How soon is too soon to give up on a game?

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Title basically says it all.

Some context: I grabbed Dishonored off Steam a few days back because it was on sale and I never got around to it before. I've heard good things, including comparisons to Bioshock, my favorite game of all time. According to Steam I've played 4 hours and I'm on the first official mission. Like...right at the start, on the docks while some dudes throw corpses into boats.
And holy fuck is it boring. I could not care less about the plot or characters. There are already so many options, powers and weapons I always feel like my go-to of stab them in the face is the absolute worst way to play it. I don't bother hiding because your block can't be broken and the guards may as well be crippled puppies fighting Angron for all the challenge they are.
and I'm already annoyed that I was given a mask to hide my features so no one recognizes me as me but all the guards attack you on sight anyway. So why the mask and the pseudo-Assassin's Creed sneaking bullshit?!
And don't think I didn't notice hidden areas I couldn't get to in the training missions that I now have dark magic powers to get to, you back-tracking son of a *****!

But its literally the first 2mins of the first mission. So it is fair to say fuck it and just play Bioshock again? I'm not having fun! But its so early in the game, that seems more like a fault in me than the game and who knows, maybe something interesting will happen!

I've heard arguments from multiple angles. Some say you have to see a game through to the end, then judge it. Which in some light is perfectly fair. You wouldn't judge a movie without seeing it to the end credits, so why give up on a game before it shows you everything about it? It could get better later.
But if you're not having fun, you're not having fun. Why should we feel obligated to continue not having fun, simply on the off-chance that we will have fun eventually. Surely our time is a factor, and that should play a significant part in our gaming experience.

I don't think anyone would defend Final Fantasy # for getting good 30+ hours in. But what about 5 hours? 3? 2? 1? Does a game have to been fun from pressing Start?

What are your thoughts?

 

[tippy2k2]

I have to see SOME potential for me to stick around for more than two hours.

I dropped Assassins Creed Unity about two hours in because it was just kind of boring and it was getting frustrating how bad the game felt control-wise. I don't know if all the AC games felt like that and playing so many just makes those faults glaring now or if they did something different with Unity but holy hell did I have troubles with the fighting and stealth in the game. It wasn't fun to play and I don't have the time anymore to dink around with bad games.

 

[BrawlMan]

Honestly, it's up to you. Me, I usually give a game 3-5 hours. If I am not having fun, nor am I invested in the story, I quit and move on to something else. For example, I tried to get into Saints Row 1 when it first came out in 2008, and I gave up after the 4th hour. The game was just too slow, tedious, and boring. The same thing also happened after FF XIII, though I gave it 20 hours and the story was complete garbage. If you are not having fun, then playing something else.

 

[DrownedAmmet]

Title basically says it all.

Some context: I grabbed Dishonored off Steam a few days back because it was on sale and I never got around to it before. I've heard good things, including comparisons to Bioshock, my favorite game of all time. According to Steam I've played 4 hours and I'm on the first official mission. Like...right at the start, on the docks while some dudes throw corpses into boats.
And holy fuck is it boring. I could not care less about the plot or characters. There are already so many options, powers and weapons I always feel like my go-to of stab them in the face is the absolute worst way to play it. I don't bother hiding because your block can't be broken and the guards may as well be crippled puppies fighting Angron for all the challenge they are.
and I'm already annoyed that I was given a mask to hide my features so no one recognizes me as me but all the guards attack you on sight anyway. So why the mask and the pseudo-Assassin's Creed sneaking bullshit?!
And don't think I didn't notice hidden areas I couldn't get to in the training missions that I now have dark magic powers to get to, you back-tracking son of a *****!

But its literally the first 2mins of the first mission. So it is fair to say fuck it and just play Bioshock again? I'm not having fun! But its so early in the game, that seems more like a fault in me than the game and who knows, maybe something interesting will happen!

