Bad parts in great games.

[Erttheking]

Frostfound in Sunless Sea. A miserable trek that will deal damage to your character and will screw you over if you don't bring the right equipment and/or are there for a quest.

...No one knows what I'm talking about, do they?

I do. That part of the game I wouldn't blame anyone for trying to save scum through it considering how much the RNG determines how that quest goes.

No freaking kidding. Whatever I get for going in there for the Tireless Mechanic better be worth it game!

https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Fulgent_Impeller

....You got lucky.

OT: Oh and Persona is one of my favorite series and I adore Persona 5. But fucking Christ is it?s sexualized comedy cringe worthy. The fact that Ryuji suggests than Ann, a girl who was almost sexually assaulted by her teacher, use her body to get information that they need and they do it more than once while Ann clearly isn?t happy with it....HOW IS THIS FUNNY!? Because Ann wears a comical amount of sweaters and does a bad British accent? When the set up disgusts me less, I?ll let you know. And on the other end of the coin, whenever the girls overreact and beat up one of the boys in that series. Does Atlus just like writing the boys in their games as perverted assholes and the girls as violent assholes for half baked comedy scenes

 

[Xprimentyl]

I wouldn?t necessarily call this a ?bad? part, but most definitely the part of Dark Souls that has been a constant sore spot with me is the NPCs and how apparently disconnected they are from the world around them and just how? unrealistically (I guess?) they?re implemented in games about decaying worlds of constant and brutal danger, disconnected from and out of place in the broader experience and where you find them most times just makes no sense as it is directly contrary to the spirit of the game.

How did Siegmeyer find himself in Anor Londo before me? The Iron Giant seemed well and intact when I reached him; I?ve got the axe wounds to prove it.

Solaire?s just chilling at a bonfire surrounded by lava after the Centipede Demon boss arena? Did you find an Orange Charred Ring in a Crackerjack box or something, Sun Fucker?

Lucatile must have just moseyed through The Gutter to make it to Black Gulch where she chooses to make a 10 foot drop onto a hidden ledge then lean up against a wall in pitch blackness?

Merchant Hag Melentia, I?m not even going to ASK how you managed to make it to Majula from the Cardinal Tower; you?re 150 years old and carrying everything you own on your back; I guess undead hollows respect their elders?

And I?m the only one in this world that ever needs anything; who?s keeping the myriad Merchants in business? The worlds of Souls games seem like piss poor places to become a small business owner (unless, of course, you?re in the business of snuff films.)

The NPCs would fit better if they were in peaceful hub areas (like Majula in DS2) where it might be feasible that whatever few normal people there are left might be reasonably safe from the likes of mindless, violent hollows and ancient demons that populate the fringes of polite society. Or, if they absolutely feel it necessarily to pepper NPC throughout the game world, at least put them there upon subsequent visits so I could at least delude myself into believing that they ?followed? in the relative safety of my wake.

 

[sXeth]

I wouldn?t necessarily call this a ?bad? part, but most definitely the part of Dark Souls that has been a constant sore spot with me is the NPCs and how apparently disconnected they are from the world around them and just how? unrealistically (I guess?) they?re implemented in games about decaying worlds of constant and brutal danger, disconnected from and out of place in the broader experience and where you find them most times just makes no sense as it is directly contrary to the spirit of the game.

How did Siegmeyer find himself in Anor Londo before me? The Iron Giant seemed well and intact when I reached him; I?ve got the axe wounds to prove it.

Solaire?s just chilling at a bonfire surrounded by lava after the Centipede Demon boss arena? Did you find an Orange Charred Ring in a Crackerjack box or something, Sun Fucker?

Lucatile must have just moseyed through The Gutter to make it to Black Gulch where she chooses to make a 10 foot drop onto a hidden ledge then lean up against a wall in pitch blackness?

Merchant Hag Melentia, I?m not even going to ASK how you managed to make it to Majula from the Cardinal Tower; you?re 150 years old and carrying everything you own on your back; I guess undead hollows respect their elders?

And I?m the only one in this world that ever needs anything; who?s keeping the myriad Merchants in business? The worlds of Souls games seem like piss poor places to become a small business owner (unless, of course, you?re in the business of snuff films.)

