I’ve fallen into a deep gaming rut lately. What helped “get you back into” gaming and rediscover the magic of video games?

I bought a steam deck. Its the best thing if you don't have lots of time as you can pause and turn it off and pick up where you left off later. Obviously that won't work for online games great for project zomboid though. YMMV

Have you considered playing a shorter singleplayer game? I find I get fatigued by how long some games can go on for whether it's multiplayer like The Elder Scrolls Online or a sandbox game like Red Dead Redemption.

Maybe you could try something like GRIS? It's a relaxing game with a neat art style that that only takes about 3 hours to beat.

Nothing makes me enjoy games like moderation. But moderation isn't just how often you choose to play - it's also how much you're expected to play.

I'm going to discuss both, because I think people underestimate personal moderation. But I suspect gameplay moderation is your struggle.

Personal moderation:

Games mimic psychological fulfilment (problem-solving, self-actualisation, etc). But it's not in a lasting way, they're just more attainable.

It's like buying a chocolate bar vs cooking yourself a roast meal. It's easier, it's pleasant, and there's nothing wrong with enjoying it - but if it's the only thing I'm doing, and I never put in the work for something more satisfying, I feel unsatisfied - even emotionally 'sick' (bored, restless, ennui). When they are a treat at the end of a day, they feel great. But when they are my day, I struggle to enjoy them.

This is the trap that often catches directionless people (eg: depressed, NEET, lonely). They don't play games for games, they play them to avoid the anxiety or stress of cooking a roast meal. They eat chocolate until they feel sick, and then feel too sick to cook.

Gameplay moderation:

Games are designed for people who have time to burn. Teenagers, kids, some young adults. When you were younger, you could afford to burn that time, and it felt good, because each session meant you felt that hit of dopamine for problem-solving, achievement, and progression.

But now, you can't. You're an adult, you don't have that time. And yet games aren't being designed for you anymore, but the new kids and teens. They brag about dozens or even hundreds of hours of playtime, and bloat their content with grind. (if anything, the latter has gotten even worse.)

You only have an hour to play a game, and after that hour, there's no feeling of progression or advancement - the game expects you to give it more time than that. And without the feeling of progression and advancement, games don't feel as engaging.

That is why they feel like chores, like jobs; it's why you choose things that give immediate feedback like the internet. Games are asking you to put in too much time and then not giving you enough back.

Portal 2 is considered a masterful game at five hours long, because each hour is rewarding. Is Destiny? Is Halo? Froza?

If this is your concern, my suggestion would be to step back from the bigger scale games that want to monopolise time, and embrace smaller games from indie devs.

You'll get far more variety, they tend to be much denser. They're also cheap enough that it's worth it to try a bunch of things you might not have tried if they were AAA.

If somebody says a game is 'only 6 hours of gameplay', see that as a positive, not a negative. It probably means each hour is going to mean something.

Try some chill single player games, ones that focus on a great story with no real difficulty. That helped a lot for me when I had a similar feeling.

Firewatch, the Life us Strange games, Road 96, Unravel, Superliminal to name a few.

Have you played Outer Wilds by chance? I agree with many that it's probably one of the best games ever made, and I can't think of any game that better encapsulates what games should be capable of. It captures the magical potential of exploration and discovery like nothing else I've ever played. So many cool ideas waiting for you to figure out, and the process is just so fun.

Along those lines, I've just been growing fonder of smaller, indie-style games, which had never been my preference before now. Games like Gris, Little Nightmares, Hades (if you consider that "smaller"), Deliver Us the Moon have left a really positive impression. Many of them are imperfect, but I feel like there's a lot of love tangible in those experiences. Maybe I'm just imagining that, but they lack the bloat that has disillusioned me with a lot of the bigger games lately, and they feel more purposeful in general.

If you haven't, look through some lists of best indie games and see if anything jumps out at ya.

For me after some time away from PC gaming, getting a steam deck was one thing that got me back into it. The other thing though was definitely selecting relatively short games. I played a lot of open-ended games that I could never finish like rimworld or crusader kings, it was nice to get back into games with a beginning middle and end. And in the same vein it means I've been playing stuff that I was interested in playing back in the 2010s but didn't really have the time/money/hardware for

Contrary opinion - it's OK to give up hobbies you don't enjoy any more.

