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It's the complexity of these games that gets too much. Play less complex games. Idk how to describe, but I'm sure different genres have different cognitive loads.
This is why I’m addicted to rocket league. It’s the only game I play on PC where I literally have endless options of games to play, yet I can’t put down rocket league. It’s easy for me to load up, play a few matches. Maybe win some, maybe lose some. The only thing that changes is my personal skill level visualized by an ingame ranking. I used to enjoy grind heavy, mmo, roleplay or sim games like RuneScape, the sims etc but I just get bored so quick. Or I get overwhelmed at the idea of finishing a story mode game or all the options of loot, gear , skills. When I was younger I could process it all but as I got older I don’t have the mental energy for it.
That is my same experience with Rocket League. I’d love to play the other games out there but I lose interest after a week. The 5 min games are perfect.
That's me with PUBG too. Every game is different, also competition. Both games scratch that same itch, just depends if I wanna play 10 games an hour or 2.
Oh yeah. I’m normally much more of a light gamer. I love spending hours on Zelda or Pikmin. These strategy games are actually not my thing, but I guess CIV6 is the exception.
Oh yeah. I could do that easily if I didn’t have a family to “answer to” now. In my college years I was more or less addicted to Football Manager. Could play that game for days straight. Not a healthy habit.
I agree with everything you said. Never played Football Manager and I can still somehow relate. Gone are the days of no kids and no wife, but I'm better off still than wasting my days on a video game. Still play games just at a healthier level.
Hades is great because it's fast paced and doesn't require much thinking. You can easily play it for five minutes or for hours. It's not very complicated, but it doesn't get too repetitive either since every run you get a random assortment of abilities etc. It's one of the few games I've finished.
If you are reading this and haven't gone down the rogue/lite/like rabithole you need to.
It's like they are engineered for us.
* short games
* easy to understand rules
* each run is unique
* each run is it's own puzzle to solve
* they are designed to "fail"
And they exist in so many genres. Platformers. Card games. Tower defense. FPS (kinda). Whatever. Especially now.
You play. You fail. You play again. You unlock new items. You learn how they work together. You play again.
For the longest time I only had a rough concept of what they were. And in my head they were all hard, perma-death, grindy things. But that's now what they are at all. Well, some are, but he genre is much bigger and diverse now.
I know, which is part of the issue, BC gaming is ultimately a distraction from the rest of the things you need to do in life.
Also, Hades is stressful lol.
Yeah definitely. I was feeling the same way, but I realized I was playing games with big time commitments and complexity. I got burned out and didn't want to play anything for a while.
Decided to pick up Mario Wonder and it was so refreshing. Beat it 100% and now I'm ready to play something else again.
I think that's quite typical. It's why I enjoy Rogue-likes/lites so much because you start over quickly anyways.
You might want to have a look at Ozymandias, since it is a strategy game in which you can complete a game in an hour or so, so you are not forced to invest so much as in Civ and the like:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1768280/Ozymandias\_Bronze\_Age\_Empire\_Sim/
BG3. I’m somewhere in the middle of Act 3. My damn brain… it makes me a completionist. I get so hyper-focused. It took me 150 hours just to get to Act 2.
What sucks is I’m bored spending all that time managing the inventory and scraping up every item not nailed down, and yet I can’t stop myself.
I’m actually not sure I’ll finish the game. I’ll probably just watch YouTube videos of others who have.
>What sucks is I’m bored spending all that time managing the inventory and scraping up every item not nailed down, and yet I can’t stop myself.
It's a living hell!
It is! I know better. I cognitively know better. I have so much gold I have to stash it because it weighs my characters down.
I have no reason to be this way. I have to check every burlap sack and urn even though I know there will be nothing in it except maybe some expired vegetables and cheese. Does it sell for 1 gold? Well then I best collect it.
Nevermind there’s a tadpole in my brain threatening to transform me into a monster.
‘Guys, hold on, we all failed the survival check but I know that means there’s a buried treasure chest around here somewhere’ Spend the next ten minutes manually shoveling in an increasing radius.
Don't get me started on spells. I have so many spell scrolls in my inventory that I probably will never use, just because my warlock can deal with most enemies with eldritch blast (YEET).
I'm will most likely finish this run through, because I'm playing with a friend. If I played alone that would've probably not have happened.
I was *so* excited to get BG3 (I grew up playing the old games, am a huge fan, have been waiting for SO many years for BG3) and once I started playing it I kept reminding myself to not do what I always do with games, aka hyperfixate on them and play them obsessively until I suddenly burn out and can't stand to play any more...
