Do you have GAS? Uh, that's Game Abandon Syndrome

[ZedClampet]

I can't seem to finish anything anymore. Even games that I love, like Hogwarts Legacy, I'll play for a week or two and then move on. Sometimes I'll go back to the game, but it's kind of rare that I'll even finish it then.

So what about you? Do you have a hard time finishing games? (I think a couple of you have said you don't even want to finish games)

 

[Zloth]

No, not really. Some games just aren't good enough to finish so I'll abandon them.

I am happy that now I can say people who constantly drop games have GAS! I expect that will be a HUA (highly useful acronym).

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Yes and no, I try to finish games, especially when I already played through most of it. Towards the end of games I quite often get restless and end up powering to the end of the story, not doing side missions and so on just to tick it off. If I've got to that stage and then for whatever reason I have to take a break for a few days because there's no time to game then its likely that I wont go back. If there's something else on my mind to play then there a higher chance of that happening.

Some games I played a lot of and never saw the end of the story

Divinity Original Sin: 190 Hours over two versions of the game and I haven't finished the campaign once.

Witcher 3 base game: 134 hours over two tries, I've never done much of Skellige before I run out of steam with it.

Pillars of Eternity: 118 hours over two tries. Might go and finish it, one day.

Dragon Age Inquisition: 93 hours over one attempt, got right to the road up to the end, but was bored of it all way before that.

Batman Arkham City: 23 hours and quit, open worlds do that to me.

Hades: 21 Hours and havent beaten the final boss once.

Nier Automata: 20 hours 2 attempts and cant see the appeal tbh.

Theres a load more that I put 2-15 hours with and got bored with, no point to me in playing a lot more of something just to see the end if the fun wears off.

 

[Alm]

I did the same with Hogwarts Legacy. Played for a week and then didn't return. It's a good game too but I'm playing more GT7, Hearthstone, Halo and others.

Edit: I find I keep going back to multiplayer games which I can play with friends and family.

 

[mainer]

I try to avoid having GAS (though the other kind is inevitable at times), and I mostly succeed, at least the first time I play a game. If for some reason a new game just doesn't "click" with me I'll just drop it completely and write it off as a bad purchase. But that's a rare occurrence, as I buy only a few new games in any given year.

There are some games that I've played that become a "slog" or tedious to finish once nearing the endgame and I have to force myself to complete. Divinity Original Sin, as @Kaamos_Llama mentioned, as well as Divinity Original Sin 2. Both were excellent & immersive games for the first 85-90 %, but the last 10-15 % I had to force myself to complete, but being so close to the end I wouldn't allow myself to stop. DOS1 because it became insanely puzzle heavy, and DOS2 because the combat became insanely over-the-top.

Replaying older games, which usually comprises the bulk of my gaming hours in any given year, are a different story, as I don't always finish replays of a game. That happens frequently in large open world games, especially if I mod them extensively. I'll play for a few hundred hours, then get the urge to move on to something else.

 

[Pifanjr]

I think I used to finish around 10-20% of games I started. However, since having less time to play games, I don't run out of great games as quickly and don't try out random games as much, so I'm probably closer to 50% nowadays.

For a lot of games I play, I get bored when there's nothing new to discover. So most games I finish either have a good story or keep giving new content/mechanics until the end of the game.

Games with a big random element (like roguelikes or games with a lot of loot drops) can often keep my attention a bit longer too, because it takes a bit longer before I get that feeling that a game has no surprises any more.

 

[Colif]

I don't like finishing games as then I need to find something else to do - the number of games I like is limited. I am picky... or restricted self to a point there aren't any new games.

I never finished (playing) Journey... some games I don't want to play to death. So I am more likely to stop before the end.

I am more likely to get bored before the end.

Tired of the cliched must be a big boss at end to fight formula. I am an aRPG player who is sick of boss fights...

 

[Slasken]

I had GAS back when it meant Guitar Aquisition Syndrome.

I usually either finish games, or quit them early. Just finished Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Never played any other Yakuza titles, but this one was great.

