Becoming a Patient Gamer

I'm 31. It took me 30 of those years to figure out that I don't have to own every new game when it comes out. woof.

I recently took a look at my haul from the Steam Summer Sale. I didn't have that feeling. You know, that feeling of "hell yes, got some stuff to play and I'm good". Instead I bought a ton of games, and I didn't know why other than "I might want to play them". I got Dishonored 2, Prey, and a few others. Prey gave me a few hours of fun and I liked the parallels to Bioshock, and was surprised on how much of Dishonored made it into that peanut butter. As I watched /r/gamedeals and isthereanydeal.com and checked prices...I started feeling empty. "I want the deal, but do I want the game" I found myself trying to figure out what the hell I'm doing. And so, in 2017 I became patient....finally. There are going to be some exceptions but I thought it'd be fun to use this thread for me to come back to and talk myself off the cliff from impulse purchases (stupid Green Man Gaming and their 20% off). This is a bit of a letter to myself, but also a reminder that games are exploding and the current rate of release is just too much to even try keeping up with. Having worked as a reviewer in the past, that feeling of having to play everything and quick is the worst, and somehow I'm just now shaking it. As a bit of background on me, I'm 31, back in school for a computer science degree, learning some programming outside of that, and work in Tech/Project Management. This should all get across that I'm legally and technically a big boy with barely any free time. I have a wife that I love dearly and loves me the same, I try to run 5k 3x per week and mix in a 10k somewhere in there if possible, and if not run, then hitting some weights or something else to get the heart rate up. The long and short is: free time is not a readily available commodity. If you're reading this, I'd love to hear your thoughts on patience for a hobby you love, and how you flagellate yourself while Brad and Jeff beam about games like Doom and you run home and have your finger on the purchase button.

Before I kick off I should note that I'm definitely picking up Star Wars Battlefront II but other than that I cancelled all my existing preorders for the year. At one point or another I had each of these games on my list.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

Ugh this one is rough. I loved the first re-entry into the Wolfenstein universe by Machine Games, and this looks just as, if not better. I loved the E3 demo, the strawberry milkshake scene, the whole alternate history and brutality of BJ are absolutely up my alley for a shooter. This game will be bought, and it will be played by myself. BUT. Think about it - this game won't be a "live" game. Time won't make you miss anything, and you can go back to it weeks/months after release and you'll be experiencing the same (maybe better depending on ports/patches) game that everyone else is. I'm looking forward to see what MG does with this entry, and can't wait to play. But I will. See you in 2018 you Nazi bastards. Want something close? Pop in the Old Blood or The New Order again (REMEMBER YOU NEVER FINISHED THE OLD BLOOD JACKASS).

Middle Earth: Shadow of War

That one hurt to type, and may be the hardest to resist on this entire page. But see the argument for Wolfenstein II - this isn't a live game - sure there are online features but you don't care about that, do you? It's also a WB game you want on PC - it typically takes them a bit to iron out the kinks and it gives a chance for the whole microtransaction landscape to play out. The game will be good - the nemesis system and all videos look great. Be honest with yourself though - when will you have the time? Destiny 2 is already sucking up all the spare time and if they drip out the new content every 2-3 months as we're hoping, you'll get those nasty D2 hooks back in you every quarter. This can be your New Year/Winter lull game going into January/February, but put it up against an "as objective as possible" look vs. Wolfenstein and make a choice. Want to get a taste? Surprise! it's a sequel...play the first. If you're not feeling Tolkien-y fire up Witcher.

Cuphead

You'll be fine. This looks great and I'm expecting good reception, but be honest - the game was delayed for quite a bit, it's only about $20, and sometimes those bullet hell games suck. Pick this one up pending sale, and solid reviews from trusted sources. Same as you thought you'd love to have Nidhogg 2 - sure you could play alone but why not get a buddy over for beers and couch co-op instead. Wait until Spring or Summer break maybe.

Forza 7

You've always been able to wait on Forza, until a sale. Wait even longer - this looks great but remember you've got Forza Horizon 3 on PC and hooo boy does that Sapphire M4 need your attention. You also need to keep working on the LFA and pick it up on your festivals. Forza doesn't have all that extra stuff, so remember it's a more true race simulation - sure that will be great but maybe wait until summer for this one and see how the DLC does - maybe Ultimate will go on sale mid-2018 like FH3 has millions of times already.

