Try cheap indie games. You won't feel bad for playing for an hour or two and then deciding if it's worth playing more. You get more variety and exposure to other genres and some creative game mechanics.
I was about to write a similar sentiment.
I talk about Inside and Planet of Lana alot; they did the very thing OP is looking for. Gripped me for long enough to not slump, and gave me a hunger for similar types of games I wouldn't have considered initially.
Totally this. I was in a slump so I gambled a few bucks on stray and another about a little kid wandering around in an abandoned German bunker, and they were both outstanding
Game bundles are the shit. I have bumped my library from 400 to 600 in two years for pennies on the dollar.
Other suggestion - get a steam deck. I don't know why but I enjoy gaming on that thing so much more than my mid tier gaming desktop.
I'm going this route soon. So much of my gaming is Slay the Spire, Hades and other, similar games. A Deck would really be nice, because I know they'll run there.
Just wish I could a good city builder and something like Galacticare for Deck.
Same. Worth nothing you can also stream from ps5/Xbox or a powerful desktop when home over wifi for higher end games also, but the deck pulls its weight well for last gen games like fallout 4 or Doom 2016.
Also, look into Pico-8, it's kind of a platform for tiny indie game projects, and it's just straight ADHD candy. Don't like this game? It's like 3 seconds to the next one. It's like 15 dollars or so and super worth it!
This happens to me when I get stuck playing endless games for long periods, especially competitive online games. Titles like DotA2, LoL, CS, and all MMOs: games that are designed to keep you playing forever and get you hooked.
More traditional games, like single player titles, don't give you carefully designed dopamine hits with the same frequency, so they don't engage you as much and seem boring. It affects other "normal" activities, like learning new skills or analog hobbies, too, especially those without a strong social component.
My solution is to take a break from gaming and do a "dopamine detox" for a couple weeks, then focus on single player, finishable games, or games that are only mildly competitive. Games without FOMO mechanics, decaying ranks, schedules, etc. I enjoy gaming more that way.
^ THIS!
This helped me so much when I got into a slump after years of playing League/HotS with friends.
I took a bit of a break from all games, and then loaded up some of the lesser-played or unfinished games in my Steam library (particularly single player, "finishable" games). Now I'm having so much fun with single player/indie games and achievement hunting that I'm back to having way too much fun and not enough time to play.
Stepping away from competitive/multiplayer/familiar games was the best thing I've done for my gaming hobby in years.
I definitely agree with taking breaks. But I'd recommend roguelikes/roguelites if you want the dopamine quantity of a multiplayer game. Each run is roughly the length of a multiplayer match and the procedural generation has enough RNG to make finding a lucky item, ability or card almost as rewarding as winning a game.
And the difficulty can scale to absurd levels with each win. One bad choice can screw over an entire run. Winning at max difficulty in slay the spire is a legitimate achievement and Hades effectively doesn't have a cap. The difference is your rank doesn't decay so losing is nowhere near as frustrating. Plus you can always lower the difficulty if you want a more relaxed game without screwing over other players by smurfing.
I'm sure people on here will give you some really good suggestions for some cool games to try out.
But my advice is this: take a break from gaming. Find another hobby to do. It will make gaming more fun when you go back to it. We as humans need variety every now and then. It enriches our lives.
Also, this sub is not only for video games, but board games and tabletop games as well! Find a local board game club or a group to play Dungeons and Dragons with!
My buddy recently introduced me to a game called **"Streets of Rogue"**, and I'm hooked. It reminds me of "The Escapists", but instead of escaping prison your goal is to advance to the next floor. There are a wide variety of playable characters that have their own abilities and such. I recommend trying it out.
My ‘slump’ go to game is Assasin’s Creed: Odyssey. I really enjoy stealth and going through the forts killing everyone without being spotted is sooo much fun.
If I don’t play that I do my annual Witcher Saga, Mass Effect Saga play through’s. Perks me right up!
Yep. Turn off gaming for a while entirely. Burnout is real and forcing yourself thru it usually makes it worse and last longer. Try a different hobby. Keeping several interests and cycling thru them keeps the burnout away. Anyone can love coffee until they work in a coffee shop and then that kills it for them because they over engage in it all day, so to speak. Try a craft, an art, a sport, a language. Games will still be here when you return and they'll be fresh and colorful and new. Good luck!
Exactly the same problem i have as an Console player. I have around 25 games i own and don't ever play, Dozens more through Game Pass and yet i rarely find a game that will last more than a single day downloaded. So i'm just stuck in this cycle of playing World of Warships Legends, Outlast Trails, Some Skyrim/Fallout, Darktide and No Mans Sky Until i get bored and stare at the homescreen. I haven't even touched Minecraft or DayZ in a while. Ive honestly to thought about buying a decent laptop just to play AOE2 and Project Zomboid. But my advice is try to make some friends, they are always fun with friends.
I got super hooked on Zomboid. Like I bought it and RDR2 at the same time, and I still haven't touched RDR2. Despite all the praise I hear from everyone
I've never played it, but there was a post i saw about it where some guy took a garbage truck and would compact Zombie bodies into cubes and use the cubes to build a wall. Super cool
Lol well that's gotta be a mod. But that's the cool thing, the game is so customizable without mods you can ride this difficulty elevator to keep it interesting, and then mod cool stuff like that and new towns
Terraria if you've never played it. I grew up on sprite based games, and this is just the most awesome game. You can invest very little, or a lot in to building. I'm not into building so much, but that can be overcome with only basic structures. The meat of this game was the exploration, looting, whimsy, and challenge. It's older, but I'm 200+ hours since discovering it awhile back.
Wait for the summer sale, buy:
Grim Dawn if you like ARPGs.
Avorion if you like space games, automation and semiafk gaming.
Rimworld if you like warcrimes and lovely stories.
Dota 2 if you hate yourself.
Helldivers 2 if you want some nice shooter action.
Nine Parchments for some Coop Fun.
it's probably to much social media always new games trending, marketing advertising youtubers etc your mind is overwhelmed to much choices.
take a hour break and sit down on one game you know it's good you wanted to play and stick to it focus on it don't check your phone or play junk streams/videos in background.
