I love my favorite games and have been playing them for years, but I disliked about 99% of the games I played.
I don’t think I have FoMO or anything; I just find it weird because my taste in music, film, or art/media in general is usually fairly broad. I guess I just wonder why my taste in games is aggressively limited.
It’s not for the lack of trying new games; I’ve tried more or less anything I could find, sometimes because it’s popular, other times because it looked interesting, but nothing really hits the mark like my favorite games.
I just don’t like what most developers create, I guess?
I’m hoping, by posting this, maybe I can find others who are having a similar experience, and we can share thoughts.
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There’s no wrong or right way to enjoy games, and so many ways to find enjoyment in those games. Some people love the novelty, or the stories, graphics, music…
Based on the favorites you’ve mentioned, I feel like you really enjoy specific mechanics or the physical experience/practice of the game. Back in the day, I could spend hours running through Diablo 2, and that was entirely based on button mashing and running. Something about its pacing, interface, and the match of its challenge with my coordination just hit exactly right - difficult enough to be rewarding, easy enough that repeatedly dying didn’t frustrate me, and always another fight just seconds away. I played that for years.
Now that game launchers track my time, it’s really obvious that I like certain games for their mechanics - mostly Skyrim & Fallout - other games for sandbox/crafting - Valheim, Rimworld, X4 - hundreds of hours in each, even though I’ll try other games, at least long enough to finish their stories, once. Sometimes just because I paid for it & feel obligated to get to the end. It’s OK to have favorites.
Saw where you mentioned being into fighting games, action games, & shmups, so I wonder which games you find yourself bouncing off of more.
Along with reasons other have mentioned that are similar to my own (many games demanding a lot of time, better finding what games really click with me, etc.), I’ve also been put off by other details (hyper-monetization, big budget photorealistic & cinematic styles, etc.). Personally it’s less being into very few games, and more being into more specific kinds of game design and creative style, which are sometimes harder to find.
Like not being into drawn out progression systems immediately narrows one’s options pretty significantly, especially among many recent games.
Oh, absolutely. It probably has a lot to do with falling out of favor with current design and monetization trends, I agree.
Some of the games I’ve been playing for years: Guilty Gear, Under Night In-Birth, Bayonetta, The Wonderful 101, Crimzon Clover, Smash TV, and Catherine.
Which games do you keep going back to?
Mainly games built for replaying, so arcade puzzlers like Super Hexagon/Tetris Effect/Mixolumia/Equaline/etc, roguelikes such as FTL/BrogueCE/etc, or strangesims like Powder Toy or Vilmonic. Although even with those it’s more occasional, like when I’m uncertain of what I’m wanting to do.
Do you play indie games often? Most of my favorite gaming experiences have come from indie studios. They put more love into them
I try them often, but haven’t had much luck finding a favorite other than Crimzon Clover. Nex Machina and Furi got close, but not quite.
Some experiences were nice, but not replayable, which ruled them out as a favorite for me, like Hyper Light Drifter.
Some I had some fun with, but took issue with some of the design choices, like Dead Cells and Hollow Knight.
Some I outright did not enjoy at all like Hades or Stardew Valley.
Most recent indie game that got close for me was Kill Knight.
What are some of your favorite indies?
I recommend CrossCode, if you haven’t tried it. It’s a top-down twinstick shooter/fighter so the gameplay is comparable to some of those you’ve listed and the story is long and unforgettable, with tons of fun optional content. Probably my favorite game narrative; there’s nothing like it.
Some other favorites of mine are Revita, but there’s little in terms of story, and Outer Wilds, but it’s a slow burn. And if you’re looking for games to play with friends, these are some of my favorite multiplayer indie games:
(Also Starbound, Terraria, & Core Keeper but those are bigger time investments)
Limit Internet usage and avoid games and other entertainment for a few days, then go on itch.io and just play whatever. Not because it looks cool, not because it’s popular. Just anything.
Whats gonna happen?
Not to rain on that particular advice—it may actually work for others, I obviously do not know—but I did try that at some point, and got bored really quickly.
For anyone who hasn’t tried it, I recommend doing it just to find out if you feel or notice anything interesting.
