Can you have two or more games on the go at the same time?

[Jamie John]

I've come to the belated conclusion that I just can't seem to do this. I've tried having a handheld game on the go alongside a console/PC game, but I'll invariably end up just choosing one over the other (usually the console game over the handheld one) and then the neglected game ends up being abandoned. Over the last fortnight, for example, I've been telling myself that FFX Remastered on the Switch is my handheld game and that I'm playing it as well as some of the Game Pass games I've been playing on console recently. Really, though, I spend about five minutes on FFX each day, usually on the bog, and the rest of my game time is spent playing something else.

 

It's probably a symptom of that gaming time that I do have being so limited, but I listen to podcasts or read about people on here who have four or five games on the go at the same time - a narrative game, a handheld game, a phone game, an MMO, an arcade game, etc. - and it just doesn't compute for me. I get about 45-60 minutes per night in the week, if I'm lucky, and it seems that it's all or nothing. It does mean that I get through games relatively quickly, as I just focus on one at a time, but I don't switch games around depending on the mood I'm in, and I more or less completely ignore any multiplayer games, or games that are designed to be dipped into. I'm a sticker, not a dipper, evidently.

 

How many games do you have on the go at the moment, and how much time do you get to play them?

 

(This has been a Jamie John-patented First World Problems thread.)

[bradigor]

I currently have the following in rotation. 

 

P5R 

Gears Tactics 

GRID Autosport 

PGA 2k23

 

Plus popping in and out of: 

 

Just Go 

Binding of Isaac

Dead Cells 

Droplitz 

Snooker 19 

 

P5G and Gears are my main daily play games, depending on the mood I am in. I do try and play GRID if eyes allow. 

 

The others in the second list generally are quick 30 minutes to 1 hour plays throughout the week.

[Vorgot]

I've currently got going

 

Dragon Quest 11

Inscyption

Murder by Numbers

 

And dipping in and out of some puzzle games. I think I can only have one big RPG on the go at a time, otherwise I forget mechanics and what I'm supposed to be doing.

[Strafe]

I wouldn’t want to have more than one ‘story’ game on the go at the moment but I can have plenty of multiplayers running in unison. 
 

Currently it’s Bayonetta 3 and Overwatch. Though I was doing the MW2 campaign alongside as well last weekend.

 

So…noyes?

[dumpster]

I've been playing Burnout 2 and nothing else since 2006.

[Jamie John]

37 minutes ago, bradigor said:

I currently have the following in rotation. 

 

P5R 

Gears Tactics 

GRID Autosport 

PGA 2k23

 

Plus popping in and out of: 

 

Just Go 

Binding of Isaac

Dead Cells 

Droplitz 

Snooker 19 

 

P5G and Gears are my main daily play games, depending on the mood I am in. I do try and play GRID if eyes allow. 

 

The others in the second list generally are quick 30 minutes to 1 hour plays throughout the week.

 

Blimey. How do you remember how to play each game? Do you not have to spend a load of time reminding yourself of the controls every time?

[bradigor]

14 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

 

Blimey. How do you remember how to play each game? Do you not have to spend a load of time reminding yourself of the controls every time?

 

Nah all are fairly simple in terms of control schemes. 

 

The slower paced games allow me time to adjust back anyway.

[shirubagan]

I have loads on the go, alongside F2P/live games usually with a few falling by the wayside only to get picke d up a few years later with a newfound appreciation. When I pick them back up, I usually get back into the pretty quickly. Currently chipping away at:

 

Bayonetta 3

Kirby Switch

Midnight Fight Club

Deathloop

Prey

Resi Rev 2

Control

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance

Pokémon Emerald

Hot Wheels Unleashed

Halo Reach

Metroid Dread

Metroid Prime

Waverace 64

Plague Tale: Whatever the new one is called
 

…and having a love/hate relationship with RDR2

[dumpster]

I joked earlier about Burnout, but my personality is all about becoming easily hooked on something.  I've been told this by qualified people. I'll see a video of a band I really like and suddenly that's my band, I'm recommending it to everyone, it's the best thing ever.  Then I totally forget about it, I'm on to the next thing. If I like a game I'll hammer it, play it to death, love it, adore it, then completely forget about it when the next thing comes along. It's an addictive personally which is why I don't do drugs because I know I'd absolutely love it and destroy myself.  

 

So in games, I can't think of having a game I'm rinsing, then another coming along at the same time.  Right now I'm platinuming Bloodstained on Xbox after having done it before on PS4, but no other game stands a chance of jumping into the loop until Bloodstained is finished. 

