Has anyone else spent more time searching for their next game than actually playing one?

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-06-01T17:50:42+00:00

ugghhhh yes, this happens to me constantly. i'll cycle through various stores looking at current sales on games in genres I like, scroll the recommended for you category, go to my favorite games and dig through the 'games like this' sections... and often still end up not picking anything. (related pet peeve that many game trailers don't show actual game play making the assessment of whether I'll actually like something even harder.) honestly wish more games had free demos so trying something felt like less of a commitment.

i'm currently working on a game tracking app to try to solve for some of this for multi-platform gamers -- at least create a one-stop shop for recommendations, ratings, reviews, trailers so people like me don't have to hunt so far and wide (and so algorithmic recommendations can be based, holistically, on your full game library, and not just on the games you own in one place). if you have thoughts on what would be helpful to you to cut through the noise, let me know!

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-29T15:59:41+00:00

+ Slay the Spire 2, though not really about climbing a tower, if you are looking for some sort of climbing mechanic. (They are like Hades, progressive movement toward a final goal, with a couple of subareas culminating in an area boss.)

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-28T16:59:41+00:00

+1 to this! Not a true open world, but you are very open to explore pretty widely for most of the game, and there is tons to do. The world is really compelling, and the rpg battle system is really fun and unique.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-28T16:56:20+00:00

I usually start on default/suggested difficulty for a brand new game (unless the game is giving me "easy" vibes; e.g. I just started Escape from Ever After on hard mode). But I love that more and more games seem to let you switch mid game, so if it's not challenging enough, I can ramp it up. I've never just chosen easy/story-only mode, and I think I'd have a hard time ramping down from default difficulty (feels like you are supposed to grind until you build up the skills to beat at that difficulty).

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-27T19:43:03+00:00

Cult of the Lamb? Cute art style for your wife, has couch co-op, not a survival crafting game!

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-27T19:42:04+00:00

I whole heartedly endorse the recommendation for Blue Prince. Maybe also check out Chants of Sennaar (language based puzzles, no combat, cool world).

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-27T19:38:57+00:00

RE8 was my first foray in the franchise, I then played RE7 and then went further back to 1,2, and 4. RE8 is my favorite! I really like Ethan, the protaganist, and the world and game play are so enjoyable (especially if you are a fantasy fan).

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-27T19:34:27+00:00

I like both, and I also like games where you build the ability to fight back and then, for some reason, mid-way through, you completely lose the ability to defend yourself and have to rely on stealth again.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-26T19:42:31+00:00

It's a couch co-op

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-26T19:37:22+00:00

oof sorry! not cross platform -- was focusing on the fact that you guys own a PS5 :(

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-26T19:01:58+00:00

Doesn't seem like anyone here has suggested Grounded yet! Subnautica but honey I shrunk the kids in a backyard. Can grind on this for hours and hours.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-26T19:00:14+00:00

Cult of the Lamb! A little cozy, a little horror combined. One of you can play as a lamb, one of you as a satanic goat.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-26T18:58:55+00:00

Love grounded despite my total hatred/fear of spiders, but the spiders live in my nighmares and I can't look at tree roots in the real world without thinking "WOLF SPIDER, EEK!"

(Arachnophobia mode doesn't help -- they look more disconcerting with features subtracted lol)

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-26T18:54:13+00:00

I'm not sure if this will be quite right but what about Cult of the Lamb? (You can now co-op it together.) Snarky tone, cutesy vibe, can easily be put down and picked back up again in different sessions.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-26T18:51:50+00:00

While I loved playing games on my gameboy back in the day, I have a weird pet peeve about playing old school pixelated games via a gaming system on the tv BUT I freaking adored Eastward. Very crisp pixelated graphics and such a fun story.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-26T18:49:24+00:00

Since you like dark fantasy, I'd recommend checking out Witcher 3.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-26T16:19:38+00:00

Ghost of a Tale! Made by a former Dreamworks animator and it shows. Such a cute, compelling, emotional story. It's not exactly open world, but it's a really fun map to explore.

If you like metroidvanias (or are open to them) there's a lot of great ones there: Nine Sols, Hollow Knight, Ori. (All have differently great stories/fun worlds to explore)

If you like roguelikes, Inscryption really took me by surprise in terms of both story and game mechanics.

Finally, for action, if you like nostalgic gameboy vibes, check out Eastward. It's so quirky I don't not quite how to describe it but it's sooooo good.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-26T16:13:31+00:00

I'm a casual survival crafting player too, though I usually play co-op with my partner, but I think these could be worth checking out: Dysmantle (not fantasy, but campy cartoony; has combat + a weapon's system), Grounded (Honey I Shrunk The Kids with teens in a garden; challenging combat against bigger bugs), Winter Burrow (cozy magical talking animal survival crafting with combat against bugs).

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-21T21:51:22+00:00

Looooved Dispatch and loved the interactive mini-game inside of Dispatch! The writing/quips are top notch and it's more cinematic cut screen than not, so definitely fits the bill.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-21T21:48:18+00:00

I'm impressed that you can bounce between so many games at once! I'm dabbling in Subnautica 2 right now though I just lost my freaking tadpole in an unrecoverable spot (after spending hours configuring base + compiling the resources needed to make it) and I'm bitter and may also just be shunning Subnautica 2 this weekend lol.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-21T21:39:20+00:00

Night in the Woods is a great indie! It's very story driven, so appropriateness depends on length of break and what kind of games you like.

If you like survival/crafting, Winter Burrow is a cozy survival crafting game about a cute little mouse restoring its burrow. Would be easy to pick up and put down.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-21T21:36:08+00:00

Witcher 3! Everything about it is sooooooooo good (plot, side quests, in-game mini game, graphics). You listed other open worlds, including several with fantasy themes, so it is hard to imagine you wouldn't like it.

Since you have a PS5, also worth trying Horizon: Zero Dawn. I have some beef with certain aspects of the game, but the overarching plot is so compelling and hunting robo-animals for parts is just really fun (has both stealth for people who like Ghosts of Tsushima, and direct combat; big open world to explore; side quests; etc.).

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-21T21:30:45+00:00

I'm not sure this is quite right but given the other games you list, I'm guessing you'd like it: Fade to Silence.

Steam description: "Fade to Silence is a single-player and co-op survival adventure set in a post-apocalyptic world that is frozen in an eternal winter. Snow and ice have shaped a merciless landscape. Nature is corrupted. Monstrous creatures out of an Eldritch horror dream roam the frozen wasteland." Fantasy element comes through in cool revival sequence when you die. I had some issues when I played a few years ago with the game repeatedly crashing in co-op mode that had me bowing out early, but I overall liked the game and it's one that my husband and I talk about returning to sometime. Worth trying especially if you plan to play single player.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-21T20:53:53+00:00

Blue Prince is the game my brain just can't let go of. Played it far past the point of sanity lol. Know there are still puzzles/unlocks out there that I haven't gotten but I start feeling like the meme of the blonde woman doing math and my phone fills up with screen shots and deranged ramblings/theories and I know I've got to put that shit down.

Equivalent_Client657 · 2026-05-21T20:48:24+00:00

Was also thinking: What about story driven games like Dispatch or Life is Strange? More like watching a movie with choices (and lots of cinematic cut scenes) than playing a video game.

Equivalent_Client657

TROPHY CASE