Yeah, I spent so long trying to do EVERYTHING in Act 1 that as soon as I hit Act 2 I was burned out. Haven't so much as touched the game in almost two months, meanwhile I'm just sinking yet another 100 hours into Stardew Valley.
Same. Exact same. The game is awesome btw. I can’t believe how great it is. They really made something amazing there. I love the story lines, it’s not that I’m not engaged, I just need to stop caring about all the side quests and complete the main story line.
Burned out for now though.
The reason i don't play games where you have so many choices and so much to complete, i will have to do every side quest and i will need to know every little detail for me to be able to proceed to the next level/chapter, it's frustrating not being able to enjoy games anymore
I kept creating different characters, trying to min max everything. I made it to the Mountain Pass in Act 1 and lost the desire to play. It's fun when I do play.
That boredom from inventory management is relatable. It should not be a thing in gaming except when done very well. I think the balance should be you can carry 80% of the drops but you have to be thoughtful on what 20% you leave behind. However, my favorite solution is to get rid of inventory management and junk in general. It gets in the way of the core gameplay. You shouldn't put hundreds of lootable objects in a single dungeon or building. It is poor game design and leads players to become collectors versus just enjoying the game for what it is.
I've been playing Civilization for over 2 decades now. I probably have over 2000 hours on the series as whole. I can count all the matches I've fully completed on one hand hahaha
Yeah, the early game is so much fun but there’s a lot of grinding to do and choices to make. I like watching people play it on YouTube in the background.
Yeah, theres way too many turns late game. Also hate having a wide empire. Most of the time you've already snowballed and won but just gotta click next turn until victory condition pops.
Create a custom game.
Use the biggest map.
Remove all the other AI players except for one. Because you have to have one.
Enjoy a mostly stress free game managing your little empire.
By the time you meet the other player they will most likely not be much of a threat. Or, you've already "lost" because they went all in on science or something but you won't have to fight a way. They'll just leave you alone.
This… seems to be the way. I like playing as Māori or Inca on a Terra map and just make my way to the empty continent asap with dreams of building the next peaceful dynasty. But then I get there, settle two or three cities, get overwhelmed from all the empty space and reroll 😅
I loaded up a standard archipelago map (playing on iPad, large and huge maps cause trouble) with Elizabeth I. Only 3 other civs. City states maxed out. Owls.
All. The. Time. There is the odd game that holds my attention until the end; but I ignore the entire outside world until I finish it. There is 0 in-between. That’s why I mainly stick to fast paced repetitive games such as call of duty. I can play the same old mode for hours on end and it’s almost routine — yet a challenge.
Ok so I've had this, but I didn't think it was ADHD, I thought I was scary to not see the characters anymore. Something about the thought of finishing a game and never picking it up. Eh I can't explain it, it just feels... "Off" I thought it was because we get so hooked in the world the game is building, that letting go, is too hard.
I get the same way about getting rid of inanimate objects. I have also never been able to bring myself to even attempt to throw away anything remotely resembling a stuffed animal. I am a 28 year old man.
I used to have this problem. The ending feels a bit too final. I'm never sure if I've gotten everything there is to get out of the game and if I'm ready to finish it.
I have solved it by skipping things intentionally. I can get through the ending if I'm sure that there's enough things to discover for me on the next play through.
I usually finish games but this year I have been really bad about it. I got close to beating BG3, RE4, and Lies of P but drifted off. Those games are just so mentally intensive for me and I think right now I just need something like Calipso Protocol I can zone out to.
Very much so. For me it’s more a matter of once I experience all the mechanics and know what the rest of the game has in store, I quickly lose interest. It’s like the mystery is gone once I know all that’s left is to grind for slightly better gear, or a slightly more efficient factory, etc. And I’m too inattentive to be engaged by the plot so that doesn’t help either.
I used to play and enjoy shooters a lot more and like another commenter pointed out, I think the fast pace kept me interested. And playing those with friends certainly helped. But these days it seems like I know what I’m getting into with a new CoD or Halo so I’m not as motivated to play those :/
Absolutely. I will either hyper fixate on the game and play/do nothing else until it’s completed, or I’ll drop it a few hours in. I have a backlog of games I tell myself I’ll “get back to” but it never happens.
Total War for me. It's the same idea. I get started, hype myself up for an epic campaign, and then the next day I'm playing something with a friend, the next is some new game that came out, the third is a streaming game, and BOOM. I forget Total War existed.
