A bit late to the party but I love how perfectly captures a common struggle of feeling overwhelmed instead of entertained. It shows how gaming can go from fun to a chore.
What really stands out is the idea of a mindful approach(two guesses why…haha!) to gaming. It's not about playing every new game or getting all the achievements. Instead, it's about being fully present and enjoying the moment.
It is about the fun 🙂
Gaming should be a source of joy and relaxation. It encourages us to ignore outside pressures, like hype or the need to "optimize" every session. By doing this, we can truly connect and make them a genuinely enriching hobby again.
I like that you are the mindful gamer resonating to this haha. Totally, people forget that it's about having fun instead of "optimizing" by searching youtube for the best builds and walkthroughs. And never actually being challenged yourself becuz we get too fixated on how to get the most out of a game at a fast rate.
It’s an interesting thing ya know hearing people complain about gaming being too easy when you know good and well they are looking for every which walk through and handout. The second you take it away they’ll be the first to whine.
It's definitely not something that happens with gaming, but just so many things in life. We're exposed to so many things, always chasing the next thing and that's where burnout happens.
Not my main reason of not playing PC games anymore, but def one of the reasons. My Steam library is ludicrous. I picked up every sale. It came to a point whre I just didn't even touch most of the games I bought. I was tired.
Now? I'm good with my Ps5 and Switch. I play what. Iwant and no need on getting it upon release. My backlog of games I DO wanna play, I'll take my time with until that "new" game goes on sale.
ANd I too have to not be a completionist anymore. Sure I'll finish the 50 side quests but no need to find all 1000 koroks type deal.
No need for team games, I just wanna play at my OWN pace. One of the reasons I stopped playing League of Legends too (on top of the toxicity). And I don't even miss any of that.
I'm like you I swear I could've easily written another 1000 words to cover this and why I stepped away from online multiplayers and stuck to consoles haha.
I love steam and indie games, but that's also one of the things I hear about ppl just buying whatevers on sale and forgetting about they even have them. So I'll keep supporting the indies from my switch.
I'll do sidequests as long as it's fun and contributes to the overall experience. But little find these just for the platinum for me is jading. If I wanna play coop games it's with my partner and friends, in the same room!
LOL I used to do that. There wre bundles for like $50 that came with 20 games. It’s great to try em, but when ya work full time it’s impossible! Then I also feel bad about not being able to play it.
But yah, I love fun sidequests. but Never will I do it for a premium trophy. Fuck that. Too grindy. I have a backlog to attend to haha
So agree with much of this - my partner and i share the PS5 with just basic storage and it really makes you prioritise what you want to play! he deleted clair obscur (half finished) in favour of the indiana jones game yesterday. but better than leaving it there making you feel guilty for not carrying on with it. And yes, no time in your 30s for being completionist, haha. unless its really fun and worth doing
Exactly! Having limited availability when it comes to your library actually makes you prioritize the ones you really wanna play. The act of having to delete and make space makes is almost like comparing your capacity with your time as well
I'm in the same position pretty much exactly as you. I focus on single player games. The odd few hours in an evening or weekends. I do enjoy online multilayer like COD and I get some satisfaction when I can still get high up a leader board on console against all of these PC player sweats. But I don't play it so much that I have battle pass or unlock every weapon. I play for fun not to win. Winning is a bonus. I also don't listen to reviewers. If I did I would have missed Star Wars Outlaws which I loved. So yeh, you do you bro
"Winning is a bonus" is so facts. People can get so focused on just having a flex of a stat they look up how to make the very best built, do unnessecary grinding and empty their wallets makes me quesiton if that is really what they find "Fun"?
There was a time around when my first child was born that I stopped playing video games, a mixture of lack of time (and sleep!), feeling like I should be a "grown up" now, and simply that I found no games I really wanted to play. Just before my third child though I resolved I did want to get back into it, and I would somehow allow myself the time to do so, even if it was more limited than before. Now all my children play games, sometimes with me, and we can even talk about them together, which I love bonding over.
I have quite the backlog though, and struggle to shake off the completionist attitude in me, but I now just play games to enjoy them. I also nearly always play solo because I can then go at my own pace in my own time and just get lost in what I want to do.
So I always hear about having children means time to grow out of gaming but then I also hear marvelous stories like yours. You not only got back your passion for gaming but also found a way to make it a bonding experience for your family. That is the ultimate goals! TY for sharing.
I loved reading this! Gaming stops being fun when you start viewing like a chore - something I definitely fell victim to once. It's a hobby, so it's better to keep it like a hobby! Which is why I don't play live service games anymore. The fact that I worked at a live service game for 5 years made me so disillusioned about them, so it's not fun anymore to play those types of games in my free time. Give me a game with good gameplay, a good story and good characters, and I'm happy.
I can see that burning you out from those type of games def. Sometimes gaming is fun when we set out own boundaries on what we'll play and won't play. Thank you for sharing!
"So on my PS5, I get told I should expand my storage, but I like having limited space as I have to decide what I want to download and play at once. I’d rather have a 2-4 game I can choose from at one time rather than 500 that I’ll play for 15 minutes and never think about again."
I feel this so hard!
Great article, and I really resonate with just slowing down and enjoying what you have without getting drawn into all the noise
The whole aspect of slowing down and treating it like when we were kids or teens and only got new games every other month or so, or when we can afford it, is limiting yet feels good. I like getting to take my time with a game without itching to open another one because an entire library is sitting on my downloads.
A bit late to the party but I love how perfectly captures a common struggle of feeling overwhelmed instead of entertained. It shows how gaming can go from fun to a chore.