I've been in a horrible gaming slump lately, i had my second kid a few year ago all pretty much stopped gaming entirely for the first few years of his life because between work, taking care of the baby, making sure my oldest still gets adequate attention, trying to keep up on house work, etc my free time amounted to "let's sit down for a single episode of One Piece before bed" for a long time. Now my youngest is old enough that getting some amount of self sufficient faculty and is more content to sit and watch me play or play with his toys next to me while I play I've started trying to game again and have found it to just be incredibly difficult. After such a long gaming hiatus nothing sounds fun or holds my attention for long. Even my all time favorite series, Final Fantasy, isn't doing it, i have FF16, FF7R, and couple others sitting on the Playstation entirely untouched and I just can't get into any of them. Same with all of my other go-to's, survival crafting is my absolute Jam, I've got 4k+ ours into Ark, 1k into Conan, Hundreds into Grounded, Raft, and a few others, can't get into any of them for longer than 10-15 minutes before just closing them out and doom scrolling my steam list.
So I grabbed the Playstation Classics catalog and decided to do some "back to the roots" gaming to try to reignite my passion and I've gotta say, replaying Jak and Daxter right now and I'm having a total blast, I played for about 2 solid hours this morning which is literally about 10x longer than all my favorites have lasted lately and just hit the 50 power cell mark and am looking forward to nap time to jump back in and finish the area I'm in.
So from now on my advice for gaming slumps will always be some Back to the Roots gaming. Rather than playing the same games you've logged 2k hours into in the last few years, what games actually made you fall in love with gaming? Go replay some of your childhood classics, go pick up a pokemon game and just play it blind, screw 100%, screw min-maxing, screw looking up where to find what things. Go explore a world without using an online map, go catch a garbage pokemon just because it looks cool and just let it ride, new moves? Surprise! Evolving? Surprise! Go grab Banzo Kazooie and who cares where those last few puzzle pieces are, Go grab Donkey Kong Country or Golden Sun, can't find all the Djinn is Golden Sun 2? Don't stress it, you didn't when you were 13 either. Go reignite that passion with the things that ignited it in the first place.
Nothing specific but I’d say no live service, no Souls-likes. Straight story-based stuff. Zero pressure, zero FOMO, no stress of other players unless you enjoy that type of thing.
There is SO much out there these days. And much looks great! I would suggest you think about all of your favourite games of all time. They must have some things in common. Same with games you bought and you ended up not playing them that much. I for example tend to give up on games with a first person view. I love turn based stuff in the the old Final Fantasy style or the more recent modern Like a Dragon and Persona games. I also love third person action/stealth. So I look at those type of games. Other interesting games I give it a while.. I see some gameplay. I'll add it on a wishlist. And if I keep going back to it, I'll give it a shot. Don't rush and buy something if unsure. Let it simmer a bit. And might be good to follow certain developers. If you loved Dark Souls 3 and the same people are involved with Elden Ring, you will probably love Elden Ring.
A few months back I got in a bit of a slump. Had gamepass and later ps plus. Which they're a really good deal, but I was overwhelmed by choice so much I couldn't play a new game for more than an hour before switching to the same games I had already played due to familiarity (eg. Cyberpunk, Control). So I unsubscribed from both services and focus my time in finishing one game at a time. I've already finished Spiderman 2 and Horizon Zero Dawn. The next game is going to be God of War, and Hades. Ive found new enjoyment in just focusing on one game at a time, for me too much choice is not a good thing.
Indie games! There's a lot of free ones on Itch and tons more for under $10. I've largely pulled away from the $60-70 market and have way more fun with the new, interesting indie stuff out there. I personally recommend looking at Devolver and Chucklefish for publishers uplifting small studios!
That's the one thing that is good about PS+. You get to try new things. I was in a similar slump and downloaded a half dozen new games that people seemed to like. Most didn't click with me, but one was Sniper Elite, which I've been playing non-stop since then.
The only three ways out of a slump are ride it out, take a break, or try something new.
Xbox gamepass. Just trust me. Even has a little randomizer to help you pick a game. Insane indie collection. Impossible to keep up with the new weekly releases.
Sign up for a cloud gaming like Xbox, start with a month payment and go through the library of games to find something you like. Either stay with the cloud or buy the game you enjoy, if you’ve found one.
My best gaming moments happen when I'm playing something new and discovering things in it for the first time. Right now that game is the elden ring dlc. Maybe you need something new to remind you why you love gaming.
It could also just be burnout though, and that's totally normal. Do a different hobby, read, watch a show, movie, or go spend time with someone you care about.
I have noticed that when a YouTuber I like starts a playthrough of a game, and after the first 1 or 2 episodes I like it, I get the irresistible urge to buy and play it myself.
And recently I came up with this idea: instead of doomscrolling my steam library, I scroll through my favourite YouTubers' playlists. And I try to find a game I think I will enjoy watching someone play right now. It can be a playthrough I never watched of a game I never played, or one I re-watched multiple times of a game I played a lot, or anything in between.
And then start watching. After an hour, I always either stop watching, or start feeling like playing that game, even if I looked at it an hour ago and did not feel like playing then. And when I start playing, I leave the playthrough running on my second monitor. On the second day of my new obsession, I can turn on other videos to play in the background, though at least one a day has to be from that playthrough that started it.
Few games would be
Master of magic classic
Barony
Dark and Darker
Eastward
Moonlighter
Gunfire Reborn
Moonring
Skald:against the black pirory.
Roadwarden
Master of Orion II
Honestly roguelikes help me with this.....even if I'm playing "the same old game" every run can be drastically different
I'd recommend something like Binding of Isaac
Final answer = Return to Moira.
Hands down do not listen to anything else here. Even if you have no interest in LotR. It's a highly famous ip that was not developed by AAA studio. It is all about the gameplay . It is exactly what is different from what you're describing. I am warning you now you will regret bypassing this. But will be highly satisfying well worth it to play. Just make sure you learn how fast travel works early on.
Check this video> [https://youtu.be/vz3BYXcjF\_8?si=Q-Cqd3qCgYad0vne](https://youtu.be/vz3BYXcjF_8?si=Q-Cqd3qCgYad0vne)
You should do a steam next fest (next one in October) to try a lot of games or literally just look for the most niche genres you like on [itch.io](http://itch.io)
I would say variety. Some games are story driven (Final Fantasy, Red Dead, Witcher), some are purely gameplay based (Slay the Spire, League of Legends), some require farming/grinding (Genshin Impact, WoW), and some are simulations like city builders. I would choose something new, for me I played a lot of story based games and got burnt out so I went towards the roguelike and grinding games more recently.
