Games you wish you had not bought

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All the Nippon Ichi Software games in my Steam library. I really don't like the company for what they stand for and if i'm perfectly honest, they're kind of the main reason why the PC gaming scene in Japan is as crappy as it is. Like, for real, we only got Disgaea 1 and 2 on PC because it was either that or NIS finally starts looking like the bad guys instead of the people who complain about bad ports but since they did release those games on PC, we're back to not being allowed to complain about Japanese PC ports since such complaints are an invitation of the developers' wrath.
 
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spvtnik1

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Jan 13, 2020
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Objects in Space. It has some neat ideas, but I feel like it just wasn't fully realized to the scope that the game was trying to portray. User interface issues held it back too. Foolish me held on to the game thinking I was out of the return period after playing 30 hours, when in fact GoG's return policy probably had me covered.

And don't get me wrong, I did put about 30 hours in. But it was very, very repetitive and not really a fun core gameplay loop.
 
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Most of the games I own, even if I've negatively reviewed them, do not cross the line into "regret" territory. The one exception is the grand strategy game, Europa Universalis IV.

I had exactly the same experience with EUIV a few years ago and gave up .Maybe it primed me for them afterwards but I found at least vanilla Stellaris much easier to get into, and Crusader Kings 3 has tool tips for everything that make everything clearer. Crusader Kings 3 might be worth a try if youre really into history, if that's what's stopping you.

It's still very deep, around 100 hours in CK3 and I'm no way close to mastering all its systems, but I at least know roughly what is happening and how to affect things.
 

McStabStab

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I had exactly the same experience with EUIV a few years ago and gave up .Maybe it primed me for them afterwards but I found at least vanilla Stellaris much easier to get into, and Crusader Kings 3 has tool tips for everything that make everything clearer. Crusader Kings 3 might be worth a try if youre really into history, if that's what's stopping you.

It's still very deep, around 100 hours in CK3 and I'm no way close to mastering all its systems, but I at least know roughly what is happening and how to affect things.

This gives me hope that I'm not just bad at grand strategy. I appreciate the response and I think I will try out one of those titles. Most likely CK3 because its been so widely praised.
 
Looking over my Steam & GoG libraries, as well as some of my old boxed versions of games, there are very few that I can actually say I regret buying. I've got backlogs of games I have yet to play like everyone else, but I can't regret those as I haven't experienced them yet.

There are a few games that I've played and quit without finishing, but even with those few, I don't regret purchasing because I feel I should go back and give them another chance. Like the original Bioshock. Sometimes, for me, I just have to be in a certain state of mind to become immersed in a game.

I don't regret having purchased Cyberpunk 2077, as I think that eventually be a good game, maybe by the end of 2022 after some more patches and/or content additions it might become a very good action/adventure game. I do regret have pre-purchased it at full price though.

Going down that memory lane that @mjs warlord traveled I can think of two games that I regret purchasing:
Ultima IX Ascension which through a development hell over several years, gameplay that only marginally related to the previous games, and buggy to the point of being unplayable with a few patches released and then abandoned. It was a sad end to what was once a great RPG series.
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Might & Magic IX as another bug festival, dumbed down character development and skills and much smaller environments to explore. Another sad end to a great RPG series.
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There's a trend with those games that often seems prevalent in games that are a series even today, whether RPG or any genre. The "dumbing down effect" is what I call it, making pretty graphics and special effects a priority, while reducing character development, exploration, and sometimes even depth of story. Maybe I'm just old (well, okay I am), and maybe that's what a game developer needs to do to reach a wider audience; creating a game with more "instant gratification" than depth.

- Baldur's Gate 3 because of the camera mechanics and turned based approach. It is an early release so maybe it will improve. I would prefer to not have to play each NPC/party member.

I really hate turn-based games.
I have some concerns about Baldur's Gate 3 myself. I own it in early access but have yet to try it, but it's not the turn based combat that bothers me. The sense of exploration combined with the day/night cycle in BG 1 & 2 were huge for my immersion. Dragging my sorry party, out of spells and with very few hit points left, so I could get to an Inn in the nearest town and recover. Finding various weirdo companions along the road in my travels, and choosing whether to help them or not just made it seem more real than the approach that Larian is taking.

I still prefer "real time w/pause" combat over turn based, but I've mellowed a bit on that, especially after having played Solasta Crown of the Magister. The turn based combat in that game was just astounding to me for such a small studio.

