I've been playing competitive games for almost my entire life. Starting with League of Legends, then moving on to CS:GO, Valorant, CS2, PUBG, Apex Legends, and so on. The more time I spend on these kinds of games, the more burned out I feel. I don't play as well as I used to, and that makes me base my mood on my in-game performance. If I play well, that's great, but if I don't, if I 'choke,' it can ruin my entire day. It's really exhausting because at the end of a long day, I just want to have fun playing a game I enjoy, and competitive games don't always guarantee that. I only play competitive games now because I'm so used to it, not because I actually enjoy it. Thanks to your videos, I've shifted my focus to single-player games and have felt much more relaxed. Titles like Portal, Half-Life 1 and 2, GTA series, God of War and more recent ones such as Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail (Do they count as single-player?) have truly reignited my passion for gaming. The absence of stress and frustration has made me realize that single-player games are perhaps what I need as I grow older.
That's awesome to hear, how did you like Half Life 1 btw? It's such a classic. I fully relate, years back I played a ton of StarCraft 2. I love that game DEEPLY, and I still think so highly of it, but during the years where I was really pushing, my mood would absolutely be tied to performance that day on the ladder. Comp games and MP stuff can be awesome, but it's easy to forget how chill and fun and necessary it is to recharge the batteries with some chill stuff too. Thanks gain and have a great day!
@@BBKDRAGOON Oh man, very. Revisiting Half Life 1 was like revisiting my childhood, when I used to play it with my dad. It might not be as good as I remember it to be, but it's still enjoyable and very ahead of its time.
I was the exact same. Focusing on single player games has made me enjoy gaming far more, back to like I used to enjoy games. Getting all these different experiences has been such a joy. After taking a break from competitive games, I recently started getting back into them and I have even had more joy with my competitive games as well now. Breaks are really helpful. Helps shift the focus from 'I just wanna win' to 'lets have fun with some extra competition'.
I highly recommend the Steam Deck. So good at playing older games as well as a ton of modern games. Also perfect for emulation. My favorite purchase this past year.
Emulation plus all the Steam sales means getting a great library for cheap. Lots of fantastic compilations Halo MCC, Mass Effect LE, BioShock collection, Crysis Remastered collection, Classic Marathon 1, 2 and Infinity (Free BTW), Deus Ex, Doom, Wolfenstein, Tomb Raider, etc. I love my Steam Deck, hope you do too
For the studios, it all comes down to risk. First, it was too risky to invest all that $$$ for a single-player campaign that might flop. Enter live-service, slow drip content and micro transactions. Less risk, more opportunity to recoup costs and profit. Now players are broke and burnt out on FOMO, so they are gravitating back to great single-player experiences. So, now it's too risky to develop the next Concord and have it flop. The suits will always want to avoid risk and maximize profit. But avoiding risk didn't get us Halo. Halo was a massive risk. Completely different than the original idea, completely different as an FPS, tons of $$$ invested, long work hours, crazy deadlines. It was HIGH risk... and consequently high reward. These companies need to learn, it's not about minimizing risk, it's about maximizing quality. I don't know of many quality games that tanked studios. There's a long list of bad ones that have. Great video as always Dragoon!
As you get older, you get less and less time to play, and I think that you consider how you spend this time more wisely. If you've got 20 hours, would you rather complete an amazing SP game that'll get you relaxed and immersed or play 15 LoL games that will get on your nerves ? I think most people who play after a long workday will have the same answer !
Great video, as usually, thank you! Just want to put in my 50 cents here. I think one of the factors is that the players are aging too. I'm a fourtysomething gamer with a lifelong passion for games and I love multiplayer games, but I feel like I'm leaning towards singleplayer experience past decade simply because it's more convenient. At this age my friends and I simply don't have time for the FOMO live service grinders - we have kids, jobs, spouses and other commitments, so gathering a party for a raid boss or few Warzone matches is something that happens once a months or two. You're spot on with the "you can pick up at your own pace." part - I prefer games that I can put down for a week and then pick up where I left it without fear that I've missed some bullshit unlocks because it's new season now.
I used to play Destiny 1 & 2 but switched to other games, mostly single player as it started to feel like a chore and i realised i was playing it to try and keep up with clan mates. Now im playing things like FF16, NMS or Cyberpunk. If i want to play online the go to game is currently Warframe as I don't need to spend anything to play.
NGL I've been feeling more singleplayer gaming than multiplayer. I think it's just coming with age. Though I did play ranked Halo Infinite the other day and it was fun haha
I just booted up overwatch for the first time in 2 years and yea theres no way people still play this game all day i refuse to believe those are real human beings
I’d love to see more single-player co-op games. Online multiplayer games can be very demanding, especially when it comes to organizing activities like raids or similar events. It’s difficult to coordinate when your friends work four-shift schedules or have anything other than a standard 9-5. It’s even harder when they live in different time zones, and the game requires at least 2-3 hours to complete a raid or similar activity. Then you add different character types, like healers or damage dealers, each requiring a distinct playstyle. This forces players into specific roles, to a greater or lesser extent, and it starts to feel more like a real job or the military, where everyone has a set role-whether you want it or not. That's why I personally enjoy games like Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands or similar titles that are designed primarily for single-player but offer a co-op experience for a few players. In these games, friends can drop into your single-player campaign to help you, or there are separate maps or missions where you can have fun together whenever it fits. No need for a weekly schedule or figuring out who's working when. I also don't mind if in-game cutscenes or similar moments only focus on the host player, and the others don’t even appear in them. In a well-made single-player/co-op hybrid, you can later introduce always-on multiplayer modes or similar features once the single-player content is finished. And I don’t mean that the single-player campaign should just serve as a short tutorial for multiplayer. I’m talking about a memorable single-player experience, with co-op multiplayer as a bonus-just like in the early days of the internet or when local network play was an option. Back when LAN parties were major social events where 4-8 sweaty PC nerds would cram into a friend's tiny apartment to play games 24/7 for the whole weekend. It was a blast, and no one felt pressured to play 'the right way'-all the chaos and messing around was part of the fun. You could completely forget about work, school, kids, or any other everyday responsibilities.
I found your channel recently and one thing I think you genuinely do better than most is pacing. From background video to speaking it’s pleasantly paced. Keep it up!
I used to play nothing but multiplayer up until 3 years and I’m old 36, and just got tired of it, totally burnt out. Since then I’ve beaten Elden ring , sekiro, dark souls 3 , demon souls , Nioh 2 , god of war , ghost of Tsushima and have been some of the best gaming I’ve experienced since I was a kid!
The Xbox360/PS3 era is where I think we hit that perfect blend of cinematic/gameplay design as well as singleplayer/multiplayer balance. Ever since the 8th gen, things got more skewed towards live service and cinematics. Plus that's also where a lot of modern gaming issues first got planted; patches that led to disastrous launches because "we can fix it later," DLC that tacks on stuff clearly meant to be there from the beginning, multiple extra ways to charge players for minuscule things, etc.
Recently downloaded a Skyrim mod list (more specifically Gate to Sovngarde) and it’s been one of the only things I really have been playing for the last 3-4 weeks. Skyrim is an awesome comfort game and I can spend countless hours in it. Also been loving halo infinite firefight as it’s incredibly chill and fun
As many other folks in this comment section, I've been inspired by your videos to dive back into singleplayer games (and especially coop games) over competitive multiplayer. Though it's mainly a result of me burning out big time on the comp/ranked grind that consumed most of my teenage years and early adulthood, it's also your talks about what singleplayer games offer over multiplayer, how your interaction with the game and what you hope to get out of games should be congruent, games *should* be fun (even though they can be frustrating), and the grind sometimes just isn't worth it. I had been so stuck on games like CS, Halo (multiplayer), Quake, Smash Bros., etc. for so long that I hadn't truly completed a singleplayer game in a really long time. I truly enjoyed some of the competitive experience, made many friends through it, and developed a lot of character through it through the pursuit of self improvement. Heck, as I've probably mentioned in a comment on one of your videos a while back, you and Warowl (a CS channel) basically taught me how to play multiplayer FPS games, and I'm so grateful for the experiences they afforded me. It's some of the most fun I've had playing video games, but at times some of the least fun. Nowadays, the comp/ranked/tournament grind of games has really taken a toll on me mentally/emotionally, and I'm so much more game now for playing Dark Souls 1 coop, Halo coop, and Mario Wonder coop, than I ever have been, as a way to connect and have fun with friends, than I am playing ranked CS or seriously competing in a Smash Tournament (I still go to them these days to hang with friends, but not to grind). Thank you for really introducing me to all the truly special things that Halo multiplayer has to offer, but also thank you for helping me (and I'm sure others) get back to a more balanced state in one of my favorite lifetime hobbies 💚.
