• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Bored with games on my PC, time for a console?

Zorachus

Zorachus

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Messages
12,296
Big PC gamer, been building my own custom gaming rigs since the i486 days and 8MB RAM in the early 90s. I do a new system build maybe every 4 to 5 years or so.

My current rig is ok, just a 9800X3D, RTX-5080 FE, 64GB DDR-5 RAM, and an OLED 1440p curved monitor. I built this a bit over a year ago, in Spring 2025.

I'm a lifelong World of Warcraft player as well as Diablo player and then I like shooters like Doom and Battlefield and stuff like that.

In the past year or so I've played all of these games and several others similar to them at the highest graphic settings and gameplay is smooth as butter and look amazing. But to be honest I'm just so bored and burnt out on all these games. Have no interest in playing any of these anymore right now. I've like hit a wall or something the past 6 months, just zero interest now in them. Even the new WoW expansion I got sick of it after about 2 months. And some add-ons and expansions to other games and big patches that I play, just haven't scratched the itch like they used to.

So... Maybe it's time for me to buy a console? I've owned several consoles starting with the ColecoVision and then the first Atari, and the NES and Nintendo 64. Most recent console I owned was the original Xbox, just to play Halo on it and I returned it a week later because playing a first person shooter with a controller just seemed wrong. Those type of games are meant for keyboard and mouse and I'll die on that hill.

So it's been 25 plus years since I've owned a console.

But... I do like games that are meant for a controller/ gamepad like Super Mario Brothers or some of these other cool PS5 games like those Japanese Ghosts Of games look absolutely stunning and really interesting with open world gameplay.

Would a PS5 Pro scratch my itch on trying something new and experiencing different types of games that I'm used to? Ratchet and Clank those games look silly fun. Ghost of You also look crazy good.

Opinions please.
 
  • Like
Reactions: spine
like this
If you really want the console-game experience with a controller, then just buy an XBox controller and plug it into your PC. Many/most XBox games can be bought on the XBox store and played right on the PC. These days a console is just a shitty computer, leaving little reason to get one if you already have a good computer, with a few exceptions such as Sony doing the Sony thing and still trying to make some games console exclusive. There are enough that are available on PC and fully playable with a controller that you should be able to determine if that is the way you want to go without having to actually buy an expensive console first.

This World of Warcraft season felt short because gearing was easier than normal. That increased the number of people who felt like they were done with their characters early and moved on until the next season.
 
Yar, I agree with GotNoRice here - grab yourself a quality gamepad (8bitdo's are priced quite nicely) and try out some gamepad-specific titles. I'd also recommend trying out Xbox Mode with a gamepad - I was pleasantly surprised how far it's come along when I tried it out a couple of weeks ago.

Unless there's a console exclusive that you want to play, most of the 3rd party titles are available on both PC and console.

Now if it's the simplicity of a console you're looking for (quick resume, no troubleshooting, etc) then that's a different story and PS5 Pro is the most powerful of the consoles and a good time. Unless you can find a used one for cheap, I wouldn't really recommend a Xbox series console at this time - They're priced too high.
 
Zorachus said:
Ratchet and Clank those games look silly fun.
Click to expand...
I used to buy PS consoles a generation behind just to play this series. One of the latest was released on PC and plays awesome. (with a controller) If you like it and want more, there's older ones that were just as fun imo.

These days I don't play more than an hour or so in a sitting. Most Nintendo games are just fun without needing emotional investment or a deep story to follow along with.
 
If you are bored with PC games, console games won't be any better. Get someone to play the games with instead, or find someone to talk about the games you are playing, bonus if they are playing them too.

It's often not that the games aren't fun anymore, but you are missing half the fun -- sharing your experience with others, etc. You might find it more fun to pick up challenge runs or speedrunning, and joining those communities and discussions.
 
As others have said, if you wanna couch game, wireless controller. If the PC isn't near the TV, fiber optic HDMI cable. That gets you a couch gaming experience better than any console, and is less expensive since you already own the nice computer. Not only can you couch game modern games, but also you can fire up emulators and do classic ones.