The NPCs would fit better if they were in peaceful hub areas (like Majula in DS2) where it might be feasible that whatever few normal people there are left might be reasonably safe from the likes of mindless, violent hollows and ancient demons that populate the fringes of polite society. Or, if they absolutely feel it necessarily to pepper NPC throughout the game world, at least put them there upon subsequent visits so I could at least delude myself into believing that they ?followed? in the relative safety of my wake.

The general theory I beleive is supposed to be that they're mostly in their own worlds and whatever universe imploding timey wimey thing just happens to criss-cross you into them. Though you'd think that would make some of the static ones also go in and out (you could alrgue Firelink shrine has a stability shield or something, but there's dudes just out in the world too who are always there)

 

[Mothro]

Really hate monopoly. In the words of one reader: ?The game carries on too long whilst the majority of players slip slowly into debt, an experience I get enough of in real life, to be honest.

This is only true if you don't play by the official rules.

Money on Free Parking, double salary for landing on Go, throwing the Income Tax, Luxury Tax and Money from Pay Cards into the center just prolongs the game. The more money you throw into the game, the longer it takes to bankrupt people.

It took me too many years of playing with house rules to figure this out.

 

[Dalisclock]

I wouldn?t necessarily call this a ?bad? part, but most definitely the part of Dark Souls that has been a constant sore spot with me is the NPCs and how apparently disconnected they are from the world around them and just how? unrealistically (I guess?) they?re implemented in games about decaying worlds of constant and brutal danger, disconnected from and out of place in the broader experience and where you find them most times just makes no sense as it is directly contrary to the spirit of the game

Repeat after me:

Time is convoluted in Lordran.

Also something something multiple worlds that occasionally intersect, which is the in-game reason the phantoms exist.

I wish I had something better for you but I don't. It's pretty much a way to justify the multiplayer.

 

[Abomination]

The fucking Fade in Dragon Age: Origins.

Sewer "dungeon" in Vampire: The Masquerade.

Probing planets in Mass Effect II.

Typically any area of a game that creates a significant change of pace for an extended period of time.

 

[Trunkage]

Frostfound in Sunless Sea. A miserable trek that will deal damage to your character and will screw you over if you don't bring the right equipment and/or are there for a quest.

...No one knows what I'm talking about, do they?

I never did anything in Frostfound. You had to get so many attributes in different areas it become pointless. Empire of the Hands was an ending that was really annoying and I never tried.

OT: Ending to ME3. I don't hate the ending like most but from Earth onwards, the game is pretty bad.

 

[Dalisclock]

Not a single game but having done the entire Metal Gear series over the last year I noticed there's certain bits that can be used as shorthand for bad, bad writing.

Among them(Beware Spoilers):

Spoiler

-Nanomachines, Son(repeat for the next 10 hours).
-Magical Bullshit Parasites.
-He was possessed by the grafted on arm of a clone of the world's greatest soldier, but was actually faking it the whole time because reasons.
-He was really some dude surgically altered and brainwashed to believe he was someone else.
-She breathes through her skin.

I enjoyed the series, but Kojimas writing is....special.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Probing planets in Mass Effect II.

Haha! I know I?m in the minority by far and away, but that was actually one of my FAVORITE parts of ME2! I don?t know why, but I found it very relaxing. With the famous ME map music floating aimlessly in the background, probing the planets became a Zen-like experience; I spent inordinate amounts of time doing it, often in lieu of doing missions and progressing the story.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

The literal 'press X to not die' sections of Bayonetta. Most of the game is fantastic, but when you die because you didn't react fast enough to someone shouting 'hit the button now! oh, you missed it? GAME OVER, *****!', it kills the momentum something awful. And it's not even like the input is something you'd do in gameplay anyway, since for most of them you just press the X button.

At least the unpredictable instant-kill QTEs were entirely removed from the sequel.

 

[Dalisclock]

Probing planets in Mass Effect II.

Haha! I know I?m in the minority by far and away, but that was actually one of my FAVORITE parts of ME2! I don?t know why, but I found it very relaxing. With the famous ME map music floating aimlessly in the background, probing the planets became a Zen-like experience; I spent inordinate amounts of time doing it, often in lieu of doing missions and progressing the story.

So, how do you feel strip mining entire planets and collapsing their economies so you can upgrade your SMG, you monster?
/joke

Sorry, I'm ambivalent towards that particular mechanic but Stolen Pixels pretty much made it impossible to play that bit of ME2 without thinking "Man, Shepherd is a selfish jerk, robbing entire planets of their resources because s/he needs a better gun".

