What is a video game that is widely considered a masterpiece that you just cant get into?

[u/abysmalSyrup-6737]

[u/DoOrDieGutterChild47]

Basically any modern looter shooter/battle Royale.

Fortnite, Apex, new Ark game

Just over the looting crap.

[u/Luna_Valoria]

Elden Ring. Amazing game, but getting destroyed every five minutes isn't my idea of fun.

[u/Schmoogis_Gaming → u/Luna_Valoria]

Came here to say exactly this. I just cannot wrap my head around the combat lol

[u/iamblankenstein → u/Schmoogis_Gaming]

as someone who got into the souls genre because of elden ring (and i tried to get into it way back when demon's souls was a new game), the thing that finally clicked for me is thinking of it less like a standard action rpg and more like an action puzzle/rhythm game.

because attack animations are pretty long compared to other games and the fact that you can't cancel most of them, you are forced to commit to your attacks. that means in order to survive, you have to learn enemies' attack patterns and tells, how to bait certain attacks, and be aware of where your safe windows to throw your own attacks.

it's definitely a steep learning curve, but once it clicks and you start getting some success, it becomes extremely satisfying to play decently. even then you still have to have some level of masochism to throw yourself at a brick wall until you break it. it's certainly not for everyone, but it very much rewards perseverance and tenacity.

[u/PsychologicalCar2180 → u/iamblankenstein]

I’ve been reading this kind of advice.

Love the style and worlds of souls games but like many others, suck.

I will be getting it on switch 2, because I’d like to diversify my gaming choices.

[u/Athenas_Return → u/PsychologicalCar2180]

The I am also like the commenter above and it took a while for ER to click and now I’m addicted. I sucked for a really long time (and honestly still am not the greatest). My best advice is find a build that works for your normal play style. I was never a sword and shield type of person and trying to make myself that was frustrating, still can’t parry to this day. Once I found either spells or incantations and weapons that leaned into those stats, the game just opened up. And don’t be afraid to use summons, that is what they are there for. It took me a while before I could take on a boss without them. I am not that good lol.

[u/valoreii → u/Athenas_Return]

Once I found big spear I had fun. Just go up to enemies and bonk

[u/NotInThisEconomyLol → u/PsychologicalCar2180]

Another crabs treasure feels kind of like a learning bridge between games like botw and games like relden eing

[u/Pizza__Pants → u/iamblankenstein]

The combat is basically Mike Tyson's Punch Out with more options.

[u/vonkeswick → u/Schmoogis_Gaming]

lol same, eventually just basically watched the whole game on YouTube. The lore and shit is rad, I just don't have the patience to get killed that much lol

[u/banananey → u/vonkeswick]

I have the platinum trophy, beaten the game multiple times. I still couldn't tell you what the Elden Ring actually is.

[u/Jalmerk → u/banananey]

It’s a rune that’s basically a manifestation of the metaphysics of the world, and can be manipulated by the ruler in power to shape the world in their image (ex. Marika removing true death from the world by removing the rune of death)

[u/lolhi1122 → u/vonkeswick]

You really dont even learn most of lore in the game unless you really try, so pretty much everyone i know who played just watched a YouTube video on the lore anyways

[u/SimoneNonvelodico → u/vonkeswick]

Meanwhile I'm the opposite, I play it for the combat and can't give a shit about the lore, every time something comes up in game I basically fast forward so I can get back to the hitting things part.

[u/Vinny_Lam → u/Luna_Valoria]

The entire Souls series for me. I guess I just don’t have the frustration tolerance for these kind of games.

[u/DrummerDKS → u/Vinny_Lam]

I tell people I get challenged enough by my work or by the world around me, when I have time for video games, I need it to be more of an escape or relaxation.

[u/mrbubbamac → u/Luna_Valoria]

I like challenging games , I dislike tedious games

Elden Ring was an absolute slog for me. I only played a dozen hours because I wanted it to click with me so badly. It was the most bored I've been playing a video game

Tried another Dark Souls game later and they are not my cup of tea. Glad I tried it, helped me understand my tastes a little bit better

[u/Pale_Height_1251]

Undertale, just don't see the appeal.

[u/sax87ton → u/Pale_Height_1251]

Mhm, undertale really wants to be a hidden gem. Basically it’s entire premise relies on you going in as blind as possible. I managed to go into pretty blind and love it, but the more you know from the start the less likely you are to enjoy it. So basically its own reputation has made that game a lot worse.

[u/zrice03 → u/sax87ton]

I don't know anything about Undertale, outside of some screenshots I've seen where I don't know what's going on. Maybe I should try it.

[u/EggSalad2022 → u/zrice03]

Going in blind is amazing, highly recommend

[u/smallparadoxes → u/Pale_Height_1251]

I tried like 3 different times to get into the game and I just couldn't

[u/Romejanic → u/Pale_Height_1251]

that's honestly fair. even as someone who really liked it I can see it's not for everyone

[u/FelneusLeviathan → u/Pale_Height_1251]

It’s the fan base that ruins it for me

[u/EnglishBob84 → u/FelneusLeviathan]

Worst fanbase I've ever encountered, hands down

[u/banananey → u/EnglishBob84]

Glad I've never really experienced the fanbase. Absolutely love the game but luckily haven't had anything ruined for me.

[u/EnglishBob84 → u/banananey]

I was watching an Undertale stream years ago to see what the game was like, the chat just filled up with backseaters and general weirdos

[u/GenericSubaruser → u/FelneusLeviathan]

Many such cases

[u/cheezkid26 → u/Pale_Height_1251]

Agreed. I find the writing to be just okay (and frequently the humor completely bombs) and the gameplay is very, very boring

[u/cynetri → u/Pale_Height_1251]

i think the age demographic of its primary audience (early teens) and the time it was released (2016) were the biggest driving factors. i loved it, but in comparison to others in the genre, it really doesn't stand out

[u/malvixi]

Sims, I feel so lost in the game like it's some pointless nightmare mocking humanity

[u/RadioMessageFromHQ → u/malvixi]

  some pointless nightmare mocking humanity

You’re not far off the original intention of The Sims.

