Can't bring myself to start new game.

I get this with every fromsoft game lol

yeah it happens to me constantly, rather that depression i think is the losing capability to be surprised or entertain by recursive things in a media, the classic i seen this before, inevitably all things in art are going to be inspired by the things that came in the past as you enter your adulthood, things really are shinier when you are young and well, that's why you see many positive reception to things that were considered mediocre in the past, because the people that are praising those things now, were children then, that's why in ten years you'll see youtube videos about how the new Star Wars sequels are actually great, when they are fairly divisive among fans these days.

Anyway, lol, just try genres of games that you either never tried before, or games in genres that you love that are considered the epitome of them, like i went years without beating a game until i tried Dark Souls, and even then, it was the second time i tried it, and then i couldn't put it down, the same happened before Breath of the Wild and again that game was all i had in my mind for months until i finish it.

Gaming has grow pretty diversely, the times where all gamers should enjoy every game considered good is long gone, for example i don't care much for the highly narrative games ala Days Gone or The Last of Us or Uncharted, but are lots of people that consider them some of the best games ever.

I kind of worked up a pattern. Let's say I have tier AAA and A games (AAA being top tier or stuff I just really like and A being just something chill but not demanding - Stardew Valley for me at the moment). So when I finish a story heavy game, like Witcher, and feel empty inside I just jump into something light that I don't even have to finish. If it's multiplayer - even better.
Or if I feel burned out I just do something completely else like read a book, watch an anime.

I know that feeling. Haven't played a game for almost 3 months, except the occasional "trying" to do so and givingup after a few hours, since I wasn't still in the mood. The same is happening to me with movies, haven't watched a movie since October. So since then, I'm just focusing on tv shows, animes, books and language learning.

I am a game collecting addict, with my stash approaching 5000. Not bragging, just setting the stage. I have so many times just looked at the list of them all, ready to play, and just looked without choosing. Some very good titles, well known, and alot of bundle junk that has no business being published.

So, I distract myself with the oldest games I have or the smallest, or of a type that I am only mildly interested in. I jump around for a bit deleting and hiding the games if they are not interesting and working through a few different genres, until I find myself drawn to the kind of game I want to spend some time getting absorbed in, and then I find the best one I have, or a better one if it is on sale, and commence the next adventure...

Then repeat this over and over. Or, I go back to some brainless game that I have hundreds of hours in that is mildly engaging until that decision is reached.

My way is surely not the best way, but it how I cope with that hesitation...

Happens to me all the time (finished Mankind Divided few days ago, so I'm in that stage right now actually), but I found a solution!

Binge-watch some UNFINISHED TV show while occasionally play some kind of relaxing driving sim (ETS 2, free roaming in FH4, or even Train Simulator). After day or two and you're good to go into a new adventure. It is important that show is unfinished, without conclusion (perfect if you need to wait whole year for next season), so you crave for something new. That new, it will be a next game.

Give yourself time! This is kinda like withdrawals, heh.
One fun way to work through it is to watch Lets Play runs of the game you just came out of, so you can have the catharsis of seeing other peoples reactions going through the awesome (and not so awesome) events of the game, while also revisiting them and getting to appreciate them without having to make the gaming decisions associated with it. Then there is always fan material like cover songs, fanart, etc.

DDLC is pretty amazing though, especially given it is available for free. Was surprised how it was able to tug on the heartstrings as well as do the uh... the plot developments. Used one of my favourite antagonist archetypes too. It's hard not to love all the characters once you know their stories, and the credits song absolutely nails the upbeat bittersweet flavour as a perfect closing act. Yeah, that game took me a little while to come down from too, haha.

Happened to me many times with particularly great books and movies when I was younger. I remember I was taking reeeeally long walks every day in such cases. Walking is a good method for processing emotional information I guess.

Just jumped into my mind, that I more often need a break after a bad game, because the feeling of playing a game gets connected to a bad experience. For that low-key messing around with games, helps, or doing connected things. Reading a book, watching series, listening to a podcast that is kind of game-related, and hoping that it will stoke my interests for strategy, history, stories, combat, sci-fi, etc.
But I get the feeling of finishing a good game and processing it for a few days, SOMA left a mark on me.

I've never stopped playing because of a game being stuck in my head but I have had trouble sleeping for it. I remember when I finished the walking dead new frontier I had that stuck in my head for days that it felt like forever ago I played it when really it was it only like 3 days