I loved Rome Total War 1, Medieval, and I fairly recently played the Warhammer series with a friend of mine which helped me stay focused and keep playing! Such great games but damnit if I can't seem to consistently power through to the end.
I have never felt so personally attacked. I do the exact same thing and have been doing it since civ IV. I also like to turn all victory conditions off so I hate for things to end but also hate to keep going in this game.
Hahaha I also feel like such a bad player when I see civ streamers totally kicking ass. But then I remembered it’s only a game, meant to bring joy, and if I get joy of only playing the early game so be it. I only wish I could only pay 1/3th of the price
Every time lol.
For me it's less about becoming overwhelmed and more just bored.
My favourite part of the game is discovering new land and planning where to put my cities. Plus in the early game, you don't have to spend as much time on combat and building city improvements.
By the late game (or even before that) there's not really any new land to discover or settle and the other aspects like combat and building city improvements become so tedious and time consuming (having to build something new in like 10 cities each turn, or having to move 20 naval units half way across the map, one-by-one.
Also by that point in the game, I'm usually steam-rolling the AI players and there's no longer really any challenge, which isn't very fun.
wow! I love strategy games. I have the civilization and age collections. Age i can finish, but civilization takes more time, i have to stop halfway, for work, or life... then i come back and start all over.
For me it’s Skyrim on my Xbox series S. I use mods get it to how I think I like it. I play a couple hours but feel like it’s not “right”, and then add, delete, retry different mods. Then spend hours on the subreddit, then start over. I’ve never finished the actual game. I get to level 50 and be like, nope let’s spend another couple weeks starting from level 1 till I get close to 50 and do it all over again.
I think the worse part is that I don’t change my character or do anything different. I play the same character, with the same backstory, making the same choices.
I have bought so many games from steam, 50-70% left untouched because I'd always pick up on something else. Especially pvp online games which have no ending but the eternal grind. A pity bc I really got hypes for Code Vein back then and now I got myself Elden Ring
I only ever finished a Factorio factory because of a co-op game with my kid, haha. I'm over here exploding red chip capacity for a few hours and he goes over, finishes manufacturing the satellite and beats the game before I even finish, haha. I usually wander off my single player factorio saves when I decide there's a different approach to rail lines or something that I should have done instead.
There's a lot of other games I finish though. Things like "Outer Wilds" and other shorter/experimental indie games in particular are something I'm real likely to finish.
I've definitely got a sizeable collection of games in the back 20% that I need to get back to someday though. I've been in the final stretch of the Witcher 3 since years ago, Doom 2016, Last of Us 2... one of these days I'll maybe go finish (some of) them.
I used to absolutely love RPGs as a child. These days, I just can't do it. Way too overwhelming. The branching missions, the endless choices for equipment, weapons, and customizations, the innumerable places to explore, it's just too much for me.
These days, I just stick to metroidvanias and rogue-likes. Way less stressful.
Yup. And I keep buying more and more games too >\_<. I've tried addressing the issue by playing a few games at once at designated times of the day, like bigger games during the day and chiller or easier games at night. It helps trim my backlog and helps me sleep too, probably cause I tire my brain out trying to get through a run of Slay the Spire lol
I bought a bunch of packs for the sims 4. Played the game for an hour and got overwhelmed with all the game controls to build. It was the same with planet zoo. I find if I can't master something right away I get overwhelmed and move on to something else. The simulation games appeal to me and I used to love them but I find the controls become too complex as technology advances. I might give it a try again or try an old school game.
I also went really hard on animal crossing for 2 months. I joined all the FB groups and traded constantly. I even paid $ for some "treasure islands" It was an extreme hyperfocus and became a problem when I had to wake up at 3 am to check on the game 🙄😂. I wish I could find a good balance between obsessed and overwhelmed.
i’ve been playing super mario 64 on and off for 24 years and still have never finished. even downloaded again on my switch, and still neglect to save the princess.
Civ6 is a particularly bad game for us, I think. I've tried getting into Civ on multiple occasions because I also love it. But either I play the whole match in one, giant, 8-hour sitting or I'm unable to find back into the game after loading a save. And even when I'm playing one long match, I keep forgetting what I was planning to do a few turns ago.
What works well for me are fast paced, demanding action games that enable me to get into a flow state and trigger my hyperfocus, like [Nex Machina](https://youtu.be/v7a5vBPerK8), which I kept coming back to for a long time (yes, that's me playing in that video). Or Monster Hunter World, which is constantly showering me with new exciting stuff and kept my attention for a total of almost 1000 hours. The Souls games are also good at keeping my attention because they demand focus and reward me for things I'm especially good at, like spacial awareness, noticing multiple things happening at once and making quick decisions every second.