Gaming was an important part of your life at one point. You remember it fondly because currently you are lacking something in your life, so you're thinking - I used to enjoy gaming so I should enjoy it again.

Doesn't work like that - people go through phases. Find what you enjoy now. Yes, maybe it's gaming again. Maybe its something else - hiking, fixing motorcycles, partying ... who knows. Experiment with activities until you find something that will make you burn again!

If you're depressed, sometimes you lose interest in your hobbies. You might want to look into seeing someone.

I will say, you seem a bit worried about no longer considering yourself a gamer, like this burnout has led to a crisis of identity. You are MORE than your hobbies. Gamer is a temporary state based on what you are doing. It is okay not to be one. You're still you.

FPS’s seemed boring, online games couldn’t keep my attention long enough to get through a match, and eventually I’d just leave a game on the pause menu while I messed around mindlessly on my phone.

My partner does this.

One, you might have ADHD. I can't say, but you could look into it.

Secondly, you need to have some time to let your brain rest. When you bounce between tasks like that, you're never actually not doing something. People think of doomscrolling as taking a break, but really you're replacing your intended task with another task and there isn't a time where you do no task.

The Forgotten City is the one that restored my hope in gaming.

I feel you man. Are you sure you’re nostalgic about gaming itself and not about a time when you were carefree? Maybe you just need to find back your balance. I’m an anxious person and the worst episode I’ve had lasted roughly a year. Sick leave and everything. No interest for gaming for even longer than that. Worked on myself, picked up the pieces and the will to game came back slowly but surely. What I’m saying is maybe you need some healing before the next adventure?

Feeling the same, even tho my life hasn't been nearly as stressful as yours. Games, especially new single player games with thousands of hours of content just aren't fun for me anymore, even tho I loved Skyrim, Fallout, Dragon Age and Witcher. But I still find a lot of fun playing games with friends.

Especially DayZ. It's like, really just taking a long walk with friends in the forest, because that's what the game is lol. Strolling arounds in Cherno, sitting together at the campfire and talking about our days, sometimes meeting with strangers and sharing that experience (or getting into a stressful firefight 😅). These are really the best experiences I had with gaming to this day.

I just homebrewed my Wii and have been having a blast playing GameCube and Wii games I never had but always wanted to try.

Naruto Clash of Ninja 4 for example is a PHENOMENAL game that I had never even heard of before two days ago

I wouldn't recommend this with the sole reason being to get back into gaming. I started taking THC gummies and it is like being a kid again playing video games.

The latest Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom, completely reignited my gaming passion. This game is incredible if you enjoy rich world building, exploration and adventure, and puzzle solving.

I do two basic things when I get on a rut. I replay a favorite RPG with mods and a very specific roleplaying theme. For example I played fallout 4, console commanded myself a million caps, high charisma, and liw intelligence. I played through as a rich idiot. The other thing I do is find a game way outside my normal style and see if I can figure out the appeal that it has to other people.

Super Mario Odyssey if you haven't already played it.

Really reignited that spark.

Also if you enjoyed BotW, Tears of the Kingdom is a fantastic sequel.

Lots of great recommendations here. For me, I've definitely found that shorter and more casual games have really helped me get back into it. Challenging single player games or competitive multiplayer games can just seem like too much for me after a stressful day or when I'm in a mood.

I have fun with idle games, automation games, visual novels, and small indie games. I find after playing one of those for a bit I feel ready to tackle something more challenging.

During the pandemic, I tried Super Metroid for the first time ever. I just wanted to play a little bit of it to get a feel for it. It caught me hook, line, and sinker. If you missed out and are at all into retro gaming, can't recommend it highly enough.

Honestly my current jump back into gaming was playing Breath of the Wild on my Switch while on deployment. I did have a hiatus a few years back which was broken by my attempt at beating Bloodborne (wholly unsuccessful, btw, it's not really my speed but I enjoyed the heck out of it). My go-to game for decompressing is Stardew Valley. I just love being able to jump in and maybe harvest some crops, maybe explore the mines, maybe go interact with the villagers even.

Another tactic of mine when I'm in a funk is to pick up an older rpg (snes or ps1 preferred) and start working on it.

