You know that feeling—you’ve waited all week for this moment. You’ve got your favorite drink, your gaming setup is spotless, and the game you’ve been hyped about is finally ready to launch. Despite your eagerness to immerse yourself in a new world, the game fails to capture your attention. The immersion? Missing. The excitement? Spoiled. 😕
For console gamers, it’s not just about playing—it’s about stepping into something engaging and immersive. Whether you're gearing up for an intense boss fight or enjoying the beautiful scenery of an open-world game you’ve been itching to play, every session deserves to feel epic. But even with top-tier titles and gear, it’s easy to miss the magic if your mindset or environment isn’t dialed in.
So if you’ve ever felt like your gaming moment isn’t amazing, don’t worry. I have listed a few tips on how to truly enjoy a game and create the kind of immersive experience that makes every session unforgettable. 🌟 Are you ready? Game on!
Set aside an hour doing nothing except playing.
Set an hour or any time that you wish to dedicate to playing. To ensure that you’re on track, use an alarm. Once it is set. Play the game and enjoy it to the fullest. No distractions! Just you, your console, and your game!
And once you’re done, I am pretty sure you’d want more. But make it a discipline to stop when the alarm rings; otherwise, it would defeat the purpose of stopping on time. Sure, you’d feel great with extended play, but it wouldn’t feel good if other aspects of your life were affected. You wouldn’t want someone whose game backlogs are unbearable, as well as the tasks in real life, am I right?
Play offline. Do not live stream.
For content creators and gamers, this is typical and often the reason for burnouts. Since the primary purpose of them playing is to present a great experience to the viewers, their enjoyment and immersion are just secondary.
My suggestion is: Why not record your gameplay first, then replay the game, or vice versa—this time it’s for your full enjoyment, and you have nothing to worry about what the viewers will say. The only catch is, your gaming time will be doubled—but that’s okay! The bottom line is you had fun! 🙂
In the past, I uploaded no-commentary gameplays on the YouTube channel. What I do is I play first and beat a certain boss and restore my game save backup on my PlayStation. The good news is: beating a level the second time around is easier because I've done it before.
Wear a headset to minimize distractions.
It happened to me that when I turned the PlayStation on and the sound went “beep,” the number of errands arose, my kids demanded attention, and many things happened all at once!
The solution here is to tell the people that you finished all your errands and cannot be disturbed for at least an hour. Then wear a headset to further eliminate the minor distractions, and you can fully immerse yourself in your gaming experience.
Remember to play responsibly. If you don’t, then wearing a headset will backfire, and it will be worse because you’re neglecting your duties. What's worse is, you may get banned from playing. 😅
Lower your expectations.
Sometimes, expecting too much is the killjoy. We’re expecting too much from the game that we are playing, and we get disappointed if there’s a part in the game that we don’t like or if there are some bugs that we notice.
Why not just play the game and have fun with it? I clearly remember the good old PS1 and PS2 games. We don’t care about the graphics nor some of the hiccups that happened along the way. We just enjoy the game’s story.
Gamers of my age, would you agree with me here? Lol!
Those games are the JRPGs and the WWE on PS1. We don't care much about glitches and bugs because we thought they were part of the game. We're just so thankful that we could play video games when we were young, penniless youth. 😁
Forgive some bugs encountered and focus on the story.
This is in line with lowering our expectations. During gameplay, we may occasionally bump and experience a bug. Even AAA games may have some bugs.
Gamers nowadays screen record and upload the gameplay and rant on social media, which results in a barrage of hate and mockery from other gamers.
If you encounter bugs from a game, try these methods:
- Download game patches and updates—the developers work hard continuously to patch up and fix bugs that are discovered.
- Restart your game. Most of the bugs are not showstoppers. If it is, then that’s the time to reach out to the devs so they can create a solution.
- Just laugh it off and move forward.
- Play another game instead
As a fellow IT guy with developer experience, it takes years of hard work and countless hours of testing to create a great game. I know their pains, so I tend to be more forgiving when I encounter something during gameplay.
On the other hand, we cannot blame you if the game is really broken and the bugs encountered are showstoppers because video games nowadays cost a luxury. I really do hope that developers do a thorough quality check on the games before they release them. Don't mind if they get delayed because we have plenty of games to play!
