If you’re reading this, you’ve probably played a whole lot of video games. We all play different types of video games and at different paces. Some of us spice things up and split our time between a few different titles, while others may hyper-focus on one game until it’s completed. Additionally, some of us can blast through a 30-hour game in a week while others may only have a few hours a week to dedicate to the hobby. But have you ever played so much that you lose interest? Do you experience video game burnout?
Many of us feel burnout outside of gaming, with work or other hobbies, where we just feel tired, like we’d rather do anything than keep doing what we’re doing. Recently, this happened with me. When Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were announced in February of this year, I decided that it would be fun to revisit each generation of Pokémon from Pokémon Red through Pokémon Sword. Playing eight Pokémon games in eight months, especially just after finishing Pokémon Legends: Arceus, was fun at first, but I’m almost done with Pokémon Platinum, and my backlog has only grown since then. Platinum is also one of my favorite games in the franchise, and I’ve probably beaten it close to a dozen times. Even though I still have five more games to play (since I want to play both White and White 2), November is still six months away, so I’m definitely overdue for a break.
Then there’s people who can sink hours and hours into the same game for weeks and weeks and never get sick of it. One of my friends probably logs 10-15 hours of League of Legends a week, and has done so for almost ten years now. It seems like playing with friends can definitely help, as I’ve never really grown tired of playing Super Smash Bros, and I’m almost always down for a game.
It sounds like for some, how long you play can determine if you experience burnout. Sinking a lot of gameplay in a short amount of time can easily lead to feeling trapped or “stuck,” especially if you’re a completionist and are going the extra mile for 100%. If you only play a little bit at a time, and spice up which game you’re playing, maybe you’ll be able to avoid burnout entirely.
So, I guess this is more a question of how you play your games. Do you experience burnout when playing a game too long? Or are you the kind of person who can play and play and play without getting tired of it? What kinds of games burn you out? Let us know below, or join the conversation on the Boss Rush Discord.
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