Support NeoGAF

[El Muerto]

These past couple of years seems to be the dark age for me. I absolutely hate online games and GaaS. There hasn't been anything too memorable or anything i enjoyed recently other than Judgment, Yakuza Like a Dragon, and A Plague Tale. Used to love looking forward to new releases but since most every AAA game now is just more of the same, there's really nothing to look forward too.

 

[manzo]

Basically 2019 until now. A divorce had to do something with it, but my love for gaming got just rekindled after putting my SNES with a FXPAK Pro to my cabinet as my only console. Been playing snes games for the past 3 weeks now and I’ve had a fucking blast.

 

[Crayon]

That'd be the 7th gen consoles for me (specifically, the 360 and PS3). Those consoles were underpowered garbage and most games ran pretty poorly. Japanese development had all but completely shit the bed, Western developers were insistent on churning out shoddy open-world games and then latching onto generic military shlock to chase that Calladuty money, and we saw AAA games reduced to risk-averse cash grabs. I thought the games that came out during that era were largely terrible, and revisiting games from that era reminds me pretty quickly why I disliked it so much. PC gaming suffered, too, due to so many games being gimped so they could see a multiplatform release. I thought the consoles that followed were a massive improvement, even though it took some time for some of the bad trends of Gen 7 to really die off.

I guess the upside, though, was that was the period when I really started exploring retro gaming. That was a lot more fun.

Oof a big thing that got me was western games going to shit and they japanese games COPYING THEM.

"Videogames had a good run"

Oh and fighting games seeming dead at the time sucked, too. That got me on ggpo playing kof with china so even more time on old games and less interest in new ones.

Edit: Just had a funny memory from that time. I've got my ps1 plugged in and I've been playing panzer general for like 6 hours straight. Didn't save of fucking course. Anyway I'm just nazi'ing along minding my own business and the ps1 ac adapter (psone had one) FELL OUT OF THE WALL POLTERGHEIST STYLE.

 

[Majormaxxx]

Played on my 386 from 1994 to 1997 ish. Then got a p4 in 2001 and another p4 in 2005. Played until 2007-8ish...Then got back to gaming in 2011 with a 360.

 

[vpance]

If 2023 releases don't snap you out of the dark age then it's time to pack it up for this hobby

 

[Kindjal]

I've read a couple of comments mentioning PSO as one of the highlights and I must say that I feel the same. Playing PSO's online mode felt like being part of the future, and that feeling will always have a special place in my heart. Also, the music and ambience of that game are (to me) quite unique, and I haven't been able to find a game that is able to recall (or emulate) that feeling again.

I've played PSO2 and New Genesis, but it's just not the same. And also, curiously, Blue Burst just didn't feel the same. I think it probably had to do with the whole experience of getting online with a console and interacting with the community in the early 2000s. I even bought the keyboard! Lol.

 

[bluecowboys]

Yep, the end of 2011 - 2013

What happened was I met my Wife, had little to no money, had my son and I kinda lost interest in a lot of games, instead Netflix had just started streaming and I got super into Films

I missed out on a lot of games there that I have since played but there is one I've never been able to get back into: Skyrim

However it was The Last of Us and GTAV that brought me back in and around my Sons First Birthday in 2013 I bought a Wii U and never looked back

Jesus man, your son must really hate you.

 

[bluecowboys]

If 2023 releases don't snap you out of the dark age then it's time to pack it up for this hobby

So far only Red fall, Stalker 2, Diablo 4 and FF16 interests me. Everything else looks okay or terrible.

 

[Superkewl]

I get gamers block a lot.

I'll go ham on a game and just not be able to focus on another one for ages but I'll still buy new ones lol

I do this all the time as well. It's almost like I go through these phases where I like the idea of gaming more than actually gaming. I will download and install a game I think I want to play then chicken out after booting it up and just shut it off. It's weird

 

[Fredrik]

Been going through it for decades because of too many kids and too many AAA games being too violent for kids and having consoles in the living room and having kids staying up too late.
I get 1-1.5 hours per day if I’m lucky unless I sacrifice my sleep and health.

