I'm trying to make a hidden link with a mini train in this discussion.

I remember that I have encountered this phenomenon three times already and each time I was brought out of this state by completely different games.
The first time, after relative fatigue and losz of interest in games, Front Misson 3 burst into my life. I was so carried away by the game that I had to buy a second copy because the disc wore out. Samples of music from games that I still sometimes listen to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eLi8-tNVS8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLIoVhSRguk

The second time my burnout went away thanks to SEngoku Rance. Its variability and specific protagonist surprised me a lot. Sample of music from games that I still sometimes listen to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e9HL-8qF8I

Well, the third burnout went away suddenly after the game HellTakeR. Overall, thanks to this game, I discovered Steam in all its excellence and diversity!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RdhKJD-7uc

Fortunately, so far I still find it interesting to play, albeit very specific, but still games.
I am sure that even such games are still better than Netflix, Tik Tok, football and other sports events. Except for beach volleyball, it still looks great.

Have you encountered gaming burnout and have you managed to overcome it?

1 week ago*

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Several times over various reasons. Overcoming it comes down to two things. Life circumstances influencing burnout changing or just simply taking a long long break from video games and doing other hobbies.

I don't know why you felt the need to include a dig at other hobbies though. What passes for average movie or tv show usually still has better writing than most video games. I definitely burnt my hope over video games ever improving story wise fundamentally-only gameplay truly keeps me going back to them lol.

1 week ago
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Maybe I'm naive, but every time I hope that the game will be able to pleasantly surprise me with its plot!
A single gameplay can't hold my attention for long, I really need at least a normal plot with logically written heroes, otherwise I'll just give up this game.
Although many years ago I was captivated by Bloodborne with its extremely stylish cane and atmosphere! I spent 80 hours there without thinking about the plot at all)

1 week ago
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As a fellow completionist, I experience it quite often when I grind very long games that take me 150-300 hours or more to complete.

I spoke about this in one of my videos where I give tips how to overcome it.

1 week ago
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Thanks. Have a bump. I once tried to avoid burnout, to play three games at the same time. I would play a second time to not get bored of the first one. Didn't work out

1 week ago
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Best way to counter burnout is not playing. Taking a break will give you refreshment, take any time you need. Think of it as fallow. For me usually a couple months is enough.

1 week ago
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This comment was deleted 6 days ago.

1 week ago*
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I try to vary games and usually play shorter games after very long ones to reduce potential burnout. Currently I got 1 month of free game pass. The time limit sure does act as a great motivator to be honest. If the game is super long I also try mixing in other games as I play it, that current game for me is Muv Luv. I also catalog my game times and completions which act as fun motivators to complete the games I'm playing.

Sometimes I waste away my time on Youtube though, so that's something I kind of need to work on. A lot of the games I like aren't too cutscene, dialog or story focused, so I have youtube videos on in the background for those games a lot.

I also feel like getting a gaming handheld (like Steam Deck) would work wonders, although not something I want to invest money into yet.

Finally I've tried to be more open to just quit games I'm not enjoying or not slogging through 100% of a game if I'm not enjoying the extra stuff.

1 week ago
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Quite recently actually, I had no motivation to play anything, even though I wanted to. Recently, I started a new Terraria playthrough and I got hooked again and it has been really fun so far. 60 hours of quality gaming. It feels nice to be focused on a game again.

I kind of just played whatever before I started playing Terraria again. I also really enjoyed Forza Horizon 4 (although getting those now unobtainable achievements was sometimes very frustrating), it was a very nice journey if I look at it as a whole. After being done with FH4 I kind of just played whatever felt fun at the time, played some Insurgency: Sandstorm for a few hours every day and had a blast, then won the original Insurgency on here and enjoyed that as well. I also tried to start playing Sniper Elite 4, but besides just wanting to see those really sick x-ray shots, I didn't feel captivated enough to keep playing the story and whatnot.

In a way, I still have gaming burnout? I still really want to finish Trepang2 but the missions feel overwhelming(ly grand). I suppose it's a lack of motivation, perhaps just not liking the story aspect of the game. I am still having a lot of fun with Terraria, been fishing a lot which I used to hate. Since I've already had 2 previous playthroughs, one vanilla and one modded, I have accumulated a few achievements and I decided to just start getting achievements and it's pretty fun! They feel challenging yet simple enough and straightforward to get.

It feels exhausting losing passion for video games, but maybe it'll come back more grand than ever. SOMEDAY, I PROMISE, I WILL FINISH MY ENTIRE BACKLOG!

1 week ago
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Sometimes you just need the right kinda headspace for a game. For grand games, I find an upcoming holiday break and plan to pull the game out when I know I have some extra free time. Having a plan makes it kinda fun, with some anticipation.

1 week ago
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Planning does help actually, I have planned a few gaming sessions in the past when I dedicated a certain period of time for playing a certain game only and honestly, that makes it all the more fun.

Whenever I also play with my friends, it is always nice to play with a group of friends and is never boring, no matter the game.

I actually just today planned to play Euro Truck Simulator 2 with a friend on Sunday so we'll see how fun that'll be. Sure is exciting.