 

[Jamie John]

22 minutes ago, shirubagan said:

I have loads on the go, alongside F2P/live games usually with a few falling by the wayside only to get picke d up a few years later with a newfound appreciation. When I pick them back up, I usually get back into the pretty quickly. Currently chipping away at:

 

Bayonetta 3

Kirby Switch

Midnight Fight Club

Deathloop

Prey

Resi Rev 2

Control

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance

Pokémon Emerald

Hot Wheels Unleashed

Halo Reach

Metroid Dread

Metroid Prime

Waverace 64

Plague Tale: Whatever the new one is called
 

…and having a love/hate relationship with RDR2

 

But how can you possibly remember what's going on in each of those games, where to go and why? Or do you just not care?

[Qazimod]

51 minutes ago, Strafe said:

I wouldn’t want to have more than one ‘story’ game on the go at the moment but I can have plenty of multiplayers running in unison. 

 

Sort-of this. I think I gave an answer in a similar thread; I tend to alternate between:

 

"Arcade" games with no real progression - things I can throw on at any time that don't really store progress. Outrun, Street Fighter, maybe roguelikes to an extent

One narrative driven timesink - right now it's Persona 5 Royal

Destiny 2 - because it's a persistent world/MMO thing.

 

This does cause issues when two timesinks are released close to one another, but it's not like everything has to be bought and played on day one.

 

1 hour ago, Vorgot said:

I think I can only have one big RPG on the go at a time, otherwise I forget mechanics and what I'm supposed to be doing.

 

Definitely. If you wanted to buy PS4 P5R on release day and finish it in the ten days you had before FFVII Remake came out, good luck  

[SaintAnselm]

My ADHD means I usually have at least 5 games on the go at the same time, and I am the same when it comes to reading too.

[bradigor]

2 minutes ago, SaintAnselm said:

My ADHD means I usually have at least 5 games on the go at the same time, and I am the same when it comes to reading too.

 

You can read? My ADHD stops me from reading, I just can't focus on the words and structure. I just end up forgetting the page I was on and going off on my own journey.

 

Games though, yeah I'm with you there. 

[shirubagan]

26 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

 

But how can you possibly remember what's going on in each of those games, where to go and why? Or do you just not care?

Well… usually video game stories are so bad/outlandish that it’s hard to forget. If I do have a bit of trouble remembering I’ll just skim a walkthrough until I hit the point where it triggers my memory and I’ll be on my way again. 
 

I was a lot more focused on one or two games during lockdown, but for some reason I’m back to playing everything all at once over the span of months if not years. 
 

I’ve still completed 30+ games this year, regardless of my scattershot approach. 

[Jamie John]

5 minutes ago, shirubagan said:

Well… usually video game stories are so bad/outlandish that it’s hard to forget. If I do have a bit of trouble remembering I’ll just skim a walkthrough until I hit the point where it triggers my memory and I’ll be on my way again. 
 

I was a lot more focused on one or two games during lockdown, but for some reason I’m back to playing everything all at once over the span of months if not years. 
 

I’ve still completed 30+ games this year, regardless of my scattershot approach. 

 

More power to you if it works! I often have trouble keeping track of the story in one game, let alone a dozen, especially if there are big breaks between the narrative-heavy sections or cutscenes.

[bradigor]

3 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

 

More power to you if it works! I often have trouble keeping track of the story in one game, let alone a dozen, especially if there are big breaks between the narrative-heavy sections or cutscenes.

 

It's why more games should include a 'previously on' summary. It can be vital for accessibility needs but also really helpful for everyone 

[Jamie John]

1 minute ago, bradigor said:

 

It's why more games should include a 'previously on' summary. It can be vital for accessibility needs but also really helpful for everyone 

 

Amen to that. I appreciated that on Dragon Quest 11, recently; it was a shame the actual game was so boring, though; that's another game I categorised as 'handheld' which I ended up ditching.

[Fry Crayola]

Currently, I have on the go:

 

Death Stranding

Manhunt

Football Manager 2022

Pixel Cup Soccer

Tennis Manager 2022

Tennis Elbow 4

Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy

Fez

 

Which, in truth, is more than I can really manage, as Fez hasn't seen any play in a while. The sports games are easy to dip in and out of, while Crash is something I play with my son watching in short bursts.

 

So really, two fairly immersive action games is about my limit. Add any more and something will give. Even so, Death Stranding is getting most of my limited time at the moment. 

[SaintAnselm]

51 minutes ago, bradigor said:

 

You can read? My ADHD stops me from reading, I just can't focus on the words and structure. I just end up forgetting the page I was on and going off on my own journey.

 

Games though, yeah I'm with you there. 

I mainly read comics these days, this way I can just about manage to read an issue and keep my concentration on the task at hand.

[bradigor]

1 minute ago, SaintAnselm said:

I mainly read comics these days, this way I can just about manage to read an issue and keep my concentration on the task at hand.

 

Ah, yeah. I went through a period where I could read comics and manga* but found myself getting too hooked on it and over spending. 

 

They were much easier to follow. 