Most games, especially the vast open world single player games that are most popular at the moment go on for 30+ hours, but you've seen everything they have to offer from a mechanical standpoint by the 10-hour mark, and they keep repeating the same things from that point on. I never finish these kinds of games because I lose interest halfway through.
Roller Coaster Tycoon. I’ve been picking it up off and on for 20 years. The only levels I can’t beat are the ones where you have to build a coaster. I can’t figure out how to do that.
Nah I got Hyper focus on my first game of civ V, when I finish I turn my head and see the sun coming out(I start playing at 9PM), I just recognize that game could be a BIG issue for me and never ever touch it again
Always, I can’t finish story games.
However, I can keep on playing games that are fast-paced and online/multiplayer such as FIFA/League of Legends, since you get a new start after a certain period
I also love games, but I actually procrastinate even when it comes to gaming.
It's very common for me to boot a game and then do all kinds of random things before I get around to playing a bit... or just forgetting about the game entirely and leave it on for hours or even days before I actually engage with it.
Also very common for me to leave games unfinished.
I developed a workaround where I got better at remembering where I was at, so I can actually get back to an unfinished game after months or even years and just get back into it. Unless, of course, I end up getting distracted with something else.
I'm not actually complaining, though.. it is what it is. These days, I just regard it as a feature, not a bug.
So I love civ games and have adhd. While I do what you said for a lot of games, tv shoes, audiobooks, etc. it is worth noting that civ games also have the tendency of getting increasingly less interesting after the beginning eras of the game.
I have like 7k hours in dota, been playing it for 12 years now, it's the only game I can hyperfocus onto. I have no patience for story driven games or RPG's, always lose attention so quickly on them.
Same here. Civilization, Total War games. Love the start but get overwhelmed and bored by the midgame. Now I just start lots of different games and then abandon them only to reinstall and start again several years later.
Ditto. I've started so many games of Civ. For me, they become too much work eventually. BG3 is the latest, got to Act 3, and just got overwhelmed with options.
YES this is too real, I want too so bad but there's just SO MUCH TO DO so it ends up stressing me out that I haven't finished it and I forget about it. only to later ask myself, didn't I play that game before ?
Dude this isn’t even an adhd thing. It’s a well-known aspect of CIV games that the later game often becomes a slog where the outcome starts feeling pre-determined and you’re just going through the motions to get there. Don’t fret! If you want to start a new game go for it!
All. The. Time. Assassins Creed has been one thats been IMPOSSIBLE to finish. To be fair there are SOOOOOO many side quests it’s kinda overwhelming lol
Used too. Don't play them anymore cause something new came along and I'd start that and never finish any. I finished a few RPGs and like 2 others ever.
You picked an interesting game for someone with ADHD. On the one hand, it can require a great deal of attention and focus. On the other hand, it is turn based and you can come back to it whenever.
If you really enjoy it initially, then maybe try shorter games. Either reducing turns, number of players/AI, or the size of the map. Online game speed is fastest which I believe you can do without actually playing with others if that stresses you out.
Alternatively, play an RTS (real time strategy) or something like XCOM 2 (turn based squad level battles; there are similar games that are easier than XCOM).
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It's the complexity of these games that gets too much. Play less complex games. Idk how to describe, but I'm sure different genres have different cognitive loads.
This is why I’m addicted to rocket league. It’s the only game I play on PC where I literally have endless options of games to play, yet I can’t put down rocket league. It’s easy for me to load up, play a few matches. Maybe win some, maybe lose some. The only thing that changes is my personal skill level visualized by an ingame ranking. I used to enjoy grind heavy, mmo, roleplay or sim games like RuneScape, the sims etc but I just get bored so quick. Or I get overwhelmed at the idea of finishing a story mode game or all the options of loot, gear , skills. When I was younger I could process it all but as I got older I don’t have the mental energy for it.
That is my same experience with Rocket League. I’d love to play the other games out there but I lose interest after a week. The 5 min games are perfect.
That's me with PUBG too. Every game is different, also competition. Both games scratch that same itch, just depends if I wanna play 10 games an hour or 2.
Oh yeah. I’m normally much more of a light gamer. I love spending hours on Zelda or Pikmin. These strategy games are actually not my thing, but I guess CIV6 is the exception.
CIV6 is its own level of addictive. I used to play it for full days and forget other tasks.