 

[Katajx]

Honestly it feels like right now. I probably used to play “too many” games as I wanted to try a little bit of everything. Always looking for a new experience I guess.

There have been some good things, but there have been so many delays it’s hard to get excited for new things. That and with development times really getting out of hand.

I am all about quality, but holy shit. The last mainline Elder Scrolls was in 2011. Fallout 4 was 2015. Fallout 76 was like a half step forward and two steps back. Why is Zelda taking so damn long? Where is a new Mario, Mario Kart, smash is probably done and just so many ports of old games instead of new ones. FF7 remake was announced in 2015 and we will see the second part of we are lucky in 2024 .

I really do have a life outside of gaming as I spend less money and time there.

 

[Danjin44]

For me not really, sure I have less time play games compare to when I was younger but thats natural.

I'm highly enjoying games, the only problem is its becoming very hard to keep up with it, too many games.

 

[SCB3]

Jesus man, your son must really hate you.

He loves it still, even though he has a switch and Xbox now, still busts out Mario Galaxy with me every now and again

 

[SCB3]

I am all about quality, but holy shit. The last mainline Elder Scrolls was in 2011. Fallout 4 was 2015. Fallout 76 was like a half step forward and two steps back. Why is Zelda taking so damn long? Where is a new Mario, Mario Kart, smash is probably done and just so many ports of old games instead of new ones. FF7 remake was announced in 2015 and we will see the second part of we are lucky in 2024 .

With Nintendo they really do a "1 Game in the series on 1 console" thing, I bet the Switch Pro or its successor was planned for this year had it not been for Covid, so pushing up Tears of the Kingdom was a result of that

Mario Kart is a tough one, 8 is close to perfect and what more could be added to it with MK9? Make it more like Smash? I honestly struggle thinking of what could be added to MK at this point outside of Tracks

With Microsoft owning Bethedsa, I wouldn't be surprised to see a new Fallout by Obsidian or inXile sooner rather than later, ESVI is coming after Starfield but all those IP's can now be used with other devs, its why the Activision deal is a good thing aswell, loads of IP's there that are just with the wrong Dev or the Dev is busy on something else (like Toys for Bob should just be a Crash/Spyro studio for now, not working on CoD map packs)

 

[Lunarorbit]

When I went to college. Between 2000 and 2009 I barely played video games. I ended up getting a wii in 2008 but it wasn't until the end of 2009 that I got a ps3 and started really gaming again.

Not many people gamed at UMass in the early 2000s. I brought my nes with me but it was more of a relic and curiosity than a gaming system. I would occasionally see Xbox players usually playing split screen Halo but it was rare. At the time there were over 20,000 under grads; I'd say only 5% of people played video games at UMass.

 

[DelireMan7]

Dark age is a big term but I am a bit into one.

I am gaming much less (like once, max twice a week) because of new hobbies I started. I enjoy the new hobbies but gaming always had a special place.
In addition, till yesterday I was playing Death Stranding and I "wanted to like it" but I had to drop it because... let's say it's not my thing, and I hate to drop games. So my scarce gaming sessions were not great.
But yesterday after 1h30 of depressing Death Stranding, I started Armored Core 4 and it's much better.

I have to find a time balance and put a bit more on gaming than the past few weeks.

 

[SHA]

If 2023 releases don't snap you out of the dark age then it's time to pack it up for this hobby

How shifting a hobby does really work , especially on consoles? Each game literally works as a single hobby or an instrument if you're a musician, each one of it has its own unique world , I just don't get it when this decision is made, practically speaking, cause it just doesn't work like that.

 

[TintoConCasera]

When I was a kid I beat many games using save states when emulating, or just save scumming with quick saves if it was a PC game. Awful behavior, I know, but back then I was young and naive.

