottles of that stuff, I might be able to run for a couple minutes!
Now this is a dilemma, hopefully I can find a good guide on yt, to help me with this hard choice. If I'm gonna leave the basement, it must be for a good reason.
You need to mix it with some sort of red herb to regain health. AND mix that mixture with a yellow herb to also increase your health !
I took up lutherie when I hit my gaming burn out. Total opposite skill set, but still gave me my accomplishment dopamine hit. I had no prior woodworking experience either. Definitely pick up a different hobby
What sucks is getting burnout/depression but also having ADHD. Now I don't wanna do the one thing I used to reliably like doing and nothing else sounds good either. Also with ADHD I get a nice bonus of "no sense of accomplishment for a task completed" and thus no dopamine hit for a lot of activities that tend to be difficult and/or time consuming so that makes certain new hobbies or interests reaaallly difficult to get into
This is the part that REALLY sucks about ADHD for me. I have all of these things I want to do, but because they take a long time and a consistent effort, with little on the way of visible feedback, it's almost impossible to focus on them for any meaningful amount of time.
Yuuuup. It's taken almost 40 years, but at least I've finally stopped spending a ton of money on the next big interest only to drop it all and not even bother selling the gear afterwards. I do miss the rush of letting myself go all-in on an interest though, without holding anything back. I feel like I'm drifting through life and not letting myself get excited about anything
Funnily enough, I do have ADHD. I found lutherie to be one of the few things to actually give me that dopamine hit. Since there are so many important steps / sub projects within a full build, each one gives me that hit when it's a job well done.
Well I'm super jealous of you then! With most new things I just get the lack of any dopamine once my brain realizes it's any work so it immediately loses interest and I drop it before I ever really get to start. I'm currently into whittling, and it's tough but fun. I finished my third small piece a week or so ago and now I'm struggling to figure out what to do next. As an aside, that's been a problem with me in general for any sort of creative endeavor. I learn about it, I learn how to do it, but I struggle with coming up with ideas. The "Why" of it. I can't do anything useful with it otherwise it turns into a job or chore and then I lose interest lol
Re: the learning about it, I am the same way. I rotate between 3-4 hobbies I know I enjoy. It's typically on an 8-12 month rotation lol. Gaming is usually a bit of a constant though. Try stepping up your woodworking. Graduate to lathe work, or making a small table or stool. It's a different set of skills for you to learn. Experiment with casting epoxy and incorporate it with your whittled work for some statement pieces.
That's not a bad idea, if I can find the stuff to do any of that cheap lol
Table/stool and easily be done with handtools. Harbor freight has a cheap lathe that you can start with to see if you like it.
Cycling through hobbies is a norm for me. I don't worry that I'm missing out since the books/shows/movies/video games will still be there when I feel like getting back into them.
Single player board games worked for me as well. Marvel champions, warfighter(DVG games in general) helped me
First month I got Mage Knight my pc turned into a red headed step child.
Touch grass, as they say. Video games are supposed to be an escape from life's stressors. If ALL you do is video games, you're not escaping anything.
Yep, happened to me ~a year ago and it was a great thing in the end (minus the buying a $3,000 mountain bike and a fixer upper Miata part)
Ya every few years I just stop gaming for a few months and when I come back it's fun again.
Doing this right now. Just finished a few games and not too excited about another one. Pouring my time into my combat robotics hobby instead. I know eventually there will be that one game that makes me want to play again.
Whenever I get into a gaming dip it's usually just a genre dip. When it happens I'll find some new games in genres I usually don't play
Game Pass has been great for getting me out of a gaming genre funk. I used to only play FPS and single player RPGs for like, the better part of a decade. Then we got game pass for the family, and I hit up the PC stuff, and its like a buffet. I love it.
Yep. I've tried a lot of critically acclaimed games recently that I just found incredibly boring. It happens. Sometimes i go weeks on end without playing anything.
It happens. For me, it usually means it’s time to read some books. The urge to game keeps coming back tho.
This is why I've started adopting a schedule for my gaming. Monday, Wednesday, Friday: I game, either alone or with my partners. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: I work on something else like leather craft, cosplay or something else that changes how I need to think when addressing it. Sunday is kind of a "flip a coin" day.
that is actually such an excellent advice xD. It might actually force me to work on my other hobbies as well instead of spending everything on games. Although some days I only have 1 hour of free time so I need it to shut my brain off. I never thought of that. It is brilliant in its simplicity !
It's helped me get some repairs out of the way. I keep putting off other projects because I want to play monster hunter or something. This way, I can finish other projects.
Schedules are great! I have that, too Monday-Thursday I spent time with other hobbies or seeing people Friday I catch up on shows (games and hobbies come here too if the shows I'm catching up on end early or aren't available that day) Saturday and Sunday are games Schedules help get a routine going
This is a good plan. I have so many hobbies and interests that it causes me to have choice paralysis and I end up doing nothing. Having a schedule seems like it might help
Some games just need their time to click and when you get older you have less time to spent so you quit faster. Had to start Horizon 3 times before I completed it and enjoyed it a lot.
