Why Do I Keep Playing Mindless MMOs Over Masterpiece Single-RPGs!?

Whenever I have free time, I play video games. That is not exactly a groundbreaking revelation, I know. But recently, I found myself trying to do something a little different. I booted up a single-player RPG called Cyberpunk 2077. I had played it a long time ago when the game first launched, but I never finished it. I remembered how hyped it was back then, how much potential it had even amidst the chaos of its rocky release. It has since been patched, refined, and now stands as one of the more highly regarded RPGs in recent memory. So I gave it another shot.

One hour later, I closed it and walked away.

Cyberpunk 2077 is an incredible game. The visuals are stunning. Night City feels alive, like a fully realized world bursting with detail. The voice acting is fantastic, the story is compelling, and even the combat — despite it being a first-person shooter, which is not usually my go-to — feels engaging enough to keep most players hooked.

So what exactly is wrong with me?

It is not just Cyberpunk 2077. This happens with almost every single-player RPG I try to play. I feel overwhelmed. The moment I am handed control, I freeze. My brain refuses to slow down enough to get immersed. And instead of pushing through it, instead of allowing myself to settle in and find my footing, I retreat into the one genre that never overwhelms me: MMORPGs.

Yes, MMOs — the genre often mocked for being grindy, bloated, and lacking in narrative depth — are my comfort food. Whether it is my beloved MapleStory, or even RuneScape.

Why? After all, MMORPGs usually have more content, more systems, more chaos, and way more players than any single-player RPG could hope to handle. But somehow, they do not feel as heavy.

In an MMO, I do not feel the pressure of making the “right” decision. I do not have to weigh my dialogue options or fear missing out on some vital character arc. I can just accept a quest, read the first line, and get to work. Kill ten rats. Gather five mushrooms. Escort a merchant through a forest. There is something beautifully mindless about it. It feels safe, familiar, and above all, predictable.

And strangely, it scratches the same itch that single-player RPGs aim to satisfy. I am still progressing. I am still leveling up. I am still acquiring gear, gaining power, and watching the numbers go up. It is just that in an MMO, progress feels frictionless. It does not ask much of me. It does not demand my full attention or emotional investment.

This realization frustrates me. Because I know I am missing out on something richer. There are single-player RPGs out there that are masterpieces — works of art that can deliver emotional moments I will remember forever. These games can challenge me, move me, even change how I think about the world. They are not just entertainment. They are experiences. And yet, I cannot seem to sit still long enough to let them affect me.

Perhaps it has something to do with the way I live now — always online, always multitasking, always scrolling through something. Single-player games demand a level of attention and patience that I am no longer used to giving. They require me to shut everything else out. They ask me to be present. And that is hard.

MMOs, on the other hand, are passive in a way that fits into my life. I can alt-tab every few minutes. I can watch a YouTube video simultaneously or check Discord without missing anything important. I can exist in the game without fully being in the game. And that is easier.

Still, I would like to break this habit. I want to feel invested again. I want to get lost in a game and come out the other side changed, like I used to when I was younger and the distractions of the Internet were not quite so all-consuming. I know those single-player RPGs are worth it. I just have to learn how to meet them where they are.