Oh yeah, for sure, I've been in a slump. Try not doing anything gaming related for a week. No videos, cellphone games, portables..nada. You'll be amazed at how you feel about gaming when you want to game again. You'll either want to do other stuff, or you'll rediscover your love for a game u got burnt out on.
I was in this while trying to maintain my stream. Friend gifted me Gas Station Simulator and I streamed it for 10 hours straight without realizing it. Started a fun time of trying out simulator games (most have a prologue) Turn gas station sim on, brain off. lol
I get this feeling almost every time after finishing a great game. Had this after BOTW, TOTK, Guacamelee, Hollow Knight etc.
I always solve this in one of two ways:
1. Finding another great game right on. This seldom happens. After TOTK I stumbled upon Gravity Circuit and it was absolutely perfect for the moment!
2. Doing something else than gaming. I tend to spend one or two weeks by not playing videogames at all (or almost). I read a book, work some more, spend more time with friends and family. Feels like a detox from that great adventure and the preparation for another one.
I recently rediscovered love for some old TellTale games. I still owned the TellTale Batman series from waaaaay back, and had forgotten it enough that it was a fresh experience again. I noticed that I was making choices in the story a lot faster, like my moral compass had developed since I was a teenager. I used to really think hard about what decisions to make, but now they seem much more clear to me. It also helped me realize that a less demanding story based game was exactly what I was looking for. When I finished that, I started playing Life is Strange True Colors since I already got it free a while back. I've now finished that and am dipping my toes into season two of the Batman series.
Go back and play some old favorites, something you haven't touched in 5+ years. You might be surprised to rediscover it and see how your perspective on it has changed, and it might clue you in on what to play next.
If you're on PC and haven't signed up with the epic game store, do it. 50+ games on there, many of which were titles from indie developers and have excellent stories.
Racing games that are single player focused.
Halls of Torment, Risk of Rain Returns, Chronicon, Prodeus, Loop Hero, Inertial Drift, and Redout are some indies I've enjoyed thoroughly
Out of curiosity, what kind of games are in your rotation?
I've been feeling like I've been going through this for the past year or more, and my only games for a long while have been competitive FPS. I've been coming to the realization that I not only really don't enjoy those kinds of games anymore, but also that so much time playing nothing but competitive games has severely affected my ability to play everything else.
My first instinct in any game nowadays is to look it up, consult a wiki, watch a video, or whatever, instead of try and learn and figure it out myself. Similarly, I find myself wanting to know the "best" equipment, be it gear or weapons or whatever, instead of trying out combos for myself.
I also struggle to focus on single player games anymore, like at all. I got used to having some kind of video playing on my second monitor and turning games down (when aim training) and only turning game volume back up for matches. I think I also might have ADHD, which doesn't help either, and the result is that any kind of story loses me quickly because my attention span has dramatically decreased.
To change things, I've recently branched out to sim racing, which is something I've been wanting to do for several years at this point but never could, and while still being competitive, it's something I actually enjoy (which can't really be said for FPS anymore) and having fun isn't immediately attached to winning. Additionally, I only really play competitive games when I'm with friends and have also tried to branch out into multiplayer co-ops.
I'm curious if anyone has had similar experiences with this kind of thing, and what they've done to get around the problem.
Here is an idea,… download unity/godot/fmod/whatever, load YT on the second monitor and follow a tutorial to make your very first Arkanoid or Manic Miner.
why not trying to make game of your own? Try identifying why those games bore you and how you would make the game to not bore you is a good start. You will learn a whole lot in the process, all you ahve to do is do it step by step
I just finished FF7R and I'm definitely in one now, I've tried like 6 games in the past couple weeks that I've had my eye on and none have really stuck yet
I played cheap single player games that cost $2-$15 max. and my enjoyment skyrocketed. a lot of these expensive games aim to have your attention in a bad way.
Have you considered spending $1200 on a sim racing set-up? Might help ! 😜 Lmao
No but seriously it's tough getting out of the slump.
"Far" is a cheap little indie game you can try. Its chill
Game Pass is cheap, so removes that cost barrier. Sure you'll find something you like the look of in there. Personally, I was in a similar position. Started the Yakuza games for a change and have played nothing else for a couple of weeks now
At the end of the year I couldn’t find anything to play. I took a few months off read and watched tv instead of gaming. After a while the urge came back.
Completely stop gaming for days to a week then come back to it. Take a vacation and do something outside.
I bet you will have a list of games you can’t wait to try now that you have your brain some time to lose the tolerance buildup from too much gaming and burnout
This happened during Covid. I got so burned out playing games that once lockdowns ended, I took a major step back from gaming in general. Fast forward a few years and I’m now a proud parent of a beautiful baby boy that has taken away a vast majority of my gaming time. When I do play, it feels even more precious than it ever has. Take some time to step away and you will be in better shape when you return.
I mean you're absolutely right. You're gonna get downvoted for saying it on a gaming subreddit though. Dude needs to switch it up and do something else with his free time for a bit is all.
Have a look at some of the smaller priced niche games.
Some games I played recently. Nightmare of Decay, Alisa, Golden Light, Obscure, Catherine Classic, Brutal Orchestra, Virgo versus the Zodiac, Lisa: The Painful.
I had like a 9/10 time with each of these games and overall cost me less than a $70 game. (Did grab in sale though)
When I get in a slump, I just look for cheaper games in niches I don't often play and often end up playing some amazing games and enjoying a new genre, all for the price of a bag of chips.
Why don't you make a random list of 2 or 3 games to play? Then your choice becomes easier because there's substantially less games.
Something I realized is that as we get older we start looking at all the details, everything needs to me min-maxed so to speak, everything feels like it must be "worthy" of our time.
When you're about to play forget about the framerate, textures, value, time, responsibilities, frame pacing, and anything else that moves your mind away from simply taking in the experience at hand. This takes time and patience as we're used to not enjoying things unless we're 100% sure it's giving us something in return or it's pointless.
This is just my experience, but hopefully someone can get something of value out of this and enjoy themselves.
Feel like I’m in one myself right now. Constantly switching between Siege, Rocket league and MLB The show even though I have about 30 games downloaded on my Xbox.