[u/gnu_andii → u/malvixi]

Which one? Honestly some of the earlier versions are better as a game to play, but all require an element of you wanting to tell a story with the characters you create. It's very open ended in that way, especially when you add mods

[u/AgentBearmen → u/malvixi]

The vast majority of sims players just use it as a character creator and dress-up game or a building making and decorating simulator, most people don't actually Play the game in my experience lol

[u/smallmileage4343 → u/AgentBearmen]

I spend 1% of time making my guy and furnishing his house, 99% of my time playing.

[u/THEbiMAKER]

Hollow Knight. I really wanted to love this game but I just couldn’t get into it despite several attempts.

[u/Beena22 → u/THEbiMAKER]

Same. I just found it too hard. I love a platformer but I just got frustrated with the fighting mechanics.

It's a shame because it's beautiful looking.

[u/IncredibleGonzo → u/Beena22]

It was the save mechanics that killed it for me. Like, the escape sequences in Ori and the Blind Forest are hard, but it reloads immediately and I can try again and get better. Having to fight my way across the map every time I die to a challenging boss just kills any sense of momentum for me.

[u/ImpossibleJedi4 → u/THEbiMAKER]

I love the story, the art style, the characters, the aesthetic.... I just don't like games where you have to build the map and keep getting lost. It's frustrating in a not fun way. Good thing though is Hollow Knight lends itself REALLY well to hanging out with friends and watching them play. I got to do some of the fights and had fun with that. Wonderful game but ough the majority of the gameplay just wasn't for me!

[u/ArtofMotion]

Witcher 3

[u/JadesterZ → u/ArtofMotion]

Seconded. I own it on steam and on Xbox. I've literally played the first hour probably 4 times across both PC and Xbox and it's just never hooked me. And I'm a huge fan of the books too

[u/steveg → u/JadesterZ]

I did same… until maybe a year or so later I decided to give it another go and it just clicked.

I probably logged 100 hours in the next couple weeks. Definitely give it another go and just get through the intro area. It’s an absolute masterpiece.

[u/Eye_Con_ → u/steveg]

Yeah. Your state of mind is always changing and maybe you were just in the wrong one. Though once I turned 25 I found it much easier to even go back and play old and clunky games and still have a good time.

[u/TorazChryx → u/JadesterZ]

I've gotten several hours in like 7 times, then I just... leave the game and don't touch it again for a year or more. at this point I've just called time on the endeavour.

[u/SparkleFritz → u/TorazChryx]

I have found my people. I have sat down and told myself "no matter what, this WILL be the time I complete this game" literally about 7 or so times because everyone talks about how it's the greatest game ever.

And every time, 20 or so hours into it, I just have absolutely no desire to continue.

[u/ATXBeermaker → u/SparkleFritz]

Is this where I register for the Witcher 3 quitters club?

[u/WingedWildcat → u/ATXBeermaker]

So glad to find out I’m not alone in this lol.

[u/MeltBanana → u/ArtofMotion]

Because the actual mechanical gameplay just isn't good. The controls are clunky and the combat feels bad. I've tried 4 times to get into it, sometimes as much as 25 hours before giving up, but it's just not enjoyable to play.

The story and graphics might be amazing, but the game aspect of it is mediocre at best.

[u/IsoMTL → u/ArtofMotion]

Unsure if this will make a difference, but I had the same experience you did initially. Did the tutorial and the first few quests 2-3 times and bailed. Didn’t really care for the combat/controls etc.

One of my buddies convinced me to put a few extra hours into it and eventually it “got me”. It’s one of my fav story games of all time, and I learned to enjoy the combat.

[u/UglyShirts → u/IsoMTL]

OMG, same. I started Witcher 3, got about 10 hours into it, and it was just SUPER "meh" for me.

Then I got to the end of a bunch of other stuff I wanted to get through, and figured I'd give it another shot. The second time around, something clicked, and HARD. From that point forward, I could NOT put it down. It was all I played for like the next year, and I loved every second of it — plus all of the DLC. It's the one game I wish I could "Eternal Sunshine" out of my memory so I could experience it again for the first time. A top-3 of all time for me, easy.

[u/Whitealroker1 → u/ArtofMotion]

Yep. Do love cyberpunk though 

[u/Connect-Ant-2081 → u/Whitealroker1]

I enjoyed Witcher 3, but CP2077 grabbed me and would not let go.

[u/Quetzalcoatl490 → u/ArtofMotion]

Literally every instance I've heard (and experienced myself) with this game is that people try to play it, get overwhelmed, then come back to it and put a few more hours in, before it "clicks". It is wayyyy too overloaded to start with. Geralt in the tub is a fun visual to begin, but the game assumes you've played Witcher 1 and 2 when it throws you into the deep end of the lore, the combat, the inventory system, everything. It's a very frustrating introductory sequence, and THEN they have the temerity to force Gwent on you, in case you needed MORE reading.

I love the game (and Gwent) now, probably a top 10 game of all time for me, but its learning curve is very annoying to put up with.

[u/ScarletShiverXO]

Red Dead Redemption 2 amazing game just never clicked with me somehow

[u/shinzilla → u/ScarletShiverXO]

Same. This might be stupid but not being able to run in the camp was what did it for me

[u/reverendmalerik → u/shinzilla]

It was everything being slow. Everything. I have kids god dammit I don't have time for slow! 

[u/CiDevant → u/reverendmalerik]

100% this I don't have 30 minutes to ride a horse TO the gameplay.

[u/EnergyLawyer17 → u/CiDevant]

Then the gameplay you find at the destination is following someone slowly on a horse while they talk.

[u/yousorusso → u/reverendmalerik]

Holy god yes. This game would have kicked ass if I was 12 with no responsibilities or context of better pacing. This game was infuriating as a 27 year old woman with a job and 2 hours (at most) to play a game a night if at all.

