Does anyone else sometimes feel overwhelmed by (big) games?

I've recently found that big (mostly open world) games tend to overwhelm or even intimidate me. I'm a big fan of the Rockstar games and absolutely adored Breath of the Wild, but my playthrough of Tears of the Kingdom has been a bit rocky from the get-go.

As soon as the game let me explore all of its content and released me from the tutorial island, I was able to roam the lands of Hyrule freely as I once did in Breath of the Wild, but I've come to a sort of paralysis. I feel like there's such an enormous amount of content to see that I'm constantly anxious to unintentionally skip content or to not make the most of my experience. I did not feel like this back in Breath of the Wild, and I'm not really sure why. I did, however, have this same sense of FOMO when I first played Skyrim. That game also made me feel like I was constantly missing stuff which left me kind of unsatisfied.

This is not a big problem and all of the games I listed are great games. I'm posting this because I unconciously took a two week break from ToTK in order to alleviate that feeling but when I came back to the game today and still felt the same, I thought of posting here and maybe hearing your opinions on this thing.

Have you ever felt the same in big open world games? Do you feel like this in more linear games with multiple endings? (I do) Do you think I'm an overthinker and should just rock on? Looking forward to your comments!

DannyBoy,

@Cartendole For me is kinda hard to follow long time span games.
I can only remember the first 10 hours. So to me is easier just to find short time games than long ones.

Also indie games trend to innovate even more so I prefer a 3 hours game that's enjoyable than a 40 hours game that's repetitive and probably at the end I don't even remember the entire story of it.

Fubarberry,
@Fubarberry@lemmy.fmhy.ml avatar

Yes, I recently started no man’s sky and at times I find I have to swap to a more simple game because it feels overwhelming.

I never used to feel this way in games, I think it’s a lack of time as I get older. When I was younger I could afford to spend days and days figuring out a game, now it feels like I have limited time and need to use it efficiently.

anage_oldprob,

Back in the day I remember Gabe from Penny Arcade saying that he used to feel this way until he went on anxiety meds. Going on the meds made it feel like a free playground to explore instead of being an infinite chore where something could be missed.

mrnotoriousman,

I don't have anxiety issues, but I smoke a couple bongs and am ready to just wander around and explore worlds lol. Even if I want to go to story stuff I end up doing side missions or collecting bits of lore.

BoxyBae,

It's funny that you got that in Skyrim, really felt like that game was terrified that I'd miss some random quest and shove it in my face

TheOtherJake,

I think TotK dropped a lot of hints about not playing it like BotW, but most probably didn't pick up on it. I made the mistake of exploring a lot on my own and ended up skipping several of the quest stories as a result. When the world is so large, you really need a GPS for your map to constrain your path. It's kinda hard to tell the user "this time is different, follow the guides" when it seems so familiar a place.

There was a lot of effort made to ensure there was guide based content posted online immediately upon release, but this assumes the user will go looking for it.

Cartendole,

Oh wow yeah I definitely missed that memo. But that goes in line with what another person said about persuing the main quest first and exploring a bit later. Thanks for the tip!

veloxization,
@veloxization@yiffit.net avatar

I personally find that because of the sheer amount of content, these games have great replayability. Every time I start Skyrim, even vanilla Skyrim, from the beginning, I will eventually find something I haven't seen before either because I chose a different style of play or by sheer chance.

I'm playing Elden Ring with my bf using the seamless co-op mod and though he's a veteran who's put countless hours into the game, we keep stumbling upon places and content he hasn't seen previously.

sgibson5150,
@sgibson5150@kbin.social avatar

I just try to trust the game, though in the case of TotK I did have an "ugh not again" moment when I first landed at the surface level. Glad I stayed with it, though. We usually chip away on it for an hour or two each day, but when I'm not in the mood I just do something else. As long as you're enjoying yourself, there's no wrong way to game. ✌️

conciselyverbose,

I do not. I feel no particular obligation to finish anything, and most of the time I do I feel let down that there isn't more. I want enough to be able to play until I feel the desire to play something else, then have plenty more to explore next time that game scratches the right itch.