Dude yes. I’ve been taking a break from the online multiplayer but I’ve recently got into aim training using Kovaaks and I am finding much enjoyment pushing my scores and improving my aim. I also just picked up a physical copy of fire emblem three houses so I can play something while my car is charging:)
I'm in my mid 50s now. The most fun I've had in gaming has typically been with another player, in the same room as me; be that split screen games (eg Gran Turismo 6, Rock Band 3) or turned based (Tiger Woods). I've been thinking a lot about the games I used to enjoy on my own. I just picked up a bunch of games on Steam sale, that I hope will get me back into gaming: Quern, Viewfinder, Gris, Portal 1&2 and, believe it or not: Peggle Deluxe.
(5:43 - 6:24) This is SUCH a good point that I have totally forgotten about. Making fantastic evergreen singleplayer/coop game that will continue to sell copies (especially thanks to online stores like Steam where PC singleplayer games live forever) for the foreseeable future because it's one of those "every fan of this genre should play this game/series" should be a huge incentive for companies to get back into the mindset of making singleplayer games. Not that they need to be high budget, massive in scale and scope games (minimizing risk), they can be the scale of indie games if they want, and still make decent profit.
I can’t tell you the last time I played a multiplayer game mode. I’ve prioritized single player experiences for most of my gaming life, and it stands true even more today. It’s nice to see more and more gamers getting to this point.
So true...only online game I play now is 40k which is new/something I truly like. I picked up a switch and have enjoyed single player games and just causal game. No more having to grind, find the meta, clutch up, or anything else. Just peace and gaming.
At this point, I've had enough of playing competitive multiplayer video games. I've come to appreciating single-player games at the age I'm at now and actually enjoying having not to put up with sweaty tryhards. Real life is stressful enough as it is and dealing with sweaty tryhards in the games you play makes life even more exhausting than it already is. All of this being said, most of my time is dedicated to single-player and the occasional online co-op multiplayer games. Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition are my go-to games especially since the mods both communities offer are numerous and astounding. My mod manager has Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition loaded with almost 100 mods for both games. Most of which are either weapon mods, armor mods, or quality of life mods. It's also thanks to these mods and games that I've come to unleash a more... creative side of mine. I began writing a book that combines my created characters from both games into one story. It's a mix of modern tacticool and medieval fantasy that has a band of five from two different worlds. The first three are from a modern post-apocalypse world. A former Calivadan Army Ranger sergeant named "Matt Santos", a disillusioned FBI Agent named "Maria Garcia", and a computer hacker teenage boy named "Miz." All of which are citizens of Calivada hiding out in the north of Baja together. After the actions of an evil necromancer causing a zombie outbreak through supernatural means, the trio are later joined by a Nordic warrior named "Erik The Red" and a magical elf named "Erlyn of Sunglimmer" who have the same experience with this evil necromancer in their medieval fantasy world. The roles of each character in the band are as follows. You got: - Matt Santos/The Road Ranger as the Team Leader (Due to his experience in war) - Maria Garcia as the Team Lancer (Lieutenant and foil for the leader; Also a love interest of sort) - Miz as the Team's Heart (Glue of the group and team's tech freak) - Erik as the Team's Big Guy (He's the tallest and physically strongest though not quite as fit as Matt is) - Erlyn of Sunglimmer as the Team's Smart Girl (Smart with magic and alchemy but is now hungry for knowledge for modern science) One interesting thing to note about Erlyn: She's actually the oldest member in the team being 165 years old. However for elf standards, she's considered a young adult just like Matt, Maria, and Erik are. Matt is 24 years old, Maria is 23 years old, and Erik is 34 years old. Miz is the youngest, being that he is 14 years old though do keep in mind he is extremely intelligent for his age. Another thing to note particularly with Matt and Maria - Matt Santos is Filipino and Maria is Mexican. Apart from their differing belief in justice where Matt believes in frontier/vigilante justice and Maria believes in institutionalized/due process justice, both can speak Spanish to differing degrees where Matt is at the conversational level and Maria is actually fluent in the language. Even though both have North American English accents due to the both of them (and Miz as well) originating from Calivada. Calivada is essentially California and Nevada as one country surrounded by a huge border wall. I've made these characters in Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition. But recently I just started playing this cozy co-op online multiplayer game called "Abiotic Factor." Just like Fallout 4 and Skyrim, this game allows to make my character the way I want it to and I made my character look like my character Miz who infiltrates and investigates a scientific corporation facility after he gets bored being the tech guy who stays inside the van in front of a computer. Well let's just say he gets more than he bargained for in this mission and I'm having a blast playing with just a few friends of mine while I bounce between it, Modded Skyrim SE, and Modded Fallout 4.
Played destiny 1/2 for nearly 10 years and the feeling of not having an almost 2nd job just to keep up has been amazing since quitting. PS found your channel a few months ago and you’ve really helped me redefine how I choose what to play now
The success of Halo under Bungie is insane. Every single big entry would literally surpass the previous in profit, every. single. time. CE, 2, 3, Reach (not sure about ODST and Halo Wars, being more spin-offs even compared to Reach as a spin-off) Artists who want to create something, do an amazing job. Contracting people who aren't invested in the future of the project isn't a guaranteed formula, and live service battlepasses etc are a quick way to tell your fanbase that they're nothing more than a wallet to them. Treat em with love and respect, same as the IP, and wow, crazy, people show up for that
I'm so glad I found your channel. I'm 27 and have been falling in and out of video games the past couple years. My friends and I have always played the same rotation of games; Smite, CS, R6, Tarkov and Apex. We dont enjoy these games lol But these are always the only games we ever agreed on. But the burn out was real. I just had a Daughter and decided to change how I play games. I put my pc in storage and bought a PS5. I have fallen in love with singeplayer games again. Instead of siting behind a pc away from my family, I can now sit in the living room and play.
Well, I agree with the general sentiment but I want to defend live service games a bit. I can understand the burnout of some of the features of modern live-service games like battlepasses, seasonal FOMO content, etc, but I feel that the live-service nature of the game isn’t the boogieman here. Rather, it’s the predatory monetisation, the deficient feedback loops, excessive FOMO content, releasing unfinished/broken games with promises of fixes and more content later - basically, poor execution, management and development - among other things. Like all games, there are good and bad live service games. Many of my favourite games are live services (Valorant, Final Fantasy 14, Battlefield, Forza Motorsport) and there are some amazing experiences you can only have in a live-service game. (Playing 64-player Rush in Battlefield is still among my favourite gaming experiences). The live-service games I gravitate to more and stick with are those that have great gameplay and are better at respecting my time than other ones.
Went from grinding halo ranked daily to playing single player stuff like elden ring, lies of p, and Valheim. Took a big break from everything after shadow of the erdtree and find myself going back to halo ranked now just for fun. Find myself less frustrated with it, more enjoyable experience overall, like I’m playing because I want to- not because I’m keeping up with anything or anyone. It’s been a nice few days like that. I’ll see how long it lasts haha
We are so back. I am 22 yr old. I prefer singleplayer games more over PvP, I always prefered singleplayer. I also do like nice Coop PVE game too like heldivers2 , or firefights on halo
Last time I played a live service game because I wanted to, not because of FOMO... Destiny 1. In the first game they still didn't fine tune the FOMO, daily rewards, season pass stuff. It was just "a game". And I played it mostly because I enjoyed playing it (with my friends). Even when nobody was on I would run sherpa sessions for Nightfalls and raids, all week long. Met some amazing people that way and helped a lot of folks get it done. Good times.