That said, not sure that is your issue. First thing is stop playing WoW. Blizzard turned that thing in to a job years ago. If MMOs are your jam there's others to look at. However the real answer may be to look at other kinds of games. Outside of WoW, what do you like? What sorts of games do you enjoy, or did you enjoy? There's lots of fun options.

The only reason to get a console is if there's exclusives that really are of interest to you. If there are specific games, and I'd make it at least two, that you really want that are only on a console then get one. Like my GF has a Switch 2 because she loves Nintendo games. She enjoyed the hell out of the new Metroid Prime and spend hundreds of hours building contraptions to abuse Koroks in TOTK. So if a PS5 has some titles the PC doesn't that you are saying "Man I really want that," then cool, get one. But if the allure is just couch gaming, get a good wireless controller, I like the Gamesir G7 Pro, and a video cable to get the PC to the TV and do that.

If the issue is just the game you are playing or types of games you are playing, then switch that up. It is ok for tastes to change. I used to love Civilization but I just find these days I don't want to spend the time on it anymore. Likewise WoW was totally my jam when it came out and I play it all the time through the first couple expansions but I dropped it with Cata and haven't gone back. Your tastes can change and that's fine. Likewise you can get the itch to play classic stuff. I've been playing a ton of Neverwinter Nights EE and playing a bunch of modules I never did back in the day. It does feel a little silly to have a top of the line system running such an old game but it makes me happy :)

So first thing is to identify what kind of games you want to try. I'm sure people here can give plenty of recommendations.
 
Different games like Ghost of Yotei and Ratchet and Clank are games I don't typically play, but look super fun.
 
Zorachus said:
Different games like Ghost of Yotei and Ratchet and Clank are games I don't typically play, but look super fun.
Click to expand...
Well if Ratchet and Clank looks good, that's on Steam (and on sale now). Get it and get yourself a controller if you don't have one. You can either play in front of the computer with just that, or hook up to the TV if you like. See how that goes.
 
Zorachus said:
Those type of games are meant for keyboard and mouse and I'll die on that hill.
Click to expand...
Amen to that.

Zorachus said:
So it's been 25 plus years since I've owned a console.
Click to expand...
I've had at least one console every generation since 2nd-gen (Atari 2600), but this current gen (9th-gen) is the first time I haven't gotten one. And I don't plan to either. I'm hoping I can just stop buying consoles from now on, cuz I can play all those games on PC (whether they be native ports or through emulation or what have you). Although Sony is throwing a wrench into those plans by walking back their decision to put their exclusive games on PC. But PC has always been my preferred platform.

Zorachus said:
I do like games that are meant for a controller/ gamepad like Super Mario Brothers or some of these other cool PS5 games like those Japanese Ghosts Of games look absolutely stunning and really interesting with open world gameplay.
Click to expand...
Just buy a controller like the XBSX|S controller or the DualSense controller and then play those games on PC.

I played Ghost of Tsushima on PS4 Pro only cuz I had no fucking idea Sony was gonna start putting their exclusive games on PC. It's an excellent game and has a good PC port:
View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2215430/Ghost_of_Tsushima_DIRECTORS_CUT/

Sadly Ghost of Yotei probably won't end up on PC now. F*ck you Sony.

Zorachus said:
Would a PS5 Pro scratch my itch on trying something new and experiencing different types of games that I'm used to? Ratchet and Clank those games look silly fun. Ghost of You also look crazy good.
Click to expand...
The latest R&C game is available on PC:

View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1895880/Ratchet__Clank_Rift_Apart/
It's not the best in the series but it is still a very enjoyable game, and it's the only one that's on PC. Insomniac Games also make pretty good use of the proprietary features on Sony controllers, and Rift Apart is no different with the DualSense controller. But plays fine with an Xbox family controller too.