I've heard arguments from multiple angles. Some say you have to see a game through to the end, then judge it. Which in some light is perfectly fair. You wouldn't judge a movie without seeing it to the end credits, so why give up on a game before it shows you everything about it? It could get better later.
But if you're not having fun, you're not having fun. Why should we feel obligated to continue not having fun, simply on the off-chance that we will have fun eventually. Surely our time is a factor, and that should play a significant part in our gaming experience.

I don't think anyone would defend Final Fantasy # for getting good 30+ hours in. But what about 5 hours? 3? 2? 1? Does a game have to been fun from pressing Start?

What are your thoughts?

I quit Dishonored fairly early myself, I had almost beat the first mission without killing anybody, then fucked something up, so when I went back to replay it and I killed some people, only to have the intercom person call me out for it, I realized I couldn't play it stealthily because it was too boring, and I couldn't play it violently because it seemed too out of character for me to kill anybody, so I just gave up. Plus the plot and characters and voice acting weren't doing the game any favors

There is no such thing as too soon to give up on a game, you don't owe the game anything. I found gaming far more enjoyable when I started to quit games earlier. Even if it does get better later, with so many games out now I can probably find one that's good the whole time and doesn't suck for the first ten hours

 

[CritialGaming]

I say give any Steam game up to 90 minutes. If you aren't jizzing your pants with fun sauce, then refund it! We can do that now. Within reason.

 

[DefunctTheory]

I think a good general rule, unless someone you trust is giving you a more specific time frame, is 2 missions/levels or 2 hours, whichever comes first. If it hasn't at least been a little entertaining by then, I think it's safe to bail.

I got about 5 hours into Dishonored until I lost interest, personally. As for FF13... I played it for 20 before destroying the disc. Could have returned it for my money back, but I thought the feeling of crushing the disc was worth 60 bucks.

 

[CritialGaming]

I think a good general rule, unless someone you trust is giving you a more specific time frame, is 2 missions/levels or 2 hours, whichever comes first. If it hasn't at least been a little entertaining by then, I think it's safe to bail.

I got about 5 hours into Dishonored until I lost interest, personally. As for FF13... I played it for 20 before destroying the disc. Could have returned it for my money back, but I thought the feeling of crushing the disc was worth 60 bucks.

I must be a crazy ************, because I likes FF13 and I beat that game. I enjoyed my time with it. Also I think I might have brain cancer now.

Nevermind Ignore me.

(I really did beat FF13 though. Even liked it a bit.)

 

[DefunctTheory]

I think a good general rule, unless someone you trust is giving you a more specific time frame, is 2 missions/levels or 2 hours, whichever comes first. If it hasn't at least been a little entertaining by then, I think it's safe to bail.

I got about 5 hours into Dishonored until I lost interest, personally. As for FF13... I played it for 20 before destroying the disc. Could have returned it for my money back, but I thought the feeling of crushing the disc was worth 60 bucks.

I must be a crazy ************, because I likes FF13 and I beat that game. I enjoyed my time with it. Also I think I might have brain cancer now.

Nevermind Ignore me.

(I really did beat FF13 though. Even liked it a bit.)

I wouldn't be surprised if 'Enjoyed Final Fantasy 13' was a diagnostic symptom of a brain tumor.

I mean, to each there own... whatever floats your boat and all that. But... eh, whatever. No need to beat this dead horse.

 

[Pirate Of PC Master race]

When it bores you?

I have spent about 15 min to 1 hour depending on the game's incompatibility with my playstyle. More than that... eh, I have better games to replay.

Sneaking & backstabbing is one of my favorite gameplay feature...and therefore I tend to complete all of them if game have them.
I tend to play play first playthrough as peaceloving hippie(which is frustrating) followed by stealth genocide playthrough(as a revenge for being so damn frustrating).

P.S: oh, I did stealth kill all those stilt-things in Dishonored. They are incredibly satisfying to kill.

