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[Victor Omega]

I used to play so many Online games, from Free to play games in the 2000s to the MMORPGs later on. But in 2018, after grinding, leveling, raiding dungeons/instances, end gaming, waiting for monthly updates, taking a week's hiatus, and coming back for expansion, I began to feel fatigued.

I started to think about my teen years. In my teens, I would explore games at my own pace (rather than trying to keep up with a community to the next level cap), but more importantly, I would complete them and move on to another game. So that year, I stopped playing all online games and solely play.

Moving from PC to ps4 to PC, i have played and found a sense of completion in gaming again. here's a list of games( in no order at all):

Control
Front Mission Evolved
The Last Remant
Enslaved
Remember ME
Cyberpunk 2077
Spiderman
Judgment
Star Wars Fallen Order
Vanquish
Resonance of Fate
Horizon Zero Dawn
Elden Ring (offline)
Final Fantasy XIII
Homeworld
Batman Arkum series
Shadow of Mordor
A plague Tale

and many more, including indies.


To have an open discussion, have you ever had gaming burnout or been fatigued?

UPDATE: Reading all of your comments, it strikes me in how I'm not the only one returning to Offline gaming and seeing the toll Online gaming has had. I really thought I was an extremist within an already minority of core gamers.

 

[Schmick]

I know what you mean. At one time all I ever played was Rocket League. It didn't matter what else was out there or what amount of games were sitting in my games library waiting to be played, I would only play Rocket League.

 

[Captain Toad]

There was a 5 or 6 year period where I only played Final Fantasy XI.

And I don't mean just the only videogame. I literally only played FFXI the entire time.

(OK, might be a SLIGHT exaggeration, but, sadly, not by much)

 

[lh032]

nothing wrong with it.
Online games especially MMO is very time consuming and mentally exhausted.

 

[Victor Omega]

There was a 5 or 6 year period where I only played Final Fantasy XI.

And I don't mean just the only videogame. I literally only played FFXI the entire time.

(OK, might be a SLIGHT exaggeration, but, sadly, not by much)

i went from Phantasy star Online on the Gamecube to Phantasy star Universe on the ps2 to Phantasy Star Online 2 JP server with Several online games in between to feel those release gaps.

 

[Havoc2049]

I enjoy the community aspect and friendships made with online gaming, along with the great sense of accomplishment when completing a grindy end game task or defeating an end game boss. I also enjoy the competiveness of online PVP multiplayer.

I'm currently playing Sea of Thieves and Halo MCC/Infinite right now. I also find time to finish around 3-5 new single player games each year and get some retro gaming in as well. I'm fine with that and don't need to finish 10-20 new games every year.

 

[anthony2690]

Definitely I have been burnt out on games before.

I know it's time to move on from that game or genre.

I love Halo Infinite but I know I'm currently burnt out and moved on, I'll jump back in with season 3 or later on.

Sometimes I'll play two or three rpgs in a row, and I need to play something different as a pallette cleanser. (Big reason why I haven't started persona 5 royal yet, what I can't wait to get round too in the future)

I think it is only natural though

 

[Rob_27]

I can't stand multiplayer apart from coop.

 

[Fart Knight]

Welcome to the party pal.

 

[ClanOfNone]

I only really play single player stuff, last multiplayer game I really cracked out on was Halo 3. I do enjoy the multiplayer component of From's stuff though.

Most multiplayer stuff nowadays seems to be battle royale or survival based, two genres that hold zero interest for me. Breaks my heart what they've done with the Conan license.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

online generally sucks.

there's always a "me! me! me!" sprint for kills/resources which gets tiring real fast.

 

[ReBurn]

The problem with every online multiplayer game is the online players. I only play with people I know these days.

 

[Skifi28]

Make it 10 years for me, not touching anything competitive again. It's the opposite of what I want from gaming, to relax. Exceptions for the occasional coop with friends.

 

[Trilobit]

I'm right now in a place where I mostly want to play games with a story that has an ending. I'm not interested in playing sports or racing games that require much time to become skilled. I know how sucked in I can get in some types of games so I prefer clear endings.

