I don't know what to play any more.

BossLackey

BossLackey

Gold Member
My anchor for the last decade+ was the Soulsborne games (can we ever get a better name than this?). But Elden Ring burnt me out. Don't get me wrong, it's one of my favorite games of ALL TIME. Put 150 hours in 3 weeks with a full time job and wife and if you knew me, you'd know that's an astronomical pace for me.

But since completing it, I've felt lost. Despite getting VERY EXCITED for releases since, including Shadow of the Erdtree, none of them have grabbed me and held on like before.

I've tried soulslikes and got decently far in Lies of P, but nothing sticks for the long run. I'm always looking for the next thing. Like a heroin addict trying to feel it for the first time again.

I thought time away from the genre would help, but it hasn't. I still feel burnt out on it. And unfortunately, no other genre has been able to fill the void.

I want to play games. I buy them, think about them, talk about them, watch videos about them, hell I read books about them. But I'm just ping ponging between titles, big and small, genre to genre, forever.

And I have a very diverse taste in games. It would be easier to name the genres I'm not interested and I love games of every level of jank. I'm also part of the PC/Switch/PS5 master race, so there's virtually nothing I can't play. That is to say, it's not a lack of titles I'm interested in or have access to.

I'm drowning in games I want to want to play.

I need a vacation badly. Maybe that's part of the problem.

In the meantime, I'm just playing Shmups a lot because they can hold my attention and there's zero bullshit.

I'm sure I'm far from alone in all this. Such is life in your mid-thirties I suppose. Tell me, does it get worse? Or is it more like a rollercoaster? When does it go back up again?
 
When I don't know what to play I just pop an old console game like F-Zero or Gunstar Heroes or maybe an arcade game. Those are always fun without requiring an investment of any kind.
 
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Its definitely a rollercoaster. What you need to do is take a long vacation to sit down, relax, and enjoy those games you wanna play. I did it plenty of times before and it helped

Sometimes a break sorts it all out too
 
I've just pre ordered the deluxe edition of Nightreign. Short-form, cooperative gameplay? Ignore the GAF haters, this game will slap yo cheeks.

Felt lost this year though, not played a single single-player game. Buying Oblivion on payday though.
 
Hideous Snake said:
Its definitely a rollercoaster. What you need to do is take a long vacation to sit down, relax, and enjoy those games you wanna play. I did it plenty of times before and it helped

Sometimes a break sorts it all out too
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Last proper vacation I took was almost 3 years go. Work is grinding me into a fine powder and it's the type of position that makes it incredibly hard to get away even for a day or two, let alone a week.

I think it's a massive part of the problem. My soul feels tired, pa.
 
BossLackey said:
Last proper vacation I took was almost 3 years go. Work is grinding me into a fine powder and it's the type of position that makes it incredibly hard to get away even for a day or two, let alone a week.

I think it's a massive part of the problem. My soul feels tired, pa.
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And now we know the actual problem. I work 12 hour shifts 4 days a week so I know how soul draining work can be

Take that long vacation my friend to wind down and reset. Its worth it more than you can imagine
 
Hideous Snake said:
And now we know the actual problem. I work 12 hour shifts 4 days a week so I know how soul draining work can be

Take that long vacation my friend to wind down and reset. Its worth it more than you can imagine
Click to expand...

Thank you. I'm really going to try this time. I have a hard time letting go. My self worth feels directly tied to my job, which I know isn't healthy.
 
BossLackey said:
My anchor for the last decade+ was the Soulsborne games (can we ever get a better name than this?). But Elden Ring burnt me out. Don't get me wrong, it's one of my favorite games of ALL TIME. Put 150 hours in 3 weeks with a full time job and wife and if you knew me, you'd know that's an astronomical pace for me.

But since completing it, I've felt lost. Despite getting VERY EXCITED for releases since, including Shadow of the Erdtree, none of them have grabbed me and held on like before.

I've tried soulslikes and got decently far in Lies of P, but nothing sticks for the long run. I'm always looking for the next thing. Like a heroin addict trying to feel it for the first time again.

I thought time away from the genre would help, but it hasn't. I still feel burnt out on it. And unfortunately, no other genre has been able to fill the void.

I want to play games. I buy them, think about them, talk about them, watch videos about them, hell I read books about them. But I'm just ping ponging between titles, big and small, genre to genre, forever.

And I have a very diverse taste in games. It would be easier to name the genres I'm not interested and I love games of every level of jank. I'm also part of the PC/Switch/PS5 master race, so there's virtually nothing I can't play. That is to say, it's not a lack of titles I'm interested in or have access to.

I'm drowning in games I want to want to play.

I need a vacation badly. Maybe that's part of the problem.

In the meantime, I'm just playing Shmups a lot because they can hold my attention and there's zero bullshit.

I'm sure I'm far from alone in all this. Such is life in your mid-thirties I suppose. Tell me, does it get worse? Or is it more like a rollercoaster? When does it go back up again?
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Well for me was the contrary ... I despised Elden Ring and after powering trough for the platinum I thought I was done with thia shit.... but than I picked up Lords of the fallen and lies of Pi ... and they were both great and brought my enjoyment for souls games back again.
 
