It's a pretty strange situation - but basically in my group of friends of people we have to game with, there is one guy that's almost always down to play and we've spent countless hours playing all kinds of online competitive games.

However, ever since he got a girlfriend, gaming together has legit been the most unenjoyable experience ever. It just doesn't stop. We're talking trying to get something done, and he has to mute himself every 3 seconds to respond to something his girl is saying in the background. I'm not even joking that it's an interruption every few seconds. Sometimes he forgets to mute as well, so we're in the middle of a big in game fight or something and he's just standing there AFK and I'm distracted as hell too by hearing "AND YOU KNOW WHAT ALICIA SAID TO ME THE OTHER DAY?" etc etc.

I told him once that I only want to game when he can completely lock in, and he said he'll let me know when he's home alone so he can focus on playing the damn game. I took the offer, and not even a minute after we started his GF called him and told him to switch to a video call so it was literally the same thing and there I was again listening to "CAN U BELIEVE WHAT JOHN FROM WORK DID TODAY?" while I'm getting bum fucked by a duo pushing us and he's completely distracted as well

I don't want to game anymore because of this, even though he's my friend and I've enjoyed playing with him a lot. How do I break it to him whenever he invites me to a game via Steam/discord?

I'm searching for an open-world game that focuses on immersion and interaction. I need something beautiful where the world actually reacts to the player.

I’m excluding GTA from the list. I know people love it, but to me, the world feels dead and repetitive—it hasn't changed much since San Andreas.

Any suggestions for a game that actually feels like a living world?

i feel like i am in the minority these days but i am so tired of open world games. every time a new aaa title is announced, the developers brag about how the map is 5 times bigger than the previous game and has hundreds of hours of content. to me, that just sounds like a chore list. i don't want to spend twenty minutes riding a horse or driving a car across an empty map just to pick up a collectible. i miss games like the old call of duty campaigns, or half-life, or uncharted, where the game had a tight, focused story and directed you exactly where to go. the pacing in those games was perfect. now, the pacing is ruined because i get distracted by fifty side quests that add nothing to the story. am i just getting old and impatient, or is the industry obsession with bigger is better actually hurting the quality of gameplay?

Serious question without any hate, just curious to hear other people reasons.

30M. With character customization pretty ubiquitous in RPGs my whole gaming life ive had this paradigm when playing a Role Playing Game; I always thought the point of the game was to put yourself into the spot of the main character so I have always chose to play a male while getting creative with the way I look. So when I see another male play as a female (haven't seen much of the opposite) in a role playing game I get confused and urked because of my initial paradigm. So Why? What are your thoughts or paradigms? I get playing a game with a female lead. Ive already played a female as the main character in some of my favorite games and I have no problem, ie. Horizon Zero Dawn. Yet when you have the choice why not choose who you are? I'm sure there's a bunch of good reasons out there just never thought to ask in the moment or at times felt it was inappropriate because it's so out of pocket and can come off as judgy.

Your favorite unhinged celebrity cameo or ridiculous secret characters that made you say “what the f——you know what, hell yeah”

In photo: Michael Jackson in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, Spider-Man in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, Tofu from Resident Evil, Fred Durst who was in a surprising amount of games released in the early 2000s; mostly wrestling.

Is there a game for you that's consistently always your fallback when you don't know what to play or you're burned out on gaming? Personally for me, it has always been Minecraft.

What are some games that you've been playing for over 10 years and are still playing?

specific*

I love open world exploration games where I can explore, hoard resources and loot, craft a ton of things, build a base, decorate my base, upgrade my gear, that entire loop.

Minecraft, Hytale, Vintage Story, RimWorld, Terraria, Forager, Necesse, Tinkerlands, Core Keeper, Enshrouded - I'm forgetting most of them, but there are a lot of games I've played.

I feel like I've played all of them and got burnt out on all of them, leaving me craving something new that doesn't exist.

Another issue is that there are games I want to play, but they have major updates / DLCs lined up that I am waiting for, further increasing the "craving but can't play" feeling.

What is a game you have hundreds of hours in, but haven't touched in 5 years?

Hey guys. I have a question I've been pondering for months. I have 50+ each of Playstation 3 and Xbox360 games and the councols . Should I still keep them for collections sake or see what I get for them? They are all in this bin

For me, the the crying witch from Left 4 Dead or the latin singing bat in Elden Ring.

So a few questions. ONLY if you consider yourself a "gamer" in whatever way that means for you lol

1. What was the first game you ever played for what console and how old were you?

2. Were your parents gamers?

3. If no to 2, were there other family members prominent in your life that were gamers before you started gaming?

4. If no to 2 and 3, then who or what made you start gaming?

If you answered yes to 2 or 3, what types of games did they play and what types of games did you first like vs what you like now? Do you feel those people influenced it maybe?

My theory is that most (not all, but most) people who become gamers and stay gamers in their adult life, regardless of if they play as frequently as they used to or not, usually had either parents who gamed or family members who games and that was what inspired them. Or if its mostly parents is it just something you can inherit? Like a love for art or a certain sport can be gained through a parent that also liked it, regardless of exposure to it or not.

Im not saying this is factual. Just my theory but I wanted to know others opinions

These are mine in no particular order:

1. Jak and Daxter

2. The Last of Us Part 1

3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

4. LittleBigPlanet

5. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Is there a game out there that replicates or at least gets close to the people running on top or beside you while you're looking out of the window?

I want to know, for people who spend a lot of time playing a particular game, don't you ever feel like trying other games? I know everyone has their own way of playing games. Personally, I like to explore as many games as possible. It's not that I rush through games just to move on to the next one. Instead, I try to get as much out of each game as I can before hopping to another one. I'm genuinely curious and just want to understand different perspectives.

simple* (it's 2026, give us edit titles already Reddit sheesh)

My husband and I were discussing a new game yesterday, and he said something like, "it should be default for every game to have certain keyconfigs, right, like M for map, J for journal, K for skills", and I'm like, wait, why is K for skills the default? He goes, "yeah, because S is already part of WASD so they take the second letter".

Dude. I had always questioned that passively but never really thought of an answer and this man just... blows my mind like that, casually?

What other tidbits can you tell me that will make me feel utterly dumb and unfit to call myself a gamer?

So guys I'm a teenage gamer and for the past 4 years I have been gaming and I have bought every game legally from steam and played. But the recent games which I want to play so badly like Re9, 007 first light, pragmata, god of war Ragnarok are so expensive that even I can't afford them. I have never tried pirating since I know it's wrong and I was afraid that my pc will get virus, but seeing my other friends play multiple games for free I'm feeling very uncertain and lost. I don't know what to do I still want to play these games but I don't want to pirate them. What do u guys do in this situation?

Personally for me it was mirror's edge catalyst on the Xbox One I think when it first came out

Which games have you played and actively think are bad?

Not including unreleased games ofc, unless your uncle works at Nintendo.

I know it's a little random but I feel this way quite often lately with how big games have gotten (Ahem crimson desert...). It's not because they're bad, but its just that weird overwhelming feeling I get.

Sometimes I’ll have a game installed that I know I’ll probably like, but I keep putting it off because I’m not in the mood to learn systems, remember controls, or sit through a long intro.

Then I end up playing something simple or familiar instead.

Does anyone else do this, or is it just me being lazy with my backlog?

I can have 20+ games installed, scroll through my library for 15 minutes, watch a few trailers, maybe check Steam for something new… and then somehow end up playing the same game I've already played a hundred times.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this.