Games aren't fun anymore?

As I grew up and became a young adult, many games started feeling hollow. This isn’t about games not being as fun as they used to be. No, they still are, and more great ones get released yearly. But when more options are available to you, some games become simulacrums of real, much more fulfilling activities.

Confined to the life of a schoolchild, I loved all games. Racing, match-3, I could get enjoyment out of anything. That’s still an option, booting a new experience is always fun. But occasionally, a voice at the back of my head nags me: “but why?”.

Why climb a digital mountain when I could hike a real track? Why go through the motions of a life sim when I could explore my surroundings? A shooter doesn’t sound as appealing when you can play airsoft. I suppose this is a “privileged” perspective, not everyone has access to the real deal a lot of the time. But so be it – it’s also the one relevant to me. A focus on “gameplay” more often than not translates into performing an activity I could do in real life in a more worthwhile or useful way. Even sandboxes lose their charm if I think too hard about what I could do instead of indulging in them. Okay, I built this virtual house – could’ve done something with my hands instead. When was the last time I drew?

I’ve been increasingly playing only two kinds of games – those that promise a good story, and puzzles. Of course, there’s room for exceptions – playing with friends is always fun, no matter what, and sometimes a fun action game is a way to relax.

As I currently go through CrossCode, much like Hollow Knight: Silksong earlier it offers a window into what could be. Whenever I pick up a long game with lots of action and digital exploration, the experience is exciting. Places to be, people to meet, foes to slay. Why haven’t I been doing this more often?! I could spend all my time here!

“…Sometimes makes you wish you could just stay in this world…”

But that’s the problem, isn’t it? That can’t end well. I played for three hours today, what did I accomplish? Some “errands” and “loose ends” taken care of before moving on further into the story? That could’ve been three hours of real errands instead. My time is finite, to the point I question whether I’m even having fun optimally. I love traversing this make-believe world, and almost fourty hours in aren’t sure I’m even halfway done with it. But do you know how many books one could fit into fourty hours? Was CrossCode deeper than War and Peace so far? I don’t know. More importantly, why do I care?

Have I lost some of the ability to truly enjoy games for the sake of games? If I increasingly avoid what a medium uniquely offers, can I still say it’s my favourite?