Assassin's Creed Origins

Ok why do you even want it? Do you know? You buy these every time they come out, and you play like 3/4 of the campaign then ditch it for a solid 6 months to come back, play an hour, say "oh yeah I kind of like this" and then it goes back into the pile. Just wait for a sale - Ubi cannot seem to keep AC games at full price 60 days after release, just think of the sale come Winter - then think of it the following Summer! Remember Unity? Yeah, you remember Unity. As you write this you're a little concerned about the game - remember that. How is the combat now that it's RPG-like? Is that Arena any good, are the microtransactions for chests back, is the actual narrative any good? There are a lot of questions about this game - which should remind you that questioning buying it day, week, maybe even month one is a bad idea. Woosah.

Call of Duty WWII

The Beta was fine. The definition of both what you like and hate about COD multiplayer - but they added objective modes. Sure, it was great to get back to WWII and the Normandy invasion, even though it's the 3209th time it's been done, will probably be cool with new tech - wait for the reviews. See what Jeff thinks - if he's super down on the game hold fast, but if he expresses the kind of reception he had for Advanced Warfare you might be ok to have a provisional looksee at this one. Remember COD games don't go on sale often, so there's not a pro or con to waiting, you're going to pay the same and you probably won't play online much. If the Destiny crew suddenly decides to jump ship to it, maybe think about it - but try to wait for those 50% off or at least 20% off sales and some solid review scores - otherwise "it's just another COD".

Horizon Zero Dawn: Frozen Wilds

As an expansion to one of your favorite games of the year, I get it - it's exciting. But remember, you've got a lot on your plate and this is November. This expansion will hopefully have a few hours of content, but you also said you'd go right back through Horizon for collectibles...then you promptly moved right along and never did that. Keep your eye on PS+ for this to be a free game in the new year maybe, but just like Lost Legacy...you don't NEED it. You just want it, and you won't have time to play it, then you'll forget about it until 6 months later anyway and say "ohhhhh yeeeahhhh".

There's even a /r/patientgamer subreddit where we discuss games we've played that are well out of the zeitgeist.

If you have a big steam backlog, you really don't need to be buying games on release, or heaven forbid, day-1 before reviews. That said, I'm still getting Divinity: Original Sin 2 because I love that studio, but I try and limit my day1 indulgences to only a handful per year.

@cronstintein: Yeah I've heard of but haven't visited the subreddit too much myself but I may have to swing over once I get back to some of my backlog. I like your approach though - I do think it's important to support those games that are truly something you hold dear. Something like Divinity: Original Sin 2 could probably use all the support they can get, where the games on my list up there are more AAA releases that will have plenty of marketing and push behind them no matter what. Let me know what you think of D:OS2!! I still have the first on my wishlist, for some reason have been patient with that one when I know I should just pick it up.

Regarding Assassin's Creed; "You buy these every time they come out, and you play like 3/4 of the campaign then ditch it for a solid 6 months to come back, play an hour, say "oh yeah I kind of like this" and then it goes back into the pile." -- You don't even know how much that resonates with me, I am the exact same way. I have always liked the AC franchise but with the possible exception of the first one, all of them end up like this. Eventually I do finish them, but yeah, for some reason they just run out of steam at the latter half of the game.

As a relatively newly divorced dude with both money and time (well, I do go to the gym and try to teach myself the guitar) to spare, being patient and not wasting money on a game because "I feel like playing something different" has been pretty hard. But I'm trying to cool it a little bit, if only because I don't want to throw away money on games I'm not going to play past the novelty stage, but also because it will just make me even less likely to play the ones I already have that I do want to find the time to play. But, I have always struggled with this issue of novelty when it comes to games. And it gets worse the more I engage with the behavior I have noticed.

In some way though I am pretty happy about this fall because there isn't a ton of games I am really looking forward to. I think I might get CoD for some multiplayer action but beyond that there isn't much that I feel super excited about. If the AC comes out and looks good I might get that because I'm a real mark for that franchise. Man, now I am using Dan lingo. But otherwise I'll try to get through the ones I have waiting (Yakuza 0, Persona 5, Horizon, etc.).

