Out of things to do in a game? Manor Lords dev has a good idea: "Enjoy other games for a while" and come back "when there's new fun stuff"

If you one day find yourself staring down the tragedy of finishing everything of interest in your new favorite game, just remember this sterling advice from the (mostly) solo developer of city builder hit Manor Lords: "Enjoy other games for a while."

Too many games, and too many gamers, set themselves up for failure or disappointment by pursuing endless, repetitive fun over finite, memorable experiences, so it's been encouraging to see more developers openly push back against the "dead game" rhetoric – the ridiculous idea that a game with a conclusion is a game with a problem. Manor Lords dev Slavic Magic reckons the solution to this imagined problem is a simple one: play something else.

Responding to one Twitter user who lamented running out of motivation to play Manor Lords after 34 hours, Slavic Magic wrote: ">30 hours is a lot, thanks for playing! My advice is to enjoy other games for a while (Norland maybe? ;) ) and come back at a later stage when there's new fun stuff to experience and new challenges to take." 

Slavic Magic, thankfully, isn't the only one saying this. The makers of Final Fantasy 14 famously encourage the MMO's ravenous player base to play other games on a regular basis, for instance, and there's been a recent uptick in pushback against the mirage of the forever game. The community manager of Palworld, one of 2024's biggest hits, has shared some of the most salient arguments, reminding folks that player counts often don't matter and that it's frankly unhealthy for games not designed for months-long play to chase it. 

"I don't think you need to be pushing yourself to play the same game all the time," community manager Bucky said. "It's not healthy for developers, it's not healthy for gamers, it's not healthy for gaming media, and it's just not healthy for our industry." 

Manor Lords publisher argues "not every game" needs to be a live-service, and developers should never be "forced to run until their mental or physical health breaks down."