There was that time too when I had nothing too play and I just went and beat the original Call of Duty campaign like 20 times or so. Same thing with it's expansion, those games were really good tho so I can't complain, even more since I recall being a fan of Band of Brothers.

Can't think of anything else. I've always loved playing videogames and it's a big part of my life. Don't think I'll ever get bored of them.

 

[vpance]

How shifting a hobby does really work , especially on consoles? Each game literally works as a single hobby or an instrument if you're a musician, each one of it has its own unique world , I just don't get it when this decision is made, practically speaking, cause it just doesn't work like that.

When all the games are sucking for similar broad, and personal reasons, then yeah it kinda feels like why bother with it anymore.

I have hopes though. Plenty of highly anticipated releases in different genres this year. I'd be happy to enjoy 2 or 3 of them.

 

[Komatsu]

I guess it's a bit hard to define what a "dark age" is. But here are some examples:

1. When you lost interest in a certain type/genre/console of gaming.
2. When you couldn't find enough things to play, or, just wasn't sure what you wanted to play.
3. When you actually stopped gaming, or gamed much less than you used to.

I did not have a console between the years of 2012 and 2017 - when I got a PS4 Pro. Had a gaming PC, and would play that occasionally, but that's it.

Then I had my parent ship me my retro collection, then smoldering in their basement, and suddenly I had 8 consoles. Off to the races I was.

 

[SteelCurtain 59]

For me it's on and off, and mainly with regards to single player games. I could go months with pretty much not playing any single player games despite having games I know I'd love (actually currently in one of these periods), but then I could end up beating like 5+ games in a month and just generally blast through several single player games. There are several factors, general mood, life events, other hobbies, friends, etc. I've learned to never try and force myself to play something or else it just makes it worse. Eventually it will wear off, but yes to your point I go through them every couple years, and it's not really that unusual, video games are supposed to be fun, so if you're not having fun with a certain game/genre or video games in general then that's what matters

 

[Gamerguy84]

Yes the last couple of years. Its because i have almost zero time to play the ganes.

I haven't finished HFW, and haven't even started RE Village (although I'm going to play this on PSVR2 now)

I have a PC with a 3070 and Ryzen 9. Another laptop with a 3050ti and R5. (It'd actually a cool 1080p machine with DLSS)

Have Steam, GP free for a year and I have zero time to play. Between work (federal employee) and home I would have to give up sleep to do any gaming. I know this will end soonish but it's been a long couple years.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

I never really took a prolonged break from gaming, but things have been changing for me. I always loved Japanese games, but it seems like I’m also enjoying indie games much more than the majority of AAA games and that’s been going on for awhile. I did notice most AAA companies in general seem to be getting even more risk averse, greedier and complacent.

I rarely play multiplayer(only fighting games really), don’t play live service games or free to play games and that seems to be the direction the industry is favoring which concerns me. Also, this generation just seems like an extension of last generation which to me is disappointing considering the potential in the hardware. Maybe things will change in the next few years though. We’ll see.

 

[Deerock71]

Probably watching the Dreamcast die a horrible, premature death. I loved playing with my Seaman all over that thing.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Through most of undergrad, I barely played any games at all, and usually went many months without touching a game. (For that matter... I barely watched any TV during those years either).

In grad school it gradually returned as a hobby, then much more later.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

Going through it now. Last game that really excited me was Elden Ring. Looking at 2023, it’s all the same old shit. Just seems like a really depressing time to be gaming:

GaaS and Battle Passes everywhere
Halo’s well and truly dead
Blizzard is a shadow of what they used to be
Bethesda games have been getting worse and worse with each release
Sony is obsessed with making everything third-person and story-heavy
FFXV was one of the worst entries in the series
Neu GoW sucks compared to old school macho Kratos GoW
Neu Gears of War sucks compared to first few games in series
GaneFreak can’t release something that looks better than an up-rezzed N64 game
Nintendo’s treatment of their classic catalog is atrocious
Character design in western games went from fit, cool, buff, sexy to fat, ugly, awkward, disturbing

Etc, etc, etc…

 

[Rhazkul]

I deliberately put myself into a dark age of gaming by buying a laptop that can't run most modern games, so i can pursue more productive hobbies and getting fit. It worked.