I see games as leisure, so I don't fully understand some grownups with children that almost seem stressed out that they don't have time to game or complain about long games. I mean it's natural with different phases in life. Find specific games for specific periods. Or take a break completely from games a few years and return if you now have the time and desire. They are not going anywhere. Read books instead.

While I don't have the same amount or desire to game like I had as a teenager, I'm still happy that there are time sink games available to kill time if I for example would break my leg and had to be on sick leave a few months. But right now I'm content with focusing on shorter games that require the right amount of effort from me and give me a leisurely experience.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

I played The Matrix Online and FFXI. That was enough online gaming for several lifetimes.

Had a linkshell in FFXI that was unfortunately named "The Rerturners," because my lallafell partner apparently used English something like most would use a mop.

 

[-Zelda-]

It took me years to finally shake free of my addiction to Overwatch, but when it did, I was much happier for it. The amount of stress I was under from trolls to tryhards was too much. Even when I won I was not happy about it and do not even start on the amount of money I was wasting via PSN cards for plus membership and their event skins FOMO.

Because of all the time I spent in that garbage, I have a massive backlog of single player games now that is going to be a slog and a half. I should post a picture sometime.

 

[jufonuk]

Mostly play offline I got given a years nintendo online for my birthday, so had a few rounds of OG quake. was nice and simple.
I use the online to teh SNES/NES/N64 and Sega games and the Mario kart tracks.
but I don't really want to play massive online games. TBH a lot of switch online is a stuttering mess

 

[Gamerguy84]

I don't care for online anymore. People are so competitive they look for any angle to cheat or gain an advantage. Spend hours watching YT videos of good players etc..

I'm more casual and game that way so I enjoy single player games at my own pace.

Yea I have burnout since nothing has really changed from PS3 era except resolution and frame rate. Hopefully it's not permanent but feels like it might be I dunno.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I've instructed my closest loved ones to pull the plug if I ever show a preference for AI enemies and leisurely story in my games.

I want them to remember me as the virulent man hunter I am today and if they catch me deriving accomplishment from getting past living room Roombas, then I am already dead.

 

[March Climber]

I played The Matrix Online and FFXI. That was enough online gaming for several lifetimes.

i went from Phantasy star Online on the Gamecube to Phantasy star Universe on the ps2 to Phantasy Star Online 2 JP server with Several online games in between to feel those release gaps.

nothing wrong with it.
Online games especially MMO is very time consuming and mentally exhausted.

MMOs as a genre is in an extremely rough spot and there are some newcomers this decade who are trying to break that glass ceiling of appeal, but they are having a hard time due to their predecessors hogging the spotlight for years and years.

ArtharsFF14 on youtube(in his video 'sad reality of modern mmo') summed it up perfectly in a recent video. Nearly a decade ago, the top three MMOs(in the millions of playercount) are WoW(Non classic), FF14, and ESO with a gigantic dropoff in playercount into the thousands for the number 4 spot. Then, nearly a decade after, the top three MMOs(in the millions of playercount) are WoW(Non classic), FF14, and ESO with a gigantic dropoff in playercount into the thousands for the number 4 spot.

Some would say this would not be a big deal, but there is a catch.

He considered this to be a gigantic problem because there's an unfortunate 'Power Creep/Content Creep' situation where new MMOs have no choice but to release with tons and tons of content to try and compete with 10 year old games with 10 years worth of expansions, instead of being given breathing room to gradually climb that ladder like how the top 3 did over time. It has led to this situation where in the past 5ish or so years, highly anticipated MMOs like Dungeon Fighter Online 2 and Ashes of Creation, have been delayed again and again and again, because they simply aren't allowed to release with just the base amount of content because those players will move back to the big 3 within the span of weeks. What happened with New World and Lost Ark have scared a lot of publishers and developers.

One of my most anticipated games of 2023 is Namco's MMO Blue Protocol, but I'm also massively worried because if they don't have enough to offer, the numbers will start to drop fast and that game is part of the next new wave of MMOs that are incorporating more active/action combat systems instead of the usual tab targeting wait time skills of old 2000s games. MMOs need a big, big shakeup right now and I don't blame you for taking a break from them at this time because the genre is at one of it's most stagnant points ever.