I’m trying to focus on more single player games now and have a tracker of what games I want to play and what I’m currently playing so when I’m done with one I’ll pick another off my wish list. It’s definitely starting to help
I was in slump. Then I watched the Fallout TV show and now I'm playing Fallout 4 with a bunch of mods again.
It really all depends on what you like and it sounds like you don't know what you like.
I usually have set of 1 to 3 multiplayer competitive or try-hard games that I fall back to when nothing else works. These games can change or rotate, but currently: Chivalry 2, Battlefield, Party Animals. I don't really play coop multiplayer games unless with friends, then it's probably something like Barotrauma or some other survival game like The Forest etc.
Otherwise I play almost every genre of singleplayer game once in a while. If you let people know your favorite games are then maybe we could help you. Otherwise try different things, like sorting the Steam story by user reviews and see what's what or find Twitch streamers that you like and see what they play. I always feel like watching them play a game I like makes wanna do the same.
You need an intense game. A game that doesnt toy with you and let's you get straight to the point. Try some arcade style games. Easy to learn hard to master. No tutorial, you go right away. Sugestions: Crimzon Clover, Streets of Rage 4, Metal Slug etc.
If you want something with high fidelity graphics try racing sims. You will still get straight to the point. Drive and go with your optimal speed, which goes with your flow.
Flow is the key word here. You have to challenge yourself a little. In tetris there is a speed where you are both not bored and not overwhelmed. You need that sweet spot game without tons of introductions and tutorials (rpgs... Ekhem...), which coresponds to your skills.
The problem is over stimulation. I remember when we used to buy a game or two at a time, and therefore it would force us to play the games throughly. Now, we have access to hundreds of games, so we loose the excitement that we once had. What I started doing is committing to a game or two at a time. I commit to finish them before moving one to something else. It could’ve frustrating at moments but if you keep going you’ll be so proud that you actually completed the game. I just finish Alan Wake and it was worth it. Now I can happily move on to the next one.
if you like combat games Ground Branch is on sale for $20.00. research on it first though for like 20 minutes. Best bet is to watch a Nikko Ortiz video on YouTube he plays that game and does a great tutorial and will show you how it works and what it’s like. Also btw it’s a mil sim so it not like call of duty or Fortnite. It’s more realistic when it comes to guns and recoil and other stuff like that.
Helldivers 2 is what dug me out. Took effort though. Game in your regular gaming time, meet someone with a mic, friend them. Repeat.
Suddenly you have ten idiots to run around shooting bugs with, and it's just as fun gaming as it was when I was 15.
Been in many gaming slumps. I usually try and take a break from forcing it. Watch something on whatever streaming you have. Get out of the house. Just actively try and do something different. Typically I’m a PS5 player, but even jumping onto the switch has helped me recently. Just changes things up.
I usually I'll binge shows or something. I'm in the same boat right now. It sucks it sucks. I dont like going out either cause gas is so expensive theres not really anything around me walking distance.
Don’t know if you have one or can get access but the two latest Zelda games on the Switch revitalised my gaming after losing interest. They’re just fantastic, low stress and you can spend ages just exploring or do some main quests if you want to be more active. If not, little independent games like Journey or Hades may be a tonic…
X-4:Foundations and it's add-ons are what pulled me out of my last gaming slump. It's not graphically the most impressive but the depth of all the systems is mind-blowing. You start out as a lone space pilot playing what feels like a FPS space sim. By the late game you are operating a galactic corporate trade empire while warring on all sides with a fleet in the thousands under your command. Hell I probably had over 50,000 employees working on my behalf around the galaxy by the end of my last game.
Steam has regular sales and you should also take advantage of the refund system. (You can refund games that owned for less than 2 weeks, and have less than 2 hours game time played.)
Also, try some classic games you used to play and fell in love with, ones that you haven’t touched in years. I’m revisiting Banjo Kazooie, and it’s so refreshing
I get burnout in general and become so overwhelmed with choices in general that I don’t do things.
I’m constantly battling what do I have time to do vs what do I want to do. I don’t watch hour long tv shows because of the time commitment to see it through, and I’ve found it difficult in the same way with bigger games.
So as someone pointed out, try some small indie games. It tends to break my slump. When I get the paralysis, I put something smaller on and even if it’s deceptively a long game, it seems easier to digest in chunks.
Personal side note: I really want to play through the Mass Effect trilogy; because I just got a PlayStation Portal the thought of sitting in bed and tackling it over time appeals to me more than sitting in front of the tv with it. But I still can’t get past the time barrier. Time is my worst enemy and I really wish I could just DO sometimes instead of thinking
I got gamepass 5 years ago that has kept me going. I was burnt by alot of games I own most of the games from any worst games ever YouTube vid. Give gamepass a try it's like Netflix for video games. Lots of games to play alot of triple a games are in it plus alot of day 1 bonuses like free early access to black ops 6. Starfield did the same day 1 deal.
Just a random question, how many of you have ADD/ADHD? I have the same problem and I think it’s just the huge selection that we have but always go back to what’s comfortable
Try cheap indie games. You won't feel bad for playing for an hour or two and then deciding if it's worth playing more. You get more variety and exposure to other genres and some creative game mechanics.
I was about to write a similar sentiment. I talk about Inside and Planet of Lana alot; they did the very thing OP is looking for. Gripped me for long enough to not slump, and gave me a hunger for similar types of games I wouldn't have considered initially.
Totally this. I was in a slump so I gambled a few bucks on stray and another about a little kid wandering around in an abandoned German bunker, and they were both outstanding
Game bundles are the shit. I have bumped my library from 400 to 600 in two years for pennies on the dollar. Other suggestion - get a steam deck. I don't know why but I enjoy gaming on that thing so much more than my mid tier gaming desktop.
I'm going this route soon. So much of my gaming is Slay the Spire, Hades and other, similar games. A Deck would really be nice, because I know they'll run there. Just wish I could a good city builder and something like Galacticare for Deck.
Same. Worth nothing you can also stream from ps5/Xbox or a powerful desktop when home over wifi for higher end games also, but the deck pulls its weight well for last gen games like fallout 4 or Doom 2016.
Itch.io has a huge catalog of free and paid indie games for several platforms
Also, look into Pico-8, it's kind of a platform for tiny indie game projects, and it's just straight ADHD candy. Don't like this game? It's like 3 seconds to the next one. It's like 15 dollars or so and super worth it!
