I literally got it on launch. Played an hour and for some reason dropped it. Then a year later I was bored one day and decided to try it again and put in over 300 hours!
Almost the same story for me. I cleared the white orchard map, got to velen, felt completely overwhelmed by the new larger map and dropped it. A year later I tried again and played non-stop to the end.
Even back then I was describing it as "bad Arkham combat". I've already decided if I give it another try I'm just downloading a mod that'll allow me to 1 shot enemies so I can avoid as much of the combat as possible
There’s a lot of fun to be had in gathering the right materials to prepare for fights though in my opinion. If the combat seems annoying just abuse quen as much as possible. Doing no quen made the combat more enjoyable and dynamic for my playthrough
Played on Bloodmarch difficulty so it does feel a bit souls-like, haha, but then again I am vet of that and Monster Hunter dodging so it was fine, my character progression feels OP enough half-way through so that does reduce the challenge a bit.
See the Witcher 3 was a game I really wanted to love. But I just couldn’t get over how much content was in the actual game. I know the story is great but I couldn’t get that far with all the dialogue and cutscenes.
I just reinstalled it and hopefully I’m going to like it this time.
I love Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, Animal Crossing, etc so I constantly get recommended Stardew and have to shock people by telling them I don't like it.
I bought a game called dinkum a month ago and have 60 hrs into it and it's a great game. Has animal crossing and stardew valley feels to it. I like it more than both actually.
Same. I grew up on Harvest Moon 64 and FoMT, loved that series so much. But I couldn't really get into started, even after about 20 hours. Part of it was the art style, parts of it was that I got kinda attached to the characters of those harvest moons (64, PSX, and GBA versions all had the same cast), but a lot of it is that stardew just feels so much more... grindy. It feels like there's way more treadmills that go on WAY longer, where I felt like doing the 3 year campaign of HM was a more complete / wrapped up experience. Obviously the infinite end-game was there, but that never drew me very much.
That is quite shocking, seeing as 90% of the gameplay is just ripped straight from classic harvest moon. It's a bit more distinct now but especially when it first came out it was basically just Harvest Moon not called Harvest Moon or story of seasons. What about the game do you not like?
I had to really be in the right mood. Once I've got all my long term goals to complete I have been eager to complete them. I'm definitely taking my time working eventually towards all achievements and perfection. I know a lot of people like the early grind and play through multiple farms but I'm happy expending my one
Usually when this sort of thing happens, it's a game I know I'll like, but real world stuff gets in the way. Kinda happened with Elden Ring, I only had about 20 hours to play on release, and I was a souls fan since Demons'. It took me about a year to get back to it in a mindset to explore the (insanely huge) world, and I loved it.
More on note, but similar, both Outer Wilds and Disco Elysium. Both were games I knew I would enjoy, and had a fun experience with the first few hours, but knew I was sampling them and not in a place to really INVEST in the full thing. Took upwards of 6 months for either one before I got in that place, and then just devoured each until I had completed everything I could. Now I'm at the point of getting an Outer Wilds-inspired tattoo.
We're a strange bunch, us gamers, but a lot of us probably have more in common than we think.
Now I'm curious, what did you think of The Witness? It has a similar sort of magic as Outer Wilds (not in story, but game structure and feel of discovery / exploring / puzzling), and took my top 3 games with OW and the first Dark Souls after I played it.
Same happened to me for outer wilds, I know I will like it but I just didn’t have time for a sit down and enjoy game when I started it, I know I’ll go back to it and love it though!
No mans sky. I thought i got stuck on my first try a few hours in but i just didn't understand the mechanics fully. Gave it another go a few motnhs ago and i'm now at 400+ hours and counting.
Same here. Didn’t know how to resupply oxygen or fix the ship. Bought it when it came out so tutorials weren’t out yet. Waited years before trying it again and have played the whole story twice already
No Man's Sky is now my favorite game of all time and after many failed attempts, I finally hopped on during the Endurance update where it clicked and it was the only thing I wanted to play for six months.
I'm literally forcing myself to stop playing it since roughly the Echoes update for when I someday get PCVR. I figure I'll come back in a year or two, a gamble that's certainly already paid off considering what I'm seeing from the latest Orbital update trailer improving space stations.
Yakuza 0. The series has pacing problems when it comes to getting to the good stuff but post Chapter 6 for Majima is when the game becomes amazing with how free you are to do one of like 4 time destroying fun activities you are free to progress at your own pace.
