Gaming Rut

I'm in a gaming rut. I have a billion pc games all in my backlog but nothing grabs me and screams "play me!" I've fired up a few new ones but nothing really sticks so I just end up playing dota 2 a couple matches a night before getting frustrated and quitting.

The last game I was really into was Dead Space 3, which even that was kind of weird. I started it like a year and a half ago, hated the save mechanics and the crafting mechanics, played for about 8 hours and dropped it for 14 months. Then I picked it back up again, somehow all the stuff that bothered me originally didn't matter as much, and I pushed through a tedious level and was hooked after that.

Then there was tomb raider, just really got into that one for some reason, finished it in a week. But that was like 5-6 months ago and I haven't beaten any games since those two. I think the main theme here is both of those games are quite easy to play yet also engaging enough.

For example I fired up super meat boy I got in some bundle somewhere. Really easy to play and get in to, but not engaging. I got bored after 5 or 6 levels. Same with Max Payne 3. Had it in my library a while so I tried it. Just didn't hook me like Tomb Raider and I have no idea why cus it's really similar 3rd person shoot em up/action-adventure game. Tried Transistor but it seemed to lack the magic Bastion had plus the skills/upgrades system is super confusing. I stare at Banished and Reus sitting in my library but the idea of having to learn their semi-complex economies feels like working more than gaming lol. Tried both Forced and Blackguards but again, both felt tired and boring. Even tried the Witcher 2 around the holidays and it seemed dull.

Maybe I'm just getting old where gaming feels empty and pointless so I can't get hooked on these titles any more. Which I guess wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if I could just drop dota 2 and go do more productive activities.

Or I could go buy Dragon Age 3 cus I'm 95% certain that's my next can't put it down game.

So if you want to help, suggest a title that has three characteristics:

1. Isn't super hard to get into. No victoria or EVE or whatever (haven't played either of those but just looking at them, too much learning curve).

2. Is engaging with that one more turn feel. Not saying it has to be turn based, just that idea like in dragon age where you just want to visit one more zone.

3. Has a distinct ending. This doesn't mean it has to have traditional levels and stuff, but like a singular game of civ5 it does end, just like reaching the end of the story in mass effect 3, or the end of a multiplayer match in Dota 2. Part of my huge issue with games like Skyrim are I never know when I'm done and lose drive to finish, cus uh, you're never really finished. I need to finish something. Plays into requirement number 2 for me (idea of finishing something makes me more engaged). So yup Terraria, Minecraft, Prision Architect, probably even Banished are out for those reasons. I have spent a lot of hours on Sim City 4 but for right now I'm not feeling it.


Bonus points if the game can be played in 15 min spurts! Think FTL here, you can load it up in like 20 seconds, go to one zone, engage in one fight and then save and quit to pick it up later. Too many games have ridiculous space between save points or take forever to load so you have to play like a minimum of an hour or you don't really progress. Part of why I loved FTL and Bionic Dues and even still fire up some older games like Master of Orion is cus I can play them for a few mins on my lunch breaks or during other breaks. It's a definite plus.

I wouldn't recommend DAI to you if you want a game to have a decent ending. I quit playing DAI without finishing and many of my friends did so too. The main story is quite good but all territories and side quest are kind of boring/repetitive after some point. It becomes more absurd the moment you realize it is not necessary to visit them to finish the game. Well you need to visit some to get enough xp and inquisition points, but usually there is close to non connection to your current main story.
Some non AAA titles which were quite fun and might fit your criteria: shadowrun returns, incredible adventures of van helsing, kami or perhaps even Besiege (beware early access, but still fun)
You could also try to play some of your favorite games with new mods. (this is why I return to C3C and CIV on a regular base)

Get Darkest Dungeon, or at least look it up. I ended up getting it for €20 on steam. Early access with some minor bugs, but still great fun imo. A sort of dungeon crawler with some similarities to FTL and Disciples if that makes sense. Perfect to be played in 30' bursts. I've got maybe 7 hours game time, but I'd recommend it so far.

I can identify with nothing in the backlog jumping out and screaming, "Play me!" Reus and Banished are actually two in my backlogs, as well. A lot of times I just play some One Finger Death Punch, and... that might actually meet your desired traits. Can be played in 15 minute stretches, is easy to get into, makes you want to play another (short) level, and has an ending of sorts, though it's more end-of-levels than end-of-story.

I've found I complete a lot fewer games these days. I used to play game after game of Civ, and usually got to the end. Even when I switched up and played Medieval II or EU3, I'd usually finish the game. These days my focus in games wanders too much to finish many of them. I'll play a game for a week but then move on to some other game, possibly coming back to the first one but possibly not. It may just be the threshold at which I burn out of games is lower.

Loppan Torkel said:

Get Darkest Dungeon, or at least look it up. I ended up getting it for €20 on steam. Early access with some minor bugs, but still great fun imo.

Click to expand...

No just no, you will play early access, go through all the content and then finish the game then find yourself not inclined to revisited it once it out of early access / beta. Simply because you already played the game to death.

I still have skyrim and borderlands 2 on my to play list.
Instead I ended up playing hearthstone due it winning several game of the year awards as well as some weird humble bundle games I only intended to farm cards.
Also the good old world of tanks is great game for 1hr play and you can run audiobooks, podcast in the background or another screen as it is just a slow paced team deathmatch game with tactical thinking.

I guess this is normal for gamers, always looking at the next game thinking the grass is greener on the other side.

Yeah I need to try some skyrim mods since everyone raves about them.

I don't really care if the ending to inquisition is bad, I just mean I want it to have one in general so I have a goal.

I added one finger death punch to my wishlist. Looks cool. But I must wait for sale lol.

civvver said:

Yeah I need to try some skyrim mods since everyone raves about them.

