Do you ever drop videogames that you don't enjoy?

[laggyteabag]

I'm currently in the middle of two games that i'm really not enjoying all that much.

The first is Half-Life (namely Half-Life 2 Episode 2) and the other is Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.

Both are critically acclaimed games, both Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam, but i'm really not clicking with either of them. But here I am, four games deep into the Half-Life series, and facing roughly another eight hours of Ghost Trick.

But I haven't dropped them. Why? Because I don't hate them, I just don't particularly like them (I also got Ghost Trick as a gift, so I at least want to say I finished it).

Is that masochistic? Maybe. But I value having an opinion on these games, even if they aren't particularly positive. And I like ticking them off my backlog of roughly 250 games that I own, actively want to play, but have never put any significant amount of time into.

I've definitely had my fair share of games that I have abandoned or forgotten about because I got distracted by something else, but the only game in recent memory that I actually dropped out of frustration and immediately uninstalled, was Ori And the Blind Forest (another Overwhelmingly Positive game) which is one that made me realise that I simply do not like platformers. Otherwise, I generally stick through games, even if I come away from them thinking that they were a sub-par experience.

Do you drop games that you don't particularly enjoy, or do you just grit your teeth and get through them?

 

[meiam]

I usually find something else I really want to play, take a pause from the game I'm currently playing and 5 year later I need more harddrive space and go "Oooooh yeah I was supposed to get back to this and never did" and uninstall. Like most recent assasin cred fall straight in that category.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Personally, yes, I drop games I don't enjoy. I play videogames to enjoy myself; if I'm not enjoying myself playing a game... why play it? Now, I may stick with a game that has (imo) glaring flaws that make it less enjoyable than I'd prefer, but has enough redemptive qualities that seeing it through is something I don't mind.

Last instance of such was Somerville. It's effectively a 2D side scroller, but has some depth requiring interactions in the 3rd dimension, and the environment often made it difficult to tell where my character was standing. Also, near the end of the game, there was some very graphically demanding particle effects that dropped my framerate on my Xbox One so badly, the game froze my console, which would typically be an objective game-killer. But I was so intrigued with the game, I kept restarting the console, and letting it chug through that section of the game hoping I'd get over the hump, and after a day or so, I lucked out and it finally did, and I was able to finish the game. So it was a rough experience, but I enjoyed it enough to finish it.

In fact, now that I think about it, I might download it again on my new Series X; maybe the additional horsepower will make it an easier ride this time (though it obviously won't affect the innate "2D, but 3D sometimes" problem with the game.)

 

[Casual Shinji]

Why wouldn't I?

To eloborate; I'm 41 years old. The days of me sitting through shit I don't like - whether they be movies, TV shows, or videogames - are long over. For movies I'll give it about 15 minutes, for TV shows I'll give it one episode, and for games I'll give it one hour, but if within that time you're not entertaining me I'm turning you off.

 

[BrawlMan]

Yes. I decided this early enough when I reached my early 20s. Either I am into a game or not. I dropped both Callisto Protocol and Wanted: Dead, because they are frustrating and not fun to play. I returned both within two days and have no regrets doing so.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I dumped Dark Souls after six hours and Resident Evil 6 after 22 minutes. I ain't got time to not enjoy myself.

 

[Chimpzy]

I absolutely drop games I don't enjoy. If that's within the refund period, good. If not, well, tough luck, that money's gone and I sure as fuck aren't going to also spend yet more time on it out of some misguided attempt of trying to get my money's worth.

 

[Worgen]

Of course I drop games I don't like. I have enough money that I don't just get 1 or 2 games a year anymore.

Some that come to mind are the Space Hulk games (except the action one), I have all the pc ones, but I get very limited enjoyment out of them.
Void Bastards, just didn't really click for me.
Songs of Conquest (probably) fuck that difficulty curve and magic just being better then being a commander.
Dragon Ball Fighterz, I'm on the last campaign but there is so much filler with fights against clone enemies and you are so limited in your roster for it.

