Some players report that they get tired and fall asleep while playing Diablo 4. One player has now put forward a theory that, according to him, is based on scientific findings and has sparked a heated discussion.
What’s the deal with falling asleep?
- Since the release, players have repeatedly mentioned that they fall asleep while playing Diablo 4, including MeinMMO editor Leya Jankowski. They even use the game directly as a “sleep aid”.
- Some critics use this to blame the supposedly “boring” endgame content.
- Now one player claims: it’s actually “normal” and is due to a phenomenon from real life.
This is the explanation: The Reddit user iloveobjects claims that the fatigue while playing Diablo 4 is due to what is known as “Highway Hypnosis.” This phenomenon describes the fatigue that can occur during long car rides.
The user explains: when we stare at an unchanged situation for a long time, our brains feel secure and switch into rest mode. We become tired, even though we would have gotten enough sleep and would actually go to bed hours later.
In Diablo 4, the camera angle is to blame for this, not the gameplay or repetitive activities. Due to the constantly similar, isometric perspective, we are led to sleep – even when absurdly high numbers appear on the screen.
Additionally, the dreary color palette further supports this effect. iloveobjects further explains that from his point of view, simply being able to change the zoom factor would help. Just getting on his horse already provides a boost to wakefulness.
Highway hypnosis is a phenomenon that has not been extensively researched, and the user himself is not a doctor. He emphasizes that this is merely his theory. Nonetheless, he receives some very critical comments as well as interested support.
“Doesn’t seem like a big deal to me”
In the over 900 comments, many users express their belief in the theory. They say: they hadn’t thought about it before, but it sounds plausible. It would explain why they sometimes feel sleepy after just an hour or less.
The agreement on the different zoom factors is also substantial. The very limited camera perspective has been a point of contention that has been on the minds of many players. They say the game needs more zoom levels.
Others consider all of this to be absolute nonsense. Playing for 10 hours straight is definitely more of a reason to get tired than highway hypnosis. And generally, this should apply to all isometric games. But Diablo 2 never had this problem, for example.
In further comments, the momentum is used to criticize the gameplay. Strong builds like Whirlwind Barbarians are simply too boring to keep someone awake.
Others again say: that has never happened to them, this phenomenon only affects a small group of players. The explanation sounds like “broscience,” i.e., an explanation that lacks a real scientific basis. One should rather work on their sleep rhythm than blame the game.
In many comments, there are also rather unfriendly responses to the idea. Apparently, the topic is quite emotionally charged. Such things have been happening more frequently lately:
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