I think remembering to keep a healthy balance with games, just as with everything else, is key to a healthy hobby. I need to remember to keep the balance myself, too. 😅 Gaming with the boys in multiplayer is still great. But that immersion of getting pulled into a world and story is also great. I'm always glad to see single-player games get the plaudits and limelight they deserve.
Two of the most fun games I've played this year came from the AA/indie scene - Gori: Cuddley Carnage, and Neon White (this has been out on Switch & Playstation for a couple years, but just came to Xbox this summer).
Another great bonus to getting into more indie and AA games is that they tend to be easier to run. Great for lowering the cost barrier for people who want to get into PC gaming, or just for letting people use their current hardware longer
As a retired senior that has gamed on and off their entire life generally the types of games we enjoy may also change and slower paced more story based/challenging games which your choices can affect the games outcome along with challenges that make you figure out how to accomplish some task or even fighting/defeating a more powerful boss is much more attractive than just running around shooting bad guys. And the single player game whether you have 30 minutes or want to play for two hours if the game has user saves at anytime the single player experience fits more to your needs than you to the games needs.
loving listening to this. its a vibrant topic for discussion. ok further into the video.....what you are talking about seems to be something like the loss of and now the desire for JOYFUL experiences again. Half Life 2 was definitely that for me. The absence of this THREAT of missing out on online stuff that many feel this pressure to play....? Not there. Phew.....back to joy... thanks for the video. You got my sub. Continue to be thoughtful and put your ideas out there Sir!
I like the Finals for this reason. I never feel any kind of pressure to put more time in than I want. I think I've played 3 10 minute matches at max per session
When mobile game tactics first entered AAA gaming, it never went away, as far as I can remember I believe it started in AC Unity. Single player story driven not too long experiences have always been my choice. I remember beating RDR2 in two weeks, it was amazing, but people thought I rushed. Well, I focused on the story missions 😆
many of the players are to blame also, I can't tell you how many times I see someone on social media when talking about a single player game, start with the "this game needs multiplayer, and seasons". makes me want to scream.
It also doesn't help that holding onto talent is non existent nowadays. Because they just keep firing the majority of the Dev team after they finish they game. Results in less talent and experience being carried over to the next project.
I've got a theory on this, specifically that the influx of new people playing games especially during the pandemic era skewed the data for publishers in the direction they were already leaning. Like with anything the more people that engage with it the more suseptible that audience becomes to predatory practices, I mean look at concert tickets for big venues & artists getting scalped like crazy these days. Meanwhile I can go see my favorite Swedish Metal band (Dark Tranquility) at a small local venue for a reasonable price year in & year out with ease because their not Taylor Swift. A lot of that big influx of newer gamers likely had a big gap in their exposure to gaming & probably weren't around for the "horse armor" days of DLC to build up knowledge on how & when they're being taken advantage of, if they even cared about it in the first place. Now they've either built up that knowledge or have possibly moved on from gaming or at least that one online game they played a while ago.
I just recently picked back up Kingdoms of Amalur. Playing this old gem from the xbox 360 days has brought me some welcomed nistolgia and good vibes 😊😊
Awesome video BBk this is exactly how i feel about the modern AAA stuff. How you felt about dark souls and elden ring that progression of quality is exactly how i feel about the Legend of heroes trails series they are turn based JRPGS that put player first and have long running storyline and the characters are amazing. I highly recommend them!
Yeah in a way the hurricane here was a blessing in disguise, it forced me to stop playing GW2 due to no power. On getting back, I started asking myself, why am I really playing this game? It's mostly just being on a hampster wheel chasing gear, but the game experience itself is nothing compared to games I used to grow up playing. I have been wanting to play Zelda for 6 years now but didn't buy a switch because it wasn't the "cool" system and my friends didnt have it. So now I just bought one, and I'm gonna play the single player games I've always wanted to play.
The problem with live service games is they can be really good, but most of them have some way where you gotta keep spending money constantly. Especially the ones with straight up gambling where your paying but you don’t know what your paying for until you inevitably don’t get the item you want so you keep gambling.
I remember comparing Halo Infinite to Halo 3 and I had an aversion to the way they've structured Infinite. Halo 3 had everything included in one package: campaign, multiplayer, coop one price. And Infinite went F2P and the campaign was alone which decreased it's value but they still charged full price. And even if you bought the campaign you didn't get a battle pass or anything in the multiplayer. I've never bought a micro-transaction in a game and never will. But I still enjoy playing Infinite, I only play Swat/tactical slayer, but there's whole aspects of the games monetization I wish I could just opt out of seeing.
For me, I can go play a game that is 15 years old and enjoy it as one would have back in the day. You can’t do that for a lot of multiplayer games because the servers are shut down or the population is so small. I can go play the original gears campaigns and have a blast. I’m currently playing dead space 2 for the first time and loving that. I can’t go try out the OG Titanfall because the game is delisted and there’s no single player component.
Deathverse was the last PvP live service game I played simply to have fun. A few rounds each evening after work was exactly what I wanted; not sprawling RPGs that require my attention on the story and leveling/gearing up. The only reason I played Destiny for so many years was because I enjoyed casual crucible matches. Fighting games are a completely different type of "PvP" or "multiplayer" but not "live service". DLC exists, but updates are seldom, only being the odd character or stage every 2-3 months. While traditionally an extremely niche genre in terms of sales numbers, nowadays a respectable 3mil copies after 3 years has been achieved by GG Strive. (I am curious about Tekken 8 numbers.) Also we need to separate out "AAA" live service and the gacha live service. I expect the latter to be extremely ludicrous on the revenue:cost scale, so much so that a failed gacha game probably doesn't hurt that much for a dev (or publisher; since they have a whole portfolio). The two upcoming live service games I'm looking forward to are Synduality (PvPvE) and Black Stigma (PvP).
Recently made the switch to more single player games thanks to my backlog (Blasphemous, Eastward, ToTK) and co-op games (It Takes Two, Overcooked, etc) and been thoroughly enjoying myself instead of this FOMO cycle I used to be in with online games 🙃
i am getting tired of games coming out unfinished and if that's the case then I just skip it because I don't feel like waiting for features that should have been in the game since day one
My take is that more and more people, especially kids, want to be streamers and content creators which is why they skew so heavily into multiplayer. They sweat so hard in casual lobbies all so that they can hit clips and gain a bit of fame. Matchmaking used to be fun for hours on end, but now it’s more draining than ever because of the need to try so hard.
I agree with this entirely. I play ESO mostly because I enjoy the guild I play with. Without that, I'd rather play something single player with optional co-op like Elden Ring or Remnant 2. Daily log ins are a drag. You might think about them when you're trying to go on vacation, and often times, they're not worth the worry.
Ive played fifs ultimate team since 2010 and enjoyed it for ages but fc25 is the year ive turned away and it qas only s mknyh of the new game.... this year ive loved going back to complete story games and loving those journies
Ive been gaming since super mario bros/duck hunt and multiplayer has always been as important to multiplayer to me. They can be some of the most fun games ever made or some of the worst. It just depends on how great the developers make it. Staying up all night playing super metroid at 10 years old is a fun memory but so was getting donkey kong country for xmas and playing tag team with my dad. Cyberpunk 2077 is amazing but so are the finals and helldivers 2.
The problem with live service games always has been that they are each designed to demand 100% of your gaming time/attention; i.e. you really can't play multiple live service games without them all suffering in terms of missing battlepass content or staying up to date in general. It was not really a bad design concept(imo) until the gaming field got absolutely flooded with them. The root of the problem is not live service as a concept itself but uncreative publishers who demand devs adopt this generic money making framework.
Single player games are nice because they're like a combination movie, book, puzzle, and kinetic activity that you can enjoy at your own pace. The differing balance of these elements and the progression of technology ensures that we will be enjoying them for a long time to come.
Singleplayer has always been king. But before qhen i was younger with more free time and no income the free to play live service games were more appealing. But now that i work and dont have much free time i prefer singleplayer games where i can play in short sessions.
Once human is a new live service game that feels like a single player game, I’ve been enjoying the heck out of it and just doing what I want. Even tho the game is an mmo, it doesn’t force you down that road if you don’t want too
I'm just so sick of competitive, live service, multiplayer games with an absurd number of microtransactions, and being rammed full of hackers (Counter-Strike). I just want to play good games and thankfully, I have been ever since Mar-Apr.