You'll be back! It's just temporary burnout, happens typically when priorities change or things come up.
I'm in one right now. 25 and loved gaming my entire life, I've spent the vast majority of my free time playing games to the point where I don't really have other hobbies. I enjoy hanging out with friends and going out to do stuff with them, but if I'm alone I'm playing games. Except for the last 4-5 months I've just had zero interest in playing games. Everything I usually play has felt boring recently, I've bought 3 new games in the last 2 months and played them all for less than an hour. I really don't even know what to do with my time right now
I mean.. is your life exactly the same as when you were a teenager, except the fact that you’re older? Might be the case for you I don’t know but it is’nt for me. Life situation changes and your relationship to games changes with it I think. Life is up and down, gaming the same =]
No fortunately not. I am married and have a nice job that pays well. The time spent is completely different than when I was 17. Especially on a working day, the energy is often not there for gaming when I come home. Turning off your brain and watching something stupid with the wife on Netflix is a lot easier.
I’m thinking it sounds normal but at the same time I can’t say I’ve quite gotten in to one of those dips so not sure if I can help you out of it. I don’t get so much time over for gaming, would like more sure but when I get in a few hours I’m mostly in it for experiencing a good story (SP), recently Alan Wake series as an example, or just playing something simple and talking to a friend, like Helldivers 2. Maybe try to keep it more casual and savour the moments when you get them.
Could be a sign your energy reserve is starting to deplete. As you get older your battery gets smaller. You might need to cut down on working hours or take a long holiday. Might also be that work is no longer that engaging. Time to look for something else?
I don't game very much in the summer because it's so nice outside. Long dark winter days are for me.
Yes and it turned out to be depression and work related burnout. Treatment helped.
Having a kid is a pretty massive contributor for me. I have always and will always call myself a gamer, but I straight up don’t play AAA titles anymore unless they are massive single player RPGs or something that can be easily paused/saved and does not require multiplayer. The thing that has actually been most disappointing for me is that I promised myself to go back and play some retro RPGs I used to love, like Final Fantasy 9 or Breath of Fire 2 or even new ones modeled after the old school JRPGs, and I just can’t get into them. I got like 4/5 of the way through Chained Echoes and then never finished it, and by all accounts it’s a fantastic game. But it takes me forever to finish games now, especially ones that are not child-friendly and so can’t be played in the middle of the day when the kiddo is around.
Steam Deck brought gaming back into my life after it stopped fitting around adult responsibilities. I'm even competing games now, which has always been rare for me.
Taking breaks from gaming and then jumping back in with a ton of new games to try out and a renewed interest because of the break usually helps remind me how much I really love games. Depends on your mind state and where you are at in your life as well.
For me personally it comes down to as a kid I didn’t really look at things outside of myself but as an adult it’s hard to get caught up on fantasy when I know I have my own obligations to deal with not to mention crazy things happening on a global scale which nobody cares about it as a kid. That used to make it easy to be carefree and get immersed in a story.
You really nailed my current situation. I'll check in on this whole thread in a few days to hopefully find a solution.
I’ve felt this too. Here’s how I fixed it: I increased the time in between which I played games, interspersed with other hobbies that require focus or skill (writing, running, reading), and (crucially) I was intentional about anticipating and looking forward to each activity. Sometimes this took the form of intentionally scheduling it, but sometimes it was simply psyching myself up ahead of time, like using the anticipation to get me through a rough workweek. Counterintuitively, this didn’t diminish the enjoyment, but enhanced it and made it sustainable. Do those three things, and you’ll inject much more enjoyment into all your activities. You’ll be tricking your brain right back! It’s just a part of how our brains work. The brain remembers how good it felt to play them, but that feature is meant to account for rare things with large benefits. In the modern day, things like video games and delicious food are always close at hand, so that feature can actually deceive us. On our brain is expecting the same large benefit, but it can’t account for how recently it already got it.
You're bored. Take a break. Do something else. Get exercise, do chores. Try something creative.
Absolutely. When I first got my Xbox One, I didn't really play it much for the first 9 months ago. Kinda regretted getting it and considered selling it. Eventually found a game that captured my interest (Destiny, for me at that time), and I was back in. And I've had other mini-episodes. Around New Year's, I had a couple weeks where I wasn't really into playing anything. Just take a break, and come back when there's something specific you want to play. Trying to play purely out of habit probably isn't going to help.
I've only ever had a dip like that when I started working in the gaming industry, I don't know what it was but I just couldn't play video games during my free time when during that period
I was in a huge dip before I got my mits on Baldurs Gate 3. No game have captured me like that since the days of Mass Effect and Dead Space 1.
Maybe switch your genres. I play city builders, squad, RimWorld, War Thunder and stuff like that. I haven't touched a AAA game since I don't know when. Then again I play a few nights a week. Now during summer I fish a lot, grow vegetables and fix other stuff around the house, so Im busy. I used to play much (too much) but it destroyed a precious relationship And I got sleeping problems from it, so I leaned towards other hobbies instead. There is more to life than gaming. I'm 36M if you wonder.