I play a lot less cause of depression and isolation so games I mainly play on my own are simple enough for me to play when my mind is fried and that I can quickly play little and come back no problem like do a level of Miitopia or like 1 or 2 races in Mario Kart.

I also feel like I need to get away from gaming right now but sadly I am stuck with lack of support from family and the mental health system.

What helps me the most is playing multiplayer locally mainly to deal with isolation and cause my connection is crap and i don't want to pay subscriptions for what used to be free.

To answer your question what games brought back i don't really have that but some games that grabbed onto me recent years are usually odd and silly games like Miitopia(has a demo on switch(Nintendo exclusive)), Bug Fables, Bugsnax, Cat Quest 2(has a demo on switch), What the Golf, Wandersong.

@Evolone I went back to a #WoW 3.3.5a private server I used to play on when I was young and couldn't afford the monthly fee. The community over there is super laid back because everyone knows there will never be new content. I'm really enjoying my time there, despite only having a few hours per week to spare.

So, go back to your roots. Play a game you used to play a lot.

I wouldn't sweat it too much. Sounds to me like you've found peace in reading through tough times. Maybe that's your new gaming. I personally bounce between things. Read for periods of time, then game, then watch movies/TV. Right now my infatuation is with the new Final Fantasy as I've been wanting a narrative driven game, and it's satiating that craving so far. After I beat this game, I'm going into patient gamer mode for a while, and picking up my dormant guitar that's sat for 10 years. I love music as well, so I want to up my game there and start to learn from scratch. If games fall by the wayside while I explore guitar then it's okay, I will find my way back to them when something strikes my interest. Until then we must follow our urges and let them go where they may.

I can't speak to being a step parent, I'm single and don't desire a relationship right now so I have lots of free time. I just realized over the years that I also don't want to look back and have all my time spent on one hobby that doesn't leave much to show for.

I have went through a similiar phase a few years ago after starting university and moving to a different city. A few years later I had the opportunity to get me some nice computer for very little money which brought me back into gaming but I honestly dont remember which game I played first.

My wife went out of town for a weekend so I decided to re-up Gamepass and download a bunch of stuff, mostly older games. What ultimately brought me back into actively wanting to play was Dragon Age Origins, a game I beat several times but a long time ago.

I started playing short games only (ideally 20, max 40 hours), mainly indie games. They're tighter and usually go straight to the point. They often have one good idea and reiterate on it until they said all they had to say and don't overstay their welcome. Also, replaying old games is always nice. I've replayed OG Fallout recently and had a blast, currently replaying New Vegas (which goes against my short games rule, but I also know it well enough to not waste time doing things).

Check out the System Shock remake if you have a gaming PC. I recommend Dying Light as well; the parkour traversal and zombie physics are unmatched.

'Return of the Obra Dinn' is another favorite of mine.

Games that hold your hand and provide waypoints to every objective (i.e. built-in walkthrough syndrome) strip the joy for me personally.

My go to when I'm feeling burned out is something with a small, self contained narrative. Something I can pick up and be done with in like 10 hours of total time. Pretty much anything published by Annapurna has immediately captured me. As a suggestion, I'd say give Outer Wilds a try (not Outer Worlds, the RPG from Obsidian though).

Like many before me said, explore other interests. Then when you get back to gaming try moving out of your comfort zone. If roaming on open worlds has been your thing for years try switching to a neighboring genre such as battle royale or coop monster bashing for instance, or even try switching to a totally different genre like puzzles or fps. Challenge yourself to new habits and gameplays, and do not hesitate moving on to another genre if it's just not your thing.

I've gotten back into gaming lately, and the two biggest things (for me) were focusing on fixed length single player games and getting a steam deck.

It seems like every new game these days is a live service game or an open world, but playing through some focused, shorter, more straightforward games has been great for recapturing a love of games. When I was younger I preferred games that gave a lot of hours of gameplay for the money invested, but these days I have plenty of money and a shortage on time, so shorter games are king.