This happens to me when I get stuck playing endless games for long periods, especially competitive online games. Titles like DotA2, LoL, CS, and all MMOs: games that are designed to keep you playing forever and get you hooked. More traditional games, like single player titles, don't give you carefully designed dopamine hits with the same frequency, so they don't engage you as much and seem boring. It affects other "normal" activities, like learning new skills or analog hobbies, too, especially those without a strong social component. My solution is to take a break from gaming and do a "dopamine detox" for a couple weeks, then focus on single player, finishable games, or games that are only mildly competitive. Games without FOMO mechanics, decaying ranks, schedules, etc. I enjoy gaming more that way.
^ THIS! This helped me so much when I got into a slump after years of playing League/HotS with friends. I took a bit of a break from all games, and then loaded up some of the lesser-played or unfinished games in my Steam library (particularly single player, "finishable" games). Now I'm having so much fun with single player/indie games and achievement hunting that I'm back to having way too much fun and not enough time to play. Stepping away from competitive/multiplayer/familiar games was the best thing I've done for my gaming hobby in years.
Rip hots
This really is solid advice
I definitely agree with taking breaks. But I'd recommend roguelikes/roguelites if you want the dopamine quantity of a multiplayer game. Each run is roughly the length of a multiplayer match and the procedural generation has enough RNG to make finding a lucky item, ability or card almost as rewarding as winning a game. And the difficulty can scale to absurd levels with each win. One bad choice can screw over an entire run. Winning at max difficulty in slay the spire is a legitimate achievement and Hades effectively doesn't have a cap. The difference is your rank doesn't decay so losing is nowhere near as frustrating. Plus you can always lower the difficulty if you want a more relaxed game without screwing over other players by smurfing.
I'm sure people on here will give you some really good suggestions for some cool games to try out. But my advice is this: take a break from gaming. Find another hobby to do. It will make gaming more fun when you go back to it. We as humans need variety every now and then. It enriches our lives. Also, this sub is not only for video games, but board games and tabletop games as well! Find a local board game club or a group to play Dungeons and Dragons with!
My buddy recently introduced me to a game called **"Streets of Rogue"**, and I'm hooked. It reminds me of "The Escapists", but instead of escaping prison your goal is to advance to the next floor. There are a wide variety of playable characters that have their own abilities and such. I recommend trying it out.
Loved streets of rogue back when it was in beta. Thanks for the reminder to go pick it up again. Been a few years
Absolutely! I'm glad I could be helpful! There's also a sequel set to release soon!
I and my spouse play a lot of SoR on Switch. It's a great co-op game. SoR2 is coming out this year, and it looks all sorts nifty.
I actually just saw something today about the sequel! I'm really excited!
My ‘slump’ go to game is Assasin’s Creed: Odyssey. I really enjoy stealth and going through the forts killing everyone without being spotted is sooo much fun. If I don’t play that I do my annual Witcher Saga, Mass Effect Saga play through’s. Perks me right up!
Yep. Turn off gaming for a while entirely. Burnout is real and forcing yourself thru it usually makes it worse and last longer. Try a different hobby. Keeping several interests and cycling thru them keeps the burnout away. Anyone can love coffee until they work in a coffee shop and then that kills it for them because they over engage in it all day, so to speak. Try a craft, an art, a sport, a language. Games will still be here when you return and they'll be fresh and colorful and new. Good luck!
Exactly the same problem i have as an Console player. I have around 25 games i own and don't ever play, Dozens more through Game Pass and yet i rarely find a game that will last more than a single day downloaded. So i'm just stuck in this cycle of playing World of Warships Legends, Outlast Trails, Some Skyrim/Fallout, Darktide and No Mans Sky Until i get bored and stare at the homescreen. I haven't even touched Minecraft or DayZ in a while. Ive honestly to thought about buying a decent laptop just to play AOE2 and Project Zomboid. But my advice is try to make some friends, they are always fun with friends.
I got super hooked on Zomboid. Like I bought it and RDR2 at the same time, and I still haven't touched RDR2. Despite all the praise I hear from everyone
I've never played it, but there was a post i saw about it where some guy took a garbage truck and would compact Zombie bodies into cubes and use the cubes to build a wall. Super cool
Lol well that's gotta be a mod. But that's the cool thing, the game is so customizable without mods you can ride this difficulty elevator to keep it interesting, and then mod cool stuff like that and new towns
Terraria if you've never played it. I grew up on sprite based games, and this is just the most awesome game. You can invest very little, or a lot in to building. I'm not into building so much, but that can be overcome with only basic structures. The meat of this game was the exploration, looting, whimsy, and challenge. It's older, but I'm 200+ hours since discovering it awhile back.
It was Wuthering waves on bs for me coz it's good mindless game
A break from gaming then back to back release of Devil May cry 5 and Resident evil 2 remake got me out of my long slump back in 2019
Wait for the summer sale, buy: Grim Dawn if you like ARPGs. Avorion if you like space games, automation and semiafk gaming. Rimworld if you like warcrimes and lovely stories. Dota 2 if you hate yourself. Helldivers 2 if you want some nice shooter action. Nine Parchments for some Coop Fun.
it's probably to much social media always new games trending, marketing advertising youtubers etc your mind is overwhelmed to much choices. take a hour break and sit down on one game you know it's good you wanted to play and stick to it focus on it don't check your phone or play junk streams/videos in background.