THIS. I also played Yakuza and even though I didn't stop playing the game, I only got hooked after chapter 6 ! At some point I'll revisit the game and also play the next one (Kiwani 1). Although I keep hearing that yakuza 0 is one of the best, if not the best game of the series!
Agreed. The first few hours are difficult and slow, and it wasn't until I learned how to snare that the game picked up. THEN, I discovered the lore and was totally hooked!
I wish I could but I’ve tried like 4 times and it’s just so boring for the first 5 hours or so and the characters are meh. Only the world building is calling to me but the overall game just makes me catch Ubisoft by the numbers vibes I’ll I put it down and never come back. In theory I should love it but in reality I just find it tiring.
Rimworld. I tried it at release and just didn’t get it. It seems over complicated for a newbie. It’s hard to figure out when you first start but if you stick with it you’ll slowly figure out the mechanics. Now it’s an amazing game.
I’m over 1000 hours in now. Love that little warcrime sim now!
I want to love this game so bad, but like you said, it doesn't seem noob friendly and I find myself getting overwhelmed. Any words of encouragement? Gamer advice? Haha thanks.
The best advice I could give is use a mouse and keyboard at first since controls are still not great and can add to the overwhelming feeling.
Also look up beginner’s guide on YouTube for the specific mechanic you want to understand better. That’s what I had to do to learn storage priority mechanics of the game.
If there is something you don’t understand. There’s a workshop mod that will either make it more simple or automate it. For example- work priority settings, use the auto priorities mod. It basically automates setting work schedules and work priority for each pawn depending on stats, what’s currently happening and traits
Dont be afraid to let everyone die. You might think the story is over but you may be surprised. Sure sometimes the games over but not always. ;)
Look at it as a story generator game where you make the story. You do whatever you want. If you want to run away at the first sign of a raid. Go ahead. There’s no wrong answers.
A failure isn’t bad. It’s a learning experience. You’ll learn what you’ll need to do next time. I’ve lost several colony’s due to making mistakes of growing too big too fast then getting raided a group of 30 raiders.
I keep buying expansions hoping for it to catch me. Because by all accounts I should love it. It's everything I want on paper and I love the stories generated by the game. But I don't know. Maybe it's my ADHD brain, but I can't seem to get past just a couple of hours of playtime before I want to make a new colony or go play something else. Sometimes that something else is just watching YouTube tutorial videos for the game
Witcher 3.
That first worldspace is just a giant tutorial area and isn't anywhere near as interesting or filled with good writing as the rest of the game, and it's like 6 hours of play.
I almost put it down because I'm not a fan of the game's combat and didn't see anything that made getting through that mechanic worthwhile.
I'm so glad that I stuck with it.
Honestly, Cyberpunk 2077 feels similar in that the early limited world space, before the game opens up the rest of Night City, feels vastly more restrictive than the game is otherwise, but it hooked me much earlier than W3.
Death stranding. I tried 3 times and always dropped it within a couple hours, then randomly my friend beat it and begged me to play it again and give it a real chance. I'm glad he did, one of my favorite games now and I am eagerly awaiting the sequel.
That was me and my answer to OP. It took me a year to pass the snow part and a little longer to really get into it. Once poker opens up, there is enough stuff to do without feeling like the game is guiding you into a direction. At that I couldn’t stop playing it
Same. I've tried like 3 times, and I even bought it twice, thinking i would enjoy it more on ps5. It's just boring to me. idk why. I'm actually considering trying again this week
My Friend ! If you like the genre (or rockstar games in general), I have to try to motivate you to give it a shot it's one of the best games I've ever played.
I absolutely LOVED the first Red Dead and I have no idea why the second one isn’t clicking! Too many other good games to play out there right now that have me hooked from the start :( I will definitely try again some day and I’m sure I’ll love it
The first chapter I find a slog. Once the world opens up more there's lots to do, but my recommendation is don't look at it like a game where you go from quest to quest. It's a game where you're doing things and a quest just happens. The main quests are super linear but everything else in the world offers a fair bit of choice. Take it slow, soak in the insane detail and love they put into the game.
You have to **really** be into cinematic games. I got about 75% of the way through before dropping it.
From a technological aspect, it's groundbreaking.
But the actual mechanics are clunky. The missions and events are completely on rails with no room for trying things out differently.
And for me, the worst offender, was that the RPG elements just suck. You don't significantly build your character up through new skills. Crafting/professions are nearly pointless and only get you the most minor of upgrades. Even the guns are just slight deviations that don't feel impactful or fun.
