Is there a game you've played a lot that you actively dislike, or have grown to?

[Kaamos_Llama]

Technically its a Switch game, sorry PC Gamer, but I noticed today that I've played 45 hours of Pokemon Legends Arceus over the last few months.

Its a terrible game, the graphics would be poor on the Xbox 360, there are invisible walls in places where you just cant fly, the combat is rote and tedious, the story is an unfunny joke. However I have a 4 year old who thinks Blissey (what even is the egg??) is 'beautiful', and that Pikachu is 'very very cute'. Add to that that with how excited she gets when we score a Pokemon we don't yet have and I can't honestly say I haven't gotten enjoyment out of it, even if it was 99% second hand.

Anyone else (maybe outside of QA and pro game reviewers) played a lot of a game for any reason that they really didn't like at all, and maybe had fun anyway, or not?

 

[WoodenSaucer]

No way. I don't get much time for gaming. If I start a game and hate it, I'm going to quit and move onto something that I like.

 

[Zloth]

I'm with @WoodenSaucer on this one, but I don't have an audience to appease.

P.S. Is Blissey better than Shoe? (Obscure, not safe for work, South Park reference)

 

[Brian Boru]

I guess revisiting a game 3 times over the decades before deciding 'No, I'm never going to enjoy this' counts. I won't stick beyond 5-10 max hours if I'm not enjoying a game, but will give it another shot years later if it has a great general reputation.

Bioshock
Bioshock 1 & 2 are in this category. I've finally consigned them to the 'Avoid' category, but it took a couple of decades 3 and the latest sky city one are also in avoid, but I didn't spend long in either.

Crysis
Crysis 2 & 3 also took multiple disappointments to make me dump them—shame, lovely games, but mostly linear repetitive play.

Civilization
I've played over 100 hours of Civ5, but never really liked it. It's Civ of course, so how bad can it be? Many people's fav, and I certainly admire it, but the nerf on building a wide empire ruined it for me. Beyond Earth is the other Civ I put too much time into, waiting for it to get better.

Far Cry
Far Cry 2—probably only ~15 hours or less invested over 3 attempts, but frustrated and annoyed me each time… dumped. That's probably the closest I've come to 'hating' a game, mainly due to the let down after the wonderful original Far Cry. Blood Dragon is the other FC I never warmed to in multiple attempts.

I've hopefully finally learned tho—like the guys above say, life's too short if a game isn't grabbing me, move on.

 

[Pifanjr]

Victoria 2 and Hearts of Iron III. My friends and I have spend a lot of time on Paradox' grand strategy games, but I've always preferred Crusader Kings 2 and Europa Universalis 3. I've stopped joining Heart of Iron III games pretty quickly, but have joined for quite a lot of Victoria 2 games even though I have no idea what I'm doing and no real desire to learn.

Titan Quest. I really liked Sacred, so I figured I would like Titan Quest as well, but despite trying several times I just can't get into it. Part of it is that the game is linear as opposed to Sacred's open world, but I did enjoy Torchlight so that isn't the only problem. I think it's just too slow for me to enjoy.

Rogue Legacy. I'm not sure why I felt the need to finish this game even though I don't like platformers. I only completed it because I cheated and gave myself a ton of money to upgrade the castle.

EDIT: almost forgot maybe the worst one: Final Fantasy VIII. I was around 8 years old when I first played this on the Playstation of my sister's boyfriend. I loved it, it looked so cool. I think I've even gone to his house to play without my sister.

I got the game for the PC several years later and tried several times to beat it over the years, but kept getting stuck somewhere or distracted with other games. I finally learned about the level-scaling and how the best strategy is to level as little as possible while using the strongest magic you can find to boost your stats. So I decided to try the game again and it sucked. Avoiding all fights except for those you can draw magic from or the mandatory boss fights is boring and the story ends up being terrible.
At least the game is over relatively quickly when you avoid almost all the fights, ignore all the side content and get so overpowered none of the mandatory fights pose a challenge.