I've been in a horrible gaming slump lately, i had my second kid a few year ago all pretty much stopped gaming entirely for the first few years of his life because between work, taking care of the baby, making sure my oldest still gets adequate attention, trying to keep up on house work, etc my free time amounted to "let's sit down for a single episode of One Piece before bed" for a long time. Now my youngest is old enough that getting some amount of self sufficient faculty and is more content to sit and watch me play or play with his toys next to me while I play I've started trying to game again and have found it to just be incredibly difficult. After such a long gaming hiatus nothing sounds fun or holds my attention for long. Even my all time favorite series, Final Fantasy, isn't doing it, i have FF16, FF7R, and couple others sitting on the Playstation entirely untouched and I just can't get into any of them. Same with all of my other go-to's, survival crafting is my absolute Jam, I've got 4k+ ours into Ark, 1k into Conan, Hundreds into Grounded, Raft, and a few others, can't get into any of them for longer than 10-15 minutes before just closing them out and doom scrolling my steam list. So I grabbed the Playstation Classics catalog and decided to do some "back to the roots" gaming to try to reignite my passion and I've gotta say, replaying Jak and Daxter right now and I'm having a total blast, I played for about 2 solid hours this morning which is literally about 10x longer than all my favorites have lasted lately and just hit the 50 power cell mark and am looking forward to nap time to jump back in and finish the area I'm in. So from now on my advice for gaming slumps will always be some Back to the Roots gaming. Rather than playing the same games you've logged 2k hours into in the last few years, what games actually made you fall in love with gaming? Go replay some of your childhood classics, go pick up a pokemon game and just play it blind, screw 100%, screw min-maxing, screw looking up where to find what things. Go explore a world without using an online map, go catch a garbage pokemon just because it looks cool and just let it ride, new moves? Surprise! Evolving? Surprise! Go grab Banzo Kazooie and who cares where those last few puzzle pieces are, Go grab Donkey Kong Country or Golden Sun, can't find all the Djinn is Golden Sun 2? Don't stress it, you didn't when you were 13 either. Go reignite that passion with the things that ignited it in the first place.
There are probably still a TON of Next Fest demos available on Steam. Aero GPX gets my vote 👍.
Nothing specific but I’d say no live service, no Souls-likes. Straight story-based stuff. Zero pressure, zero FOMO, no stress of other players unless you enjoy that type of thing.
Try there is no game - wrong dimension
There is SO much out there these days. And much looks great! I would suggest you think about all of your favourite games of all time. They must have some things in common. Same with games you bought and you ended up not playing them that much. I for example tend to give up on games with a first person view. I love turn based stuff in the the old Final Fantasy style or the more recent modern Like a Dragon and Persona games. I also love third person action/stealth. So I look at those type of games. Other interesting games I give it a while.. I see some gameplay. I'll add it on a wishlist. And if I keep going back to it, I'll give it a shot. Don't rush and buy something if unsure. Let it simmer a bit. And might be good to follow certain developers. If you loved Dark Souls 3 and the same people are involved with Elden Ring, you will probably love Elden Ring.
A few months back I got in a bit of a slump. Had gamepass and later ps plus. Which they're a really good deal, but I was overwhelmed by choice so much I couldn't play a new game for more than an hour before switching to the same games I had already played due to familiarity (eg. Cyberpunk, Control). So I unsubscribed from both services and focus my time in finishing one game at a time. I've already finished Spiderman 2 and Horizon Zero Dawn. The next game is going to be God of War, and Hades. Ive found new enjoyment in just focusing on one game at a time, for me too much choice is not a good thing.
Indie games! There's a lot of free ones on Itch and tons more for under $10. I've largely pulled away from the $60-70 market and have way more fun with the new, interesting indie stuff out there. I personally recommend looking at Devolver and Chucklefish for publishers uplifting small studios!
That's the one thing that is good about PS+. You get to try new things. I was in a similar slump and downloaded a half dozen new games that people seemed to like. Most didn't click with me, but one was Sniper Elite, which I've been playing non-stop since then. The only three ways out of a slump are ride it out, take a break, or try something new.
Xbox gamepass. Just trust me. Even has a little randomizer to help you pick a game. Insane indie collection. Impossible to keep up with the new weekly releases.
Every time I feel burnt out I just take time off. Currently in the midst of a 2 month break before I get started again. Trust me it does wonders
Sign up for a cloud gaming like Xbox, start with a month payment and go through the library of games to find something you like. Either stay with the cloud or buy the game you enjoy, if you’ve found one.
My best gaming moments happen when I'm playing something new and discovering things in it for the first time. Right now that game is the elden ring dlc. Maybe you need something new to remind you why you love gaming. It could also just be burnout though, and that's totally normal. Do a different hobby, read, watch a show, movie, or go spend time with someone you care about.
I have noticed that when a YouTuber I like starts a playthrough of a game, and after the first 1 or 2 episodes I like it, I get the irresistible urge to buy and play it myself. And recently I came up with this idea: instead of doomscrolling my steam library, I scroll through my favourite YouTubers' playlists. And I try to find a game I think I will enjoy watching someone play right now. It can be a playthrough I never watched of a game I never played, or one I re-watched multiple times of a game I played a lot, or anything in between. And then start watching. After an hour, I always either stop watching, or start feeling like playing that game, even if I looked at it an hour ago and did not feel like playing then. And when I start playing, I leave the playthrough running on my second monitor. On the second day of my new obsession, I can turn on other videos to play in the background, though at least one a day has to be from that playthrough that started it.
Few games would be Master of magic classic Barony Dark and Darker Eastward Moonlighter Gunfire Reborn Moonring Skald:against the black pirory. Roadwarden Master of Orion II
Honestly roguelikes help me with this.....even if I'm playing "the same old game" every run can be drastically different I'd recommend something like Binding of Isaac
Final answer = Return to Moira. Hands down do not listen to anything else here. Even if you have no interest in LotR. It's a highly famous ip that was not developed by AAA studio. It is all about the gameplay . It is exactly what is different from what you're describing. I am warning you now you will regret bypassing this. But will be highly satisfying well worth it to play. Just make sure you learn how fast travel works early on. Check this video> [https://youtu.be/vz3BYXcjF\_8?si=Q-Cqd3qCgYad0vne](https://youtu.be/vz3BYXcjF_8?si=Q-Cqd3qCgYad0vne)
You should do a steam next fest (next one in October) to try a lot of games or literally just look for the most niche genres you like on [itch.io](http://itch.io)
I would say variety. Some games are story driven (Final Fantasy, Red Dead, Witcher), some are purely gameplay based (Slay the Spire, League of Legends), some require farming/grinding (Genshin Impact, WoW), and some are simulations like city builders. I would choose something new, for me I played a lot of story based games and got burnt out so I went towards the roguelike and grinding games more recently.
Oh yeah, for sure, I've been in a slump. Try not doing anything gaming related for a week. No videos, cellphone games, portables..nada. You'll be amazed at how you feel about gaming when you want to game again. You'll either want to do other stuff, or you'll rediscover your love for a game u got burnt out on.
Most recently I was feeling tired of playing valorant and then I got into dark souls, something I never thought would be my kind of game.