I felt the same way in MGSV where Venom spends all of Diamond Dogs money adding a scope to his favorite gun, or buying armor for his horse, adding insult to injury to all the guys working for him that he press ganged in the first place.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

I love RTS games.

That moment that takes me out of it is when you're playing a FFA... and everyone attacks you only. We're talking civs/races who are on the polar opposite side of the map from you sends in troops to attack you. And once you beat them, the people right next to you send in troops... And once you beat them, people from the middle of the map sends in troops.

Age of Empires 3 was horrible with this.

 

[sXeth]

I love RTS games.

That moment that takes me out of it is when you're playing a FFA... and everyone attacks you only. We're talking civs/races who are on the polar opposite side of the map from you sends in troops to attack you. And once you beat them, the people right next to you send in troops... And once you beat them, people from the middle of the map sends in troops.

Age of Empires 3 was horrible with this.

Its probably a performance optimization. Everything centers on you so its not jamming up your game inexplicably to have AI's fight each other off in a corner somewhere.

Or its just AI in general. Getting AI to prioritize fighting multiple opponents is quite a chore, whether its in a strategy game or an RPG or an FPS. Almost always once you interrupt any in-progress combat everything focuses on you.

 

[Dalisclock]

I love RTS games.

That moment that takes me out of it is when you're playing a FFA... and everyone attacks you only. We're talking civs/races who are on the polar opposite side of the map from you sends in troops to attack you. And once you beat them, the people right next to you send in troops... And once you beat them, people from the middle of the map sends in troops.

Age of Empires 3 was horrible with this.

Not an RTS game but there is an older 4X type game called Imperialism. The game requires you to do a lot of infrastructure investment to keep your population from starving, let alone keep your economy humming. Oh, and don't forget your military must remain above a certain invisible threshold of power/strength at all times.

If you do neglect the military part, you'll start a turn to be greeted with the newspaper informing you that EVERY SINGLE OTHER POWER in the world has declared war on you at the exact same time(and it doesn't matter how good your relationships were with them just prior to this). And since your military is already behind the curve to prompt this, you might as well just start a new game at this point because there's no way in hell you're gonna win against those odds.

Yeah, that's the big reason I never finished a game of Imperialism, due the AI opponents all ganging up on you because you were too busy keeping building your railroads up so you could transport enough food to avoid starvation.

 

[BaronVonVaderHam]

Any segment of a game where your controls get reversed.

I'd say the Xel'lotath campaign in Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem was for me the weakness of the three. I didn't like the design of her creatures that some had this strange glyph floating where their heads should have been, that I thought looked silly.

I also thought she wasn't as interesting as the other two ancients.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I recently replayed Metroid: Zero Mission and the Space Pirate Mothership section was annoying as fuck. It's a forced stealth section, which I already stated that I hate, but there are moments where getting spotted is unavoidable and all you can do is run like hell until you can find a hiding spot.

 

[DrownedAmmet]

The fucking Fade in Dragon Age: Origins.

Sewer "dungeon" in Vampire: The Masquerade.

Probing planets in Mass Effect II.

Typically any area of a game that creates a significant change of pace for an extended period of time.

I loved the Fade mission in Dragon Age: Origins!!
Until I finished the first section and realized it was 1 of 7!
Plus you have to do them in a certain order or backtrack a lot, Christ I was thrilled when that was over

 

[Jonbodhi]

The sewer level in Arkham Asylum.
The sewer level in Nioh
The 'poison mine' in Nioh. Essentially, any section with status effects sucks.
The tank-related 'boss fights' in Arkham Knight (almost ruined the game for me)
The 'Find Dandoline' questline in Witcher 3. When Gerald says: 'now we have to put on a play,' I almost threw my controller. SO tedious!
As stated above, those archers in New Londo.
The entire 'Dead Money' section of Fallout: New Vegas. Great voice acting and story, but some of the worst gameplay I've ever encountered.
The 'Big Daddy' section of Bioshock.

 

[Palindromemordnilap_v1legacy]

Tartarus from the very first God of War game. The developers have even admitted they didn't have time to playtest it beforehand, so its needlessly punishing in the most banal way

 

[Trunkage]

Any RTS (or even Valkayie Chronilces) that has a section will a small contingent of units you need to keep alive. VC had a mission where you had to time yourself between blasts and spotlights or something. I tried it one and just gave up. What an unpleasant way to finish.