A Steam user is desperate despite a full library due to gaming boredom – but the Reddit community shares its best tips for overcoming game fatigue.
Maybe you know the feeling: you open your Steam library, scroll through dozens, maybe hundreds of games – and none of them spark even the slightest bit of excitement.
This is exactly how one Reddit user describes it in the Steam subreddit: despite a library bursting at the seams, he simply can’t find a game that grabs him anymore.
Everything has become boring, he writes – and apparently strikes a nerve: Over 5,000 upvotes and almost 1,200 comments show how many of you are familiar with this problem.
All these games and still don’t know what to play, everything is getting boring
byu/Kiro_Ki13 inSteam
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When your huge Steam collection becomes a burden
For many, the golden age when every new game was a highlight is over. Thanks to sales, Humble Bundles, and free promotions, your collection fills up faster than you could ever play through it.
What used to be a source of anticipation is now a burden: the next title is already waiting, the backlog is growing, and choosing what to play becomes torture. Instead of excitement, you feel overwhelmed and your desire to play disappears.
The infamous “pile of shame” in particular quickly causes a guilty conscience. What should be fun mutates into a to-do list, where each new title is just another item on the mountain of unfulfilled tasks.
The community’s advice for game fatigue
In the thread , Reddit users not only showed understanding for the problem, but also shared lots of specific tips on how to get out of gaming lethargy.
Here are the most important pieces of advice.
1. Take a break from gaming
Probably the most common tip:Don’t force yourself!If gaming is no longer fun, it’s perfectly okay to take a break for a few days or even weeks.
Find other hobbies, read a book, watch movies or TV shows, go outside, or try something new. According to users, the desire to play games often returns on its own if you don’t put pressure on yourself.
Sounds like you need to take a break from gaming. There are many reasons why a hobby can become boring, but don’t force yourself to enjoy your hobby if you don’t feel like it.
This could lead to you rejecting the hobby altogether… I recommend taking a break from gaming and trying out other hobbies that you enjoy more. It’s okay to take a break from hobbies. You’ll see, soon you’ll feel like playing [the game] again, start it up and continue with enthusiasm. – salad_tongs_1
2. More exercise and fresh air
Sport and exercise are often cited as mood boosters.
Whether it’s going to the gym, cycling, or simply playing with a yo-yo, people who exercise often feel more balanced and are more enthusiastic about gaming afterwards.
People don’t usually get enough exercise. I go to the gym every other day and train intensively. Afterwards, I’m guaranteed to feel good when I play.– Conscious_leave_19561
I had this problem years ago, and the hobby that ultimately helped me was playing with a yo-yo and learning yo-yo tricks. It could be similar for you, or it could be completely different! – TheBestPercy1
Sport is one of the fastest and best ways to improve your mood, period. You can even make it fun – there was an app called Fitocracy that turned lifting heavy weights into quests– UberDrive
3. Take a digital detox
Many also see constant distraction from short-form content such as YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikToks as a reason for gaming fatigue:
It can also be overstimulation from dopamine, consuming too much content, spending too much time on the internet, and, as you mentioned, gaming burnout, which usually occurs after playing too much, etc. – ThanksMemeS1R1
I’m hopelessly addicted. […] I need to cleanse my mind or something by just playing Death Stranding or something, lmao. – Owobowos-Mowbius
4. Change genres and choose carefully
Instead of playing the same game genres over and over again, many people recommend trying something completely different.
It’s also supposed to help to choose a game specifically and really give it a chance instead of constantly jumping between titles. If you really get into a game, you’ll often find that you enjoy playing again.
Try a new genre. 70% of them are first-person survival/horror games. Of course it gets boring if you always play the same thing – TheGrimmBorne1
Stick with a game until you’ve played it through! Jumping from one game to the next every few hours is just a search for a quick dopamine hit instead of rewarding yourself for achieving goals. Not every second has to be exhilarating to enjoy a game. – TheRageful
At the end of the day, gaming should be fun. And if it’s not, that’s completely normal. In any case, the community agrees that burnout phases are part of the experience, especially in times of endless libraries and constant oversupply.
Do you know that feeling when, despite having a full library, nothing really grabs you anymore? Do you have your own strategies for combating gaming burnout or tips that have helped you?
Write them in the comments – maybe your experience will help the next person sitting in front of their pile of shame.
