30+ crowd, do you find yourself opting out of buying games you are otherwise interested in because they are difficult or too long?

[TheMadTitan]

Nope, I like hard games and gaming is my only time consuming hobby, so long games aren't an issue too much.

And I'm more in the mindset of "I'll get to it when I get to it". Not having multiplayer games to sink time into helps, too.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

It's not the pure difficulty it's the fucking fake difficulty inflicted on us with bad checkpoints, repeated bosses, pointless backtracking etc. I got no time for grinding cannon fodder enemies over and over.

 

[Gelf]

Really because I've been around so long the satisfaction of "solving" challenging games are what got me into the hobby in the first place so if anything I seek it out.

Within reason anyway, certain games have always been beyond me.

 

[Optional Objectives]

My "I don't have time for that shit" threshold rises every year.

 

[YohraUtopia]

42, and yes with qualifications. Don't mind a long game if not padded; currently enjoying Xenoblade 3 for example, dropped AC: Valhalla like a hot potato. Don't mind difficulty if it feels fair and doesn't punish through time. Elden Ring was the first FromSoft game I finished, although I've started several others - and it became my only game for that period so it had to be a commitment but also losing was not so bad in ER vs say Demon's Souls or Bloodborne. More than pure difficulty or pure length, games that feel just time sucks/wasting my time are what I avoid now. I used to love Destiny but it's just... way too much to keep up with at this point.

 

[Voodoopeople]

43 here. OP, I absolutely agree.

Easy mode is mandatory at this point and I hope beyond hope the campaigns are not long. Hell, I sometimes find COD campaigns too long.

 

[Deleted member 10001]

Yes, and more often than I'd like. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 for example looks and sounds like an amazing game, but when you read that it is already multiple times larger than the already way too large prior entries...no thank you.

 

[Mau]

I gravitate towards difficult games. But I do hesitate a bit when a game is too long.

Just this year I did Horizon FW and Elden Ring back to back and yeah…not gonna play another long ass open world game in a long time.

 

[TechnicPuppet]

Depends on game type. I completed ER a lot easier than anyone I know IRL but I've never been able to complete one level of Cuphead.

I also hate games that are difficult to control to the point I will discard a game within seconds now. So I'll opt out of buying games from certain Devs unless they are on a steep sale.

Long doesn't really bother me.

 

[JaseMath]

Length for sure. I'm just not interested in your (probably) overly-bloated 80 hour campaign with side quests.

 

[Minthara]

Difficult - No.

Long? Even then no, if I really like the game I'll play it over a long period of time. I'm more picky about long games in the sense that I'll only invest in long games if I really enjoy them.

Being a MMO player I guess helps me never get deterred by time investments.

 

[spookyduzt]

Every game I owned on NES growing up was basically a Souls game, but I had the time to waste on getting good at that shit back then and no money of my own to buy an easier game even if I wanted to. Now I have very little time for gaming, but loads of cash to spend on whatever game I want, and frankly I don't understand masochistic gamers who seek ridiculously hard games out. I never played that shit by choice, it was just play those games or nothing at all.

 

[Killer]

Absolutely. There are many great games I wanna play but don't have the time for them.

 

[SavoyPrime]

Not at all, but I am avoiding extreme time sinks like MMOs

Click to shrink...

This right here. I'm 45, but the genre and time investment doesn't really bother me. RPGs are my favorite genre and most of those are close to 100 hours, but MMOs are definitely a no-go for me. That's too much of a continuous time investment that I wouldn't have time for since I like playing different stuff.

 

[djinn]

I try to avoid difficult games now. I have no patience for them. Long games are fine, though, especially if I can play it portable.

 

[Ciao]

Lenght itself is not the real issue for me. It's more about wanting more diverse experiences. If I only have, say, 50h of game time in a month, I don't want it to be 3 full month of playing Elden Ring exclusively. And mixing different games at the same time doesn't really work for me, I feel like they drag on for ages. So yeah, give me a solid 10h game and I'm happy!

 

[Worldshaker]

Long games are fine if they're engaging and fun like Elden Ring, or Dragon Quest XI.

I'll prefer games under 30 though so I'll be more likely to try something new if it's short.

 

[dedhead54]

34/married/1 kid (+ 1 on the way) and it has been something I've considered a lot recently. But I caved to Metroid Dread (initially hesitancy was due to difficulty, not length) , Elden Ring, and Xenoblade 3 within the last year. Loved Dread, really enjoy Elden Ring (but I can see myself not completing it, I've put like 30 hours in), and I just started XB3 but I am hooked as hell.

 

[Ryuelli]

Yep, 100%.