Do not compare with other gamers on what game they are playing.
This is also another happiness-stealer. Whenever there's a new game released, there will always be someone who can buy it, and some will flex it on social media. Remember that there will always be someone who has a better gaming setup, a better library of games, and more money to buy their games.
Don’t get me wrong: I'm happy for gamers that can upgrade and buy new things because they have the means, luxury, and time to enjoy stuff! I also salute other gamers who work harder and take extra jobs to fuel their passion because that's their reward for themselves. It’s just that we have different preferences and priorities. So there is no point in comparing ourselves to others. 😊
Regardless of any situation, let's have fun with the game we are currently playing. Remember this:
Each game is a masterpiece. Let us take the time and enjoy it to our heart’s content!
- Kwing Herrero, gamer
This happened to me. As an adult, I do have the means to buy and stay on top of trends. I can keep up with other gamers and build a better gaming setup and buy new games, but I’d rather not. I find it impractical to spend that much on brand-new games (again, this is just me!). Yes, I do love gaming (in fact, so much!), but I'm spending my money on things like the gym, food, and other things that we (not only me) enjoy a lot.
In fact, as of writing this article, I am focused and enjoying playing Valkyria Chronicles 4 on my Nintendo Switch! Yep, it’s 2024 and I am still playing this old but gold game!
However, if you have the means and you put a monthly budget allocated, please go on and buy it. That’s a perk that many of our fellow gamers do not have, so enjoy the games (I’m jealous already 🥴) .
The key takeaway is: Just. Have. Fun. Period!
Do not look elsewhere and focus on the current game you are playing.
Are you like me? A gamer with 140+ backlogs? If you have plenty of backlogs as well, then this advice is for you. Do not be sad for being stuck with so many backlogs. I used to think like this before, but I made a mindset shift. This is my perspective every time I look at my backlog list:
“It’s so nice to be alive! I want to experience these games once I am done with the current game I am playing! ”
“I need to wrap up what I am doing so I can continue where I left off and beat that next boss! ”
As of writing this article, I am switching in between these ongoing games.
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on PS5
- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age on my Nintendo Switch
- Valkyria Chronicles 4 on Nintendo Switch
and many games installed on my desktop. Then I bump into a roadblock… Let me share my experience with you.
Switching on too many games is not recommended.
When I subscribed to Xbox PC Game Pass, I downloaded around 7-10 AAA titles and games I think are great to play. Because there are hundreds of great titles, I realized that playing many games at once is unproductive. I am like a child staring at too many flashy lights, and I am stuck with being unsure what to do next.
My advice is just stick to one game only. Two is enough!
Update: I finished these three games I mentioned above, yay! I am now playing Horizon: Forbidden West on PlayStation and Callisto Protocol on PC Game Pass. As of writing, the game’s going to leave soon, so I have to wrap it up and finish the story! 😄
Try NG+ after beating the game, or continue with getting a platinum trophy.
I remember the joy of finishing a great game—this happened to me when I finished the games Final Fantasy VII Remake, Dead Space Remake, God of War (2018), and God of War: Ragnarok. I get the feeling of fulfillment! The nights with less sleep, the grind, and the fun of beating it on hard mode, and many more!
These feelings fade over time, but the good news is your games don’t! That’s the beauty of having a game library. You can always go back and insert your favorite game disc or download it from your library anytime!
Now you can try NG+ for a newer experience. This time you may have unlocked a new set of equipment; the enemies are stronger and have more HP. Well, this is a great handicap because you already beat the game once, and it would be a walk in the park if there wasn’t any variation.
Am I wasting my time if I replay the game I already finished?
Nope. Not at all! I think the correct question is, “Do you enjoy replaying the game you already finished? ” If so, then you’re not wasting it. Remember that:
“Time well spent is not time wasted!”
Kwing Herrero, gamer
In Summary
The primary purpose of gaming is for us to enjoy the story and feel satisfied. Whether it is by collecting the games, piling up your backlogs (just like me), finishing a super hard boss, or getting a platinum trophy. The bottom line is it should be enjoyable!
I hope you learned something by reading this article. Let me know in the comments section if you had an experience with games that became no fun at all!
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