 

[Quezacolt]

Good for you man.

Years ago, i spent most of my time also playing online games, and nowadays, i only jump into online for some coop stuff with friends, most of the time i play offline.

I was tired of always having to worry about the meta, checking builds, rotations in mmo's, etc... If you dont play how you like, then it's wrong, you have to follow everyone else.
then there's the eventual drama that happens, and it's never good.
That's just tiresome. not to mention, at some point the servers will go down, and all the time you spent there, wich can be thousands of hours, will be for nothing.

Going back to mostly single player games, doing stuff at my own pace, how i want, it feel liberating. Just the fact that i can hear the game itself and not be on voice chat most of the time helps immerse so much more too.

 

[Putonahappyface]

Horizon Forbidden West gave me major burnout. I had almost eight months away from gaming due to that game.

 

[March Climber]

I was tired of always having to worry about the meta, checking builds, rotations in mmo's, etc... If you dont play how you like, then it's wrong, you have to follow everyone else.
then there's the eventual drama that happens, and it's never good.

These are more things that new MMOs this decade are promising to fix and treat better. Trying to respect the players' time more with shorter and more meaningful quest structures is a big one, but also making sure that returning players don't feel alienated and isolated, and that they are more open to multiple ways of growth so that everyone isn't too funneled down the same gameplay path, and that their skills with what they have are tested instead of testing them to make sure that they have the required meta skills. Time will tell who does good with these promises.

That's just tiresome. not to mention, at some point the servers will go down, and all the time you spent there, which can be thousands of hours, will be for nothing.

This is something that can't be fixed and just comes down to the person playing the game being okay with the fact that MMOs can end and are more of an experience in time rather than a traditional video game that can be catalogued. There are quite a few MMOs during the 2000s boom I can name that I miss the existence of. The good thing is that at least most of them have an actual ending to their story.

 

[Victor Omega]

Reading all of your comments, it strikes me in how I'm not the only one returning to Offline gaming and seeing the toll Online gaming has had. I really thought I was an extremist within an already minority of core gamers.

 

[The_Mike]

UPDATE: Reading all of your comments, it strikes me in how I'm not the only one returning to Offline gaming and seeing the toll Online gaming has had. I really thought I was an extremist within an already minority of core gamers.

How can you have been on Gaf since 2013 and not knowing Gaf is scared of meeting other gamers online in games?

The majority in here hates online and loves exclusives.

I have played more single player this year more than ever because of GP. I've completed like 45 games this year, where I normally rarely complete 1 game a year.

I am feeling draught for SP gslamds though and are glad bf2042 and insurgency have hit the service.

The games are bland in 2042,but the game is actually decent. Insurgency is also pretty cool.

 

[Esppiral]

Real games are offline games.

 

[rofif]

I don’t play online games. Most I played was bf5 and it got boring

 

[mansoor1980]

nicely done OP , keep it up

 

[Thirty7ven]

Co Op games like Dying Light, Evil West, Gears of War, It Takes Two, Way Out, these are fun.

The amount of time people spend shooting each other or just obsessing over the competitive nature of an online videogame, I see people losing their marbles playing the same stupid shooter for a decade it’s loco. Most of these games become brainless affairs after a bit but people just keep coming back to them like a drug and often replace social gatherings with online presence.

I actually like videogames, grew up playing them, different kind of games with different kinds of experiences, and most of all I’m in it for the art of the thing not the competitive nature of the thing with a bunch of nerds who can’t make a sprint in real life or play ping pong, or poker, or billiards, or football or whatever they just know how go around shooting people in some dumb military shooter.

MMO’s aren’t much better, I still know people who skip family gatherings because they gotta play WoW, WoW? Fucking WoW? Yikes

 

[Banjo64]

play what makes you happy - personally I love single player and online games but I only play online for fun and don’t care if my kd is good or shit or if I win or lose (I used to care when I was a teenager/early 20s). I never message anyone online and when I get rage messages sent to me I just laugh and don’t respond.