 

[VN1X]

I have tried playing Jedi fallen order, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Chorus, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing The Ascent, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Final Fantasy 7 remake, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Evil West, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Shadow Warrior 3, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Kena bridge of spirits, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Outriders, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Necromunda hired gun, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing The Callisto protocol, it had shader compilation stutter. Sad (only game that fixed them on this list to my knowledge)
I have tried playing FIST, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Elden Ring, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing The Entropy Centre, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Gotham Knights, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I will return to this thread to tell you if i ever get through my personal dark age of gaming.

You just made me realize Hired Gun was a thing and I bought it on the cheap. Thanks!

Fingers crossed that the shader compilation will be kind on me.

 

[NeonDelta]

Right now. I'll spend most of my days thinking ill do some gaming after work. Then the time comes and I don't know what to play or can't be bothered.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Dark age...

Xbox 360, Ps3, Nintendo Wii.

Worst time of my life... I was in University in hard times, the Nintendo Wii console was Horrible with PS2 power, Xbox 360 crashed RROD 3 times and destroyed my Gears of War disc... PS3 with the yellow lights... This generation saved me the PS3 Slim...

I didn't have a PC gamer, the University period was horrible in the first 4 years

To be more specific, the starting point that I began to have dark times was when, apart from the arrival of the Xbox 360 console, it was with the arrival of these 2 video games,

It was a starting point, but with problems at the University, which changed the habit of my passion for video games, the bad experiences at the university, with self-centered people and the difficulties in my country and personal times, I remember that when I arrive, Bioshock 1 and the MEMES , it was a time of decline.

People full of envy, people who were resentful in life because they didn't progress (and I laughed at them because I surpassed them morally and academically), I didn't have a PC gamer, the consoles failed, the Nintendo Wii was disgusting, the game didn't work Xbox 360.... I suffered a lot at that time, those dark times lasted 10 years.

I had breakup that hurt, my time at university was a nightmare, emotionally too.

Fortunately, the end of that dark era was that of PS4. To be more specific, when the video game Valkyria Chronicles Remastered was released, it was when I rested for the moment, because I was challenged to take an extremely difficult exam, so my final rest was Kingdom Hearts III.

After that, I've been free

During those dark moments, the light of my happiness from my hobby was with this little hero that I love so much.

 

[simpatico]

Grew up with NES, SNES and Genesis. When I got into High School I decided I was too cool for gaming. So I skipped a lot of the PS1/N64 era. As a senior my GF bought me a Dreamcast and used it as basically a NBA2K machine for a while. It did get me back into thinking about gaming. When PS2,XB,GC came out I got hooked. It helped that my sister had a BF who was trying anything to get her family to like him and kept giving me and my brother big giant $500 Game Stop store credit cards. lol. It worked. I owned all three consoles and played just about every game of note near release. Been back in ever since.

 

[Laieon]

Yeah, 2014-2019ish. Almost the entire length of the previous gen. I moved to Korea to teach for a few years and spent most of my time out and about doing stuff. I bought a Switch because it's the perfect companion for a country with incredible mass transit, but had little desire to get anything else. For most of that time frame, outside of the Switch I just played WoW at home. If I wanted to try something else, I'd go to a PC Bang.

 

[Fuz]

Those last years, where I started playing gachas (F2P BTW). I discovered I'm very weak to FOMO and basically can't find the time to play anything else.


10+ years ago I lost interest in gaming as a whole for about an year, not even sure why and not even sure how, why and when it came back. I just... didn't feel like playing anything.

