From 2006 to 2013, the world of video games stood at its creative peak. It was a golden age defined by tight, action-focused gameplay, vivid storytelling, and a simplicity that allowed players to jump in, have fun, and log off feeling fulfilled.
Titles from this era — think God of War III, Vanquish, Bayonetta, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and Spec Ops: The Line — delivered gripping experiences in compact, finely tuned packages. The average game lasted around 5–7 hours, striking a perfect balance between intensity and replayability.
These games were straightforward. You played to enjoy, not to work. They didn’t demand 100-hour commitments, endless checklists, or spreadsheets to track loot and character stats. It was an age when gameplay came first, and RPG elements were the seasoning — not the main dish.
The Rise of RPGification: When Every Game Became a Job
Fast forward to the present, and the landscape is barely recognizable. The overwhelming majority of modern titles are bloated with RPG mechanics: experience points, stats grinding, resource gathering, open-world exploration, fetch quests, skill trees, crafting systems, daily objectives — the list is endless.
These features, once reserved for a niche genre, are now the default template. Shooters, hack-and-slashers, platformers — virtually every genre has adopted “RPG elements.” Games that could once be completed in a weekend now stretch into 50–100 hour marathons. It’s not about skill or immersion anymore — it’s about addiction loops.
Take God of War (2018) as a prime example. Once a flagship slasher series known for its fast-paced, combo-heavy combat and tight storytelling, it transformed into a slower, loot-driven RPG with gear systems, colored rarities, and level gating. The narrative depth and graphics were praised, yes, but the soul of the original series — its raw, unrestricted fun — was lost in translation.
The Psychology Behind the Change
Why has the industry pivoted so hard into grind-based, time-consuming game design? The answer lies in psychology and profit.
Game developers discovered what mobile gaming already knew: RPG mechanics, especially those tied to progression and rewards, are highly addictive. They tap into the human brain’s dopamine response system. The tiny thrill of upgrading a weapon, gaining a level, or completing a quest can be just as stimulating as a social media “like” or a slot machine win.
This is no accident. It’s intentional design — a form of behavioral conditioning that turns play into compulsion.
Free-to-play mobile games pioneered this system with gacha mechanics, login rewards, and progression locks. AAA studios took notice. Slowly but surely, these elements crept into full-priced, single-player games, cleverly disguised as “depth” and “replay value.” But make no mistake: this is monetized engagement masquerading as gameplay.
The Erasure of Genre Identity
In the past, a game had a clear genre. You knew what you were getting — a shooter, a platformer, a slasher. Today, those lines are blurred beyond recognition. Every game now comes bundled with level-ups, gear rarity tiers, crafting materials, and stat management.
Games that once prided themselves on focused gameplay are now buried under systems upon systems. Horizon Zero Dawn, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Ghost of Tsushima — all of them, despite their different settings, follow the same core RPG-heavy blueprint.
Even indie titles, once a bastion of creative freedom, are mimicking this formula to capture market attention.
When Challenge Becomes Chore: The Soulslike Epidemic
Games like Elden Ring, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne have popularized an especially grueling form of RPG gameplay. These titles reward patience, repetition, and perseverance — but they also glorify tedium. Lose your currency by dying? That’s part of the experience. Spend hours grinding weaker enemies to be strong enough for a boss? That’s “immersive.”
Yet for many, the thrill fades quickly. Once the initial rush of progress wears off, what remains is a grind loop — one eerily similar to compulsive behaviors found in gambling and social media.
Even worse, these mechanics have trickled into games that never needed them, stretching out content to justify price tags and pad marketing copy with “100+ hours of gameplay.”
Predatory Design in a Capitalist Framework
The unfortunate truth is that modern video games have become products shaped not by artistry or fun, but by analytics and engagement metrics. Developers and publishers aim not to create joy, but to extend playtime, hook players, and funnel them through monetization paths.
This is the ultimate victory of predatory capitalism in gaming: adapting to and exploiting human vices rather than challenging or inspiring them. The goal is not to make you play, but to make you stay — at any cost.
Players are now expected to be digital masochists. To grind for hours, to chase elusive unlocks, to feel that Pavlovian sense of reward — and to do it again in the next game, and the one after that.
A Glimpse of Hope: The Legacy of the Seventh Generation
Not all is lost. The seventh console generation (PS3, Xbox 360) still houses an impressive collection of pure, no-nonsense games. Titles like Folklore, Nier (2010), Gravity Rush, and Patapon 3 offered compelling gameplay loops without falling into the modern trap of overdesign.
These games had heart. They didn’t ask for your life. They respected your time.
While their successors (Gravity Rush 2, Nier Automata) started to show signs of creeping grind, they still held onto enough charm to remain enjoyable. But the trend was clear. Simpler mechanics gave way to “deeper” ones. Fun gave way to obligation.
PC Gaming: The Last Bastion of Control
As console games increasingly embraced these time-draining mechanics, many gamers migrated to PC. Why? One simple reason: mods and cheats. With the ability to bypass grinding, speed up progression, or skip tedious sections, players could reshape their experience — reclaiming some measure of control.
While purists may scoff, this freedom has made PC gaming a refuge for those disillusioned with the state of modern design. It’s a way to enjoy games on your own terms — not on the terms of engagement-obsessed publishers.
Looking Forward with Cautious Optimism
With the rise of AI-generated content and procedural world-building, the future promises games that are bigger, longer, and more immersive than ever before. But at what cost?
Games may soon become so expansive, so “realistic,” and so dopamine-fueled that the line between play and psychological manipulation blurs entirely. Imagine 200-hour open worlds, endless side quests, and stat systems that rival tax codes. That’s not immersion — that’s entrapment.
Yet despite this, hope remains.
The classics of the seventh generation still exist. They’re still playable, still enjoyable, and still serve as a reminder of what gaming once was — and could be again. Not everything has to be a grind. Not every game needs to be a second job. And not every player wants to be a slave to a skill tree.
It Was Better Before
Gaming didn’t always feel like labor. It used to feel like fun. It used to be a place of escape, not endurance. The industry may have moved on, but the classics remain — untouched by trends, untainted by greed.
So fire up that PS3, dust off your old games, and rediscover the joy of just playing.
Because not all progress is improvement. And sometimes, the past really was better.