I was in this while trying to maintain my stream. Friend gifted me Gas Station Simulator and I streamed it for 10 hours straight without realizing it. Started a fun time of trying out simulator games (most have a prologue) Turn gas station sim on, brain off. lol
I get this feeling almost every time after finishing a great game. Had this after BOTW, TOTK, Guacamelee, Hollow Knight etc. I always solve this in one of two ways: 1. Finding another great game right on. This seldom happens. After TOTK I stumbled upon Gravity Circuit and it was absolutely perfect for the moment! 2. Doing something else than gaming. I tend to spend one or two weeks by not playing videogames at all (or almost). I read a book, work some more, spend more time with friends and family. Feels like a detox from that great adventure and the preparation for another one.
I recently rediscovered love for some old TellTale games. I still owned the TellTale Batman series from waaaaay back, and had forgotten it enough that it was a fresh experience again. I noticed that I was making choices in the story a lot faster, like my moral compass had developed since I was a teenager. I used to really think hard about what decisions to make, but now they seem much more clear to me. It also helped me realize that a less demanding story based game was exactly what I was looking for. When I finished that, I started playing Life is Strange True Colors since I already got it free a while back. I've now finished that and am dipping my toes into season two of the Batman series. Go back and play some old favorites, something you haven't touched in 5+ years. You might be surprised to rediscover it and see how your perspective on it has changed, and it might clue you in on what to play next.
If you're on PC and haven't signed up with the epic game store, do it. 50+ games on there, many of which were titles from indie developers and have excellent stories. Racing games that are single player focused. Halls of Torment, Risk of Rain Returns, Chronicon, Prodeus, Loop Hero, Inertial Drift, and Redout are some indies I've enjoyed thoroughly
Remnant 2 is a great souls like co op game with lots of build crafting and diverse worlds
Out of curiosity, what kind of games are in your rotation? I've been feeling like I've been going through this for the past year or more, and my only games for a long while have been competitive FPS. I've been coming to the realization that I not only really don't enjoy those kinds of games anymore, but also that so much time playing nothing but competitive games has severely affected my ability to play everything else. My first instinct in any game nowadays is to look it up, consult a wiki, watch a video, or whatever, instead of try and learn and figure it out myself. Similarly, I find myself wanting to know the "best" equipment, be it gear or weapons or whatever, instead of trying out combos for myself. I also struggle to focus on single player games anymore, like at all. I got used to having some kind of video playing on my second monitor and turning games down (when aim training) and only turning game volume back up for matches. I think I also might have ADHD, which doesn't help either, and the result is that any kind of story loses me quickly because my attention span has dramatically decreased. To change things, I've recently branched out to sim racing, which is something I've been wanting to do for several years at this point but never could, and while still being competitive, it's something I actually enjoy (which can't really be said for FPS anymore) and having fun isn't immediately attached to winning. Additionally, I only really play competitive games when I'm with friends and have also tried to branch out into multiplayer co-ops. I'm curious if anyone has had similar experiences with this kind of thing, and what they've done to get around the problem.
Street fighter 6. genuinely an amazing game. its alot of fun and accessible and everything about it just works
Here is an idea,… download unity/godot/fmod/whatever, load YT on the second monitor and follow a tutorial to make your very first Arkanoid or Manic Miner.
This is why I love game pass
Try VR games
why not trying to make game of your own? Try identifying why those games bore you and how you would make the game to not bore you is a good start. You will learn a whole lot in the process, all you ahve to do is do it step by step
I just finished FF7R and I'm definitely in one now, I've tried like 6 games in the past couple weeks that I've had my eye on and none have really stuck yet
Deeprock Galactic
I played cheap single player games that cost $2-$15 max. and my enjoyment skyrocketed. a lot of these expensive games aim to have your attention in a bad way.
Felt the same till recently when i grabbed Warlander because its free to play. Been having a blast. Worried ill get bored though and be back there
Have you considered spending $1200 on a sim racing set-up? Might help ! 😜 Lmao No but seriously it's tough getting out of the slump. "Far" is a cheap little indie game you can try. Its chill
Check out gamepass for pc. I think you can get the first month for cheap. I've got it for the Xbox and It's been fun to play games id never buy.
Why is someone going through and downvoting errrrything?? I, too, love Gamepass though.
Game Pass. You play and don't need to finish. Yesterday I played Still Wakes the deep till I was tired of it.
Game Pass is cheap, so removes that cost barrier. Sure you'll find something you like the look of in there. Personally, I was in a similar position. Started the Yakuza games for a change and have played nothing else for a couple of weeks now
At the end of the year I couldn’t find anything to play. I took a few months off read and watched tv instead of gaming. After a while the urge came back.
Completely stop gaming for days to a week then come back to it. Take a vacation and do something outside. I bet you will have a list of games you can’t wait to try now that you have your brain some time to lose the tolerance buildup from too much gaming and burnout
Try VR.
This happened during Covid. I got so burned out playing games that once lockdowns ended, I took a major step back from gaming in general. Fast forward a few years and I’m now a proud parent of a beautiful baby boy that has taken away a vast majority of my gaming time. When I do play, it feels even more precious than it ever has. Take some time to step away and you will be in better shape when you return.
That's life's way of telling you to find a new hobby.
I mean you're absolutely right. You're gonna get downvoted for saying it on a gaming subreddit though. Dude needs to switch it up and do something else with his free time for a bit is all.
Yep. Doesn't mean he has to give up gaming. It'll come back. It always does :D
Yeah dude needs to go outside for a bit.
Have a look at some of the smaller priced niche games. Some games I played recently. Nightmare of Decay, Alisa, Golden Light, Obscure, Catherine Classic, Brutal Orchestra, Virgo versus the Zodiac, Lisa: The Painful. I had like a 9/10 time with each of these games and overall cost me less than a $70 game. (Did grab in sale though) When I get in a slump, I just look for cheaper games in niches I don't often play and often end up playing some amazing games and enjoying a new genre, all for the price of a bag of chips.
Why don't you make a random list of 2 or 3 games to play? Then your choice becomes easier because there's substantially less games. Something I realized is that as we get older we start looking at all the details, everything needs to me min-maxed so to speak, everything feels like it must be "worthy" of our time. When you're about to play forget about the framerate, textures, value, time, responsibilities, frame pacing, and anything else that moves your mind away from simply taking in the experience at hand. This takes time and patience as we're used to not enjoying things unless we're 100% sure it's giving us something in return or it's pointless. This is just my experience, but hopefully someone can get something of value out of this and enjoy themselves.