I never enjoyed playing games on hard, but the older I get the more I prefer to avoid difficulty completely. Life is hard enough. I also significantly prefer shorter, tighter experiences over games that might 70+ hours.

 

[Axumar]

Too long? Yes. I have started Dragon Quest 8 and Persona 5, until I finish those I'm avoiding any long games. Worth noting that I've been playing both on and off for a couple years.

Too difficult? If something interests me, I'll play it. Difficulty can get on my nerves though. I hated the final Metroid dread boss because it required a lot of time commitment to learn. I also disliked Hollow Knight for its difficulty and length. Souls games are fine though.

 

[Valkerion]

Definitely, if its too long I'll pass on it until I feel like I have time. At the moment I'm curious about Xenoblade 2 and 3, Fire Emblem, and what not but they are too long and I got too many JRPG under my belt at the moment. So I hold off or pass indefinitely (Trails series for example)

Difficulty isn't really a thing for me though. Only games I find really hard are platformers but I'm not a fan of the genre in general. Other wise I just cheat with save edits or trainers. In general I play on easy unless the game is too easy.

 

[Areal]

Length is fine, bloat is the problem.

 

[rochellepaws]

I've always enjoyed longer games and nothing has changed in that way. In terms of difficulty I think I'm more attracted to difficult games now than before since finding challenge in modern releases has become much more rare. Something like Metroid Dread that wasn't allowing me to sleepwalk to the credits was a real breath of fresh air that I enjoyed.

The only games I'm opting out of are those with service aspects like daily quests or battle passes. I'm truly done with checklists like that and compulsions within a timeframe.

 

[skeezx]

about to turn 40

difficult? yeah something like Sekiro for example i dunno if i care to ever play despite it's doubtlessly a great game. 10-15 years ago that wasn't the case for any game

long? no that's not really a factor at all, as long as it doesn't interfere with other stuff (real life and gaming) i don't see why i should care

 

[StreamedHams]

43 here. Age has not changed my gaming habits, but marriage has. I don't play anything online anymore. My change in social status has led to that, and I imagine that parenthood affects that even more so.

 

[Goddo Hando]

41 here with kids, and length of a game doesn't deter me.
However, when i found out Live A Live was like 20 hours, my ears perked up

 

[Aminga]

Opposite, one good game can last me months. Single father and in medical for my career and I can find 20 minutes here and there. I mean gone are the days of playing for 4 or so hours a day but meh. So I don't get to play everyday or it takes a bit of planning to schedule time to play a videogame, if a game is not to be missed I consider it like any sort of milestone of entertainment such as a movie not to be missed, and stay away from spoilers and finish when I can.

 

[Poimandres]

Difficulty isn't an issue, but length definitely is. I'll be lucky to finish Elden Ring before the end of the year!

 

[henhowc]

Not specifically. For example, I keep buying souls games even though at times the difficulty makes me wanna bang my head against a wall and I feel like I'm not progressing. But the amount of time spent in the world and not personally getting much out of the lore, story, and world building without having to reference a wiki has made me want to bounce off a few times.

A kind of "why am I playing this kind of feeling?" Versus some game with a more straightforward story, plot, character development that pushes the game along.

 

[SevKnight]

I'm running on the assumption (delusion) that I'll eventually get the time to play them when I'm older near retirement age.

 

[Quinton]

No, I continue to be either equally, or in some cases more, attracted to longer games in general. This thread gets made often, which is understandable and all, but eventually I'll be in 40+ crowd, and then the 50+ crowd, and the 60+ crowd, and I'll just say this for posterity, I doubt my answer changes.

 

[louiedog]

Yes. I see games that excite me then I look at HLTB and find out it's 30+ hours and usually decide to do something else instead. Even 12 hour games tend to take me awhile. It's tough remaining engaged in something that I have to spend weeks on.

The Steam Deck is helping. Being able to play on the couch instead of being off in a different room from my partner is nice and drives me to play more when I'm not busy with the rest of life.

 

[Soltis]

If it's a genre and series I really love, I usually still buy the game. I'm looking forward into diving into Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

If it's a genre and/or series I'm only lukewarm on, then I'll usually pass, yeah, if it's also long. Example: I passed on Fire Emblem: 3 Hopes. I like Fire Emblem, but I really do not have time to do this multiple routes thing they've been doing since Birthright/Conquest.

 

[riotous]

No.

I'm in my 40s and only buy long games, and prefer difficult ones.

LOL

 

[riotous]

I honestly don't understand all these people who have less time as they age*.

I had no time to game as a teen, or in my 20s..

I have all the time in the world now that I'm older and aren't constantly socializing.