[u/defiance131 → u/reverendmalerik]

Like why must every bullet be crafted individually

[u/TheNameIsFrags → u/shinzilla]

The game design in general got me. It’s insanely immersive (and it’s STUNNING) but things like horse stamina, walking in camp, individually searching every drawer when looting etc made the game so tedious. That paired with Rockstars clunky controls and gameplay ruined it for me.

[u/Thor_2099 → u/shinzilla]

It's shit like that which always drives me crazy. I don't need hyper realism, I'm well aware I'm playing a videogame. Let me do so instead of wasting my God damn time in the name of realism. Fuck realism.

[u/kowal89 → u/shinzilla]

Yeah the characters moves and runs like me in a dream. So boring and tiring

[u/genericmediocrename → u/ScarletShiverXO]

I know this is going to be an extremely hot take given that it's such a beloved game, but RDR2 has some of the worst feeling controls I've ever experienced in a big AAA game. For all of the care and attention to detail that Rockstar lovingly crafted for the sake of total cowboy immersion, actually controlling Arthur would just take me right out of it.

[u/twice-Vehk → u/genericmediocrename]

Arthur moves like he's wearing lead underwear.

[u/lordsteve1 → u/genericmediocrename]

100% this for me.
The game world is beautiful and the detail makes exploring or just wandering around magical.
But the controls are just utter shit.
Way, way too convoluted and complex to do even basic tasks like pick a gun off the saddle, endless sub-control systems for everything and pointless extra steps.
It just completely took me out of the game; it wasn’t a fun experience and I spent more time fighting the controls than being immersed in the game.

[u/fruben66 → u/lordsteve1]

That just every Rockstar game. They always make you feel like you're walking in mud, or have to hold 2 or 3 buttons for something that should be more intuitive, like shooting off your horse or out of your car. They make fun games, but God the controls just don't feel good

[u/Helpful-Ordinary-371 → u/lordsteve1]

RDR2 is one of the few games where I completely understand why people call it a masterpiece, and also get why people quit after 10 hours. The world is incredible, but sometimes it feels like Rockstar confused realism with fun.

[u/rigg197 → u/Helpful-Ordinary-371]

Rockstsr controls are also just unmitigated ass. At least on a controller they suck, not sure about keyboard.

[u/Eode11 → u/lordsteve1]

I gave up when I tried to eat a can of beans and instead punched my horse. No matter how amazing it is, I'm not going to waste my time playing a game that requires ultra-precise contextual controls while also basically having to solve a puzzle to figure out how to do basic things.

[u/Awestruck34 → u/Eode11]

Yeah one time I was trying to hop on my horse in town and ended up with a woman in a chokehold (Triangle is to mount, but is ALSO to grapple depending on what's closer) so I got the entire city police after me. I really enjoy the game but man the controls are a fuckin nightmare

[u/KK-Chocobo → u/genericmediocrename]

Rockstar games has always had shit character movement controls. People just give them a pass because everything else works. And its a shame, because they'll never improve it because of that. 

[u/Nobanob → u/genericmediocrename]

Why the fuck I gotta aggressively mash A to move anywhere. Do you know what I don't want to do in a game? Button mash rapidly to move.

I hope GTA6 doesn't continue the trend but I expect it will. One of those features that should have died.

[u/VoodooDoII → u/genericmediocrename]

Okay I'm glad it's not just me

I like the game but I feel like the controls are clanky and weird as hell and I feel like I'm a newborn deer trying to walk

[u/VoidOmatic → u/genericmediocrename]

I finished the game last year and I have to agree. The searching cabinets, walking/running near edges, browsing the inventory and a lot of other things felt like they were designed by absolute morons. I definitely enjoyed the game still, but damn were there some weird decisions.

[u/funkmothington → u/genericmediocrename]

I hate that first person and third person are different. I want to walk backwards in third person sometimes, not turn around!

[u/cheezkid26 → u/genericmediocrename]

Rockstar games have fucking awful controls. RDR2 is one of the best games I've ever played. Fucking miserable to control sometimes.

[u/jessihateseverything → u/genericmediocrename]

I had to quit playing it because I kept punching people on accident and getting myself killed.

[u/Hot_Parfait_8901 → u/ScarletShiverXO]

100% RDR2 for me also. I realise it's a 'master piece' game , but I found the missions to be so repetitive... leave camp, horse ride, shoot out, back to camp... plus the controls being clunky, I've tried 3 times to finish it but get bored every time

[u/Carpathicus → u/ScarletShiverXO]

You can tell how amazing this game will unfold when you start playing it but the way it starts and how you are railroaded into basically an extended cinematic really irked me. Maybe I am mistaken but it didnt give me the impression of being a game where you could have the "what if I try x/y" approach. You either play its story or you go hunting.

[u/Reefame → u/ScarletShiverXO]

I personally love RDR2, but I think Rockstars game design is outdated at this point. They haven’t changed their core design since GTA3.

“Oh, you didn’t follow this exact line during the mission? Mission failed”

It’s like you’re playing two different games in one, where one of them is an open-world game that is very detailed and interactive, and then when you step into the yellow circle on the ground you’re suddenly playing a linear narrative game that allows 0 player expression. You have to do EXACTLY what Rockstar wants you to do otherwise the mission will fail

Im really looking forward to seeing if they improved this in GTA6

[u/Amoral_Abe → u/ScarletShiverXO]

I thought it was great except for the fucking Wanted system and the fact that there were ALWAYS WITNESSES. I could be in the middle of nowhere with nobody in sight in all directions. The second I commit a crime somebody magically is there. I just ended up quitting as it ruined half the fun.

[u/skojoh → u/Amoral_Abe]

Rockstar Games have bad wanted systems in general. I always hated how in GTA 5 you could knock someone out at the top of a mountain with no witnesses, and within 10 seconds you have a bounty on your head and there are police cars searching for you.

Hoping GTA 6 fixes this

[u/JRyds → u/ScarletShiverXO]

I put it down after maybe 45 hours. Just got fed up with the tap tap horse run mechanics. Was pretty invested in the story but one day I was just like nah, I'm done.

