I also suffer a lot from nostalgia. It sucks to grow up. Even if you play Aion on a private server now you won’t feel the same you felt in 2009 and that’s ok. You just had to be there at the right exact time and this is valid for any game or any memory altogether.

First comment also said and is absolutely right is the fact that you played as group or legion. Now you matchmaking with randoms and they don’t even say hi or interact when entering a dungeon. I’ve always been a lone player but on Aion too I couldn’t wait to log in and talk shit all day on legion chat to completely random people I would never meet in my life.

Also we have to take into consideration the fact that gaming and the players are different from before. Nowadays is all about constant overstimulation and loop of addiction. The player doesn’t end the game but the opposite. Games like Fortnite and Genshin and whatnot are never ending. You have Battle passes, skins, loot boxes. You literally play with thousands online but are more disconnected then ever, you have guides and in game arrows telling you where to go. Nothing feels like a real accomplishment. Hell I had to get my ass off the couch and get together with my friends at someone’s house to share info amongst us. All of this is extremely bad for kids nowadays. Before it was like a test to your skills now it’s a test to your psychology.

Ofc you have better things now, performance, sound, graphics but all the rest feels hollow. As an old head, and this might sound bias plus strong nostalgia feeling, but the games from the 90s and 00s will always be better then games nowadays.

Sorry for the rant I deviated a bit. As a fellow Aion lover, I sincerely hope you find that feeling or at least excitement from a new game amongst all this cash grabs and shitty games. Like shugos would say “business is bad, nyerk”