 

[Colif]

Does playing a game to death count?
I have been there with a few games that I played so much I couldn't stand them anymore.
It happened with Diablo 2 the first time. I stopped playing resurrected before the jungle music drove me mad... again
It also happened with wow.

I try not to play games to death anymore. I resist playing Journey for that reason.

Titan Quest - I didn't like how mobs didn't respawn. I have to admit its a long time since I played it. I didn't hate it really, it just didn't hold me like that other game you mentioned.

the longer you play a game, the faults become harder to live with, I guess.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

No way. I don't get much time for gaming. If I start a game and hate it, I'm going to quit and move onto something that I like.

I'm with @WoodenSaucer on this one, but I don't have an audience to appease.

P.S. Is Blissey better than Shoe? (Obscure, not safe for work, South Park reference)

Fair enough, its rarely so black and white for me so I'll usually give things a few chances. But there are so many great games coming out all the time if something doesnt hit theres no need to continue. Especially with Gamepass.

@Zloth I would prefer shoe, easier to find the merch. Fortunately I was old enough when Pokemon first came out to see what it was straight away. Had a hell of a lot of Transformers and M.A.S.K toys though.

I guess revisiting a game 3 times over the decades before deciding 'No, I'm never going to enjoy this' counts. I won't stick beyond 5-10 max hours if I'm not enjoying a game, but will give it another shot years later if it has a great general reputation.

Bioshock
Bioshock 1 & 2 are in this category. I've finally consigned them to the 'Avoid' category, but it took a couple of decades 3 and the latest sky city one are also in avoid, but I didn't spend long in either.

Crysis
Crysis 2 & 3 also took multiple disappointments to make me dump them—shame, lovely games, but mostly linear repetitive play.

Civilization
I've played over 100 hours of Civ5, but never really liked it. It's Civ of course, so how bad can it be? Many people's fav, and I certainly admire it, but the nerf on building a wide empire ruined it for me. Beyond Earth is the other Civ I put too much time into, waiting for it to get better.

Far Cry
Far Cry 2—probably only ~15 hours or less invested over 3 attempts, but frustrated and annoyed me each time… dumped. That's probably the closest I've come to 'hating' a game, mainly due to the let down after the wonderful original Far Cry. Blood Dragon is the other FC I never warmed to in multiple attempts.

I've hopefully finally learned tho—like the guys above say, life's too short if a game isn't grabbing me, move on.

Spending a long time trying to like sequels in a series you love is totally understandable. FWIW I really liked Bioshock Infinite and the setting is much brighter overall, but I felt it was even more linear than the original game. I never played much of two and always meant to, but if you didnt like the first games setting then its the same place and just as dark.

Victoria 2 and Hearts of Iron III. My friends and I have spend a lot of time on Paradox' grand strategy games, but I've always preferred Crusader Kings 2 and Europa Universalis 3. I've stopped joining Heart of Iron III games pretty quickly, but have joined for quite a lot of Victoria 2 games even though I have no idea what I'm doing and no real desire to learn.

Titan Quest. I really liked Sacred, so I figured I would like Titan Quest as well, but despite trying several times I just can't get into it. Part of it is that the game is linear as opposed to Sacred's open world, but I did enjoy Torchlight so that isn't the only problem. I think it's just too slow for me to enjoy.

Rogue Legacy. I'm not sure why I felt the need to finish this game even though I don't like platformers. I only completed it because I cheated and gave myself a ton of money to upgrade the castle.

EDIT: almost forgot maybe the worst one: Final Fantasy VIII. I was around 8 years old when I first played this on the Playstation of my sister's boyfriend. I loved it, it looked so cool. I think I've even gone to his house to play without my sister.

