I’m a separated dad with a demanding job and a fiancé. I only have the kids when I’m not working but I want to be fully available for them.
Recently, I’ve noticed that it would be difficult for me to play more than a story/ambiance game (next one is gonna be either Dead Space Remake or Aliens Dark Descent) and forever playable game (Gran Turismo 7 since its launch).
If I played more games with the time I have, I would forget the story or the controls. I haven’t tried but I’m pretty sure of it.
The problem with such a system is that I’m almost a aralyzed when I have to chose which story/ambiance game I’m gonna play.
So what’s your system and what are your time limitations?
My only obligations are my job, so I can pretty much waste all my time on games if i want to. I play one at a time, maybe add in three rounds of CS2 per week to get the drops. What would really drain time is an mmo but I’ve been clean of that for a while.
I guess games just don’t excite me anymore as they used to so I just pick out the ones that do and stick to them. When there’s nothing on the release horizon, I revert back to city builders or racing games till the next release.
I play one and watch one at the same time. Never more than that simultaneously just so i can really focus
I’ll play one game at a time, binge the hell out of it, then stop right before I beat it (if it’s a single player title) and then never touch it again for at least 5 years.
I do this, then after the 5 years I feel like I need to start over from the beginning so I know the story. Then I stop just before the end again.
Same. Mostly because I don’t want the experience to ever end (and because it’s been so long that I forgot where I was and what I was doing if I don’t start over). Apparently it’s an ADHD thing.
I’m an independent games reviewer, so 1. But even before I did that, I still could only play 1 at a time.
What is your process like ? Do you keep notes as you play through ?
Yeah sorta. I write the review as I go. Whenever a thing jumps out at me or I have moments where I’m focusing on a specific thing frequently, I’ll write about a paragraph about it and then move on. Sometimes a long one, sometimes a short one. Once I’m finished with the game, I go back through and edit and restructure and get rid of some things that ended up not being important or change some of my thoughts based on how the game develops. Sometimes, early on, something jumps out at me and I write something about it, and then later on that thing gets fixed and I just get rid of the whole paragraph.
Thats cool, I imagined as much that it is an evolving sentiment as you play. Thanks for sharing.
I work a full time job, but I don’t have responsibilities like children, so I have way more free time to play games.
I’m currently playing, Kingdom Hearts 2 and Bug Fables, alongside some friends so we can talk about it together.
With my partner, I’m playing, I was a Teenage Exocolonist, discussing our choices and how our game diverged.
I’m also playing solo: Octopath Traveler 2 and Lies of P.I’m basically hopping around the various games constantly. I’ll play one chapter of Bug Fables, then hop over to Lies of P and clear an area and defeat the boss, then jump over to Octopath Traveler 2 to clear a chapter or two from some characters.
Typically only 1 story game (first playthrough) like Blasphemous or Outer Wilds. And then only roguelites or sandboxes on top of that like Factorio or Slay the Spire.
Same, but sometimes a co-op game for me as well, to play with friends.
Mostly one at a time, but it depends.
Typically I play Marvel Rivals with my friend group, as it is one of the few multiplayer games these days that supports at least 5 people on a team (we already tried League, Paladins, etc and got tired of that real quick).
On my own, I sometimes feel like playing a retro game, so I have been playing Legend of Dragoon, but recently my save file got corrupted somehow so I haven’t restarted. Instead I switched to playing a less retro game, Need for Speed Carbon. Its been maybe 10 years since I played it last, so it has been interesting dealing with the horrendous rubberbanding and random crashing on PC. I also like to play Goddess of Victory NIKKE as a mobile game whenever I have down time but am away from home.
But I don’t think it is atypical to really focus on playing one game at a time. I’d say that would actually be quite unusual and likely only done by people who have a job playing multiple games per day (a not so good reviewer, streamer, etc).
I used to run 7 instances of Ultima Online at once so I could play all my characters at the same time.
One story based game at a time to focus on that alongside a coop or pvp game like The Finals.