 

[Danknugz]

last highfalutin multiplayer excursion for me was bf4 although i enjoyed bf3 a lot more. haven't played CoD since mw3 on the 360.

been kind of playing bf2042 and it's a lot of fun. runs like butter on the PC and looks amazing especially those older maps which are redone now, it's kind of surreal after playing them on xbox one / 360 and seeing all the extra details and fidelity.

edit: i did partake in a healthy amount of PUBG.

 

[cireza]

i went from Phantasy star Online on the Gamecube to Phantasy star Universe on the ps2 to Phantasy Star Online 2 JP server with Several online games in between to feel those release gaps.

PSO/PSU were the best online games ever. PSO2 is not as good, it is made to annoy you and have you buy inventory space and shit. But PSU was pure bliss. Such a wonderful game !

 

[Fabieter]

Iam a primarily single player myself but i need to fill the coop/mp fix once in a while. Currently enjoy grounded. It's awesome. But I always need to play something else. Jumping from jrpg to platformer, to sp shooter to survival back to jrpgs. I need that to prevent burn out .

 

[Filben]

Since most multiplayer games are designed for life services and competitive communities with algorithmic match making specifically designed to keep you in the rat race, I constantly eat shit when I'm not playing like four evenings a week. Come back after a couple of months and have fun? Rarely possible. Add toxic communities and try hards and sweaters on top of it and it's way too stressful for me to engage with these game.

So I rather stick to PvE coop games with adjustable difficulty levels or story-driven games. If I want challenges I play Hades or Elden Ring.

 

[BusierDonkey]

I have a few good MP memories, but I find most of the time online gaming is full of people that are more than happy to be complete assholes through anonymity. I've also been involved in mp games where the dev locked me out of content that I used to be able to play for not buying dlc. In the end racing games are the only thing I still play online and even then, it's with a curated list of other players.

Local multiplayer is always a great time though. I'd play any local mp game with my brothers any time. We're all over 40 now but when we're playing Mario Party or Ninja Turtles we might as well have jumped in a time machine.

 

[FunkMiller]

Well, I'm so old, offline gaming was, and more or less always has been, the way I've gone about it. We didn't have no online shit on the SNES or the Ps1. I did play a fair bit of FF14 during lockdown, and prior to that I played CoD with mates when we all had a Ps3, but other than that, I steer clear of all that. Seems like too much like hard work. Single player games, where you can get really immersed in the gameplay, narrative and visuals at your own pace is where gaming has always been for me.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I sorta liked online competition with Street Fighter Third Strike and Halo 2. I didn’t like playing the same game over and over again. That was during my teen years. I met two pro Halo 2 players many years ago. That all aged pretty badly because I have zero interest in watching Halo or playing it competitively. Occasionally I played multiplayer in my 20’s. I had a group I met at college and we played MMO’s and Diablo III. That was fun for a while. What I didn’t like was playing the MMO outside the group. When I left our LAN party, I wanted to play offline. I don’t play MMO’s anymore. Even when I did I would get to level 30-40 and stop. I was never really into it, I liked watching competitive fighting, but it’s not really been that exciting in the last couple years. The games aren’t super exciting to watch.

I don’t have many friends that I’d sit there and grind out a game with nor does my lifestyle allow it. I have more hours with offline games because I can pause or walk away. I’ll play a couple rounds of a fighting game or sometimes CoD, but the esports part of it isn’t there for me.

I sometimes imagine what it would have been like had all this social media and YouTube stuff influenced me as a teen. The guy I use to know who made Halo 2 montages recorded his footage for 8 hours a day. It’s just a memory now. All my memories of Aladdin’s Castle and the Family Fun center are from a long time ago. I didn’t have any relationships with those people. I have a better time offline.

 

[Calling 911 Melts Beams]

so wait do you just bang kids moms IRL now? who do you call the n word?

 

[F31 Leopard]

The only online game I play is Monster Hunter just to help people out. Everything else I play are single player experiences.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

I have to agree, it gets very tiresome playing squeakers, AFKers, smurfs, cheats, regional issues, latency etc. I try to balance out PvP with PvE.