I got the game for the PC several years later and tried several times to beat it over the years, but kept getting stuck somewhere or distracted with other games. I finally learned about the level-scaling and how the best strategy is to level as little as possible while using the strongest magic you can find to boost your stats. So I decided to try the game again and it sucked. Avoiding all fights except for those you can draw magic from or the mandatory boss fights is boring and the story ends up being terrible.
At least the game is over relatively quickly when you avoid almost all the fights, ignore all the side content and get so overpowered none of the mandatory fights pose a challenge.

I was thinking along the lines of friend groups causing this kind of thing. Most activities are fun as long as youre having fun with the people you're with. I played a lot of FF7 and then just sort of forgot about the series until 10, which I really liked as well. Then I haven't really touched a JRPG since then, not really sure why because I did really get hooked on those 2 for some time.

Does playing a game to death count?
I have been there with a few games that I played so much I couldn't stand them anymore.
It happened with Diablo 2 the first time. I stopped playing resurrected before the jungle music drove me mad... again
It also happened with wow.

I try not to play games to death anymore. I resist playing Journey for that reason.

Titan Quest - I didn't like how mobs didn't respawn. I have to admit its a long time since I played it. I didn't hate it really, it just didn't hold me like that other game you mentioned.

the longer you play a game, the faults become harder to live with, I guess.

Of course it counts

Its always funny when you see Steam reviews with a thumbs down from people who've got 1000+ hours in a game. I dont necessarily think its fair to the devs to do that if you just played it to death, but I guess sometimes it can be having your favourite build or playstyle nerfed in which case it could be valid.

Jungle music?

 

[Johnway]

The first thing to come to mind was Path of exile. Clocked in nearly 1500 hours and i still dabble every so often for a lootbox etc, but what got me to stop was the changes to the mechanics that sort of left me with a bitter taste. With higher difficulty challenges, less chance to get challenge rewards and a ever growing collection of games in my steam account, i have to move on.

Planetside 2 i put just as much time in that game and i just stopped as the population just wasn't there. The servers got more quiet, there were fewer epic fights and the times i did play the game compounded the issue. The final straw was hackers ruining the game. So i dropped it. This was a few weeks before users could base build but by that point i had gone. never looked back as i felt better off without it. probably a life lesson not to buy/play PVP competitive MMOs.

For the most part i play every game as much as possible to the point that i'm sick of it as i try to get as much as 100% as possible. Some genres/games will of course will affect the amount of time. indie games especially can be harrowing as i've already beaten the game but going back to unlock achievements. Recent game is probably Shovel knight the treasure edition. I'm beaten the game and working through the DLC and i've got 2/3 of them done. But i'm certainly getting impatient to finish it. There are times where i just return to desktop, wait a few minutes before going back in again as i reluctantly go back to playing it because the alternative is Path of Exile or chiv2.

 

[Colif]

Its always funny when you see Steam reviews with a thumbs down from people who've got 1000+ hours in a game. I dont necessarily think its fair to the devs to do that if you just played it to death, but I guess sometimes it can be having your favourite build or playstyle nerfed in which case it could be valid.

i can understand the nerf thing if you play 1 class in an mmo and suddenly they make its one good thing, totally useless. I have been there but I never went to forums to complain about it. I just stopped playing.

its always possible devs turned game into free for play after years of subscription based game play and the ones with 1000+ hours remember what games was like before. Its not always sour grapes.

I don't dwell on the games I stop playing. I don't stand in town and tell everyone else they are wrong for playing it still. Normally too busy finding something else to play or looking outside and noticing there is a world out there (its not just a rumour). I try not to look outside too often.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

The first thing to come to mind was Path of exile. Clocked in nearly 1500 hours and i still dabble every so often for a lootbox etc, but what got me to stop was the changes to the mechanics that sort of left me with a bitter taste. With higher difficulty challenges, less chance to get challenge rewards and a ever growing collection of games in my steam account, i have to move on.

