hmm it seems like the solution is to play games at work

Depends on the games you'd like to play for performance reason, but maybe consider getting a Steam Deck ? Most users tend to say it's changed their approach to gaming, the portable factor makes it a lot more comfortable (less of a commitment) to play.

Buy a steam deck and a dock. You'll get the console like experience while also having a very comfortable handheld gaming device.

The big three consoles are filled with DRM and arbitrary limitations that make them more pain than fun (game consoles are like mini prisons compared to a PC). A steam deck can load any game you want with minimal restrictions (besides easy anti cheat games and incompetent companies). You can play modded games on a Steam deck and games you got from the high seas.

If you want to get even further away from being locked in to a company you can use a community OS like Bazzite on your steam deck and you have the ultimate gaming machine.

Plus you're supporting Linux gaming which is a boon for all of us.

Don't ever buy a big three game console unless you're really into being humiliated 5 years down the line where the console "exclusive" goes to PC. They shut down the Xbox 360 store and they're going to shut down the new consoles as well.

You gotta eat so don't slack to where you get fired, but my advice is never give the bulk of yourself to work. If you leave work unable to enjoy the party of your life you're working for, you're working too hard.

If you can, scale yourself back until your energy returns.

(Also i love my pc connected to my tv with both wireless controller and kbm.)

I made my personal PC far more comfortable than my work pc. Comfy chair, weighty mouse, mechanical keyboard, some speakers, some comfy headphones, that kind of thing. They were still both PCs, but it fundamentally felt different to sit down. at my personal computer compared to the comparative toy of a work pc.

Then I quit working in an office because it was shit.

I run a 20ft HDMI cable from my PC desk on the far left of the room to the TV. So I have a big A/V center in the middle of the back wall and a PC desk off to the side; computer does both. I have always had a PC hooked up to my TV, since like a decade ago. Most big games in the last ~18 years have great pad support.

Just do what I did and take up drinking

Plug a HDMI cable into the TV and just use a controller. Bam, your PC is now a console

Is this your first full-time employment, or is it specifically working at a desk PC? I know employment has slowly destroyed my ability to enjoy all games over the years, regardless of format.

I used to be into games with complex stories and/or challenging gameplay but now I feel to tired for that.

Very much the opposite for me, I struggle with game games, the arcadey high score chasers and MP shooters, because I feel like "I'd really at least take something out of this experience". I really, really prefer either co-op with other people or single player games with at least some sort of narrative to have thoughts to. Can even be bad thoughts, like "wow this is garbage and why", but at least some thoughts

I use the Sunshine/Moonlight combo of apps to stream my PC (steam big picture) to an android box plugged in my TV. It's quite easy to set up and works surprisingly well. There's a hiccup once in a while because i'm using WiFi but it's really minimal and could probably be completely avoided if the whole network was wired.

I did 1. I also don’t have as much patience for fiddling with or upgrading things, so it was the easiest. I don’t play that as much either, different priorities and limited time each day.

I still like complex stories, but my unfinished pile is much larger than it once was. I also play things on easy more than I might have in the past because finishing it is more fun than the challenge to me now.

Steam deck, the ability to turn it off and on at a moments notice with its instant pause and resume is so underrated. I find that work and other commitments mean I have to snatch moments of gaming here and there and never for long uninterrupted sessions. The steam deck is so good for that.

Sit down to game, press the power button, the time from nothing to game play is about 3 seconds, my timer goes off to do something with dinner or I get called by my other half to water the cat or whatever, press the power button again, no menus, no saving, it’s instantly off, do whatever chore, return to the deck, press the power button and 3 seconds later it resumes and I’m back where I was, no loading or faffing no lost progress. Play it on the sofa, hook it up to the tv or my main pc setup to use KB and mouse. It’s so good!

With a gaming pc you have to turn it on boot it up, load steam, run the updates, launch the game, then pausing isn’t instantaneous, and I’m tucked up in a bedroom upstairs not where I want to be, then turn it off again. Don’t get me wrong a full PC is better when you’re actually playing, but I just don’t have the time to get into playing it. The speed and convenience of the steam deck means I actually get to play in those snatched moments.

Maybe try gaming and stuff before work rather than after, if you can. I find trying to squeeze the stuff I want to do after work in the evening is/was way harder.

I also got a monitor mount and a 32" monitor that I can move around my space and then sit back on a couch behind my desk and play from there in the same room, but just sitting back with a thermos of water and my phone on a side table helps get me into the headspace to game.

Could you just play on the PC using a controller? Or is the screen size the issue?

I will say, being older and employed and burdened with household/family duties, it’s not so much that I gravitate towards simple games, more that I have low tolerance for games that require me to learn a bunch of Byzantine subsystems before I can get to the gameplay itself. I want a game that I can dig into immediately, where the complexity is something that grows as I progress through the game.

Good example, I downloaded the demo for the last Disgaea game a bit back, sort of game I used to get really into when I was younger and not full time employed. But now, there were just too many front-loaded mechanics and associated tutorials. I could tell it was going to feel like a chore having to keep track of all of them, spending forever fussing with party build mechanics before even doing a fight, so I deleted it.

I made my PC setup pretty comfy and I haven't lost much of my desire to play on PC.

Yeah after 8:30hr working + 1:30hr wasted on transport in weekdays, I play less at night, but in the weekends? I play the same as I did when I was 18.

Good games make a difference I think, I tend to drop all the games that I find mid and only play what I really like.

Playing on console and lowering the difficulty is what I found very helpful. Though I've always been a fan of the PlayStation exclusive games.

I used to have a steam deck for that console/casual gameplay scenario, but now I just stream my main PC to the TV using Sunshine/Moonlight. Steam link would do the trick too, but yeah it’s a great solution for couch gaming without getting an extra device

Alt+Tab and a reflective surface (so you can see the boss coming) always worked for me. Get chummy with the IT guys and they'll hook you up with some good LAN games you can play together. It'll usually be older stuff, most office PCs aren't too powerful.

I've done 3), it's how I played Elden Ring. I really enjoy it! Setup was straightforward, and there is a tiny bit of setup each time I want to play, but it works like a dream.

However, I want to pitch option 4: Steam Deck. Keep your library, plus a far more convenient package to actually play games with when you simply can't be bothered. The best aspect of the Deck is pick up and play, no nonsense instant playing and pausing. Portability is just a bonus.