I haven't played competitive games for ages. Haven't really played MP games for 4 years since having my first kid. Just started playing WoW a month ago and I've loved it. But I'm already quite done with it. Booting up FF7 Remake now instead.
I just beat Gris on my wife's steam deck and i had a smile on my face the whole game. Now im finally playing ratchet and clank on my ps4 pro. Similarly having a blast. Nice to just enjoy these bite size games and staying away from games as service. Might get a switch lite. Having a baby means quick resume is making all the difference.
It's kind of funny how Splatoon, for example, managed to go through three titles with singleplayer modes, along with two singleplayer DLCs. Splatoon 3 has no modern monetization practices. Despite the series shortcomings for the multiplayer side of things, its model even sounds like a safer bet than current live service games.
just recently found your channel through your “finishing games” video and related to so many things on that video especially your section on multiplayer games. I got into gaming during the pandemic with games like ow and Fortnite so that’s really all I’ve known aside from games like botw and animal crossing. In the past months I’ve gotten sooo burnt out on multiplayer games. Everything in those games is predatory whether with your time or money and it’s not something I wanna support all that much anymore. I started revisiting games like borderlands and some obscure boomer shooters and rediscovered my love for gaming again. I recently started my first ever dark souls playthrough and while tough and at times infuriating I’ve had more fun in that game than I’ve had in any live service game in years. I just see no reason to give money to corporations when half the cosmetics I have are gonna disappear forever when the game eventually goes offline. I’ll have these single player experiences FOREVER, and they’re things I actually enjoy. Thank you for making these videos so much 🖤🫂
I also get burnedout 😢 I enjoy a lot of games, but all of a sudden I just wanna quit. I don’t know why. I was having fun playing, nothing was wrong with what I’m playing.
damn, I can't watch the video because of Half-Life 2 Episode Two spoilers, but that's no problem, don't worry. After completing HL2: Ep2, I will watch the video. But man, keep up your work; you're my only motivation to play single player games, even if I'm kinda burned out
We need a shift back to games like Left 4 Dead 2, can be played offline or online with friends, and it's the perfect example of a simple game being extremely fun.
Solo gaming is where it began. Can’t stand others in my ear when I’m trying to enjoy myself and then critique and ruin everything about the game I love. Playing with others ruins my joy.
I just finished Gears of War 1 ultimate edition. Its still so good. (haven't played it since release). And it's not me. I still enjoy games. It's the new games i (mostly) don't enjoy :D
another good video. ive really really been enjoying single player games lately. i hear ghosts of tsushima is amazing and i think im going to pick it up. i just played the last of us for the first time and it was amazing
You know, as I was in my teen years. I was playing CoD1 and 2. CS 1.6... Even GTA SA MP mod. Endless hours. Not even a single thing to unlock. But I enjoyed the shit out of it. Last couple of Multiplayer AND Singleplayer games, I dropped, basically as soon as S1 arrived. I just CBA. (xDefiant, TDU) Cyberpunk, having dialog options, for the sake of having "freedom". Then facing the endings you "unlocked" making all of it just feel dialuted. Just nothing wrong with a linear story. Starfield... You are basically forced to just go trough all of the quest, because the main story is more shait, then the side missions. It's the quality of the games, content won't make it better. Last memorable games for me have been RDR2, Outerworlds... ... Can't think of anything else that recently came out, that was interesting for me. A game that I wanted to play, rather than finish. That is kind of my problem. I like to play games, MY WAY! A lot of time, both multiplayer and singleplayer games force me down a very specific path, that I just simply don't enjoy. No, I don't want to base build! Fuck off with your crafting, why can't I just find a good legendary instead?!? I don't mind crafting, but it is a commitment of your stats! GRRR!!! WHY?!? I start playing a multiplayer game, I am enjoying it and then all of a sudden, I am doing challegnes?!? When did this happen? Started playing a singleplayer game... So damn open... Why am I collecting things? Why is this a chore?!? GRRRRRRR Looking forward to GTA 6. GTA 5 really came out at the perfect time for me to unload endless free time. I hope GTA 6 will be a good experience, I really need it.
Regardless of the survey which is just a bit in favor of single player games. The thing that you said at the beginning that for each Fortnite there will be a Concord (well in fact multiple fails). Is also true for single player games. For each Elden Ring there will be start wars Outlaws. Success is not guaranteed in gaming business. There is no formula for it.
I play games to get away from other people. As someone who is autistic and asocial, work responsibilities are more than enough talky-talky for my taste. Online multiplayer is the polar opposite of what I find fun. Somewhat ironically, a lot of the games I play have a heavy socialize-with-NPC element (that is to say, "cozy games") and those that don't are about building something that I can design and put together in virtual space-city builders mostly, but a lot of management sims and logistics games fall into this category as well.
yeah im playing every single player game possible now multiplayer or online play has burnt me out offically after 20 years of competitve gameplay to none it has just burnt me out now
I play almost exclusively singleplayer these days and honestly? I get irritated when friends ask me to hop on some bullshit like counterstrike. Why would I want to spend my free time on something like that? I’ve been chipping away at my backlog and have enjoyed gaming more than I have in years! (I do love to fuck up some Deadlock or TF2 tho I can’t lie)
I don't want to speak for the majority, but I do think, psychologically, there's a minority of gamers that are aligning with the world just generally getting more lonely, and singleplayer games are easier to get into than multiplayer games with nobody to play with
53% of gamers prefer single player but 98% of game time is in live service. You need to look at the industry as a whole not just it's top preformers. Like 8 games in the past 3 years sold over 5 million copies. Single Player gaming is very sick.
My favourite and most played games - Skyrim, Geometry Dash, Kingdom Rush series, Dark Souls 1, Bloons, The Binding of Isaac Games in which I have around 100 hours or more and are multiplayer - SCP Secret Lab, The Binding of Isaac but rarely with coop, Saints Row 3, Left 4 Dead, Garry's Mod However, if I have around 100 hours on the multiplayer games I literally have x10 more hours on singleplayer games, both are enjoyable but if I had to I would choose singleplayer Live service games - I dont play these types of games so can't give a perspective, I dont enjoy them - 10 hours on CS GO lol
Why play the same 5 matches every and every again to unlock nothing, be beaten by no-lifers and bots and be constantly advertised to with battle passes and overpriced skins? If I play multilayer, it is in a game like terraria
I wish I could enjoy single player games. I dont know whats wrong with my brain but every one I try I just lose interest after 5-10 hours. But I have no problem putting 200hrs into the new PoE league or the newest multiplayer fps. Honestly im kinda tired of grinding gear and tryharding but those are the only genres that are compelling to me
With single player games, you don't have to be worried about the experience being ruined by toxic immature people.
I've been playing competitive games for almost my entire life. Starting with League of Legends, then moving on to CS:GO, Valorant, CS2, PUBG, Apex Legends, and so on. The more time I spend on these kinds of games, the more burned out I feel. I don't play as well as I used to, and that makes me base my mood on my in-game performance. If I play well, that's great, but if I don't, if I 'choke,' it can ruin my entire day. It's really exhausting because at the end of a long day, I just want to have fun playing a game I enjoy, and competitive games don't always guarantee that. I only play competitive games now because I'm so used to it, not because I actually enjoy it. Thanks to your videos, I've shifted my focus to single-player games and have felt much more relaxed. Titles like Portal, Half-Life 1 and 2, GTA series, God of War and more recent ones such as Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail (Do they count as single-player?) have truly reignited my passion for gaming. The absence of stress and frustration has made me realize that single-player games are perhaps what I need as I grow older.
That's awesome to hear, how did you like Half Life 1 btw? It's such a classic. I fully relate, years back I played a ton of StarCraft 2. I love that game DEEPLY, and I still think so highly of it, but during the years where I was really pushing, my mood would absolutely be tied to performance that day on the ladder. Comp games and MP stuff can be awesome, but it's easy to forget how chill and fun and necessary it is to recharge the batteries with some chill stuff too. Thanks gain and have a great day!
