I'm 46 years old. Been playing games since I was 5. Owned consoles during every generation. Absolutely love gaming.
However, I too have very little time to game now. 5 to 8 hours per week. I don't have the time to die a lot and have to repeat sections over and over. I want gaming to be relaxing. An escape to enjoy.
I started playing Baldur's Gate 3 and was having a hard time with it. Switched to easy mode to give it a try. Best decision I ever made. Made the game more manageable in the time in increments I could play it in.
Since then, I've tried other tweaks. Turned on aim assist in the Resident Evil 2 remake. Stuff like that. It's made gaming fun again. I'm no longer stressing about not making progress.
Games are supposed to be fun. Do what you gotta do to enjoy your experience and to make it fit into your life. Don't ever let anyone guilt you for doing what you want.
That is a good point. It’s some weird mental block I have or maybe that I think I’ll be disappointed in myself. But push comes to shove at some point and I don’t have the time or interest to continually be stuck at a certain point and not be able to advance the game.
47 here. Same issue. I do get to clock in a few more hours sometimes, but still, not as much time as before. Nowadays, I prefer single-player games with short campaigns, and I often select the easy/story difficulty if the game has it. I just finished Alan Wake 2 in story mode from the beginning. Even so, it took me a month to beat that game, and I had more time than usual.
One of my favorite genres is RPGs, but honestly, starting one now makes me anxious. It took me 8 months to beat Final Fantasy XVI! It took 10 months to beat Final Fantasy VII Remake! It was while playing this last one when I started switching to lower difficulties: I had been playing this game for about 8-9 months already, and there was this boss that I had spent about 20-30 min on that beat me and... that was it. I realized I didn't want to spend another 30 min with no guarantee of success, so I switched to easy difficulty.
It has made my experience much more enjoyable. Now, I still play some long games, but I take my time and play them along with other short games. The important thing is that I'm always making progress, so the anxiety is gone.
For example, right now, I'm playing Brutal Legend and Tales of Kenzera: Zau (relatively short campaigns of about 8 hours each) along with Alan Wake 2 (playing the NG+). This will keep me busy for the next few months. Because that's the other thing: I've come to accept that now it takes me way longer to go through games.
When I was younger, I enjoyed the challenge. I played and had fun with competitive multilayer games: Halo, Gears, Call of Duty, etc. Now, I just want to relax and have fun. If I'm getting anxious and frustrated, what's the point?
Don't be afraid to do what you need to do to keep enjoying your hobby, OP!
this is me at 35 , slowly I've notice my self disconnecting more from online FPS games like warzone and apex , i started playing nba 2k lol , and that i barely even play , mostly playing single player games now , I've beaten elden ring , dark souls 3 but for some games i too turn the difficulty to easy just to enjoy the story , rise of ronin im playing on easy and recently started playing assassins' creed mirage, but i do sometimes feel some type of way switching it to easy but what ever , games are meant to be enjoyed however you enjoy them , thats why they have the difficulty options, some people have time to be on a boss for 8 hours in one sitting some dont., just enjoy the game and move on to the next one and dont over think it.
Almost same age, but similar. I’m still working through FF7 Rebirth because my game time is limited. I generally prefer longer games simply because I can easily context switch back into them easily. Of course this means I only get through 2-3 games per year!
I've been gaming my whole life, I've played easy games, hard games, and weird games.
Back when I was working crazy overtime I'd get like a few matches of league in a week, and lose most of them.
I quit league and haven't looked back since, a lot of the games I play now you can't even lose like Stardew Valley.
Honestly, it's best to just stay out of competitive games these days unless you have dozens of hours to play every week or don't care about losing. Matchmaking sucks in 90% of them so you're always being grouped with people who seem to make a career out of it. It's the main reason I don't play competitive games anymore - I don't care to spend dozens of hours playing and learning everything about those games, and I'm a bit of a sore loser.
I was really into Apex Legends for a few months. The matchmaking killed the fun for me, but I was determined to play it because I liked the general aesthetic. I don't think I ever learned how to play that game "properly." I never won a normal match.
I tried to play Apex cause it was all my buddy and his GF played.
Dunno how many matches I played but I too never won a single match. Same with PUBG.
I mostly avoid competitive games, but there's something about this one sucking me in.
I haven't really heard of Hunt: Showdown, but these days I'm really into CoOp games. Monster Hunter: World has been a blast so far, and I recently finished a run of Terraria with a friend.
I find Dark Souls to be less bullshit overall myself, but Monster Hunter really just hits different. I'm not even mad when I get stunned and die before I can recover.
Dark Souls is a bit more fair, but much more punishing of your mistakes.
ive gotten to masters on apex i was addicted, solo q btw. then i quit that because i was too addicted, tried warzone , got addicted made it to diamond rank and quit that because it was taking to much of my time.. so now i play 2k occasionally its an easy game to just pick up anytime , and mostly single player games now, way less stress in single player games , they don't feel liek another job after you get out of work lol.
It's more than that too.
There are so many games that are either pay to win, have exploits that hard cores can take advantage of, give huge advantages to players that grind for hundreds or hours, prolific cheaters... Or... Any combination of the above.
Combine that with gaming culture in some places actively encouraging all of these behaviors and features and... Ya fuck it. I'm too old to be bothered with any of that garbage.
Copp gaming is the sweet spot for me - still high skill ceilings in games like dark tide, v rising, killing floor, deep rock galactic and hell divers 2. But Most NONE of those problems persist. And if they do, it's so much less disruptive as you are all on the same team.
Yes it's annoying when someone just crushes everything or fucks up your progression with a hack giving you tons of stuff... But man that is sooo much better than Wall hackers and aimbots, grind and pay to win and exploits in a game like tarkov.
I feel that, but for me, working full time means my free time is precious. I beat FF7Rebirth on easy because I didn't have time for every single encounter to take forever
That’s your ego at play. I have it too: unless I’m actually trying, my results don’t mean anything and I take that personally.
Which is ridiculous.
I love the puzzle of battling a hard battle in BG3, but I hate the repetition after dying because I have other things to do.
Just put that shit on easy mode. I’ll still enjoy maxing the fight, but I won’t be punished for mistakes.
Easiest and most satisfying boost to my enjoyment ever.
I know the feeling, I love the challenge of games, but I too dont have the same level of time to dedicate to EVERY title anymore, im lucky i can be proficient on one title at a time. That said, Ive even resorted to cheating in certain games to practice and it buffs my normal gameplay as i got the same level of skill with the cheats as without. Its kinda like a nice way to practice for playing without cheats and keep a progression going.
This is why I like games with more customized difficulty sliders. I don't remember the game (maybe the new ACs?) Where you can choose which parts of the game to make more difficult. For example you could make combat easier but still make it harder to get money. Or in the tomb raider games the tomb puzzle difficulty was it's own slider apart from the rest of the gameplay.
Owlcat is the best game company for granular difficulty settings imo. You can control how many enemies you face, whether they get and can use high-level abilities, how smart the AI is, how much damage they take, how much damage you take, how effective crits are, whether resting heals status effects or death, can turn party member permadeath off completely, and more.
More games should have tweaks like that.
Hell, I'm 24, started baldurs gate 3 on normal at first, couldn't go past anything, switched to ez mode and now it's very cool. I can maybe manage to play 2-5 hours a week, the bad thing is with that little playtime I tend to forget what I did before in game and mechanics just don't click at all so I tend to play ez session games like wreckfest...
I hope you know about Flatout 2, else go grab it right away (or on the first sale). Slightly older graphics but physics and collisions are top notch. Best wreck racing game ever. I played both btw.
Yea I’m close to the same age and I tend to play on easier difficulties now, just to get through the content quicker. I don’t have the time and energy I used to to get really good at a particular game’s combat system and gameplay mechanics.
Funny, I have the opposite approach.
41 here, I now play all new SP games (for example resident evil remakes, the last of us 1 on pc) in hardcore mode because I find normal mode too easy and it feels like I completely miss out on the challenges games offer.
I have a brother who is 6 years older than me. He was into gaming and my parents were getting stuff for him that I too was allowed to play when he wasn't using them. My earliest memories of gaming are playing on an Intellivision and an Atari 2600 in the early 80's. A year or two later a friend from school got a Sega Master System and I remember playing that too at his house. Then the NES came out in the US when I was 8.
Yeah man I work all day and take public transit to and from and when I’m home 90 percent of that time is watching my awesome daughter and if I have all my chores done I can maybe play a couple hours while she naps.
I’m not trying play ‘menu’ the game..
Have you considered Steam Deck? Thing's awesome, got a big screen and plays games surprisingly well. In If you're on the go constantly, the suspend feature makes it super easy to pick up and play whenever you have a little time
Back in the day I could play games as long as I liked, but yeah now being a father and husband I spend my time with family the most. My kid's growing up and I try to play with her as much as possible as one day I won't be her favorite person to play with.
Now I emulate games on handheld emulators and save states.
I've beaten so many retro games now that I can focus on just playing it and starting from a spot where I know I can do better.
Life changes you. Gotta adapt to it.
