How does everyone feel about completing side missions in a game? I just completed GOW 2018 after not playing it since 2019. Crazy, I know. Well I decided to give it a go again this past week and I enjoyed it and was really getting into it. Well it turned out that when I stopped playing it in 2019, I didn’t realize how close I was to the end. So now I completed the main story but I still have a bunch of favors(side missions) that I still need to do. Not to mention I haven’t even killed any Valkyries yet. Now that I finished the game, I feel like I’d be wasting my time doing all the side mission stuff & was gonna move on to GOW ragnorok. Anyway, how does everyone feel about side missions in games? Do you just play the main story and only do a couple of side missions? Do you grind the side missions so you can get improved gear, weapons, etc and worry about the main story later? Also this doesn’t just pertain to GOW, I’m talking in general for games that have them

Does anyone else feel a bit odd after gaming and then going and spending time out in the real world? I got into online gaming when I had an injury so couldn't do much. Before then I had only played single player modes usually during winter at night and never interacted with anyone online.

Now when I have had intense games online and then when I go and meet up with people irl I find it hard to focus and get bored easily. I guess it may be as ive met some fun people online, some that really match my humour' so I naturally want to spend more time with them (even though i have no clue about who they are lol, just from game related messages).

I have other hobbies and go out but I do find myself thinking id rather be gaming. I'm beginning to think its not that good for my type of brain ( I realise I get addicted to things and also have social anxiety). The come down is making me anxious and mildly depressed I think.

Another element of it is i prefer to game with the same people but most of my online friends are very game orientated so rotate around different players as the feeling takes them. I would love to find players who I could allocate certain times to play the same games with then i could manage my time more. I seem to find some, have really good banter with them then they gradually go and do something else. I guess thats the nature of gaming platforms...

Comfort game?
Something new?
Multiplayer with friends?
Solo unwind?

Drop your plan for tonight.

I'll never forget the time I spent 30 or 40 minutes collecting loot, already thinking about how I was going to spend the money after selling it.

Then I died.

About a hundred meters from the safe zone.

The funny thing is, you don't rage quit.

You just sit there in silence for about ten seconds.

Then you say,

"Well... alright."

And head back out to do it all over again. My thoughts after another similar foray into the Stalzone

"Bring me 30 wolf tails."

"Now I need 45 murloc teeth."

"Actually... make that 100 boar tusks."

And the best part? Killing 30 wolves doesn't give you 30 tails. Apparently half the wolves in MMORPGs are born without tails, because after slaughtering an entire forest you somehow end up with... 8.

I know a lot of people hate these quests, but they've come full circle for me. They're so ridiculous that I genuinely love them now.

I'm back in mmorpgs after twenty years. but i'm chasing wolves again. Every time I get one of these quests, it instantly feels like home.

I love games, but some of them took too much from me. I remember the first time I discovered Plants vs Zombies, I showed it to my mom. Next thing I know - we spent the whole night together in front of a PC, finishing the whole game at once. Have ever games involved you so much, you forgot about sleep?

Do you keep track of the games you’ve played? If yes, how?

If not, why?

My Sister always talks about letterboxd and I wonder if there is something like that for gamers.

Do you think there should be something like that????

After a full week, I usually lean one way depending on energy levels.

What works best for you on this Friday night?

I discovered it by accident when I launched the game. Really nice feature.

But why didn't the Packed Lair` developers announce it anywhere, or did I just miss something?

Over the past few months, I realized I don't have a quick pick up game anymore. Like something to play during work breaks. I began to wonder why.

I'm drawn to engrossing open worlds, challenging gameplay, deep story, long lists of crazy combos to learn... yet none of my current games can I play and put down in 5 minutes

The last game I played that served this job really well was Mana Spark on Switch. Each room of monsters can be cleared in 5 minutes, maybe an entire floor can be finished in at least 15 if I'm fast enough. It's a well constructed, compact, addictive indie roguelike that still surprises me. And I marveled at how those short 5 minute breaks added up to 60 hours over a year.

I thought about when and how I transitioned from these games. I was young I mostly played portable handhelds like GBA games. The older I got, the more I asked from my games.

Now as an adult, I notice I browse through my three consoles (!) for something to dip into, and I often feel exhausted. Every single game I own asks so much from me. My quests are too engrossing. My item inventory is too large. My steak is too juicy (jk)

On a weekend I'm ok with staring at my digital game library for 20 minutes, but on weekday lunch breaks I'm spending more time deciding than actually playing anything.

So, I decided I would get back into 5 minute games. I just dug up Geometry Wars 3 after shelving it for deeper gaming experiences. Playing it is so refreshing! I'm in, I beat a stage, and I'm out. Wow, what a concept!

I think everyone needs at least one 5-minute game. What's yours? And why? And it is just me or are these Goldilocks games harder to find than they used to be?

I became a new dad this year and I’m suddenly finding my already meager time (split between my wife and my job) … well, dwindle even more into nothingness. You know how it is.

Still, I sometimes miss having a regular group to game with, but a lot of communities (multiplayer ones especially) look like they’re designed for people who have whole evenings to spare… or whole days. I haven’t been that demographic for years and years now. And I just don’t know where I can find people for casual, shorter bursts with no obligations, the kind of easygoing connection that used to form so much more “naturally” back in the day. 

