This isn’t unique to video games*. It can happen with anything that you spend a ton of time on, and either burn out on or start to develop more refined taste in. I’ve had it happen with:

• novels
• board games
• movies
• people

You start to see patterns, tropes, or just plain get burnt out on something. It’s a sign you either need to take a break, or that your tastes have simply become refined enough that you require a higher bar to find something interesting.

I’m in my 40s and definitely don’t play games as much as I used to. But there are still times I get sucked in and have a great time. Most recent example: Cosmoteer, a spaceship building game with loads of freedom and creativity. I’m also looking forward to the Factorio DLC and the Dyson Sphere Program combat update.

Edit: case in point that I can still get excited about games: I finally tried Shadows of Doubt and, wow, what an interesting game. It’s like a Deus Ex shadowy sneak-around world with detailed voxel simulation.

* though the enshittification phenomenon is a real thing, and why people should play more indie games

I play different games is the big difference. Lots of singleplayer of various genres. I really like engineering games, colony builders and RPGs.

Ok going through this now.

I never thought it’d be like this though. I thought that video game would literally stop being fun. Like I’d grow out of them or something and not find them enjoyable anymore.

But that’s not it. They are still fun and enjoyable. What I didn’t expect was that my mind would be so full of responsibilities that it would just be impossible to enjoy video games. As if there just isn’t enough room in my brain.

I’m sitting there trying to play but I’m just thinking about all the things I need to do tomorrow. Or this week. Or this month.

There is just too much to think about that I can no longer enjoy not thinking.

I’ve gotten into gaming more again by simply sticking with indie games. No more 100 hour boring open worlds.

When I hear this, I wonder if people are playing the wrong types of games for them. Most AAA games have great graphics and cutscenes, but the core gameplay loop is just tedious and feels like you’re following a GPS from chore to chore. I don’t fault anyone for feeling bored with 10hr interactive movies.

I still love games that challenge me and offer a real risk of failure, for example. If there’s no chance of losing, then beating the game just feels like “finishing” it, like how you would describe a movie or TV show. I’d get tired of that too.

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You’re not crazy, you just need to get away from 40 hour long open world chore games

Don’t fight it. Just find another hobby that deserves your time and move on with your life. Games haven’t been truly good for a long time. Unless you’re a Twitch streamer or an esports athlete, games shouldn’t be drudgery. “But it gets better after 10 hours,” “you have to get to the endgame before you’re really playing the game,” “you can’t say you’ve played the game unless you did 3+ runs,” “AAA games suck but indies are still good” Man, shut the fuck up, I’m too old for that shit.

If you want to capture the excitement of how you felt when you first played videogames as a child, find a different hobby. Seriously, find a hobby that’s completely out of left field. Gardening, fixing mechanical watches, backyard astronomy, raising an ant farm, croqueting, kayaking, trainspotting. You don’t have to be that aging nerd who constantly malds at how modern videogames suck while continuing to fall for nostalgia bait that’ll always fall below your expectations.

This happened to me the other day. I’ve had FarCry4 on my Xbox for years. Never played it. Well the other day, started playing it. Died A LOT. But was still having a blast, visuals are a little dated, but the atmosphere and game mechanics are still very fun overall.

Haven’t dived deep yet into the FarCry4 story/lore, but hoping it picks up more. But as I was dying a lot. I wasn’t having any fun. So I stopped playing it for a couple days, and came back to it, fully refreshed and fully restored to tackle the mission. Spoiler: the fun stayed :)