Have you ever been playing a team-based online game and had teammates or enemies who just don’t seem to care about playing the game? Whether it’s someone getting mad and giving up in a Dota or Overwatch-style game, Friendlies in Team Fortress 2, or people in MMO PVP modes who seem to resent that they’re there in the first place, they always make me wonder the same thing: Why don’t you want to play the game? I don’t have any insight into that mindset, but I have found a respite from those players in fighting games.
I’ve only just started seriously getting into a fighting game (SF6, but more on that another time), and even after half a year I’m still comforted by the simple truth that when I get on, I will always be playing the game against someone who also wants to play the game. Whether I’m grinding ranked, fighting randos, or squaring off against friends, my opponent is always going to try to win, and I’ll have to try if I want to beat them. It’s such a refreshing change of pace that I really think anyone who plays a lot of other online games really should give a fighting game a shot.