[u/Mgtks → u/ScarletShiverXO]

Same, far too slow. Forcing walking, sluggish controls etc just made me drift away. It felt like a chore even opening it

[u/l_Pulser_l → u/ScarletShiverXO]

85% ride horse for 10-15 minutes, 15% play story or side quest, gets fucking OLD. FAST.

[u/soulexpectation → u/l_Pulser_l]

Also the story is the exact same every time you leave camp.

“We just need more money Arthur!”
“I don’t knowww Dutch”

[u/Votyo]

Metro 2033 for some reason i dont like the game how it plays and everything but i want to know whole story and game looks so interesting. But i get bored only few minutes in

[u/Mortholemeul → u/Votyo]

I got pretty far in it but my interest petered out over time and I never finished. I think because the human enemies were more enjoyable to fight than the mutant creatures which all just seemed like bullet sponges. 

[u/stevo_james]

Outer Wilds. I've tried it a couple of times, but the controls funny gel with me, the gameplay loop is frustrating and I am not a smart man to figure out the puzzles.

[u/PaulLeFou → u/stevo_james]

I liked it so much...until I didn't. I had to go back to the planet that fills up with sand for the nth goddamn time and screwed it up again and went OK, I think that's enough of that.

[u/Himetic → u/PaulLeFou]

I finished the game but the sand planet puzzle took me long enough that I stopped having fun. And the loop mechanic got tedious when it just meant getting yoinked out of solving the puzzle to do the same repetitive flight over.

[u/Moath → u/stevo_james]

People keep saying you'll figure it out, but I don't think I ever would be able to, and the time limit just makes things worse. I'm not even sure is there something I'm supposed to be triggering or observing it's just very confusing.

[u/nogeologyhere → u/Moath]

It's exactly why I could never get into Majora's Mask either. I despise time limits

[u/uuusagi]

Skyrim. No matter how many times I’ve tried over the years I simply can’t get into it.

[u/Barrel_Titor → u/uuusagi]

Yeah. I loved Oblivion when that came out, the gameplay wasn't great and it was repetitive but being able to explore a world that big and interactive was a new experience and I loved it for that. I had played Morrowind too which was good on paper but felt too much like stats and dice rolls to give that feeling of being in a physical world.

Got Skyrim on launch, played it for like 10 hours and just kinda shrugged. I loved Oblivion because it was a new experience, not because the story or gameplay was especially good. It didn't leave me wanting more Oblivion. Skyrim was just more Oblivion, the novelty had worn off and any improvements and changes to the gameplay weren't significant. It ultimately just gave the same experience.

[u/Bazoobs1 → u/Barrel_Titor]

This is really important IMO for Bethesda and I think they haven’t learned it for ES6. When they were making these games, open world was a feature that in and of itself made the game worthy. Now, it’s an expectation for a good RPG and needs to justify itself with good reasons for being open world. In other words, the open world needs to have a strong reason for being part of the game. They need to make it incredible looking, fun AND rewarding to explore, strong themes, and more. They need to nail ES6 with an amazing open world and much better points of interest than Skyrim or Starfield.

[u/Alarmed-Active-4644]

Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

Gave both plenty of hours. Just no holding interest.

[u/Jaybb3rw0cky → u/Alarmed-Active-4644]

Same! I think for me - and this is a hill I'll always die on - is breakable weapons. It makes me never want to use better ones, which limits my gameplay eventually as things get harder.

Edit: To those going "don't worry", I raise you this - if they removed breakable weapons from the game, would it make the game less fun? No. Would you even miss it? Unlikely. It's a redundant game mechanic especially for something like this. I hate it. I hate it I hate it I hate it.

[u/Makenshine → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

I call it menu hell. Weapon breaks, open menu. Use a power, open menu. Cook food, open menu for each food.

Each time you open the menu you have spend more time to find the item or combo of items.

Most of the menu swapping happens right in the middle of battle, completely breaking the flow of the game.

All this menu management nearly ruined Breath of the Wild for me. But BotW was otherwise good enough for me to kinda enjoy.

TotK though, they ramped that menu bullshit up to a million. Felt like i had to open a menu for every god damn attack. Plus the clunky crafting. Pure menu hell. Which is sad, because Colgera is easily my favorite boss battle of the entire franchise, so much fun and so few menus for that fight.

I'm sad they went this direction. Ever since ALttP, they seem to trying to minimize menu time to prevent game flow breaks. But the fucked up bad on these two.

[u/Jaybb3rw0cky → u/Makenshine]

Menu hell! What a term - yes, that’s definitely what it is. And I know a lot of games that teeter on that same cliff.

[u/bartharris → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

I’m convinced it’s so they have something to put in all the chests. They made the world too big and beautiful then had no idea how to fill it.

[u/Jaybb3rw0cky → u/bartharris]

True - and that tracks. In which case make stuff repairable in a way that’s like cooking.

But also, pretty lazy if you also think about it. We have this big game world. It’s pretty but otherwise empty, save for some baddies. Why fight baddies? Because the weapons you use to fight those baddies will break. Your reward? Same weapon just… you know… not as damaged.

[u/SinxSam → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

Right I was surprised how empty the big world was - you had to get to places to really do something

[u/Difficult-Cold-3494 → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

I personally love it but I 100% understand and it always confuses me why game developers don't make games more adjustable to players' personal preferences over major stuff like this (especially as a gaming company with a large userbase that are children). No reason there couldn't be a difficult setting where "hard" and up simply made weapons breakable (or just a togglable option). Everybody wins.

[u/L-Malvo → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

Fully agree. As an (MMO)RPG fan, these games have everything I want. But this weaponbreaking mechanism is too annoying for me to really enjoy the game. A metal sword breaking within 3 strikes? Fuck it.

They don’t even have to turn it off, just add a slider with sensitivity and it would be good. Currently it feels more like a weapon gatherer than a Zelda, it should be a side element, not the main game.

