I cannot turn off my brain.

>>1066627 Sorry to hear that. You just constantly think hard while watching TV? That sounds painful.

>>1066626 Just do other stuff and wait till you feel like playing games again, it sounds like you've been forcing yourself to play them or something and burning out in the process.

>>1066626 You're having a completionist mindset which is why it's feeling like a job. Take a break from it, get some fresh air and pick something that interests you. For example, I have inventory autism so I play games like STALKER, Resident Evil, Bannerlord, Men of War and more recently Terminator Dark Fate Defiance. But I'm also kind of burned out so I play something more action oriented and casual like Ninja Gaiden and Dynasty Warriors Origins. Don't go into it with the mindset that you NEED to play it/finish it, just play whatever you want and have fun. What appeals to you the most in vidya anon?

>>1066630 >You're having a completionist mindset which is why it's feeling like a job. I feel like the completionist thing is something that the industry side of gaming pushed on the hobby side of gaming. Newer game design seems to be built around it more. Probably by achievements in part. It does feel like work sometimes.

>>1066630 >What appeals to you the most in vidya anon? Controls, Freedom of expression (non-restrictive gameplay), atmosphere, simplicity. Metroid is an example of something I like. Beta Minecraft is another game that has those 4 qualities. SM64 is another one.

>>1066633 That's built into modern gayme design for sure, but the issue here is that OP feels the need to play and complete these games when he should just be treating them as a hobby and playing them however he wants.

>>1066637 Try out Another Metroid Remake 2 and Bloodstained Ritual of the Night.

>>1066626 Do things besides videogames, I've gone from 100 hours a week to about 10. If you don't want to play a day, it's fine. Go to sleep earlier, read some fiction, non-fiction (picrel can kill a lot of time), prep food for half the week, sketch some ttrpg or board game ideas on paper, exercise, go for a walk. Also helps to play multiplayer with friends every so often.

I never really cared about completing games, very few I have unless I could do it within a short amount of time. I don't really care for endings, so I end up playing games that don't have endings, like tf2 where I can just hop on a server, maybe win a few matches or fuck around with a goofy team and have a few laughs. One game that keeps sucking me back into it is binding of isaac, because while it starts out easy, you end up unlocking things that are really fun to use, which makes you want to play more, and then you beat it, and unlock more things, but the more things you unlock, the greater the difficulty gets, throwing new mobs and bosses at you, and it just... keeps... going. Very few people have beaten it 100% with the DLC, but the incentive to do so is getting the best item which, if you get it in a run, lets you have any 1 item, which is extremely powerful. Although even the people that have beaten it will say that some things you have to do to get to that point are the most unfun you will have, and I'd agree, but having the constantly changing challenge keeps me going, even if I only really have time/energy enough to play for a few hours a week.

>>1066633 Sometimes I wonder if I should get into arcade games. Perhaps the story mode of games is turning me off because it feels like an obligation to save these characters from the evil villian, if you catch my drift. This obligation is a responsibility that I don't want. >>1066639 I still have to try out AMR2 seeing as how Metroid II is one of my favorite vidga. and yeah castlevania is cool too. >>1066640 Yeah those things are kind-of naturally happening as a result of my reluctance to play vidga lately. I grew up playing games and they were so magical to me for so long, I'm almost having an identity crisis that they don't feel like magic to play anymore.

>>1066643 Finished RE3 for the first time 2 weeks ago after only having finished 1 and 2 back in the day. Still feels like magic, shit, I did another run right after just to fuck with the Ammo system some more. What a great sendoff for the last of the classic RE games.

>>1066643 >Sometimes I wonder if I should get into arcade games. Perhaps the story mode of games is turning me off because it feels like an obligation to save these characters from the evil villian, if you catch my drift. This obligation is a responsibility that I don't want. Anon I would suggest classic Spelunky. You're basically just raiding a dungeon to get treasure. It's kind of addictive too trying to optimize the best possible run. https://spelunkyworld.com/original.html >arcade games Yeah maybe anon. Although some of them do still have save the princess/world type plots, most of them do over do the narrative parts.

>>1066643 I think a lot of "modern games" are simulations or stories that are gamified, rather than something closer to a traditional game with rules and an end condition that separates it from other games, like chess from hockey. The former type is excellent escapism but causes burnout in the long term, the latter I can replay or try new ones til the end of time since the gameplay is novel. The only way I can see the immersive type of games improving for me is if an everything-game appeared and any mods could stack onto eachother for any game, so 10 vastly different and intricate magic systems could be picked from for an mmo, fps, or arpg along with every other mod, like enemies, crafting, etc giving a possibly endless live-service-like experience of more places, encounters, and things to do, like skyrim on steroids. Multiplayer is its own can of worms I don't feel like dissecting but the competitiveness is what's driving co-op growth as well.

Oh wow. another "I am le depressed" thread.

>>1066705 Happens to the best of us, and there's different ways to get out from that rut. Enjoying videogames is key to enjoying life.

>>1066706 It kind of happens to me but then again I've always played games in fits and starts even when I was younger. I might go a few weeks to a month without playing, or without really playing and then I might marathon a series of games. Or get on a kick and play one game for months at a time and sink hundreds of hours into it. I do think that due to the way games are structured now that I have longer gaps where I don't play since they're so much longer and much more narrative driven that I don't feel like I can jut hop into a short platformer or something for a few minutes every other day.