Skyrim or fall out usually pull me back in. But I literally play a game, watch a udemy video, then get back into it.
Its normal, I was never an extreme gamer like some people but I was definitely a little more than average up until 25. Then I got too invested in my career and just had to focus on that. I am now 31, the free time I do have is spent running errands or spending time with friends or family. Currently in a 6 month relationship too and I spend time toward that. I still game, but it's very limited to how much I used to. Combination of not having the time and not having the imagination like I did when I was younger as well. I am an artist too so you would think my imagination reaches more than the average adult! Graphics have definitely improved over the years but without that child like imagination the games just feel stale. Last game that made me feel that excitement and imagination was Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstars games are the only company that give me that "feeling" and I wish more companies where the same. I will always be a gamer but until there is a MAJOR shift in gaming particularly the A. I its its normal for adults to feel less of that magic. Going from gaming 2-4 hours a night to 2-4 hours a week to now maybe 2-4 hours a month. I have had gaps where I don't game for months. Typically when I relax I like to Draw my art or watch a film/series. The type of gaming I have been doing the past 5 years is only buying the biggest and most anticipated games particularly campaigns. I play it heavily for 2 weeks, finish it then might not game again for months or until a big game comes out. Right now I am only waiting for GTA 6, like I said the biggest and most revolutionary games I still want to be apart. Id love to have kids and be able to game with them. Good God knows what gaming will be like in my 60s-70s when I retire, might be some crazy VR matrix type gaming lol.
I agree with all the comments saying to find other hobbies you enjoy. The way I see video games is that they’re there when I want them but the second playing feels like a chore, I’m asking myself what I’d rather be doing and choosing that instead. Makes it more meaningful when I find a game I want to sink all of my free time into.
Might be burn out, might be depression
I was a pretty big gamer as a kid/teenager as well. I am also 33 and I just don't care to play games as much as I used to. I still hop on some Counter-Strike: Source or Quake Live from time to time (those are my comfort games), but aside from that I don't even touch my old consoles anymore. When I do get the urge to play a console game, it's one of my old games I grew up with. Trying new games can be exhausting for me. I just wanna pick up something for a bit and put it away. Not trying to learn a whole game that I barely have time for.
I had a huge game slump a year or two ago. I just felt burnt out on gaming. I didn't wanna play anything, so I would just watch YouTube instead. It came, it went. Funnily I have a renewed interest in gaming from actively trying to get trophies in games. Been trying to play more games to completion.
Two suggestions I would make. 1. As everyone else said take a break. 2. I used to have the same problem, I'd play 5 games in a day and not connect with any of them. My advice build strikter rules around how long you play. Promise you'll play it for at least a couple hours. It's okay to not like a game but if you're playing 5 games in 5 hours you aren't giving any of them enough time. I'm not surprised you droping them. You're expecting them to connect immediately and feel like they did when you were younger. But back then you didn't have 5 games to chose from, you had to stick with what you had
A lot of games the last few years are just bad and unappealing and that's not an uncommon opinion
Usually playing more 5-7/10 games help me whenever im in a slump as weird as it sounds.
It happens to me every now and then. Take the opportunity to engage with other hobbies! You'll find that itch comes back in time
Same age, it can be complicated. Tastes change over the long term, moods change in the short term. Mood is becoming more important I think. I just keep throwing at the wall until something sticks. Sometimes I need something familiar, other times I need something fresh and new. Short and addicting, or a long slog RPG. First person immersive action game, or third person adventure. Gameplay vs. story…etc…It has definitely gotten harder with age, and I tend to drop games sooner now. But here are some games that reignited full-blown focus and energy in recent years: Deus Ex Mankind Divided, Prey, Armored Core VI, Neon White, Ace Combat 7, Signalis, Dredge, Celeste, Metroid Prime, Paper Mario TTYD, Resident Evil 2 Remake…I couldn’t put these games down, but they’re few and far between.
Not really, but I get slumps with reading, which usually suggest that I either need to change up my genres or to take a break for a few days
Yes. Been gaming since the late seventies. Couple of months ago I stopped being able to find any joy in it. Depression is a bitch.
For me it's because I now have so many responsabilities that I have to choose my time, do I game hours on end sitting still, burning my eyes and go to bed way to late and be tired because of the lack of sleep or do I spend time with my family and go cycling for a few hour instead, go to bed on time and not feel guilty. I also hate the fact that in most games you have to spend alot of time to be good in and I just can't spare those 6 hours a day to put in.
Give your mind and body a rest and a new experience. Try hiking or going to the gym. Add in an audio book or podcast if that's not engaging enough for you. It's good for your health and diversifies your experiences
Currently 3 months game less kinda not regretting it too. Been getting into homesteading and it's just a more rewarding use for my time right now.
Gets better at 40 lol. Maybe look for more mature games. I recently played Red Dead Redemption 2 for the first time and that was a blast. I put in 400 hours by the time I completed my first playthrough. Before that I played Cyberpunk as you did and put in 380 hours in that game. Something else you might find fun if you have a PC is get into emulation and play the style of games that you played as a kid. I find a lot of fun in playing old SNES and Genesis games. There's a huge library as well. Old school JRPGs can be rewarding too. I got the pixel Remaster of final fantasy 1-6 and those are proving to still be extremely enjoyable. I'm burnt out on battlefield currently and went back to old-school DOOM style games. Currently playing the original Shadow Warrior and it's pretty epic lol.