Welcome to being me for a very long time. For the longest time I have blamed myself and my aging and my tastes, but recently I realized that it isn't me. I am just wholly soured on the state of the industry and its offerings at large. Video games don't feel like video games to me anymore. Fun and simplicity have been replaced by analytics, chasing financial trends, and overt monetization and corporatization. There are only a handful of games I'm looking forward to and they mostly represent that golden age of gaming.
 
Arsic said:
Animal well.
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I was just gifted this for my b-day by a friend. He was shocked I didn't have it yet (which admittedly, had been something I planned on getting and just never pulled the trigger.

Does seem like it has a lot of new ideas. Blowing minds, I hear.
 
Hideous Snake said:
And now we know the actual problem. I work 12 hour shifts 4 days a week so I know how soul draining work can be

Take that long vacation my friend to wind down and reset. Its worth it more than you can imagine
Click to expand...
Came here to also recommend this. Last year I took my first two-week vacation from work, after 14 years of working here. Before that, I'd have like maybe a three-day weekend here or there. Once about 12 years ago, I tried taking the wife to the Redwood forest (about 4 hours drive from where I live) and my work called me in a panic and told me that I either needed to come back in right away or look for another job. Since then, I hadn't dared go anywhere too far away - on two occasions I was able to get away for a week at a time for my brother's wedding in Kansas City, and to go to my grandma's funeral in FL, and both times I came back to just having a bunch of work dumped on me from being gone.

Finally snapped last year, and let them know that I would be taking a two-week vacation to Japan, gave them more than six months' notice, and let them know in no uncertain terms that during that time I would be literally on the other side of the planet, sleeping and unreachable during local business hours, for the duration of my trip. I wouldn't be able or willing to cut the trip short. If they didn't like it, they could go ahead and fire me. Turns out, it was fine - my boss went to bat for me, and the team I manage really stepped up. But, I was ready to walk out over not being able to take vacations.

Long story short, later this year I'm going back to Japan but this time for almost four weeks. Thankfully my job isn't a "use it or lose it" situation, so I've got literally 15 years now of vacation time saved up. Obviously everyone's situation is different, but it turns out that being able to take time away from work is incredibly important to a person's mental wellbeing.
 
Wukong gave me a good and interesting challenge after Elden Ring. Currently playing LotF and it reminds me of Dark Souls 3. Nioh 2 is my favorite non-From soulslike, so you may enjoy that one.

That said, I would branch out. Try Baldur's Gate 3 or Oblivion remastered.

You know what though. I'mma go out on a limb. The game I recommend you play is Resident Evil 4 remake. I think, based on what you wrote, you would really like that one.
 
Try other genres: Fight Games, CRPG Games, Racing Games, Strategy Games. Start with the best of the best.

If you are on PC you can mod the hell out of Skyrim to the point it becomes a totally new experience,

If nothing works then you can always try Hentai Games :messenger_smirking:
 
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I heard Lords of the Fallen is pretty good and it is chud-approved now.

But yea if you cant find anything to play just do something else. Or try a genre you've never tried before or haven't in a long time, like a city builder or something.
 
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I think it's common for people with a huge backlog who can't decide what they want. It makes it difficult to focus on one game and enjoy it without rushing.

What games engaged me recently? Fallout 4, Resident Evil Code Veronica, Axiom Verge. All three fueled my curiosity to proceed, to find out what's ahead.
 
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Maybe something evergreen like chess or Tetris (99 or tetr.io) for a while could do the trick.

Or Metal Slug. I recommend the Switch port over the Steam one.
 
BossLackey said:
I was just gifted this for my b-day by a friend. He was shocked I didn't have it yet (which admittedly, had been something I planned on getting and just never pulled the trigger.

Does seem like it has a lot of new ideas. Blowing minds, I hear.
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Just play. You'll thank me later.

Also, Clair 33.
 
John Bilbo said:
Maybe something evergreen like chess or Tetris (99 or tetr.io) for a while could do the trick.
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Lots of really great evergreen games coming out nowadays too! Someone already mentioned Vampire Survivors, but in addition to it's many knock offs there are also games like Balatro, Slay the Spire, Monster Train, or even Hades. That's about as far from Souls-like as you can get.
 
I have the same issue. Been going back and playing games from 20 years ago that I missed. There's a real shortage of games like:

RTS games
Games like Heroes of might and Magic
Sports games that are actually fun instead of the same game released 10 years in a row
RPG's similar to BG3

You might get one of these every 2 to 3 years now that's good instead of multiple games per year 20 years ago.

Original Madden on the Apple II had a play editor. 35 years later we don't. Sports games in general have gone downhill into a money chase unfortunately. The best football games are still Tecmo Super Bowl and NFL 2k5, NHL game is probably NHL 94 and NHL 2k5, NBA is probably NBA Live 2000 and a 2k game sometime in the past 10 years. I was so excited for NCAA 25 football but it just felt exactly like it did 10 years ago when it was cancelled, I just immediately had the feeling of "I've already played this game a bunch".
 
