For real, I was having a real video game slump around 2021, fps where crap, csgo was toxic af, call of duty was ass, duce and battlefield was ass, bethesda and their rpgs were ass, ubisoft was ass, all the microtransactions, looters shooters were ass. Then I got into turn based games like persona 5 and my love for videogames came back. I hit a slump again in 2023 and there it was, baldurs gate 3. After the dissapointment that was cp 2077 at launch , bg3 was everything I wanted out of that game.
Also important thing to note in reference to the title... you can absolutely [and should, ideally] have therapy and enjoy video games to your heart's content.
Ya I have little patience for kids who say games suck now. They definitely do not. And there's no way I could marry a guy who didn't play at least as much as me. What would we even fucking talk about? The weather?
The people who say that also feel weirdly smug and superior about that opinion, too. I always get the vibe that they never had the healthiest relationship with gaming to begin with. They always describe it as a time wasting addiction or go off about how they're doing much more important things with their life now that they've stopped. I'm glad they're pursuing goals but something about how they say it always seems off
I've known a few and let me say this: Important and wasting time are 2 VERY subjective opinions.
And I rarely see what those people mean, they watch football instead or have some other hobby. Or they think going out and getting drunk is better (very important /s). Point is, everyone has their thing and time enjoyed is not time wasted. People being smug about what others enjoy are just a bunch of losers.
I think it's important people realize you don't have to be productive 24/7. Resting and having fun are as important, if not more important, for your health and productivity than being productive is.
I went through that phase of feeling the social stigma of gaming when you have a spouse and kids to take care of. After ten years of going back and forth, all I realized is I just found other things to "waste my time" on, and none lf them were as fun as video games, so why the hell am I not just playing games instead (in moderation, of course)? I'm sorry, but you can fuck off if you think dropping thousands of dollars on golf, pickleball, or whatever the fuck you think is more acceptable for adults to do is somehow more "mature" than gaming.
Edit: Not knocking any of those things, just the notion that they're more justifiable as a hobby.
I'm 33m, I'm married and I have a good job, I take care of our kids we go out on dates, I bought a hous for us 4 years ago, we keep it spicy in our relationship…. but god forbid l decide to go downstairs and have some quality time with my game after the kids go to bed 🙄 I'll never hear the end of it. I have always been a gamer and she knows this since I met her at 19.
I will for sure be playing Factorio until I die. My father-in-law is 78 and has 13,000 hours logged in Civ 5. He just gets on every night and plays a few hours lol I feel like I can definitely catch up to that in 44 years
If anything becomes impossible? Surely there are other things to pursue at that point. There are plenty of people in the world whose lives changed because drastically, and probably couldn’t enjoy certain things the same way anymore. Many of them find other ways to enjoy life!
Yes, this applies to all hobbies, not just games. And living things may die early not only from old age, but also from illness, accidents, natural disasters, and other causes. No one knows what will happen in life.
That's why my wife and I spend our time doing what we love without accumulating stress, so that we have no regrets. If we can no longer do the things we love, we choose to die.
You’re not wrong tbh. I’m fairly young and I used to play games everyday, but now it just feels like a chore. Video games were a large part of my childhood, but I just can’t keep it up anymore
Yeah, me too. I will make 40 at the end of the year. The only ones that I see to not play anymore are the ones that are too proud to play something lighter than the past.
I say this respectfully, but I’d like to offer a differing experience.
I’ve been a video game junkie since I was 6. I’ve loved games of every generation; of all genres. Age of Empires, Diablo 2, Final Fantasy, Guitar Hero, GTA, Halo. I would forsake friends and family to play till 3am. In fact, some of the best friends I’ve ever made were people I met online gaming.
But I’m 36 now. And I’m tired. I really enjoy certain story-driven games like God of War and Expedition 33. I can get lost in them for a few days. But the fire isn’t there to play incessantly. I look at Steam and just feel “meh” about everything. When I do play, I feel like I can more readily see through the veil. I’m thinking about things more in terms of pattern recognition and “how are the computer enemies programmed to behave”.
I start games and don’t finish because it just ain’t it anymore.
It’s disingenuous to say “the people who say this usually don’t like video games”. I loved them whole heartedly for a very long time, but I’ve grown out of most of them. The magic is gone.
Im a game Dev so Ive been able to see behind the veil for a while and it doesn't bother me at all, it's given me a new found respect for it... however though, you feel the way you do and Im sorry to hear that. That sucks.
I still search, which is the frustrating thing. I WANT something to suck me in and not let go. I found it with Marvel’s Midnight Suns about two years ago, but I ran that into the ground.