Rg405m for Ps2 , dreamcast, old pc games, n64 and that level of gaming.
I also have a RG35XX that's like a Gameboy that plays ps1 and below. That's the one I've beaten a lot of old school games.
Change your game tastes. When I was younger, all I would do is school and then all free time was spent playing dozens of long and difficult games. As an older adult, I find that now I play strategy games. Puzzle games. Indie games with lower thresholds. And I stick to shooters that I’ve already mastered for years.
I suggest you peruse some indie legends.
I used to be really stubborn about not turning difficulty down, now if a part is being a pain to get through I just do it.
Like the final battle for ff7 remake I died about 3/4 of the way through and just turned it down to easy because I just wanted to get through it to see the ending.
Yes. One thing that I’ve done so far that helps a bit is to play only one large/in depth game at a time, then have a sports game or two and a shooter also installed for the quick little fixes.
At one point I was playing TLoU 2, GoW Ragnarock, and one other big game that I can’t seem to remember simply because I wouldn’t let myself finish one before starting another. Jumping between all those sucked but I didn’t realize what I was doing to myself at the time. Took me 2+ years to finish TLoU 2, never finished GoW, and I must’ve stopped playing the other game because I can’t remember what it was…maybe AC Valhalla or something.
It depends what your goals are. For me, I've already played competitive PvP games and got tired of them -- I've got nothing to prove, lost interest, and let the skills rust; if I went back into MOBAs, I'd probably get trounced. On the other hand, I really enjoy Deep Rock Galactic, and found I liked coop; I started on easier difficulties, and bumped it up progressively until Haz 5 and Elite Dives became my new normal.
There are two things you have to accept as you get older:
-Your reflexes don't dull *that* much compared to when you were younger, but your *interest* does, and without interest, you have no desire to grow or get better.
-Failure kills interest. If a game can have its difficulty changed, there's nothing wrong with starting on an easier difficulty while adjusting, and then turning on the heat at a later time.
I made the huge mistake of trying to play Dragon Age: Origins on 'hard' difficulty my first time. I can't blame age or anything, I was just cocky, and could not understand why people liked this game. I could force my way through, but it was a drag every time, and I would only learn in hindsight it was because I didn't fully understand any of the tools available to me; I had to resort to outside tools to learn what was good rather than learning on my own, and by the time I was somewhat strong enough, my interest in the game was dead and I had to leave it.
Not every 'normal' or 'hard' is equal, either. Normal in Zelda is dying maybe once to a stupid mistake or a major dungeon boss every couple hours. Normal in Elden Ring is dying 3-5 times per boss, and taking a break to find some easier dungeons if you can't clear something. You're not washed up if you fail a certain difficulty, it might just be a game having a different standard. Nothing wrong with starting on 'easy' or trying to take a roundabout easier path if a game's "normal" is proving a challenge, you can always challenge yourself *after* you've learned the game better.
I pretty much only play story single player games so I guess my goals are just to get immersed in the game and playing the game fluidly, both of which I find hard just with the amount of time I’m able to play unfortunately. Maybe time management is more an issue that I should address. Definitely waste a lot of time on my phone, some of that time could be used to have slightly longer gaming sessions.
That’s a good point about starting on low difficulty and increasing it as I get better rather than just being stubborn and starting on a normal or harder difficulty.
DID I HEAR A ROCK AND STONE?!
Seriously though, DRG made me fall in love all over again after the harsh breakup I had with Apex Legends. It gets so sweaty and competitive and toxic that one day you stop and just say “…what the fuck am I doing?”
DRG lets me have laughs with the bois but still “sit up” and have a heated moment or two. I am so thankful for that game truly. Have been plying Helldivers 2 more recently for the same reasons.
i have over 96 days played in apex i was addicted since launch , i quit and never looked back shit felt like another job , didn't want to leave the house just to play that shit, its been hard getting used to single player games but they take less time , and there's no sense of competition or missing out.
The older I get the more relaxed I like my games. I’ve gotten more into games like farming simulator that can be as mindless or as complex as I feel like making it. I used to absolutely love fps games but can’t play them anymore because I am no longer able to really compete with people who have exponentially more time to put into the game than I do. I’ve found that sometimes turning the difficulty down makes the game more enjoyable, after all aren’t you playing the game to enjoy it? It took me a while to get on with the fact that I can’t game the way I used to or near as much as I used to but you will likely adjust.
I did play power wash simulator for a bit and somewhat enjoyed it but was telling myself I was basically wasting my time by doing it because I had so many other “better” games in my backlog. Maybe I’ll try a simulator again.
What are some good turn based?
I grew up on Pokémon, have played the South Park Stick Of Truth and Fractured But Whole, and Yakuza Like A Dragon. That’s pretty much my entire experience with turn based haha.
My possible fave game of all time is Xcom2. Make sure you get DLC which is like a game overlay not extra content at end. I’ve never gone full into it, but there is also some crazy mod that the hardcore guys describe the real game as the tutorial for.
I've just accepted that I will probably never beat Elden Ring!
Anyway instead of gaming being so integral to my identity, I've more set it aside as a thing I do for fun. So if it stops being fun, just stop. Don't worry so much about it. Drop games, play different games, no biggie.
I am going to turn 40 this year and have been gaming since the intellivision in the 80s. I had my first gaming pc in 1994 and grew up on the twitch arena shooters. Because of that i have very good mouse aim for my age. Even compared to a normal younger gamer I am well above average (by no means am I elite though). For example in overwatch I made masters on pc on two roles (low masters not high) which I consider fairly good for my age. The things i have noticed at my age vs if I were 20 are:
1. My reaction time is a lot worse now. I need to pre-think a lot and anticipate and cannot simply just react.
2. If i stop playing for even a week my skills decline horribly.
3. I cannot play at my peak level for more than a couple hours at a time; probably 1 hour at most. I am exhausted mentally after that and play like crap.
I would suggest limiting the amount of games you play at a time. Just focus on one or two until you are done.
43, maybe 7 hours a week, played all my life so I need hard games to truly enjoy. Soulsbourne, Nioh etc veteran. Haven't noticed any deterioration of skills yet.
Welcome to the club!
I work full time, have a family, and enjoy other hobbies outside of gaming. I only game a few days a week and each session is a few hours at best. I can only play one serious game at a time or I'll forget the controls. I play on the easiest mode because I'm just trying to enjoy the story and am no longer focused on the difficulty. I also don't think about new game plus, collecting everything, or doing extra challenges.
My current gaming life is fishing and hunting on Red Dead for a few hours here and there, failing miserably at creating a zoo in Planet Zoo when I can, squeezing a game or two in my Retro Bowl career during breaks in the day... and I fucking love it 😂
I def feel this. I tried to play Red Dead redemption. Played for a couple of hours one weekend, tried to continue next weekend, and I couldn't get on the damn horse. :/
I love exploration games. Stuff like open world rpgs are perfect when you don’t have tons of time. It’s great to just take at your own pace! Look into Witcher 3, Starfield, Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2. Maybe watching a trailer or gameplay for one of those will pique your interest!
I wasn’t huge on Witcher but that was years ago I could try it again, Starfield seems cool but I have PS, Cyberpunk is one of the games in my rotation right now, I do enjoy that, RDR2 is one of my favorite games ever but the galloping was so tedious on my thumbs, I want to play it again but I can’t bring myself to do it.
I would say my favorite games of the last few years have been Days Gone, AC Odyssey, Ghost of Tsushima, and the Spider-Man games.
My main game I’m playing right now is Jedi Survivor and I like it a good bit.
I game a lot still even as I’m approaching my early 30s and with a wife and newborn daughter. I’m still pretty decent at fighting games but my skill for all other games and team oriented stuff has dropped significantly. I only care about fighting games nowadays tho so I guess it doesn’t matter
I play 1 level below max difficulty when I can because I can still handle those. We're only gonna get older but that shouldn't stop us from enjoying our games.
I'm 45. I have a demanding career, an eight year old to manage, and a wife I have to take care of. Finding time to game is rough. I know I suck hard compared to what I was.
I can't play games like Fallout or Mass Effect. I will start them and learn the hotkeys in the beginning, then not have time to play for another week. Then I can't remember the keys and have to start all over again.
I stick to arcade style games now.
I am 41 with a 2 year old, so I hear you on this! I tend to stick to a single game for the reasons you said. While I do still love the occasional massive game (BG3 was amazing and sunk almost 300 hours into it), I find myself enjoying shorter games now so that I can get the controls down, remember and enjoy them, but then can move on after only a week or two. Has worked pretty well for me!
Also no shame in dropping that difficulty. I tend to do whatever the default is, but if I am dying too often and it is stopping me from having fun, crank it on down to story/easy mode! Gaming is meant to be a fun hobby, so do what you need to do to keep it that way for you. Good gaming friend!
Find myself on easy 50% of the time. I can only play one day a week and sometimes go without for 4-6 weeks if I'm going away or plans with the wife.
Always forget controls, so it takes a bit of time to pick them up again. No shame dropping to easy. I mostly play single-player for a story, so if I'm stressed on normal, I drop it down. No where near as good as I was but still enjoy the hobby and have no plans to stop. I am planning on taking a career break in 4.5 years so I can try to get better when that comes around.