@@BBKDRAGOON Oh man, very. Revisiting Half Life 1 was like revisiting my childhood, when I used to play it with my dad. It might not be as good as I remember it to be, but it's still enjoyable and very ahead of its time.
That's so awesome
I was the exact same. Focusing on single player games has made me enjoy gaming far more, back to like I used to enjoy games. Getting all these different experiences has been such a joy. After taking a break from competitive games, I recently started getting back into them and I have even had more joy with my competitive games as well now. Breaks are really helpful. Helps shift the focus from 'I just wanna win' to 'lets have fun with some extra competition'.
@@guryurfur528 I completely agree with you here
Planning to get a steam deck to play older single player games. Tired of always online live service.
That's going to be awesome, I've heard they are fantastic. One day I'd like to pick one up as well
Have a 1TB OLED. It's perfect for this. Pretty much switched back to single player unless I'm playing multiplayer with my real life friends.
I highly recommend the Steam Deck. So good at playing older games as well as a ton of modern games. Also perfect for emulation. My favorite purchase this past year.
That’s actually why I got a steam deck. Love to play fallout new Vegas and other games on it!
Emulation plus all the Steam sales means getting a great library for cheap. Lots of fantastic compilations Halo MCC, Mass Effect LE, BioShock collection, Crysis Remastered collection, Classic Marathon 1, 2 and Infinity (Free BTW), Deus Ex, Doom, Wolfenstein, Tomb Raider, etc.
I love my Steam Deck, hope you do too
For the studios, it all comes down to risk. First, it was too risky to invest all that $$$ for a single-player campaign that might flop. Enter live-service, slow drip content and micro transactions. Less risk, more opportunity to recoup costs and profit. Now players are broke and burnt out on FOMO, so they are gravitating back to great single-player experiences. So, now it's too risky to develop the next Concord and have it flop. The suits will always want to avoid risk and maximize profit. But avoiding risk didn't get us Halo. Halo was a massive risk. Completely different than the original idea, completely different as an FPS, tons of $$$ invested, long work hours, crazy deadlines. It was HIGH risk... and consequently high reward. These companies need to learn, it's not about minimizing risk, it's about maximizing quality. I don't know of many quality games that tanked studios. There's a long list of bad ones that have. Great video as always Dragoon!
As you get older, you get less and less time to play, and I think that you consider how you spend this time more wisely.
If you've got 20 hours, would you rather complete an amazing SP game that'll get you relaxed and immersed or play 15 LoL games that will get on your nerves ?
I think most people who play after a long workday will have the same answer !
Great video, as usually, thank you!
Just want to put in my 50 cents here. I think one of the factors is that the players are aging too. I'm a fourtysomething gamer with a lifelong passion for games and I love multiplayer games, but I feel like I'm leaning towards singleplayer experience past decade simply because it's more convenient. At this age my friends and I simply don't have time for the FOMO live service grinders - we have kids, jobs, spouses and other commitments, so gathering a party for a raid boss or few Warzone matches is something that happens once a months or two. You're spot on with the "you can pick up at your own pace." part - I prefer games that I can put down for a week and then pick up where I left it without fear that I've missed some bullshit unlocks because it's new season now.
I used to play Destiny 1 & 2 but switched to other games, mostly single player as it started to feel like a chore and i realised i was playing it to try and keep up with clan mates. Now im playing things like FF16, NMS or Cyberpunk. If i want to play online the go to game is currently Warframe as I don't need to spend anything to play.
NGL I've been feeling more singleplayer gaming than multiplayer. I think it's just coming with age. Though I did play ranked Halo Infinite the other day and it was fun haha
I just booted up overwatch for the first time in 2 years and yea theres no way people still play this game all day i refuse to believe those are real human beings
I’d love to see more single-player co-op games. Online multiplayer games can be very demanding, especially when it comes to organizing activities like raids or similar events. It’s difficult to coordinate when your friends work four-shift schedules or have anything other than a standard 9-5. It’s even harder when they live in different time zones, and the game requires at least 2-3 hours to complete a raid or similar activity.
Then you add different character types, like healers or damage dealers, each requiring a distinct playstyle. This forces players into specific roles, to a greater or lesser extent, and it starts to feel more like a real job or the military, where everyone has a set role-whether you want it or not.
That's why I personally enjoy games like Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands or similar titles that are designed primarily for single-player but offer a co-op experience for a few players. In these games, friends can drop into your single-player campaign to help you, or there are separate maps or missions where you can have fun together whenever it fits. No need for a weekly schedule or figuring out who's working when.
I also don't mind if in-game cutscenes or similar moments only focus on the host player, and the others don’t even appear in them. In a well-made single-player/co-op hybrid, you can later introduce always-on multiplayer modes or similar features once the single-player content is finished.
And I don’t mean that the single-player campaign should just serve as a short tutorial for multiplayer. I’m talking about a memorable single-player experience, with co-op multiplayer as a bonus-just like in the early days of the internet or when local network play was an option. Back when LAN parties were major social events where 4-8 sweaty PC nerds would cram into a friend's tiny apartment to play games 24/7 for the whole weekend. It was a blast, and no one felt pressured to play 'the right way'-all the chaos and messing around was part of the fun.
You could completely forget about work, school, kids, or any other everyday responsibilities.
I found your channel recently and one thing I think you genuinely do better than most is pacing. From background video to speaking it’s pleasantly paced. Keep it up!
Thank you very much!
I've always preferred single player or couch co-op gaming. Online multiplayer has never appealed to me.
Same, and I think its the psychology of playing with remote unknown anonymous players that is the X factor.
I used to play nothing but multiplayer up until 3 years and I’m old 36, and just got tired of it, totally burnt out. Since then I’ve beaten Elden ring , sekiro, dark souls 3 , demon souls , Nioh 2 , god of war , ghost of Tsushima and have been some of the best gaming I’ve experienced since I was a kid!
The Xbox360/PS3 era is where I think we hit that perfect blend of cinematic/gameplay design as well as singleplayer/multiplayer balance. Ever since the 8th gen, things got more skewed towards live service and cinematics. Plus that's also where a lot of modern gaming issues first got planted; patches that led to disastrous launches because "we can fix it later," DLC that tacks on stuff clearly meant to be there from the beginning, multiple extra ways to charge players for minuscule things, etc.
Feel the same way, but at least space Marines 2 multiplayer is pretty basic so far I love it.
Recently downloaded a Skyrim mod list (more specifically Gate to Sovngarde) and it’s been one of the only things I really have been playing for the last 3-4 weeks. Skyrim is an awesome comfort game and I can spend countless hours in it. Also been loving halo infinite firefight as it’s incredibly chill and fun
As many other folks in this comment section, I've been inspired by your videos to dive back into singleplayer games (and especially coop games) over competitive multiplayer. Though it's mainly a result of me burning out big time on the comp/ranked grind that consumed most of my teenage years and early adulthood, it's also your talks about what singleplayer games offer over multiplayer, how your interaction with the game and what you hope to get out of games should be congruent, games *should* be fun (even though they can be frustrating), and the grind sometimes just isn't worth it. I had been so stuck on games like CS, Halo (multiplayer), Quake, Smash Bros., etc. for so long that I hadn't truly completed a singleplayer game in a really long time. I truly enjoyed some of the competitive experience, made many friends through it, and developed a lot of character through it through the pursuit of self improvement. Heck, as I've probably mentioned in a comment on one of your videos a while back, you and Warowl (a CS channel) basically taught me how to play multiplayer FPS games, and I'm so grateful for the experiences they afforded me. It's some of the most fun I've had playing video games, but at times some of the least fun. Nowadays, the comp/ranked/tournament grind of games has really taken a toll on me mentally/emotionally, and I'm so much more game now for playing Dark Souls 1 coop, Halo coop, and Mario Wonder coop, than I ever have been, as a way to connect and have fun with friends, than I am playing ranked CS or seriously competing in a Smash Tournament (I still go to them these days to hang with friends, but not to grind). Thank you for really introducing me to all the truly special things that Halo multiplayer has to offer, but also thank you for helping me (and I'm sure others) get back to a more balanced state in one of my favorite lifetime hobbies 💚.