I can play any number multiple repetitive/nonlinear games that don’t require keeping track of a story or events. So racing games, most FPS, etc. Right now I can switch between Helldivers 2, Call of Duty, Forza Horizon, Valheim, Tekken, and so on at the drip of a hat. I do end up customizing controls so they are similar within a genre, so HD and COD get trmapped to my standard first person shooter control scheme.
But I cannot stay engaged with more than one game that has a storyline/things to rememeber like the Witcher, Red Dead Redemption 2, or Horizon Zero Dawn even if they have handy in game reminders for what to do. Switching between stories is my dealbreaker for playing at the same time. I also have trouble sticking with a story long enough to complete those types of games which is a bummer because I like the idea of them.
like most things three is about right. Anymore and I tend to get overloaded and any less and I tend to spin my wheels.
I’m currently playing Portal, Portal Reloaded, and Portal Stories: Mel at the same time.
Basically I’ll play one, hit “that freaking level” and then rotate through. lol
30s, New homeowner, wife, house needs repair, cars need repair, wallet needs repair, someone has to cook, full work week, 90 minutes spent on commuting. No kids or pets, but I feel we might have similar availability. And I’m always wondering the same because I’ll never have the time to play like I did as a teen. But, here’s what I have. PC and Xbox.
I generally play one story game at a time. I’ll play for a couple weeks or couple months. I just try to make progress and enjoy it for what it is, not set any goals. How would I know how much time I need anyway? Could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours per session. Something like Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, Tomb Raider(don’t worry, I have bigger triggers next). I’m hoping this month I “finally get around” to Fallout 3, NV, or 4.
I have other options, though, depending on immediate time availability. Some borderline storyless games (maybe with cosmetic reward progression) for the shortest of times or highest of mental fatigue (forza horizon, fortnite, rocket league, ace combat, borderlands). My two slow burn games are Valheim and Elite Dangerous. They both take probably an hour to get up to speed if I’ve been out of it for a few weeks, but I’ll be good for a week between sessions after that. I’ll sink 2+ hours per session into those. Regarding remembering controls, ED amuses me because I use an Xbox controller to play. Every button is mapped and there’s a combo for every (ABXY) + (D-pad or bumpers). 14 buttons and 24 combos. Putting the controller in my hand unlocks subconscious memory of most of them. Even in other games where crouch and jump are shuffled around, it only takes a couple mistakes for me to remember.
It’s not an impressive list, but I try to not beat myself up over it. I’m busy, I’m tired. I stopped being elitist about the Epic and Ubisoft bullshit because I don’t have time to waste giving a fuck. There’s 100 better similar games but this is what I’m doing. I’m sitting down for a good time, not a long time.
Another aspect I had to reexamine was my notion of productivity, progression, and entertainment. Did gaming fulfill a fantasy version of real “campaign” progression? Does the building and repair I do in real life actually contribute to the same feeling of accomplishment as beating a game? Does socializing in real life fulfill that need for story progression? So far… Yes. Mostly. The fantasy game version definitely looks cooler.
Only other comment is about not choosing a title. I wouldn’t play a game I started because I needed to play a newer game before I was left behind. I think it’s been 2 years since I last bought a game. I can’t keep up. I can’t finish what I have. So I more or less decided to work through my library for now. It’s hard to get over the fomo of skipping titles or being multiple titles behind in a series. But so what? I have hyped games from 2015. I have hyped games from 2020. And from 2010. And from 2005. I’m missing newer games hyped in 2023. But in 2026, there will still be hyped games. And 2030. And 2035. I don’t have the time for every title. So I’ll see what’s out when I have room again. For now, it’s just about 4 story game so cycle through. Doesn’t really help you decide, but maybe makes it easier to avoid not deciding.
Slay the spire, FTL, and Into the Breach probably have the most hours from me because the controls are entirely cursor driven and can be paused indefinitely.
Balatro is quickly taking the space that the built-in Windows solitaire game used to.
Those are the ones that I open when my brain can’t brain.
At least one idle game. I just finished antimatter dimensions after a year or so. Starting on NGU idle next.
And one “100% attention” game like outer wilds or hollow knight.
2-4 depending on the mood. Could go higher but then games would take too long to finish