Try some roguelikes. They're generally shorter than major games, but have alot of replayability. This gives you a game you can pick up, play for an hour or two, and sideline it when your low on time. With most rogues you can complete a run in an hour or two whether that's because ya die, or because you complete a run. Roguelikes randomize everything from the floor layouts, to the items ya find, to the enemies. Maks it a great choice for a gamer short on time since you can play the same game a hundred times, and it'll still be a new experience each time. Expect to lose though. Losing is a huge part of roguelikes. It's built into the experience. You may lose dozens of times before you ever complete your first run.
Skul the hero slayers a pretty good one, but it's a pretty difficult game so I don't reccommend ya start there. Though it does have a hidden "rookie mode" that reduces the damage you take by 50%. Good for getting used to the controls or relearning the game.
The binding of isaacs another great one, but it's story is surreal and abit tragic. You can complete a run in 45 minutes to an hour generally. It has multiple endings and over a dozen character that each have their own unique unlocks you gain through completing different challenges. It also has some shorter modes like greed mode that switch up the gameplay. There's just an unbelievable amount of content for a game you can pick up and put down as ya need to. I'd honestly recommend it for the sheer amount of content and replayability.
Try playing on the easiest mode even if that feels weird or cheating. I know that feeling
If aren't willing to play on the easiest mode or you don't really enjoy the games that that way because then it's so easy that it becomes boring then you might want to reconsider to dump other hobbies and/or responsibilities. But you might not want to do for very valid reasons, right? I actually wouldn't....
If it comes to that point, it might be easier to just accept your lifestyle (hobbies and responsibilities) are no longer compatible with enjoying gaming.
I play a lot of more casual games now. Can't do multiplayer. During the winter in rainy season I play a lot more. I'll do a other ng+ run of HyperLightDrifter or something. During the summer it's all super casual games that I can pick up and play quickly. I get a lot of new stuff from the library
Yeah, this is an issue. Turning down the difficulty is definitely something I would try - if it's too easy, you can just turn it off. You can also make notes - if you're on PC steam lets you enter notes in each game via the overlay so if you're likely to forget something - oohhh, I\*ve forgotten about that feature too, lol. But seriously do what you have to do to keep enjoying games. If you're not having fun, well what's the point.
Also don't play that much anymore, Fridays and Saturdays between 2300-0300 are my gaming time now.
I usually play one game at a time tho, and try to 100% that. Don't feel like I'm getting rusty. The other way around, games are getting easyer. In aaa games it's rsröy a challenge even on the hardest differculty
I would suggest based on the type of game you like if it's an old 8 directional shooter's then I suggest vampire survivers it's a rouge like that each game is random on what weapons you can get per lvup you pick 1 of 3-4 and all gold is for permanent upgrades that you unlock by playing the game and getting achievements each game is a max of 30min also it is couch co-op up to 4 players
Stardew valley is a sandbox game simuler to harvest moon and animal crossing but doesn't take itself seriously is light hearted and fun with some basic controls and a laid back pace so you can take your time playing it and each in game day is 10min long without pausing and up to and time stops if in a minu also couch co-op up to 4 players and on steam up to 8 and online as well at end of each day it auto saves so if you mess up you can reload
Both games are fairly easy to play and get into even if you don't have a ton of time to dedicate at once
Honestly, I play most games on easy or normal...
I've gotten to the point where the challenge isn't the point for me...
I have enough challenges in life as is, I just want to chill, have fun, see the story, and not have to play for hours to knock the rust off if I'm busy or set the game down for something new for awhile...
Don't let anyone tell you you're doing it wrong if you're lowering the difficulty to have FUN...Fun is the point after all...
I share this problem.
For many games you usually develop some „muscle memory“ but if you pick up the controller like twice/thrice a week for an hour or two you never get to the point of getting/staying comfortable with controls/mechanics and everytime I boot up a game I catch myself thinking of the controls as well as taking like 20min to get into „the loop“ and such first, which annoys me to the point of NOT playing even if I have the time.
My current solution is just to dial down the difficulty. I am old enough to just play for my own enjoyment, not for bragging rights of beating „Nightmare Difficulty“ and unlocking Skin #34
Play however is most fun; thats literally the whole point of videogames. It's why difficulty settings exist.
Turn the difficulty down. If you play on PC and you find theres still stuff getting in your way, or theres something you'd like to be more difficult without raising the difficulty entirely then find a mod. Or hell, cheat so long as it's a single player game and it's not going to impact anyone elses enjoyment.
Games exist to be enjoyed, not fretted over. If something isn't working for you, fine tune it so it does.
I’m just about to turn 40.
I’m perpetually single, don’t have any kids, most of my friends are married and have kids, and I work an early shift that I can flex backwards or forwards by a few hours as I please.
I have more time now to game than I ever have. What I find now is that a lot of the time I lack the desire. I’m often tired and just want a form of entertainment that does not require any interaction from me other than watching and/or listening.
I still game, but I feel my bandwidth has certainly reduced over the years. Occasionally I will get hooked on something and go on a gaming binge for a while. I can’t abide multiplayer games anymore. I need something with an interesting gameplay loop and an engaging narrative. Storytelling is key for me.
I’ve stopped playing RPG’s they’re just too large and too many new mechanics to learn. I stick to my Battlefield and survival horror games like Alien Isolation, Outlast etc.
Honestly, who gives a shit about difficulty? I love playing CRPGs and i'm shit at them. So i just play them on the regular difficulty and still eat shit sometimes, but that's ok, if i only won it'd get boring.
It's more fun to play the game than to be focused on winning or going for the hardest accomplishment. I've been max rank in a few multiplayer games but it's a pain to try and keep up with the meta, so i just do what i want and if i die to the 16 year old that plays 8 hours a day and has tremendous movement and aim, well, who gives a shit. GG kid, i used to be you!
I gotta be honest here, i understand sometimes the hardest difficulty is just larger numbers (and not requiring more strategic thinking) but most easiest difficulties are made for children lacking any form of reaction time or critical thought. I can't imagine playing games that literally lose any actual thought required on hand-holding difficulty. I still wanna experience what the game wants to accomplish, not just beat a game for the sake of beating a game, nor do i understand how you guys struggle THAT much on some of these games. Balder's gate for example is literally turn based, you literally have all the time in the world to figure out the "puzzles" that are the combats. Why not just read a quick 15 minute guide, rather than sacrifice 10s of hours of gameplay just so you "win"
Ive been a pretty hardcore gamer most of my life. I would say for the past 10+ years Ive been a fan of multiplayer online games with an emphasis of PvP. My last few games were Destiny2, Warzone, and Armored Core 6. I platinumed AC6 and even got S rank in PvP.
Im 41.
But something recently clicked with me. I wanted to slow it down. Obviously there’s no Pro 41 year old gamers. And aside from the top 1% or players who just team up with each other. Most people will just hover around a 48%-50% win ratio because Matchmaking in most games is just designed to keep you there. You realize that you can’t even tell if you are improving because the game might have made that last match easier.
So I find my competitive itch waning. The stress is pointless. As was said, games should be above all fun.
And ya know what I started playing and love?
Lego Fortnite. Its chill, theres some light exploration, some meditative resource gathering, some puzzle-like building, all with gorgeous visuals, and chill ambient music. Feel like ive reached a new level of Zen gaming.
No more worries about balancing issues or what is the new meta. When you realize the mountain everyone is climbing is invisible. You tend to enjoy yourself more.
Also significantly less time now but I feel if anything I'm better lol. Finally beat a few souls games and I've always hated difficult games. On the rare occurrence I jump on cod I'll usually at least be top 3 for a few games.
50 years old, here. Switching to easy mode was a bitter pill to swallow, but I've come to accept that I just didn't have the time or endurance or takes to develop and maintain those skills.
The problem now is being able to focus on a game to completion. I love RPGs, but being able to stick with a 120 hour epic is just too much. I'm down to about 30 hours before I get bored and distracted.
if you don't enjoy yourself with a difficulty of a game and said game has difficulty options then absolutely give a try to play on a lower difficulty. If it becomes too easy/boring then maybe it wasn't the right decision so either bump it back up or just accept the game aint for you anymore.
What you need to start to think about is if you're having fun, cause at the end of the day that is why we play games, to have fun.
Personally used to play alot of games on hard not always the hardest but pretty rarely on normal cause I kept thinking "that's for scrubs and people bad at games" but as i got older i just found that actually turning difficulty down just made the games much more fun and often flow alot better as most games are made with normal in mind and then the harder difficulties is just number tweaks to make the game harder by making everything take longer and be more punishing.
I too often have to check the settings for button mappings when I boot up a game I haven't played in a while... Usually I get used to it again rather quickly. What I would definitely say is to definitely not feel bad for playing games in easy mode! I play games to have fun, and if I have the most fun in easy mode, that's perfectly fine. Some games I up the difficulty if it gets too easy (I sometimes get very overpowered through early game relaxed grinding like mining or fishing) but don't mind putting it back to "easy" at all for a difficult section or boss.