Dude yes. I’ve been taking a break from the online multiplayer but I’ve recently got into aim training using Kovaaks and I am finding much enjoyment pushing my scores and improving my aim. I also just picked up a physical copy of fire emblem three houses so I can play something while my car is charging:)
I'm in my mid 50s now. The most fun I've had in gaming has typically been with another player, in the same room as me; be that split screen games (eg Gran Turismo 6, Rock Band 3) or turned based (Tiger Woods).
I've been thinking a lot about the games I used to enjoy on my own. I just picked up a bunch of games on Steam sale, that I hope will get me back into gaming: Quern, Viewfinder, Gris, Portal 1&2 and, believe it or not: Peggle Deluxe.
(5:43 - 6:24) This is SUCH a good point that I have totally forgotten about. Making fantastic evergreen singleplayer/coop game that will continue to sell copies (especially thanks to online stores like Steam where PC singleplayer games live forever) for the foreseeable future because it's one of those "every fan of this genre should play this game/series" should be a huge incentive for companies to get back into the mindset of making singleplayer games. Not that they need to be high budget, massive in scale and scope games (minimizing risk), they can be the scale of indie games if they want, and still make decent profit.
I can’t tell you the last time I played a multiplayer game mode. I’ve prioritized single player experiences for most of my gaming life, and it stands true even more today. It’s nice to see more and more gamers getting to this point.
So true...only online game I play now is 40k which is new/something I truly like. I picked up a switch and have enjoyed single player games and just causal game. No more having to grind, find the meta, clutch up, or anything else. Just peace and gaming.
At this point, I've had enough of playing competitive multiplayer video games. I've come to appreciating single-player games at the age I'm at now and actually enjoying having not to put up with sweaty tryhards. Real life is stressful enough as it is and dealing with sweaty tryhards in the games you play makes life even more exhausting than it already is.
All of this being said, most of my time is dedicated to single-player and the occasional online co-op multiplayer games. Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition are my go-to games especially since the mods both communities offer are numerous and astounding. My mod manager has Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition loaded with almost 100 mods for both games. Most of which are either weapon mods, armor mods, or quality of life mods.
It's also thanks to these mods and games that I've come to unleash a more... creative side of mine. I began writing a book that combines my created characters from both games into one story. It's a mix of modern tacticool and medieval fantasy that has a band of five from two different worlds. The first three are from a modern post-apocalypse world. A former Calivadan Army Ranger sergeant named "Matt Santos", a disillusioned FBI Agent named "Maria Garcia", and a computer hacker teenage boy named "Miz." All of which are citizens of Calivada hiding out in the north of Baja together. After the actions of an evil necromancer causing a zombie outbreak through supernatural means, the trio are later joined by a Nordic warrior named "Erik The Red" and a magical elf named "Erlyn of Sunglimmer" who have the same experience with this evil necromancer in their medieval fantasy world.
The roles of each character in the band are as follows. You got:
- Matt Santos/The Road Ranger as the Team Leader (Due to his experience in war)
- Maria Garcia as the Team Lancer (Lieutenant and foil for the leader; Also a love interest of sort)
- Miz as the Team's Heart (Glue of the group and team's tech freak)
- Erik as the Team's Big Guy (He's the tallest and physically strongest though not quite as fit as Matt is)
- Erlyn of Sunglimmer as the Team's Smart Girl (Smart with magic and alchemy but is now hungry for knowledge for modern science)
One interesting thing to note about Erlyn: She's actually the oldest member in the team being 165 years old. However for elf standards, she's considered a young adult just like Matt, Maria, and Erik are. Matt is 24 years old, Maria is 23 years old, and Erik is 34 years old. Miz is the youngest, being that he is 14 years old though do keep in mind he is extremely intelligent for his age.
Another thing to note particularly with Matt and Maria - Matt Santos is Filipino and Maria is Mexican. Apart from their differing belief in justice where Matt believes in frontier/vigilante justice and Maria believes in institutionalized/due process justice, both can speak Spanish to differing degrees where Matt is at the conversational level and Maria is actually fluent in the language. Even though both have North American English accents due to the both of them (and Miz as well) originating from Calivada. Calivada is essentially California and Nevada as one country surrounded by a huge border wall.
I've made these characters in Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition. But recently I just started playing this cozy co-op online multiplayer game called "Abiotic Factor." Just like Fallout 4 and Skyrim, this game allows to make my character the way I want it to and I made my character look like my character Miz who infiltrates and investigates a scientific corporation facility after he gets bored being the tech guy who stays inside the van in front of a computer. Well let's just say he gets more than he bargained for in this mission and I'm having a blast playing with just a few friends of mine while I bounce between it, Modded Skyrim SE, and Modded Fallout 4.
Played destiny 1/2 for nearly 10 years and the feeling of not having an almost 2nd job just to keep up has been amazing since quitting. PS found your channel a few months ago and you’ve really helped me redefine how I choose what to play now
The success of Halo under Bungie is insane. Every single big entry would literally surpass the previous in profit, every. single. time. CE, 2, 3, Reach (not sure about ODST and Halo Wars, being more spin-offs even compared to Reach as a spin-off)
Artists who want to create something, do an amazing job. Contracting people who aren't invested in the future of the project isn't a guaranteed formula, and live service battlepasses etc are a quick way to tell your fanbase that they're nothing more than a wallet to them. Treat em with love and respect, same as the IP, and wow, crazy, people show up for that
I'm so glad I found your channel. I'm 27 and have been falling in and out of video games the past couple years. My friends and I have always played the same rotation of games; Smite, CS, R6, Tarkov and Apex. We dont enjoy these games lol But these are always the only games we ever agreed on. But the burn out was real. I just had a Daughter and decided to change how I play games. I put my pc in storage and bought a PS5. I have fallen in love with singeplayer games again. Instead of siting behind a pc away from my family, I can now sit in the living room and play.
A good single player game opens up the possibility to have live service later on. Gta V leading to Gta Online.
Well, I agree with the general sentiment but I want to defend live service games a bit.
I can understand the burnout of some of the features of modern live-service games like battlepasses, seasonal FOMO content, etc, but I feel that the live-service nature of the game isn’t the boogieman here. Rather, it’s the predatory monetisation, the deficient feedback loops, excessive FOMO content, releasing unfinished/broken games with promises of fixes and more content later - basically, poor execution, management and development - among other things. Like all games, there are good and bad live service games. Many of my favourite games are live services (Valorant, Final Fantasy 14, Battlefield, Forza Motorsport) and there are some amazing experiences you can only have in a live-service game. (Playing 64-player Rush in Battlefield is still among my favourite gaming experiences). The live-service games I gravitate to more and stick with are those that have great gameplay and are better at respecting my time than other ones.
Went from grinding halo ranked daily to playing single player stuff like elden ring, lies of p, and Valheim. Took a big break from everything after shadow of the erdtree and find myself going back to halo ranked now just for fun. Find myself less frustrated with it, more enjoyable experience overall, like I’m playing because I want to- not because I’m keeping up with anything or anyone. It’s been a nice few days like that. I’ll see how long it lasts haha
We are so back.
I am 22 yr old. I prefer singleplayer games more over PvP,
I always prefered singleplayer.
I also do like nice Coop PVE game too like heldivers2 , or firefights on halo
Last time I played a live service game because I wanted to, not because of FOMO... Destiny 1.
In the first game they still didn't fine tune the FOMO, daily rewards, season pass stuff. It was just "a game". And I played it mostly because I enjoyed playing it (with my friends).
Even when nobody was on I would run sherpa sessions for Nightfalls and raids, all week long. Met some amazing people that way and helped a lot of folks get it done.
Good times.
I think remembering to keep a healthy balance with games, just as with everything else, is key to a healthy hobby. I need to remember to keep the balance myself, too. 😅
Gaming with the boys in multiplayer is still great. But that immersion of getting pulled into a world and story is also great.
I'm always glad to see single-player games get the plaudits and limelight they deserve.
Two of the most fun games I've played this year came from the AA/indie scene - Gori: Cuddley Carnage, and Neon White (this has been out on Switch & Playstation for a couple years, but just came to Xbox this summer).