I usually only find like 2-3 interesting games out of 200, but the ones I did find were pretty sweet. Sometimes you’re not lucky and exclusively play trash.
I mainly enjoy 2 types of games, ones with replayabilty (Stellaris, Rimworld, Slay The Spire, Roguelites in General, some RPGs) and short to medium single player games which I usually only play once. If you don’t like the second category, my recommendation is definitely the wrong approach, yeah
Lots of people have replied with similar experiences.
But personally? I’m having the time of my life currently playing tons of new games. I love trying new ones and getting surprised, and maybe falling in love with a genre I hadn’t considered before.
I feel totally contrary to what others are saying: as I’ve gotten older, I find myself enjoying games way more. My time is more valuable to me now than ever before, so I want to fill it with things that are joyful and meaningful. Often those things are art. Games to me have always been very special in the way they can deliver a powerful artistic experience.
I think they also have a special power to be blatant disgusting soulless cash grabs, to be fair. As the years go by I feel like many aspects of the industry have become particularly unpalatable. But many studios are still releasing good games, and so far I’ve continued to find joy in seeking them out.
Not too many people on this post are actually listing games. So, in no particular order, here are some games I absolutely adored that I played recently. Games from the last ~year that have touched and moved me in some way. Experiences I don’t think I’ll forget.
Sable
Chicory: A colorful tale
Manifold Garden
Signalis
OneShot
The Talos Principle
Night in the Woods
Citizen Sleeper
Webbed
Rusted Moss
Armored Core VI
Iron Lung
Slay the Princess
Ghostrunner
Mundaun
Crosscode
Eastward
Animal Well
Pseudoregalia
Dave the Diver
Nine Sols
Patrick’s Parabox
Cocoon
Smushi Come Home
Not to imply that I expect you or anyone else to take a deep look here or to try any of these games. Just wanted to throw my perspective out there, and to show the games in concrete terms that have left an impression and continue to motivate me to keep looking and keep trying more
obligatory but entirely sincere addition for those looking for palate cleansing games: Outer Wilds
and for those after a variety of others, in particularly no order, that may or may not come up as much:
But this is all from a flipside of a flipside, so each is as likely to appeal as repel, quick slide to catch clicks and clunks
Now this is a list! Thank you, based on the few I have played here I can’t wait to check out the rest
God, Outer Wilds is one of the most incredible gaming experiences I have ever had.
I have been firing up The Powder Toy for well over a decade to kill time during meetings
I love that you’re having a different experience! This is exactly why I posted about this: I have found that my taste in almost everything else has become broader as I aged, so I was wondering what’s the deal with my uncharacteristically narrow taste in video games.
Sadly, I tried most of the games on your list, and found out they’re not for me. I’ll try the rest though! Thank you for taking the time to list them.
Have you tried Outer Wilds by any chance? Seems like the kind of game you would enjoy.
Yea! An all time favorite, but I played it a long time ago. I wanted to keep my little list just to recent games. Irl I am very annoying about recommending OW to everyone, as well as its dlc which continued to blow me away
I also recently played through In Stars and Time so I recommend that as well considering you were into Slay the Princess.
I find it’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just a decent commitment to get into it.
That sounds wonderful to me, as long as you have fun with your favorite games and the other content. You save a lot of money and, more importantly, time.
Which games?
I’m mainly into fighting games (Guilty Gear, Under Night), action games (Bayonetta, God Gand), and shmups (Crimzon Clover, Ketsui)
I’ll occasionally like an Atlus game (Catherine) or a Zachtronics game (Shenzhen I/O) but that’s about it.
What are your favorites?
You have a narrow taste in games and that’s perfectly OK, nothing to be ashamed of at all. Enjoy what you like. You have no obligation whatsoever to play the newest, most popular thing just to keep up with the gaming Joneses. The list of popular games I haven’t tried myself is MUCH longer than the list of them I have played, either because they don’t appeal to me or I just don’t have the spare time or money, and I am 100% fine with that. I buy the games I know I’ll put time into and enjoy and don’t worry about the rest.
It’s ok dude. What do you look for in games, is there a common theme?
I’m the same, I actually look for cinematic games with clever, interesting stories. Idgaf about multiplayer or any of that shit, I want to be a director in my own movie.
