Video games are arguably more popular now than they’ve ever been, and that translates to a wealth of different experiences, many of which you might not be engaging with for one reason or another. It might be that you simply feel as though they don’t appeal to you and that you’ve already found everything that you want within the medium in the games that you play as it is.
However, you might find that by branching out and trying something new, you discover new favorites that would have otherwise remained unknown to you, and this experience can continue to be replicated again and again, as the medium continues to grow and evolve.
Try Mobile Gaming
The prospect of mobile gaming for someone who has historically been primarily interested in console or PC gaming might seem somewhat unappealing. However, the mobile platform has a wide variety of experiences on offer, including ports of several games that are available on bigger pieces of hardware, which might serve as a strong entry point for you if you’re looking to try it out. Once you have, though, you can think about moving onto experiences that are more unique to the mobile platform, as you might find this vastly different landscape to hold possibilities of interest, from unique MMOs and RPGs to an online casino real money in South Africa that might also help you to get your foot in the door if you’re used to their physical counterparts.
A Genre That’s New for You
You don’t even have to venture onto a new console to discover something new, though, and you may find that these fresh experiences have been right under your nose the entire time. Think about the genres that you typically enjoy, and what you enjoy about them. Do you like the fast-paced immediacy of action games? Or, are you someone who gets more out of the methodical planning and coordination of strategy games? If you’ve historically stuck to one example, trying a new genre that you have a mild interest in could help you to see what games could be like in a completely different way from what you’re used to.
Once you’ve thought of a genre, finding the highest-reviewed examples within it could be the right next move to give yourself a good chance of enjoying it. Watch some walkthroughs or speed runs on YouTube or Twitch to get a taste of the genre before diving in yourself. And you can learn a bit about the history, to maybe start your journey in a new genre with some of the early legacy titles that paved the way for that genre.
Challenge Yourself
With the booming popularity of games such as those in the Dark Souls series, the discussion around the challenge in video games is one that’s risen back up to be one you hear often. While there is a whole debate around the idea of difficulty settings and the degree to which a player should have a say in this difficulty, you might find that there is an abundance of challenging games for you to sink your teeth into if you’re feeling as though you would benefit from an experience that gives you some hurdles to overcome. Not only are there harder games to try but there can be different ways to play games, such as carefully achieving and unlocking every trophy available within a game, aiming for a high score or even attempting a speed run.
The sense of satisfaction that these experiences can provide a kind of engagement that might be tough to find elsewhere, as can the process of personally improving at the game in a way that makes it easier as time goes on.