What really stands out is the idea of a mindful approach(two guesses why…haha!) to gaming. It's not about playing every new game or getting all the achievements. Instead, it's about being fully present and enjoying the moment.
It is about the fun 🙂
Gaming should be a source of joy and relaxation. It encourages us to ignore outside pressures, like hype or the need to "optimize" every session. By doing this, we can truly connect and make them a genuinely enriching hobby again.
I like that you are the mindful gamer resonating to this haha. Totally, people forget that it's about having fun instead of "optimizing" by searching youtube for the best builds and walkthroughs. And never actually being challenged yourself becuz we get too fixated on how to get the most out of a game at a fast rate.
Its kinda my vibe now haha what can I say 🤣
It’s an interesting thing ya know hearing people complain about gaming being too easy when you know good and well they are looking for every which walk through and handout. The second you take it away they’ll be the first to whine.
I love a lot of what was said here!!
It's definitely not something that happens with gaming, but just so many things in life. We're exposed to so many things, always chasing the next thing and that's where burnout happens.
Not my main reason of not playing PC games anymore, but def one of the reasons. My Steam library is ludicrous. I picked up every sale. It came to a point whre I just didn't even touch most of the games I bought. I was tired.
Now? I'm good with my Ps5 and Switch. I play what. Iwant and no need on getting it upon release. My backlog of games I DO wanna play, I'll take my time with until that "new" game goes on sale.
ANd I too have to not be a completionist anymore. Sure I'll finish the 50 side quests but no need to find all 1000 koroks type deal.
No need for team games, I just wanna play at my OWN pace. One of the reasons I stopped playing League of Legends too (on top of the toxicity). And I don't even miss any of that.
Man I could go on and on hahaha
I'm like you I swear I could've easily written another 1000 words to cover this and why I stepped away from online multiplayers and stuck to consoles haha.
I love steam and indie games, but that's also one of the things I hear about ppl just buying whatevers on sale and forgetting about they even have them. So I'll keep supporting the indies from my switch.
I'll do sidequests as long as it's fun and contributes to the overall experience. But little find these just for the platinum for me is jading. If I wanna play coop games it's with my partner and friends, in the same room!
LOL I used to do that. There wre bundles for like $50 that came with 20 games. It’s great to try em, but when ya work full time it’s impossible! Then I also feel bad about not being able to play it.
But yah, I love fun sidequests. but Never will I do it for a premium trophy. Fuck that. Too grindy. I have a backlog to attend to haha
So agree with much of this - my partner and i share the PS5 with just basic storage and it really makes you prioritise what you want to play! he deleted clair obscur (half finished) in favour of the indiana jones game yesterday. but better than leaving it there making you feel guilty for not carrying on with it. And yes, no time in your 30s for being completionist, haha. unless its really fun and worth doing
Exactly! Having limited availability when it comes to your library actually makes you prioritize the ones you really wanna play. The act of having to delete and make space makes is almost like comparing your capacity with your time as well
I'm in the same position pretty much exactly as you. I focus on single player games. The odd few hours in an evening or weekends. I do enjoy online multilayer like COD and I get some satisfaction when I can still get high up a leader board on console against all of these PC player sweats. But I don't play it so much that I have battle pass or unlock every weapon. I play for fun not to win. Winning is a bonus. I also don't listen to reviewers. If I did I would have missed Star Wars Outlaws which I loved. So yeh, you do you bro
"Winning is a bonus" is so facts. People can get so focused on just having a flex of a stat they look up how to make the very best built, do unnessecary grinding and empty their wallets makes me quesiton if that is really what they find "Fun"?
There was a time around when my first child was born that I stopped playing video games, a mixture of lack of time (and sleep!), feeling like I should be a "grown up" now, and simply that I found no games I really wanted to play. Just before my third child though I resolved I did want to get back into it, and I would somehow allow myself the time to do so, even if it was more limited than before. Now all my children play games, sometimes with me, and we can even talk about them together, which I love bonding over.
I have quite the backlog though, and struggle to shake off the completionist attitude in me, but I now just play games to enjoy them. I also nearly always play solo because I can then go at my own pace in my own time and just get lost in what I want to do.
So I always hear about having children means time to grow out of gaming but then I also hear marvelous stories like yours. You not only got back your passion for gaming but also found a way to make it a bonding experience for your family. That is the ultimate goals! TY for sharing.
I loved reading this! Gaming stops being fun when you start viewing like a chore - something I definitely fell victim to once. It's a hobby, so it's better to keep it like a hobby! Which is why I don't play live service games anymore. The fact that I worked at a live service game for 5 years made me so disillusioned about them, so it's not fun anymore to play those types of games in my free time. Give me a game with good gameplay, a good story and good characters, and I'm happy.
I can see that burning you out from those type of games def. Sometimes gaming is fun when we set out own boundaries on what we'll play and won't play. Thank you for sharing!
"So on my PS5, I get told I should expand my storage, but I like having limited space as I have to decide what I want to download and play at once. I’d rather have a 2-4 game I can choose from at one time rather than 500 that I’ll play for 15 minutes and never think about again."
I feel this so hard!
Great article, and I really resonate with just slowing down and enjoying what you have without getting drawn into all the noise
The whole aspect of slowing down and treating it like when we were kids or teens and only got new games every other month or so, or when we can afford it, is limiting yet feels good. I like getting to take my time with a game without itching to open another one because an entire library is sitting on my downloads.
I’m glad you can relate!!