Why I can’t stick with a game anymore (and maybe you can’t either)

Kieran McClung, writing for overkill, on how binge culture and the Netflix-effect has possibly warped how we now play videogames.

[GotGame818]

I am guilty of this too. I can literally stream or download hundreds of games, and it gives me less incentive to complete them.

[LordoftheCritics]

Coz you've already played that game before.

Lately we've been basically playing the same game over and over again/

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I've cut back on my purchases, even when games are on sale so that I can actually finish more games. I've also been organising a short list of my most wanted to play in the short term to help me pick the next game to play.

[jznrpg]

I play one or two games at a time that is it. Otherwise I wouldn’t finish them.

[anast]

I'm still playing Cyberpunk and it released 5 years ago. There aren't enough good games out there to justify more purchases than I can play. There are maybe 3-5 good games a year, in my opinion.

[P_Bomb]

This happens to me on Game Pass, where it’s a buffet. When I buy a game tho, I finish it.

[sci4me]

This!.. Many years ago i played alot on pc and torrented games and as a result i lost interest in pushing past the first hours in a game If it wasnt "wooow" and in doung so missade quite a few good games.
When I buy games i tend to have more interest in those games.

[z2g]

I’m confident no one will agree with me, but I only finish about 1/3 to 1/2 the single player games I buy. They’re often times too long and not varied enough to hold my interest after a certain point. There are exceptions of course, but I find myself playing online multiplayer games more and more, simply because I’m competitive and it’s just more exciting to me. Helldivers,Gran turismo mp, Forza ms live events, heist missions on gta etc… that’s where I’ve been having the most fun. Time flies.

[Espangerish]

Haha, sorry man, I don’t agree with you at all. I for one rarely don’t finish a single player game and I spend less and less time playing multiplayer. Too hectic, too toxic, much too hard work after a days work. To each his own and all that.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Me too, I finish most of my single player games, rarely stick with multiplayer games for too long.

[Christopher]

It's very easy for me to get turned off on the gameplay loop of certain games. All games are repetitive, but the loop actually has to be engaging and offer something interesting. I do tend to finish a good number of games, but there are twice as many that I start out and never get more than 10 hours into before I give up. And I don't even play online shooters, racing games, or sports game.

[BlackDoomAx]

Same lol. I sometimes try sp games, find it nice the first time I play it for a few hours, then never come back. I saw the gameplay loop and the enemy ai, the story may be nice but if I want a really good one I read a book or watch something on tv. Fun is on the multiplayer, with or even without friends, and I can play the same game hundreds of hours.

[thorstein]

I'm the opposite. I pop a game in and that's the game I'm playing. Mostly because I play SP and RPGs. I won't deviate from it until I finish it.

Yet, when I read, I usually have like 3 books going at a different time in different rooms.

[anast]

I'm similar with games and If I'm reading different subjects, I'm the same.

[Rebel_Scum]

I play several games at once and bounce from them only to pick them up again months later.

Usually I have a main but I usually never play them til completion without having a break.

[BlaqMagiq1]

I play 1-2 games at a time and finish those before moving on to new ones. I used to have a bad habit of not finishing games but I killed that years ago. It's made my gaming a lot more enjoyable as a result.

[DustMan]

My steam backlog is absurd. So anytime I run into a significant road block I start up something else. Then the cycle repeats itself.

[Flewid638]

The TikTok generation is officially upon us. No more attention spans.

[CantThinkOfAUsername]

I'm a completionist by nature so I always finish games I start unless the game bores me out of my mind completely. On the downside, I can't replay games no matter how good they are or how long ago I've played them.

[PRIMORDUS]

"Gone are the days of repeatedly playing the same game because that's all you've got." Yeah, that's how it was back in the NES days for me. Had to wait for Christmas, Birthday for new games or if I was a good boy I get a new one, (nope)😂. There is just way too much now, but I pick what I like maybe 1-3 games at a time, between Switch and PC. But the one game I play all the time for close to 13yrs is Guild Wars 2, no monthly fee and I like the social aspect with MMO's.

[garos82]

because you are addicted to Tik Tok

[Profchaos]

I find if i pickup a game through a subscription I'm less inclined to finish it but if I buy a retail game on disc something about that usually makes me play it all the way

[LightofDarkness]

I recently made the decision to stop buying games and commit to completing a few games/series before moving on. Unless it’s an absolute must (e.g. Doom, FROMsoft, Monster Hunter) I won’t be buying until I’ve cleared the list. Recently beat the Witcher 3 for the first time, Red Dead 2, Dragons Dogma, Silent Hill 2, Yakuza 0 and Ghost of Tsushima using this strategy. It’s been awesome, really.

[anast]

I don't get it. Most of the stuff on Netflix, Steam, PS+, and GamePass is trash. I can think of 1 movie that I want to see this year, 0 series or mini series last year, and maybe 6-10 games in the last 5 years.

[Smellsforfree]

I try to complete games these days, and am actually completing more games in my 40s than I was in my 30s or even 20s. My main thing is to not stress and to move on when a game isn't hitting me right anymore or I'm just tired of the game play. If I'm playing an open world game I severely limit the amount of side-questing to 1/10 or 1/5 side quests so that I don't get burned out like I did with Ghost of Tsushima.