Another great bonus to getting into more indie and AA games is that they tend to be easier to run.
Great for lowering the cost barrier for people who want to get into PC gaming, or just for letting people use their current hardware longer
As a retired senior that has gamed on and off their entire life generally the types of games we enjoy may also change and slower paced more story based/challenging games which your choices can affect the games outcome along with challenges that make you figure out how to accomplish some task or even fighting/defeating a more powerful boss is much more attractive than just running around shooting bad guys.
And the single player game whether you have 30 minutes or want to play for two hours if the game has user saves at anytime the single player experience fits more to your needs than you to the games needs.
loving listening to this.
its a vibrant topic for discussion.
ok further into the video.....what you are talking about seems to be something like the loss of and now the desire for JOYFUL experiences again. Half Life 2 was definitely that for me. The absence of this THREAT of missing out on online stuff that many feel this pressure to play....? Not there. Phew.....back to joy... thanks for the video. You got my sub. Continue to be thoughtful and put your ideas out there Sir!
Whats nice about single player games is you don't have play some boring meta to win. You just play and its fun.
I like the Finals for this reason. I never feel any kind of pressure to put more time in than I want. I think I've played 3 10 minute matches at max per session
This guy is back with the realness, I appreciate you BB, you're one of the real ones.
When mobile game tactics first entered AAA gaming, it never went away, as far as I can remember I believe it started in AC Unity. Single player story driven not too long experiences have always been my choice. I remember beating RDR2 in two weeks, it was amazing, but people thought I rushed. Well, I focused on the story missions 😆
many of the players are to blame also, I can't tell you how many times I see someone on social media when talking about a single player game, start with the "this game needs multiplayer, and seasons". makes me want to scream.
It also doesn't help that holding onto talent is non existent nowadays. Because they just keep firing the majority of the Dev team after they finish they game. Results in less talent and experience being carried over to the next project.
I've got a theory on this, specifically that the influx of new people playing games especially during the pandemic era skewed the data for publishers in the direction they were already leaning.
Like with anything the more people that engage with it the more suseptible that audience becomes to predatory practices, I mean look at concert tickets for big venues & artists getting scalped like crazy these days. Meanwhile I can go see my favorite Swedish Metal band (Dark Tranquility) at a small local venue for a reasonable price year in & year out with ease because their not Taylor Swift.
A lot of that big influx of newer gamers likely had a big gap in their exposure to gaming & probably weren't around for the "horse armor" days of DLC to build up knowledge on how & when they're being taken advantage of, if they even cared about it in the first place.
Now they've either built up that knowledge or have possibly moved on from gaming or at least that one online game they played a while ago.
I just recently picked back up Kingdoms of Amalur. Playing this old gem from the xbox 360 days has brought me some welcomed nistolgia and good vibes 😊😊
Awesome video BBk this is exactly how i feel about the modern AAA stuff. How you felt about dark souls and elden ring that progression of quality is exactly how i feel about the Legend of heroes trails series they are turn based JRPGS that put player first and have long running storyline and the characters are amazing. I highly recommend them!
Yeah in a way the hurricane here was a blessing in disguise, it forced me to stop playing GW2 due to no power. On getting back, I started asking myself, why am I really playing this game? It's mostly just being on a hampster wheel chasing gear, but the game experience itself is nothing compared to games I used to grow up playing. I have been wanting to play Zelda for 6 years now but didn't buy a switch because it wasn't the "cool" system and my friends didnt have it. So now I just bought one, and I'm gonna play the single player games I've always wanted to play.
The problem with live service games is they can be really good, but most of them have some way where you gotta keep spending money constantly. Especially the ones with straight up gambling where your paying but you don’t know what your paying for until you inevitably don’t get the item you want so you keep gambling.
I remember comparing Halo Infinite to Halo 3 and I had an aversion to the way they've structured Infinite. Halo 3 had everything included in one package: campaign, multiplayer, coop one price. And Infinite went F2P and the campaign was alone which decreased it's value but they still charged full price. And even if you bought the campaign you didn't get a battle pass or anything in the multiplayer. I've never bought a micro-transaction in a game and never will. But I still enjoy playing Infinite, I only play Swat/tactical slayer, but there's whole aspects of the games monetization I wish I could just opt out of seeing.
For me, I can go play a game that is 15 years old and enjoy it as one would have back in the day. You can’t do that for a lot of multiplayer games because the servers are shut down or the population is so small. I can go play the original gears campaigns and have a blast. I’m currently playing dead space 2 for the first time and loving that. I can’t go try out the OG Titanfall because the game is delisted and there’s no single player component.
Deathverse was the last PvP live service game I played simply to have fun. A few rounds each evening after work was exactly what I wanted; not sprawling RPGs that require my attention on the story and leveling/gearing up. The only reason I played Destiny for so many years was because I enjoyed casual crucible matches.
Fighting games are a completely different type of "PvP" or "multiplayer" but not "live service". DLC exists, but updates are seldom, only being the odd character or stage every 2-3 months. While traditionally an extremely niche genre in terms of sales numbers, nowadays a respectable 3mil copies after 3 years has been achieved by GG Strive. (I am curious about Tekken 8 numbers.)
Also we need to separate out "AAA" live service and the gacha live service. I expect the latter to be extremely ludicrous on the revenue:cost scale, so much so that a failed gacha game probably doesn't hurt that much for a dev (or publisher; since they have a whole portfolio).
The two upcoming live service games I'm looking forward to are Synduality (PvPvE) and Black Stigma (PvP).
Recently made the switch to more single player games thanks to my backlog (Blasphemous, Eastward, ToTK) and co-op games (It Takes Two, Overcooked, etc) and been thoroughly enjoying myself instead of this FOMO cycle I used to be in with online games 🙃
Preach brother! Preach! So many good indies right now. Hopefully publishers figure out it out eventually.
i am getting tired of games coming out unfinished and if that's the case then I just skip it because I don't feel like waiting for features that should have been in the game since day one
My take is that more and more people, especially kids, want to be streamers and content creators which is why they skew so heavily into multiplayer.
They sweat so hard in casual lobbies all so that they can hit clips and gain a bit of fame. Matchmaking used to be fun for hours on end, but now it’s more draining than ever because of the need to try so hard.
love your content ! keep up the great work. also what's the game you're playing at 7:56 ? Thank you :)
Pseudoregalia! Do you know which one is he playing at 5:50?
Im not sure if I'm honest mate, if you do find out what game it is please let me know. Thank you for telling me the other game :)
I agree with this entirely. I play ESO mostly because I enjoy the guild I play with. Without that, I'd rather play something single player with optional co-op like Elden Ring or Remnant 2. Daily log ins are a drag. You might think about them when you're trying to go on vacation, and often times, they're not worth the worry.
Ive played fifs ultimate team since 2010 and enjoyed it for ages but fc25 is the year ive turned away and it qas only s mknyh of the new game.... this year ive loved going back to complete story games and loving those journies
Ive been gaming since super mario bros/duck hunt and multiplayer has always been as important to multiplayer to me. They can be some of the most fun games ever made or some of the worst. It just depends on how great the developers make it. Staying up all night playing super metroid at 10 years old is a fun memory but so was getting donkey kong country for xmas and playing tag team with my dad. Cyberpunk 2077 is amazing but so are the finals and helldivers 2.
The problem with live service games always has been that they are each designed to demand 100% of your gaming time/attention; i.e. you really can't play multiple live service games without them all suffering in terms of missing battlepass content or staying up to date in general. It was not really a bad design concept(imo) until the gaming field got absolutely flooded with them. The root of the problem is not live service as a concept itself but uncreative publishers who demand devs adopt this generic money making framework.
Single player games are nice because they're like a combination movie, book, puzzle, and kinetic activity that you can enjoy at your own pace. The differing balance of these elements and the progression of technology ensures that we will be enjoying them for a long time to come.
Singleplayer has always been king. But before qhen i was younger with more free time and no income the free to play live service games were more appealing. But now that i work and dont have much free time i prefer singleplayer games where i can play in short sessions.
