What must-play games did you give up on?

[Pifanjr]

What game(s) that are considered "must-play" by some did you try but give up on, and why?

Personally, I tried Bioshock and for some reason decided to play it on hard and as a stealth game. I had already played Bioshock: Infinite, so I'm not sure why I thought it was a good idea, but it actually worked pretty well. However, it slowed the game down so much I got sick of it by the start of the second act.

I've also started Chrono Trigger at least twice, but I just don't care for the JRPG gameplay.

 

[mainer]

The first one that pops into my head is The Witcher 2. And it's difficult to describe exactly why I gave up on it. I started it at least 3 times, but for some reason, I just couldn't get into it. I loved the first game, as buggy as it was on release, and Witcher 2 was greatly improved graphically, but it just didn't like it that much.

Maybe it was the controls, or the beginning of the game; I just could never exactly pinpoint it. I kept telling myself that I'd give it another shot, but the years past, and then the Witcher 3 released; and there was no way I could go back after experiencing the world/people/stories/combat of the Witcher 3.

 

[Brian Boru]

Yep, Bioshock series—just couldn't get into any of them, gave up after ~5-10 hours.
Mass Effect series, same—the combo of 3rd-person perspective and too much RPG didn't work for me.
The Witcher 3—same as ME.

No point listing the genres or playstyles which don't work for me, which of course includes the above.

Metal Gear Solid 5 Phantom Pain should've worked for me, and maybe would've if I'd got past the awful long intro sequence.

Far Cry 2—I love all the other FCs—I've made 3 attempts years apart, but the sickness, weapon degradation, map traversal and endless enemy spawning killed it for me each time.

 

[Frindis]

@Pifanjr Since you mentioned Chrono Trigger, I'm going to follow up on that. I played it some years back after seeing it on the top 50 SNES games of all time. The story was good, the music absolutely fantastic and the main characters I liked a lot (Gleen the frog being my favorite). What made me stop playing was ALL the annoying backtracking and having to defeat the same enemies over and over and over again, with no way of avoiding them.

 

[Pifanjr]

The first one that pops into my head is The Witcher 2. And it's difficult to describe exactly why I gave up on it. I started it at least 3 times, but for some reason, I just couldn't get into it. I loved the first game, as buggy as it was on release, and Witcher 2 was greatly improved graphically, but it just didn't like it that much.

I only finished the first Witcher by using cheats to make myself invincible. I did not care for the combat, but I did really like the story and world-building.

EDIT: I did finish Witcher 2 without cheating by the way. Haven't gotten around to Witcher 3 yet and probably won't for the foreseeable future.

No point listing the genres or playstyles which don't work for me, which of course includes the above.

This thread was based on a reddit thread asking what must-play games people didn't care about trying, but it seemed to me to just give answers about genres people already don't care for.

What made me stop playing was ALL the annoying backtracking and having to defeat the same enemies over and over and over again, with no way of avoiding them.

Yeah, that's what most JRPGs do and I do not care for it.

 

[Colif]

GTA 5? I don't like games that don't let you do whatever you like right away. Having to do a mission just turned me off. I bought it but never played it... there are a few games like that for me. It was before I worked out I wasn't the audience.

I managed to play TDU 2 for a year or so without doing most of the races. Open world and free reign + bad driving physics meant it was more fun to just drive around than to actually play it.

 

[Yggdrasill]

Is this my chance to mention Soulslikes again, yes? *rubs hands* well here I go!
I am too much of a chicken to play these games. I do not mind the difficulty, but the creepy, horrific atmosphere freaks me out.

Other must-plays... hm. I'm not even sure what games are considered must-plays. There are a lot of popular games I haven't played. Tomb Raider, Far Cry, Fallout, Bioshock, all the old Assassin's Creeds... simply not really interested in those.

 

[Johnway]

Recently it was Chrono Cross on the ps1. If i played this back in 2000 i would have been blown away by the ideas implemented in the game. It was way ahead for its time. Sadly playing it 21 years later the games limitations kinda made me lose interest, i wasn't paying attention to the story and just missed out on so much on the content that is just packed into this game.

The point i stopped was near the end. The boss fight with the dragons was the final straw that i stopped. I'm currently playing super metroid atm and that game is eating away at my patience already. Main reason? i can't figure out where the hell i'm supposed to go next? The fact that the main path the game is hidden behind secret passages that you need to go over with a fine tooth comb. One of my biggest pet peeves. I might have to dig out another walkthrough/map so i know where the hell i'm suppose to go.

 

[Zloth]

So something like this, @Johnway?

View: https://youtu.be/KNVgAep9F7U

That's me (as if the wallpaper didn't give it away) playing Final Fantasy 6 and getting lost. Again. FF6 is definitely a must-play that I didn't make it through. (The ancient sound effects didn't help, either.)

 

[Pifanjr]

GTA 5? I don't like games that don't let you do whatever you like right away. Having to do a mission just turned me off. I bought it but never played it... there are a few games like that for me. It was before I worked out I wasn't the audience.

I managed to play TDU 2 for a year or so without doing most of the races. Open world and free reign + bad driving physics meant it was more fun to just drive around than to actually play it.

I've only ever played GTA like you played TDU 2. The main attraction of GTA games is screwing around in the open world, but almost all of the missions completely restrict where you're allowed to go.

The point i stopped was near the end. The boss fight with the dragons was the final straw that i stopped.

At least you made it to the end. I personally consider that finishing the game, just not wanting to bother with the grinding necessary to defeat the last boss.