 

[distortedreality]

As much as I enjoy Dishonored, if you're not digging the setting and story within the first couple of hours, I wouldn't bother sticking with it. Yes, the more powers you develop, the more fun and varied the gameplay gets, but it's probably not worth slogging through just for that.

I generally will try and finish a game regardless, unless I'm really hating it - but I don't normally buy stuff I'm not sure of.

The only exception to this that I can think of off the top of my head is The Force Unleashed. Grabbed the Star Wars pack on Steam, thought I'd try it out after avoiding it for years - uninstalled after about an hour or so, have no plans on reinstalling, just wasn't my thing.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

SNIP

I actually got to a junkyard level with absolutely terrible platforming while dudes on hovering platforms shot you with 100% accuracy with lasers that stunned you before I quit The Force Unleashed.
Maybe this reflect poorly on me as a gamer, but I actually considered that pretty far. I mean that has to be the 2nd mission! Maybe even the 3rd!

 

[JaKandDaxter]

I've gotten to a point of my life where I know what I like and what appeals to me. If I don't enjoy a game, and see or know potential for improvement or change after 30 minutes (or even less) of playing. I just put said game to the side and move on.

Considering that I play a wide variety of games. From Alpha Protocol, Catherine, to Battlefield and more. I'm pretty confident in my ability to judge if a game is worth my personal time. And I don't need to impress or please anybody by playing a game I'm not liking for the next 10-20 hours.

 

[Bilious Green_v1legacy]

Bad controls tends to be my main "Nope!" trigger. I tried to play Deus Ex Human Revolution, as that kind of game (scifi RPG) is right up my alley, but I hated the controls so much I gave up after an hour and just watched a lets play instead to see the story.

 

[Silvanus]

I would say about 2 hours is enough to make a solid judgement, but I wouldn't judge anyone for giving up after half an hour.

Less than about 20 minutes and you're not really being fair, though.

 

[Nazulu]

A good developer would know how important the intro to a game is, making something special to draw us in. If I don't see anything even a little clever then I'm not expecting much, but I'll try out the game play and get passed the first stage and see if I had fun then.

 

[The Eupho Guy_v1legacy]

I've heard arguments from multiple angles. Some say you have to see a game through to the end, then judge it. Which in some light is perfectly fair. You wouldn't judge a movie without seeing it to the end credits, so why give up on a game before it shows you everything about it? It could get better later.
But if you're not having fun, you're not having fun. Why should we feel obligated to continue not having fun, simply on the off-chance that we will have fun eventually. Surely our time is a factor, and that should play a significant part in our gaming experience.

You shouldn't feel obliged to play a game if you're not enjoying yourself, even if someone on the internet says otherwise .

I guess the issue boils down to what don't you like about the game? If the controls or gameplay are bad, I'm less likely to want to finish a game and will probably drop it after a session. If its the story or settling that's off, I will at least give it an honest go to see if it gets better, then drop it if it doesn't improve after a couple hours. Bad soundtracks are completely ignorable, as I can turn that shit of and listen to my own stuff.

 

[HybridChangeling]

As much as I would like to say if it isn't almost immediate then skip it, that isn't always true. Some games have a little time needed to start going, and open up more. My rule of thumb is usually wait 10 minutes of game time past when I feel that, just so I know. The only game I ever bought (I am super selective since buying a game growing up was a 3-4 times a year thing, even now as well too) and didn't finish was Assassins Creed Black Flag. God that was tedious, boring, adjective, and long. All I could think was "Where are the dang boats?!"

 

[Elfgore]

I'd say it depends on the cost in most cases. If you drop sixty bucks on a game, you should at least be putting in a solid two hours before deciding to call it quits. If it's like twenty, I'd give it thirty minutes to an hour.

Even then some games just take a long time to get into. Persona 4 Golden is one of the best games I've ever played. The prologue alone is like four to five hours before you get full control. If someone gave up after two hours of non-stop talking, granted it is good talking, they'd be missing one of the greatest JRPGs ever.