 

[EverydayBeast]

 

[Mr Hyde]

My first and only slump in video gaming was from circa 2000 - 2006. Much like OP it started with the death of the Dreamcast. I was a major Sega fan back in the day, supporting them all the way back to Master System (I was never into Nintendo in my youth, even skipping SNES) so I was so bummed out. It was such a good console with so many great games at the time. I didn't really pay attention to Sega's mistakes, thinking they just trucked along even after the failure with Saturn, so them withdrawing from console space was quite the shock. I tried to find my footing by purchasing a PS2 (loved PS1 era) but I just couldn't get excited for it.

I also went through some rough times during this period of time, with a drug addiction spiraling out of control, making me lose sight on everything. Games just took a back seat while I was trying to figure out my purpose in life. The only strong gaming memories I have during this era is Silent Hill 2 and GTA Vice City. Everything else just felt meh, even Final Fantasy X, which I was so hype for, but ended up in disappointment. I didn't play anything after for a few years, I basically just gave up my one true hobby. It was sad times indeed.

I managed to get sober and clean in 2007 and that's when my life started to come together again, with a real job, money and future ambitions. My interest in gaming came back to me when I purchased a GameCube (they were very cheap by this time, I think I payed 99$ for it) and played through Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime and Wind Waker back to back. I was so impressed by the sheer quality of these games, and it made me realize how much I missed gaming, and how much I've actually missed in terms of the medium evolving.

I've never stopped gaming since then and my interest in games have never been stronger. When I look back at this particular time in my life I feel nothing but anger and remorse, but I'm happy I managed to turn my life around and also rekindle my love for video games in the process.

 

[Koenigssee]

Going thru it right now and I feel like it's going to continue for 2-3 more years.

I'd rather watch speedruns or analysis / retrospective videos on YouTube instead of actually playing anything.
Absolutely nothing on Steam / PS Store piques my interest. Didn't even find any tiny bit of motivation to accept gifted games from friends.

DS2 announcement kicked me right out of Kojima cult. Shit felt totally unnecessary.

However I'll jump the f back into it the second anything similar to Tarkov/ Cruelty Squad / Obra Dinn pops up on the radar. Or a new Deus Ex.

Or when Squadron 42 actually finished.

 

[kyussman]

Come June it will be 2 years since I've gamed.This gen has done nothing yet to get me interested in it.

 

[Gamerfan81]

I lost interest in gaming for 9 years and didn't even play one single game from 2011 to 2020. Before that I had been gaming from 1988-2011. I was about to turn 30 in the early 2010s, was really into my career and was about to be a father, just thought I had finally outgrown a medium that was still somewhat seen as a little kid's hobby. It was more of a really bad game experience looking back at those years why I really quit gaming. LOZ: Skyward Sword, killed my love of gaming. If any video game did it, that was the one. I played some bad games, as we all have, but Skyward Sword was just a piece of crap, probably the catalyst with a lot of things going on in my life that made me lose interest for 9 years.

Funnily enough, a Zelda game basically killed my love of gaming and it was also a Zelda game that brought me back and rekindle my love for the hobby. Yep, Breath of the Wild, rekindle that feeling I had in the late 80s as a kid. Came back to gaming in late 2020 and have been playing a lot of old titles that I missed, such as MGSV, Witcher 3, DQ11, GTA 5, TLOU, Hades, Persona, RDR2, etc. Been a blast, glad to be back.

 

[Alan Wake]

The Saturn years were rough for me as a Sega fanboy at the time. I was in my teens so obviously that played a part, a lot of others things were happening. But seeing game after game only ending up on the PlayStation was tough. After the Dreamcast was discontinued my gaming identity was in pieces. I decided to keep playing and ended up as an Xbox gamer for two generations before starting to buy all consoles every gen.

 

[Bernardougf]

Yeah.. when I tried to play last of us 2 .. never again

 

[Nintendo's Witch]

I have tried playing Jedi fallen order, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Chorus, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing The Ascent, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Final Fantasy 7 remake, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Evil West, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Shadow Warrior 3, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Kena bridge of spirits, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Outriders, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Necromunda hired gun, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing The Callisto protocol, it had shader compilation stutter. Sad (only game that fixed them on this list to my knowledge)
I have tried playing FIST, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Elden Ring, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing The Entropy Centre, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I have tried playing Gotham Knights, it had shader compilation stutter. It made me feel bad for supporting it.
I will return to this thread to tell you if i ever get through my personal dark age of gaming.

