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[cireza]

This is definitely an interesting topic. I think part of this is influenced by how much free time you have in life. I have a full time job and kids, and close to 40 years old, I can get 2 hours of gaming if I am lucky during the evening. On top of this I have decided to develop games on my free time, so this is like halving the time available. But this activity will end if it does not generate a bit of money in the coming 2 years.

Thanks to this, I have become totally intolerant to any game that does not respect my time. So any kind of bloat will have me quit very quickly. This includes copy-pasted open-worlds (Zelda, Elden Ring), never ending garbage discussions (Persona), games that are totally braind dead and have you repeat the exact same thing for tenths of hours (Persona again) and all these useless features that are forced into games to make us feel smart while they are just here to waste your time (skill trees, crafting and all this shit, so a large majority of Western games). Also, quite surprisingly, we have come to an age where games also insult or disrespect the player directly, like Starfield for example. So fuck this shit too.

This might sound negative but it is actually a blessing : I have never been gaming on quality as much as when I decided to say "fuck it" to all these shitty games. So, what does actually remain for me to enjoy ? A ton of games.

Puzzle games : Catherine (the original one, not Full Body), Talos Principle (the first one, not the second), Shiren the Wanderer, the Witness, Outer Wilds, the Forgotten City. All truly great games that you should enjoy.

Visual Novels : Steins Gate and 0, Tsukihime, Witch on the Holy Night, Anonymous Code, House in Fata Morgana, both AI Somnium Files games.

Quality action games : Sonic Unleashed/Forces/Generations, Ninja Gaiden series, Project Zero, Resident Evil 2/3/4, Code Vein, Metroid Prime Remastered

Older SEGA games : Jet Set Radio, Panzer Dragoon series, Burning Rangers, Outrun Coast to Coast etc...

2D games : Curse of the Moon, Shovel Knight, Dead Cells, Dragon's Trap, Sonic Mania, Streets of Rage 4, Donkey Kong Returns games

NSO games with rewind feature : MD, SNES, GBA, GB/GBC. The rewind feature is a must !

Fighting games : you have to cherry pick them because the pricing strategies have never been so ridiculous, but I love DoA5/6 (these games offer more content than any other with the base version, no need for any DLC), Melty Blood (free DLCs for characters) and older games, especially from SNK.

RPGs : Valkyria Chronicles series, FF XV (the only open-world I found genuinely well built and worth exploring), Lost Odyssey, FF XIII trilogy (best FF games ever). Really hoping for a remaster of Skies of Arcadia !

Special note for Brigandine, an awesome SRPG that has no bloat of any kind, no stupid social shit to marry gay characters, or have a kid with your daughter, or whatever absurd stuff you might make up.

Going to give Falcom another chance with Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure, but their games ARE bloated to no end. Played several Ys games, they were average at best. They are clearly overrated.

Favorite developers :
Koei Tecmo
SEGA Japan/Sonic Team
Retro Studios

 

[hououinkyouma00]

I mean.... you like hunting animals!!!

I could never do it in real life. I value animals lives over human lives (though I admit that hypocritically I can't bring myself to not eat meat as meat) unless we're counting spiders. Fuck spiders.

There was just something about that game that got me as a kid.

 

[KimDongHwan]

I think only because of my bandwidth, I have regressed to playing games that can be mostly played in chunks or runs (roguelites?) but honestly I would love to get to a stage in life where I have enough time to again involve myself with the story and lore as I did with games like The Witcher 3, Final Fantasy X, etc.

Hopefully by then, when I am old enough, I new generation of game developers can bring back good stories and keep their politics to themselves. If this doesn't happen then I will be running through my backlog so no complaints, still have years worth of games unexplored from past generations.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

As time for gaming became more limited over the years, I tend to prefer playing singleplayer games on easy and multiplayer games that are pick-up-n-play.

There are some exceptions, but in general I just want to sit back and relax.

 

[Frwrd]

Badly, I would say.

It feels the need, but it's not the same.

Same. I'm at a point where I don't even mind fucking a fat bitch... But that's a subject for another day.

Oh how the mighty have fallen...

 

[TintoConCasera]

Mostly the same. I was mever into cars nor sports games (bar a few exceptions) and that is still the case.

Tried expanding my horizons with genres that as a kid did nothing for me, stuff like CRPGs and colony sims.

This and also I was younger I would give up too easily on harder games but now actually enjoy them even more.

Also this. As a kid I would beat a lot of games by using save states, something that today would feel like heresy. A challenge is always welcome.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

In the past 10 years or so? I went from playing MOBAs (Dota 2, League, etc.), GaaS PvE shooters (Destiny 1 & 2, The Division 1 & 2, etc.) and MP shooters (Battlefield and COD) to mostly single player games (JRPGs, ARPGs, action adventure, narrative adventure, VNs, simulation games, SRPGs, shooters, arcade racing, etc.) with the occasional live service and/or gacha game.

 

[FoxMcChief]

I also quit games faster than ever. If it can’t grab me and keep me after the first 60 minutes, it’s garbage.

Also, I hardly buy games anymore. If it’s worth playing, it’s first party and comes out on their service.

And if I really want to play it, or it’s third party, I’ll just rent it via GameFly.

Games aren’t worth owning forever.

 

[Laptop1991]

Mine have devolved over time, they don't make many of the games i put over a thousand or hundred''s of hours into anymore, too many MP, Gaas, MTX games that i don't like and won't play.