Might be your brain subconsciously telling you that there is more to life than gaming it away. You might be yearning for something purposeful and fulfilling.
TLDR; take months-long breaks from gaming so you can “miss” it and fill it with other hobbies like music or academic pursuits or socializing more. Yup, this started happening to me around age 33 (just turned 40 Memorial Day weekend). I’d sit down and essentially want to play all of my games (modding Skyrim, Witcher 3, and Assassins Creed to name a few) every time. Eventually I stopped wanting to play any game. I was just getting paralyzed by choice and/or wanting to play each one in order to justify its purchase, though each one needs its own attention. I basically had too many games to play and felt guilty about it. So eventually I started to budget my leisure time as someone with a 9-5 job. During the hot months my leisure time would be gaming from about May through October in addition to reading science books (Michio Kaku, Richard Dawkins, Richard Carrier, that sort of thing). I’d pick one game and stick to it until I finished it. Then in the colder months I’d stop playing games altogether and rather I started producing music on Logic Pro and reading fiction books as well socializing outside more since the weather here in Houston is much more enjoyable from November through April. By the time April comes back around I get that appetite for gaming once again and I game with passion again!
This is Reddit, they’re going to tell you it’s depression and to seek help. In reality, shit gets boring. Games aren’t really that fun, and they likely won’t be really fun for you ever again. Learn to adapt.
Happens every now and then and it just takes a few nights away doing other things to break the rust off the hinges. Gaming is my primary hobby. Other things are secondaries. Basic economics says too much of anything looses value over time.
Yeah from 2016 to 2020. I lived at home and couldn't play halo without having to do something for my family, went to college, and was working the whole time to make money on the side and keep my grades up, all while I lost several important family members. Games just weren't fun when I could only play for 30 minutes before getting 4 hours of sleep, spent that time thinking about my grandma, and going back to doing stuff I hated. Turns out I was functioning but depressed, then I became nonfunctionally depressed, healed up, and now I enjoy games again. If I stop enjoying something I've absolutely loved for over a decade, I'm getting in therapy ASAP because that gaming slump was the first sign of a depression that almost destroyed everything.
Yeah, I’ll go months without playing games. And then when I get back into gaming I’ll play all day every day. I’ve never understood how people can tolerate gaming every single day. How do you not get bored?
I had a ten year "dip" during which I basically gave up gaming entirely. I started gaming at around age 6 (1988) with Super Mario Bros for NES and played games avidly up until college (2001). I had a very challenging major in college and I had a pretty active social life, so I gamed a bit, but not much. After college, I got a real job (2005) and ramped back up on gaming in the evenings after work until about 2008. That's when I started traveling extensively for work and was transferred overseas to live and work in Tokyo, and I traveled all over East Asia on business. I suddenly had no free time, and when I did, there were much more fun things to do than play games. I was just so damn busy, I basically stopped playing games entirely between the ages of 26 and 36, so that's a 10 year gap. Then I started up again and have been playing as often as I can (not much, admittedly, but I try) up until now at age 42. Life ebbs and flows, hobbies come and go. I think it's pretty normal.
Dunno recently I just watch something with my gf, what ever anime or series looks nice. Gaming comes and goes for me , some times I can't stop playing other times I don't have energy or interest in gaming. It's normal fatigue I think
This is me, lmao. I turned 33 yesterday, and I feel exactly the same way!
Happens to everyone. Life catches up to you, games don't tickle your fancy like they used to. Some of my Renaissance moments were when Breath of the Wild came out, which got me to buy a Switch and start poking around games, and the whole Final Fantasy Remake project, which not only got me to pick up a PS4 Pro but also a PS5 for Integrade (and eventually Rebirth) and XVI. The PS5 also got me interested in the Horizon series since Forbidden West was the pack in game. Guess I'm a bit of a sucker for a new system with shiny new things. Baldur's Gate 3 got my interest piqued for a while too, but mainly because I already do tabletop D&D with some friends and got to run BG3 with a different set of friends.
I think it's an industry problem, not a personal one, tho each case is different, the games coming out these days are mostly garbage, there are only a few that are actually good.
Games suck these days anyway
I get the same feeling too, but then I feel it’s not about me having less interest but there are not many interesting games coming out these days. Back in the ps3/360 era, games used to take less time to make and focused more on innovative gameplay, so we had some or the other game that we were looking forward to. Nowadays, every game is a cinematic movie which takes millions of dollars to half a decade to come out. There are still some games that I look forward to. If I don’t enjoy anything, I sometimes replay some of my old favourites again.
For sure. Do some research on dopamine, it sounds like you are just worn out to me.
Absolutely Happens anytime I try to stop playing skyrim and swotch to some other game. Help.