Underworld: Ascendant, which I backed on Kickstarter.
Gods, I almost did that myself, I'm so glad I didn't. I was so hyped when that game was announced and in development. A spiritual successor to Ultima Underworld, one of my favorite games of all time, being developed by Warren Spector & Paul Neurath it had to be great. Well, it wasn't even good as we know. To this day I just don't understand what they were thinking when they released that abomination.
 
I still prefer "real time w/pause" combat over turn based, but I've mellowed a bit on that, especially after having played Solasta Crown of the Magister. The turn based combat in that game was just astounding to me for such a small studio.
As I think about it, it's not turn-based combat, in and of itself, that I hate. It's the turn-based games where you are controlling multiple people in your party one at a time. I prefer going it alone. And I do prefer real-time combat, but I can tolerate turn-based if I'm fighting solo. Even in Skyrim, I refused to take a companion with me.

I just remembered a game I was sorry I bought. Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I was really looking for something that would be like a Skyrim experience, and that game didn't hit the spot at all for me.
 
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McStabStab

Community Contributor
As I think about it, it's not turn-based combat, in and of itself, that I hate. It's the turn-based games where you are controlling multiple people in your party one at a time. I prefer going it alone. And I do prefer real-time combat, but I can tolerate turn-based if I'm fighting solo. Even in Skyrim, I refused to take a companion with me.

If you're looking for solo turn-based experiences, you can play Divinity: Original Sin 2 as a "Lone Wolf". This changes the gameplay from a four person squad that you micromanage to a single character experience. If you still don't like turn-based once you've played D:OS2 than you may actually hate turn-based after all.
 
If you're looking for solo turn-based experiences, you can play Divinity: Original Sin 2 as a "Lone Wolf". This changes the gameplay from a four person squad that you micromanage to a single character experience. If you still don't like turn-based once you've played D:OS2 than you may actually hate turn-based after all.
Haha. I'm definitely not looking for that. I was just saying I can tolerate them. Back in the C64 days, some of my favorite games were adventure turn-based combat games where you only control one player. Games like Questron 2 and Legacy of the Ancients. But now that computers and consoles can do a lot more than they used to, I definitely prefer real-time.
 

Zloth

Community Contributor
Divinity: Original Sin 2 with just one character? It was harsh having to choose just four!

I'm having so much fun in Horizons: Zero Dawn that I forgot about Outer Wilds' expansion. Reading the boards, people are suggesting you finish the game then play the expansion. I'm not so sure, though. The way the main game is set up, you can go to any of multiple planets any time and find plenty to puzzle out, at least until you start getting everything figured out and run low on puzzles. With just the expansion, there's only one place to go.
 
Divinity: Original Sin 2 with just one character? It was harsh having to choose just four!

I'm having so much fun in Horizons: Zero Dawn that I forgot about Outer Wilds' expansion. Reading the boards, people are suggesting you finish the game then play the expansion. I'm not so sure, though. The way the main game is set up, you can go to any of multiple planets any time and find plenty to puzzle out, at least until you start getting everything figured out and run low on puzzles. With just the expansion, there's only one place to go.
Whoa! Wait a minute! Are you telling me I'm going to be going to other planets in HZD? I didn't see that coming.
 

spvtnik1

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I'm sorry, I'm going to have to delete your post.

There's no way we can allow Objects in Space to be dissed by someone called spvtnik!

:LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL: I'm just still sour after the response to PAYDAY 2's whole Sputnik Crate thing

I just remembered a game I was sorry I bought. Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I was really looking for something that would be like a Skyrim experience, and that game didn't hit the spot at all for me.

That's funny, I actually just started playing that from scratch again this weekend. Yes, the combat is TOUGH but I think you're meant to avoid it in the beginning. Frustrating as it can be, it's still enjoyable and absolutely a looker on modern hardware. And I quite like the lack of fantasy.. just good ol' fashioned bloodletting.
 
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That's funny, I actually just started playing that from scratch again this weekend. Yes, the combat is TOUGH but I think you're meant to avoid it in the beginning. Frustrating as it can be, it's still enjoyable and absolutely a looker on modern hardware. And I quite like the lack of fantasy.. just good ol' fashioned bloodletting.
The last thing is where I differ. I hated the lack of fantasy.
 

McStabStab

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Ok, although I don't regret buying the base game, I regret buying the Gold Edition for Battlefield 2042. They just delayed season one until summertime. By then who knows where the player count will be.

I really do enjoy playing in the small amounts that I do, but it gets old quick. RIP BF.