And if you're bored of modern games there's a whole world of arcade and classic console games available to play via emulation on PC. PC is THE ultimate video game platform.

GotNoRice said:
These days a console is just a shitty computer, leaving little reason to get one if you already have a good computer...
Click to expand...
Yupz, that's the truth. Starting with 8th-gen they've just been weaker, locked-down x86-64/AMD64 machines. The Microsoft ones even run Windows.

SeymourGore said:
Unless there's a console exclusive that you want to play, most of the 3rd party titles are available on both PC and console.
Click to expand...
This.

SticKx911 said:
I used to buy PS consoles a generation behind just to play this series. One of the latest was released on PC and plays awesome. (with a controller) If you like it and want more, there's older ones that were just as fun imo.
Click to expand...
Indeed, absolutely fantastic series. There's been some low points, but most of the games have been great. But Insomniac has always been an awesome studio. I'm gonna miss Ted Price. Weird to think about an Insomniac without him. He's earned his retirement though.

Nobu said:
If you are bored with PC games, console games won't be any better.
Click to expand...
Truth.

Sycraft said:
The only reason to get a console is if there's exclusives that really are of interest to you.
Click to expand...
Exactly. And since Microsoft games always come to PC, and Sony started putting their exclusives on PC (but will sadly probably stop now), that leaves only Nintendo. And for Switch 1 that's not a problem, cuz Switch emulation on PC exists, and it is very good. You get a superior Switch 1 gaming experience on PC, with higher resolutions, higher framerates, and the ability to mod games.
 
Last edited:
DrezKill said:
Exactly. And since Microsoft games always come to PC, and Sony started putting their exclusives on PC (but will sadly probably stop now), that leaves only Nintendo. And for Switch 1 that's not a problem, cuz Switch emulation on PC exists, and it is very good. You get a superior experience on PC, with higher resolutions, higher framerates, and the ability to mod games.
Click to expand...
True, and for me I'm a PC gamer only, have been since, well, since I got one really. However, if there are console exclusives that someone wants I can understand getting a console for them. I don't like that console makers use them to sell their consoles, but I'm not going to tell someone to refuse to get a console if they see something they really want. I'll just say make sure there ARE things you really want before spending the money. No reason to drop almost a grand on a PS5 Pro only to say "Man, none of the exclusives are things I want, and the rest of the games are the same as I can get on the PC but lower resolution."
 
Consoles make everything worse so if you are bored with pc games find a new hobby.
 
Sycraft said:
However, if there are console exclusives that someone wants I can understand getting a console for them. I don't like that console makers use them to sell their consoles, but I'm not going to tell someone to refuse to get a console if they see something they really want. I'll just say make sure there ARE things you really want before spending the money.
Click to expand...
For me personally I had a rule. There had to be 5 must-have exclusives that I absolutely wanted before I would even begin to think about buying a certain console. Or if the console was easy to mod then I could justify spending money on the hardware since I was gonna save money with the games. I've gotten a good number of consoles as gifts, including consoles I probably never would've bought myself, and that works out too.

I never did like exclusives. I realize that exclusives are the main reason to buy a particular system. However I would prefer if games came out for every platform, and then I could just choose to play those games on whichever platform I wish, whichever one I think would give me the best experience. I still think Nintendo would make good money selling native PC ports of their games, but we're talking about the same company who thinks marking a game down $40 is a good "sale", and who will sell old games to you for full fucking price. Making sense is not something they really do.
 
Totally in same boat as OP. Started out with family Intel 286 DX2 (66mhz!) - then consoles, NES, etc. through to N64 (last console I've ever owned), then first gaming PC (PentiumII 300mhz, Matrox PowerVR m3D - I still own these, so cute :))

But I think we've just out-grown mainstream gaming, we've seen it all, and big AAA games can't afford to be too divergent, so only thing new in PC gaming is better graphics, and so chasing constant hardware upgrades became the game.

But the yearly hardware upgrade game is now over. This is the problem here.
 