6 days ago
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Why is this under Deals?

1 week ago
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Because gaming burnout prevents you from buying games 😏

6 days ago
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I get the joke, but a burnout is never a good deal unless it's from Criterion Games.

6 days ago
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😭😭😭 What a great one liner.

I burst out laughing reading that.

6 days ago
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A pleasure to serve your entertainment needs. ^^

6 days ago
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I think it is normal. And maybe useful.I change my priorities from consuming to creating. I started to making my own board games. I have more option to relax. I started dancing and learning languages and read more books. And that makes my life more social and finally I understand value of persons in my surrounding.

1 week ago
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I get burnout every few months lol. Playing multiple competitive games, fps games with battle passes, battle royales, mmo's, and trying to sneak in a single player game here and there, all while trying to develop yourself and also sustain yourself at the same time is an easy way to get burnout.

My last burnout was like 2 months ago after playing path of exile. Joined the league late, no one wants to sell items at cheap price, hard to farm currency after everyone exploited in the first 3 weeks, GGG had fixed all the exploits so you're kinda told FU. Thankfully I just finished this season now so I got till december till new poe season. Poe 2 launches in november tho so we'll see if the alpha is any good. Then you got fortnite something going on every week like you can't stop or you miss idk what exclusive emote or sticker or skin or whatever.

My singleplayer burnout was Cyberpunk tho, hard to find another game of the same caliber to keep up. Pretty much impossible tbh. It did a lot of things right.

1 week ago
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I've experienced it.

The wow-burnout due to excessive raiding/playing, but also game burnout in general.
Last year I just lost interest in gaming in general, I'd see games that seemed interesting but actually playing them felt like a chore.

Got out of it eventually by just not playing games for 4-5 months, and than something peaked my interest again and from there I started getting more interest in actually playing other games, too

1 week ago
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There have been times where I've found myself tired of games and not wanting to play them. However, like what happened to you, I snap out of it when I start playing a really good game--often one that's not all that different from games I've enjoyed in the past--and I realize it wasn't so much burnout as much as the fact that it's just really hard to find good games when you've already played the popular ones.

1 week ago
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It does help if you switch it up. Doing anything repeatedly will have deleterious effects. However some people need structure in their life for various reasons. Different strokes for different folks. Right now I've been hopping back and forth between Assassin's Creed and Pathfinder with some light stuff like solitaire sprinkled here and there.

1 week ago
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Yes! I do feel so after games that are lengthy.

  • It was Witcher 3 many years back. I played 1 and 2 prior to it. I didnt enjoy the DLCs as much as I should have because of the fatigue or impatience of getting to the end.
  • In 2022, it was MGS5:PP. I LOVED the game. Was engrossed in it for hours at a stretch. When I finally finished it...I didn't feel like gaming at all.

The lesson I would take from these experiences is that I need to learn how to practice self control when it comes to gaming. I should have been the one to control these games. Not the other way around. With time, games will be even more addictive and toxic to my health. Most Games are designed to hook us in. I cant afford to loose myself like that again. I probably wont ever quit playing games, as I feel that is a ridiculously drastic step.
But I can make efforts to be wise while selecting the games I play.

What do I gain from this game? What sort of value can it add to me? Escapism? Brilliant story? Aesthetics? Nostalgia? Innovation? Emotional Ride?
This is the golden age of media, entertainment and information. I cannot afford to consume everything that is interesting.
There is probably a lot more psychological to this aspect of giving in to games. But I hope I keep posing these uncomfortable questions to myself time after time.

1 week ago
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achievement hunting is the only thing that brought me back to gaming

5 days ago
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I don't know if I would call what I experience burnout. I can burn out on a specific game when I play it, but when it comes to gaming in general, it feels more like "enthusiasm shifting elsewhere" than "active burnout". I do go through periods of gaming more, gaming less, and no gaming because other hobbies are better at capturing my interest sometimes.

I'm the opposite of a completionist. I'm perfectly fine not getting all the achievements (I have games that are missing 1 achievement, and that doesn't bother me). I'm also perfectly fine quitting a game halfway if I'm not enjoying it as much or even if I really love it but can't complete it. It's easy for me to move on to other games. I had to quit Witcher 3 about 80% through because certain aspects of it became too overwhelming. I actively felt burnt out so I closed it and never opened it again, but I still consider it one of the best games I've ever played and worth every penny. I don't need to have completed a game to judge the quality of the time I spent playing it.

5 days ago*
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on occasion, mine usually hits genre/gameplay style burnouts. For example... Danganronpa I am burned out on for a bit, did the first 2 to close together. While great games... the game play can be draining.

Also happens to my forever games Genshin and Path of Exile... where you just need a break then come back to it and be in love with them again.

same goes for anime, I usually got to 20-30 shows a season... these past few seasons I am struggling to keep up with a fraction of that.

5 days ago
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Anime... I must not forget to open another topic and talk about it!

2 days ago
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"Gaming burnout"? That either means gaming is your job which is not paying off, or you're doing it wrong. Stay away from FOMO, perhaps. If you play games for entertainment, what the hell is "gaming burnout"?

1 day ago
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