I did that yesterday with Gridland. I fought the final boss once but he still had 1/3 life left when I died. Decided I didn't want to keep trying until I won and considered the game "finished".

FF6 is definitely a must-play that I didn't make it through. (The ancient sound effects didn't help, either.)

It took me quite a while before I realized I just didn't like JRPGs and I think a lot of that has to do with playing Final Fantasy 8 on the PS1 of my sister's boyfriend when I was around 8. It looked so cool and I could only play it for a little bit at a time if I happened to be over there.

It took me about 20 years and several attempts before I actually finished the game and I hated it. The only reason I finished the game is because the best way to play is to avoid all optional fights.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I'm trying to think along the lines of games I feel like I should like but didn't after really trying.

Nier Automata.
People rave about it, I want to see it but I haven't been able to in 19 hours across 2 attempts. Its partly the anime aesthetic. Why does the main character 2B, an android, have to be a young girl wearing a thong? Am I just old now? That's a me problem I know.

I've heard it gets much more interesting beyond the cliched 'what defines consciousness' it seems its going for up front, but I've never managed to stick with it far enough to find out.

Hell Blade: Senuas Sacrifice
Incredible atmosphere and the way it simulates the whispering audio hallucinations and the alternate reality of someone suffering a serious psychological break is incredible. But I found the puzzle sections frustrating and boring. I fell off of it twice now. I respect it but I didn't enjoy playing it.

Mass Effect
I played through 2 on release having not played the first game and thought it was just O.K, I actually remember very little of the story tbh. I bought the legendary edition on a whim, and tried to play from the start but the gameplay felt so dated I fell off after 15 hours. There's some interesting world building, but beyond that I think I really needed to play it when it was released to judge it fairly. It also put me off replaying KOTOR so I blame it for that too.

 

[ZedClampet]

This is why I stopped buying most AAA games. I've got a library full of them that I bounced off of, including the Bioshock series (bought as a bundle), Borderlands, one of the Wolfenstien games, etc. It's very rare that I like a shooter anymore.

One huge game that I was absolutely convinced I was going to love and then bounced off of it was Monster Hunter: World. I love melee games, but I felt the fighting animations were too slow. That alone probably wouldn't have stopped me, but the gear grind seemed pretty boring, and having to wander all over the place to find the correct monster just absolutely wore me out. I'd be shocked to find that I completed 25% of the game. Sixty bucks well spent.

One game I'm trying desperately not to bounce off of right now is Horizon Zero Dawn. I keep forcing myself to play a little more each week hoping I'll get hooked by it, but so far no luck.

 

[mainer]

This is why I stopped buying most AAA games. I've got a library full of them that I bounced off of, including the Bioshock series (bought as a bundle), one of the Wolfenstien games

I bought a Bioshock series as a bundle also, as well as Wolfenstein the New Order. I tried the first Bioshock (Remastered version), and while the atmosphere and visuals were good, I just couldn't get into the gameplay of it. I had hoped it would be similar to the System Shock games, but I just didn't feel it.

Similar with Wolfenstein New Order. I got caught up in some of the promo videos, but I lost interest in the game after a few hours. I feel I should give both games another shot, but I find it difficult to go back to a game that I originally lost interest in.

 

[Johnway]

So something like this, @Johnway?


That's me (as if the wallpaper didn't give it away) playing Final Fantasy 6 and getting lost. Again. FF6 is definitely a must-play that I didn't make it through. (The ancient sound effects didn't help, either.)

yes and no. It doesn't do a particularly good job telegrapthing where to go next. i had hoped just going forward was enough, but no, even downloading the in game map from the machine, its a bit naff and to top it off i've hit a couple of dead ends or i'm going around in loops. its infuriating. Secrets hidden are to be expected but to actually progress and travel to fight the boss? annoying. Not even that scan tool is helping finding out where the hell i'm going. Throw in some precision wall jumping with some terrible wall jumping mechanics and its a recipe for fustration.

At least you made it to the end. I personally consider that finishing the game, just not wanting to bother with the grinding necessary to defeat the last boss.

Well... not quite, i only woke up the black dragon and stopped there. i don't know whether its good/bad that i can't grind in this game. its not helped that you can only use your spells once. So if you used up your one heal then you were stuffed. Its not helped that characters just leave. hartle was so damn good that she became a perm member of the squad. Too bad she leaves and other stuff. infuriating that all the good stuff with her as well.

 

[Zloth]

It took me about 20 years and several attempts before I actually finished the game and I hated it.

I loved Final Fantasy 7, even though playing it on PC when it came out forced me to use crazy controls on the keyboard. The combat was fun and the story was great! When Final Fantasy 8 came out, I was eager for more. Didn't get it. The combat went from good to weak. The story went from awesome to terrible.

 

[Pifanjr]

Borderlands

I finished the first Borderlands game and really enjoyed it, but got less far in every sequel I played. Partly because I preferred playing with friends, who weren't always available or interested, and partly because the gameplay just got stale after a while.

I loved Final Fantasy 7, even though playing it on PC when it came out forced me to use crazy controls on the keyboard. The combat was fun and the story was great! When Final Fantasy 8 came out, I was eager for more. Didn't get it. The combat went from good to weak. The story went from awesome to terrible.

From what I've seen from Final Fantasy 7, I think I would've been put off by all the mini-games even if the JRPG combat hadn't turned me away yet.

I agree that FF8s story and gameplay is absolutely terrible. At least it didn't take very long to play through with the help of a walkthrough.