Second, I bought a steam deck. I only use it for games, I don't share it with my kids/wife/anyone, and it has a sleep function that lets me stop instantly in the middle of a game when needed and start back from that exact moment when I have time again. One of the biggest issues that was keeping me from playing games was feeling like I didn't have enough time or didn't know how much time I had. I wouldn't want to start a game unless I knew I was going to have time for a good play session. With the steam deck it doesn't matter if I only have 5 minutes, I can jump straight back into playing where I was last and quit the second I need to. It's turned lots of small time where I was scrolling reddit/etc into time where I'm actually making progress on a game I want to play, and I've found that to be more satisfying. Small play sessions add up, if you're able to frequently hop in and play a little bit you'll quickly find yourself playing through games again.

It seems many people have this experience once they hit that 30ish mark. So little time to actually sit down and enjoy a game properly.

Working too much ruins all other aspects of life.

I have a very similar relationship with gaming. A similar break for college and a similar resurgence with BotW followed by a similar falling out because of kids haha.

I’ll be honest, it doesn’t feel the same anymore. I don’t think it ever wil again. But I’ll share the things that have come close to getting that feeling back.

1. Online game night with friends - this puts me mentally back in the 90’s staying up late and gaming with friends. It’s more about the company and conversations than the game itself. I try to do this at least once a week.

2. Gaming with my son - he’s 6 and we’ve been able to find a ton of games we love playing together, most notably Nintendo games. He loves all things Mario. We also run through games like Hot Wheels Unleashed, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Lego 2K Drive. Anything with a kid friendly co-op campaign has been fun.

3. Allowing yourself to mentally move on from games once you’re not having fun - I used to have this issue with a mental backlog or feel badly for buying a game and then not beating it. Not sure if you have the same issue. But lately I’ve tried not to put too much pressure on myself to beat a game. If I’m not having fun I move on. Life is too short and game time is too precious to waste it on a game I’m not loving.

Hope this helps. Like I said, I don’t think it’ll ever feel the same, but this has helped it come close for me.

In times like those, I enjoy a 2D retro-style indie platformer or metroidvania. There are so many available, they're usually cheap yet made with heart, and they scratch the itch to recapture a simpler era.

I was also in a lull for a while, I don't remember exactly why I stopped, but someone recommended hypnospace outlaw to me because it had a heavy focus on exploration and following clues, and I gotta say it was a good recommendation. Something about how earnestly and lovingly it represented the turn of the millennium internet and the transition from web 1.0 to 2.0 really spoke to me, it was like digging through a time capsule, almost.

EXERCISE

Ride a bike, run, walk... Get tired it clears your head.

Then. Game it up. Miasma Chronicles is one recently that got me back in

This does sound like something beyond gaming; you do have a lot on your plate like you said.

At different points in my life my gaming time also changed, depending on what my priorities are.

Eventually the want to game comes back and I'll spend a weekend or two on something fun.

It does sound like you're burnt out in general, and I'm not sure more gaming might help. I think the first thing to do is to find a way to establish some "me" time, like a solid block of an hour or two where you can do something for yourself. Doesn't have to be gaming, but it has to be for you. Once you can get that going you can work gaming into it, or some other hobby.

The times im in that state of mind, I try to pick a game with an open world setting. Skyrim will always be my happy place. Being able to go anywhere with no obligation, enjoying the scenery, maybe finding a new nook or a beautiful overlook you forgot about. It brings light to the dark.

When gamea just arent cutting it and I still need that escape, I pick up my favorite book.

I hope you find your joy again soon!

When I saw your post the first thing that came to mind was Breath of the Wild. It's the game that got me back into gaming. I've recently been playing Tears of the Kingdom and it has been a ton of fun with the new building abilities that were added. I'd highly recommend giving that a shot.

For games with that sense of wonder but on a smaller scale that are more chill, I'd recommend something like Omno, which is on sale for super cheap right now. It's a short game with a great soundtrack that's all about exploring and solving some puzzles. Journey would be another good one to try.

I also liked the suggestions here about buying the Steam Deck. Sometimes a new piece of hardware can really ignite the spark. Taking a break and trying a different hobby is also a good idea. I'd suggest Lego building. I found making sets for some of my other interests like Star Wars and others can be really fun and relaxing. It's nice to do something with your hands and turn off your brain for a bit. I'd even listen to audiobooks while I built.

I've found, at least in myself and friends, burnout comes from playing one game or one type of game, and getting bored with that specifically. You need to find something new, but I can't really give any suggestions since that's entirely subjective.