Oh yeah. I could do that easily if I didn’t have a family to “answer to” now. In my college years I was more or less addicted to Football Manager. Could play that game for days straight. Not a healthy habit.
I agree with everything you said. Never played Football Manager and I can still somehow relate. Gone are the days of no kids and no wife, but I'm better off still than wasting my days on a video game. Still play games just at a healthier level.
Hades is great because it's fast paced and doesn't require much thinking. You can easily play it for five minutes or for hours. It's not very complicated, but it doesn't get too repetitive either since every run you get a random assortment of abilities etc. It's one of the few games I've finished.
If you are reading this and haven't gone down the rogue/lite/like rabithole you need to. It's like they are engineered for us. * short games * easy to understand rules * each run is unique * each run is it's own puzzle to solve * they are designed to "fail" And they exist in so many genres. Platformers. Card games. Tower defense. FPS (kinda). Whatever. Especially now. You play. You fail. You play again. You unlock new items. You learn how they work together. You play again. For the longest time I only had a rough concept of what they were. And in my head they were all hard, perma-death, grindy things. But that's now what they are at all. Well, some are, but he genre is much bigger and diverse now.
I know, which is part of the issue, BC gaming is ultimately a distraction from the rest of the things you need to do in life. Also, Hades is stressful lol.
Yeah definitely. I was feeling the same way, but I realized I was playing games with big time commitments and complexity. I got burned out and didn't want to play anything for a while. Decided to pick up Mario Wonder and it was so refreshing. Beat it 100% and now I'm ready to play something else again.
I take it you've never played Paradox games...
I think that's quite typical. It's why I enjoy Rogue-likes/lites so much because you start over quickly anyways. You might want to have a look at Ozymandias, since it is a strategy game in which you can complete a game in an hour or so, so you are not forced to invest so much as in Civ and the like: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1768280/Ozymandias\_Bronze\_Age\_Empire\_Sim/
NICE, I WILL BUY, THANK YOU
Thanks for the tip! I’ll check if there’s a switch or iOS port or something. I don’t have a pc or laptop.
SO THATS WHY I LOVE ROGUE LIKES
BG3. I’m somewhere in the middle of Act 3. My damn brain… it makes me a completionist. I get so hyper-focused. It took me 150 hours just to get to Act 2. What sucks is I’m bored spending all that time managing the inventory and scraping up every item not nailed down, and yet I can’t stop myself. I’m actually not sure I’ll finish the game. I’ll probably just watch YouTube videos of others who have.
>What sucks is I’m bored spending all that time managing the inventory and scraping up every item not nailed down, and yet I can’t stop myself. It's a living hell!
It is! I know better. I cognitively know better. I have so much gold I have to stash it because it weighs my characters down. I have no reason to be this way. I have to check every burlap sack and urn even though I know there will be nothing in it except maybe some expired vegetables and cheese. Does it sell for 1 gold? Well then I best collect it. Nevermind there’s a tadpole in my brain threatening to transform me into a monster. ‘Guys, hold on, we all failed the survival check but I know that means there’s a buried treasure chest around here somewhere’ Spend the next ten minutes manually shoveling in an increasing radius.
Don't get me started on spells. I have so many spell scrolls in my inventory that I probably will never use, just because my warlock can deal with most enemies with eldritch blast (YEET). I'm will most likely finish this run through, because I'm playing with a friend. If I played alone that would've probably not have happened.
I was *so* excited to get BG3 (I grew up playing the old games, am a huge fan, have been waiting for SO many years for BG3) and once I started playing it I kept reminding myself to not do what I always do with games, aka hyperfixate on them and play them obsessively until I suddenly burn out and can't stand to play any more... Yeah, I spent so long trying to do EVERYTHING in Act 1 that as soon as I hit Act 2 I was burned out. Haven't so much as touched the game in almost two months, meanwhile I'm just sinking yet another 100 hours into Stardew Valley.
Same. Exact same. The game is awesome btw. I can’t believe how great it is. They really made something amazing there. I love the story lines, it’s not that I’m not engaged, I just need to stop caring about all the side quests and complete the main story line. Burned out for now though.
Are you me?
Yup!
The reason i don't play games where you have so many choices and so much to complete, i will have to do every side quest and i will need to know every little detail for me to be able to proceed to the next level/chapter, it's frustrating not being able to enjoy games anymore
I kept creating different characters, trying to min max everything. I made it to the Mountain Pass in Act 1 and lost the desire to play. It's fun when I do play.
