Maybe this doesn’t need to be said but this is a different question to which video game genres do you enjoy. For example, I enjoy playing Dota 2. Every few months or so, I’ll play it for a couple of weeks and put it back down. I’ll never play more than two or three matches and I feel ‘present’ for the duration.
Paradox grand strategy games (especially EUIV), however, I can start playing at 7am and in a blink of an eye it can be 11pm and I won’t have eaten or used the toilet or anything. I can do this for multiple days in a row. Furthermore, I don’t often feel like I’m ‘enjoying’ it. I’m just consumed by it.
I’m intrigued to hear whether or not anyone recognises this difference in themselves. If you have any insight as to why you’re consumed by some games and not others, I’d be very interested.
Anything that has set turns or levels with natural points to pause. The short time commitment make it easier to “one more turn” my way into playing for hours.
XCOM 2 is phenomenal for this.
Every time I’ve tried to play XCOM EW or XCOM 2 I’m having a great fun time, and then it seems a new Alien type drops which just wrecks my shit out of nowhere and I get so angry that I quit and don’t come back.
If I were good at video games, they’d have no doubt ruined me as PDS games have.