Zorachus said:
Ratchet and Clank those games look silly fun. Ghost of You also look crazy good.
Click to expand...
Considering those are available on your superbe PC, I am not sure what you are waiting for to simply play them with a controller, this seem to be about something else than game available on the platform ?

If you think the actual PS5 UI and other niceties it bring for the home cinema setup could make it nicer than steam fullscreen, could be worth the try, but outside some exception like EA sport NHL franchise, most controller type game as a PC version for you to try.

In that regard, the switch 2 suggestion do make sense, from exclusive to form factor that could be the biggest shifts from a regular PC option (outside going VR)
 
Last edited:
Comixbooks said:
Just buy a Switch 2 if anything everything else is secondary. PS5 is a waste
Click to expand...
Yep! Switch 2 gives you things you can't get on PC plus works as a nice portable to boot. Been worth every penny for me having skipped the switch 1, now I get discounted upgraded games plus a bunch of switch 2 exclusives present and future.
 
GoldenTiger said:
Yep! Switch 2 gives you things you can't get on PC plus works as a nice portable to boot. Been worth every penny for me having skipped the switch 1, now I get discounted upgraded games plus a bunch of switch 2 exclusives present and future.
Click to expand...

A Switch 2 to play the cool newer Zelda games does impress me. I've always been interested in those and they look so cool and fun.
 
Zorachus said:
A Switch 2 to play the cool newer Zelda games does impress me. I've always been interested in those and they look so cool and fun.
Click to expand...
It is a worthwhile consideration if those kind of games interest you. I'd say the new Zeldas are kind of a Zelda/Skyrim hybrid combined with puzzles. Rather than the less, longer, dungeons of past Zeldas they tend to be short dungeons that are often physics puzzles. Tears of the Kingdom, the newer one, really took the formula up a notch with their building system. It is just fun to build all kinds of random ass contraptions to complete things and you can do thing in unconventional ways with them.

The two big downsides for me with them:

1) Weapon durability. I hate it, both games feature it, and it means you have to cycle through weapons all the time. The developers said it was to make people try different playstyles. In my experience it means you either play like me, where you spend time farming good weapons of the kind you like, and then almost never use them, always using the lowest tier shit because "I might need the good stuff later" or you play like my GF who just smashes shit with whatever weapon is next in the inventory, with no regards to what that is or how to best use it.

2) Things get a little samey. Much like Skyrim, when you have a big world densely packed with things to do, it can't all be that unique.


That said, they are good. Would recommend the Switch 2 versions because of framerate and to a lesser degree resolution. The OG Switch drags ass with them, 30fps max and a non-trivial amount of 20fps. Switch 2 can hold 60 pretty well and do it at higher rez, with better texture filtering.
 
I have Zelda breath of the wild switch 2 edition (4k60 with increased draw distance over the s1), echoes of wisdom, and link's awakening to play, plus the Ocarina of time Remaster coming soon. I'll get tears of the kingdom once I finish botw :D. Have a bunch of other games I got on sale too, but those were the Zelda ones :p.
 
What's the newer Zelda game last 5 years or so, went old school style top down view and your character and everything are small 3D looking?

Was that any good?
 
Zorachus said:
What's the newer Zelda game last 5 years or so, went old school style top down view and your character and everything are small 3D looking?

Was that any good?
Click to expand...
That was echoes of wisdom, where you play as Zelda rather than Link. I own it because I've read it was good and it was on sale, but haven't played it yet.
 
Zorachus said:
What's the newer Zelda game last 5 years or so, went old school style top down view and your character and everything are small 3D looking?

Was that any good?
Click to expand...
As others have said, Echos of Wisdom. It was ok. GF enjoyed it but it wasn't an all time favorite. Plays very different from most Zelda games as it is more of a pet-summoning game for combat.
 
Those with the Switch 2, are you hooking it up to your big OLED TV to play on? Or using the handheld device screen thing to play games?
 