Bioshock, half life 2, LA Noire, and so on.
You like horizon? I played the first one and thought the story was pretty good. Maybe not like Bioshock level, but better than most games of the type.
Never played actually. I’ll check it out. I don’t have much free time generally as I work on a lot of projects, so I usually look for really good stories if I’m going to invest my time.
I’ll take a look though, thanks for the suggestion.
Sure, no problem. Hope you like it.
I’m the same way. I just want to live in those stories until I’ve played them and replayed them so much that the feeling goes away. Currently: cyberpunk.
Eh, I get it. There’s an overwhelming abundance of choice that’s growing faster than the average time it takes to form a connection with any one game. Why deal with the FOMO and misbuys if you know what works for you.
That doesn’t stop me from purchasing way too many (non-refundable) indie titles on the Switch, though. And I’m glad to say some of those feel like they’ll keep me hooked for a good while.
Still, nothing can ever top my love for one classic game in particular: AOE 1 (definitive edition). Why? (It’s unfair to the rest.) Years ago I used to play against my dad over LAN. It’s some of the most fun we had together. Standing outside while he took a smoke break mid-game, I’d explain how I was about to wipe his whole civilization off the map in ways he couldn’t possibly imagine. Sometimes when I miss him, firing up AOE lets me feel closer to him again.
All this to say, nostalgia is a tough bar for any new game to beat.
That’s so sweet bonding with your dad over that game. May you retain that memory forever ❤️
I’m with you. The concept of gaming as a disposable medium never really worked for me either. The idea of going through my wishlist like it’s a watchlist—beating a game only to move on to the next was just never really for me.
If I don’t think a game is built to be organically replayable, I’ll probably just lose interest in buying it.
I wonder what separates games from movies as disposable media, especially with games that are meant to be cinematic/telling a story. Like Spec Ops is loosely based on Heart of Darkness and has a strong narrative, but without that is just a sort of middling shooter. So once you know the story it doesn’t have a ton of replayability, but it’s still impactful in the way a good movie is.
Hmm… I think it’s definitely a spectrum. Even arcade games have stories. It’s not what drives them, but they still do.
When you start considering something like Bandersnatch, the spectrum gets even wider.
@mohab Eh. I like what I like, which is relatively narrow, and the major industry quit catering to me 30 years ago. Luckily indies picked up the torch that AAA threw away.
Ah, man, I feel the same. I like some indie titles, but haven’t run into anything I could add to my favorites except Crimzon Clover World EXplosion. Nex Machina and Furi got really close too.
What are some of your favorites?
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. The genres I like keep getting new games, but if most games now were precision platformers or MMORPGs, I’d read more lol.
Just try to hold back the good ol days mentality, try new stuff if it catches your interest, and let yourself enjoy your 10000th replay of your favorites? You aren’t against new things entirely, after all. You just don’t make yourself play games you don’t like. Somewhere out there is an indie developer with similar taste, also frustrated they can’t find a game they want to play, and I hope you find them and add a new game to your list.
Does anyone need anything besides rimworld and factorio??
Strong recommend for Satisfactory. It’s first person factorio but in a beautiful world that isn’t all brown.
Personally I think it’s better.
Counterpoint: Building something big in first person is a lot more bothersome than in 2D/topdown
I have Satisfactory and like it btw, I‘m just saying it‘s something to keep in mind. It‘s also a lot heavier on the hardware, obviously.
Fair, Satisfactory is a lot heavier on the hardware for sure. But it’s a first person 3D game with a much bigger emphasis on beauty.
I find top down to be less interesting. I like to build factories in 3D with many vertical manufacturing layers in addition to spreading out horizontally. I think 3D factories is a more fun challenge. To each their own though. They’re both interesting games.
Dyson Sphere Program is 3rd person 3-D and it has combat these days. I’m actually wondering what they haven’t implemented yet, since it’s still early access AFAIA.
Yeah. If Satisfactory every gets SteamDeck verified, I may never play anything else again.
Dwarf Fortress? Go hard or go home.
Dyson Sphere Program. 64 stars and hundreds of planets per game! 640 Dyson Shells to construct and defend.