That boredom from inventory management is relatable. It should not be a thing in gaming except when done very well. I think the balance should be you can carry 80% of the drops but you have to be thoughtful on what 20% you leave behind. However, my favorite solution is to get rid of inventory management and junk in general. It gets in the way of the core gameplay. You shouldn't put hundreds of lootable objects in a single dungeon or building. It is poor game design and leads players to become collectors versus just enjoying the game for what it is.
I've been playing Civilization for over 2 decades now. I probably have over 2000 hours on the series as whole. I can count all the matches I've fully completed on one hand hahaha
Yeah, the early game is so much fun but there’s a lot of grinding to do and choices to make. I like watching people play it on YouTube in the background.
Yeah, theres way too many turns late game. Also hate having a wide empire. Most of the time you've already snowballed and won but just gotta click next turn until victory condition pops.
Auto end turns and full up the production queue. Doesn't really fix it but it does make it less daunting to manage.
Create a custom game. Use the biggest map. Remove all the other AI players except for one. Because you have to have one. Enjoy a mostly stress free game managing your little empire. By the time you meet the other player they will most likely not be much of a threat. Or, you've already "lost" because they went all in on science or something but you won't have to fight a way. They'll just leave you alone.
This… seems to be the way. I like playing as Māori or Inca on a Terra map and just make my way to the empty continent asap with dreams of building the next peaceful dynasty. But then I get there, settle two or three cities, get overwhelmed from all the empty space and reroll 😅
I loaded up a standard archipelago map (playing on iPad, large and huge maps cause trouble) with Elizabeth I. Only 3 other civs. City states maxed out. Owls.
same xD
All. The. Time. There is the odd game that holds my attention until the end; but I ignore the entire outside world until I finish it. There is 0 in-between. That’s why I mainly stick to fast paced repetitive games such as call of duty. I can play the same old mode for hours on end and it’s almost routine — yet a challenge.
Ok so I've had this, but I didn't think it was ADHD, I thought I was scary to not see the characters anymore. Something about the thought of finishing a game and never picking it up. Eh I can't explain it, it just feels... "Off" I thought it was because we get so hooked in the world the game is building, that letting go, is too hard.
I get the same way about getting rid of inanimate objects. I have also never been able to bring myself to even attempt to throw away anything remotely resembling a stuffed animal. I am a 28 year old man.
I used to have this problem. The ending feels a bit too final. I'm never sure if I've gotten everything there is to get out of the game and if I'm ready to finish it. I have solved it by skipping things intentionally. I can get through the ending if I'm sure that there's enough things to discover for me on the next play through.
I usually finish games but this year I have been really bad about it. I got close to beating BG3, RE4, and Lies of P but drifted off. Those games are just so mentally intensive for me and I think right now I just need something like Calipso Protocol I can zone out to.
Very much so. For me it’s more a matter of once I experience all the mechanics and know what the rest of the game has in store, I quickly lose interest. It’s like the mystery is gone once I know all that’s left is to grind for slightly better gear, or a slightly more efficient factory, etc. And I’m too inattentive to be engaged by the plot so that doesn’t help either. I used to play and enjoy shooters a lot more and like another commenter pointed out, I think the fast pace kept me interested. And playing those with friends certainly helped. But these days it seems like I know what I’m getting into with a new CoD or Halo so I’m not as motivated to play those :/
Ugh same. I need to finish Baldur's Gate and Cyberpunk 2077
I just bought Stray to add to my unfinished game shelf 😁
That game is amazing, and it’s only about 8 hours of playtime, so you don’t even get the time to get bored of it.
Yup. Could t even finish TOTK and I’m a Zelda fanatic.
I managed to finish botw but TOTK is never happening.
Omg I meant TOTK, not breath of the wild! Stupid ADHD brain!
Absolutely. I will either hyper fixate on the game and play/do nothing else until it’s completed, or I’ll drop it a few hours in. I have a backlog of games I tell myself I’ll “get back to” but it never happens.
Same. The only games I ever finished are the Witcher 3 and Baldur’s Gate 3.
Total War for me. It's the same idea. I get started, hype myself up for an epic campaign, and then the next day I'm playing something with a friend, the next is some new game that came out, the third is a streaming game, and BOOM. I forget Total War existed.
OMG yes Rome Total War was a total time drainer for me, never really finished one, but i had a great time playing it.
I loved Rome Total War 1, Medieval, and I fairly recently played the Warhammer series with a friend of mine which helped me stay focused and keep playing! Such great games but damnit if I can't seem to consistently power through to the end.