I fell off gaming for a while because my job got crazy. The Switch and specifically Breath of the Wild pulled me back in. Then I honed in on Monster Hunter World in particular for a long time and kinda burnt out because a different job got very demanding of my time, and it wasn't even a change of game, but just getting a better internet connection so I could actually participate in multiplayer that pulled me out of the rut.

Keep it varied and it'll stay interesting. A buddy of mine just tried to swear off all veeja because he declared himself an addict. He's not an addict, he just burned out after playing nothing but Elden Ring for a solid year. He took a break for about a month and now he's right back on ER with renewed passion.

What did/do you play games for? Think about the moments you enjoyed the most and why. Just to name a few motivations: are you looking to get a sense of improvement and complete challenges, are you looking to live a fantasy, exploration, get a story via a unique medium, flex creativity or be a part of a community. I find myself having different reasons to want to play depending on my mood.

Once you find your reason, you can start searching for what satisfies that. I strongly suggest you avoid triple a titles and focus mainly on indie.

You mention botw resparking things, from what I hear that game really appeals to those who want to express creativity and those who like exploration. I can't help much with the creativity (not really what I like) but for exploration I can recommend hollowknight (a metroidvania that I lost myself in for days) or outerwilds (a space sim with narrative based mystery and light puzzle elements, I highly recommend you go in as blind as possible)

Taking breaks and work on hobby’s and stop playing online games for good. I have a pretty bad anger problem so online games where just suffering.

When I got into my gaming rut I took some time off and got into Homelabbing. Used to scroll through my extensive steam library and nothing caught my interest so I needed something new.

Learned about different NAS Os’s, Docker, Linux and seeing what I could get out of some low-powered hardware and what I loved most was learning new things.

Started with a Raspberry Pi when they weren’t stupid expensive and moved onto a cheap Intel Nuc to my home made, small form factor NAS running Unraid and a 2nd cheap Thin Client running Ubuntu Server.

I focussed on doing more with my computer hardware and for a long while, didn’t feel the necessity to game much, then one day I fired up Forza Horizon 4 and had a good, enjoyable 5 hour session on it.

Now I’m back into re-playing Horizon Zero Dawn, I plan to move onto Forbidden West after and tearing around the UK and Mexico in Forza Horizon 4/5.

See if you can find another hobby or something that can enhance your knowledge on something you’ve never tried before for a while, one day you ,ignite just fire up a game after having a rest and get that spark back.

Perhaps emulation might get you interested. Replay the games of your childhood. Emulation also offers save States so you can immediately save or reload without silly save point mechanics, though you can stick to that if you want. This would let you basically get 10 minutes in here or there.

Get yourself an anbernic rg351or other models, or a steam deck. Anbernic's models can emulate generally up to ps1 and sometimes n64 or psp. I played through several childhood games on my 351m. Steam deck can emulate most things, namely ps2 ps3 360 and switch, but I've only tried psp thus far.

For me, I just kind of faded away from gaming, focusing on life and other hobbies.

I finally saw that god of war and horizon zero dawn were ported to steam, played the fuck out of them both, and jumped on spider-man as it got ported as well.

From there I ended up getting a PS5 to play the sequels of those three and I haven’t looked back. It has been SO fun to get back into it

The Star Wars Jedi game was also another game that I had a blast with as I got back into it. Played the first on pc and the second on ps. Excellent games without question

PlayStation has just been fucking killing it in the story driven gameplay the last few years especially

There are plenty of indie games which offer new and unique experiences which aren't just "shooter" or "online shooter". My recommendations would be Celeste, a platformer about a girl who climbs a mountain, and Hollow Knight, a metroidvania set in a dying kingdom, but there are plenty of other great ones as well.

Trying new genres and emulating old games is what I do. I picked up Fallen London lately during my down time and I'm emulating some PS1 RPGs I never beat growing up.

I think the reality is, we won't ever be able to capture the nostalgia. Sometimes I just don't have the brain for a story, or the energy for skill checks, and sometimes I just can't game at all. I try to not pressure myself too much during the dips in interest, it seems to make me more depressed.

Allowing myself to float from game to game as my mood wills it has been important to not losing my ability to play to depression and exhaustion.

I definitely don't play the same games the same way I did before, but there is a lot of me that's changed over the years!