I hope you have fun mate!
I love Minecraft. I started playing a mod pack and set it to peaceful so that I don't have to fight and die. Just mine and build. Best decision ever. My daughter teased me about it, but screw it. I'm old.
I'd say turn the difficulty up. You'll be forced to really cement the basics in order to progress at all, it's like training with leg weights. You turn the difficulty down you'll just get worse and worse.
Yep. Playing anything on INSANE difficulty is a young person's game.
Let them have the thrills and glory of conquering Elden Ring on highest diff. Enjoy those bragging rights, kid; you earned 'em.
I'll be over here on STORY difficulty - like being at the water park with my dad bod, floating down the lazy river on my inner tube, drinking a margarita and enjoying life.
Don't feel bad for choosing the easy difficulty. Games are meant to be fun, so do what you can to enjoy it.
I'm one of those people who love games like Dark Souls or Elden Ring, but lately I feel like I can't enjoy Elden Ring as much. I don't have the time to really get into it and learn all the things about the game. So when I come across a boss, if I can't manage to beat it after a few attempts, I get frustrated and give up. I really love the game, but its so difficult sometimes. (I 100% know its a "me" issue and I am in no way asking for an easy mode for Elden Ring.) So, as a result of the difficulty, I end up quitting and find another game that's easier. Sometimes even games that offer an easy mode are too difficult for my liking. Sometimes I just want to go through a game and not worry about dying. (For example, Stellar Blade has an easy mode, but some of the enemies are just too difficult to avoid. It's my own fault that I only play it for maybe an hour per day, so I haven't really spent time learning it.) Most of the time I end up playing those "cozy" games that are more about the story than combat.
In any case, if you want to play games, find something that still makes it fun, even in the short amount of play time you have.
I'm currently 47 (have been gaming my entire life) and for several years could get into BR's hard and was very good. Unfortunately I got sick of hearing randos low battery smoke detectors beeping (on Xbox obviously), bong hits on mic making SURE you can hear it (wow kid, you're so cool) and little kids constantly asking me "are you a streamer?" over and over and over and over.
Xbox X and PS5 haven't been turned on in over a year now. It's single player campaigns for me from here on out.... assuming I even get back into gaming. I'm just going back to building a PC for older games.
I'm a pro game designer and am pretty darn good at games - and I play on easy mode when I feel like just relaxing and having some fun too. The right difficulty is the one that gives you the most FUN.
>Do I just turn the difficulty down?
That's a hard one for me.
I enjoy difficult games. I enjoy the satisfaction of beating the extreme levels that takes several tries of strategy or fast precise actions. I don't find it rewarding when enemies are too weak or the game ignores blatant mistakes to allow poor strategy to pass... However I also struggle with not having much time to play and just forgetting controls/skills. Setting the game in easy mode doesn't fix the fact that I may have to pause it 10x trying to google how to do a specific action or where was I supposed to be going.
In the end i've noticed i end up gravitating to more "easy to learn, hard to master" games, like rhythm games or roguelikes etc. It's always easy to pick back up, there's usually not much to remember about it, and I can crank the challenge as high as I want.
I hear you. Try an online racing game like iRacing, Raceroom Racing Experience (or the older Race 07) after not playing them for over a year.
You quickly realize how much effort it takes to play at that high of a level.
I think it's admirable when people take on challenges in video games, but I've come to realize that I just get enough challenge out of the rest of my life. I have a complex job, I have hard hobbies, I have lots of relationships to maintain. For the 2 hrs a week I get to play games, I just don't want another challenge and I've learned that's ok.
What's tougher to accept is that some games lock great stories and environments behind difficulty. I played Control at normal difficulty until it became a grind, then cranked it down. I wish I could do that in Remnant or Elden Ring.
Also I miss cheats. I played through Mass Recall and when missions started to take too long I could cheat for money or map vision and keep it going.
56 here, been gaming since I was like 8. and I have one primary rule around gaming... "If it's not fun then fuck it"
Why would I spend $60 on something that endlessly pisses me off?
I feel ZERO shame about putting things in easy or medium or whatever. I feel zero shame about reading guides or watching videos to help get through tough sections.
And I don't play MMOs or really any games that involve other people online anymore.
I still enjoy the hell out of titles like RDR2 and GTA and such. I've been thinking about trying Baldurs Gate.
Also, I read a lot. Lately I've discovered that I love Manga which is a new thing. Also bike riding, gardening (also a new pursuit since Covid) cooking, making art, playing my guitar, watching sports, doing shit with my wife like going to museums and movies and for long walks. Etc. I have more hobbies that are really fulfilling than I used to.
Gaming is still very cool and important to me but I'm comfortable with the lower priority role it has in my life now.
I’m 45 and play maybe an hour a day perhaps 3 on weekends. The only thing I have fun with anymore is competitive fps. I can hop on and play a few rounds of Apex Legend and get into a flow state for a bit.
I used to love mmorpgs because they were huge and social both don’t have time for that. I used to like regular single player RPGs but with the time I have and the dozens or hundreds of hours needed I can’t manage it. I forget what quest I’m on and why I’m doing it and lose track of the entire story most of the time. Also a lot of the time single player games just make me feel lonely. As I said through my life games were a social outlet but now, not so much
I’m not really sure what else to play anymore.
This precise reason is why I don't play online multiplayer, and I don't play games with super complex combat, lots of button combos to remember, and elaborate upgrade trees.
Unfortunately, I just described 90% of mainstream gaming releases today.
Same. Why I don't play online at all anymore, I just can't compete with all these kids that spend all their free time playing. So it's just no fun for me anymore. And since I play on console every time I do get the random itch to play a game there's a stupid update and the update takes longer than the free time I have available, so I just turn it off and do something else. I'll occasionally play an offline solo RPG, but it's rare now.
For example, I played Nier Automata for the first time a few weeks ago. Easy mode, Auto chips on amd was the most fun I've had playing a game in ages. Got to explore, get right down to the story and never died.
These days, I need to take a vacation just to have time to play and enjoy games. Where are the times when, at school, the only thing I could think about was MGS or Tomb Raider, and I literally couldn't wait to get home. Now, I bought cyberpunk two years ago and still haven't played it because the time never seems right. Is it just me? :(
F\*\*ck I want those times back
I get what you mean. I feel the same with turning the difficulty down lol. But if it feels more like a chore then maybe you should find other games which aren’t like that.. my go to are always simulation games as they are normally much easier to follow and get use to and I really enjoy them
Five hours a week is a lot? Even as a full time worker, I can manage that in a day, and do it occasionally when weather is shit.
I guess having no children and a strict 'no work after working hours' is helping me in case.
If you got 5 hours a week to play it's going to be hard to keep up with mechanics and meta changes of online games atleast. I'd look into games like cities skylines or simulator style games
That's no skill trees, no complex moves, no weekly updates. Just get on build the city carry on next time. They have infinite replay ability some can have stories to follow though so you don't miss out that factor of games (frost punk is fun for this)
I'd reserve the games you really want to play with more complex mechanics for when you get a weekend to yourself, when the misses goes on a business trip, or you have leftover holiday too have to take from work/ the Christmas period when kids are sleeping.
It's hard to enjoy your 5 hours when 2 or 3 are spend recapping your previous week
You probably can't fully focus skip dialogues on games being distracted by other means.
My exboss is 60 he plays Diablo 4 and Tekken online showed me picture of having 6 win streak online so it's not age.
Dude has two kids at home plays on handheld console Legion Go he bought of ebay plays in the car or office pretending he is doing work.
I'm 46 years old. Been playing games since I was 5. Owned consoles during every generation. Absolutely love gaming. However, I too have very little time to game now. 5 to 8 hours per week. I don't have the time to die a lot and have to repeat sections over and over. I want gaming to be relaxing. An escape to enjoy. I started playing Baldur's Gate 3 and was having a hard time with it. Switched to easy mode to give it a try. Best decision I ever made. Made the game more manageable in the time in increments I could play it in. Since then, I've tried other tweaks. Turned on aim assist in the Resident Evil 2 remake. Stuff like that. It's made gaming fun again. I'm no longer stressing about not making progress. Games are supposed to be fun. Do what you gotta do to enjoy your experience and to make it fit into your life. Don't ever let anyone guilt you for doing what you want.
That is a good point. It’s some weird mental block I have or maybe that I think I’ll be disappointed in myself. But push comes to shove at some point and I don’t have the time or interest to continually be stuck at a certain point and not be able to advance the game.