Consoles exist for a reason you know. PCs are for spreadsheets.

 

[TLZ]

I lost interest in gaming for 9 years and didn't even play one single game from 2011 to 2020. Before that I had been gaming from 1988-2011. I was about to turn 30 in the early 2010s, was really into my career and was about to be a father, just thought I had finally outgrown a medium that was still somewhat seen as a little kid's hobby. It was more of a really bad game experience looking back at those years why I really quit gaming. LOZ: Skyward Sword, killed my love of gaming. If any video game did it, that was the one. I played some bad games, as we all have, but Skyward Sword was just a piece of crap, probably the catalyst with a lot of things going on in my life that made me lose interest for 9 years.

Funnily enough, a Zelda game basically killed my love of gaming and it was also a Zelda game that brought me back and rekindle my love for the hobby. Yep, Breath of the Wild, rekindle that feeling I had in the late 80s as a kid. Came back to gaming in late 2020 and have been playing a lot of old titles that I missed, such as MGSV, Witcher 3, DQ11, GTA 5, TLOU, Hades, Persona, RDR2, etc. Been a blast, glad to be back.

Very interesting. I feel like I know you but I don't, lol.

 

[Thebonehead]

Three memorable eras come to my mind.

1. When I had a Playstation 1 because I had to give my PC away.
2. The year I was addicted to Dota 2.
3. When I got too much pussy during college I neglected my video games until I realised games are way more worthwhile.

 

[Shifty1897]

No. Never. I literally play as much as my kids/wife/job will let me get away with, which really isn't all that much.

 

[Hal.]

The period between the release of the 360 and until summer 2008, so a period of a couple of years I guess?

I used to be a massive Nintendo fanboy and loved the GameCube. The 360 and PS3 didn't particularly excite me and GameCube was very long in the tooth by that point so I was primarily gaming on quite an underpowered laptop.

Got the Wii on release and burned through Zelda and Red Steel but then, holy game drought batman, there was absolutely nothing that interested me on the platform. I wasn't a big Halo fan at the time and equally there wasn't anything on the PS3 that looked interesting so I kind of sat out early next gen.

I do regret not getting a 360 around that time as Live was still a bit like the wild west with everyone chatting shit in lobbies etc so I feel like I missed out on an early next gen sweet spot, especially when CoD4 and Halo 3 landed.

The huge European delay for Smash Brawl finally broke me and I picked up a PS3 but even then I didn't really get into the swing of it until late 2008/early 2009 and was still surviving on an underpowered PoS Acer laptop.

I did get a lot of playtime out of Rome Total War, Company of Heroes, and Command and Conquer 3 though so not all bad!

 

[Radical_3d]

From 2016 to now. It doesn’t help that we are in a dark age of the medium but objectively there has been a couple of good games and I couldn’t bother to play them. Now I mostly do comfort gaming with Civilization VI.

 

[Poop!]

I started gaming with the Intellivision and owned every game system since including things like the 3DO, NeoGeo cart system, and CDi... but burned myself out by the 360 and PS3 era so I skipped the XBO/PS4 and took a breather. Got back in with the Switch and went back from there. Looking back there were just too many systems when you included the handhelds. I got tired of trying to play them all.

 

[Razvedka]

Right now.

 

[SweetShark]

Dark age of gaming for me?

The present.

Many games, no time to play : (

Do what I do:
Create list of games you want to play so you have the illusion you will play them one day.

 

[Mephisto40]

It's got to the point where there are 2 or 3 games per year I actually really want to play, so i'd say this is the dark age for me

I remember during the ps2 and ps3 era I was buying 2 or 3 games a month

I've started just buying older games with all the DLC incuded for cheap rather than spending £70 on new games now