Getting back into single player gaming.

When I was younger, I loved getting into the story of fable, gta vice city, pokemon, splinter cell, call of duty 2, etc. As I grew older I started playing more multiplayer halo, cod, Minecraft, etc. I kinda lost the love for getting into these stories. My steam library now consists of over 1000 games, but my most played games are csgo, hunt showdown, dead by daylight…most of my games sit there untouched.

I wanted to address this by actually downloading and trying out some of these games that I might’ve had a slight interest it. I started off with bio shock 1, got bored after 30 minutes, tried getting into Skyrim again since it was one of my favorite games when it first came out. But I also quickly put it in down. Then I thought about one of, if not my favorite open world game ever. Mad Max, I resumed my game where I left it 5 years prior, and I had no idea where to go or what to do but I did enjoy just riding around the map destroying shit. That’s when I realized maybe it was just the open world and scale of the game that was putting me off. Open world games were some of the ones I looked forward to so much before, but I realize now that the openness of the world just really makes the game take so much longer than it needs to.

I work a lot and only have 2-3 hours to play some days and games like fallout and Skyrim that take 30hrs + to finish the story and dlc just seem way too daunting to really try and finish. I would love to be able to just finish those games in one sitting but it’s just not possible for me, I might even go a week or two without playing and ill come back and forget what was happening. I struggled with this a lot and have been watching multiple video essays just talking about this topic, and that’s when it clicked for me . I don’t need an open world game, or a game that takes 10s of hours to finish, I just need a game with a good enough story to keep me engaged without letting me just get bored by it’s barreness. Exploration is good in games but sometimes I just want to follow a good story by just following along!

And this is how I found out about Titanfall2, multiple videos I watched recommended it for its good story and short play time. I already had it so I figured I’d give it to a try, and there it was. Over 2 days I was able to finish it, and oh boy for the first time in a long time, I actually rolled the credits. I remember the whole story, and more importantly it made me want to play more. It scratched and itch that hadn’t been scratched in a long long time, it reignited a spark in me that I thought couldn’t be relit. I want to enjoy single player games like this again. I want to have a connection with these games like when I was younger, putting myself in their world and bonding with the characters.

So from here, where do I go next? I want to keep my excitement alive, I need to ride the momentum and make sure it wasn’t a fluke, I need to find the next game to play. I might install the original Titanfall but I’ve heard it isn’t as good, I would still like to get it though. If anyone has any suggestions id be open to hear them! Thanks for listening to my rant, but it was just bubbling up for way too long!

You can try Doom 2016 for a few hours, I'm not sure if that scratch that specific itch.

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Crysis 1, 2 or 3
Spec Ops: The Line
Metro: 2033 or Last Light

All of these are excellent, should be cheap to purchase and short enough to finish and long enough for a great ride. Enjoy.

Agree with the previous suggestions, but I'd also add in...

Some short story-heavy games like:
Observation
Return to Grace
What Remains Of Edith Finch
Firewatch

Other short action type games like:
SUPERHOT
Control
Call Of Juarez: Gunslinger
Mirror's Edge

Plus some little puzzle gems like:
FAR: Lone Sails
Inside
Maquette
Cocoon
Twelve Minutes

All of those are top-tier games IMO and quite varied, so some may hit while others might not - key thing is that they're all relatively short as well, but still manage to be awesome.

I believe Ghostrunner would be right up your alley, not as much for its forgettable story as for its pixel-perfect mechanics, kickass soundtrack and superb visuals.

I would also highly recommend going through the campaign in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and Call of Duty: Black Ops as these were the best ones in the series.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is another excellent suggestion thanks to its striking visuals, great pacing and fun & extremely responsive gunplay.

DOOM Eternal is also really exciting once you get past the learning curve, very satisfying gameplay loop and keeps you focused all the way through.

There's definitely more, but this should be a good start.

One thing that I've found is that it's impossible, at least for me, to experience games like I did when I was young, a lot of the magic that was there just doesn't exist anymore, so I think that's pretty normal. Like what others have suggested, all of the Doom games are some amazing fast paced shooters to get into if you haven't already, I've been replaying Doom 2016 recently and it's been a blast. If you have a Switch, GameCube, or Wii, I highly recommend Metroid Prime, the Remaster on the Switch is particularly good, it's fairly untraditional for a shooter game, but much of the mechanics and gameplay are amazing, and the environments are absolutely spectacular. I don't play many shooters, so I don't really have many more suggestions in that genre.

People have already given some amazing reccs (i saw Firewatch, Ghostrunner, Spec Ops and Arkham), so here are some more

There's the big stuff like the Half-Life and Portal games, Bioshock, Hellblade (all around 10 hours iirc)

If you're willing to switch up genres, indie games are amazing

1. Undertale (RPG) - 7h
2. Inscryption (Mindfuck/Deck-builder) - 12h (it can be a lot shorter, it took me 9 hours, and dont let the deck building part deter you from playing it. i hate such games and still think that this one's a masterpiece)
3. GRIS (Platformer/Art Exhibit) - 3h
4. Helltaker (Puzzle) - 1h
5. The Swapper (Mindfuck/Puzzle) - 5h
6. Little Nightmares (Horror/Platformer) - 3h

Also, weird and wacky experimental indie stuff!, all around 30 minutes long
1. Babbdi
2. Perfect Vermin
3. How Fish is Made
(check em out, they'll definitely make you say wtf)

Maybe it just isn't your thing u feel me? anywhoos try Yakuza 0

After Yakuza 0, play Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition.

Simple look at games from 2000-2010 and you should find some very excellent single player experiences.

Hellblade : Sanua's Sacrifice was a nice short journey for me. A serious mind fuck of a game too, play with a headset on. Martha is Dead was a short jaunt through a twisted mind of a girl through WW2 and was less than 10 hours if I recall.

Hellblade : Sanua's Sacrifice was a nice short journey for me. A serious mind fuck of a game too, play with a headset on. Martha is Dead was a short jaunt through a twisted mind of a girl through WW2 and was less than 10 hours if I recall.

I like WW2 games and will have to look into that Martha is Dead game.

Evil west is a short, linear and an enjoyable experience ! It is an action/beatem-up game where your a cowboy/goverment agent taking down an evil vampire family. It sounds silly but is actually badass and has super fun combos and abilities you unlock as you progress.

This might be a weird one, but if you don't mind a severe lack of challenge, Princess Peach Showtime as long as you don't try to 100% it is a good way to get into single player gaming since it's so many genres in one, it might be my go to game to reccomend for people new to games or in your case seemingly needing to warm up to single player gaming. Every thing about the game is basically gaming for newcomers.

Evil west is a short, linear and an enjoyable experience ! It is an action/beatem-up game where your a cowboy/goverment agent taking down an evil vampire family. It sounds silly but is actually badass and has super fun combos and abilities you unlock as you progress.

I loved watching my buddy play this game on twitch.

The Forgotten City is a game you should be able to get through. It's got a story that is good enough to keep you interested, but it's short enough that you won't have the problem you did with the open world games.

I really enjoyed Evil West, Robocop, Assassins Creed Mirage and Mafia Definitive Edition.