I Guess I'm Done Playing Vidya Games
I liked playing games on my gameboy, but long gone are the simple days of "insert cartridge, turn on, play". Even the 3DS is kinda bloaty and games dont really feel luke they were designed for the medium.
I liked playing games on my N64 and xbox, but now that I know about modding games it's hard to live with the QoL issues that I know could be fixed.
I liked playing games on my PC, but windows gets worse each generation and finally I had to switch to Linux, where even minor changes take hours. Some people love when their computer has a problem because it gives them something to do -- they get to fix it. I have enough to do, I'm just trying to play games.
I feel like I've been elbowed out of the past time. The user experience is so poor that I end up unhappier for trying. I guess I'll buy a dart board?
12 replies
Steam Deck is literally designed to be picked up and play.
Given that OPs already tried switching to Linux. I wonder if something like Steam OS might work better for them. It's hard to say without knowing their compute needs, but naively, they'd get most of the pick up and play perks of the Steam Deck/ Machine without having to necessarily buy new hardware.
I got Fallout NV mods to work, but it was a very tiring process. And whatever windows emulator the OS uses really takes the piss out of the GPU: anything from this decade really brings the system to it's knees.
I like my steam deck, but it's really not a very impressive machine.
Which games are you playing? Most indie games work really well and offer quick playability compared to AAA games.
Some games are better than others for this equipment. Its not a hig end gaming PC so yeah, tone down the graphics, go 2D, and games that work well in short sessions, you will probably have a better time. Things to try on it:
Slay the spire 1 and 2
Into the Breach
Dead Cells
Hollow Knight 1 and 2
Blasphemous 1 and 2
Ball X Pit
Dome Keeper
Katamari (any)
30XX, 20XX
Tunic
Mewgenics
XCOM Enemy Unknown, Xcom 2
Deep Rock Survivor
Cult of the Lamb
Stardew Valley
Hades 1 and 2
Dave the Diver
Cuphead
The Outer Wilds
Some longer session or more demanding things that work:
The Alters - I felt like medium graphics was fine on this one.
The Witcher 3 - remaster has a steam deck preset.
Valheim - switch to classic controls, default is nonsense but otherwise runs fine.
HiFi Rush
A Plague Tale (1 and 2)
God of War ran surprisingly well
Clair Obscure, sort of. A little rough sometimes, but playable
Subnautica
Sekiro
Control, if you turn down the graphics
Elden Ring runs. I dont like multiplayer on wifi though
Monster Hunter Rise and World
Resident Evil 8 and earlier
Theres really no shortage of good choices for the deck. Like sure, most of that stuff didnt come out this year... But neither did the deck.
The old games never went away, play them.
Honestly. GOG often helps get some older ones playable on modern architecture too.
Although I don't think GOG has reached parity between Windows and Linux yet, even if they've gotten closer.
You’re just depressed and blaming outside sources. Windows is fine, so is Linux. There are more fantastic games out there then ever before.
It's also possible you're just aging out of it.
Just like any other hobby it's not always meant to be a lifetime activity. If you're not feeling it you can stop, and it will always be there when you come back. Don't get FOMO'd.
Finally bought a couple of controllers to play vidya games with my partner. I was a bit afraid of being very limited in the games we would be able to play due to Linux (I remember the times when you kinda just had the choice between rogue, supertuxkart and valve's source-based games), but actually wine + dxvk3 (and other tech like libinput, wayland etc) have gotten so good that everything just works with minimum fuss.
export WINEPREFIX=~/Games/$GAME; wine ./install.exe; ~/Games/install_dxvk.sh; wine ./run.exeand off you go.We binged It Takes Two over the weekend with only very minor issues - one particular particle effect was way bigger and brighter than intended, and the game itself was meh.
We also jumped between a bunch of NES & N64 classics, because emulators are great now as well, with plug-and-play controller support etc.
As on overall point of sympathy, I've also gotten a lot more picky lately as to the games I've been wanting to invest time into compared to before.
Remember you don't have to always go for the latest and greatest thing everyone is talking about. If you're looking for a snappy experience, just get something like a DSLite with a flash cart, and get game library backups and mods to your hearts content.
*That isn't to say I haven't found games that are just easy to pick up, get going without fuss, keep me engaged for just simple fun. One such example is TMNT Shredder's Revenge, you could call it a spiritual successor to the multiplayer arcade cabinet Ninja Turtles games.
Moving on is alway a viable option.