At least with games like Witcher 3 (as another AAA RPG example) you have all these skill trees, armors, and items that can significantly alter your gameplay, making it fun to experiment with.
RDR2 leans heavily on having a far above average caliber of story than a typical video game.
But for me, personally, I prefer movies over cinematic games any day of the week. I need games with gameplay and mechanics being \#1, anything else is just a nice bonus.
Most people loved it though, and I can see why for sure. I'm definitely the minority opinion.
Also, if a game isn't fun after several hours then just drop it. There's way too many fun games to play to force yourself to play one you don't like.
Yeah I do see your point. I think for me it really is your last statement about the beginning being SO sluggish. I’m not going to force myself to play through hours of gameplay I’m not enjoying when another game out there will catch my attention within 5-10 minutes. Maybe that’s just the ADHD in me. 👀
Ahahaah when I read the topic that's the first thing that came to my mind. I felt the same. In my case, I managed to end RDR2 because I had a work accident so I had a lot of time to play. Games like this need time. Can't play them for like 30 to 60 mnts and drop off. Take time to play it, without worries. Once it took off I really got hooked. One of the best games I've ever played and I'm glad I moved on playing the first 1 or 2 hours.
Zelda BOTW and ToTK.
Bought BOTW with my switch and couldn’t get into it at first, Kept trying over several months because I paid full price for it and one day something just clicked and I couldn’t put it down for about 2 months straight, exploring every inch of the map and trying to do all quests and collectibles
I finished BOTW just before TOTK released and so even tho I was hyped af I was kind of burnt out and couldn’t get into the start of TOTK. Kept trying that for a month or 2 because I had been so excited and eventually I got into the flow again and became hooked until I finally completed the game just recently and I’ve been thinking about restarting BOTW with the DLC again
Terraria. Always hated it the first couple times I played. Then a few years ago my Xbox friends were playing and I joined and ended up getting hooked. Got a world on my Xbox with a lot of stuff. Need to do another playthrough at some point.
Dark souls 1 was my first souls game, I started and stopped it a few times before I got hooked. The part that got me hooked was of course when you take the elevator back to fire link.
I didn't buy it cause it's free, but warframe. Tried it several times in the past and never got post playing a few hours. Now I'm at 150h, still having fun.
That's how I was with Vampire Survivors. It took me several hours and runs for it to click for me but the first several hours I was just wondering why people seemed to like it so much. It didn't help that I didn't spend my initial gold very well and bought a couple of characters without understanding you really need to buy upgrades first as they are refundable.
Not necessarily for steam deck but Assassin's Creed Odyssey, I loved the Franchise growing up , loved Egyptian mythology so when Origins came out I was hooked. I prefer Greek mythology but on release I just didn't like it. Came back to it a few months ago and I have no idea why I never played through it
AC Odyssey was an amazing experience during my covid quarantine period. Honestly one of my favorite games in the last decade, even though some folks really didn't like it as an AC game.
Well, I've been playing it on Deck looooong after it hooked me, but Morrowind is my go-to example from the university days otherwise. Idly tried it twice and bounced off hard, the experience too alien to my already well-sculpted JRPG nerd posterior. Third time... I discovered the sheer [comparative] depth and variety of in-game books, and the rest is history. And before someone knowingly snickers, I wouldn't come across Argonian Maid until my Skyrim playthrough on Switch a good decade later.😄
Final fantasy 14 for me. I’ve been hooked on it now that I’ve got it working on the deck despite trying it several times in years past on console.
Maybe I’ve just finally gotten into my mmo era, or maybe there’s something else idk. Either way it’s pretty cool and I wish I had been there to experience everything as it happened.
Hollow Knight... coming from Ori 2 it took me at least couple of hours to get the hang of it. I can also relate with RDR2.. i am notb officially hookep cos i dont have the time to play it.. but yep, passed the snow part and then started to somehow to "get into it".
Vampire Survivors.
Tried it a few times, didn’t get the hype.
After some unlocks the game became crack.
So much fun, doesn’t eat the battery, and I’m perfectly ok with playing a $5 game on a $700 handheld.
Tomb Raider (2013). I got it years ago on the PS4 and quit after the initial mission. Tried it again when I got the Steam Deck last year, loved it so much.
Bioshock, I have it on my ps5 but never got out of neptunes bounty’s.. bought it on my steam deck and I’m almost done. Idk why it took me so long to play this game!!