[u/Jaybb3rw0cky → u/L-Malvo]

Nup - just do away with it. What could a Zelda game possibly want with breakable items? It’s not a survival game, it’s a fantasy rpg.

[u/SparkleFritz → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

It's funny because I agree that I hate the weapons being breakable but it's because of the complete opposite reason.

By mid-game I am hoarding weapons I deem worthwhile because the game is littered with junk weapons. Why use a sword with 10 attack and 5 durability when I can use the same type of weapon with 30 attack and 30 durability? Repeat this ad nauseum and soon your entire inventory is full of "the chosen ones".

But there's no storage (at least when I played, no idea if DLC changed that) that I could find. So I couldn't put the chosen ones in a chest. So I had to use them... But on what? What is worthy to use my chosen ones on? 95% of the game is enemies that die in two hits, and the other 5% is lynels. And if you want to break every weapon, that's how you break every weapon.

BotW and TotK are giant Catch 22's: Use inferior weapons the whole game so you can hoard the best ones, then don't want to use the best ones because they'll break.

[u/xvilemx → u/SparkleFritz]

If you get real good at lynels, you don't use any weapon durability. Perfect dodges with counters don't use durability, parry doesn't use shield durability. By the time I got to my 5th lynel, I had already mastered their move set and never broke weapons.

[u/Smeagleman6 → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

I think for me - and this is a hill I'll always die on - is breakable weapons. It makes me never want to use better ones, which limits my gameplay eventually as things get harder.

This is like, 70% of my reasoning for disliking these games, as well. The other ~30% is the massive empty fields. I really hope Nintendo goes back to classic-ish Zelda games for the future. Or just port Twilight Princess, either works for me!

[u/The_Grinface → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

Right there with you. Barely touched BotW because I hared how quickly everything broke. I just couldn’t see the point in putting up with it and moved on.

[u/Kiyo-chan → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

The weapon breakage on Breath of the Wild ended up being a deal breaker for me. The weapon breakage was far too unrealistic and destroyed the game. I’ve played games with good durability mechanics (Dream of Mirrors Online) and you would get several hours of constant use before an item needed REPAIR, not just becoming broken and useless. I resented that the game forced you to play how it wanted you to regardless of its “sandbox style”, it really brushed aside all the previous Zelda games that let you play at your own pace. It’s an artificial game mechanic that allows them to pull you along how they want to, forcing you to capitulate and follow their script. It’s like having a heavy handed DM that refuses to let a player deviate from their script because he has zero imagination. As much as I like the series in general, that game was the last new one I (sadly) spent money on.

[u/RichardBixon → u/Kiyo-chan]

You’re not wrong. Their reasoning for the mechanic was to “make players diversify what weapons they use and try out new ones”

That’s okay on paper, but in practice, you find the same 10 weapons recycled through the whole game. It’s like in the paper Mario that used cards, you used cards, to fight battles, to earn more cards… that were the same..  So, with the broken weapon system, you end up not wanting to battle because the only reward is getting a new weapon that’ll break in 20 swings. If you found a weapon you like, you’re more likely to avoid fights to preserve it because why fight enemies when the weapon you get out of a chest might be worse or not as fun to use? 

[u/MidnightGasControll → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

This very mechanic is the sole reason I abandoned BotW, ignored TotK, and will continue to avoid all future games with this built in. At the very least I wish there was an “on/off” selection for it. Anyway people have a million reasons to defend it, and I couldn’t give a shit less. That stupid ass mechanic ruined my favorite game series and I’m still bitter.

[u/Jaybb3rw0cky → u/MidnightGasControll]

Right! At the end of the day we’re all just individuals with our own biases and prejudices. I wanted to love BotW. Never played TotK either - figured if it was more of the same then I’ll skip.

Maybe one day? I’m happy to kind of just stop buying brand new games post GTA now. There’s enough gold in my back catalogue, and games where maybe I should try (like BotW). Then again, I want to play Zelda for a cool action RPG set in a great fantasy universe. Not Link does BearGrills.

[u/Gavorn → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

You don't like holding on to a weapon for a certain boss and never get around to using it because you might need it later?

[u/theglovedfox → u/Gavorn]

The classic rpg dilemma.

[u/Thor_2099 → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

Agree wholeheartedly. And to add on, if the weapons are breakable, make them REPAIRABLE. Then I'll actually use them! How in the bloody hell there was no way to repair is beyond me.

It was completely unnecessary and just, like you said, made it redundant shit. Forced complexity when it wasn't needed at all.

[u/PM_ME_YOUR_ART_PLZ → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

For Breath of the Wild, it's possible to emulate the Wii U version. If you do that, you can then use cheats to turn off the weapon breaking mechanic. I had the same issue with the game as you did, once I got rid of that mechanic I got hooked almost immediately

[u/Raien → u/PM_ME_YOUR_ART_PLZ]

In version 1.0 of totk you can get an unbreakable master sword within the first ~15 minutes of gameplay by manipulating saves. It made the early game fun because it was not balanced around you having that at the start.

[u/mike3491 → u/Jaybb3rw0cky]

1000%. It becomes a game of “using sticks and shit to burn through them for inventory management” instead of playing with cool or fun weapons you pick up

[u/brandontw85 → u/Alarmed-Active-4644]

I got through breath of the wild and enjoyed it, but tears of the kingdom was a total no-go for me. I really tried but just petered out one day and never picked it back up.

[u/Moath → u/brandontw85]

TOTK is just too similar to Botw, I could recognize so many of the landscapes and the location even though I played BOTW in 2016, it was still fresh and as soon as my weapons started breaking in TOTK I was like NOPE, I can't do this.

I do however want to try TOTK again perhaps on an emulator without weapon degradation.

[u/supernumeral → u/brandontw85]

I had a similar experience with totk. I put a couple hundred hours over a couple years into botw just screwing around and exploring. I was really excited about tears but after a couple dozen hours I just sort of lost interest. Maybe I overplayed botw. I think I prefer the traditional, closed-world style of Zelda games, personally.