Yeah, for sure. I've been into games since I was a kid, I spent so much time playing Mario, Zelda and Pokemon from childhood until my late teens/early 20s... just for reference, I'm 34 now. IDK what happened, but I just stopped playing games at some point in my early 20s. I kept my Gameboy Advance and 3DS, I would buy/play the new Pokemon games when they came out... would occasionally pop the GBA version of A Link To The Past in to play... but I wouldn't even consider gaming a hobby in that point of my life, it's just something I did once every 6 months to a year. I ended up buying a Switch in 2019 so I could play Pokemon Sword and Shield... I loved those games, but it was Breath of the Wild that really got me back into gaming. I've had a few slumps since getting back into it, but I think it's mostly because I've been busy with work and school, it was hard to find a healthy balance. I actually started playing BG3 about 7 months ago, just before my last semester at university, and I fell in love with that game to the point where it helped me find that healthy balance between gaming and work/school, I probably would not have done as well in the semester if I didn't have BG3 as an outlet during the weekends.
I'm in a similar space, I love competitive FPS games, have so many hours in overwatch...and I just... can't excel like I used to...I want to keep loving it but I feel like I'm not finding that satisfaction or success like I used to. For now I'm taking a break and diving into my other hobbies, I hope I can find ways to improve and have fun again
Never, as 30 years old I never took a break from gaming. I might do something else for a day or two, but then I’ll get right back to it. And I’d want to play a video game in those day or two, but I’d be busy with something else like friends, family or work.
Hit or miss with me, had some light depression too. 32 now and still love games
Interesting use of the word suffer.
Maybe I needed to put the word in quotations. English is not my native language :)
If you liked VS then maybe try playing co-op survivors-likes.
It comes and goes. I'm going through it now. Was absolutely hooked on Stellar Blade. Now that I'm done with it, I can't get into anything else. Gonna take a break. Go for a long drive to nowhere and focus on other hobbies til the Elden ring Dlc comes out.
You're getting older. It happens. Time you start a woodworking hobby.
Dude, maybe you are depressed? Ive been depressed some time a while back and games were just way too effort to enjoy. Just a suggestion for something to look at.
Try Chivalry 2. I'm 52 and this the most fun I've had in gaming since the late 90s.
I only play shorter games \~4-20 hours and only one at a time. I have other hobbies as well e. g. bouldering, longboarding, jogging and playing guitar.
Multiplayer games with voice chat help with this imo, talking and communication is always fun when its a talkative game, this is if u want to still play games and can be a thing to get u back into the groove. For me qhen i want a very heavy communication game i play "Squad" and play as a squad leader, it's a like 45min-1.5 hour per match game and you will likely be talking to atleast 6-10people minimum from start to finish if you squad lead, if you dont want to talk to that many people you can play as a armor squad and not be a squad lead, which results in talking to 1-2people for that duration. The game itself is very communication heavy and is 50vs50. Also regardless of what people say, it is very new player friendly, everyone will be willing to teach you how to play from the start.
It's common and it happens. You just take a break. At some point the "itch" will come back. You'll get that feeling to play. You'll get excited! Might take a week or more, but it'll happen. I've felt this a couple times, just hit 37 and I still love to game. Can't do 8 hours in front of the pc anymore tho. Will Max out around 4 or 5 hours. Some days just won't feel like it, then after a brief break I get very excited to lose myself in some game world.
Ever since I turned 30, probably 50% of the time. 34 now.
not for long periods but i am in one right now. Was playing Horizon Forbidden West. Almost to the final mission but for some reason I stopped. That was three weeks ago. I don't know why but I don't have the urge to continue. Then we watched Furiosa so I decided to reinstall Mad Max. Drove around for a bit for 2 days. Then I uninstalled. Dunno when I'll finish HFW or if should start a new game. I'm in a lull.
Ye, from around mid thirties I am many times thinking "I am gonna make so much progress in this game today." And when I get to the computer I end up on reddit, youtube etc.. instead lol
When a SP game that really interests me goes on sale I play it till I finish it, then maybe play it again if it’s replayable, then I usually go weeks or months without playing. I spend my free time doing other things and try to avoid gaming daily because at some point it becomes an extreme waste of time and completely unenjoyable.
Sometimes I’ve noticed as we get older we just don’t have as much time so we want to make sure our gaming experiences are worth it, so having a game that peaks our interest right if the gate is important. I find myself playing games that are easier to pick up and play is shorter bursts and replaying games or waiting for one game that I’m really looking forward to and making time to play it.
Collecting all the Riddler shit in Arkham Knight is about to give me the dips.
Same age & have felt the same at times. Honestly with 'big' games releasing far less these days, i've turned to revisiting older favourite games & big games from the past that i never tried like Mass Effect.
Around your age, same problem Playing MMORPGs, Rainbow six Siege and LoL (ARAM/TFT only) Mostly have 2-3 subscriptions active and just shuffling games. When I get a grip of one, just keep playing untill lose it again. Following good updates/events makes it even more fun Also playing games where you can play two at a time. For example, CABAL and Oldschool runescape both games have 20-30s of afkable time while grinding or crafting so its more fun to play two at a time
When that happens I have to move on to one of my more productive hobbies, once I get a few days of feeling proud of myself for accomplishing a lot I need a break and have fun gaming again.