 

[Pimpollo818]

I ask myself "is this sparking joy?" more often these days. Surprised by how often the answer is "no." Getting better at shelving games that aren't resonating.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

I ask myself "is this sparking joy?" more often these days. Surprised by how often the answer is "no." Getting better at shelving games that aren't resonating.

I've done this with every aspect of my life for quite awhile after getting into minimalism. Wasting time on a game that you don't enjoy is worse than just taking it as a loss IMO.

I've been contemplating moving back to physical because of this as I can at least get something back despite it needing to take up more space in my home.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

I'm pretty much where i've always been.....my main genres i play are RPG, platformer, action, fighting and adventure games. Anything with a timer where i feel rushed and die because of a timer, or if there are things built around a timer i won't play at all (Majora's Mask, Pikmin games, etc....) I hate that kind of stress and it's the opposite of why i game.

 

[dispensergoinup]

To keep it short, I used to play a lot of competitive games (FPS, Fighting) but now I play more co-op builders and single player games. But still play MMOs now and then.

Figure I'm just getting older and tastes change.

 

[Holammer]

Well, I like/play more rogue-likes and Metroidvania today. But that's just a function of them being vastly more plentiful these days. Megadrive only had one rogue-like afaik with Fatal Labyrinth, while Super Metroid & Symphony of the Night were basically it for the longest time.
Both genres have evolved by leaps and bounds too.

 

[EverydayBeast]

99% of the games I play now are games I played when I was younger, I saw all genres on the N64, defining games like Mario 64, I remember ocarina of time vividly as well as Mario switch today and TOTK.

 

[Plague Doctor]

I care vastly less about "The Latest and Best Graphics" and more about art direction and vibe.

 

[majorgamer10]

I used to get hot and bothered over hot girl sprites as a kid, but now there's not much left to the imagination.

The games that make you fall in love with them, now, are virtual gold digger Gacha games.

You need to spend money to have the same experience as a kid.

Love comes at a price.

 

[Bond007]

Very much.
I used to cancel whole genres out. I play everything these days solely based on my mood at any given time and im open to anything and everything with one exception: Anime. I dont like anime, so i generally most likely not gonna play that aesthetic minus a few exceptions here and there.

 

[cireza]

Well, I like/play more rogue-likes and Metroidvania today. But that's just a function of them being vastly more plentiful these days. Megadrive only had one rogue-like afaik with Fatal Labyrinth, while Super Metroid & Symphony of the Night were basically it for the longest time.
Both genres have evolved by leaps and bounds too.

You should play Shiren the Wanderer, best roguelike series ever in my opinion. You can start with the first one on SNES or DS, and 5+ is an absolute blast.

 

[Paasei]

I used to be highly competitive in FPS games. Primarily MoHAA, CoD 2 and CoD 4 promod. As much fun as I had with these games and even managing to win some smaller tournaments here and there. Aside from that I had great fun with WoW for plenty of years.

Today it’s very rare for me to play a multiplayer game. My tastes for replayability have always been there. The likes of Hitman, RCT2, Fallout NV continue to be my most played games overall I’d say.

From actively playing multiplayer, to nearly none at all is the biggest change. I also recently have a hard time getting interested in soulslike games. Kinda done with the combat formula of a stamina bar, heavy/light attacks.

 

[Regginator]

I've always known that good gameplay is fundamental to being a good game, but there was a phase (2012-2018 or whatever) when I prioritized good story over good gameplay, to the point of mistakenly thinking that good story = good game. Ten years ago I considered The Last of Us a masterpiece. Even then I knew the gameplay was meh, but I was willing to look past it because of the story and characters. Now I'm deadly allergic to such games.

Red Dead Redemption 2 for example. If I had played that game in that phase, I'd have probably drooled all over it. Now, I think it's one of the most overrated games of the 21st century so far. Absolutely sub-par gameplay with pretty shit mission design and progression, somewhat saved by a stunningly detailed open world and memorable characters. But from a gameplay mechanics point of view and actually playing through it, it's pretty forgettable.

Same with the God of War reboot and Ragnarök. But at least the gameplay in those was somewhat more engaging.

TLR: Started out prefering gameplay over story, then had a phase when I was story first, and now reverted back to gameplay over story.

 

[Holammer]

I've always known that good gameplay is fundamental to being a good game, but there was a phase (2012-2018 or whatever) when I prioritized good story over good gameplay, to the point of mistakenly thinking that good story = good game. Ten years ago I considered The Last of Us a masterpiece. Even then I knew the gameplay was meh, but I was willing to look past it because of the story and characters. Now I'm deadly allergic to such games.

Red Dead Redemption 2 for example. If I had played that game in that phase, I'd have probably drooled all over it. Now, I think it's one of the most overrated games of the 21st century so far. Absolutely sub-par gameplay with pretty shit mission design and progression, somewhat saved by a stunningly detailed open world and memorable characters. But from a gameplay mechanics point of view and actually playing through it, it's pretty forgettable.

Same with the God of War reboot and Ragnarök. But at least the gameplay in those was somewhat more engaging.

TLR: Started out prefering gameplay over story, then had a phase when I was story first, and now reverted back to gameplay over story.

That's a good point that could be its own thread/discussion. Mechanics VS Narrative.
I'm team Mechanics all the way, but I gamed since the Atari 2600 and that's long before games got the cinematic treatment some 30 years later.