I love my favorite games and have been playing them for years, but I disliked about 99% of the games I played.
I don’t think I have FoMO or anything; I just find it weird because my taste in music, film, or art/media in general is usually fairly broad. I guess I just wonder why my taste in games is aggressively limited.
It’s not for the lack of trying new games; I’ve tried more or less anything I could find, sometimes because it’s popular, other times because it looked interesting, but nothing really hits the mark like my favorite games.
I just don’t like what most developers create, I guess?
I’m hoping, by posting this, maybe I can find others who are having a similar experience, and we can share thoughts.
Lots of people have replied with similar experiences.
But personally? I’m having the time of my life currently playing tons of new games. I love trying new ones and getting surprised, and maybe falling in love with a genre I hadn’t considered before.
I feel totally contrary to what others are saying: as I’ve gotten older, I find myself enjoying games way more. My time is more valuable to me now than ever before, so I want to fill it with things that are joyful and meaningful. Often those things are art. Games to me have always been very special in the way they can deliver a powerful artistic experience.
I think they also have a special power to be blatant disgusting soulless cash grabs, to be fair. As the years go by I feel like many aspects of the industry have become particularly unpalatable. But many studios are still releasing good games, and so far I’ve continued to find joy in seeking them out.
Not too many people on this post are actually listing games. So, in no particular order, here are some games I absolutely adored that I played recently. Games from the last ~year that have touched and moved me in some way. Experiences I don’t think I’ll forget.
Sable
Chicory: A colorful tale
Manifold Garden
Signalis
OneShot
The Talos Principle
Night in the Woods
Citizen Sleeper
Webbed
Rusted Moss
Armored Core VI
Iron Lung
Slay the Princess
Ghostrunner
Mundaun
Crosscode
Eastward
Animal Well
Pseudoregalia
Dave the Diver
Nine Sols
Patrick’s Parabox
Cocoon
Smushi Come Home
Not to imply that I expect you or anyone else to take a deep look here or to try any of these games. Just wanted to throw my perspective out there, and to show the games in concrete terms that have left an impression and continue to motivate me to keep looking and keep trying more
obligatory but entirely sincere addition for those looking for palate cleansing games: Outer Wilds
and for those after a variety of others, in particularly no order, that may or may not come up as much:
But this is all from a flipside of a flipside, so each is as likely to appeal as repel, quick slide to catch clicks and clunks
God, Outer Wilds is one of the most incredible gaming experiences I have ever had.
I have been firing up The Powder Toy for well over a decade to kill time during meetings
Now this is a list! Thank you, based on the few I have played here I can’t wait to check out the rest
Have you tried Outer Wilds by any chance? Seems like the kind of game you would enjoy.
Yea! An all time favorite, but I played it a long time ago. I wanted to keep my little list just to recent games. Irl I am very annoying about recommending OW to everyone, as well as its dlc which continued to blow me away
I also recently played through In Stars and Time so I recommend that as well considering you were into Slay the Princess.
I love that you’re having a different experience! This is exactly why I posted about this: I have found that my taste in almost everything else has become broader as I aged, so I was wondering what’s the deal with my uncharacteristically narrow taste in video games.
Sadly, I tried most of the games on your list, and found out they’re not for me. I’ll try the rest though! Thank you for taking the time to list them.