Planetside 2 i put just as much time in that game and i just stopped as the population just wasn't there. The servers got more quiet, there were fewer epic fights and the times i did play the game compounded the issue. The final straw was hackers ruining the game. So i dropped it. This was a few weeks before users could base build but by that point i had gone. never looked back as i felt better off without it. probably a life lesson not to buy/play PVP competitive MMOs.

For the most part i play every game as much as possible to the point that i'm sick of it as i try to get as much as 100% as possible. Some genres/games will of course will affect the amount of time. indie games especially can be harrowing as i've already beaten the game but going back to unlock achievements. Recent game is probably Shovel knight the treasure edition. I'm beaten the game and working through the DLC and i've got 2/3 of them done. But i'm certainly getting impatient to finish it. There are times where i just return to desktop, wait a few minutes before going back in again as i reluctantly go back to playing it because the alternative is Path of Exile or chiv2.

MMO's are going to be the kings of the 'grew to hate' side of it for sure. Sounds like you had some good times in those games before though, so not a total loss.

I remember you saying you play most single player games to the end before, so guessed you might have a few.

i can understand the nerf thing if you play 1 class in an mmo and suddenly they make its one good thing, totally useless. I have been there but I never went to forums to complain about it. I just stopped playing.

its always possible devs turned game into free for play after years of subscription based game play and the ones with 1000+ hours remember what games was like before. Its not always sour grapes.

I don't dwell on the games I stop playing. I don't stand in town and tell everyone else they are wrong for playing it still. Normally too busy finding something else to play or looking outside and noticing there is a world out there (its not just a rumour). I try not to look outside too often.

Yea MMO's its understandable to a point. I was thinking of the ones that just have 150 hours, and then 'Game sucks, avoid'. But the ones that actually break down good points and bad and explain after that many hours that leave a negative are often pretty useful to read if youre scouting out a game.

 

[Colif]

I wanted to like Torchlight 3. After 1300 hours in the previous game, I really wanted it to be good.
I don't know how long I played it... looks... 65 Hours... can you say I didn't take to it as well as its predecessor
TL2 only lasted that long because nothing replaced it, and mods.

 

[Johnway]

I remember you saying you play most single player games to the end before, so guessed you might have a few.

Indeed. Pretty much every game i play i try to complete to the very end as close to 100% even if i'm not having fun i try to push through to the end. Purely for the moral high ground sometimes. I want to say i gave the game a fair chance and also i can discuss the game knowing that i'm better informed to argue my case. Also not to feel like i wasted money on the game.

i'm that guy who plays assassins creed who tries to visit every area, open every chest and see everything. But that said, some games give me a bad taste from the word go that i would skip most of the non story missions. Recent one being GTA liberty city stories on the PSP. All well and good having side activities (Kill frenzies, races, vigilante etc) too bad the game map doesn't tell you where they are and the clunky controls, the amount of time it takes to restart an activity means I'll be ignoring them. All of them.

As a horizontal gamer, i'm in it for the journey. So once i reach the end of the story, i leave. No point trying to be the best or top of my game as that doesn't appeal to me. Grinding for prestige is something i find meaningless especially when my time is limited. It gets samey if i play the same maps doing the same thing again day after day like a machine usually leaves me with a bad taste. Even worse i jump in a public game and the first few matches i'm on the losing team... not a balanced game but making up the numbers on a losing team. just makes me not want to join at all. Need friends tbh.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Indeed. Pretty much every game i play i try to complete to the very end as close to 100% even if i'm not having fun i try to push through to the end. Purely for the moral high ground sometimes. I want to say i gave the game a fair chance and also i can discuss the game knowing that i'm better informed to argue my case. Also not to feel like i wasted money on the game.

i'm that guy who plays assassins creed who tries to visit every area, open every chest and see everything. But that said, some games give me a bad taste from the word go that i would skip most of the non story missions. Recent one being GTA liberty city stories on the PSP. All well and good having side activities (Kill frenzies, races, vigilante etc) too bad the game map doesn't tell you where they are and the clunky controls, the amount of time it takes to restart an activity means I'll be ignoring them. All of them.

