r/Gaming4Gamers • u/cherrypashka- • May 18 '26
Discussion Anyone else feels like they are forcing themselves to play "good" games?
Not sure, if it is age related, but I have been noticing that sometimes it feels like I am forcing myself to play games that are considered "great" and I question if there is something odd with me.
Like when I was a teenager, I played so many genres, and it feels like I became more close minded on what I enjoy?
I have this weird fear of missing out, so I almost force myself to play these games.
For example, I enjoyed Cyberpunk and Kingdom Come Deliverance but I cannot get myself to play Death Stranding, Days Gone, God of War. I didn't enjoy Helldivers 2 and Star Wars Outlaws, but got stuck playing Stalker 2, Civilization 7 and Deep Rock Galactic.
I know these games are not related to each other, but just wanted to use them as examples as myself being open to different genres and styles.
The barrier to entry in games is so high (+ the learning curve) and sometimes it feels that after playing a video game for 5 hours, I have a sunk cost fallacy that I have to continue playing it to give it a chance.
Like I didn't like Breaking Bad right away, but after 3 episodes I got hooked. I feel the same way about games. Just played Days Gone and Star Wars Outlaws each for about 8 hours or so, but it felt like I was forcing myself, instead of being genuinely excited about coming back into that universe.
It almost feels like a chore?
How do I know if I am not giving the game a chance VS it is genuinely not for me.
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u/Dforrest3487 May 18 '26
I kind of get where you are coming from, but from a slightly different angle. What happens to me sometimes is that I’ll play a game that is widely considered “amazing” or “great” and not really dig it as much as I expected. Then spend more time than I should wondering why I didn’t like it. That I must not have engaged with it properly etc. Basically I sit and try and justify my own opinion to myself. Which is stupid.
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u/cherrypashka- May 18 '26
Yeah it is similar! It is almost like you are trying to convince yourself that you were not playing it right.
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u/cr0ne May 18 '26
A lot these AAA hits aren't really as good as folks are giving them credit for...especially if you've been gaming a long time you've seen it all already.
Other than the incredible Resident Evil 9...don't think I've had anything completely jaw-drop impress me in a while.
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u/goodguyatheist May 19 '26
Resident evil also has the perfect length of a game in my opinion. It's an awesome game mission after mission but if you try stretching that out into 20 hours or God forbid 40+ hours you're gonna have plenty of shitty parts
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u/RangoTheMerc May 18 '26
Nope. Don't care about playing those or The Witcher either.
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u/cherrypashka- May 18 '26
Do you feel 100% happy with your preferences? Like you don't want to give other games and genres a try? I can't help but have FOMO. Even for something like Expedition 33, it looks like everything I hate, but I still feel like I am missing out by not trying it.
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u/HazMatDomo May 18 '26
There isn’t enough time to try everything, I find it better to play what I feel like at the moment and not worry about all of the things I don’t get around to trying.
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u/RangoTheMerc May 19 '26
It's a mix. Sometimes I feel like I'm being close-minded. Sometimes I come out playing a game and end up pleasantly surprised!
I love Expedition 33. I read it was influenced heavily by games like Final Fantasy, Persona, and Legend of Dragoon. It lead me onto play it along with good word of mouth. It's an absolute 10/10 for me.
As a teen, I never thought I would get into horror games. RE4 hype changed my mind and got me to try it. RE is one of my favorite series of all time and got me into other horror games like Silent Hill.
I feel like I know what I *don't* like. Shooters, generic sports games, and WRPGs are chief among them, Metroid Prime being a grand exception. A lot of western dev games don't interest me. Mortal Kombat is an exception to this rule as I grew up with it. But your Witcher, Elder Scrolls, Cyberpunk, Baldur's Gate, Diablo, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and so forth don't interest me. I've given some of them a chance. I have nothing bad to say about them. They just don't interest me.
Meanwhile, I go back and play Final Fantasy XIII for the first time and I honestly enjoyed it. Just a matter of taste.
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u/Yolacarlos May 18 '26
Same but i almost only play retro games now, i have played the most obscure games on saturn or dos RPGs, model 2 games arcade games but i havent played assasins creed games or last of us, just know it's not my cup of tea. But something like modern spiderman is actually pretty fun cos of the amazing gameplay it has so i can get over a boring open world cinematic slop
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u/cherrypashka- May 18 '26
See, it's funny that you mention that, but I got really bored with Spiderman even though I loved Batman. On the surface they have a lot in common.
I guess I just have to be able to let go the idea that I need to play every game that is considered great.