Zorachus said:
Those with the Switch 2, are you hooking it up to your big OLED TV to play on? Or using the handheld device screen thing to play games?
Click to expand...
We only play ours on the big TV. Mostly that is because that's just how my GF games (I game on PC almost exclusively) she's not interested in mobile gaming, just couch gaming. However also it looks way better not only because it is bigger, and it runs faster in docked mode, but because the LCD on the Switch 2 is kinda shit. For whatever reason they went with a pretty slow LCD on the hardware itself so it has a fair bit of ghosting, and it is not a MiniLED so no real HDR support. The Switch 2 does support HDR, how good it is varies per game. Metroid Prime was very good for example. But to enjoy it, needs to be hooked to an HDR TV.

If you do get one another game you can look at it the new Donkey Kong. It is a platformer with the sub design of "smash everything". Most of the world is destructible so you just kinda of on rampages and smash the ground looking for items and such. GF liked it.
 
Something to remember regarding couch vs portable is you can switch any time. One thing it does well is, well, Switch. Just drop it in the dock and it is a TV gaming system. Pick it up and it is mobile. You don't have to reload or change anything. So if you are interested in couch gaming mostly but like the idea of taking it to game in bed or something it'll do that no issue.

If you do want to game on the TV, I'd get a Pro controller. They are kinda pricey, but much nicer than putting the built in ones on to the controller dock it comes with. Also makes it easier to use it portable if you want since they included ones just stay on the unit itself.
 
Zorachus said:
Big PC gamer, been building my own custom gaming rigs since the i486 days and 8MB RAM in the early 90s. I do a new system build maybe every 4 to 5 years or so.

My current rig is ok, just a 9800X3D, RTX-5080 FE, 64GB DDR-5 RAM, and an OLED 1440p curved monitor. I built this a bit over a year ago, in Spring 2025.

I'm a lifelong World of Warcraft player as well as Diablo player and then I like shooters like Doom and Battlefield and stuff like that.

In the past year or so I've played all of these games and several others similar to them at the highest graphic settings and gameplay is smooth as butter and look amazing. But to be honest I'm just so bored and burnt out on all these games. Have no interest in playing any of these anymore right now. I've like hit a wall or something the past 6 months, just zero interest now in them. Even the new WoW expansion I got sick of it after about 2 months. And some add-ons and expansions to other games and big patches that I play, just haven't scratched the itch like they used to.

So... Maybe it's time for me to buy a console? I've owned several consoles starting with the ColecoVision and then the first Atari, and the NES and Nintendo 64. Most recent console I owned was the original Xbox, just to play Halo on it and I returned it a week later because playing a first person shooter with a controller just seemed wrong. Those type of games are meant for keyboard and mouse and I'll die on that hill.

So it's been 25 plus years since I've owned a console.

But... I do like games that are meant for a controller/ gamepad like Super Mario Brothers or some of these other cool PS5 games like those Japanese Ghosts Of games look absolutely stunning and really interesting with open world gameplay.

Would a PS5 Pro scratch my itch on trying something new and experiencing different types of games that I'm used to? Ratchet and Clank those games look silly fun. Ghost of You also look crazy good.

Opinions please.
Click to expand...
Ghost of Tsushima and Yotei are on PC. Just get a DualSense and plug it into your PC. The games support all the DualSense features on PC.

Ratchet & Clank is on PC, too. So is Halo. Since 2003, in fact.

I agree with the earlier post that it just sounds like you need to play different games.
 
GoldenTiger said:
That was echoes of wisdom, where you play as Zelda rather than Link. I own it because I've read it was good and it was on sale, but haven't played it yet.
Click to expand...
There is also the Link's Awakening remake. That was 7 years ago, though.
 
Armenius said:
Ghost of Tsushima and Yotei are on PC. Just get a DualSense and plug it into your PC. The games support all the DualSense features on PC.

Ratchet & Clank is on PC, too. So is Halo. Since 2003, in fact.