Lightninhopkins,

I think of games like books. I read for pleasure, if I'm not enjoying the book after a decent try I start a different book. I only have so much time in my life to play games and read, no need to spend it on something I'm not enjoying.

conciselyverbose,

Lol books I'll read (mostly listen to) series from start to finish and reread the full series (occasionally with regularity). I just finished the 26 books of Karen Rose's Romantic Suspense Series and 5.5 books into CJ Archer's Glass and Steele series. I love longer form story arcs. I will cut out of truly bad books occasionally but it's rare. I do more often decide after finishing a book not to read the next one.

But I don't really do video games for the story telling, so I don't have anything to be hooked to.

exohuman,
@exohuman@kbin.social avatar

This describes me perfectly. As an example, I have had Skyrim since the original release and never beat it. I enjoyed playing around in the world until I went on to other things. I can always go back and play some more when I want. I like having a large world there for me to explore and interact with on my own time.

datavoid,

Better not play Elden ring

Cartendole,

True lol, I've purposely been steering away from that game because even seeing other people play it makes me think about what they could've missed. :D

stillnotahero,

At about 20 hours in I remember thinking, “hmmm this map isn’t too awfully large. I handled BOTW no problem.” But my god the map is deceptive of the sheer size and “hidden” regions.

60+ hours in now and I think maybe 16% of all achievements? Wild.

Tigbitties,
@Tigbitties@kbin.social avatar

20 hours in and a few sleepless nights I already got a glimpse of my future. It wasn't pretty. Haven't played since.

Tencha,

I actually think Totk was more overwhelming than Elden Ring.

melmi,
@melmi@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I can certainly understand that! I kind of am the opposite though; I like not knowing the exact extent of the game, or where everything is, because to me it then feels more like a real place that I'm really exploring. I don't need to see everything, and honestly I hope I never do see everything because then the magic is gone. I like feeling like a small fish in a very big ocean.

I guess I'm an anti-completionist in that way.

Cartendole,

Anti-completionist! I like that. That makes a lot of sense, I think it really might be my inner completionist that wants me to see every nook and cranny of a game. But you're right about that taking away the magic. Similar to when you replay a game you played as a kid and realise that there's a lot less to the once magical game world than you thought.

RadDevon, (edited )
@RadDevon@lemmy.ml avatar

I don’t feel this way about open-world games because they do usually have an end and you can skip a lot of the open-world filler content. I get this anxiety about sandbox games. I hate it because I really enjoy games like Cities Skylines and I’d love to get into Dwarf Fortress, but I can’t play them anymore because I could spend 1,000 hours in one of them and never finish. That open-endedness keeps me from playing.

Cartendole,

Oh, that's interesting that you feel that way about sandbox games. I get that it can be irritating to not have a clear goal or end to the game. They're more about making up your own challenges and by that your own gameplay experience on the way. Reminds me of Minecraft!

Somehow, sandbox games don't induce that kind of anxiety for me because I never feel like I'm "missing" something if I tackle a challenge one or the other way because there's always another playthrough up next to explore the other route.

TIN,

Don't worry, you won't get to 1000 hours in dwarf fortress without your world ending in magma fuelled mega death while the survivors get eaten by some zombie bull yaks.

TimesEcho,
@TimesEcho@kbin.social avatar

It can be a bit overwhelming, yes. I purposely did enough of the main story line in ToTK so that I could get the Hero's Path and the Travel Medallions. And now I'm ignoring the main story and just exploring the world bit-by-bit, like I did with Breath of the Wild. I'm still thoroughly exploring Central Hyrule. I'm racking up side quests and adventures, but only doing them if I want a break from exploring or want to better my gear or something. It takes the pressure off for me to do it this slow, relaxing way. The game feels like it has hundreds of hours in it, which is what I tell myself when I get antsy. I have almost literally all the time in the world.

Cartendole,

Thanks for your perspective, that sounds like a good way to tackle that game. In my last session, I just felt that there was so so much to do and wanted to do everything at once. Maybe I'll also focus on the main story for now and get to exploring a bit later. It's like you said: We have all the time in the world, Hyrule's literally sitting there waiting for us to come and explore.

