goonbag @tapevulture
what you’re describing is a type of burnout that I felt a lot in Dark Souls III. When the area doesn’t seem like much fun or a lot of work to grind through, or when the general unpleasantness of the game wears me down. It’s a sign that it’s time to take a break. At this time I also notice myself thinking about the game constantly while not playing it. I think it’s because of how good the game feels in my hands, the addictive quality of the combat once you’ve practiced and committed to it.
I didn’t have this feeling very often in Elden Ring, though, mainly because the game felt very easy to me, like a buffet of content I could just blast through. I attribute that to my choice of build (uchigatana, dual katana bleed + bloodhound step, also being thorough and probably overleveled) making the game rather easy.
Furthermore I went to the capital quite early for a first playthrough, found the Capital to be one of the best and most fun areas in any souls game, not to mention a huge relief after so many hours of boring field exploration, I was craving another densely packed area to explore and loot. I was under leveled for the capital, and ran past enemies a lot, I kind of had an extended relationship with the area where, as I cleared other parts of the game, I would return to the capital to make more progress there. I spent a lot of time on rooftops getting a lay of the land.
I wish I could experience the game for the first time again, because after playing to an unhealthy degree during launch month, beating it and spending over probably 150 hours in the game, I really have no desire to play anymore unless there’s someone else with me, like when I watch my friend play, and toy around with his build that is very different from mine.