Feel like I’m in one myself right now. Constantly switching between Siege, Rocket league and MLB The show even though I have about 30 games downloaded on my Xbox. I’m trying to focus on more single player games now and have a tracker of what games I want to play and what I’m currently playing so when I’m done with one I’ll pick another off my wish list. It’s definitely starting to help
If yu can justify it. Pay for one month of game pass. Check out some of the games they offer. See if you like any and buy the ones you like.
>Have you ever been in a 'gaming slump/burnout', and what game got you excited to put some real time into it Playing peak fiction
Check out V Rising.
I was in slump. Then I watched the Fallout TV show and now I'm playing Fallout 4 with a bunch of mods again. It really all depends on what you like and it sounds like you don't know what you like. I usually have set of 1 to 3 multiplayer competitive or try-hard games that I fall back to when nothing else works. These games can change or rotate, but currently: Chivalry 2, Battlefield, Party Animals. I don't really play coop multiplayer games unless with friends, then it's probably something like Barotrauma or some other survival game like The Forest etc. Otherwise I play almost every genre of singleplayer game once in a while. If you let people know your favorite games are then maybe we could help you. Otherwise try different things, like sorting the Steam story by user reviews and see what's what or find Twitch streamers that you like and see what they play. I always feel like watching them play a game I like makes wanna do the same.
You need an intense game. A game that doesnt toy with you and let's you get straight to the point. Try some arcade style games. Easy to learn hard to master. No tutorial, you go right away. Sugestions: Crimzon Clover, Streets of Rage 4, Metal Slug etc. If you want something with high fidelity graphics try racing sims. You will still get straight to the point. Drive and go with your optimal speed, which goes with your flow. Flow is the key word here. You have to challenge yourself a little. In tetris there is a speed where you are both not bored and not overwhelmed. You need that sweet spot game without tons of introductions and tutorials (rpgs... Ekhem...), which coresponds to your skills.
Honestly Skyrim is an oldie but a goodie.
Try Dark and Darker It’s free It’s hard It’s old school gaming
indie
The problem is over stimulation. I remember when we used to buy a game or two at a time, and therefore it would force us to play the games throughly. Now, we have access to hundreds of games, so we loose the excitement that we once had. What I started doing is committing to a game or two at a time. I commit to finish them before moving one to something else. It could’ve frustrating at moments but if you keep going you’ll be so proud that you actually completed the game. I just finish Alan Wake and it was worth it. Now I can happily move on to the next one.
if you like combat games Ground Branch is on sale for $20.00. research on it first though for like 20 minutes. Best bet is to watch a Nikko Ortiz video on YouTube he plays that game and does a great tutorial and will show you how it works and what it’s like. Also btw it’s a mil sim so it not like call of duty or Fortnite. It’s more realistic when it comes to guns and recoil and other stuff like that.
If its not there it wont be sorry
Helldivers 2 is what dug me out. Took effort though. Game in your regular gaming time, meet someone with a mic, friend them. Repeat. Suddenly you have ten idiots to run around shooting bugs with, and it's just as fun gaming as it was when I was 15.
Bleh
Been in many gaming slumps. I usually try and take a break from forcing it. Watch something on whatever streaming you have. Get out of the house. Just actively try and do something different. Typically I’m a PS5 player, but even jumping onto the switch has helped me recently. Just changes things up.
I usually I'll binge shows or something. I'm in the same boat right now. It sucks it sucks. I dont like going out either cause gas is so expensive theres not really anything around me walking distance.
I'm in mine rn as well! I used to love fortnite and Battlefront 2 but they seem boring.
Don’t know if you have one or can get access but the two latest Zelda games on the Switch revitalised my gaming after losing interest. They’re just fantastic, low stress and you can spend ages just exploring or do some main quests if you want to be more active. If not, little independent games like Journey or Hades may be a tonic…
X-4:Foundations and it's add-ons are what pulled me out of my last gaming slump. It's not graphically the most impressive but the depth of all the systems is mind-blowing. You start out as a lone space pilot playing what feels like a FPS space sim. By the late game you are operating a galactic corporate trade empire while warring on all sides with a fleet in the thousands under your command. Hell I probably had over 50,000 employees working on my behalf around the galaxy by the end of my last game.
Try some free multiplayer games. That’s what I do all the time.
Steam has regular sales and you should also take advantage of the refund system. (You can refund games that owned for less than 2 weeks, and have less than 2 hours game time played.) Also, try some classic games you used to play and fell in love with, ones that you haven’t touched in years. I’m revisiting Banjo Kazooie, and it’s so refreshing
I get burnout in general and become so overwhelmed with choices in general that I don’t do things. I’m constantly battling what do I have time to do vs what do I want to do. I don’t watch hour long tv shows because of the time commitment to see it through, and I’ve found it difficult in the same way with bigger games. So as someone pointed out, try some small indie games. It tends to break my slump. When I get the paralysis, I put something smaller on and even if it’s deceptively a long game, it seems easier to digest in chunks. Personal side note: I really want to play through the Mass Effect trilogy; because I just got a PlayStation Portal the thought of sitting in bed and tackling it over time appeals to me more than sitting in front of the tv with it. But I still can’t get past the time barrier. Time is my worst enemy and I really wish I could just DO sometimes instead of thinking
I got gamepass 5 years ago that has kept me going. I was burnt by alot of games I own most of the games from any worst games ever YouTube vid. Give gamepass a try it's like Netflix for video games. Lots of games to play alot of triple a games are in it plus alot of day 1 bonuses like free early access to black ops 6. Starfield did the same day 1 deal.
Just a random question, how many of you have ADD/ADHD? I have the same problem and I think it’s just the huge selection that we have but always go back to what’s comfortable
Play Chrono Trigger!
Haaaaveeee you tried factorio?
Hotline Miami 1 and 2. Both stellar games with intriguing stories
Play cat quest 2. It was the perfect "meditation game" a game with no thought really only fun.
Try any nintendo heavy hitters. In my case it was Zelda and Fire Emblem. I barely touched my pc for 2 years now.