It's funny that you got that in Skyrim, really felt like that game was terrified that I'd miss some random quest and shove it in my face

Concentrate on only one aspect of the game that you think you'll enjoy and the rest becomes side-play you can enjoy leisurely. For instance I was on a huge korok seed hunt with BOTW because I love collecting things like that. As I cleared an area I would move further out and slowly got into the open world like that.

For another style of game I concentrated on just mining with Eve online because it's so information dense you will overwhelm yourself trying to learn the basics of everything. Few days of mining and I was excited about trying out some combat missions etc.

Just don't look at the overall picture, focus on a mini aspect of the game and expand from there.

Yeah I get, sometimes I just want to experience a story not forge my own adventure.

im not sure why but i only played botw for like 10 minutes and never touched it again. somehow it just seemed confusing and kinda boring to me (yes i should have given it another chance but my joycons drift anyways so i dont even use my switch anymore). i do love games like fallout and skyrim though.

This is why I have so much trouble with the Fallout series. I love the games and their universes but I just can't deal with how overwhelming it is to actually play and realize how much there is to do. I never had this issue with other games like Subnautica for some reason.

same for me with the witcher 3 and horizon zero dawn

I have suffered from this at times. Mostly from friends worrying about 'value propositions' or whatever. Now I just play for enjoyment. If I ain't digging it, I move onto another game for a while. I can always go back if I want, but it is ok if I don't want to go back.

I think this tends to happen when a game throws too many mechanics at me that I don't care enough to learn because the game isn't grabbing me.

I find keeping a couple games in rotation also helps. Keeps things fresher.

Currently playing Last of Us part 1, as I've never played Last of Us. Enjoying the more on-rails experience, compared to open world.

Totk is so much bigger and harder than botw

Yes, these big open world games always feel overwhelming when I start to play them. I then remind myself to take a step back and treat each side mission as a separate game. Embrace when an NPC all of a sudden gives me a new quest, and just keep it on the back burner until I'm done with the current quest. Engage yourself in the story for each quest.

Modern games do a great job of organizing your quests.

Edit I would also like to add that owning a Steam Deck also helps a lot with playing big open world games. It's great to quickly pick it up and get a side quest completed or level up my characters.

I find Elden Ring a bit frustrating because of the complete lack of any way to keep track of quests. I've resorted to using a notes app. Even then, I'm sure I've missed off finishing some of the earlier stuff from before I started taking notes.

I personally find that because of the sheer amount of content, these games have great replayability. Every time I start Skyrim, even vanilla Skyrim, from the beginning, I will eventually find something I haven't seen before either because I chose a different style of play or by sheer chance.

I'm playing Elden Ring with my bf using the seamless co-op mod and though he's a veteran who's put countless hours into the game, we keep stumbling upon places and content he hasn't seen previously.