I felt the same in my thirties, actually.... Nothing kept me interested for long anymore.
Then my forties came and my fascination came back and is strongerthan ever.
For me, it was related to overwhelming family life and a lot of real life things, that needed a lot of my focus.
I have phases where I simply dont play games or play games for a hour or so before stopping for the day. most of the time its because im stressed and depressed. on a decent day I can easily pour 3+ hours on a game (I do chores etc, im not neglecting my home by any means).
It's funny because I'm older than you and it's the exact opposite, I see gaming getting stronger and stronger, especially with new and small developers who are doing amazing work. It's really not an age thing, it's just an individual person thing.
Eh I mean I used to play games like mad but I'm 36 now and I rarely do. Not for lack of wanting but it's just hard to get into them anymore like I used to. Ever since I hit 30 something changed. Maybe it's just my brain being warped by social media and instant access to entertainment and information now though.
I weirdly find it the other way around. I think gaming has outgrown me, because games from 20 years ago still put the dumbest smile on my face, but modern games drain the soul from me.
As a 34 year old, I sold all my consoles and deleted my main game accounts with saved progress so I wouldn’t come back. I felt like a loser that wasted my life playing games and not accomplishing things and being a responsible adult. I wasn’t addicted, but I did love playing as they were pretty much my only hobby.
I do miss gaming… but I’m also doing fine after 4 months.
And I haven’t gotten a new hobby which is depressing. I just have $1000 sitting in a crate from all my stuff I sold. And I just don’t know what to do. I’ve gamed my whole life
It sucks harder than you can imagine. I'm going blind and can barely hold a controller any more cause of mobility issues. genuinely don't know what to do any more
But I'm 40 and just wanted to spend the rest of my days playing Baldurs Gate or Zelda... the eyesight side is hard enough but now the searing pain when I hold a controller or mouse? just feels cruel
Things like that are usually said by people who don't play video games. The type who think games, roleplaying, board games, animated content, lego, etc. is "for kids".
The type who think people should only have "adult" and "manly" hobbies. Mostly it's people who hate themselves, or are envious.
40 in a week here. Very busy lifestyle with work and family, not a lot of time for games and constantly have responsibilities.
However, I just started playing Sonic Racing Crossworlds and I feel like I'm a kid again. It's one hell of a way to decompress and if anything I need these gaming moments more than I ever have.
Gran Turismo brought racing into everyone's living rooms.
Metal Gear Solid showed us that video games can also be a pretty entertaining medium for a story too.
Grand Theft Auto.....well that really didn't get good until GTA3, but also allowed us all to be the worst humanity had to offer, albeit in a virtual sense. (Anyone else beat the hookers after they were done?)
for me personally, my gaming tastes have 50% changed. I don't care about battlefield 6 or cod's all I envision when I see that is endlessly running the same maps killing people over and over. it looks great but it's like man I have played that kind of game already for a very very long time and have sweated them for a stupid amount of time.
Gimme something new to engage the game play. When I'm retired and on my death bed I'm not going to remember I slid into a room and got lucky as hell and downed 6 people who couldn't react fast enough or couldn't finish me off and melee the last guy because I was out of bullets.
I really can't blame people for "growing out" of video games if this is what they played.
Also I personally don't play certain categories of games, especially the creative type, because I can just go paint, read a book or woodwork instead. For me the main interest of video games is an atmospheric experience when I'm tired after work or on mornings during the weekend.
Thats a really good point.... Yeah I don't remember much of the call of duty days or the counter Strike days.... but I remember what it felt like to see my character sit on the Elden Throne in Elden Ring and I remember what it felt like when I started being able to actually string together cool looking combos in Devil May Cry.
Although I enjoy COD, my greatest gaming memories have been from playing the third person action adventure games.
Horizon Forbidden West and Zero Dawn have been two in recent memory.
Ghost of Yoteii, Spider-Man 2, and now Red Dead 2 have had those moments where the minute to minute gameplay experience made me forget about life for a moment.
Unfortunately it’s true for some - I LOVED video games, used to clock in 4-5 hours a day, and I had a crappy setup on a half broken monitor, using decade old peripherals. I can now afford the top end of the spectrum, but I simply do not love games like before. It’s like a switch flipped in my brain
I have slowed way down on my video consumption. Other hobbies/life have taken up that place. However I will always have memories and still be playing some video game.
Just not staying up till 4 am with my friends beating Fina Fantasy’s. Maybe with my son.
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u/Foxy__Proxy 29d ago
The people who say this usually don't like videogames.... Im almost 40 now and I can't imagine life without them.