This sounds awfully similar to my life.

For me, all the added stress and changes made it impossible to enjoy any of my hobbies. It took me a while to figure out how to decompress, manage the new stressors in my life, and slowly incorporate my old hobbies back in again. They came back full force too!!

So if you're like me, just focus on making sure your house is clean, you're eating well, getting outside some, working out/walking a little if able, and you have a good mental process to attack work and commitments and get them done on a timely manner and hopefully the gaming will spontaneously come back.

Best of luck to you!

Sounds like you have a lot on your plate and smaller gaming sessions might be what you are looking for.
I usually get an hour or so a day to play and I've been having a blast with Deep Rock Galactic. The game is a buy once and play with the only monetization being cosmetic DLC but I believe it is FREE on Game pass (I think); $30 on Steam but on sale for less than $10 for the next week.

It is an horde based first person shooter with 4 classes that feel unique, balanced, and bring their own strengths and tools to help out each mission. Locations are all procedurally generated, which means that you can select the same mission in the same area and it will be a new layout everytime, and it's done well so you won't get screwed over my stuff morphing into the terrain or areas blocked off cause the cave generated all screwy.

Mission difficulty can be customized to suit your wants, ranging from super chill and very few enemies, to "OH GOD THERE ARE SO MANY ENEMIES AND WHY ARE THEY SO FAST?!". I have been known to play the hardest difficulty one mission, then crank it down to the easiest to finish out a quick mission before bed just to relax a bit.

You can play solo or with a group of 3 other people but playing with others is the way to go, as you get to see how all of the classes interact and help each other, plus the community has actually been wonderful; out of the hundreds of lobbies I have been in, I have had maybe 3 annoying people total. I also never use my headset for talking (sleeping kids and whatnot) but in game text chat is lively and most of your communication can be done through the "ping" system where you point your reticle at something (enemy, item, player, etc) and call it out for everyone to see. Also there is a button specifically to shout "Rock and Stone!" Which will be around 90% of what you need and will use when communicating with teammates, lol.

Unlike some other games that pressure you to keep playing to "progress your character/battle pass" I feel no urgency with this game. While there is a battle pass style system, it is all cosmetic, FREE, and usually last a few months at a time (like 6-8). If you happen to miss something from a current or previous season, they are still in game and can be found naturally through gameplay by finding "lost crates/gear" during your mission.

All in all I recommend this game to anyone who is comfortable with a FPS. Developers are friendly, community is great, game is fun and forgiving. I feel that, in a worst case scenario, it's fun for a bit and you pick up something else. Hope you find what you are looking for, Rock and Stone!

If you’re burnt out on games, more games won’t solve that and will just make it worse

Go explore some other hobbies for a bit

I want to get back into gaming. I want to feel the magic again.

this amuses me because it sounds like something a drug addict would say. you have that initial magic and then over time you're not using to feel the magic but just not to feel sick

my advice, OP? stop playing video games if you're not getting enjoyment out of it. it's your brain trying to tell you something. do something else with your time and go back to gaming in the future and it will be fun again.

During the lockdowns my son was born. What's really rekindled my love for gaming was not a particular game, but how I gamed. Getting a Steam Deck totally changed things for me and made it really convenient to access my gaming library.

The first thing I did with it was not actually play new titles but visit my backlog of older JRPG games that I had missed out on (specifically the Trails series).

Gaming at my desk where I worked wasn't the same as gaming on the couch or next to my son while he was sleeping. Sounds silly but it's made it much more enjoyable!

Many people are saying to pursue other hobbies, and that the magic will come back on its own.

I think they have great advice, but it doesn't answer your question.

I have 3 suggestions: 1 hardware and 2 games, all of which are outside of your previous experience with games.

1: Get a steam deck. This device on it's own brought much of the childhood magic back into gaming, and i can't describe how it feels in text. Just get one.

2: Buy Wildfrost, which is currently my Best In Class pick for UI design and a tight gameplay loop
Bonus: It pairs really well with the steam deck

3: Get Factorio. I bought this back when it was $20, and it has more playtime than any other game i have. The mods available make the game fresh and new, and the base game is deeper than 99% of other games out there. This is the game that gave me the same feeling like BoTW, and as long as you find the gameplay fun it will be a permanent Favorites contender.