hi gamer it sounds like you are stuck plateau'd because you are playing on "I'm too young to die" / "normal" mode

you really only unlock true gamer mode once you add the following win conditions: pay solo & indie developers that you follow on Fedi directly or on their best platform; participate in retroachievements so as to directly flaunt your participation in alternative gaming economies; foster a sharing economy among your friends where you hook each other up with copies of stuff you have recently enjoyed on a regular basis.

if you can enjoy normal, you can enjoy true gamer mode. but if your goal is to beat Nightmare gaming mode at some point you have to improve your tech and strats