SMALLER TEAMS with SMALLER BUDGETS. Thats all we need ❤️
Once human is a new live service game that feels like a single player game, I’ve been enjoying the heck out of it and just doing what I want. Even tho the game is an mmo, it doesn’t force you down that road if you don’t want too
I'm just so sick of competitive, live service, multiplayer games with an absurd number of microtransactions, and being rammed full of hackers (Counter-Strike). I just want to play good games and thankfully, I have been ever since Mar-Apr.
I haven't played competitive games for ages. Haven't really played MP games for 4 years since having my first kid.
Just started playing WoW a month ago and I've loved it. But I'm already quite done with it.
Booting up FF7 Remake now instead.
As the head of a tiny studio, I like watching videos like this while working on our next title.
I just beat Gris on my wife's steam deck and i had a smile on my face the whole game. Now im finally playing ratchet and clank on my ps4 pro. Similarly having a blast. Nice to just enjoy these bite size games and staying away from games as service. Might get a switch lite. Having a baby means quick resume is making all the difference.
It's kind of funny how Splatoon, for example, managed to go through three titles with singleplayer modes, along with two singleplayer DLCs. Splatoon 3 has no modern monetization practices. Despite the series shortcomings for the multiplayer side of things, its model even sounds like a safer bet than current live service games.
I've been playing Dragon Ball Sparking Zero. It feels like a PS2 game (in a good way) like Tenkaichi 3.
just recently found your channel through your “finishing games” video and related to so many things on that video especially your section on multiplayer games. I got into gaming during the pandemic with games like ow and Fortnite so that’s really all I’ve known aside from games like botw and animal crossing. In the past months I’ve gotten sooo burnt out on multiplayer games. Everything in those games is predatory whether with your time or money and it’s not something I wanna support all that much anymore. I started revisiting games like borderlands and some obscure boomer shooters and rediscovered my love for gaming again. I recently started my first ever dark souls playthrough and while tough and at times infuriating I’ve had more fun in that game than I’ve had in any live service game in years. I just see no reason to give money to corporations when half the cosmetics I have are gonna disappear forever when the game eventually goes offline. I’ll have these single player experiences FOREVER, and they’re things I actually enjoy. Thank you for making these videos so much 🖤🫂
I also get burnedout 😢
I enjoy a lot of games, but all of a sudden I just wanna quit. I don’t know why. I was having fun playing, nothing was wrong with what I’m playing.
damn, I can't watch the video because of Half-Life 2 Episode Two spoilers, but that's no problem, don't worry. After completing HL2: Ep2, I will watch the video. But man, keep up your work; you're my only motivation to play single player games, even if I'm kinda burned out
Amazing video, i thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you.
We need a shift back to games like Left 4 Dead 2, can be played offline or online with friends, and it's the perfect example of a simple game being extremely fun.
Solo gaming is where it began. Can’t stand others in my ear when I’m trying to enjoy myself and then critique and ruin everything about the game I love. Playing with others ruins my joy.
nearly 35 and i play exclusively single player games, and very slowly. i am a very slow gamer, loving it
I just finished Gears of War 1 ultimate edition. Its still so good. (haven't played it since release). And it's not me. I still enjoy games. It's the new games i (mostly) don't enjoy :D
What’s the game at the end?
another good video. ive really really been enjoying single player games lately. i hear ghosts of tsushima is amazing and i think im going to pick it up. i just played the last of us for the first time and it was amazing
To me, it’s unacceptable for a company to release a half finished game for full price, and expect gamers to be patient while they work out the issues.
You know, as I was in my teen years. I was playing CoD1 and 2. CS 1.6... Even GTA SA MP mod. Endless hours. Not even a single thing to unlock. But I enjoyed the shit out of it.
Last couple of Multiplayer AND Singleplayer games, I dropped, basically as soon as S1 arrived. I just CBA. (xDefiant, TDU)
Cyberpunk, having dialog options, for the sake of having "freedom". Then facing the endings you "unlocked" making all of it just feel dialuted. Just nothing wrong with a linear story.
Starfield... You are basically forced to just go trough all of the quest, because the main story is more shait, then the side missions.
It's the quality of the games, content won't make it better. Last memorable games for me have been RDR2, Outerworlds... ... Can't think of anything else that recently came out, that was interesting for me. A game that I wanted to play, rather than finish.
That is kind of my problem. I like to play games, MY WAY! A lot of time, both multiplayer and singleplayer games force me down a very specific path, that I just simply don't enjoy.
No, I don't want to base build! Fuck off with your crafting, why can't I just find a good legendary instead?!? I don't mind crafting, but it is a commitment of your stats! GRRR!!! WHY?!?
I start playing a multiplayer game, I am enjoying it and then all of a sudden, I am doing challegnes?!? When did this happen?
Started playing a singleplayer game... So damn open... Why am I collecting things? Why is this a chore?!? GRRRRRRR
Looking forward to GTA 6. GTA 5 really came out at the perfect time for me to unload endless free time. I hope GTA 6 will be a good experience, I really need it.
Grindy multiplayer games certainly have a place. However there is only room for so many and not every company can have a piece of that pie.
Regardless of the survey which is just a bit in favor of single player games.
The thing that you said at the beginning that for each Fortnite there will be a Concord (well in fact multiple fails). Is also true for single player games. For each Elden Ring there will be start wars Outlaws.
Success is not guaranteed in gaming business. There is no formula for it.
I play a lot of Fallout 76 and I just hope that they focus more on the player experience over increasing the amount of revenue that they earn
All the new live service games feel like the gameplay was build around the microtransactions and not the other way around.
1:20-1:22 🤣
Great video!
What's the game on screen around 8:30
Can you make another video about Mirrors Edge? I love watching you playing and talking about that game, is so special
I play games to get away from other people. As someone who is autistic and asocial, work responsibilities are more than enough talky-talky for my taste. Online multiplayer is the polar opposite of what I find fun.
Somewhat ironically, a lot of the games I play have a heavy socialize-with-NPC element (that is to say, "cozy games") and those that don't are about building something that I can design and put together in virtual space-city builders mostly, but a lot of management sims and logistics games fall into this category as well.
yeah im playing every single player game possible now multiplayer or online play has burnt me out offically after 20 years of competitve gameplay to none it has just burnt me out now
I play almost exclusively singleplayer these days and honestly? I get irritated when friends ask me to hop on some bullshit like counterstrike. Why would I want to spend my free time on something like that? I’ve been chipping away at my backlog and have enjoyed gaming more than I have in years! (I do love to fuck up some Deadlock or TF2 tho I can’t lie)
I don't want to speak for the majority, but I do think, psychologically, there's a minority of gamers that are aligning with the world just generally getting more lonely, and singleplayer games are easier to get into than multiplayer games with nobody to play with
What game is at 8:58 ?
53% of gamers prefer single player but 98% of game time is in live service.
You need to look at the industry as a whole not just it's top preformers. Like 8 games in the past 3 years sold over 5 million copies. Single Player gaming is very sick.
My favourite and most played games - Skyrim, Geometry Dash, Kingdom Rush series, Dark Souls 1, Bloons, The Binding of Isaac
Games in which I have around 100 hours or more and are multiplayer - SCP Secret Lab, The Binding of Isaac but rarely with coop, Saints Row 3, Left 4 Dead, Garry's Mod
However, if I have around 100 hours on the multiplayer games I literally have x10 more hours on singleplayer games, both are enjoyable but if I had to I would choose singleplayer
Live service games - I dont play these types of games so can't give a perspective, I dont enjoy them - 10 hours on CS GO lol
Why play the same 5 matches every and every again to unlock nothing, be beaten by no-lifers and bots and be constantly advertised to with battle passes and overpriced skins?
If I play multilayer, it is in a game like terraria
Unfortunately I don’t think the survey is saying what you think it is saying
I prefer games like warframe or path of exile, they offer everything for free, if you want to pay you pay some for extra cute stuff and that's it
I wish I could enjoy single player games. I dont know whats wrong with my brain but every one I try I just lose interest after 5-10 hours. But I have no problem putting 200hrs into the new PoE league or the newest multiplayer fps. Honestly im kinda tired of grinding gear and tryharding but those are the only genres that are compelling to me
Round and round we go... one decade singleplayer is dying out, the next it's making a comeback. ♻
What game is he playing at the end of the video?