 

*Mainly Death Note 

[Vorgot]

2 hours ago, Qazimod said:

 

Sort-of this. I think I gave an answer in a similar thread; I tend to alternate between:

 

"Arcade" games with no real progression - things I can throw on at any time that don't really store progress. Outrun, Street Fighter, maybe roguelikes to an extent

One narrative driven timesink - right now it's Persona 5 Royal

Destiny 2 - because it's a persistent world/MMO thing.

 

This does cause issues when two timesinks are released close to one another, but it's not like everything has to be bought and played on day one.

 

 

Definitely. If you wanted to buy PS4 P5R on release day and finish it in the ten days you had before FFVII Remake came out, good luck  

 

Still got FF VII remake sat on the shelf. P5R came out near the beginning of lockdown I think, and that kept me occupied for a while!

[Gabe]

I have anywhere between 5-10 games all in various states of play at any one time (I think it's about 7 or 8 at the moment). A mix of genres and platforms to give me some options when I'm debating what to play.

 

In terms of picking up where I left off, I don't think I've ever really struggled with this, even when I've been mixing up big RPGs. That said, I pretty much play everything with a walkthrough to hand, so it's easy to remember where I was as I likely still have the tabs open on my laptop (as I do right now in fact for a few games I'm getting through.)

 

Ditto with controls, I find it pretty easy to get back in the swing of things, but then I don't play a lot of highly technical games that require quite specific mastery of them.

 

There will be times where I get pretty hooked on something to the exclusion of everything else, but those occasions are the exception rather than the norm and I find my method works for me and avoids me getting bored of things (usually.)

[gospvg]

I'm the same as you Jamie, I only have one main story game currently Guardians of the Galaxy. Tried playing more than one but my old brain can't cope with remembering controls or plot if one game is left for a while.

 

I do play Fortnite with my daughter when she wants but that is not regullar, also I'm playing Marvel Snap on my mobile.

[Popo]

In addition to games that are ‘parked’ at the moment (started but haven’t gone back to for more than 6 months) I’ve got about 6 or 7 games I’m actively playing, spread across all the main systems (including Deck). I can only really have 1 big story-driven game though - my spread is across a number of different genres and game lengths, and I think helps me choose something different depending on my mood, while still also knowing that I’m making progress. 

[BeeJay]

Sometimes I'll have 3 games playing at the same time, like literally the same time. Rocket League and Monster Train typically plus a mobile game. Oh and twitch on and sometimes music playing too. I catch myself like this sometimes and wonder when this became normal.

 

I don't really have many games on the go at once though, I tend to give up on most games after a couple of hours.

 

I've been playing a lot of grounded recently as my 'main' game but have also been playing garden story and dyson sphere, to add to my regular games of Rocket League, Monster Train and oxygen not included.

[Yobo Ahoy]

I mainly play on a PS4 and with extremely limited gaming time I've become very reliant on standby / quick resume over the last few years. Booting from scratch into each game every time is a young man's game! So where I used to play a different game every day before this gen, I've made a bit of a crutch for myself here.

 

The down side of this is that I tend to plug away at games until I've finished them, even if I'm not totally into them, or could do with a break. I'm currently finding Devil May Cry 5 a bit of a chore (I'm just not very good at it, in truth) but if I know if I start another game I'll never come back to it. 

 

 

 

[Jamie John]

12 minutes ago, Yobo Ahoy said:

I know if I start another game I'll never come back to it. 

 

Yes, this is something else I can't do: come back to a game or put it down for a while. Once it's not being played it's gone, baby.

 

Saying that, if a game I've bounced off of is *particularly* highly thought of, I'll sometimes give it another go. It usually doesn't end well, though; the aforementioned Dragon Quest XI I've tried and abandoned about four times now on various different consoles. The same goes for Divinity Original Sin 2. I think to myself that maybe I just can't do big RPGs anymore, but then Elden Ring completely consumed my life for 130 hours back in the spring.

 

I also try to cycle the machines I play the games on; it's rare that I'll play two games in a row on the same system (except, perhaps, for short Game Pass games). If I play the same console too much then the others end up feeling hard done by, see?

[Qazimod]

8 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

Saying that, if a game I've bounced off of is *particularly* highly thought of, I'll sometimes give it another go. It usually doesn't end well, though; the aforementioned Dragon Quest XI I've tried and abandoned about four times now on various different consoles. The same goes for Divinity Original Sin 2.

 

At the risk of heresy, this is me and Dark Souls 1. The sequels were fine, as were BB, Sekiro and Elden Ring, but every attempt at 1 sees me running into an early "wall", or going the wrong way and ending up in an area I shouldn't be in, or crippling myself with some status ailment, or getting ganked by invaders, or getting fed up with the corpse run. I've deliberately avoided buying the remaster because I feel like the same thing will happen... but I'm considering making it a pet project in 2023.  

[Mars]

12 hours ago, dumpster said:

I've been playing Burnout 2 and nothing else since 2006.

My man!

[Jamie John]

12 minutes ago, Qazimod said:

At the risk of heresy, this is me and Dark Souls 1.

 

You're right: that is heresy.