Do you remember how to play a game after you take a break from it?

[secretanchitman]

Honestly I don't lose muscle memory that quickly so I can remember how to play a game I took a break from within the hour.

Just recently did so with Horizon Zero Dawn, although the controls were pretty straight forward to be fair.

 

[Heliex]

It depends on the game. Dark Souls or Yakuza I can easily jump back in with little effort to readjust, but games that are original I have a harder time when taking a break.

 

[Japanmanx3]

After a few weeks now I forget how to play. That's what it took me so long to get back into Spiderman and MHW. Though I put enough hours in to MHR that I think I should be good.

 

[thediamondage]

huge problem for me, I recently wanted to play Horizon Zero Dawn DLC (Frozen Wastes) but just couldn't get into the game, and I had plat'd the original game way back when. I can't get into Destiny 2 or other games I poured hundreds of hours into.

Its not just mechanics, which is a problem, but just immersion in the world. Building up from zero to knowing everything about a world, characters, story, abilities, etc vanishes within a week or two for me and I really, really need a lot of that to be invested in a game. Every time I've tried to play Destiny in the past six months (all xpacs free with gamepass) I have gotten bored and quit after 20 mins, and I sunk hundreds of hours into D1 and D2 vanilla.

 

[FTF]

Depends on the game. Fighting games like Street Fighter 2 or MK2 I could pick up after 10 years and be fine. Modern games like GoW or Spider-Man or something I'm like wtf after a few weeks if I've played other games in between lol

 

[El Crono]

I guess it depends on the game. If it's something super complex like a strategy game it could take a while, sometimes it might be even easier to start again if you were only a few hours deep. But for most stuff I can just pick it up and work out how everything works in a few minutes.

 

[Larrikin]

It depends on the game. Dark Souls or Yakuza I can easily jump back in with little effort to readjust, but games that are original I have a harder time when taking a break.

Click to shrink...

lololol sick burn.

Im glad to see that its not particularly rare for people to not have trouble picking games up again after however long. am definitely surprised its the 2nd top response though.

Im fascinated to see what this means in a broader sense of peoples ability to learn. I was talking to another friend about this after they were getting mad at a family member since "learning things is easy" and pointed out that it might just be easy for him. Before seeing roommate I wouldve probably assumed the same.

 

[Caesar III]

It is especially astonishing for me with elite dangerous. I use a hotas and two shift layers to triple map all the buttons and whenever I get into the game again I can use it within minutes.

Regular controller games are worse most of the time and I need to figure it out again after a few days. But this is due to playing other games with it confusing the muscle memory I guess.

 

[Heliex]

lololol sick burn.

Im glad to see that its not particularly rare for people to not have trouble picking games up again after however long. am definitely surprised its the 2nd top response though.

Im fascinated to see what this means in a broader sense of peoples ability to learn. I was talking to another friend about this after they were getting mad at a family member since "learning things is easy" and pointed out that it might just be easy for him. Before seeing roommate I wouldve probably assumed the same.

Click to shrink...

😆😆😆 What I meant was the first game in a new series or a game that plays differently than what im used to. Tbf though, both my examples dont evolve much either.

 

[Deleted member 22630]

Competently enough, never really goes away.

 

[N.47H.4N]

Most of the games took weeks, but The Last of Us for example I never forget.

 

[Ryuhza]

Depends entirely on the complexity of the mechanics and individuality of the controls. The more the game shares with others, the easier it tends to be to pick back up. Not that I think games should always be so similar.

More often I just forget where I am in the game. I'm going to be checking The Elder Scrolls Online out next week for the first time in years, and I am very much not looking forward to reorienting myself.

 

[Molten_]

If it's memorable, months. Otherwise I forget it immediately

 

[Khanimus]

In terms of actions and controls, I can get back into the mode pretty quick.

But if it's like a puzzle game with a lot of nuanced dynamics and rules? I'm probably fucked after 6 months or so. Like in no way can I go back to The Witness.

 

[Ghost of Jhoto]

I couldn't get back into the witcher to play the DLC cause i forgot how to play.

 

[Leeway]

Took over a months break from P5 Strikers and I'm getting wrecked.

I couldn't get back into the witcher to play the DLC cause i forgot how to play.

Click to shrink...

I have the dlc but waiting for current gen console upgrades to dive into them and this is what I'm afraid of. It's been... Years since I've played it meaningfully.

 

[Ales34]

Depends on the game. I barely remember anything if I don't play No Man's Sky for a few months. I can pick up most WRPGs years after stopping to play them and don't have any trouble.

 

[crimsonECHIDNA]

Depends on the game. I took an extended break playing Danganronpa and had to restart from the beginning because of all of those fucking mini games. Going to have to do the same with Danganronpa 2 because I took an extended pause.

 

[Deleted member 22630]

Yeah, I don't think I've ever forgotten completely.

 

[gebler]

Answered "weeks" in the poll, but it's really more about confidence than actual ability, because I don't even try resuming most games if it's been months. Getting reacquainted with the controls is one thing, and probably no big deal, but I worry about context-dependent mechanics, progression systems, ways to deal efficiently with enemies, etc. And in games with a substantial story, forgetting about ongoing plot points, world building, character motivations, etc, is obviously problematic as well.

 

[TheMadTitan]

I've put down games for years, picked them back up, and was just fine playing them. There's maybe a couple of hours readjusting, of course, but given all of the control overlap, it's not hard. I'll have a bunch of "oh yeah, you're supposed to do this while this is happening" moments though.