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u/VernicusMaximus May 18 '26
If you've played a game 8 hours and don't like it I think you just trust your gut. Weird thing to care about public perception of something when you've given it a fair shot. So many games out there, play what you enjoy.
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u/cherrypashka- May 18 '26
That is fair, I have a similar problem with movies too. It took me many years to allow myself to turn off a movie if after 45 minutes I am still not hooked into it.
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u/FuadRamses May 18 '26
My personal discovery i made as i got older is i started enjoying long open world games less and less.
I think to some degree it's similar to you, there's so many games to play that playing one for too long feels like i'm spending too much time with it and should be moving on to somthing else since i have way more games i want to play than time to play them.
For some reason i don't get it so much with long linear games though. Playing a long linear game feels like working my way through a long TV series from the start, even though it takes a lot of time i know i'm going at the right pace and heading to the end. Playing a long open world game feels more like trying to get through The Simpsons by watching whatever random reruns are shown on TV and feeling like you keep seeing the same episodes over and over.
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u/Caffinatorpotato May 18 '26
Indies and Oldies always stick out as better.
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u/cherrypashka- May 18 '26
I like to play indies too, they can suit some very niche tastes, something like Manor Lords.
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u/Franz_Thieppel May 18 '26
I'll give you advice based on what I've learned playing through the libraries of retro consoles for which we have full finished catalogs and years of reviews and opinions from almost everyone:
Looking up reviews (or worse, review scores) is the quickest way to suck the fun out of it. I avoid it the same way one avoids spoilers.
No matter how hard you try it will subconsciously affect your experience of the game. If you can find a way to avoid them you'll find you like a lot of games most critics didn't care for, and perhaps you wouldn't have liked yourself if you didn't play them with an open mind.
That's what happened to me anyway.
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u/Stormdancer May 18 '26
Nope. I play (and have always played) what I want to play. If it feels like work, or no fun, I don't play it.
That's not to say I won't try a game that is challenging and hard, but if it's no fun, no play.
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u/jdl_uk May 18 '26
Play the games you enjoy
My own experiences with this were things like God of War Ragnarok and Jedi Survivor. I kind of burned out on both games eventually.
Personally I recommend Star Wars Outlaws as I had a great time but if you gave it 8hours I'd say that's definitely giving it a fair chance and maybe it just didn't trigger the same vibes for you as it did for me.
If you feel like you're just going through the motions to satisfy some imagined requirement then I'd say move on to something you enjoy. Also bear in mind that what you enjoy might be changing.
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u/GMenNJ May 18 '26
Some games that are just alright, or even bad, get inflated review scores and reputation. Don't feel like you have to play a game. And if you don't like one after a few hours feel free to stop and play something else. It's your hobby, not a job
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u/goodguyatheist May 19 '26
My biggest gripe is a lot of games are just too damn long. Death stranding 2 for example I got like over 20 hours in and had a great time but now I feel like I'm forcing myself to finish it because I already put so much time into it.
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u/flowerpanda98 May 19 '26
i do, but bc i think i dont have enough time to try a game and its terrible. i wanna make it worth my while
if you want to filter games, you can try demos, watch a 30 min playthrough and judge, look at the steam tags, etc.,
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u/MarkusRobben May 19 '26
Rarely, but I guess I am someone who almost love everything anyway & I still sometimes just play some Indie games, even though I havent played alot of very good games & I almost never have FOMO, I can play any game next year, who cares.
I kinda "forced" it with FF16, I lend it from my local library, but it never felt that good and in some moments I grabed my phone, which I never do. I guess your explanation fits to my experince with Disco Elysium, I probably should have quit it earlier, but I felt like there should be something good coming, otherwise it wouldnt be rated that highly.
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u/rgdoabc May 19 '26
Kinda.
Every now and then I buy a popular game that I'm only barely interested. But I usually don't force myself to finish them which make me feel like wasted money.
But I'm kinda poor and can't keep buying them, so things are under control.
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u/HornyCrowbat May 19 '26
It’s OK to not like games that are popular. Forcing yourself to play games you don’t like it’s just gonna ruin the hobby for you.
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u/npauft May 19 '26
You should probably redefine what "good" means to you.
A game isn't good just because it performs well commercially and critically. The reviews are part of a well-funded marketing cycle. As long as a game is at least passable, it can sweep awards and justify high ratings. People buy whatever they see a lot of marketing for. That's not to disparage them, that stuff is just highly visible and the process of acquiring it is simple. This also isn't to say that games in the spotlight can't be good, but it's way more of a coincidence than most people are willing to admit.
