I know I've written a lot about how PC gaming has changed over the years, but this article is not about that. It's about how people my age — and even younger gamers — seem to feel this undercurrent of PC gaming not being as fun as it was when we were younger. Gamers like me often express how they used to enjoy games a lot more in the past, especially in the 2000s, despite earning well enough in the past 5 years to build powerful gaming PCs. And I found that this isn't just their nostalgia speaking.

Yes, we had a lot more time on our hands and many game genres were still new to us back then. But, I realized there were solid reasons why the PC gaming industry as a whole was a different world around 20 years ago. So, I attempted to deconstruct this feeling and get to the root of this gnawing dissatisfaction I have with modern PC gaming.

Weaker PCs but stronger connections

We built lasting gaming experiences

The thing is, as my PC hardware has become more and more powerful, my focus has shifted toward running the most demanding games at the highest possible settings. Instead of picking up a title and playing it to death, as I did during my childhood, I've become more obsessed with framerates, temps, overclocking, and the best GPUs for gaming. There was a time when I used to play games like Road Rash, Need for Speed Most Wanted, and GTA Vice City for hours on my Core 2 Duo PC with no discrete graphics, and I had nothing to complain about.

The memories I've created with the games of the 2000s and even 2010s have stayed fresh even after experiencing games far more technically advanced and cinematically impressive. Even though I have a fairly high-end gaming PC with an RTX 3080 today, I don't look forward to picking up a new game in my free time. I'd rather play something I've played dozens of times before.

This is probably because I have absolute certainty that I'll enjoy a familiar game, whereas I might be disappointed again with a new title with lackluster gameplay and a hollow narrative. Due to the hardware limitations developers had to work with 20 years ago, a lot more focus went to crafting and delivering the best possible experience to the customer. This is why even my potato PC in 2005 was able to keep me hooked for weeks on a single game.

Games just felt a lot better

Devs put more heart and soul into them

The limited hardware wasn't the only factor contributing to better games of the past. Developer teams were small, more creatively driven, and under a lot less business pressure from the studios. This resulted in projects with a cohesive vision, a tight narrative, and more memorable moments. This isn't to say we didn't get landmark games after the 2000s — GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Elden Ring are solid examples. But, such examples were way more frequent earlier.

GTA: San Andreas, Portal, Mass Effect, Halo 2, BioShock, Far Cry, Resident Evil 4, Max Payne, Hitman: Codename 47, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Assassin's Creed, Silent Hill 3, Final Fantasy X, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Deus Ex, and even Counter-Strike 1.6 are only a few of the many games that delivered some of the best gaming experiences in the 2000s.

Cut to the past 4-5 years or so, and we're increasingly seeing studios hurriedly push out unfinished games, unengaging stories, shady mechanics, and repetitive gameplay elements. Cyberpunk 2077 and No Man's Sky might have redeemed themselves with enough time but those are the exceptions to the rule. While loot boxes, microtransactions, and battle passes reflected the greed of studios, more worrying trends came to the fore such as always chasing the "next next-gen" game.

In sharp contrast, graphics weren't the sole focus of AAA IPs 20 years ago, nor was the crippling reliance on upscaling tech to generate barely playable framerates. It seems as if we have collectively traded memorable stories for impressive numbers, glorified cameos, and pretty images.

The community was more wholesome

Game reviews and the internet hit different

Gaming has always been a medium that we experience collectively as a community. In the 2000s, the internet was very much a part of our lives, and online gaming publications were already a big thing. But, some of you might remember that the gaming community was also defined by the shared excitement around physical gaming magazines and far more in-person events than we see today. We didn't wait for "first impressions", "before you buy", or "detailed reviews" days before a game's release.

Judging a game was largely left to the gamers, experiencing a title untainted by droves of online reviews. We weren't as clued into the gaming scene as today, but maybe that was a good thing. The amount of review-bombing and online vitriol that some games receive today often contribute to many gamers giving great titles a pass. We weren't offended by every little thing in a game and surely didn't care about the sexuality or political beliefs of a character as much as we do today.

The conversation around modern games often becomes bigger than the games themselves. Yes, we should question objectionable content but not at the cost of ruining one of the most beloved art forms in our lives.

Getting the fun back in gaming

Despite my lament about what's wrong with PC gaming today, I still have hopes that things will get better. After all, PC gaming is here to stay in the face of handhelds and consoles getting more and more popular. A lot of the issues plaguing the industry can be traced to the crunch culture and business meddling routinely seen in headlines today.

Indie studios have proven that you don't always need to put out the next big thing to satisfy gamers. I believe that if gamers continue to vote with their wallet against sub-par games, studios would have to rethink their practices and hopefully, turn things around for the better.