GoOnASteamTrain,

Hehe I know exactly that feeling! Honestly I found the same with Skyrim, GTA5 and Witcher 3 - I can’t imagine spending 100+ hours on a game like that, knowing I’ll probably not finish it! I know it’s irrational but I’m the same. :)

I loved Disco Elysium and Life is Strange 1 because I truly did feel that I left no stone unturned in my playthroughs - it felt very “complete” and had such a satisfying ending that didn’t leave me wandering around a progressively more empty hand world.

I guess that’s a type of game preference - I love watching other people play big games like that, but can’t do it to myself as I feel it’s never “done.” :)

And yet… I’ll play a wrestling game for probably hundreds of hours, knowing fully beyond unlocking everything, there’s a game I can’t “finish” - weird really! :)

Cartendole,

Funny you should mention Disco Elysium and LiS! I loved Life is Strange because it felt very purpose-driven and really led you into a clear direction story-wise. On the other hand, I feel like I'm one of the three people who didn't bother to finish Disco Elysium :D I tried and tried to like it for more than 15 hours of playtime, but in the end I had to admit that its dialogue is too lengthy and that it felt a little too slow story-wise, for my taste at least!

z3n0x,
@z3n0x@feddit.de avatar

i remember this overwhelming feeling when first playing Witcher 3. At some point I just said f it, ignored the thoughts and had a blast

Cartendole,

That's probably the best way to go about it!

sylverstream,

Yep, Witcher 3 is one of my favourite games despite not having tons of time. Whenever I play it, I just dedicate all my gaming time to it. With smaller games I play 2 at the same time. Quick Resume.

bob_lemon,

The game would be better with 75% less of the random map markers. I find them hard to ignore even though they're often not worth getting.

tlf,

I spent so much time trying to clean up map markets that I was not high level enough to deal with

z3n0x,
@z3n0x@feddit.de avatar

This! I had to turn off most of them to make the game enjoayable.

NettoHikari,
@NettoHikari@social.fossware.space avatar

I thought I was alone with that feeling. I'm in exactly the same boat as you.

For me, it's a tiny bit different, because I played BOTW shortly before my daughther was born in 2017. I still had time for games like that back in the day. Now I don't only have a daughter, but a son as well.

When I grab the controller and start playing something time intensive like BOTW and now TOTK, I usually feel really guilty really quick, because there are so many other things to do, that in theory should have a higher priority.

brokensprocket99,

Just do what I do. Split your time between family, work, house projects, errands, and play a little of each backlogged game you have. Get absolutely nothing in your life done by trying to do everything 24/7. This way you get the benefit of feeling like you have no free time while also having the benefit of getting burnt out and overstressed. It can't backfire. 100% sustainable.

Help me.

HannahBecz,

Don't forget taking so long a break between games that you completely forget what you're supposed to be doing, and if the game offers no sort of recap/hand-holding quest system - you have to start from scratch.

At which point the daunting nature of that overwhelms you and you just sit there browsing your catalog for something new to play/continue until you're 15 minutes past your allotted time - and you're now even further behind.

Win/win all around.

brokensprocket99,

Right?!?

I'm trying to play Elden Ring, Last of Us Part I, Diablo IV, Stray, BOTW, SW: JFO, Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, Spider-Man: Remastered, Hogwarts: Legacy, Atomic Heart, It Takes Two, Luigi's Mansion 3, and more.

I'm not going to beat any of these before Starfield comes out, of which I will surely add to my catalog of "actively" playing games. I'm currently working on D4, but I did go back to BOTW briefly and get the third devine beast done, because my kids got me TOTK for Father's Day, so I feel compelled to not sleep on it because I want them to play it with them.

I haven't even finished Skyrim yet. How do people do it?

HannahBecz,

I think they skip the "have kids" part of life.

Like I enjoy games, but I'd rather spend time with kid and spouse than play them. Like I almost feel guilty taking time for myself to actually play them.

The spouse isn't so much an issue to gaming, as separate work schedules gave ample time to just game. Kids on the other hand, and a special needs one for me, as the at-home parent take up almost every waking second of my day, from 7am to 8pm - 9pm if you count cleaning up the days activities.