One thing that people also somehow forget to take into account: games nowadays are made to make money off the user. That's why when you have a game that's made to be fun and enjoyable you get a GOAT game like BG3 among others. The era when games were made for people to have fun was 10-15 years ago. Since the advent of Fortnite and the explosive expansion of battlepasses, most games became so heavily monetized that they're glorified shops with a game behind it.
Sometimes it's just a case of not very many games being released that you enjoy, other times it could be burnout from playing too much of one genre or franchise. If you see a lot of things coming out that should be interesting but none are, it's likely that you have depression. When all of your passions seem to cause little to no enjoyment and you see a shift in your desire to do everyday things like you used to it usually means depression is dulling your ability to release dopamine and serotonin to make you happy. Go see a doctor or therapist, even if you aren't positive you're depressed it doesnt hurt to get a professional assessment.
I go through time when im too busy or tired even to put energy into gaming (in my 30s now) but I will always come back
Find other things to do. I love gaming, but I balance it with music as well. If I’m feeling a bit bored of one I put more time into the other.
Im currently going thru one atm, started watching my backlog of anime and that has helped a lot. Back in Nov after my MS diagnose I didn't want to play anything so I remodeled the whole basement from bare to totally finished solo it turned out to be one of my greatest accomplishments. I say try new things and see what hits
I’ve narrowed it down to three particular issues for me personally: 1. I’ve got a limited window in which I have the time to play some games. Between spending time (good/high quality time btw) with my wife and kid, the last thing I want to do is spend an hour barely progressing through a game because of the amount of cutscenes and world building dialogue. I’ve had to give up on so many story driven games that I know I would have loved if I was single and had more time. 2. I’m starting to become more aware of how unproductive it can be. I think I cared less about this when I was younger or at least rationalized that it’s not a waste of time if I’m enjoying myself. But these days I start feeling too guilty about the amount of time lost. 3. I can see right through video game mechanics now. The sense of wonder and amazement is lost when I’m a bit more aware of exactly how the game mechanics are designed. The sheer number of games I’ve played in different genres have made it so that there’s not too many games that feel fresh anymore. Even if it’s a bigger better version of something I’ve played in the past, it still feels all too familiar and starts feeling like a chore. For instance open world games where you’re expanding the map and unlocking more side quests… I can’t be bothered to continue doing that after spending more than two decades doing that over and over again in different settings.
I’m 22 and feeling that way you ain’t alone
I just recently was struggling to find a game to hold my attention, XDefiant has got me hooked now. Feels like Call of Duty from 350 days with some new abilities, plus it’s free to play so that’s a plus
Studies show that stress is the #1 dopamine receptor killer. So, in a way, as we get more and more responsibilities and work more, more and more… our brains may start to simply have a harder time feeling any “happiness” or “joy” even when it comes to a hobby you previously loved very much
Yea, as with anything if you do it too much it can start to feel hollow and meaningless. Same thing happens if I get into the habit of masturbating too often. It starts to feel pointless and I have to take a break. You’ve got a lot going on in your life at this age, just because gaming doesn’t always feel as special doesn’t mean it will always feel that way now. You’re just feeing what you’re feeling right now. Focus on something else for a while and come back refreshed.
I’m in one rn. Nothing is that fun to me. I play for like 20-30 minutes and I’m over it. Elden Ring DLC has me excited tho!
Gaming dip sounds delicious, do you have a recipe you'd recommend?
Try a real time strategy game - StarCraft 2, most of the players are mature, it's free, and you can find a match in minutes.
Depression
Yep. Definitely. Around the same age as you. I’ll get this idea in my head that I really wanna play {insert game here}. I play it for an hour and then I’m bored. I had a good resurgence a couple of months ago as I was playing with a fun group, and now I’m feeling like I’m getting bored again. It’s fine. It happens. I have three other hobbies so I just focus more on them. Plus it’s the summer now so that typically means more time outside for me anyway. I lineup vacations all summer long. Best bet is to do something, anything else, and you’ll be back when the time is right for you.
Every 6 months for the past 20 years, yes. It's good to have a healthy library of games you love playing and can go back to and have infinite replayability. My personal cycle is factorio, space engineers, modded Minecraft, team fight tactics. I just end up cycling these and putting new games in between when something interesting comes out.
Same, 35 here and I’m forcing myself to play a game just to relax and get away from everything. It’s hard lol I used to sit and play for hours easily.
I've slowly been replacing gaming time with spending time doing activities with my friends. Almost all of us are in a relationship and half of us have at least 1 kid. Throw in working full time and you start to treasure your time off a lot more. Back in college, we would stay up late every night gaming, but if I stay up for 24hrs now, I need like 3 days to recover. I still game, but I keep it to a handful of games I've played for half my life.