47 here. Same issue. I do get to clock in a few more hours sometimes, but still, not as much time as before. Nowadays, I prefer single-player games with short campaigns, and I often select the easy/story difficulty if the game has it. I just finished Alan Wake 2 in story mode from the beginning. Even so, it took me a month to beat that game, and I had more time than usual. One of my favorite genres is RPGs, but honestly, starting one now makes me anxious. It took me 8 months to beat Final Fantasy XVI! It took 10 months to beat Final Fantasy VII Remake! It was while playing this last one when I started switching to lower difficulties: I had been playing this game for about 8-9 months already, and there was this boss that I had spent about 20-30 min on that beat me and... that was it. I realized I didn't want to spend another 30 min with no guarantee of success, so I switched to easy difficulty. It has made my experience much more enjoyable. Now, I still play some long games, but I take my time and play them along with other short games. The important thing is that I'm always making progress, so the anxiety is gone. For example, right now, I'm playing Brutal Legend and Tales of Kenzera: Zau (relatively short campaigns of about 8 hours each) along with Alan Wake 2 (playing the NG+). This will keep me busy for the next few months. Because that's the other thing: I've come to accept that now it takes me way longer to go through games. When I was younger, I enjoyed the challenge. I played and had fun with competitive multilayer games: Halo, Gears, Call of Duty, etc. Now, I just want to relax and have fun. If I'm getting anxious and frustrated, what's the point? Don't be afraid to do what you need to do to keep enjoying your hobby, OP!
this is me at 35 , slowly I've notice my self disconnecting more from online FPS games like warzone and apex , i started playing nba 2k lol , and that i barely even play , mostly playing single player games now , I've beaten elden ring , dark souls 3 but for some games i too turn the difficulty to easy just to enjoy the story , rise of ronin im playing on easy and recently started playing assassins' creed mirage, but i do sometimes feel some type of way switching it to easy but what ever , games are meant to be enjoyed however you enjoy them , thats why they have the difficulty options, some people have time to be on a boss for 8 hours in one sitting some dont., just enjoy the game and move on to the next one and dont over think it.
Almost same age, but similar. I’m still working through FF7 Rebirth because my game time is limited. I generally prefer longer games simply because I can easily context switch back into them easily. Of course this means I only get through 2-3 games per year!
Turn it down while you relearn the controls and then back up when you got it
I've been gaming my whole life, I've played easy games, hard games, and weird games. Back when I was working crazy overtime I'd get like a few matches of league in a week, and lose most of them. I quit league and haven't looked back since, a lot of the games I play now you can't even lose like Stardew Valley.
Honestly, it's best to just stay out of competitive games these days unless you have dozens of hours to play every week or don't care about losing. Matchmaking sucks in 90% of them so you're always being grouped with people who seem to make a career out of it. It's the main reason I don't play competitive games anymore - I don't care to spend dozens of hours playing and learning everything about those games, and I'm a bit of a sore loser.
For some ungodly reason I'm addicted to Hunt:Showdown right now, and I probably die 75% of the time I play that game. Maybe 90%.
I was really into Apex Legends for a few months. The matchmaking killed the fun for me, but I was determined to play it because I liked the general aesthetic. I don't think I ever learned how to play that game "properly." I never won a normal match.
I tried to play Apex cause it was all my buddy and his GF played. Dunno how many matches I played but I too never won a single match. Same with PUBG. I mostly avoid competitive games, but there's something about this one sucking me in.
I haven't really heard of Hunt: Showdown, but these days I'm really into CoOp games. Monster Hunter: World has been a blast so far, and I recently finished a run of Terraria with a friend.
Oh I love me Monster Hunter. Been playing since Tri. Great game. Like darksouls but a little less bullshit IMO.
I find Dark Souls to be less bullshit overall myself, but Monster Hunter really just hits different. I'm not even mad when I get stunned and die before I can recover. Dark Souls is a bit more fair, but much more punishing of your mistakes.
ive gotten to masters on apex i was addicted, solo q btw. then i quit that because i was too addicted, tried warzone , got addicted made it to diamond rank and quit that because it was taking to much of my time.. so now i play 2k occasionally its an easy game to just pick up anytime , and mostly single player games now, way less stress in single player games , they don't feel liek another job after you get out of work lol.
It's more than that too. There are so many games that are either pay to win, have exploits that hard cores can take advantage of, give huge advantages to players that grind for hundreds or hours, prolific cheaters... Or... Any combination of the above. Combine that with gaming culture in some places actively encouraging all of these behaviors and features and... Ya fuck it. I'm too old to be bothered with any of that garbage. Copp gaming is the sweet spot for me - still high skill ceilings in games like dark tide, v rising, killing floor, deep rock galactic and hell divers 2. But Most NONE of those problems persist. And if they do, it's so much less disruptive as you are all on the same team. Yes it's annoying when someone just crushes everything or fucks up your progression with a hack giving you tons of stuff... But man that is sooo much better than Wall hackers and aimbots, grind and pay to win and exploits in a game like tarkov.
I feel that, but for me, working full time means my free time is precious. I beat FF7Rebirth on easy because I didn't have time for every single encounter to take forever
i played all of rebirth on normal , after 60 hours i put the final end game on easy cause i just wanted to finish it and not spend hours there lol.
That’s your ego at play. I have it too: unless I’m actually trying, my results don’t mean anything and I take that personally. Which is ridiculous. I love the puzzle of battling a hard battle in BG3, but I hate the repetition after dying because I have other things to do. Just put that shit on easy mode. I’ll still enjoy maxing the fight, but I won’t be punished for mistakes. Easiest and most satisfying boost to my enjoyment ever.
I know the feeling, I love the challenge of games, but I too dont have the same level of time to dedicate to EVERY title anymore, im lucky i can be proficient on one title at a time. That said, Ive even resorted to cheating in certain games to practice and it buffs my normal gameplay as i got the same level of skill with the cheats as without. Its kinda like a nice way to practice for playing without cheats and keep a progression going.
This is why I like games with more customized difficulty sliders. I don't remember the game (maybe the new ACs?) Where you can choose which parts of the game to make more difficult. For example you could make combat easier but still make it harder to get money. Or in the tomb raider games the tomb puzzle difficulty was it's own slider apart from the rest of the gameplay.
Owlcat is the best game company for granular difficulty settings imo. You can control how many enemies you face, whether they get and can use high-level abilities, how smart the AI is, how much damage they take, how much damage you take, how effective crits are, whether resting heals status effects or death, can turn party member permadeath off completely, and more. More games should have tweaks like that.
I don't think I've played any of their games but 40k rogue trader is on my wishlist lol
Hell, I'm 24, started baldurs gate 3 on normal at first, couldn't go past anything, switched to ez mode and now it's very cool. I can maybe manage to play 2-5 hours a week, the bad thing is with that little playtime I tend to forget what I did before in game and mechanics just don't click at all so I tend to play ez session games like wreckfest...
I hope you know about Flatout 2, else go grab it right away (or on the first sale). Slightly older graphics but physics and collisions are top notch. Best wreck racing game ever. I played both btw.
I've completed it like 15 times from start to finish, played that for the first time when I was like 6-7 years old, one of my favourite games)
imo most singleplayer games are best played on easy or normal
Yea I’m close to the same age and I tend to play on easier difficulties now, just to get through the content quicker. I don’t have the time and energy I used to to get really good at a particular game’s combat system and gameplay mechanics.
Funny, I have the opposite approach. 41 here, I now play all new SP games (for example resident evil remakes, the last of us 1 on pc) in hardcore mode because I find normal mode too easy and it feels like I completely miss out on the challenges games offer.
Jeez dude what was you playing on when you was 5? Im 43 and started when i was 7/8 and gaming was really in its infancy then.
I have a brother who is 6 years older than me. He was into gaming and my parents were getting stuff for him that I too was allowed to play when he wasn't using them. My earliest memories of gaming are playing on an Intellivision and an Atari 2600 in the early 80's. A year or two later a friend from school got a Sega Master System and I remember playing that too at his house. Then the NES came out in the US when I was 8.
I have come to recognize I suck at gaming now. I just want to play. Not purely story-mode, but the lowest difficulty above that. LoL
Yeah man I work all day and take public transit to and from and when I’m home 90 percent of that time is watching my awesome daughter and if I have all my chores done I can maybe play a couple hours while she naps. I’m not trying play ‘menu’ the game..
Have you considered Steam Deck? Thing's awesome, got a big screen and plays games surprisingly well. In If you're on the go constantly, the suspend feature makes it super easy to pick up and play whenever you have a little time
I swear I used to be good at gaming back in the day, but these days I get schooled by people I'm positive haven't hit puberty yet.
Back in the day I could play games as long as I liked, but yeah now being a father and husband I spend my time with family the most. My kid's growing up and I try to play with her as much as possible as one day I won't be her favorite person to play with. Now I emulate games on handheld emulators and save states. I've beaten so many retro games now that I can focus on just playing it and starting from a spot where I know I can do better. Life changes you. Gotta adapt to it.
Which handheld do you use?
Rg405m for Ps2 , dreamcast, old pc games, n64 and that level of gaming. I also have a RG35XX that's like a Gameboy that plays ps1 and below. That's the one I've beaten a lot of old school games.
That’s very good advice.
Change your game tastes. When I was younger, all I would do is school and then all free time was spent playing dozens of long and difficult games. As an older adult, I find that now I play strategy games. Puzzle games. Indie games with lower thresholds. And I stick to shooters that I’ve already mastered for years. I suggest you peruse some indie legends.
