Lately, I've been looking for interesting games to play and thinking about what actually makes a game fun. With Gamescom 2026 just starting and a bunch of new games about to be revealed, it feels like a good time to take a closer look at what I really want from games.
This post is just a subjective opinion and some people may find it controversial. If you have something more interesting to read, go read that instead.
The complexity problem
Games have become much bigger over the years - and not just in size. Modern AAA games can have an absurd number of systems: skill trees, crafting, upgrades, stats, perks, currencies, different types of equipment, progression systems, reputation systems and probably 87447621 other things hiding somewhere in the menus that are supposed to make the experience deeper.
At some point, it feels like you need to remember 14 types of dwarves, keep track of your relationship with the goblins, learn which faction hates which other faction, and somehow remember that the random spoon you found three hours ago is actually needed for the best ending. And don't forget to do that one random thing now, or you'll regret it 10 hours later...
But complexity itself isn't the problem.
A game can have a huge amount of depth and still be easy to enjoy. The problem starts when understanding all that depth becomes a requirement to play the game properly.
There is a difference between a game having a lot of mechanics and expecting the player to learn all of them. Some games do this really well. They throw a ridiculous number of systems at the player, but most of them can simply be ignored. You can just pick a few weapons you like. Choose some upgrades that seem useful. Find a playstyle that feels good and keep going.
Maybe there is a perfectly optimized build that does 37% more damage, but only if you use the right weapon, stack the right perks, keep a specific buff active and combine half a dozen mechanics in exactly the right way.
Sometimes a weapon just feels nice to use. Sometimes an ability looks cool. Sometimes the mathematically optimal choice is simply less fun. And that's fine. I don't want to spend an hour watching YouTube guides or reading a wiki before I even start playing. I don't have that much free time to begin with, and if the first step to enjoying a game is studying how to play it, something feels a little wrong.
Deep systems should give players more things to explore, not give them homework before they are allowed to start playing the game.
Freedom needs direction
Freedom is one of the best things a game can offer. You can go wherever you want, approach situations in different ways and even ignore the main objective for a while, making the game world feel much more alive.
But freedom doesn't mean having no direction at all. There is something nice about opening the map and seeing many things you can do, while still having some things that make you think: "Okay, let's go there."
"Sure, the map is completely open, so I'll just follow the road and see where it goes." 20 minutes later: "Okay, this is definitely not where I was going."
A game can give you a huge world without making you decide everything yourself. It can give you a place to go, a mission, something interesting on the map or just a reason to be curious. Then let you choose how to get there and what to do.
That's what makes open worlds fun. The game doesn't need to tell you what to do all the time. It just needs to give you reasons to explore. You can start the game wanting to finish a mission. A few minutes later, you might be driving somewhere completely different because you saw something interesting.
And that's not getting distracted.
That's the game.
When games become work
Games are supposed to be a way to spend free time. But often they start asking for more time than expected.
You need to level up before you can use better gear. You need to grind for money. You need to repeat the same missions. You need to keep up with daily tasks. You need to learn the best build, the best weapons and the best way to play...
And none of these things are bad on their own. Many people enjoy them. The problem is when the game starts feeling like another thing that needs to be done.
You finish work or school, sit down to play, knowing you have to go to bed in an hour because you need to get up early tomorrow. And then the game tells you that you should first spend 40 minutes doing some daily tasks because otherwise you're "missing out".
"Just one quick game before bed." Daily quests: 7/12 Battle pass: 43% complete Sleep: 6 hours remaining
At that point, you start wondering if you really want to spend your free time doing chores in a game.
"I turn to video games to AVOID my to-do list, not make it longer."
The same thing can happen in multiplayer games. You end up playing against people who treat the game like a full-time job, people who use their parents' card to buy every new in-game item, and people who genuinely don't understand why anyone would play any other way.
And then there are players who just want to play for an hour, two or three times a week...
It can be hard to keep up with people who simply have much more time to play. You can take a few days off and suddenly everyone knows the new meta, has better gear and is already miles ahead. And forget about climbing the rankings when you're playing against people who have several hours a day to grind. At best, you'll just get called a noob for not being good enough. "Skill issue. Just get good."
"I only play a few hours a week." "Cool. Your opponent has already played six hours today." "...great."
There is nothing wrong with spending a lot of time on a game. But not every game needs to make casual players feel like they are constantly falling behind. Sometimes you just want to log in for an hour, play a few matches and leave. No grind, no catching up, no feeling that you need to play every day just to keep up.
Let's be silly
Games can be deep, complicated and full of things to do. That's not the problem. The problem is when playing them starts feeling like another task on the list. You might use the silly weapon because it looks cool, take the long way because why not, or skip the quest and waste 30 minutes on nothing.
Not every game needs to be played like a machine trying to find the fastest way to produce numbers. Sometimes it's nicer to just be a little fox, running around and pressing buttons to see what happens. You don't need the best build, the best gear or the best way to play. You just want to mess around and have fun.
Sometimes the dumb choice is the fun choice.
No spreadsheets, no guides, no meta, just play.
What do you think about it?