I agree with the earlier post that it just sounds like you need to play different games.
Click to expand...
Ghost of Yotei is not on PC. Plans were scraped for it.
 
I would probably also lean toward a switch. I got a ps5 but my gaming pc is starting to age and wanted something simple to game on and also easy to move around, but the game selection really didn't change for me.

Or just keep looking for the right game to play, I think steam is over 100k total games, so there has to be something of interest there. Certainly not that many on ps5.
 
If you want to try Breath of the Wild, buy a cheap Wii U copy and run it via an emulator on your PC. If you still have a disc drive anyway.
 
Ranulfo said:
If you want to try Breath of the Wild, buy a cheap Wii U copy and run it via an emulator on your PC. If you still have a disc drive anyway.
Click to expand...
You can't just make an ISO of a Wii U disc. They are not standard DVD. You need to copy it to a drive directly from the console using homebrew software.
 
Zorachus said:
A Switch 2 to play the cool newer Zelda games does impress me.
Click to expand...
Braamer said:
I would not buy a switch to play the Zelda games...
Click to expand...
Just use emulation on PC, like I pointed out before. Gives you a better experience than playing on Switch 1. Also better experience than on Switch 2. Switch 2 can match the 60fps you get on PC, but the higher resolution and mods you only get a PC. Well Switch 2 runs those Zelda games at a higher res than Switch 1 as well, but you're not gonna get say full native 4K like you get on PC, I don't think.

Sycraft said:
Would recommend the Switch 2 versions because of framerate and to a lesser degree resolution. The OG Switch drags ass with them, 30fps max and a non-trivial amount of 20fps. Switch 2 can hold 60 pretty well and do it at higher rez, with better texture filtering.
Click to expand...
Or play them on PC via emulation and get an even better experience.

Ranulfo said:
If you want to try Breath of the Wild, buy a cheap Wii U copy
Click to expand...
Or use the program Wii U Downloader: https://github.com/Xpl0itU/WiiUDownloader
Which grabs the games directly from Nintendo's servers.

Armenius said:
You can't just make an ISO of a Wii U disc. They are not standard DVD. You need to copy it to a drive directly from the console using homebrew software.
Click to expand...
This is true. They use custom 25GB Panasonic optical discs. So if you got a soft-modded Wii U, you can make ISOs from the discs using that.

Also I don't think most people realize that in the Gamecube, Wii, and Wii U, the optical drive spins in the opposite direction.

Armenius said:
Just get a DualSense and plug it into your PC. The games support all the DualSense features on PC.

Ratchet & Clank is on PC, too.
Click to expand...
Yeah I pointed these out earlier too, even provided links to the Steam store pages.

Sycraft said:
If you do want to game on the TV, I'd get a Pro controller. They are kinda pricey, but much nicer than putting the built in ones on to the controller dock it comes with.
Click to expand...
Yeah fuck the joy-cons, I don't understand how anyone would choose to play with those things while the system is docked. Switch Pro Controller is where it's at. But fuck the prices of Switch 1/2 Pro Controllers and DualSense controllers. At least I recently got a DualSense for "only" $55, which is sad that is considered a "sale". Microsoft controllers often go on sale for $40 is a much more appropriate price for a controller.
 
Yep. Both games look very good on the Switch 2. You can also try and emulate them and probably make them look even better, but if you don't want to mess with that I can confirm that the Switch 2 versions of them look great. They both really needed a system more powerful than the Switch.

If you liked Zelda and you liked Skyrim, chances are you will at least enjoy them if not love them.
 
Zorachus said:
Would a PS5 Pro scratch my itch on trying something new and experiencing different types of games that I'm used to? Ratchet and Clank those games look silly fun. Ghost of You also look crazy good.
Click to expand...
No.

Unless you have a friend group to play multiplayer with there are only a handful of console exclusives and an even smaller number of exclusives that are good. All of the Xbox exclusives are on PC. Many of the PS exclusives are on PC. Nintendo hasn't made a good game since A Link to the Past but their games can easily be played on PC.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top