As a horizontal gamer, i'm in it for the journey. So once i reach the end of the story, i leave. No point trying to be the best or top of my game as that doesn't appeal to me. Grinding for prestige is something i find meaningless especially when my time is limited. It gets samey if i play the same maps doing the same thing again day after day like a machine usually leaves me with a bad taste. Even worse i jump in a public game and the first few matches i'm on the losing team... not a balanced game but making up the numbers on a losing team. just makes me not want to join at all. Need friends tbh.

Definitely respect the commitment to be able to speak as to why you like or don't like a game. I used to be the one who had to go to every area in RPG's, but as time has gone on the games got bigger and the amount of spare time available got smaller.

I do like to root around as much as possible still, but in action games I also often end up beelining the story to the end if possible when or if I start to get bored. Its actually not very often I blame the game when I don't click with it in the first few hours, as most games I buy/try are already well liked by reviewers or people I know I share some taste with. Its also hard for me to get into new games easily when theres not enough time to play every day, can take me a multi hour session to get started enough in a game to get to a point where I can dip in for an hour and enjoy myself, and the chance to do that is less than ever.

Pokemon Arceus though I have no qualms saying is a flat out bad game, that I enjoyed quite a bit for other reasons

 

[Zloth]

I guess revisiting a game 3 times over the decades before deciding 'No, I'm never going to enjoy this' counts.

OH! Now that you mention it... Total War: Empire. I should really like that game! It's more grand strategy than 4X, but it has enough X's in it that I should like it plenty. The battles are really interesting, too. But I never get more than a dozen hours into the game. After three tries, I gave up.

Probably. I mean... I really should like it, maybe if I give it one more chance....

 

[Colif]

I guess revisiting a game 3 times over the decades before deciding 'No, I'm never going to enjoy this' counts. I won't stick beyond 5-10 max hours if I'm not enjoying a game, but will give it another shot years later if it has a great general reputation.

thats me with Path of Exile. I have tried a few times but it just doesn't feel right to me. I bought in on the beta, I have tried to like it... its even on PC now but I only got as far as installing it.

 

[mainer]

I rarely get very far in a game that I dislike, and I'll just drop them after a few hours. In most cases I usually give those games another chance and try them again trying to get a bit further along, but if that dislike continues, I usually drop them for good, so the hours played aren't really that high.

There are some games that were disappointing to me or not what I expected them to be, played them through, but have no desire to replay them. Off the top of my head Deus Ex Invisible War was one, and more recently Outer Worlds from Obsidian. They weren't bad games, and had some good parts to them, but overall they just felt a bit shallow and left me feeling a bit disappointed with the content and/or gameplay. I know that veers from the original question, I've just spent more hours in games that disappointed me than in games that I came to dislike.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I rarely get very far in a game that I dislike, and I'll just drop them after a few hours. In most cases I usually give those games another chance and try them again trying to get a bit further along, but if that dislike continues, I usually drop them for good, so the hours played aren't really that high.

There are some games that were disappointing to me or not what I expected them to be, played them through, but have no desire to replay them. Off the top of my head Deus Ex Invisible War was one, and more recently Outer Worlds from Obsidian. They weren't bad games, and had some good parts to them, but overall they just felt a bit shallow and left me feeling a bit disappointed with the content and/or gameplay. I know that veers from the original question, I've just spent more hours in games that disappointed me than in games that I came to dislike.

I forgot about Outer Worlds which probably says something in itself. I dropped it after 10 hours or so and had no desire to go back, it just all seemed half hearted somehow. Never touched Invisible War though, it was so long ago now and not many people seem to be fond of it so I probably wont ever.

 

[Frindis]

Warzone. It's not that I don't like the game, but I REALLY don't like Activision Blizzard's predatory way of squeezing money out of people. Since my nephews will play the next one when it launches next week, I'll "forget" about what I just said and play together with them for a while. Family comes first after all.