“It’s just not the same anymore,” “I feel like I grew out of gaming,” and “games are just not what they used to be.” Lately, I have been hearing more and more people close to me expressing the same sentiment about how video games are not captivating them as they did years ago. In fact, I was feeling like this for the last couple of months. I would sit down, turn on the TV, turn on my console (any of them), and scroll through the games I had, not really feeling compelled to play any of them.
Might I add, I have a pretty beefy backlog, so I am certainly not lacking in options, however, I was not really feeling any of them. This is certainly not an alien sensation, I have had moments in my life where I simply do not want to game at all but eventually I go back to it. Yet, this time it felt different, life keeps happening, responsibilities arise, time shortens, and priorities start to shift. So I thought “maybe gaming is just not as important as I thought it was.”
The Love Never Faded
This could not have been further from the truth. It’s the early 2000s, I just finished my homework for the week on a Friday evening, and had the entire weekend for myself. I run to my room and find my first ever gaming device, the Gameboy Color (the green one) and I hook up Kirby’s Dreamland, my first ever video game. Before I know it, I wake up Saturday morning, drooling as I open my eyes, the smell of a hefty Puerto Rican breakfast in the air, and my Gameboy in my right hand with no battery. I spent all night playing until I passed out. Life was amazing, and it continued to be that way. Yet, I never realized.
Whenever I was feeling down, whenever I wanted to connect with others, whenever I wanted to bond with my family, gaming was there. My Gameboy Color, my NES, my Gamecube, my Wii, and everything that came afterward. It made sense, to me, my family, my friends, and to the person that I considered a brother. As someone that only has sisters, gaming allowed me to experience what having a brother would have been like, and to this day those are still some of the best times of my life.
A Hobby Turned Passion
Why go back to 20 years ago if what I am feeling is apparently a symptom of becoming older? Because labeling this feeling as “growing out of gaming” would be a complete contradiction to who I am. Gaming has always been in my life during the worst and the best, it has allowed me to meet extraordinary people across the entire world. It has introduced me to stories that have resonated with me beyond what I could have possibly imagined. Allowed me to bond with those close to me. It is a part of me.
The One that Sparked the Love Once More
About a week or two ago I hooked up Monster Hunter World, which I had not played since beating it when it first launched back in 2018. I beat the main story in just a few days and enjoyed every second of it. Sometimes I try to play the newer games and at times I simply do not feel like playing them, but because I force myself I end up disliking my time gaming.
This phenomenon started right after I beat Elden Ring and Kirby and the Forgotten Land, both of which were incredible. However, after trying to force me to play new games, I somewhat resented gaming. Up until a friend told me to download Monster Hunter World for PC. Luckily it was on sale alongside the Iceborne expansion. I thought it would help with the gaming block I had, and it did, it cemented why I absolutely love gaming.
We grow and adopt new responsibilities as time moves on, we may grow out of certain hobbies and find new ones. Occasionally we completely shift in our habits or drop some entirely. There is no shame in growing out of gaming or simply having little to no time to game. However, we should not lie to ourselves and deny what we love. These past couple of months were pivotal in determining various aspects of my day-to-day, but one stuck out the most. Video Games will continue to be a constant in my life until the very end.