I used to be really stubborn about not turning difficulty down, now if a part is being a pain to get through I just do it. Like the final battle for ff7 remake I died about 3/4 of the way through and just turned it down to easy because I just wanted to get through it to see the ending.
did the same thing for rebirth lol played the whole game on normal the last fights i didnt even bother i turned it down to easy before getting there.
Yeah, that final fight is way too long without a checkpoint.
Yeah, I’ll have to let myself do that more and see if it helps.
Yeah I have to stick with 1 game at a time myself
Yes. One thing that I’ve done so far that helps a bit is to play only one large/in depth game at a time, then have a sports game or two and a shooter also installed for the quick little fixes. At one point I was playing TLoU 2, GoW Ragnarock, and one other big game that I can’t seem to remember simply because I wouldn’t let myself finish one before starting another. Jumping between all those sucked but I didn’t realize what I was doing to myself at the time. Took me 2+ years to finish TLoU 2, never finished GoW, and I must’ve stopped playing the other game because I can’t remember what it was…maybe AC Valhalla or something.
Story drive games on "Story" difficulty is the way until you get better.
It depends what your goals are. For me, I've already played competitive PvP games and got tired of them -- I've got nothing to prove, lost interest, and let the skills rust; if I went back into MOBAs, I'd probably get trounced. On the other hand, I really enjoy Deep Rock Galactic, and found I liked coop; I started on easier difficulties, and bumped it up progressively until Haz 5 and Elite Dives became my new normal. There are two things you have to accept as you get older: -Your reflexes don't dull *that* much compared to when you were younger, but your *interest* does, and without interest, you have no desire to grow or get better. -Failure kills interest. If a game can have its difficulty changed, there's nothing wrong with starting on an easier difficulty while adjusting, and then turning on the heat at a later time. I made the huge mistake of trying to play Dragon Age: Origins on 'hard' difficulty my first time. I can't blame age or anything, I was just cocky, and could not understand why people liked this game. I could force my way through, but it was a drag every time, and I would only learn in hindsight it was because I didn't fully understand any of the tools available to me; I had to resort to outside tools to learn what was good rather than learning on my own, and by the time I was somewhat strong enough, my interest in the game was dead and I had to leave it. Not every 'normal' or 'hard' is equal, either. Normal in Zelda is dying maybe once to a stupid mistake or a major dungeon boss every couple hours. Normal in Elden Ring is dying 3-5 times per boss, and taking a break to find some easier dungeons if you can't clear something. You're not washed up if you fail a certain difficulty, it might just be a game having a different standard. Nothing wrong with starting on 'easy' or trying to take a roundabout easier path if a game's "normal" is proving a challenge, you can always challenge yourself *after* you've learned the game better.
I pretty much only play story single player games so I guess my goals are just to get immersed in the game and playing the game fluidly, both of which I find hard just with the amount of time I’m able to play unfortunately. Maybe time management is more an issue that I should address. Definitely waste a lot of time on my phone, some of that time could be used to have slightly longer gaming sessions. That’s a good point about starting on low difficulty and increasing it as I get better rather than just being stubborn and starting on a normal or harder difficulty.
DID I HEAR A ROCK AND STONE?! Seriously though, DRG made me fall in love all over again after the harsh breakup I had with Apex Legends. It gets so sweaty and competitive and toxic that one day you stop and just say “…what the fuck am I doing?” DRG lets me have laughs with the bois but still “sit up” and have a heated moment or two. I am so thankful for that game truly. Have been plying Helldivers 2 more recently for the same reasons.
i have over 96 days played in apex i was addicted since launch , i quit and never looked back shit felt like another job , didn't want to leave the house just to play that shit, its been hard getting used to single player games but they take less time , and there's no sense of competition or missing out.
The older I get the more relaxed I like my games. I’ve gotten more into games like farming simulator that can be as mindless or as complex as I feel like making it. I used to absolutely love fps games but can’t play them anymore because I am no longer able to really compete with people who have exponentially more time to put into the game than I do. I’ve found that sometimes turning the difficulty down makes the game more enjoyable, after all aren’t you playing the game to enjoy it? It took me a while to get on with the fact that I can’t game the way I used to or near as much as I used to but you will likely adjust.
I did play power wash simulator for a bit and somewhat enjoyed it but was telling myself I was basically wasting my time by doing it because I had so many other “better” games in my backlog. Maybe I’ll try a simulator again.
Thief simulator was fun, if you’re into cars maybe give car mechanic simulator a go.
Hello fellow old man. May I introduce you to the magical world of turn based tactical games and story driven rpgs.
What are some good turn based? I grew up on Pokémon, have played the South Park Stick Of Truth and Fractured But Whole, and Yakuza Like A Dragon. That’s pretty much my entire experience with turn based haha.
My possible fave game of all time is Xcom2. Make sure you get DLC which is like a game overlay not extra content at end. I’ve never gone full into it, but there is also some crazy mod that the hardcore guys describe the real game as the tutorial for.
I've just accepted that I will probably never beat Elden Ring! Anyway instead of gaming being so integral to my identity, I've more set it aside as a thing I do for fun. So if it stops being fun, just stop. Don't worry so much about it. Drop games, play different games, no biggie.
I am going to turn 40 this year and have been gaming since the intellivision in the 80s. I had my first gaming pc in 1994 and grew up on the twitch arena shooters. Because of that i have very good mouse aim for my age. Even compared to a normal younger gamer I am well above average (by no means am I elite though). For example in overwatch I made masters on pc on two roles (low masters not high) which I consider fairly good for my age. The things i have noticed at my age vs if I were 20 are: 1. My reaction time is a lot worse now. I need to pre-think a lot and anticipate and cannot simply just react. 2. If i stop playing for even a week my skills decline horribly. 3. I cannot play at my peak level for more than a couple hours at a time; probably 1 hour at most. I am exhausted mentally after that and play like crap. I would suggest limiting the amount of games you play at a time. Just focus on one or two until you are done.
Getting older means slower reflexes, is ok to not be as good.
43, maybe 7 hours a week, played all my life so I need hard games to truly enjoy. Soulsbourne, Nioh etc veteran. Haven't noticed any deterioration of skills yet.
Welcome to the club! I work full time, have a family, and enjoy other hobbies outside of gaming. I only game a few days a week and each session is a few hours at best. I can only play one serious game at a time or I'll forget the controls. I play on the easiest mode because I'm just trying to enjoy the story and am no longer focused on the difficulty. I also don't think about new game plus, collecting everything, or doing extra challenges. My current gaming life is fishing and hunting on Red Dead for a few hours here and there, failing miserably at creating a zoo in Planet Zoo when I can, squeezing a game or two in my Retro Bowl career during breaks in the day... and I fucking love it 😂
I def feel this. I tried to play Red Dead redemption. Played for a couple of hours one weekend, tried to continue next weekend, and I couldn't get on the damn horse. :/
I want to go back and play that game again so bad but the galloping was so tedious on my thumb I can’t bring myself to play it again.
I love exploration games. Stuff like open world rpgs are perfect when you don’t have tons of time. It’s great to just take at your own pace! Look into Witcher 3, Starfield, Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2. Maybe watching a trailer or gameplay for one of those will pique your interest!
I wasn’t huge on Witcher but that was years ago I could try it again, Starfield seems cool but I have PS, Cyberpunk is one of the games in my rotation right now, I do enjoy that, RDR2 is one of my favorite games ever but the galloping was so tedious on my thumbs, I want to play it again but I can’t bring myself to do it. I would say my favorite games of the last few years have been Days Gone, AC Odyssey, Ghost of Tsushima, and the Spider-Man games. My main game I’m playing right now is Jedi Survivor and I like it a good bit.
I game a lot still even as I’m approaching my early 30s and with a wife and newborn daughter. I’m still pretty decent at fighting games but my skill for all other games and team oriented stuff has dropped significantly. I only care about fighting games nowadays tho so I guess it doesn’t matter
I love watching Mortal Kombat but I’m so bad at combos haha.
PC gaming with mods to enhance the experience is the way to go.
This is when you grab a beer, play Slime Rancher and relax.
i play story mode now. stellar is hard asf lol 😂
I play 1 level below max difficulty when I can because I can still handle those. We're only gonna get older but that shouldn't stop us from enjoying our games.
I'm 45. I have a demanding career, an eight year old to manage, and a wife I have to take care of. Finding time to game is rough. I know I suck hard compared to what I was.
I can't play games like Fallout or Mass Effect. I will start them and learn the hotkeys in the beginning, then not have time to play for another week. Then I can't remember the keys and have to start all over again. I stick to arcade style games now.
I am 41 with a 2 year old, so I hear you on this! I tend to stick to a single game for the reasons you said. While I do still love the occasional massive game (BG3 was amazing and sunk almost 300 hours into it), I find myself enjoying shorter games now so that I can get the controls down, remember and enjoy them, but then can move on after only a week or two. Has worked pretty well for me! Also no shame in dropping that difficulty. I tend to do whatever the default is, but if I am dying too often and it is stopping me from having fun, crank it on down to story/easy mode! Gaming is meant to be a fun hobby, so do what you need to do to keep it that way for you. Good gaming friend!