My backlog is similar to yours - with the same "gotta get them in before Starfield comes out". And I know it's not gonna happen.

It was a much simpler time when you only had one console - and like 2 games + whatever you rented for the week.

Altomes,

This is my biggest issue with open world games I always forget what I’m doing

joelfromaus,
@joelfromaus@aussie.zone avatar

Also see: taking so long between games that a save breaking update is released that ruins your 30hr save game. At that point just closing the game and browsing Lemmy instead.

Glaive0,

For me, TotK has been great for forgetting what’s next. The whole game is chunked into small little tasks that string together. It’s rare that I’ve managed to set a goal and gone straight to it. It’s usually “warp to x in order to do y but now, z is on the way and it says to go to b. But b redirects me to do g,h, i, and j before I can fight my way to c. Aaaand whoops I just finished temple and I was just trying to deliver eggs to the shop keep.

That may not be to your taste, but I’m enjoying the happy accident moments of the game. I feel like a diagram of the quest flow would look similar to a technical diagram for the whole us postal system. Just play in the sandbox and have fun. You’ll eventually get where you’re going!

HannahBecz,

Yeah that's fine and all, it's basically the same formula Bethesda uses - and a formula I love for gameplay. The issue is coming back 6 months to a year or more later and then trying to get back into it. Which is a struggle with games like that.

I usually keep handwritten notes about quests and activities, but sometimes even then I still cannot get back into them because they rely on intricate knowledge of gameplay mechanics I've forgotten over the timespan of absence.

I love Zelda, and have been slowly working my way through my catalogue of unplayed titles in the series. A Link to the Past was actually the first game I got with my SNES. But I skipped out on the N64 and GameCube ones. But I don't have the time for TotK just yet. I did get BotW at launch - and it was fun - but the final boss fight was rather underwhelming.

But to be fair the only Zelda boss that hasn't been a real pushover is the original NES one where it will let you fight the final boss without the item you need to defeat him. And in no way tells you this.

Anyway I still need to beat Pikmin 3 and Super Mario Odyssey (all launch purchases) before getting yet another Switch game. TotK is on my radar, but Starfield looms ever closer and I know I'll never beat TotK in time. HLTB puts it at like 58 hours just to do the main story. That's a daunting amount of time at my point in life right now.

Glaive0,

I wish you the best.

Also, allot more than HLTB recommends unless you decide to mainline the story with no distractions.

I’ve found that the quest tools are really useful to combat memory issues, but not overwhelming. They let you grab the 15 minutes you have to really focus on what you’re doing if you’d like. They keep all the information you need (and even cut down the information you don’t.) And it’s always there for you to come back to if you decide something else is more fun.

I haven’t beaten the game yet, so can’t say one way or another about the final boss of this one, but I’ve heard it’s better than most.

I’ve got every other Zelda game that’s not a weird CDI game (or Zelda II, though I may go back to that one) and have made it about half way through a full play through, more if you count games I played a long while back.

This series is great. I’m really curious to hear what someone else doing similar thinks about the progression of the series from way back?

HectorBarbossa99,

happened with me and new vegas. I did it in the spring of 2021 and did everything but the dlcs and the final confrontation at hoover damn.

Started Dead Money, hated it, and quit it and started old world blues. After this I was burnt out so I just stopped playing NV, and wanting to come back recently I tried to resume in the DLC.

I have no idea what the hell is going on so I have no idea if I’m going to continue where I left off or start the game over, only to miss the DLC content again when I inevitably get bored after the main game

HannahBecz,

Oh I want to go back and actually finish NV. I bought it at launch and played, but when I actually got to NV it was such a disappointment that it took me out of the entire game, and I didn't get much further than that. I guess I got caught up in the in-game hype of New Vegas so much that I ended up with Paris Syndrome when I actually got there.

So I know I'm gonna have to restart, even if my save is somehow in the cloud because I have zero recollection of that game - having been nearly 13 years since I played now. And I don't have the time to start a Bethesda game and finish it so close to another one coming out.

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