# I have a problem with restarting games.



## HALover9000

I just bought Bioshock remastered for PS4 the other day and after only a short time playing it I couldn't help but restart from the beginning. I tend to do this a lot with games. I'll be unhappy with my current playthrough and want to start fresh, only to keep restarting again and again until I finally get bored of the game. Some of the reasons for doing this are; that I think I missed important plot info, I missed a pick-up item, I don't like the character I made, I spent perks "incorrectly", I died too early in the game or too many times ect. With some games I've been lucky and quickly passed the phase of restarting and just got on with it, others I never end up finishing because of my compulsion. I now tend to play primarily multiplayer first-person shooters like COD or Battlefield because you can't exactly start over with those games. Part of the problem, I feel, is that I lack focus and patience. It's not just video games that have been affected, but reading and watching TV shows too. I'll start reading a book and it'll be like I'm not properly absorbing the information on the pages. In TV shows I'll quickly lose track of what's happening or the characters. Another part of my problem is choice. There's so many games, movies, TV shows and books to choose from that when, for example, I'm playing a game, I think I'm missing out on playing something else I might enjoy more. This has been a big issue for me for quite a few years now. As a child and teenager it was non-existent. Maybe it's simply a result of my depression, that I've lost interest in everything and grown bored.

Does anyone else find they have the same problem? I could really use some tips on how to overcome this compulsion if anyone would be so kind


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## Sliusarek

Yeah, I am having the same feeling. 
It is because of your depression and a lack of happiness. But also it might be because you don`t satisfy your moods. Like you shouldn`t be worried about stopping watching your favorite show or playing your favorite game for a week or even two, if you feel like you`ve lost a mood for it. Maybe it is bad, maybe you just want something different, maybe you need something fresh. I am playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution - absolutely adore this game, but I`ve played it for 20 hours or so and I feel like I need to take a little break. That is why I have my Vita. I just play something a bit more easier and then get back to Deus Ex. 
Take a little break, do something different or don`t do anything at all and come back, it won`t run away. Also we need to learn how to appreciate the moment. I have this problem that I can`t focus on something good and just try to get more and more. We should work on enjoying every second of what we are playing in.


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## Kiba

I do it when i miss something that's missable.... Or even if their was multiple ways to complete like a side mission and i didn't like the way i did it. I'll feel like "dirty" until a do a fresh restart. It's like 10 times worse with rpg's with character customization.. It took me so ****ing long to beat the main questline for Morrowind and Oblivion because i wouldn't feel like im meshing well with my character so i'd start over ad infinitum.


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## Sliusarek

Well, you need to understand that this i why you have a choice between accepting any mission and rejecting it. I am playing in Deus Ex: HR right now and I`ve rejected lots of people just because they think that my character is some kind of a dog for them. I help only, if I am curious about the quest or if I like some person in the game.
So, you should`nt push yourself to do some quest. 

And don`t forget to take breaks by playing in something a bit more casual, it always helps.


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## Scrub-Zero

I'm a bit like @Kiba for games like Morrowind or Diablo. I'll start over often with a new character, then get to a point and start again.

But i have no problems playing games over and over. I've been re-playing the same old games for years.


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## Dreaming1111

Yeah I have the same problem. So glad I'm not alone. I also tend to restart games if I have taken too long of a break and forget what was going on. It's why I still have so many games sitting in my "to be played" pile. And problem is I like mostly RPG's which usually take a long time to play anyway. 
:duel


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## AngelClare

Just plan to do a second play through after you finish the game. Then after you finish the game start your next play through and quit halfway like me 

You may have a slight amount of OCD perfectionism and obsessing. Most people with SA have other issues too. I have chronic pathological procrastination.


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## naes

Sounds like OCD to me. Try to just go with the flow. Pretend your character is who you are, not vice versa and that might help a little too. Also medicines for OCD tend to help.


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## shiori

This is why I tend to use walkthroughs. Usually I try to do everything I can find to do up to a point-of-no-return in the game (like the end of a chapter) then look at a walkthrough to make sure I'm not missing any quests, etc. Similar with skills, if I'm not sure how I want to build my character I look at a guide.

I have completionist tendencies too so it bothers me if I miss something in a game. But if I do miss something/do something incorrectly and it's not too important I usually just live with it, restarting is far too exhausting lol.


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## KelsKels

I don't really restart things, but I absolutely feel like I don't pay enough attention and that things aren't sticking with me enough. Like I get frustrated when I pick a game back up and I don't remember little details from the last time I played. Or some lore I missed is mentioned and I get upset because I didn't read it before, or forgot. Same thing with like books and tv shows.. I get upset when I don't remember people or every little detail. Luckily there's lots of nerds out there that make wikis.. So I usually end up reading all kinds of lore and plot and character details in wikis. Which takes up a bunch of time lol.. I definitely don't speed through games if I'm invested in the story/world. I try to read everything and pay attention and connect events and details.. Then get frustrated and read a wiki for like an hour.. Then continue the game, feeling better until the next thing I run into. It can be quite the process. But if I feel like I don't completely understand the plot and lore and where everything is going, I do get quite upset.


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## Resergence

I like killing final bosses on some guys over and over again i dont know why haha


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## Protozoan

I only just beat Mass Effect 3 yesterday despite starting it around January sometime.

Took me a few attempts to get back into it.

Forgot whether half of the characters in the game were even still alive or not.


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## Charmander

Lol I do that too. It's probably why I rush through games so much. Also if it's been a while since I played I get frustrated with the controls.


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## Rex87

I replayed Metal Gear5 4-5 times. And i started playing it yet again like a month or so ago, stopped playing after a week though. I'll play it again(from that data), just been so busy lately. The 2nd or 3rd play through I had 100+ hours. Other games I replayed over and over was Resident Evil remake,Metal Gear Solid 2, GTA:SA, surprised I haven't played GTA5 over and over, hmm....Dead Rising I think I did that with. There's more just can't remember. But most of that kind of gaming was way back in the day. Games don't get me like they used to. Metal Gear 5 definitely did though!


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## Aribeth

Sounds like you still have scars from the NES era. Starting from the beginning again like that, just like when the NES would send you back to the beginning after dying a few times. Haha.


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