Buying games on faith alone.

unLucky500

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Jul 8, 2012
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My first ever post as OP, popped my forum cherry!

But anyway, I'm in a small pickle today, as I really want to buy Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 on Steam while it's on special (I don't have a lot of disposable income) but there are almost no reviews out for it (I've heard about the ones from Edge and GameInformer, but I can't read them without a subscription apparently).

I enjoyed the first game well enough, the loss of Metroidvania style exploration didn't break it for me, I had fun with the combat and I liked the story and voice cast. So I'm left wondering whether I should just buy it and future reviews be damned.

With this in mind, I was wondering how many of you buy games completely on faith, whether it be for the dev or the IP, never reading any reviews or previews on them before making up your mind. Have there been specific times where not waiting really paid off for you? Or other times when you were made to completely regret your decision?

For my part, I bought FFXIII on faith and I was largely disappointed. I got burned good on that, especially as it was a console game that cost me a whopping $90, (dang it Australia...)
 

IllumInaTIma

Flesh is but a garment!
Feb 6, 2012
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I tend to that. It really does depend on a game and my faith in it.
Is this is a sequel, prequel, remake, or in any way related to a game that I love? Is it made by the same developer? Do I have trust in that developer? Do I have trust in publisher? Did that publisher do something that would put me off from buying that game?
For example, I am going to pre-order and buy both Persona Q and Persona 5. Why? Because I love Persona games! Because they are made by Atlus, and so far Atlus have shown just how good of a developer they are. Sure, game might suck, you never know, but I'm willing to put my money and faith in Atlus and Persona franchise because they have earned it.
 

StriderShinryu

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Dec 8, 2009
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I tend to do a lot of research on games before I buy, but I do still buy the occasional game on it's promise alone. I'll buy the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect games pretty much on name alone, and I recently bought the Strider remake/reboot just because I love the character and previous games. It's pretty unlikely for me to pay something just out of nowhere though. If I don't have any familiarity with the developer and/or IP, I'll almost always at least look some information up.
 

Elfgore

Your friendly local nihilist
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Dec 6, 2010
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Back in the day, before I got online and looked up games, I always bought games on faith alone. I got screwed once or twice, Dead Island to name one, but other than that I got lucky.

Nowadays, I will almost always watch several gameplay trailers and if I'm still unsure, wait for reviews. Like Strider above me, I will preorder Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and any other series I know will be good. I'm taking a risk on Dying Light right now by preordering it. Hopefully I don't get burned.
 

SlaveNumber23

A WordlessThing, a ThinglessWord
Aug 9, 2011
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The special is only 10% off, I'd say its worth paying the extra 6 bucks to do some more research on the game before you dive in. Its a gamble and you should only gamble what you can afford to lose.

I find myself doing a ton of research into most games before I buy them and I've still been burned multiple times, so my advice is that it is better to be safe than sorry. Even the most reputable and quality developers/series are going to have their mistakes, you just never know for sure.
 

dyre

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Mar 30, 2011
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Ouch, $90 for a game? Can't you buy American games through a proxy or something?

Anyway, I buy games on faith sometimes; my chance of buying on faith is inversely proportional to the game's price, so mostly it's through Steam. And of course other factors like the developer's previous track record are involved too.

One memorable example is that I bought Empire: Total War on faith. At first I was a bit disappointed but then I was introduced to DarthMod...

PS: Isn't there a demo to Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2? That should remove the "faith" element.
 

Smooth Operator

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Oct 5, 2010
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Higher the price lower the amount of faith involved, so when it comes to full priced games or over I do extensive research, sure I have money to spend but I absolutely do not have money to burn.
 

Sniper Team 4

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Apr 28, 2010
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I buy most of my games on faith alone, because most of my games are series. I bought Lightning Returns on release day because I bought the other two on release day (and I have to say, Lightning is a much better character in this game. She seems more human). I do it all the time. If I'm interested in a game to the point where I want to play it regardless, I will get it.

Now, if a game looks interesting but I know nothing about it aside from a pretty trailer, then I will go look into reviews and stuff. But for me, that is the exception, not the rule.
 

IrenIvy

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Mar 15, 2011
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I don't buy games on faith anymore, even small one for $4. Even those very rare games I preorder, like 'Remember Me' I research first. Saying that, I don't obsessively look for all reviews and I avoid reviews with 9/10+ scores, regardless of the game. I have about four to six reviewers who have either very similar tastes to mine in games, or explain and showcase games well enough for me to see what it is like even if our tastes are different. Usually one of them reviews the game I'm interested in.
 

SmallHatLogan

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Jan 23, 2014
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Too many games to mention that I've bought via Steam sales just because they were cheap. Some have been good and some have been bad.