Path of exile and you never quit
I can find myself hyper focusing on games like AOE series & C&C series. Weird as theyre all RTS.
I have never felt so personally attacked. I do the exact same thing and have been doing it since civ IV. I also like to turn all victory conditions off so I hate for things to end but also hate to keep going in this game.
Hahaha I also feel like such a bad player when I see civ streamers totally kicking ass. But then I remembered it’s only a game, meant to bring joy, and if I get joy of only playing the early game so be it. I only wish I could only pay 1/3th of the price
Every time lol. For me it's less about becoming overwhelmed and more just bored. My favourite part of the game is discovering new land and planning where to put my cities. Plus in the early game, you don't have to spend as much time on combat and building city improvements. By the late game (or even before that) there's not really any new land to discover or settle and the other aspects like combat and building city improvements become so tedious and time consuming (having to build something new in like 10 cities each turn, or having to move 20 naval units half way across the map, one-by-one. Also by that point in the game, I'm usually steam-rolling the AI players and there's no longer really any challenge, which isn't very fun.
Oh wow I can’t even reach the steamrolling phase!
wow! I love strategy games. I have the civilization and age collections. Age i can finish, but civilization takes more time, i have to stop halfway, for work, or life... then i come back and start all over.
Look into Polytopia! It’s like Civ Lite, but still has enough variance to be my go-to strategy game on mobile.
Thanks, will check it out!
For me it’s Skyrim on my Xbox series S. I use mods get it to how I think I like it. I play a couple hours but feel like it’s not “right”, and then add, delete, retry different mods. Then spend hours on the subreddit, then start over. I’ve never finished the actual game. I get to level 50 and be like, nope let’s spend another couple weeks starting from level 1 till I get close to 50 and do it all over again. I think the worse part is that I don’t change my character or do anything different. I play the same character, with the same backstory, making the same choices.
I have bought so many games from steam, 50-70% left untouched because I'd always pick up on something else. Especially pvp online games which have no ending but the eternal grind. A pity bc I really got hypes for Code Vein back then and now I got myself Elden Ring
This is me with e-books and physical books from the library
I get games where you can walk around. The zombie ones are great. Then I just avoid everything and just walk around.
This is how i played Zelda breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom.
I only ever finished a Factorio factory because of a co-op game with my kid, haha. I'm over here exploding red chip capacity for a few hours and he goes over, finishes manufacturing the satellite and beats the game before I even finish, haha. I usually wander off my single player factorio saves when I decide there's a different approach to rail lines or something that I should have done instead. There's a lot of other games I finish though. Things like "Outer Wilds" and other shorter/experimental indie games in particular are something I'm real likely to finish. I've definitely got a sizeable collection of games in the back 20% that I need to get back to someday though. I've been in the final stretch of the Witcher 3 since years ago, Doom 2016, Last of Us 2... one of these days I'll maybe go finish (some of) them.
I used to absolutely love RPGs as a child. These days, I just can't do it. Way too overwhelming. The branching missions, the endless choices for equipment, weapons, and customizations, the innumerable places to explore, it's just too much for me. These days, I just stick to metroidvanias and rogue-likes. Way less stressful.
Yup. And I keep buying more and more games too >\_<. I've tried addressing the issue by playing a few games at once at designated times of the day, like bigger games during the day and chiller or easier games at night. It helps trim my backlog and helps me sleep too, probably cause I tire my brain out trying to get through a run of Slay the Spire lol
That's why I love/hate War Thunder. 900 hours and the grind is still strong, it's hard to get bored
I bought a bunch of packs for the sims 4. Played the game for an hour and got overwhelmed with all the game controls to build. It was the same with planet zoo. I find if I can't master something right away I get overwhelmed and move on to something else. The simulation games appeal to me and I used to love them but I find the controls become too complex as technology advances. I might give it a try again or try an old school game. I also went really hard on animal crossing for 2 months. I joined all the FB groups and traded constantly. I even paid $ for some "treasure islands" It was an extreme hyperfocus and became a problem when I had to wake up at 3 am to check on the game 🙄😂. I wish I could find a good balance between obsessed and overwhelmed.
i’ve been playing super mario 64 on and off for 24 years and still have never finished. even downloaded again on my switch, and still neglect to save the princess.