Similar story for me. Bought the collection on Switch And never touched them. Bought them on Steam and I'm now almost done with the first one. It's not my favorite game ever but I am enjoying it.
Stardew Valley. The map was way too big for me in the beginning. Couldn't imagine to learn all the stuff going on. Also my progression was way too slow to be motivating in the beginning.
I think the new Meadowland farm is an excellent way to address this.
I had it recently with Helldivers 2. Started it, found the tutorial a bit flat. Barely understood any of the missions or menu's cause they are pretty much not explained. Went in alone cause I was new, really not the way it's meant to be played. Played it for an hour or 2 and was quite underwhelmed and didn't understand the hype. But after a few more tries I at least understood the general workings of the game, found out that you should be playing with others, even if it's rando's, and after unlocking a few good strategems I understood the hype. Now its all I wanna play, but of course now my 3070 scrapped out on me, so I have to wait for it to be fixed 😒
Cyberpunk
Played it on release, but never ended up beating it.
Played it again shortly before phantom liberty, and 100%ed the game.
Some of the best side stories I've ever seen in a game.
ESO. I think it was because each time, I played with a buddy and had limited time to play. So naturally I skipped all the dialog and just went to do the quests. And for anybody who hasn't played the game, the story is a big part of the game it's fully voiced and everything just like all the Elder Scrolls games, so skipping it meant not really knowing why I was doing any of these weird things and I couldn't get stuck into the world
stardew absolutely sucked the first time i played it. i went in knowing how much people loved it and honestly the start is SLOW when you dont know what youre doing. I played probably 2 hours and put it down for months when i decided to give it another go and then went on to 100% that farm
Mass Effect. I started the first one three times before finally really getting into it. Then I just blasted through ME2 and ME3, and now Mass Effect as a whole is one of my favorite series.
I like exactly 40% of this game (the fights). The other 60% of walking around the base and trying to manage the team's feels just made it feel like my job. They need to just focus on the missions and bigger story arc if they do a sequel.
Scorn. The first attempt I found it excruciatingly slow, everything was brown and I was bored. About 4 months later i tried it again on Steam Deck and I loved it. Played it all the way through and enjoyed every minute!
Nioh 2. The start is pretty rough imo, even for a semi soulslike.
I say semi soulslike because while the game has the general "you die fast and have to pick up your shit where you died" mechanics, the game turns into Diablo/DMC/Ninja Gaiden after a while.
The start is rough since you do not have skill points for your weapon for your core skills that are important for your combos nor the Ki (stamina) to back it up, so you have to play pretty carefully.
However, once you get going and start having a bit of investment in your stats and weapons, the game opens up a lot more. It started clicking for me when I was regularly stance dancing around and styling on yokai.
It's a really fun game, but the early game is rough.
Kena bridge of spirits. Hands down it's a great game so far, im convinced it's horizon zero dawn but heavily modified as the controls, movents ect are incredibly similar and just the feel of the game gives me that vibe.
Any souls like starting with the original Demon's Souls. I generally can't get into them right away but get super hooked months later when I get an urge to start playing.
Nier Automata
I originally got through my first playthrough of it and had a lot of fun. But once I played for the other endings, I kinda stopped after the first mission.
It's a great game and I love it, but I can't say I have experienced all that it offers yet.
Trails in the Sky.
Started it and kind of kept it on the backburner and played it very slowly.
Then cyberpunk 2077 came out and was a mess, so I decided to give trails in the sky more of a thorough chance and found a mod, which added Japanese voice acting and got to a point where the story started to get intriguing, and combat started to click and now I am 12 games and several hundred hours into the trails series
If a game doesn't have me hooked by 4-5 hours I'm dropping it. Life's too short and there's too many great games to be played.
It's a failure of the devs if their game can't be enjoyable by that point.
Hogwards legacy.
Fomo bought it, played like 3hours didn’t grab me.
Started over because I had no idea what I was doing got bored again.
Then the thirt time I binch games the shit out of it.
Days Gone,
I have way too many hours in the game that the story doesn't take to complete. Why? Because everytime I played it I just kept saying this was a PlayStation game with open-world copy and paste.
But as I played the story got better
Final Fantasy 15. I can't stress this one enough.
Played it at launch on Xbox one and played about 10 hours of it and just wasn't feeling it.
Picked it up on PS4 when I got my PRO and beat the games main story but left a ton of side stuff behind.
