When I was kid, I could sit in front of TV for hours and sink a day or two away into a game and have no problem having to start the game over from the beginning. Time meant nothing to me and I wasted it like it was a near infinite resource.
Now I am a parent and ain’t got time for some of the nonsense that’s in games nowadays. I’m lucky if I have even an hour to play each night.
A good example: Forza Horizon 5 allows you to switch cars mid game without traveling back to a house. That to me is a huge time saver compared to the recent NFS games.
Contrarily, Forza Motorsport (2023) makes you do qualifications every round. While realistic, a big time sink.
That said, what are some of your favorite games that have respect for your limited time?
You have to want to explore and you have to pay attention. The gameplay is casual but the progression is not
I loved Outer Wilds but I’m surprised to see it get called out in this thread. I still recommend it but once you get like halfway through it’s very easy to spend an entire session making 0 progress and feeling like you “wasted” your night.
There is NO handholding which I personally like in games but I wouldn’t say it respects your time…though I definitely wouldn’t say it doesn’t respect your time either