Have you played Armored Core? It's a different kind of series, but it scratches that it for me so well that I recommend it to every Soulsborne fan every chance I get. Give it a go if you can!
 
If you like Metroidvanias I strongly recommend Nine Sols
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Feels like a mix of Hollow Knight (a bit more linear and with less back tracking though) with a strong influence of Sekiro since parrying is a core mechanic of the game that you'll need to master to win.
The combat is really fun, the art direction is quite nice, it has amazing boss battles and it's a no bullshit gameplay focused experience that still manages to tell a surprisingly compelling story.
 
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I was a bit lost as to what to play, in a somewhat similar way than you (I even got far into Lies of P too, but slowed down to a crawl since).

On a whim I bought the Oblivion Remaster, and it turned out to be a great change of pace for me. It's my first playthrough and I'm having a great time just taking in the great atmosphere of this game. Might not be your perfect solution, but maybe this or a similar game can give you what you need.
 
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Bonfires Down said:
You make it sound as if there is something wrong with playing shmups…

Try some rougelikes maybe. Binding of Isaac.
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I was playing Binding of Isaac when it first released. S-tier. I'm well WELL versed on roguelikes/lites.

Nothing is wrong with shmups. Quite the contrary. It's like top 5 genre for me. But I'm saying I've lost something and shmups are the only thing that can hold my attention lately. I'd say that's a compliment if anything.
 
I get you. I've spent over 2k hours thoroughly enjoying Owlcats Pathfinder games. But after my last playthrough I'm completly sated. I've been playing Claire Obscure on and off the last week, it's without a doubt a great game, but I'm finding myself unexcited of booting it up.

Been here before, my remedy is usually playing something low-stake and lighthearted. I've been eyeing Fanatsy Life i, it seems like the kind of pallet cleanser I could enjoy during lazy summer days. Sooner or later the need for more hardcore games will return, the bangers will still be there when I get back in the groove.
 
BossLackey said:
I need a vacation badly. Maybe that's part of the problem.
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I don't think this'll work. I often feel exactly what you feel and, honestly, it's more stress than anything. A huge part of enjoying games is declouping yourself from life, but if you're too worried or thinking about other things, your brain will either want you to try and solve those problems, or it'll shift you into procrastination mode. Which is probably why you go for stuff like shmups because it's likely something that feels familiar and mechanical enough to you that'll just turn your brain off. It's not that much different from browsing social media or looking at memes.

The solution, well, it's entirely internal. Learn ways to let your brain breath which, honestly, might be healthy for you even if you don't end up playing games.
 
I felt the same when I had too many games that I wanted to play, but never had the stamina nor time to play them... that playing them felt like "job"... and I almost gave up gaming at one point.

Finding some other new things to do, may help you? It took me a while to get myself going on gaming - but even to these days... I limit myself playing 1 game at a time, and maybe a handful of games per year, at very casual pace.

Yes, I'll be missing out a lot of great games, but my life isn't about playing or collecting all the best and greatest games like some sort of completion maniac.

On a side note, I've been playing some retro games (Chrono Trigger, and Tetris DX on Steam Deck) - and having some great time, enjoying more simpler experience.
 
I'm bouncing around titles like a ball on a pinball table. Sometimes I try new mediums I know very little about. Started reading manga (Black Lagoon), comics (Punisher omnibus, Ennis/Accliam era Shadowman, Tomb Raider. Just read the first Resident Evil novel from 1998. Started some visual novels (Sliver Case/25th Ward, Dies Irae. Watched Hong Kong movies-- Infernal Affairs trilogy, John Woo etc. Tried VR and 3D SBS games. Played games on a huge projector. I like to experiment with different ways to experience stuff.
 
diffusionx said:
I heard Lords of the Fallen is pretty good and it is chud-approved now.

But yea if you cant find anything to play just do something else. Or try a genre you've never tried before or haven't in a long time, like a city builder or something.
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Playing thru it now, about 30 hours in. It's legit. Gripped me from the start.
 
I literally just run around eldin ring killing things looking for any thing I may have missed in the dlc.

That plus either Forza Motorsport or gt7 is all I play these days.


Everything new is crap.
 
diffusionx said:
I heard Lords of the Fallen is pretty good and it is chud-approved now.

But yea if you cant find anything to play just do something else. Or try a genre you've never tried before or haven't in a long time, like a city builder or something.
Click to expand...

Zacfoldor said:
Playing thru it now, about 30 hours in. It's legit. Gripped me from the start.
Click to expand...

Here to stan for Lords of the Fallen once more : it's a legit good game after patch 1.7 and IMO, one of the best Souls-likes of this gen, plus, the art-direction and graphics are top-fookin'-notch.
I liked it better than Lies of P, BM Wukong and Khazan (which is more Nioh like).
The fact that it isn't frustratingly hard is also a plus in my book.

OP, if you like Souls-likes you should definitely give it a go.
 
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