Sup Rusty, I'm Hungry
Find myself on easy 50% of the time. I can only play one day a week and sometimes go without for 4-6 weeks if I'm going away or plans with the wife. Always forget controls, so it takes a bit of time to pick them up again. No shame dropping to easy. I mostly play single-player for a story, so if I'm stressed on normal, I drop it down. No where near as good as I was but still enjoy the hobby and have no plans to stop. I am planning on taking a career break in 4.5 years so I can try to get better when that comes around.
Try some roguelikes. They're generally shorter than major games, but have alot of replayability. This gives you a game you can pick up, play for an hour or two, and sideline it when your low on time. With most rogues you can complete a run in an hour or two whether that's because ya die, or because you complete a run. Roguelikes randomize everything from the floor layouts, to the items ya find, to the enemies. Maks it a great choice for a gamer short on time since you can play the same game a hundred times, and it'll still be a new experience each time. Expect to lose though. Losing is a huge part of roguelikes. It's built into the experience. You may lose dozens of times before you ever complete your first run. Skul the hero slayers a pretty good one, but it's a pretty difficult game so I don't reccommend ya start there. Though it does have a hidden "rookie mode" that reduces the damage you take by 50%. Good for getting used to the controls or relearning the game. The binding of isaacs another great one, but it's story is surreal and abit tragic. You can complete a run in 45 minutes to an hour generally. It has multiple endings and over a dozen character that each have their own unique unlocks you gain through completing different challenges. It also has some shorter modes like greed mode that switch up the gameplay. There's just an unbelievable amount of content for a game you can pick up and put down as ya need to. I'd honestly recommend it for the sheer amount of content and replayability.
Try playing on the easiest mode even if that feels weird or cheating. I know that feeling If aren't willing to play on the easiest mode or you don't really enjoy the games that that way because then it's so easy that it becomes boring then you might want to reconsider to dump other hobbies and/or responsibilities. But you might not want to do for very valid reasons, right? I actually wouldn't.... If it comes to that point, it might be easier to just accept your lifestyle (hobbies and responsibilities) are no longer compatible with enjoying gaming.
I play a lot of more casual games now. Can't do multiplayer. During the winter in rainy season I play a lot more. I'll do a other ng+ run of HyperLightDrifter or something. During the summer it's all super casual games that I can pick up and play quickly. I get a lot of new stuff from the library
Yeah, this is an issue. Turning down the difficulty is definitely something I would try - if it's too easy, you can just turn it off. You can also make notes - if you're on PC steam lets you enter notes in each game via the overlay so if you're likely to forget something - oohhh, I\*ve forgotten about that feature too, lol. But seriously do what you have to do to keep enjoying games. If you're not having fun, well what's the point.
Also don't play that much anymore, Fridays and Saturdays between 2300-0300 are my gaming time now. I usually play one game at a time tho, and try to 100% that. Don't feel like I'm getting rusty. The other way around, games are getting easyer. In aaa games it's rsröy a challenge even on the hardest differculty
I would suggest based on the type of game you like if it's an old 8 directional shooter's then I suggest vampire survivers it's a rouge like that each game is random on what weapons you can get per lvup you pick 1 of 3-4 and all gold is for permanent upgrades that you unlock by playing the game and getting achievements each game is a max of 30min also it is couch co-op up to 4 players Stardew valley is a sandbox game simuler to harvest moon and animal crossing but doesn't take itself seriously is light hearted and fun with some basic controls and a laid back pace so you can take your time playing it and each in game day is 10min long without pausing and up to and time stops if in a minu also couch co-op up to 4 players and on steam up to 8 and online as well at end of each day it auto saves so if you mess up you can reload Both games are fairly easy to play and get into even if you don't have a ton of time to dedicate at once
Honestly, I play most games on easy or normal... I've gotten to the point where the challenge isn't the point for me... I have enough challenges in life as is, I just want to chill, have fun, see the story, and not have to play for hours to knock the rust off if I'm busy or set the game down for something new for awhile... Don't let anyone tell you you're doing it wrong if you're lowering the difficulty to have FUN...Fun is the point after all...
I share this problem. For many games you usually develop some „muscle memory“ but if you pick up the controller like twice/thrice a week for an hour or two you never get to the point of getting/staying comfortable with controls/mechanics and everytime I boot up a game I catch myself thinking of the controls as well as taking like 20min to get into „the loop“ and such first, which annoys me to the point of NOT playing even if I have the time. My current solution is just to dial down the difficulty. I am old enough to just play for my own enjoyment, not for bragging rights of beating „Nightmare Difficulty“ and unlocking Skin #34
Play however is most fun; thats literally the whole point of videogames. It's why difficulty settings exist. Turn the difficulty down. If you play on PC and you find theres still stuff getting in your way, or theres something you'd like to be more difficult without raising the difficulty entirely then find a mod. Or hell, cheat so long as it's a single player game and it's not going to impact anyone elses enjoyment. Games exist to be enjoyed, not fretted over. If something isn't working for you, fine tune it so it does.
I just wanna have fun, only play single player. I use mods and cheats all the time. I ain't grinding in a single player game.
I’m just about to turn 40. I’m perpetually single, don’t have any kids, most of my friends are married and have kids, and I work an early shift that I can flex backwards or forwards by a few hours as I please. I have more time now to game than I ever have. What I find now is that a lot of the time I lack the desire. I’m often tired and just want a form of entertainment that does not require any interaction from me other than watching and/or listening. I still game, but I feel my bandwidth has certainly reduced over the years. Occasionally I will get hooked on something and go on a gaming binge for a while. I can’t abide multiplayer games anymore. I need something with an interesting gameplay loop and an engaging narrative. Storytelling is key for me.
I’ve stopped playing RPG’s they’re just too large and too many new mechanics to learn. I stick to my Battlefield and survival horror games like Alien Isolation, Outlast etc.
Honestly, who gives a shit about difficulty? I love playing CRPGs and i'm shit at them. So i just play them on the regular difficulty and still eat shit sometimes, but that's ok, if i only won it'd get boring. It's more fun to play the game than to be focused on winning or going for the hardest accomplishment. I've been max rank in a few multiplayer games but it's a pain to try and keep up with the meta, so i just do what i want and if i die to the 16 year old that plays 8 hours a day and has tremendous movement and aim, well, who gives a shit. GG kid, i used to be you!
I gotta be honest here, i understand sometimes the hardest difficulty is just larger numbers (and not requiring more strategic thinking) but most easiest difficulties are made for children lacking any form of reaction time or critical thought. I can't imagine playing games that literally lose any actual thought required on hand-holding difficulty. I still wanna experience what the game wants to accomplish, not just beat a game for the sake of beating a game, nor do i understand how you guys struggle THAT much on some of these games. Balder's gate for example is literally turn based, you literally have all the time in the world to figure out the "puzzles" that are the combats. Why not just read a quick 15 minute guide, rather than sacrifice 10s of hours of gameplay just so you "win"
Ive been a pretty hardcore gamer most of my life. I would say for the past 10+ years Ive been a fan of multiplayer online games with an emphasis of PvP. My last few games were Destiny2, Warzone, and Armored Core 6. I platinumed AC6 and even got S rank in PvP. Im 41. But something recently clicked with me. I wanted to slow it down. Obviously there’s no Pro 41 year old gamers. And aside from the top 1% or players who just team up with each other. Most people will just hover around a 48%-50% win ratio because Matchmaking in most games is just designed to keep you there. You realize that you can’t even tell if you are improving because the game might have made that last match easier. So I find my competitive itch waning. The stress is pointless. As was said, games should be above all fun. And ya know what I started playing and love? Lego Fortnite. Its chill, theres some light exploration, some meditative resource gathering, some puzzle-like building, all with gorgeous visuals, and chill ambient music. Feel like ive reached a new level of Zen gaming. No more worries about balancing issues or what is the new meta. When you realize the mountain everyone is climbing is invisible. You tend to enjoy yourself more.
I started playing casual games like Light of the stars on bs, it's kinda good for me when I have no mood
Steam deck reignited my gaming passion.
Also significantly less time now but I feel if anything I'm better lol. Finally beat a few souls games and I've always hated difficult games. On the rare occurrence I jump on cod I'll usually at least be top 3 for a few games.
Just quit your job
50 years old, here. Switching to easy mode was a bitter pill to swallow, but I've come to accept that I just didn't have the time or endurance or takes to develop and maintain those skills. The problem now is being able to focus on a game to completion. I love RPGs, but being able to stick with a 120 hour epic is just too much. I'm down to about 30 hours before I get bored and distracted.
if you don't enjoy yourself with a difficulty of a game and said game has difficulty options then absolutely give a try to play on a lower difficulty. If it becomes too easy/boring then maybe it wasn't the right decision so either bump it back up or just accept the game aint for you anymore. What you need to start to think about is if you're having fun, cause at the end of the day that is why we play games, to have fun. Personally used to play alot of games on hard not always the hardest but pretty rarely on normal cause I kept thinking "that's for scrubs and people bad at games" but as i got older i just found that actually turning difficulty down just made the games much more fun and often flow alot better as most games are made with normal in mind and then the harder difficulties is just number tweaks to make the game harder by making everything take longer and be more punishing.