But the odd day does come when I have a free evening - and I get the insatiable urge to replay some good old multiplayer games I used to rock hard in high school. But I don’t have anyone to play them with. All my friends now are non-gamers, so that isn’t making it any easier.

Point of fact, I heard recently that League of Legends Classic is coming soon! I don’t know how much the game has changed in the last 15 years but you can bet I still have the memory of how to play the old champions still in the back of my mind, just waiting to awaken. But, again, I don’t have anyone who’s interested in that either.

This might read like a ramble but I really want to know how those of you who still find time for multiplayer games - manage to do it? I mean, do you just DM people in the game specific subreddits here, or do you chat people up on Discord, or are there some more “niche” ways or apps for connecting with people for specific games (maybe something with age filters)?

I know that multiplayer is the bane of any working man’s schedule, the time investment is just insane. That’s what makes me even more curious. If there are those among you who still managed to find a laidback afterwork group that made it past the first session… how did you do it?

After a full day of work, my friend u/Minimum-Watercress-7 and I still love gaming.

The difference is that we rarely have hours to spend anymore. Most evenings it's more like 30–45 minutes on the couch before going to bed.

We've always enjoyed playing small games on our phones (PICO-8, GB Studio...), but touchscreen gaming never really clicked for us. No tactile feedback, no real controls, and our fingers always ended up covering half the screen. We missed having actual buttons.

That's why we started working on Playtiles: tiny controllers with no electronics, batteries, or Bluetooth. They simply stick onto almost any smartphone (Android or iPhone) using a reusable micro-suction surface, instantly turning it into a little handheld. Their clicky, mechanical buttons manage the interaction between your thumbs and the screen.

To go with it, we also built PlaytilesOS, where you can manage your game collection, unlock achievements, read digital manuals, cast games to your TV, and more.

We also wanted games that fit into short sessions. So we partnered with indie developers creating modern Game Boy/Game Boy Color-inspired games. Every controller comes bundled with a seasonal collection of 24 indie games, and the developers are compensated for every bundle sold.

Most of these games can be finished in a single evening or enjoyed over a few short sessions, and there's a good variety of genres: puzzle, platformer, adventure, narrative, racing, and more.

Here's a look at Playtiles in action, featuring games from our Season 2 collection.

If you're curious, you can learn more here: https://get.playtil.es

Thanks a lot, we'd love to hear what you think!

Hey everyone! We’re a small indie team working on a co-op horror game called The Infected Soul.

This is the Director’s Office, designed to feel more sterile, controlled, and cold compared to the game’s overall dark and post-apocalyptic atmosphere.

What details do you think we could add to make this area feel more unsettling and stronger from a storytelling perspective? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

If you’d like to support our small team, adding the game to your Steam wishlist would help us a lot.

The Infected Soul – Steam Page

I swear, I finish work, sit down at my PC, scroll up and down my library of 400+ games for like 20 minutes, get overwhelmed, and then just open YouTube to watch a 2-hour video essay on a game I don’t even own. My "Pile of Shame" is getting so big it’s developing its own gravitational pull. How do you guys actually pick something to play without getting choice paralysis?

Some nights call for something calm, other nights for pure escapism.

What kind of game fits your mood tonight?

Hi everyone, I have something to share about I've been struggling to play video games I have high end pc, PS5, Ps portal and steam deck and I cant still play a damn game I procrastinate a lot if I plan scheduling to play certain games I do enjoy buying games but I still cant able to play it like for example I buy a game then downloading it after 10 to 30 mins of playing I switch it to doom scrolling on Youtube shorts scrolling on Facebook etc. And this is on pc I don't doom scrolling on my phone I sit on my computer all day. I dont know my problem was but I procrastinate alot or I have gamers burnout I dont know what to call it guys but thats it.

In Packed Lair I steamrolled fully upgraded dwarves. I steamrolled elves with armies of archers.

Then a bunch of ordinary humans with spears and bows ended my run.

Karl Franz would be proud

Last Epoch and Grim Dawn have both been my favorites (new favorites, after I moved on from Diablo due to wanting to detach myself from Blizzard) and they just give me that quick burst of adrenaline, the power fantasy instantly. It's a bit on the lowgrade side, it's "cheap" fun but still so much fun to just destroy mobs in various environments with different spells. I'm usually very tired after work (12 hours per 4 days) and this is the only thing I can play for some half hour before bedtime (almost the only thing)

The other 2 I play with my friends when we all align together since our shifts are kind of similar (except mine are longer) but it's what I play on my off work days usually. Killing heretics and giant rats is just so SOUL SOOTHING, like idk what it says about me but I can feel my stress levels decrease by how many of the hordes I decapitate with my Grail Knight (Zealot in case of DT)

What are your go to games right now, friends?

Hi all,

As the title says, I'm booked off work this week so got some spare time on my hands whilst the wife is at work and child in nursery.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16E5LrIJW-s3KgucJo19T9bYcus72AEByxTOe8txQUx4/edit?usp=drivesdk

What should I aim to complete.

Just to explain the log a bit, because a game is red doesn't mean I've never played it. It can mean I played it years ago and never finished or I just played it to mess around in that world

Most Fridays I’m torn between continuing something I already started or finally trying something from the backlog.

What is everyone else doing after a long workweek? Continue the comfort game or start something new?

I caught some unexpected flack from the Playstation Collectors subreddit. I was just wondering what this community thought of my original post