I’ll be the first to admit that I have a backlog of unfinished games on Steam and Epic. It’s not for lack of interest; I just keep starting new games without finishing the old ones. That’s why I made a rule for myself: one single-player game at a time. No exceptions.
You know that feeling when you go to an ice cream parlor with over fifty flavors, but you just end up getting chocolate or vanilla? You don’t even like either flavor all that much, but because of the sheer number of choices, that’s overwhelming. It’s easier to default to something familiar than to make a hastened decision and potentially regret it.
That’s exactly how Ifeel about single-player games. I usually have around ten different single-player games installed on my PC at any given time, but when it’s time to play, I almost always end up launching whatever multiplayer game I’m currently hooked on instead and only turn on a single-player game later.
The thing is, I really want to play single-player games, so I push myself to do it—and when I finally dive into a game and get invested in its story and world, the experience feels far more rewarding than suffering a fifth loss in a row inMarvel Rivals. I expected that giving myself more options in single-player games would encourage me to play more of them.
Unfortunately, the exact opposite happened. When I wasn’t playing multiplayer, I was constantly jumping between different single-player games. One moment, I was fighting demons inDevil May Cry 5; the next, I was racing through the streets of Mexico inForza Horizon 5.
I wanted to try all of my installed games without committing to any of them. In the end, my desktop, cluttered with titles, felt more like a checklist than a curated list of games I wanted to finish. I’d play a game for an hour or two, enjoy it, and never open it again.
Every New Game Kills the Last One
When I eventually committed to a single game and got into the routine of playing it for an hour or two each evening and on weekends, I would actually finish it. That was the only approach that worked. But more games kept coming out (or I stumbled across ones I hadn’t heard of), and each new discovery threatened to derail whatever progress I’d made.
As the honeymoon phase of the current title faded, a fresh one could easily steal its spotlight. Of course, the second I launched that new game, the old one was as good as abandoned.
Take last month: I was working my way throughGod of War: Ragnarökand enjoying it quite a bit. Then it happened—Oblivion Remasteredshadow dropped out of nowhere. It caught me completely off guard; of course, I putGod of Waron hold to finally dive intoOblivion, a game I had never played before, despiteSkyrimbeing one of my favorite games. Let’s face it: we’re all going to drop whatever we’re doing the momentGTA VIgoes live, just like I did withOblivion.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion™ Remastered modernizes the 2006 Game of the Year with all new stunning visuals and refined gameplay. Explore the vast landscape of Cyrodiil like never before and stop the forces of Oblivion from overtaking the land in one of the greatest RPGs ever from the award-winning Bethesda Game Studios.
Granted, I couldn’t have predicted a surprise release from one of my favorite franchises, but it still completely threw me off right when I was getting into the groove of playingGod of Warevery day. It’s now surprisingly difficult to jump back into the game’s mechanics and story after a break—I can barely remember how far I’d progressed or even the controls for switching between the Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos.
You could argue that I can always stop playing and come back to it later, but once I step away, I’m just not drawn to it the way I was at first. The spark that kept me playing is usually gone.
Focusing on One Game at a Time Is More Enjoyable
The only solution I could find to end my gaming woes was to limit my choices by deleting all but one single-player game from my PC. Now that I’ve limited myself to playing only one game at a time and refusing to install anything before I’m done, I can finally immerse myself in the world of a single game.
By sticking with a single protagonist, I form much stronger, more meaningful connections to the characters, their stories, and even the side quests. It’s far more rewarding than trying to juggle three at once in an already busy schedule.
I also make better, more thoughtful decisions in games that offer multiple paths. And if I step away in the middle of a quest, it’s not a problem—I usually remember where I left off because not much time has passed between sessions.
Plus, I don’t waste time relearning the controls every time I boot up the game. Instead, I get to focus on mastering the mechanics and improving my skills. New abilities and power-ups feel actually impactful, and I thoroughly read my options, rather than just being random upgrades I throw into the skill tree when I level up.
Most importantly, I’m far more motivated to finish what I started. Even if I don’t aim for100% completion in every game, I’m at least more likely to see the main story through to the end, as I genuinely care about it.
Multiplayer and Roguelikes Are My Palate Cleansers
As I implied earlier in the article, I enjoy multiplayer games quite a bit. In fact, I’d say that I spend roughly the same amount of time in multiplayer as I do in single-player games. That scale used to be far more in favor of multiplayer games, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate how much more rewarding single-player games are.
That said, I still love the rush of competitive multiplayer—those games let me give everything I’ve got to score a win.
The same goes forroguelikes. While games likeHades IIandReturnalare technically single-player (or co-op) experiences, they offer the same kind of action-packed, bite-sized action that hits the spot when I’m not in the mood for a longer session.
Both multiplayer games and roguelikes are like low-commitment snacks between the main course of whatever story-driven single-player I’m working through. I can jump in, play for 30–40 minutes, and walk away satisfied.
Having a large game library isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, if you have too many titles installed and struggle to commit to or finish them like I do, the solution is surprisingly simple: delete all but one single-player game from your drive. That way, when you sit down to play, you’re choosing between single-player, multiplayer, or roguelike—not between ten different games all competing for your attention.
