Changing Priorities Ahead

AccidentalDenz

Lord of Steam
So... I’ve had a bit of a gaming slump, which I’ve chronicled elsewhere on the forum. I spent seventy plus hours on Red Dead Redemption 2 and wasn’t seeing the endgame coming anywhere on the horizon, that state of affairs somehow really got to me in a way it’s never done before and I didn’t load up Steam for over three months. And as some of you know, I’m also a NHS worker so things have been ridiculously busy on that front, my free time feels quite valuable these days.

But in the last two weeks there’s been developments....

I hurt my back and had to take three days off work. My most comfortable chair was the one in front of my computer so I settled down with a pot of tea and got back into it.

I tried another hour with RDR2 but it was soul sapping so instead I looked at the rest of my Steam library to see what it could offer me.

And what a revelation it was, I feel like I’ve rediscovered the gaming love. I played through Black Mesa, Firewatch, Journey, Vanquish and Brothers: Two Sons. All games that I managed to beat in around ten hours or less.

The ‘head scratcher’ I have at the end of this is... have I fallen out of love with the BIG games? I’ve got Assassin’s Creed Valhalla waiting for me but going through a giant open world with all the bloat and fetch quests seems to hold no appeal to me.

It feels an odd time to raise this question given that many of our forum members are currently starting the Mass Effect Trilogy Legendary Edition and have around 75-100 hours of gameplay ahead of them. Maybe I’m just getting old....
I've certainly felt a shift in my gaming recently. While I still have Assassin's Creed Odyssey on the go, I'm definitely playing a lot more smaller games that can be beaten in a few sessions, or longer games that are more easily pick up and play but abandonable until I next feel like it (although I'm not a car fan, I find Car Mechanic Simulator 2018 quite enjoyable for when I've got a spare 10/15 minutes to get a car fixed - I might then not go near the game for weeks).
 

Steveyg

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Right I'm home now and have my Steam library in front of me so here come the recommendations for relatively short games around 10 hours or less!

Ori & The Blind Forest - Great adventure game with a nice story. Really pretty too
Transistor - Supergiant made it
Broforce - Fun side scrolling blast em' up with action hero characters
Castle Crashers - Side scrolling beat em' up
One Finger Death Punch - Good time killer and surprisingly fun
The Typing of The Dead: Overkill - Pure nonsense but fun
Shank - Side Scrolling Beat Em' Up, pretty tough though
Streets of Rage 4 - It's back and it's great!
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger - Western FPS with a cool narative
Shadow Warrior - If you like Doom 2016 it was out just before that and kinda similar. The Katana is especially fun
Doom 2016 - Revival of the Doom series, lives up to the hype
Mark of the Ninja - Stealth Platformer, solid mechanics
Mirrors Edge - *Insert The Office parkour GIF*
Super Meat Boy - Difficult Platformer, fun and fast paced
The Room Series - All of them have been great and you can get them super cheap now. Well worth a play if you like puzzles
Party Hard - Murder simulator, like a serial killer puzzle game
Breach & Clear - Kinda Jank squad based, turn based strat game. I enjoyed it but this is a reluctant recommedation
Carrion - If you ever wanted to play as The Thing from The Thing well here you go
The Darkness II - FPS game were you're kinda the bad guy?
Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light - Isometric shooter, I like it
Transformers War for Cybertron & Fall of Cybertron - Better than they have any right to be, both games are really well done Transformers entries
 

AgentCooper

At Least I Have Chicken
Moderator
Right I'm home now and have my Steam library in front of me so here come the recommendations for relatively short games around 10 hours or less!

Ori & The Blind Forest - Great adventure game with a nice story. Really pretty too
Transistor - Supergiant made it
Broforce - Fun side scrolling blast em' up with action hero characters
Castle Crashers - Side scrolling beat em' up
One Finger Death Punch - Good time killer and surprisingly fun
The Typing of The Dead: Overkill - Pure nonsense but fun
Shank - Side Scrolling Beat Em' Up, pretty tough though
Streets of Rage 4 - It's back and it's great!
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger - Western FPS with a cool narative
Shadow Warrior - If you like Doom 2016 it was out just before that and kinda similar. The Katana is especially fun
Doom 2016 - Revival of the Doom series, lives up to the hype
Mark of the Ninja - Stealth Platformer, solid mechanics
Mirrors Edge - *Insert The Office parkour GIF*
Super Meat Boy - Difficult Platformer, fun and fast paced
The Room Series - All of them have been great and you can get them super cheap now. Well worth a play if you like puzzles
Party Hard - Murder simulator, like a serial killer puzzle game
Breach & Clear - Kinda Jank squad based, turn based strat game. I enjoyed it but this is a reluctant recommedation
Carrion - If you ever wanted to play as The Thing from The Thing well here you go
The Darkness II - FPS game were you're kinda the bad guy?
Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light - Isometric shooter, I like it
Transformers War for Cybertron & Fall of Cybertron - Better than they have any right to be, both games are really well done Transformers entries
Great list and some fantastic descriptions! Whilst I own plenty of these already, there’s a fair few that I don’t. So thank you kindly, good sir 👍
 
Sounds like you've stopped loving the BIG games that didn't love you back man, perhaps with age or experience you feel less inclined to spend hours at something that doesn't respect your time. As someone who got really into gaming at the tail end of the Sega Genesis I think I've always been inclined to enjoy tighter designed, trimmed fat games. The indie market has done wonders in scratching that itch so I hope you find something that appeals to you, hopefully Junes Steam Games Festival and Summer Sale light a fire in you.

Just uh....watch out for that Open World Sale coming at the end of May :D
 
Sounds like you've stopped loving the BIG games that didn't love you back man, perhaps with age or experience you feel less inclined to spend hours at something that doesn't respect your time. As someone who got really into gaming at the tail end of the Sega Genesis I think I've always been inclined to enjoy tighter designed, trimmed fat games. The indie market has done wonders in scratching that itch so I hope you find something that appeals to you, hopefully Junes Steam Games Festival and Summer Sale light a fire in you.

Just uh....watch out for that Open World Sale coming at the end of May :D
 

AccidentalDenz

Lord of Steam
Sounds like you've stopped loving the BIG games that didn't love you back man, perhaps with age or experience you feel less inclined to spend hours at something that doesn't respect your time. As someone who got really into gaming at the tail end of the Sega Genesis I think I've always been inclined to enjoy tighter designed, trimmed fat games. The indie market has done wonders in scratching that itch so I hope you find something that appeals to you, hopefully Junes Steam Games Festival and Summer Sale light a fire in you.

Just uh....watch out for that Open World Sale coming at the end of May :D
I've finally got my Steam wishlist to under 500 games, those upcoming sales will probably be another dent in the list! :ROFLMAO:
 

JzB

Bronze Level Poster
I haven't really played anything for the past year. Bar Warzone for couple hours a few nights a week with mates, just for a laugh and a catch up over lockdown. I just seem to be not that bothered anymore. I've got Ac Valhalla, I just dip in and out a few hours here and there. Not even off the tutorial Norway part yet. Got Cyberpunk aswell but I've only done a few hours in that too. I get Fridays and Sundays off work and spend those days out on my mountain bike now. As someone posted above I think I might be winter gamer aswell lol.
 
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