 

[Brian Boru]

Oh yeah, loads of GAS—and that's not including all those I've tried a few hours and concluded not interested. I'm lucky tho, in that beating or completing a game is rarely a goal—sometimes is, mostly not—and that story is low priority, therefore I don't get bored with lack of new stuff. Gimme more glorious gameplay!

♣ Civilization games—apart from a few first runs thru a new Civ, I don't complete at least 90% as the end game is usually less interesting, and my personal goal for that game is usually realized soon after mid game.

♦ Far Cry games—I played FC1 a lot, but only completed once… the second half when the Trigen [monsters] were introduced was very different, became a lot more uninteresting melee combat.

FC3 I completed twice, to get both endings, but replays since stop after all side missions are done and story starts to take precedence over gameplay. FC Primal I can't beat Ull, one of the 2 final bosses, and beating the other boss is boring, so I quit when it's that time.

FC5 & New Dawn I haven't tried to complete. I've learned now to watch some gameplay of endings, on the premise of 'Fool me once…', and they look tedious. I have a feeling FC6 will be the same, the one region I've completed so far was half & half, and the other I just failed is a typical combo of Space Invaders and Asteroids.

♥ Crysis and Crysis Warhead suffer the same fate as Crytek's earlier Far Cry—a major gameplay shift at halfway when the aliens become an adversary. I typically replay each annually, but stop at halfway—I've never completed either.

♠ Total Annihilation & Supreme Commander—Superb games, but I don't think I finished either in any playthru. Their big drawback for me is the emphasis on compiling massive armies, which for me significantly reduces the strategic and tactical variation.

 

[Frindis]

My GAS always smells like 🌹🌹🌹

Too many games to count. Some I never go back to because they were boring. Some I stop playing for a while because I want to savor what I love about them. Others I'm too scared to play through but will eventually *cough* and a lot I jump back and forth between depending on the mood which means they will take a looooooong time to complete.

 

[Brian Boru]

Should we post our official GAS badges?

 

[Frindis]

 

[DXCHASE]

Game completion rate only refers to the average number of achievements earned in game, not completing the game itself right?

In terms of completing games, i have a low rate too.

 

[Brian Boru]

Game completion rate only refers to the average number of achievements earned in game, not completing the game itself right?

Aah, the old mouseover trick… looks like you're right—why they couldn't call it Achievement completion rate…

Makes sense tho, how would they measure completing the game? GAS meter maybe?

 

[Zimbaly]

Elden Ring. I just got to a certain point and went meh. Haven't really played it since then.
Not that it's not good, just kind of hit a point and got bored with it.

 

[Johnway]

The good news is that i finish pretty much everything i play/buy or at the very least play as much as i can. The basic requirement is beat base game main storyline. DLC if possible.

I'm sure i said it before previously my motives:


1. To give the game a fair chance and at the very least be well informed when i explain/reason why i didn't like it.
2. More importantly, I don't want to think that i wasted money so i might as well finish it. Yes, even after i wait for years for the game to go down to a knockdown price...


There are of course some games that i don't technically finish. Sandbox games, open ended games, vertical progression games aren't possible unless there is some story mode to tell me so.

but that's not to say my record is 100%, far from it. Here are the reasons of my fails:

1. The game is too bloody difficult - leading to no progression and ultimately boredom. Puzzle games, roguelikes fall into this category mostly.
2. Technical issues. no matter what i try i can't finish it. The ARPG the adventures of Van Helsing 3 is a real standout for this one.
3.The game is boring, feels like work or just plain awful and i lose interest in it. my standards aren't high, if its an ok game and i had fun, its a win. So if a game makes me quit earlier it has to be truly special kind of boring or bad. kholat i'm looking at you.


The best strategy for me is to simply install one or 2 games, focus on them and remove them as i complete them. If i install more then 4 things get dicey indeed. Does it get boring? only if i don't make progress in them or if they're absolutely soul destroying experiences that makes me really distasteful of the game.

 

[Colif]

I never finished Sim City (the original one). I mistakenly believed it had no end - I thought it was just a sand box

 

[Frag Maniac]

At my age I have both abandonment syndrome AND unfortunately the other kind at times.

Well, not really abandonment so much as the need to take a break from those games that just start feeling like a grind, or keep me up so late I start losing sleep.