* other than you breeders

 

[djinn]

Too difficult? If something interests me, I'll play it. Difficulty can get on my nerves though. I hated the final Metroid dread boss because it required a lot of time commitment to learn. I also disliked Hollow Knight for its difficulty and length. Souls games are fine though.

Click to shrink...

It's funny I have the exact opposite experience. I really enjoyed Metroid Dread and Hollow Knight despite the difficulty. But I wouldn't touch a Souls game with a 10-foot pole simply because of the difficulty.

 

[Kill3r7]

Difficult? No. Long? Yes.

 

[Billy Awesomo]

I still buy because I hope I can play at some point but theses days I do my best to stay away from RPGs mainly because of length. I still buy them but there is a good chance I probably will never get to them. Difficulty is never an issue.

 

[ngower]

I used to be able to play 6 or 7 RPGs a year, then

At some point, you may have to accept and make peace with the idea that you don't outgrow games.

They outgrow you.

The games get more involved, deeper and overall, better.

And you won't be able to keep up as you continue adulthood.

Click to shrink...

Ehhhh that's a weird take. I still play plenty, it's just the process of buying games is way more selective now as I do the calculus of "Hm, I could play Xenoblade or I could play five other games"

 

[Arsic]

So much more factors these days. In general for me at 34 even the best games I may drop after a few hours . Not because they are bad but because they just may not be the right game at the time.

Example would be God of War on PS4 release I got to eflheim completion then stopped. It came out on PS5 I beat the dragon then stopped. Then 2 months ago got it for PC and fully completed it because I was finally in the mood for that kind of game.

Elden ring I felt overwhelmed and sick off after 20 hours. Came back to it a monthish ago and dropped 70 hours plus did some new game plus. I was finally ready and had the motivation to go for it.

So when it comes to difficult or lengthy games, I am still fine with them , but I may not get to them right away. Currently I'm addicted to Hunt Showdown which is a very difficult game, but it's bite size game sessions for me.

 

[Waggles]

It's beginning to be a factor.

Though i will certainly say that i will imediately pass on any soulslike game that isn't Fromsoftware.

The games just arent worth the aggravation.

 

[Tavernade]

I've definitely bowed out of buying time sink games if I knew I wasn't going to have time for them. Like, I only beat one storyline in Fire Emblem Three Houses, there's a good 70-150 hours left in that game alone I want to get to, plus tons of shorter ones on Steam. And I'm still playing Three Hopes.

I'll grab the big ones for me at launch (Zelda, FE… uhhh… Pokémon) but I'll either skip entirely or super wait on others. I want Elden Ring but I'm in no rush, it's not going anywhere. I kinda do the same thing with movies/TV: I watch considerably less TV now than I used to, since that same time an be used for a shit ton of movies.

 

[ThatNerdGUI]

Not really. I still buy any game I want and finish them most of the time.

 

[Diarrhea Day-Lewis]

Sometimes but if I really want to play it it doesn't matter

 

[angelgrievous]

No

 

[Thac]

I can't say difficulty has been a factor but length most definitely is. There are a bunch of things I'd like to play but the time commitment just makes the task so daunting.

 

[AppleBlade]

Yes. My gaming time is too limited to be dying over and over and making no progress. As for length, I am a teacher so I'll tackle longer games during the summer or a vacation week but playing an 80+ hour JRPG on my Xbox or in front of the TV is just not a good use of my limited console time. Thankfully the Switch exists and I am using that to play JRPG's in bed or when I travel. I like the Switch for Indie games as well because using my limited time on my Series X to play a smaller scope indie game doesn't seem like the best use of my limited gaming time. My TV gaming time goes to stuff like Resident Evil Village, Forza Horizon 5, Control, The Last of Us 2, Ghosts of Tsushima, etc.

 

[Kenai]

It's not the length of the game, but what the game demands of me. I just want to relax and have fun, feel like my time isn't wasted when I play. If I happen to play a single game a lot, that's fine as long as it is enjoyable. If it's not I will play a different game (or depending on the genre or previous experiences, never try it in the first place)

I am pretty careful in that I try to find out a decent amount of stuff about the game before I play, to minimize the chance I will regret it. It's why I rarely buy games day 1 anymore outside of a few times a year/super limited edition stuff. I've been burned too much and I don't have money/time to throw away like that.

 

[Axumar]

It's funny I have the exact opposite experience. I really enjoyed Metroid Dread and Hollow Knight despite the difficulty. But I wouldn't touch a Souls game with a 10-foot pole simply because of the difficulty.

Click to shrink...

I admit you are probably of much higher skill than I am. Souls games are more experience for me, whereas the 2D games are more reflexes and I can't really "learn" that so much these days. I also hate when souls games get too hard (looking at Malenia).

 

[Oreiller]

Absolutely not.