Final Fantasy VII Remake PS4 PlayStation 4

Let's start this feature on a positive note: for the last decade or so, video game fans have had an embarrassment of riches. If you were to name a year, it will almost certainly have seen the release of at least a couple of fantastic games. That's true on PlayStation platforms, but it's even more so if you consider every system. Gaming is an enormous industry, and while there are genuinely poor titles available, you can barely move for all the excellent choices at your disposal.

Of course, it's amazing that we have so much good stuff to play. However, a side effect of this is that enthusiasts try to see and do it all. If one must-have game comes out one week, and another arrives the next, some will look to cram both of them into their schedule, potentially robbing the impact from either title. What this usually means is that one experience will enjoy a few days in the limelight before the Next Big Thing comes along, and so the cycle continues. A game will have a period of critical success, then a period of consumer success, then it seemingly fades into the background.

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This doesn't apply to absolutely everything — games like Fortnite, GTA Online, or Minecraft live long in the public consciousness because of constant updates. When you think about critically acclaimed titles, though, the conversation surrounding them tails off extremely quickly.

Think about something like DOOM Eternal, for instance. A top quality game that resonated with fans and critics alike, but I've barely heard a peep about it after the first couple of weeks. It'll be partly down to the fact that Resident Evil 3 launched shortly after, which was also a successful game, but it too fell out of the zeitgeist super fast. What released a week later? Final Fantasy VII Remake, a game people have been desperate to play for years and years. It arrived, there was some amount of buzz, and then it quietened right back down.

All of these games are great, but it feels like they barely register with enthusiast gamers. The conversation moves so fast that it can be exhausting trying to keep up. If you fall behind, no one will be playing Popular Game X anymore because, wow, look at Popular Game Y! I've yet to play the likes of Demon's Souls or Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and by the time I do, those that stay in the loop will have moved on.

There are communities out there for pretty much anything, so if you're desperate, you can find people discussing all manner of games, regardless of age or relevance. I just feel as though we're far too ready to wash our hands of one experience when the next is dangled in front of us. Of course, this isn't how everybody does it; some people will play one game forever, while many others don't engage in online discourse at all. I'm not trying to criticise the way anybody consumes games, but I do feel like the hardcore hobbyists, myself included, should slow down every now and then. It's not a race.

What do you think about this? Should we be giving each game more time to breathe? Do you keep up with the ever-changing conversation surrounding new releases, or is it hard work staying on top of things? Tell us what you reckon in the comments section below.