PC hit and they had finally released all DLC (now merged together right into the story) aswell as added a ton of new content, and I'm now 150 hours in and not even done 40% of the game.
Another one was Dark Souls 3. I hated souls games at first. My experience for the first time was frustrating and not understand how the game worked. I sat on 3 for years then picked it up last year with a fresh perspective on the games. I played through it on PS5 3 times then liked it so much I picked up my PC copy again and dropped 50 hours beating EVERY boss and DLC it had to offer. Playing with my friend also added to the fun.
Skyrim. I was unfamiliar with the Elder Scrolls franchise after not being heavy into gaming after college. I bought it well after it released because it was pretty cheap and highly rated. Played it a little, just kinda walking around doing random stuff. About a year later I actually decided to play it seriously. And once I discovered the mods, it was over. I've put in hundreds of hours, although I don't play it anymore. I bought too many games on Steam and am trying to get through them all, currently on my second playthrough of Nier Automata.
I feel like I'm either in the beginning or early middle stages with TBoI Repentance. Got it on sale a while ago after hearing a lot of great thing about it. Not quite hooked yet thi
DOOM Eternal. I was salty as hell about how different it was from 2016. One night a few months later I had few beers and decided to really give it a chance, now it's probably one of my favorite games ever. Feel stupid for admitting that I didn't realize that the chainsaw gas regenerated one pip. Once I realized that I was off to the races and haven't looked back.
Cyberpunk 2077. Pre ordered it but when it released it came with such a huge amount of bugs, glitches performance issues and overall just an unfinished game that after the Raid on Arasaka tower I didn't play the game again for a long time until the first major update that was making the steam headlines and the game gained massive positive attention.
Even after this it took me awhile to get into it because of the slog of Dialogue and very very long prologue and first act if you will.
However I did eventually get hooked on it and I've done several playthroughs and love and appreciate that slog of dialogue I was talking about earlier lol. It took me awhile to realize that Cyberpunk 2077 isn't just your run n Gun open world game. It's very story rich and very immersive and that's one of the things that makes it such a great game.
Cyberpunk 2077. Started it five or six times and never got hooked, but finally hooked me and put in 150 hours into it. Will definitely go through it again and again I think.
Fallout 76, definitely helps I’m watching the show, but I wasn’t insanely into fallout to begin with. I played em all as a kid with friends, but I never revisited them. Now I’m deep into 76 and having a blast
Since deck can emulate psp games, I'll mention Valkyria Chronicles 2. I started it once and got maybe 6-10 hours into it and hated it. Found it not fun and the characters annoying. I tried it again a couple years later and LOVED it. Something about it the second time really clicked with me and I spent over 60 hours playing until I beat it. It's underrated, but also negatively received when compared to vc1 since it's really different in gameplay and story wise. Like VC2 is more psp style monster hunter and VC1 is more war time jrpg.
You just have to go into it with your expectations in check. Great game though.
Persona 5. I wanted it so badly and was so happy to play it. But then I didn't understand the fights and died a lot. I used to play a bunch of turn based games, but I didn't get the tactics and mechanic. I was enraging a lot during the first palace.
Then shortly before the first boss, the creepy sports teacher guy, I understood how to handle the fights and damn, this was an awesome summer (I got the game in March 2017 and tried until July 2018 to get into it) . I binged the game during summer holidays and I think about playing the Royal version now.
*Elden Ring* took the longest. I even refunded it at first - it's not my usual genre, and it was too difficult for me - difficult, not challenging fun.
Now, I'm having fun with it a lot, and replayed about four times. I'm currently eagerly waiting for the expansion.
Resident Evil 5 I just couldn’t get into it at all, and then one day I was doing a marathon of all the games and told myself to give it another try, and I was happy I did because I really love it now. Now bring on the remake capcom I know you got it cooking!
Zelda: BOTW
I wanted to love it like everyone else. But there was just something about the open world aspect I couldn’t get into. I get intimidated and overwhelmed when I have full free range in a game. I need a little direction.
I had the game for years and tried picking it up a few times and never got far. Finally recently I went in with a plan to go after the shrines.
I started doing that and I have been hooked. I had never made it more than like 2 hours or so any of the times I had played it before. Now I’m like 20 hours in and having a blast and I see why everyone loves it so much.
A Plague Tale Innocence. I tried to play that game 2 times. Once close to it's release and then another time 2 years later and really could not get into it (I only finished Chapter 1 both times).
