Does anyone have this issue? You go to a friends house and they have a bunch of games, some you've wanted to play and some you don't, but would be willing to try anyway. But no matter what, you can't push yourself to actually play the new games and just stick with the ones you know.

I've recently been discovering I have a HUGE issue with being stuck in my comfort zone, and it definitely effects my gaming. I can't play new games, even if I'm all by myself sometimes. And online games? Forget it, I can't play a single online match because I'm too terrified of losing, looking like an idiot, not knowing how to play, etc.

Does anyone else have, or have had this problem? Any advice on it?

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Whenever I've been leery of jumping into a new game or genre (and it happens a lot due to my anxiety/perfectionist behaviour) I've found that going in with the mentality of "Ok, I'm going to give myself 30 minutes with this game, good or bad, so I can render judgement on whether I like it or not."

Most of the time, I ended up enjoying myself and play it beyond the initial allotted time.

Depends what new games we're talking about - which teams and which publishers. If you ask me, many games from big publishers just weren't developed with the kind of passion and best interest for the gamer as they used to be. And a lot of games just try to check off features as if it were a checklist without innovating or respecting the audience (their money, their time, etc.) that these things can often impact of the enjoyment of a game.

Whenever a game appears run of the mill despite favourable reviews, maybe just avoid it - I do. Rarely do they end up leaving a big impact on me. Most of the best gaming experiences I've had have tended to be things that were quite surprising. For example, Endless Legend reinvigorated my enjoyment of 4x civilization-style games. I recaptured a lot of the feelings I used to have playing Alpha Centauri so many years ago, even though the game was quite different - and that's sort of the point of why it had that impact in the first place.

JRPGs these days tend to really grate me in a variety of different ways, mostly because they haven't evolved - they are just copies of stuff that come before, and I want new experiences - not replications of old experiences. A lot of classical JRPG conventions, optional content, etc. is actually not very good, and is rarely worth preserving yet is developed blindly because it's always been that way even though the time is totally different than when these mechanics originated.

Nostalgia pushes also don't tend to work if they actually mirror the old experience too closely, because rarely was it actually good. The best nostalgia pieces tend to give us what we think of the old experience used to be. For example, Octopath Traveler does this. The game couldn't be more different than SNES games at the time, but it tricks you into thinking it's similar, even though it's not. The game actually did away with all of the bad things we tend to forget while only emphasizing the good things - and the real lie is that all of the good things are just better or different. Shovel Knight does this too. A lot of nostaligia pieces don't get this, however, which is why they are bad/boring/etc.

Pretty much any from the big publishers is suspect... Ubisoft, EA, Activision, etc. It's not that these games can't be good - they certainly can be - but these companies make their money but not innovation and being as safe as possible, which is exactly the kind of game people fed up of newer games should avoid.

It's best to look for high quality, polished new experiences. I find that I can really get sunk into them a lot better without getting jaded or bored or irritated. They are slim pickings, however.

And it's ok to not be into competitive gaming. Who the hells cares about it just because that's what most gamers seem to want. Screw them and their "live services".

I've been stuck with this gaming lifestyle for years now and just about to take some measures into dealing with it. I have a tendency to go back to good old-games I grew up with and play them at least once a year. Problem is, it leaves little room to play new games and by the time I get my fill for the year, I missed out on such awesome games and now the new lot are streaming in. I've so backlogged on great games, it's actually ridiculous. I built a powerful PC for hardcore gaming and I'm busy playing Warcraft 1 (facepalm).

I'm forcing myself now to play some of the games I missed out on, but also to start playing the new ones that are listed to come out this year. It's part of how I found myself on this site and will use this as a means to motivate myself.

Technically not the same but I used to play the first levels of Toy Story 2 and Monsters Inc Scream Team over and over again

I have a really difficult time playing new games, and I always end up sinking my time back into endless games like multiplayer shooters or rogue likes/lites. I also have a problem where I can't commit to getting to the actual main segment of game and normally quit an hour in if i'm not having an absolute blast.