Games Haven’t Gotten Worse, You’ve Just Fried Your Brain

Every so often a gaming influencer, likely with the prefix Faze attached to their name, will throw a question into the endless void of social media. It usually goes a little something like this: “Why are new games so boring?” or “Why has gaming gotten so bad?” Investigate the individual pondering these critical questions, and you’ll probably find that they exclusively play Call of Duty, Apex Legends or Fortnite.

While one particular tweet did inspire this piece, the discourse surrounding the decline of gaming is cyclical. As many people in the comments pointed out, 2023 has been one of the strongest years for gaming in a long time. Tears of the Kingdom, Diablo 4, Final Fantasy 16, Street Fighter 6… need I say more? So, why aren’t these people satisfied?

Well, the answer isn’t simple, but one avenue that we should explore is one that I particularly relate to myself: competitive multiplayer games mess with your brain’s reward system. You get so hooked on the idea of climbing a ladder that nothing can match the level of satisfaction you feel after a win. As a decade-long veteran of League of Legends, it can be hard to switch to a new triple-a game mid-grind.

READ MORE: Final Fantasy 16’s Clive-Centric Story Was A Bold Move, And I Love It

After all, even if I get really proficient at The Legend of Zelda, what do I gain from that? After skillfully slaughtering a tribe of Bokoblins, I’m not going to ascend to Diamond rank, am I? Therein lies the problem. It’s near impossible for a single-player experience to match the dopamine rush of a fast-paced, reward-laden multiplayer game. Other genres of gaming simply can’t match the highs and lows. An intense late-game Apex session is going to get your heart beating faster than piloting Clive through Final Fantasy 16’s linear corridors. That’s just the reality.

I’m not just making this up either. It’s not secret that dopamine plays a large part in what’s called reward-seeking behaviours. This means that people seek out activities that give them quick pleasure spikes, like alcohol, drugs, sex and well… video games. A 2007 study investigated the reward dependency levels of 75 South Korean adolescents deemed to have “excessive internet video game play” and found similar reward dependency scores as those who abuse nicotine, alcohol and opiates.

While there hasn’t been much study done into how different types of game have different effects on dopamine levels in the brain, it makes sense that there’s a spectrum of this stuff, doesn’t it? Higher stakes equal more dopamine equals higher highs, so Apex Legends will give you more of a buzz than a pensive walking sim, or even a grand open-world adventure. It probably helps explain why the battle royale genre – with its one-winner-permadeath structure – has become such a hit since it landed on the scene, but again it’d be fascinating for more granular research to be done in this area.

It got so bad for me that even non-ranked games of League of Legends wouldn’t give me the kick I craved from a ranked game, where actual stakes are involved. What’s the point of playing a game if I don’t see my rank go up when I win?

Now, this isn’t entirely negative. There is an admirability to the constant need to improve at your craft. It’s not a waste of time if it makes you happy, and you feel like you’re using your time productively. The problem is, don’t go to social media complaining if nothing else excites you anymore. You put yourself in this hole, live in it or make an effort to escape it, but don’t go out there crying that ‘games today are boring’ or ‘things aren’t like they used to be;’ this is simple your reality, not the objective one.

Luckily, there is a tried and true method of escape. First, take an extended break from your game of choice. After that, commit to a game you’re interested in playing and you need to stick to it for at least a few hours. It’s all too easy to play the tutorial of a game you just bought for $60 and conclude that it’s not for you after 20 minutes, but you need to give your brain time to adapt to a slower-paced environment. No, you won’t get the dopamine rush you get from seeing a victory screen, but if you stick with it, then maybe just maybe you’ll realise games are just as emotional, fun and thought-provoking as they’ve always been.

Then, who knows? You might never want to go back to playing Apex 12 hours a day. Either way, at least you saw how the other side lived for a while.

NEXT: Starfield’s Empty Planets Aren’t A Problem, But The Settled Ones Might Be