 

[BrawlMan]

Dragon Ball Fighterz, I'm on the last campaign but there is so much filler with fights against clone enemies and you are so limited in your roster for it.

I still don't know how I powered through all that on release day.

 

[Worgen]

I still don't know how I powered through all that on release day.

Yeah, not only does it take forever but its super tedious.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

I definitely have dropped games I don't enjoy. Some examples that come to mind are Devil Survivor 2, SMT 5, Persona 5 Tactica, GTA 5, Pyre, and surely a few others I can't recall.

What I've been finding recently that's really weird is going back to games I used to enjoy and then dropping them on a replay. It's odd, some of these games I know I really liked and gave me some great memories, but then going back with a different eye just shows some things I didn't before and makes them hard to push through. It kind of bothers me, honestly

 

[BrawlMan]

It kind of bothers me, honestly

It happens and that's life. There have been more than a few games I enjoyed at some point, but never decided to touch them again for one reason or another. Lollipop Chainsaw's combat I don't find good and is only barely better No More Heroes 2's combat. Not helping matters is that Killer is Dead plays much better and came out 1 year later. Then there's the later Oneechanbara games that makes LC's combat look like an even bigger joke.

Comix Zone I've beaten twice in my life and never touched it again. Too frustrating, even with save states. Metroidvanias I don't enjoy, and the even the good ones I did, I find no reason to go back and play again. I get bored after the first run through. Bayonetta 1 I rarely ever touch anymore, because Bayonetta 2 is so much better and ironed out any issues I have with the first game.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I dumped Dark Souls after six hours and Resident Evil 6 after 22 minutes. I ain't got time to not enjoy myself.

I dumped Residen Evil 6 after the demo. And then I got stomoach flu, which I won't say RE6 contributed to, but I won't say it DIDN'T neither.

 

[Summerstorm]

With games: Absolutely - TV/Youtube Series i give usually 2-3 Episodes. Movies: Eh, what i started i watch through, never walked out of a Theatre, If a movie is super-boring i may be pausing it for a day or two, hehe.

Well Best Game-Example for me was "Sekiro - Shadows Die Twice" I was a PC-Gamer from nearly the start (Except Gameboy) and was pretty bad with controller.
The game was well received, hard and Controller-based. So i thought; I will train train my controller-skills with this.

Played it, and i found the mechanics annoying and frustrating. And weird. The idea, that every time i fail i don't get reset to a savepoint or have to try again or something but actively "make the game world worse" felt just so bad for me. (Combined with other in-world design choices)

Didn't touch it after.

 

[Catfood220]

Yes definately, why waste my time on something I'm not enjoying?

Ghost of Tsushima bored the bollocks off of me and after the story went "sorry Mario, but our barbarian is in another castle" I dropped that game so hard I had to pay for repairs to my floor.

Resident Evil 6 got dropped shortly after the zombies started doing commando rolls to dodge me shots, though it was on thin ice long before that.

I'd rather play something that grips me and I enjoy than slog through something I hate.

I have however struggled through The Last of Us three times trying to figure out what is so great about it.

 

[Satinavian]

Yes i do.
Elden Ring for example.

But there are also games i do enjoy but eventually pause to come back later... which sometimes does not happen. And that is something i feel a tiny bit bad about.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Sometimes, not often though. I tend to play all the way through games once I've started them. Sometimes a game is just too long and unenjoyable, like the Witcher 3, and I'll just have to drop it rather than spend another 60 hours on it just to cross it off the list.

 

[Worgen]

Sometimes, not often though. I tend to play all the way through games once I've started them. Sometimes a game is just too long and unenjoyable, like the Witcher 3, and I'll just have to drop it rather than spend another 60 hours on it just to cross it off the list.

The Witcher is one of those series I just could never get into. Like, I have all of them, mainly because Cdproject put out really nice physical editions. But, the games themselves... first one I got tired of since I tried to do every single side quest, second one I started but then wanted to upgrade my computer before playing more of and once I did just... ehh, third one I got an ok way in before the moral choices just made it more stressful then fun.