Click to expand...

Mods are a must.
I remember adding in weight mod so I could be a loot hor in the dungeons. which is essentially a cheat for the game. I got told off saying I should load up on loot exit the dungeon , goto town sell and then revisit the dungeon again, which add a huge chunk of travel time which was what he was doing. I said that was insane waste of time and only thing he was doing was making himself work. True enough he got bored and quite playing Skyrim. Thats what happens when you are OCD and instead of running through a dungeon once, you run through it multiple time and end up hating the game.

This mechanic might have been ok for old games to extend the play time. But today it would be intolerable.

Meh, I only loot the really useful/valuable stuff and generally leave stuff I wouldn't want to pick up or couldn't sell for much let alone wear like the shredded and bloody armour & clothing of my defeated foes that has now had a dead person evacuate their bowels and bladders into.

I couldn't imaging really playing Skyrim without mods, it has far too many problems.

Maniacal said:

Meh, I only loot the really useful/valuable stuff and generally leave stuff I wouldn't want to pick up or couldn't sell for much let alone wear like the shredded and bloody armour & clothing of my defeated foes that has now had a dead person evacuate their bowels and bladders into.

Click to expand...

I am unfriending you on Steam !

Everyone knows that you first paralysis the enemy with a spell, then steal there clothes, weapons off their immobile bodies BEFORE you kill them.

Its just easier by far to loot all and dive from dungeon to dungeon or quest to quest without having to short through stuff, or visit the shop to sell constantly.

Grim Fandango was just rereleased. Still a pretty damn fun game, and they finally tossed the [crappy] tank controls. There's also the Walking Dead games if you haven't played those. I've been playing a lot of Far Cry 4 recently and been having an absolute blast.

Maybe not fitting your criteria, but OpenTTD absolutely has that "One More Turn" feel, especially when you start throwing in the mods. I usually sit down to play for 15 minutes and look up to realize I've been playing for 2 hours.

It's not strange at all. Got a new computer recently and I thought to catch up on all the titles I missed but I found it's just mostly not fun anymore. Content has become predictable and as I became more aware of development methods and tools and the process it just becomes too obvious how little effort is put into games nowadays. Glitches galore, repetitive mechanics, arbitrary button-mashing, zero play-testing, low-res assets, commercial CD sounds, effects that take basically one click to fix in development left in the game as is....it's just so disgusting.

I played both walking dead games and yes, they are amazing. Maybe I'll replay them and change some decisions. I tried getting into the wolf among us but it isn't catchy like the others. Same overall production value and good game, but I don't care about the characters the same way.

I have spent about an hour on this little gem, one way heroics. http://store.steampowered.com/app/266210/

It's a little weird, really hard, cus I think you're supposed to grind gear and powerups so we'll see.

All of the Telltale games are great. I actually thought The Wolf Among Us was a step above the Walking Dead games, but that's probably because I find the zombie apocalypse dull as a setting. Episode 1 of Tales from the Borderlands was also great. Haven't played Game of Thrones, so I can't speak for that.

Here are some other recommendations:

If you want to play against some friends over a break, then go tabletop. Coup and The Resistance are both great little games that pack the same punch as a PC game. If you're willing to spend time learning upfront together, Android: Netrunner is far more compelling than Dota 2.

Ok I think I found it. Spent a couple hours playing old school Divine Divinity. Appealing because it's really easy to play. I found the older fallout games a little too confusing, as are a lot of the d&d based games like neverwinter nights. I'm not 100% sure it'll stick yet but it's fun so far, easy to get into with a hint of a lot of depth to come. We shall see.

Loppan Torkel said:

Get Darkest Dungeon, or at least look it up. I ended up getting it for €20 on steam. Early access with some minor bugs, but still great fun imo. A sort of dungeon crawler with some similarities to FTL and Disciples if that makes sense. Perfect to be played in 30' bursts. I've got maybe 7 hours game time, but I'd recommend it so far.

Click to expand...

I'll second this. Really fun game.

Lords of Xulima !
Sorta like King's Bounty except more odd battles and err... things.
Also wierd name.

I just bought a new graphics card, and what i use it for is a game that looks like it was made in flash. Took me about a month to finish.

Try age of wonders 3.

About that skyrim comment..

Only obtain loot when you observe it's weight and resale value.

Generally in this order..

1st Weapon
2nd Chest armor
3rd Potions and jewels etc.
4th anything else.

My main Skyrim character already have over 500k septims, goal was like 1m but I got frustated due to lack of good homes in skyrim. They're all basically tiny hovels except for one near the blue palace but even then, that home felt so freaking cramped.

My bedroom is downright luxurious and spacious compared to skyrim houses.

Failing that, grab a follower that doesn't suffer a permanent death cuz followers is kinda then have her carry everything.

And then if you really have to, resort to TGM command to turn on godmode and then you can move heaven and earth with your back.

Personally I found that Long War for Xcom was like a whole new game and as a result I have sunk another hundred or so hours into that. I seem to remember you only played an earlier version of it, so beta 14 (I think that’s the latest) might be worth a look. Its certainly long, certainly hard, and certainly fun. There is something about running into 4 berserkers or a giant chryssalid that just gets the pulse running.

Game that grabbed me most last year (wasn’t released last year, I just picked it up last year) was Bioshock infinite. So if you have not played that I would highly recommend it. South Park stick of truth is also good, but only if you like southpark. Its also dead easy to pick up and play.

When you get older you've seen and heard (music) most of the new stuff before. It's simply not that great anymore.
And when a game (or something else) has a lot of repetitive actions/mechanics, boredom kicks in very fast.

Here's a tip that might help : reset your biosystem with some fapfodder.