I'm 31, back in school for a computer science degree

hey, wait a second, are you... me?

learning some programming outside of that, and work in Tech/Project Management. This should all get across that I'm legally and technically a big boy with barely any free time. I have a wife that I love dearly and loves me the same, I try to run 5k 3x per week and mix in a 10k somewhere in there if possible, and if not run, then hitting some weights or something else to get the heart rate up

oh okay never mind this is definitely not me.

More on topic, I am usually not the sort of person who needs to get games right when they release, though for me recently money is really the issue that is holding me back. But even if I had more money I'd still hopefully try not to buy any game day one that I wasn't at least fairly sure I'd start playing soon.

Having said that I have a copy of Persona 5 sitting on a shelf that I bought in the couple weeks after it came out and I've yet to actually do anything more than put it in my playstation and listen to the music that plays when you look at the game info on the ps4 menu. It's real funky.

I've stocked up quite a backlog thanks to the many, many deals where I said to myself "this is just too good to pass up!" which yeah, looking over my steam library and purchase list that I keep I probably could have passed up a feeeeeeeeeew of those deals.

I only buy games when they're super cheap on PSN, otherwise I just play what I have and be patient. I'd rather replay some good games than shell out hard earned on too many games and not even have time to play them in the end.

@pezen: With AC I think it's part of my history buff coming through and getting to walk through London or the colonies is really cool - but at some point I think I get Ubisoft fatigue where there's just a ton of stuff on the map and I'm not quite in the "plow through the narrative" or "make your gang stronger/hunt something/etc." With your "not playing past novelty stage" I think that's just it - I realized that I have issues with games where I hit this certain point and I ask myself "why am I even doing this any more". Example being Destiny 1 - played a ton of vanilla and liked it quite a bit but at a certain point I realized I was just shooting stuff and getting engrams but didn't have an end goal in mind and couldn't articulate why I was even playing. I think that's where I am with my purchasing process - "why am I even buying this" is a legit question I've started asking and for the first time it's started to actually make me refrain from buying.

@pyromagnestir: haha! Your posting of my own writing made me realize that my "wife loves me/I love her" line looks super weird but was meant to convey the fact that she wants to spend a lot of time with me - which is really hard to be bummed about. How's the degree coming? I'm only now getting into some prerequisites that will finally get me into some hard nose programming and concepts of CS. I was out of school for 10 years before said wife told me basically "you should go back" and part of that road has been basically starting from 0 credit hours. I've actually had some fun with history, philosophy, and communication courses. I think part of my problem was admitting that having my backlog was an actual thing I wanted to tackle instead of something that was funny to tell people I had 150+ games I hadn't touched...yikes saying that now makes me realize that's just $$$ sitting there.

@guitargod: That's the point I'm looking to get to I think - there are certain must-haves for me. Read Dead 2, Destiny, Cyberpunk 2077 - the games that I know I'll spend maybe the extra to get a cool collector's edition, but I'll also probably put 100+ hours in each of those. They end up being 1 maybe 2 of those monsters a year, but I've honestly been surprised going back through my PSN library of free/PS+ games and thought "man I should finish Until Dawn - I loved the few hours I put in" with the same thoughts about stuff like Transformers, or Infamous Last Light/Second Son.

How's the degree coming?

@joe_mccallister:Heh, well I hope you don't mind me using this as an opportunity to vent about how I kinda hate the structure of college. I will stick it in a spoiler block just so it's easy to skip over.

As for games, I think the one real finite resource in all of this is time. I'll get more money at some point so I'm kinda okay with supporting a game that looks cool monetarily (to the limited extent I can in most cases) and then hoping I find the time to play it at some point. And if I don't I'm okay with that because hopefully I spent my time doing something else worthwhile (though knowing me, I probably didn't).

School stuff:

Games: totally see that and it makes sense - at some point in the future I'm sure you'll have that "oh yeah that game!" moment and be able to go back. A recent example of mine was buying Uncharted 4 day one...then waiting 6 months to get more than an hour through it. I beat it, loved it - but I could've bought it for half the price, or even redbox'd it if I were trying to seriously clamp down on cash.