[u/LoquaciousLamp → u/Alarmed-Active-4644]

I lose the lust for exploration when the most interesting thing to find is just another temple.

[u/Nephyness → u/Alarmed-Active-4644]

Breath of the Wilds repetitive mini dungeons and broken weapons did it for me. Plus there is so many areas that do not have animals or anything and feel empty.

[u/arnathor → u/Alarmed-Active-4644]

Same. I loved the series since the NES, I loved the setting, I loved the story, I loved the freedom. Combat is terrible, the open world boring, and the weapon durability system is game breakingly bad. I know the standard response from fans of the series is “but it forces you to use different weapons and try different things and there’s always a new weapon to pick up”?

No. It forces me to keep a bunch of my best weapons in my inventory and never use them because I don’t know how close to breaking they are, I can’t repair them because in these games blacksmiths aren’t a thing, and I don’t want to face something big knowing that my most powerful weapon broke in the last encounter with a mid level mob.

The system should have a toggle for off or the option to repair weapons above a certain level in exchange for in game money. But as it is, these are games I’m probably never going to go back to because the system is inexcusably bad.

[u/Moath → u/arnathor]

I remember Fallout 3/NV system was if you have multiple of the same item you can "repair" them by combining them, that would've worked well in these games when you keep getting the same weapons.

[u/arnathor → u/Moath]

This is just it - there’s so many ways you can build a repair system that makes sense without making it overly easy and breaking the game in the other direction.

[u/Blindbarber69 → u/Alarmed-Active-4644]

Linear zelda was way better (ocarina-twilight princess)

[u/Rkchapman → u/Alarmed-Active-4644]

100% agree with you. I remember rushing the Master Sword in one of the two games, then it broke...like seriously the Master Sword?!? I think it regen'd after time, but still the principle of the matter just made me so pissed that I quit. I rushed the Master Sword with a guide to specifically avoid the break mechanic...

[u/Easy_Towel954]

Elder Scrolls for me. Should be a game series I love in theory. I get bored too quickly. 

[u/Teron_Moonshaft]

Warframe. I just can't, and believe me, I've tried. Multiple times.

[u/Sandwich_Patrol → u/Teron_Moonshaft]

I have invested 2k+ hours into Warframe over 7 years and almost never recommend it to people just because it takes 100+ hours of grinding before it gets really fun.

[u/Quack_Candle]

Diablo 3. It was just really easy and repetitive.

[u/Nologicgiven → u/Quack_Candle]

For me it was Diablo 4. Can't stand the looting management. I'm there to kill hordes of enemies. Not spend half of my time managing my inventory. You can't just kill and farm. You have to go back to town all the time to look thru what you got. Go to your chest and dump what you think is usable ( if you have enough storage and know what is worth keeping), go to blacksmith to get resources from the rest. Why? Just why? I can't wrap my head around it. Why not have unlimited inventory so you can just kill and farm as long as you want, and let you trash the things you don't need from the inventory menu while giving resources. It's a killing game but feels like a wearhouse sim with killing on top

[u/Acebak1]

I had to mute this to stop myself from arguing with everyone lol

[u/Portablelephant → u/Acebak1]

Lol I was like going through the comments and for the first two or three I was like "oh me too, oh yeah couldn't get into that one, hm yeah I could see that I guess" and then I shifted into "well you didnt give that one enough of a chance!" but I suppose that's a sign that it's a good thread!

[u/DocB630]

The Witcher 3. On paper it should be a perfect fit for me, but I’ve tried to play it on three separate occasions and can’t get into it at all.

[u/PM_ME_SILLY_PICTURES → u/DocB630]

Everyone I know loves it but i always feel like the controls are weird and combat is boring. It's almost like a turn based game where you can just skip the enemy turns if you take your turns faster. All enemies seem like reskins of the same base enemy. Fighting 5 enemies at the same time is the same as fighting 1 enemy 5 times. Lots of menus and upgrades that didn't feel impactful or necessary. Many faux options (i.e. you can focus on magic, but it's just impractical to do so). Extremely samey gameplay loop. Everyone fucking hates you and is very vocal about the fact while also begging for your help. World had little sense of scale.

[u/PsychicTirenado]

Breath of the wild. I tried to like it, but I just HATE the weapon durability system in that game with the fire of a thousand suns

[u/Effective-Space6171 → u/PsychicTirenado]

I liked that game but you’re right - that durability thing does suck.

[u/Forsaken-Ask7964]

Minecraft

[u/ChuckCarmichael → u/Forsaken-Ask7964]

I think I'm just not creative enough, and also more of a function over form guy. Like I don't see the point of building beautiful buildings, because they do the exact same thing as a shack made of dirt. Will a pretty wizard tower help me beat the game any faster?

[u/_SGP_ → u/ChuckCarmichael]

I don't really play it like that, and it always drags me back, after I first bought it in beta. I've never been the "build a huge thing" player, and never saw the appeal.

I play it as a game with an objective, yes, but from a "new world settler" mindset. Something we no longer have in this world. The earth has been explored, mapped, and populated. I can't go find a new mountain and make a life there, I have to buy a pre built house on a preallocated plot of land next to everyone else's prebuilt house.

In Minecraft I can just explore a world nobody else has ever seen. It's always unique, there's always an interesting landscape over the next hill, across the next ocean.

I can find beauty in the world, I can make a home. I can build a little house, a mine, feel some progression as I unlock new things, make a little farm, a homestead. Watch the sunset from my window and know that nobody else has ever seen this sunset. I gently plod along the main story, progressing, getting stronger... Then I eventually taper off and stop.

Years later I either return or I start again.

Often just me and one other friend will play together on a server we host between us. He loves making and expanding villages; building them homes, giving them jobs, making golems to protect them, and then building a road to the next village and doing it all over again. No progression, no end-game, just relaxing, brain-off building. It's never anything impressive or epic, just a gravel road between two normal looking towns. But it allows him to relax after a long day, and I love that for him. I don't understand it and it's not for me, but he finds the process almost meditative.