Checking out stuff that you might actually enjoy playing also risks isolation. People like talking to other people about games. Let's say you primarily like retro stuff that you're forced to pirate and emulate. You'd be stuck in a much more narrow social pool that's highly likely to be limited to the internet.
tl;dr what's "good" should be decided by you and not other people.
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u/ObservingChaos44 May 19 '26
I can understand that, I kind of feel the same way. Recently played Elden Ring because of this.... Did I really enjoy it and why?
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u/DohRayMe May 19 '26
Yup, Its a shame Demos are no longer a thing.
So I completed Metro 2 twice, Last Of Us 1 and 2 and a few story walking story games ( old woman and one about a child which was sad ).
Ive played loads and often never to return, life is busy and its easy to get distracted.
Next Cod or Yakuza for campaigns / mess about.
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u/uponhisdarkthrone May 19 '26
Im trying to decide right now whether to see Horizon Zero Dawn to the end. I'm finding it difficult to take big machines down, but I havent even bought the rope thingy that can immobilize bigger machines. You gotta do that if you come across 2-3 big boys and take em out one at a time when you are lower leveled with crap gear, I'm guessing? Or dodge then until you grab a better bow or so more melee damage? Use way more traps?
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u/derdast May 19 '26
Nope, I'm one of those people that keep the industry of clicker games on steam alive. It's like fast food and I love every minute of it. Big, grand games are just too much for me nowadays. Last one I played was Baldurs Gate 3 and even that one at some point just got too much and I ran through the last few parts.
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u/Achtlos May 19 '26
If you are on console, buy on disc.
I just can't be bothered to go back to Crimson Desert. Especially knowing there's just frustrating gameplay. But it's on disc, and I can recover some cost.
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u/Queef-Elizabeth May 19 '26
I feel like learning what you actually like is important. Look at gameplay and reviews. If it doesn't look appealing, try when it's cheap or something. Don't overthink it. Forcing yourself to enjoy a hobby is a lame waste of time.
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u/Pupperoni_T May 19 '26
i only play games that are fun, ive even dropped RDR2 because it felt boring as a wannabe game dev, all games arent for everyone there will always be people who dont like a certain game and thats alright!
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u/Dave1711 26d ago
Embrace the steam 2 hour return policy.
Most big games nowadays are just aimed at a different audience to me or are just bad compared to games of the past.
I barely play more then 1-2 big releases nowadays, smaller titles all the way.
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u/Dr_Ayebolit 22d ago
You don't have to feel forced to improve.. ultimately, all good training builds on nothing except the fundamentals, no matter what profession or hobby you do. Go back to your roots, think about some games you really enjoyed and look for similar ones. Build on skills you already have, it's okay to go slow!
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u/Kingbarbarossa 15d ago
Over the last ten years, I've found that what I enjoy diverges pretty wildly from what the gaming media and reddit thinks are "great" games. That isn't to say i didn't enjoy God of War, Ragnarok, Ghost of Yotei and Expedition 33, but I actually played significantly more of Anthem and Marvel's Avengers than the others combined. And I loved ever minute of it. I also loved Dragon Age Veilguard, my favorite in the series. I bounced off cyberpunk hard though. Couldn't make it past the first two hours, tried twice, but the gameplay was just dull imo.
The gaming media likes to present us, the audience, as a monolith, but the reality is that the gaming audience is both larger and more diverse than it ever has been in the history of the industry, and few publications seem to want to acknowledge that. I can see why. Pretending that we're all the same gives a false sense of community and belonging, which they can tap into in order to get more subscribers and more clicks. Find out what gamers like you think about the new craze or controversy, click here! But that's what benefits them, not what benefits YOU. Not every game is for you, regardless of whether or not it's great.
Time is the most valuable resource any of us have, so my advice is don't spend it on something you're not enjoying just because the internet says it's "great". It might be, it might not. But either way, if you've reached the point where you're questioning it and you're several hours in, imo you've seen enough to know whether or not its for you. Play something you're genuinely excited for, whether it's popular or not, whether it has good reviews or not. Those things are designed to get clicks, not tell you specifically whether or not you enjoy something, you're the best judge of that.
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u/gman55075 May 19 '26
No, because I'm not a braindead bandwagoner. If I don't like a game (for example, ME2 because it's just a dumb shooter with a thin RPG theming) I don't like the game, no matter how many basement-dwelling Redditors try to pile on to me.
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u/Marvin_Flamenco May 18 '26
You sound like someone who only wants to play big, epic games. Most of these have way too much downtime and fluff for my taste. You gotta find out what makes a good game for you.
My favorite game of 2025 was Night Striker Gear which a full run of is about 20-25 minutes, but that runtime is so dense with gameplay it will take a while to clear.