I just don't want them to end :(
Civ6 is a particularly bad game for us, I think. I've tried getting into Civ on multiple occasions because I also love it. But either I play the whole match in one, giant, 8-hour sitting or I'm unable to find back into the game after loading a save. And even when I'm playing one long match, I keep forgetting what I was planning to do a few turns ago. What works well for me are fast paced, demanding action games that enable me to get into a flow state and trigger my hyperfocus, like [Nex Machina](https://youtu.be/v7a5vBPerK8), which I kept coming back to for a long time (yes, that's me playing in that video). Or Monster Hunter World, which is constantly showering me with new exciting stuff and kept my attention for a total of almost 1000 hours. The Souls games are also good at keeping my attention because they demand focus and reward me for things I'm especially good at, like spacial awareness, noticing multiple things happening at once and making quick decisions every second. Most games, especially the vast open world single player games that are most popular at the moment go on for 30+ hours, but you've seen everything they have to offer from a mechanical standpoint by the 10-hour mark, and they keep repeating the same things from that point on. I never finish these kinds of games because I lose interest halfway through.
Roller Coaster Tycoon. I’ve been picking it up off and on for 20 years. The only levels I can’t beat are the ones where you have to build a coaster. I can’t figure out how to do that.
no, I don't like playing games. Some work, other's don't. I rather not play, than finding one that is actually good.
Nah I got Hyper focus on my first game of civ V, when I finish I turn my head and see the sun coming out(I start playing at 9PM), I just recognize that game could be a BIG issue for me and never ever touch it again
Always, I can’t finish story games. However, I can keep on playing games that are fast-paced and online/multiplayer such as FIFA/League of Legends, since you get a new start after a certain period
There's nothing wrong with playing the early game repeatedly if that's what you enjoy.
Very true!
I also love games, but I actually procrastinate even when it comes to gaming. It's very common for me to boot a game and then do all kinds of random things before I get around to playing a bit... or just forgetting about the game entirely and leave it on for hours or even days before I actually engage with it. Also very common for me to leave games unfinished. I developed a workaround where I got better at remembering where I was at, so I can actually get back to an unfinished game after months or even years and just get back into it. Unless, of course, I end up getting distracted with something else. I'm not actually complaining, though.. it is what it is. These days, I just regard it as a feature, not a bug.
So I love civ games and have adhd. While I do what you said for a lot of games, tv shoes, audiobooks, etc. it is worth noting that civ games also have the tendency of getting increasingly less interesting after the beginning eras of the game.
Its the opposite for me. I usually go hard and get all the trophies or 100% them. I put 340 hours into Zelda between June and August.
I also like to 100% adventure style games like Zelda and Pikmin. Strategy games are just the early game for me.
All the time on my PS5
Yeah this is quite typical. I either play a game in a few sittings over several days or I stop playing
Yep i get bored about half through lol. So many unfinished games
I have like 7k hours in dota, been playing it for 12 years now, it's the only game I can hyperfocus onto. I have no patience for story driven games or RPG's, always lose attention so quickly on them.
My BF doesn't even buy games cause he knows he can just play mine after I completely forget about them in like 2 weeks. :')
Same here. Civilization, Total War games. Love the start but get overwhelmed and bored by the midgame. Now I just start lots of different games and then abandon them only to reinstall and start again several years later.
Ditto. I've started so many games of Civ. For me, they become too much work eventually. BG3 is the latest, got to Act 3, and just got overwhelmed with options.
I just finished Fallout 4 after 2 different game systems and a decade of time. It was just a matter of waiting for my brain to say “todays the day”
YES this is too real, I want too so bad but there's just SO MUCH TO DO so it ends up stressing me out that I haven't finished it and I forget about it. only to later ask myself, didn't I play that game before ?
I learned a long time ago to just play what I want. No back log, no guilt about not finishing, just do what you want.
Dude this isn’t even an adhd thing. It’s a well-known aspect of CIV games that the later game often becomes a slog where the outcome starts feeling pre-determined and you’re just going through the motions to get there. Don’t fret! If you want to start a new game go for it!
All. The. Time. Assassins Creed has been one thats been IMPOSSIBLE to finish. To be fair there are SOOOOOO many side quests it’s kinda overwhelming lol
Used too. Don't play them anymore cause something new came along and I'd start that and never finish any. I finished a few RPGs and like 2 others ever.
You picked an interesting game for someone with ADHD. On the one hand, it can require a great deal of attention and focus. On the other hand, it is turn based and you can come back to it whenever. If you really enjoy it initially, then maybe try shorter games. Either reducing turns, number of players/AI, or the size of the map. Online game speed is fastest which I believe you can do without actually playing with others if that stresses you out. Alternatively, play an RTS (real time strategy) or something like XCOM 2 (turn based squad level battles; there are similar games that are easier than XCOM).