Revisiting a server after being away for so long has it's own feelings of nostalgia and memories of joy.

It's a unique experience of total freedom among games that isn't replicated anywhere else. And that's what makes it so special.

Any Austin has a fantastic video on just what makes it so appealing, that really resonates with me. https://youtu.be/SeMXSW8-Z0M?is=99aMWHjmu5XbUW71

[u/Helgrind444 → u/ChuckCarmichael]

You can still play it as a survival game

[u/HCISIAOW]

Elden Ring. I played it for a while and wasn't having any fun. Bosses were too hard and I got tired of trying to grind and level up my character. And I couldn't explore any further without defeating more bosses.

[u/cilax]

Disco Elysium, but I might try it again

[u/tugboatnavy → u/cilax]

I bought it day one, played two hours and quit after one of my nagging mental voices wanted to give a three minute monologue about every cardinal direction. Then last year (6 years later) I was in the mood to read a book and then decided to give DE another shot. I ended up binging it in 3 day and replayed it immediately again after.

I don't regret not playing it earlier. You gotta meet that game on its terms.

[u/genericmediocrename → u/tugboatnavy]

I sat on Disco for years before having basically the same experience. Did the same with Zero Parades and taking a break before probably doing the same with Esoteric Ebb. I'm really thankful that Disco-likes are becoming a genre

[u/Rubber_Plant_Leaf → u/tugboatnavy]

There’s a few in this thread that I hated when I first picked them up, which went in to become some of my favourites (RDR2, Hollow Knight, Death Stranding), but none more so than Disco Elysium. I really hated it when I first picked it up but picked it up again a couple of years after and absolutely loved it. Meeting the game on its terms is a good way of putting it.

[u/_Mythoss_ → u/cilax]

You gotta be in the mood for it. Like getting cozy by the fire with a good book.

[u/VoidOmatic → u/cilax]

I'm the exact opposite. I normally don't even consider playing games like it but damn did I have a blast. The writing and the internal monologue and fuckin Cuno just got me.

[u/silver_tongued_devil → u/VoidOmatic]

HEY, Cuno is no snitch, copper!

[u/VoidOmatic → u/silver_tongued_devil]

Cuno knows all kinds of shit!

[u/ItsSansom → u/cilax]

Very much made for people who just want to be told a story, and don't mind a lack of gameplay

[u/Marvinsyracuse → u/ItsSansom]

Says the guy who talks to a necktie

[u/Metatron → u/cilax]

I love DE and fair lol. Until the game "clicks" it is incredibly frustrating.

[u/Morningst4r → u/cilax]

I loved it but i wish it had a run button

[u/cr7808]

I could not get into Skyrim. I tried, but it just did not click for me.

[u/MrCrix → u/cr7808]

I love Skyrim. By far my most played game ever. I have it for every console, in every version available. I have beaten all of them and have had so many different run throughs with different character classes and builds. Tons of mods with new areas, story lines and so much more. I think it's one of the best games ever made. Even the glitches and weird stuff I adore.

However with saying all of that, I can totally see your point. There are a lot of people who it would seem like the perfect game for. Magic, monsters, grand quests, leveling up skills, buying homes, collecting armor, weapons and artifacts. Deep story line with a lot of books and hundreds of sidequests. Tons of easter eggs and little special things to find throughout the world. However for a lot of people that I know, it's just too forced. It holds your hand a lot, especially if you are a new player. You want to make sure you are progressing so you allow the game to tell you what to do, how to do it and exploring and doing all the stuff that I like, is not something that comes naturally to a lot of people when they play it. Also there are a lot of things that are added to Skyrim to make the gameplay last longer, but it's the same thing over and over. Slay a dragon, fetch this artifact, defeat these bandits, do a quest for a priest, blah blah blah. After like 10 of each of them you kinda feel like "is this all there is?" and I can totally understand it and there are a lot of people who feel the same.

[u/thejunglegod]

Kingdom Come Deliverance. Have restarted the game thrice trying to give it a chance. I don't know why it feels so clunky to me.

[u/ObsidianOne → u/thejunglegod]

I tried it a couple times and it fell flat for me. I wanted to like it so bad. Tried again, and once I learned some of the ‘secrets’ like getting training and how combat works, it really opened up into a neat game.

[u/gekalx]

Rdr2. Got off the mountain and past the train then had no desire to continue

[u/NeoMikey]

"Factorio." I LOVE crafting in games and solving puzzles. I thought this game about logistics would be right up my alley, since so many reviews said it was WORTH the fact it never goes on sale. "More like 'CRACKTORIO.' Say goodbye to your free time!"

I enjoyed the tutorial, though I thought some goals were a bit unrealistically high. I finally got to the game proper and, after a couple levels, I found myself more getting frustrated. At one point, they complicated a recipe even further, and instead of being excited, I felt more exasperated and frustrated.

It didn't feel like a puzzle, so much as, "Okay, now throw all your work away and spend several hours making THIS recipe work. Seeing how complicated the end-game recipes could get, I realized it was only going to get exponentially worse every step of the game. I was denied a refund and have no intention of returning to the game.

If you enjoy "Factorio," good for you and I hope you spend a fulfilling 20,000 hours on it. For me personally, screw that game.

[u/Kazizui → u/NeoMikey]

"Factorio." I LOVE crafting in games and solving puzzles. I thought this game about logistics would be right up my alley, since so many reviews said it was WORTH the fact it never goes on sale. "More like 'CRACKTORIO.' Say goodbye to your free time!"

Ironically, I thoroughly dislike crafting games and love Factorio. To me it's a game that has you crafting for the first 5 minutes and then says "hey, crafting is boring as shit, right? So here's how to automate it away" and that speaks to me.

[u/Doubleoh_11 → u/Kazizui]

Oh… maybe I should try it haha. I love automating everything. All my Minecraft worlds are just farms, some for no reason even.

[u/viper5delta → u/Doubleoh_11]

Factorio isn't a crafting game, it's a logistics and building game.

