Patient Gamers

So it was around 2016 when I started to feel like I was in a rut when it came to gaming. There was a lot going on with games as service type models, and I just wasn't excited about anything related to gaming.

Anyway, I let my PC lie dormant for a few years, and took up a couple of new hobbies like playing D&D IRL.

Jump ahead five years and I started feeling really nostalgic for some of my old favourites: Dark Souls, Total War, management sims, and RPGs. It was awesome to be able to just pick up where I'd left off with the same PC, the same library of 5-10 year old games, and a renewed sense of interest in a collection I'd forgotten about.

For example, I put nearly 200 hours into Rome II Total War, a game I'd written off not long after it came out, but has been greatly improved by mods since I played it ten years ago. There are also newer titles like Assassin's Creed Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla, which I'd completely missed when they came out. I've also enjoyed Elden Ring, and I'm thinking about finally trying out Cyberpunk 2077 now that it's had 3 more years of development to fix everything.

The patient gamer mindset is honestly such a great approach for this hobby. I really recommend taking a break from gaming if you feel like you've lost your passion for it. As much as I enjoy gaming, you can burn out on it, and it's a great feeling to rediscover your favourite titles all over again when you return years later.