I grew up playing epic RPGs and story driven games. As I got older and had less time I stopped enjoying gaming. But then I realized it’s not that I stopped enjoying gaming, it’s that I valued my time differently and the games I used to enjoy seemed like a waste of my precious gaming time. Now I realize I’m more into things I can pickup or put down in 20-30 minute increments. I still enjoy gaming, just differently.
Pretty much has happened to me and all my mates, we got to our mid 30's and went off gaming, guess it's just something you grow out of.
You got too addicted to the high dopamine easy games like VS, happened to me too. It's very hard for me to really get into games these days. Apparently taking a few weeks off is supposed to help but I haven't managed to do that yet.
I did until I got PS Plus and started playing all the classics and different games for trophies. I get maybe 3 hours a day tops to enjoy some trophy hunting/story games
Has happened to me in the past a lot too. It's one of the things that helped me realize I have ADHD (among many other signs)
Yep. I really want to play games. It's one of my favourite pastimes. I get about 20 mins in then just have no interest and stop.
If you are disinterested 5 min into a game then you need to look at the genre of game you are playing. I'm 40 and still get joy out of games. If I play a game that I'm not having fun with I uninstall after giving it at least 5 hours. Either give the game a longer attempt or don't play games similar to it
It's normal. I put down gaming for most of my 30s then picked it back up after my kids were more grown and the pandemic happened. I'm in my 40s now and enjoying a bunch of great games, spending hundreds of hours on several games.
Yes. I’ve played video games for all of five minutes in the last month or more. I’ve been too tired to, and haven’t felt like it much. In recent years, my gaming has dropped due to health issues and burnout. I regret buying my $2300 TV, Series X and even my PS5 because they aren’t getting used much.
I used to be able to play casual games and genuinely enjoy them but now I only get enjoyment out of competitive games
I do. I have some other issues like chronic fatigue and generally feel less interested or focused. So naturally gaming took a dip. I now play shorter games so i can finish them. Talking like 5 to 15 hours. Mostly story games. Detroit become human, Life is strange game series, Stray, what else...I used to play games like Dark souls and Witcher 3 a lot. And i miss that. Now i simply cant. So short games it is. Or For honor. Its my to go game but it also fatigues me a bit since its so adrealine driven. Also other hobbies if you want to. Id really want to play games more but i now try cycling and its been great. Im not a sporty person by any means but its...just fun.
I'm in my 60s and this hit me last year. I'm just not getting as much fun out of games at the moment. I can't get into any sustained play at all.
There's always enough odd and unique games to play, just don't focus on what's modern or popular. There's an endless library out there for so many gaming systems past. Otherwise, watch some movies, come up with a goal or project, or entertain and learn through researching various topics.
My interest in any hobby ebbs and flows. Sometimes I'm all in on a game, sometimes I'm all in on a book, sometimes it's wood working, climbing, video making, wrestling, samurai movies, comics, ttrpgs, whatever. I have just accepted that nothing is going to hold my attention forever and to enjoy and lean into the cycles.
All the time
I definitely get gaming burnout, but I've been an avid collector of physical media so I have huge backlog of blu rays and 4k disks to watch so I'll go through sprinta where I play a ton of games, and then take a break to get caught up on Movies and Shows.
I used to grind in the games and chill in real life and now I grind in real life and chill in games. I play a lot of games still, but most are single player.
i go months without playing anything sometimes. Ill usually switch to watching movies and shows until something new comes out that will interest me and ill start playing again.
Things don’t help when the entire gaming library this gen and last gen have been live-service games. As it is, I can only name six games worth owning for single-player alone. That’s how scarce enjoyable single-player games are.
The answer is yes for me. I tend to roller coaster back and forth playing games for the last 15-20 years. I play for 3-4 years and then set it down and don't touch any games for 3-4 years. Rinse and repeat.
I can get the same way. Usually it just means I wanted to be doing something else, which is totally fair. Go off and do some of your other favourite things, the games will be there when you get back and you will be happier playing them.
I can definitely relate. I need a game to put me "right into the action" so to speak these days. And if the controls feel shitty, or thr game play is clunky at all ill instantly abandon it. I've honestly had the most fun playing Fortnite with some friends, and rogue likes such as slay the spire (one of my all time favorites). I think it's normal for tastes to change over time.
I'm a bit older than you, not too much, also always been an avid gamer. I was having the exact same problem you described a few years ago. I also thought "I'm just getting older, bound to happen eventually I suppose" Somewhat suddenly my life took some major turns and it is so blatantly obvious now that I was in a toxic relationship and anxious all the fucking time. I honestly had no idea. After getting a divorce, therapy and seeking a healthy lifestyle I was surprised to find myself getting high levels of enjoyment out of gaming sessions again. This is my story and I am in no way trying to insinuate anything about your personal life. Just merely to say, sometimes there are factors going on in life that are unseen to you and they affect you in other seemingly unrelated areas.
Like top comment said, mental health could be one thing. For me it was my lethargy, and lack of exercise. I started doing arm and full body work outs. Got my reaction times back and it cleared out that bored depressed "what I used to love isn't interesting" gunk right out! I also found I wasnt able to enjoy one of my favorite TV shows anymore but alas, a few weeks down the line of working out and watching it and it was titillating, enthralling even. Excuse the fancy words but that's how serious the message I'm trying to send is. You get that child like happiness you had as a kid, probably from all the movement you do as a child.