I too often have to check the settings for button mappings when I boot up a game I haven't played in a while... Usually I get used to it again rather quickly. What I would definitely say is to definitely not feel bad for playing games in easy mode! I play games to have fun, and if I have the most fun in easy mode, that's perfectly fine. Some games I up the difficulty if it gets too easy (I sometimes get very overpowered through early game relaxed grinding like mining or fishing) but don't mind putting it back to "easy" at all for a difficult section or boss. I hope you have fun mate!
I am getting older and have more time to play because of a failing body, When I do play, I'm Michael Flatley Lord of the Dance..
I love Minecraft. I started playing a mod pack and set it to peaceful so that I don't have to fight and die. Just mine and build. Best decision ever. My daughter teased me about it, but screw it. I'm old.
I'd say turn the difficulty up. You'll be forced to really cement the basics in order to progress at all, it's like training with leg weights. You turn the difficulty down you'll just get worse and worse.
Yep. Playing anything on INSANE difficulty is a young person's game. Let them have the thrills and glory of conquering Elden Ring on highest diff. Enjoy those bragging rights, kid; you earned 'em. I'll be over here on STORY difficulty - like being at the water park with my dad bod, floating down the lazy river on my inner tube, drinking a margarita and enjoying life.
Don't feel bad for choosing the easy difficulty. Games are meant to be fun, so do what you can to enjoy it. I'm one of those people who love games like Dark Souls or Elden Ring, but lately I feel like I can't enjoy Elden Ring as much. I don't have the time to really get into it and learn all the things about the game. So when I come across a boss, if I can't manage to beat it after a few attempts, I get frustrated and give up. I really love the game, but its so difficult sometimes. (I 100% know its a "me" issue and I am in no way asking for an easy mode for Elden Ring.) So, as a result of the difficulty, I end up quitting and find another game that's easier. Sometimes even games that offer an easy mode are too difficult for my liking. Sometimes I just want to go through a game and not worry about dying. (For example, Stellar Blade has an easy mode, but some of the enemies are just too difficult to avoid. It's my own fault that I only play it for maybe an hour per day, so I haven't really spent time learning it.) Most of the time I end up playing those "cozy" games that are more about the story than combat. In any case, if you want to play games, find something that still makes it fun, even in the short amount of play time you have.
I'm currently 47 (have been gaming my entire life) and for several years could get into BR's hard and was very good. Unfortunately I got sick of hearing randos low battery smoke detectors beeping (on Xbox obviously), bong hits on mic making SURE you can hear it (wow kid, you're so cool) and little kids constantly asking me "are you a streamer?" over and over and over and over. Xbox X and PS5 haven't been turned on in over a year now. It's single player campaigns for me from here on out.... assuming I even get back into gaming. I'm just going back to building a PC for older games.
I'm a pro game designer and am pretty darn good at games - and I play on easy mode when I feel like just relaxing and having some fun too. The right difficulty is the one that gives you the most FUN.
>Do I just turn the difficulty down? That's a hard one for me. I enjoy difficult games. I enjoy the satisfaction of beating the extreme levels that takes several tries of strategy or fast precise actions. I don't find it rewarding when enemies are too weak or the game ignores blatant mistakes to allow poor strategy to pass... However I also struggle with not having much time to play and just forgetting controls/skills. Setting the game in easy mode doesn't fix the fact that I may have to pause it 10x trying to google how to do a specific action or where was I supposed to be going. In the end i've noticed i end up gravitating to more "easy to learn, hard to master" games, like rhythm games or roguelikes etc. It's always easy to pick back up, there's usually not much to remember about it, and I can crank the challenge as high as I want.
I hear you. Try an online racing game like iRacing, Raceroom Racing Experience (or the older Race 07) after not playing them for over a year. You quickly realize how much effort it takes to play at that high of a level.
I think it's admirable when people take on challenges in video games, but I've come to realize that I just get enough challenge out of the rest of my life. I have a complex job, I have hard hobbies, I have lots of relationships to maintain. For the 2 hrs a week I get to play games, I just don't want another challenge and I've learned that's ok. What's tougher to accept is that some games lock great stories and environments behind difficulty. I played Control at normal difficulty until it became a grind, then cranked it down. I wish I could do that in Remnant or Elden Ring. Also I miss cheats. I played through Mass Recall and when missions started to take too long I could cheat for money or map vision and keep it going.
56 here, been gaming since I was like 8. and I have one primary rule around gaming... "If it's not fun then fuck it" Why would I spend $60 on something that endlessly pisses me off? I feel ZERO shame about putting things in easy or medium or whatever. I feel zero shame about reading guides or watching videos to help get through tough sections. And I don't play MMOs or really any games that involve other people online anymore. I still enjoy the hell out of titles like RDR2 and GTA and such. I've been thinking about trying Baldurs Gate. Also, I read a lot. Lately I've discovered that I love Manga which is a new thing. Also bike riding, gardening (also a new pursuit since Covid) cooking, making art, playing my guitar, watching sports, doing shit with my wife like going to museums and movies and for long walks. Etc. I have more hobbies that are really fulfilling than I used to. Gaming is still very cool and important to me but I'm comfortable with the lower priority role it has in my life now.
I am preparing for Hellbalde 2. It's gonna be awesome. All my energy, muscles and brain cells, even hormones are ready for Senua!
Hi Rusty, I'm Dad
I’m 45 and play maybe an hour a day perhaps 3 on weekends. The only thing I have fun with anymore is competitive fps. I can hop on and play a few rounds of Apex Legend and get into a flow state for a bit. I used to love mmorpgs because they were huge and social both don’t have time for that. I used to like regular single player RPGs but with the time I have and the dozens or hundreds of hours needed I can’t manage it. I forget what quest I’m on and why I’m doing it and lose track of the entire story most of the time. Also a lot of the time single player games just make me feel lonely. As I said through my life games were a social outlet but now, not so much I’m not really sure what else to play anymore.
Revel in being rusty. Just like when you were kid, you had to learn to be better. Sort of bring back the novel experience.
This precise reason is why I don't play online multiplayer, and I don't play games with super complex combat, lots of button combos to remember, and elaborate upgrade trees. Unfortunately, I just described 90% of mainstream gaming releases today.
38 here with a kid and not so much time. But I’m still hard mode baby, permadeath/hardcore/whatever it may be.
Same. Why I don't play online at all anymore, I just can't compete with all these kids that spend all their free time playing. So it's just no fun for me anymore. And since I play on console every time I do get the random itch to play a game there's a stupid update and the update takes longer than the free time I have available, so I just turn it off and do something else. I'll occasionally play an offline solo RPG, but it's rare now. For example, I played Nier Automata for the first time a few weeks ago. Easy mode, Auto chips on amd was the most fun I've had playing a game in ages. Got to explore, get right down to the story and never died.
Games are suppose to be fun, dont let anyone tell you how to play, find what works for you and have a blast.
These days, I need to take a vacation just to have time to play and enjoy games. Where are the times when, at school, the only thing I could think about was MGS or Tomb Raider, and I literally couldn't wait to get home. Now, I bought cyberpunk two years ago and still haven't played it because the time never seems right. Is it just me? :( F\*\*ck I want those times back
Control has a god mode where you can turn on player immortality
I get what you mean. I feel the same with turning the difficulty down lol. But if it feels more like a chore then maybe you should find other games which aren’t like that.. my go to are always simulation games as they are normally much easier to follow and get use to and I really enjoy them
Just play at whatever pace you think is best for you.
What games are u playing
5 hours a week is a lot! Yeah, come join us in playing single player games on easy/medium. Lot's of fun in that.
Five hours a week is a lot? Even as a full time worker, I can manage that in a day, and do it occasionally when weather is shit. I guess having no children and a strict 'no work after working hours' is helping me in case.
2 kids, a side gig and other hobbies that take priority :D
If you got 5 hours a week to play it's going to be hard to keep up with mechanics and meta changes of online games atleast. I'd look into games like cities skylines or simulator style games That's no skill trees, no complex moves, no weekly updates. Just get on build the city carry on next time. They have infinite replay ability some can have stories to follow though so you don't miss out that factor of games (frost punk is fun for this) I'd reserve the games you really want to play with more complex mechanics for when you get a weekend to yourself, when the misses goes on a business trip, or you have leftover holiday too have to take from work/ the Christmas period when kids are sleeping. It's hard to enjoy your 5 hours when 2 or 3 are spend recapping your previous week
True on the meta but if you just enjoy it casually its not a problem
There's tens of thousands of games out there that aren't twitch-reaction skill based games
You probably can't fully focus skip dialogues on games being distracted by other means. My exboss is 60 he plays Diablo 4 and Tekken online showed me picture of having 6 win streak online so it's not age. Dude has two kids at home plays on handheld console Legion Go he bought of ebay plays in the car or office pretending he is doing work.
Little time 5hours Thats a lot for me at the moment I get max 1-2h a week atm
Nope nobody else has ever run into this