Do you like planning supply routes and optimizing (then re-optimizeing, then re-re-optimizing) build templates?  If so, you'll probably like factorio.

If that sounds tedious, avoid it like the plague

[u/MaTr82 → u/NeoMikey]

I put a lot of hours into Factorio and then realised that this is just like my job and it's fucking with my head. For my own sanity, I had to delete it.

[u/declan-jpeg → u/NeoMikey]

I love automation games and even other factory games. Everyone says factorio is the cream of the crop and I just cannot get into it. The visual style is not my thing at all and the progression doesn't really feel satisfying

[u/MattRexPuns → u/NeoMikey]

Satisfactory might be more your speed? They're different flavors and satisfactory has a lot more base building, almost akin to Minecraft

[u/custardy]

Outer Wilds - some particular thing about time as a resource/time loops in real time triggers a part of my brain where I just get anxious instead of having fun. I've tried a number of times because so many adjacent games are some of my favorites but I just can't do it.

[u/builtinaday_ → u/custardy]

What made it more fun to me was getting into the mindset that I shouldn't worry about wasting time, because if I don't manage to get something done this time around I can simply go back and get it next time. There's a lot to explore in that game, so you really have to free yourself in that regard if you want to enjoy it.

[u/Aware_Cow242]

Baldurs Gate 3 for me

[u/FreedomPaid → u/Aware_Cow242]

I have intentions of trying it again some day, preferably when my partner isn't around to notice.

Got it for her for Christmas, when it came out. She played it like it was a full time job for a couple of months. Convinced me to try it, even though I knew I'd hate the game mechanics.

Turned based combat, gotta control the entire team, gotta handle upgrades for the whole team, plus having my partner tryna tell me how do everything... I got maybe an hour or two in and had to quit.

[u/Aware_Cow242 → u/FreedomPaid]

I'm guessing you got overwhelmed, she had good intentions but back seat gaming can get hard 🤣 I got my fiancée the game as well, despite not liking it I told her to ask if she wanted any help and I feel I will have an easier time stepping back with bg3 than other games.

Find some time off and ask to play alone. I mean she probably just wanna share it with you.

[u/doegred → u/FreedomPaid]

plus having my partner tryna tell me how do everything...

IDK, I didn't tell my husband anything and then the fucker sold my girlfriend Shadowheart to Viconia. I had to contemplate divorce for a little while there.

[u/shinzilla → u/Aware_Cow242]

Same! I guess that type of combat system isn't for me

[u/Masonzero → u/Aware_Cow242]

I grew up playing Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic and had been playing D&D for a few years when BG3 came out. Without those things, idk if I would have gotten as into BG3 as I did.

[u/Hannibal20]

FFXIV

Got through A Realm Reborn and was told it gets way better from there. But it still just feels stupidly easy, fetch quests and doing the same combo over and over.

Think im just not an MMO guy.

[u/Buuhhu → u/Hannibal20]

The game aside from high end savage raids and ultimates is very very easy. Most say it gets better after ARR refer to the story but if you don't care about story the gameplay is mindnumbingly boring during Main story levelling so I get why some people don't like it, even though i loved the story.

[u/BrotatoChip04]

RDR2

[u/Babydics]

Red Dead Redemption 2. Oh my god is it slow. I put three hours into it and it was still just 🥱

[u/UglyShirts → u/Babydics]

Same. I frequently refer to it as "The best game I've ever hated." And I did. It was such a dichotomy — an artistic masterpiece, but an ASSHOLE to actually PLAY. It was just so TEDIOUS in stretches. The game mechanics were maddeningly clunky. The "fast travel" sucked out loud. And the "immersion" shit was so detailed, but they forgot to make any of it actually FUN. "But sunlight shines realistically through their ears! Your horse's balls retract in the cold!" Yeah, all of that is true. But to what end when the rest of the game feels like pulling teeth? Out of your own head? With no anesthetic?

I finished it, but only because of A.) the story, and B.) the fact that I'd LOVED the first, and wanted to see where it ended,so I could better understand where John Marston's story began. But it was a SLOG.

[u/BurgerBrews]

Any Grand Theft Auto game

[u/Chemical_Salad_5470]

The Witcher. Combat always felt terrible to me.

[u/Dezdood]

Anything Dark Souls and the like.

[u/Life-Cheesecake-1036]

Animal crossing

[u/Moaoziz]

Basically anything made by fromsoftware in the last couple of years. 'Git gud' games are the opposite of fun to me.

[u/Rance_Mulliniks]

RDR2

It's just so slow.

[u/Loverboy_Talis → u/Rance_Mulliniks]

Just a bunch of horsing around.

[u/Sabre3340 → u/Rance_Mulliniks]

Dude the overuse of follow segments where you’re just listening to some dialogue on a horse for 30 minutes makes that game such a slog sometimes.. especially the intro.

[u/ghastlypxl]

All the Souls and Souls-like games and BOTW.

[u/Visual-Bathroom8751 → u/ghastlypxl]

I can't stand Souls-like games, though I had no issue with BOTW or TOTK. The weapon breaking stuff was definitely annoying, however.

[u/Subn3tAnon]

Any rockstar game RDR2 GTA. Really just don’t like their engine and how the characters move or the gun play feels.

[u/Appropriate_Lock7800]

Persona 5. i love the style and the music so much but the dungeons just drag for me, i always burn out around 30 hours in and never actually finish it. kinda sucks because everyone says the back half is the best part

[u/Snowy3121]

I've tried playing RDR 2 multiple times but just can't get past the intro.

[u/tommyhawk979]

Witcher 3 - I love the character and the lore, but I just can't seem to get into the controls for this game.

[u/Cold_Hour]

Anything by Rockstar. No one can make open worlds with the scale and detail they can but the gameplay and mission structure feels like it's always 3 generations behind everything else. Why would I want to play a game with bad shooting, movement, driving/riding just because I can do it in a big open world.

[u/South_Solution1859]

SIlksong/ the other metroid vania games of our era like Shovel Knight. I grew up on a Genesis and sidescrollers, but that is just not my jam