>>1066626 Consider playing either Blood Fresh Supply or Noita Blood is clever, it's satisfying, and there's nobody to protect so just blast 'em. I'm not even good at Boomer Shooters but it's so enjoyable that it pulled me into the genre and is now my go-to game for slumps. Plus there's lots of fanmade levels. Noita lets you have that freedom of movement you want, and you can make really crazy wand spell setups. There's loads of mods for it on the Steam workshop which are easy to install too. If you're feeling empty and like games aren't fun, like it's all a waste of time, consider looking into whatever is nagging your mind/heart. Solve that, soothe that worry by fixing whatever is going on in your life, then games will likely feel better again. Good luck Anon! I hope things get better for you!

As two other anons were saying earlier, engaging in other hobbies is overall healthier. Doesn't need to be complex or costly, such as reading comics/novels, drawing/painting or getting into linguistics through self-learning. I don't think I will ever get tired of games considering I still manage to clear a good 20-ish games per year, but I'm into several genres: action, rpg, arcade, simulation, strategy, puzzle, visual novels, etc. I can only assume someone trying to do multiple games of a same franchise (or with very similar gameplay) in a row will easily get burned out for instance. As well as anyone always mindful of achievements or something.

>>1066884 God I love/hate Noita so much.

Play games you normally wouldn't. I was in a similar position until my friend insisted that I try few of his recs. I played mostly western RPGs, metroidvanias, FPSes, TPSes, stealth, and strategy. He insisted I try Ace Combat 7 when it was on a big sale. I did and a whole new genre opened up for me. Playing the game felt fresh, I was learning new stuff, discovering mechanics, and it was the closest in decade or two that I felt to like a kid and getting into video games again, where everything is fresh and interesting. Same happened when I tried adventure games, got back to playing racing games first time since I was teenager, and fighting games are next on my list to try. Beyond that, if videogames are your only or main hobby, try doing something else like >>1066640 suggested. Preferably not in front of the screen if games take up a lot of your time already. If you enjoy expression, try dabbling in a creative hobby. I found that it's best to have a good mixture of hobbies that: >keep your body moving, like hiking, running, lifting, swimming, tennis, etc. >focus on self expression or building something - arts, journaling, woodworking, home improvements, modelmaking, legos, gardening, caligraphy, cooking fall here >keep you learning and mentally active - languages, reading, coding, travel, etc. >consumption hobby that will give you things to talk about and draw upon for other hobbies. Travel, visting museums, consuming media all fall here. Many hobbies cover two, three, or all categories. Or go well with each other. Any new hobby you pick up will involve a lot of learning and that will engage your brain by default. It's good to rotate hobbies a bit too, especially the physical ones. If all you do is run, it will eventually get too easy and might result in an injury due to overwork. Mixing it up with swimming, lifting, and another sport, and rotating them keeps things fresh. And coming back to games, completion ism does suck fun out of it like >>1066630 pointed out. It's definitely there to keep people playing games longer than they would otherwise, and locked in on platforms they use. I used to care too much about getting to 100% and it did suck fun out of the games. Once I got older and realized how precious time was, I stopped caring. I only 100% a game because I liked it so much I finish it more than once. First playthroughs are usually best done blind without worrying about even finishing the game anyway.

Ah, to have access to every game that I coveted as a child, but now as an adult I can barely find the motivation to play them, the curse of growing up.

>>1066626 i am in a similar slump. every game that comes out feels like the same crap i've had a million times or its just contaminated with zog propaganda. in 2024 i played a whole 3 games i think and they were all mid at beast (satisfactory, stalker 2, and palworld)

>>1066626 Play something that can transfer to real life skills. I'd recommend a flight sim or DCS. You won't need a HOTAS for a good few weeks if your starting out in DCS. https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=xb1u_hnlliY

It sounds like you've outgrown masturbatory escapism, but lack something else to spend your time on. The other anons are correct that you should cultivate other interests. Maybe make a game, or pursue mastery of one of the elements of which a game consists: code, text, graphics, music, sound. >I know vidga has a higher potential for interest and engagement and that's why I would like to get back to it. Take I wouldn't play as much as I do if I weren't also documenting what I experience— the names and places that might be foreshadowing, details about the visuals that might be symbolic, casual displays of moral depravity the devs obviously didn't consider to be wrong, the one titcow in the entire world, etc. If a game is really dumb, I have fun writing about how dumb it is. This way, games aren't just ephemera that I experience and forget; I have something that at least marks the time I spent. I play mostly Japanese games, because being able to start up a game, see a lot of moonrunes all over the screen, and just dive in anyway sounded really cool to me when I was 20. And I was right; it is cool. It's fun to have this extra layer of challenge beyond the game's design. Maybe you can make your own fun, too, according to your own personality, etc.

>>1066626 >watching twitch or TV is more fun because I can slump in my chair and turn off my brain. >turn off my brain. >fun Spoken like someone who's never experienced what happens when parts of one's brain shut down. Hint: It's not fun.