Why I’ve lost interest in video games – Reader’s Feature – Metro.co.uk

A reader worries that he has finally fallen out of love with video games, just as the next gen starts.

Last night something dark happened, I couldn’t be bothered to game and found the very prospect of gaming wearisome.

What has happened to me? I have been a gamer for the best part of 40 years (crikey) and have had lapses in the past, but this felt really different. It felt like a closing of a door.

So, as I sit here typing I am asking myself what has bought this feeling on? Am I a victim of 2020 and the whole diabolical mess it has become? Not just the pandemic but the complete lack of excitement that has become gaming this year?

The next gen is becoming a bit of a joke as the big boys play chicken with each other. They both have very little to offer at this present time, in the way of games, and isn’t that the most important part of a games console? Talking with friends and family, who are avid gamers, they are all saying this will be the year where they don’t bother with day one launches as there is just nothing to get excited about. So that could be the first part of my issue?

I own all formats of console and PC. I’m very lucky, I know that. But I just can’t find a game to excite me at the moment and a look through the release schedule does little to bring the excitement back with the exception of Cyberpunk 2077 (checks release schedule) and Star Wars: Squadrons, maybe. The usual bout of yearly updates are just that. Yes, I will get the new Call Of Duty, the single-player will last maybe 8 to 10 hours. A couple of days excitement, then what?

I get that many games are a victim of COVID and the aftermath, which is not going to change the situation anytime soon. Just give us something to get excited about. I read all the letters dreaming of a Nintendo Direct or some other announcement. The industry just seems very flat at the moment to me. Part two of my issue?

Multiplayer has always played a big part in my gaming life. I’m not very good at it these days, as the old twitch reflexes have long since left these shores but it has not dampened my enjoyment. I set my own targets in a game, which keeps things fun. Meeting up with mates, winning together, losing together, it’s what it’s all about. I love that element but it’s changing.

Cheating is rife, especially in games like Call Of Duty multiplayer and Warzone. You just know something isn’t right when you look at the end of game scores and see stats like 75 – 6 Kill/Death on a map like Shipment! Something that doesn’t happen if cross-play is turned off, not an option in Warzone.

Is winning that important? Where’s the enjoyment in cheating? And as you yourselves have reported, streamers are doing it, which only goes to legitimise the practice. Sad times, maybe this could be the third part of my issue?

What do I want out of gaming these days? I want fun and variety. I want to visit strange new worlds, I want thrills and spills, I want my imagination pushed! Maybe gaming is becoming just too damn difficult, for me at least? I was late to the party on games such as Dark Souls and the like but they are just completely off limits nowadays. I’ve tried them and struggle to make any inroads.

Am I playing them wrong? I don’t think so, I use YouTube and the likes for advice on how to play but as I say they’re just two damn difficult for a man with the reactions of a startled slug! I always thought gaming was inclusive not restrictive. Perhaps my fourth part?

I don’t know what my future of gaming is going to hold but at the moment I really need something, anything, to bring back the excitement!

Thanks GC, keep up the good work.

By reader Dirtystopout

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.