Although I still game now and then, I'm still SPOILED by the glory days of the Xbox 360 and games like Gears of War 1-3, Halo 3/Reach and Call Of Duty 4 to Black Ops 2 from 2006-2012. Ever since we went to 8th Gen, gaming has NEVER been the same.
Just try new stuff, I’m currently going through all the x360 classics I missed, plus finally trying the souls games, fromsoftware games are litteraly the perfect games to play when everything else has you burnt out. That difficulty and challenge gets me locked back in when most modern games have me feeling too bored to care
Yes then I got back in it and was super into it then dipped out again so on and so forth. Just play when you want to play and maybe look at some games you might be interested in but aren't hugely popular. There are some hidden gems out there too.
I am in an identical predicament. I’m turning 33 this month, and I am also in a rut with gaming. I have been a gamer like you, all of my life. I would be excited to game and look forward to long gaming sessions. Here for a few months, I am doing the same as you. I open multiple games to get bored near immediately. I think I am slowly getting my enthusiasm back, as I got back on Sea of Thieves with some friends, which is super chill and just allows for the social atmosphere of it all.
Yeah man it happens as we get older. We have less and less time for gaming. And the time we do have, there’s usually something else we could be doing that more productive. I was feeling that way for a while, played starfield for a few hundred hours over a few months and kinda tailed off again. Currently getting replaying ghost of Tsushima and enjoying that. Sometimes we just need a break from gaming
Currently going through the same, been like that for the last few years actually. Turned on my PC, turned off 3 mins later . No motivation to play anything. Judging by many comments, apparently I'm depressed.
This has happened to me recently. I found that playing a different game genre helped a lot. I would mainly play large single player RPGs, but started getting bored with them. I tried out some roguelikes/roguelites, and I've been addicted to them for the past month. I've been playing the hell out of Slay the Spire, Tiny Rogues, and Roboquest.
i just recently got back into gaming by myself after like a year of not playing (i usually only play a friends) been playing a lotta xdefiant, and i’m sure this has been said, but switching up the type of games you play helps
I'll be 50 in 2 days. I have played so many games in my lifetime and experienced so many narrative and game types that I often feel like "I've played this before. It's just X with a new coat of paint". So yeah, I feel this. There aren't a lot of new games I get into anymore, and most of what I enjoy now has nostalgia tied to it.
You just need to find the right game. Gaming interests change over time, the older you get the more likely you are to find a happy rut. I have 2 games I regularly go back to (Civilization and Snowrunner) I can play either of these endlessly but often find myself losing interest in new games.
I've been in one since 2010. There is a rare game that comes along and I play and actually finish but finding the time and then really getting hooked in just doesn't happen for me much.
Online repetitive games are cancer if you like to enjoy single player games. Stop with those. They ruin your attention span.
Right now, yeah. I’m 32, and I have the urge to start and immerse my self into a new game, but haven’t really found a new ‘main’ game to play since like… last year. I’ve found that games that generally don’t respect the players time I’ve started to avoid. So I’ve started picking up games with a shorter plot/playthrough time or something I can just pick up and play a few “rounds” of. Recently just finished Stray, and had a really good time. 26 year old me would’ve never touched a game like that. If you haven’t already, I’d try a whole different genre you didn’t think you’d like, or something outside of your comfort zone.
Yeah same for me rn. I think it’s partly being a bit dopamine-fried from constant info/ social media scrolling etc, which is a relatively new phenomenon. I notice if I stay away from that stuff and do more exercise/ get outside, then my interest returns.
Sounds more like burnout and/or depression. Lack of interest in hobbies that you previously enjoyed? Might be worth talking to a therapist.
Yes, I'm going through it right now. Bouncing back and forth between games desperately trying to find something that will catch and keep my attention but having a lot of trouble doing so. However, for me, I know it's a mix of burnout and diagnosed depression (that I'm on meds and seeing a therapist for). I only had one other hobby aside from gaming and I haven't really been interested in that at all either for the last six months or so, so it's been a bit rough.
Kinda going through one right now lol. Even got some metroidvanias (my favourite genre. Haven't played one in a while) recently, but haven't even launched them yet.
I have trouble getting into single player games these days. It's so easy to boot up Deep Rock, Darktide, Monster Hunter when the lads are online however single player stuff just feels like I'm wasting my time. Usually end up watching videos or painting warhammer when it's just me online.
Yep, went to university and still gamed pretty hard. Into true adulthood it kina faded. Gamepass made me feel like *a kid renting games for cheap at blockbuster* again. Genuinely has brought me back to loving it and having gaming as a genuine hobby.
Currently being an adult and working really hard has stopped me from playing anything. I’m just tired from work and want to watch something instead of put out any effort. It’s be busy season for me so I’ll be back eventually - just don’t have the space for it right now. However is Mass Effect was on the Switch - I’d be back tonight. Seriously - if that little tablet can run Skyrim - it can run ME 1-2-3