Do you ever finish a big game then feel empty toward starting something else?

[Jebral]

I just finished Red Dead Redemption 2 for the first time. Boy, oh boy. I bounced off of it when it was new and tried again when it came out on PC. It took a while by golly, but I'm done. I have to say, the sheer catharsis of the whole thing was really something else. Now that I've seen the whole thing through, I'm totally on board with the glacial pacing. It was a slow burn up to a great, great payoff.

The problem now is.... Everything I was thinking about playing next just seems like... Yeah, whatever. Maybe sometime. Go back to Death Stranding? Eh maybe. Get into Original Sin 2? Eh, not feeling it right now. Ori and the Will of the Wisps? Leaves me cold. Resident Evil 3 or Doom Eternal?

I just can't.

Maybe I'll go hunt some squirrels or something.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Only if it's a gigantic open world and the next game I'm expected to get excited about is ANOTHER gigantic open world. I need to split things like that up or I'll lose my mind.

 

[Ravelle]

I didn't play a big game for like a couple of months after finishing Blood Borne, everything kinda paled in comparison and I kept thinking about it and reading up on lore long afterwards.

 

[Zaheer]

God of War for me.

 

[Deleted member 49319]

Bloodborne everyday.

 

[Lokoline]

Always.

 

[renegade_sylens]

Yup. Everytime. I feel like I need to take a break from gaming in general. Read a book, listen to a handful of podcasts, etc. I just want to take in the games that I have finished and think about them, instead of jumping game to game. I just want to give developers the respect they deserve, pouring 3-5 or more years to a game and if I just jump game to game, without thinking about the game, I just feel like I am not respecting the developer's time. This is their life's work after all.

 

[Sha_96]

Yeah and I also feel this when finishing a big TV series

 

[DecoReturns]

No. Not personally

 

[shaneo632]

I try to avoid playing large AAA games in a row. I'll usually go AAA, then a small indie and maybe a VR game, then AAA etc.

 

[DarkChronic]

100%, it's rare but happens. Most recently was FF7R for me. Not sure the last time before that, actually. Red Dead 2 maybe?

 

[MadMike]

FF7R is the most recent game that made me feel this way. Ended up just going through a few quick Platinums in my backlog and failing to get into a couple GaaS games.

Now I'm onto Xenoblade on Switch, and I'm enjoying it.

 

[Bradford]

every time I finish a game I have to give it a day or two to breath, under most circumstances.

 

[Deleted member 543]

I don't feel empty, but after I finish a game I usually have to wait a few days before I start something new. I spend a few nights watching films or reading instead.

 

[Elfgore]

Yep. Usually if I've been putting a lot of time into playing, like four or five hour sittings. I finish it and I can't get into something else right away. I normally just do something else besides video games for a bit to fix it up.

 

[ResetEraIsTheBestEra]

Yes, the older I get the more I get the feeling even with short games

 

[Yuntu]

When I finish a big journey I usually don't play anything else the next couple days and let it settle in.

 

[Sintoid]

Always
Finished FF7R a few days ago
Didn't turn on PS4 since then...

 

[BasilZero]

Twice

FFXV and Zelda BotW

Mainly because I didnt want both of the games to end - really enjoyed both.

 

[badboy78660]

God of War did this to me after I beat it. I think it was because the game was just draining; I felt exhausted afterwards (loved the game though).

 

[Zeckett]

I had a really hard time playing anything after The Witcher 3.

 

[Oaklight]

Yeah I usually need to take a 3-7 day break after playing a long game in order to recharge my batteries otherwise my brain can't handle the intake of new info when starting a new game. My dopamine receptors need time to recover and be able to process new connections and such.

 

[Pirate Bae]

I blasted through Uncharted 2 when it first came out and was so enamored with the experience that I couldn't play anything else for like 2 weeks after.

 

[sweetmini]

I never felt empty after finishing a big game.
If i crave for more, i just go for another round of the same game ! (and that's what i did for RDR2 by the way, lucky me thought about keeping a save right after leaving the mountains ;) i was prepared. Usually after the second time around i have my fill)

 

[tiebreaker]

The last one was Death Stranding. I felt satisfied.

 

[don't answer that]

After finishing The Witcher 3 I haven't touched another game for few months. My time with that game was so intense, it's like I lived through it myself.

The last time I felt something similar before that game, was when I finished Half-Life 2: Episode 2.

 

[Rodelero]

Outer Wilds has really done this for me. Not necessarily a 'big' game, 15-20 hours probably, but it just blew me away and nothing else has seemed exciting for a while. TLoUP2 will change that.

 

[Aaron D.]

Nope.

I never finish games.

 

[Deleted member 63122]

It happened to me with Zelda BOTW, maybe not in that context, but I tried playing Link's Awakening and can't get into it. I love the freedom BOTW gave me. I hope the series stays that way, rather than the "here's a few dungeon and beat the bad guy".

 

[Theswweet]

All the time. I finished Xenoblade Chronicles X and it's been listless.

 

[Shan]

Happens to me here and there.When I finish a game I can't just immediatly jump onto the next one, I need some time before I do. Couple of days off will do.

 

[Aranjah]

Do you ever finish a big game

Click to shrink...

No. lol

But on a related note, there are some games that I have actively put off finishing because I'm not ready for it to end yet. I guess trying to avoid the feeling this thread is describing.

 

[wolffcommander]

After finishing RDR2 I remember spending 2 months replaying it, everything else felt wrong, like I knew whatever I played wouldn't come near the experience of that ending. The next game on my list was ME Andromeda so that certainly didn't help my case either lmao

 

[Astral]

Holy shit I was just about to make the same exact topic lol. Today I finished my playthrough of FFXII TZA (great game 9/10) and now I don't feel like playing anything. Like, I want to play something and I have stuff to play but I don't feel motivated. I did one daily in FFXIV and called it a day. I have the Uncharted collection that I got for free so I thought maybe I could replay the entire series. Don't feel like it. The Last of Us 2 is coming out soon so maybe I should replay the first one. Meh don't feel like it. I have the Shadow of the Colossus remaster that I never played but meh, I played the original and the HD collection that came with Ico like 50 times, don't wanna. I have Yakuza 0 that I got for $5 like a year ago that I still haven't played. I beat Kiwami and enjoyed it but don't feel like playing 0 because the rest of the series is still too expensive for me. This is probably an excuse an I just don't feel like playing it though. I've got so much I can do but I feel like nothing is gonna satisfy me for now after FFXII.

 

[ZedKay101]

Normally big open world games. The Witcher 3 and RDR2, most notably.

 

[Greywaren]

Sometimes, yeah. But only if I've spent a large amount of hours playing it and I've really enjoyed it.

 

[tzare]

It happens to me most of the times after finishing 'big' single player games. It is a bit like a depression period.
For the first time i am having the reverse sensation, though. I have a big backlog and even some arcade games i play a lot , those usually help after finishing big games until I'm ready for the next, but i barely feel in the mood waiting for TLOU2, and i am not that much hyped, which is a weird situation.

 

[Listai]

Not empty but usually I'm not ready to play another long game for a while.

Persona 5 kinda killed my enthusiasm for another big JRPG for about a year. It's a good game but I was ready for it to end for about 30 hours.

 

[Aerial51]

Yeah, i have this often. Red Dead 2 really left me empty, i also played through Atelier Ryza recently which had the same Effect on me, though on a much smaller Scale, i was just not in the mood playing another Game for like 2 Days until it was all right again.
The same thing happens with TV Shows as well when you binge watch them.