Online coop is also an awesome thing currently e.g. ultimate chicken horse, golfing with friends, aliens fireteam, CTR racing, Halo Infinite, Halo MCC, Forza Horizons 5, Destiny 2 PvE, Diabolo II Resurected, It Takes Two, Overcooked 2, Sea of Thieves, Killer Instinct and many more.

 

[Subterranean]

Among the reasons you and others have stated are reasons I have gravitated away from online games but more so all of my friends who I use to game with can never set time aside to play together anymore due to our varying life responsibilities so depending on randoms or playing solo against groups isn't ideal. Feels bad man.

 

[plip.plop]

The last multiplayer online-only game I bought and played was Evolve. Didn't get into Destiny for the same reason. Mechanics were so good but had no interest in grinding and playing with awful random people.

 

[Alebrije]

I am 95% offline. Just play TLOU factions often because online is a joke filled with hackers and cronusmax plus or zen users.

Its not fun anymore.

Used to play a lot of COD but aim bots are a nightmare,. Do not get the people that uses devices to win, basically is spending money for a false sense of winning.

 

[Mobilemofo]

Been playing bf2042 with bots. It's great. They do provide a challenge on medium upward. Having a great time with it.

 

[buenoblue]

I was trying to become the oldest grand champ on rocket league (I'm 46 now). After 3000 hours and champ 2-2 I had to stop. Ive been clean 1 year now. Every day is a struggle.

Like you I've got back into playing single player games and I'm in gaming heaven .

 

[lachesis]

Video game as a medium, although I appreciate great gameplay and social interaction- but I tend to focus on storytelling a tad bit more than most people. So I am also one of the people who primarily play offline single player games at my own pace.

Then again, I am really awkward in social interactions being an introvert… so that’s one of the reasons. Also I would like to move on to next game in timely manner when I am done - so the game is better for me if it has a proper ending.

 

[Mistake]

I prefer offline, but unfortunately I’m stuck with online if I want to play with anyone. Also, I found a very useful site for finding co-op games if anyone is interested

Co-Optimus - Your Prime Source for Co-Op Gaming - Listing of all Co-Op Games

www.co-optimus.com

 

[bentanchorbolt]

I know what you mean. At one time all I ever played was Rocket League. It didn't matter what else was out there or what amount of games were sitting in my games library waiting to be played, I would only play Rocket League.

This. It’s the only game I played for two years. My buddy and I would play every night and we got really good both individually and as a team.

 

[DragonNCM]

I used to play so many Online games, from Free to play games in the 2000s to the MMORPGs later on. But in 2018, after grinding, leveling, raiding dungeons/instances, end gaming, waiting for monthly updates, taking a week's hiatus, and coming back for expansion, I began to feel fatigued.

I started to think about my teen years. In my teens, I would explore games at my own pace (rather than trying to keep up with a community to the next level cap), but more importantly, I would complete them and move on to another game. So that year, I stopped playing all online games and solely play.

Moving from PC to ps4 to PC, i have played and found a sense of completion in gaming again. here's a list of games( in no order at all):

Control
Front Mission Evolved
The Last Remant
Enslaved
Remember ME
Cyberpunk 2077
Spiderman
Judgment
Star Wars Fallen Order
Vanquish
Resonance of Fate
Horizon Zero Dawn
Elden Ring (offline)
Final Fantasy XIII
Homeworld
Batman Arkum series
Shadow of Mordor
A plague Tale

and many more, including indies.


To have an open discussion, have you ever had gaming burnout or been fatigued?

UPDATE: Reading all of your comments, it strikes me in how I'm not the only one returning to Offline gaming and seeing the toll Online gaming has had. I really thought I was an extremist within an already minority of core gamers.

Yeah......same story for me, at the time I was sucked in marvelous world of WoW, played like crazy 24/7 (at work & home), almost lost marriage for that & I'm idiot....I know.
After 7 years of raiding & questing I felt playing WoW was like someone dragging me back with chains on my legs.
Never again will play MMO in my life, so much time wasted on nothing. From that day I play single player games & some LoL matches from time to time with friends.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

Once you have children multiplayer becomes a near impossibility. I prefer single player experiences a lot more anyway.