I bought The Binding of Isaac day one just because I loved Super Meat Boy. I didn't really know what Isaac was about. Fortunately I ended up loving it (but even if I didn't, it was only five bucks).

As far as AAA releases go I always do a decent amount of research (usually skimming multiple reviews to get the general consensus and looking at gameplay footage). I did buy Dragon's Dogma on a whim because there seemed to be a lot of overlap of Dragon's Dogma and Dark Souls fans, and I love Dark Souls. I was a bit disappointed with that. I keep making myself play it, and it's not a bad game, but it's just not sucking me in. There's rarely a time when I sit down and actually want to play it.
 

LaoJim

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Aug 24, 2013
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Don't know when your steam sale ends but it's showing up with 11 reviews and an average of 61 on metacritic at the moment so I'd be a little careful with rushing to buy it.

Generally I don't buy any games at launch. I've such a back-log of games at the moment that if I fancy playing something new, I just dip into my unplayed games. Given the speed that games lose their value, I don't see much point in getting them early. Thus there are always tons of official and user reviews available.

I'd only buy something without seeing a review (or a friends recommendation) if it was part of a particularly strong series (i.e. GTA, Forza, Elder Scrolls etc)
 

Maximum Bert

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Feb 3, 2013
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Sometimes get games on faith because I like the concept or dev or the ideas behind the game and occasionally just because the box seems interesting. I have picked up some amazing and terrible games just getting them on faith over the years or even on a whim.

That said I tend not to buy on faith much anymore as I have little time so even games I know I am likely to enjoy I think carefully before buying. Last game I bought on faith was Brothers a tale of two sons. I was pretty sceptical of the game but decided to give it a go and its pretty good glad I didnt pay full price but for 4 pounds its excellent value and the depiction of the world is amazing considering how little is really shown.
 

Bertylicious

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Apr 10, 2012
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Buying on faith is a mugs game. Even if it works out you have not made an informed decision, you instead got carried away with your own fantasy. It's fun but stupid, like smoking meth.

My last faith purchase was X:Rebirth. Third degree burns all over my body.
 

NightHavoc

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Sep 15, 2010
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I put my faith in a game once, that game was called Brink........ yeah rookie mistake on my behalf. Honestly I would do some research and play the demo first since there is one. I don't have money to burn but I usually buy games that are a safe bet for me. For example Dark souls 2 is pretty much a must buy for me, and nothing short of a monumental screw up from the devs will make that game bad.
 

MrBaskerville

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Mar 15, 2011
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NightHavoc said:
I put my faith in a game once, that game was called Brink........ yeah rookie mistake on my behalf. Honestly I would do some research and play the demo first since there is one. I don't have money to burn but I usually buy games that are a safe bet for me. For example Dark souls 2 is pretty much a must buy for me, and nothing short of a monumental screw up from the devs will make that game bad.
I'd say it's a bad idea to play the demo, i don't think it's a proper representation of the actual game (Hopefully not) and it's pretty awful. It's just one long and poorly designed scripted set piece filled with poor design choices.

I never listen to reviews, as i'm almost always disagreeing with them (I think my standards for storytelling are too high and i'm defineately looking for different things in style and game design than most reviewers seem to search for). I buy based on gut feeling, videos and screenshots and it mostly works for me, i know what i like so i only really make mistakes when i accidentaly buy into the medias hype.
 

Zeh Don

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Jul 27, 2008
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unLucky500 said:
...especially as it was a console game that cost me a whopping $90, (dang it Australia...)
I feel your pain there, brother.

As for buying games, I lost all faith a long time ago. Companies like EA Games and Activision burned me time and again, and now the industry at large pays the price. SPORE was the last straw for me personally. Nothing has ever left me feeling so utterly betrayed. I swore off all pre-orders forever after that... monstrosity.

Now, I wait for the forum feedback. Places like the User Review section here, and some other trusted sources, are my reviewers. On their watch, I haven't been burnt yet, and have even discovered new sources of awesome, with games like Sleeping Dogs, Darksiders 2 and countless indie games.
 

crazygameguy4ever

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Jul 2, 2012
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i wouldn't bother buying it. .the demo of the game was terrible and it's not gotten a lot of good scores. well, ok. it has gotten some positive scores but all said, it's still not good.. the game holds your hand to much, and 2 of your weapons render all other weapons and attacks useless because those two weapons are overpowered so much.. one that restores your health with every attack and the other that does a lot of damages and breaks through armor. i've never bought a game that i haven't heard a lot of reviews for.. i like to see multiple opinions on a game before deciding on buying it or not. never bought game with out seeing reviews first.. not to say reviews are always right, but you can at least get a good idea of a game's strengths and flaws.