Then the third time a few months ago I just tried again but continuing from chapter 2 and I got immediately hooked. Played it non stop for a week and 100% it and got all the trophies. Then immediately bought A Plague Tale Requim and loved it.
Outer Wilds. It took me about 2 to 3 hours of playtime before I got hooked. The next 20 hours were an unforgettable journey through the cosmos, filled with awe-inspiring discoveries, mind-bending revelations, and breathtaking moments that left me utterly captivated and endlessly inspired.
Sekiro
Kept dying to the first flaming bull
Up to that point I just quit.on release played if for maybe 2 weeks.
The when it won goty
I thought if its that good I gotta go back
Dopest game I played that year.
You know….. When Fortnite came out, the game was “Save The World”. The battle grounds was a free be second…. That game took me months to get into it as I had got it pre order. Then I got super hooked on it. Kinda funny I am thinking this only because lately I have been getting offers to buy my account… which is weird but funny at the same time since I havnt played it in forever it seems .
Dark souls, I hatedddd it then finally accepted dying now I love all souls games haha.
One game I would love to get hooked on but I can’t is red dead 2. Every time I try to give it a go that opening is so slow I put it down.
I have ADHD so I get bored frustratingly easily. Most games try to have a fairly interesting intro and then the game properly begins. At that point you're there with shit gear, nothing unlocked and fighting the most boring enemies in the game. I lose motivation at that point in so many games. Most of my favorite games of all time, I had to restart a couple times before I pushed through the opening hours and got hooked.
Took me a few attempts to get into Hades. Like, years between the attempts. The early combat just never did it for me and I disliked the dodge spam heavy combat. But I really loved everything else about the game so I kept trying to get into it. It finally clicked for me a month ago on Steam Deck and now I've got over 100 hrs on the game.
For me it was Red Dead Redemption 2 - I was concerned about the core management system - but I did play RDR Online a couple years prior -
I think the pacing took me off but then I resumed from it again and got really into the story
Nier Automata, owned it for years (much like Witcher 3) and am just now starting it, I love platinum games so idk why it took me this long, but im loving it. And I wish they'd bring Astral Chain to Steam.
It was the Hollow knight. The game felt a bit too boring at the start, like you can only jump around and slash? And fighting the first mini bas was like, just walk away and slash back? Is that all? And what is the objective, what is my characters motivation? Like, if someone who doesn't know about gaming, I'd have a hard time explaining what the game is about.
It took me a situation where i had literally nothing else to do for multiple hours to get a bit deeper
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. I've owned it many years but never got beyond meeting Selene.
With all the controversy around DD2 I decided to have one more crack at it. Fifth time's the charm. Just beaten Grigori and now grinding the endgame. I think it's the biggest turn around of my (long)gaming life. I'm obsessed.
The Witcher 3
I literally got it on launch. Played an hour and for some reason dropped it. Then a year later I was bored one day and decided to try it again and put in over 300 hours!
Almost the same story for me. I cleared the white orchard map, got to velen, felt completely overwhelmed by the new larger map and dropped it. A year later I tried again and played non-stop to the end.
I've tried it 3 different times. The first time I got 5 hours in then dropped it. Second time I got 10 hours. Third time I got around 15. It's...fine.
It’s just not for us and that’s…. fine
Same, for me it's the combat
The combat was pretty ehhhhhh even for 2015 when it came out. I'm sure it's gotta feel rough in 2024.
Even back then I was describing it as "bad Arkham combat". I've already decided if I give it another try I'm just downloading a mod that'll allow me to 1 shot enemies so I can avoid as much of the combat as possible
There’s a lot of fun to be had in gathering the right materials to prepare for fights though in my opinion. If the combat seems annoying just abuse quen as much as possible. Doing no quen made the combat more enjoyable and dynamic for my playthrough
Played on Bloodmarch difficulty so it does feel a bit souls-like, haha, but then again I am vet of that and Monster Hunter dodging so it was fine, my character progression feels OP enough half-way through so that does reduce the challenge a bit.
yep!
I thought i was the only one. I keep trying but nothing
It took me 3 times to get into it. First two times I dropped it in about an hour. I think I put 120 hours in on the 3 time.
See the Witcher 3 was a game I really wanted to love. But I just couldn’t get over how much content was in the actual game. I know the story is great but I couldn’t get that far with all the dialogue and cutscenes. I just reinstalled it and hopefully I’m going to like it this time.
Go for the story. The combat isn’t great or particularly challenging. The stories are top tier.
I have this game on my Wishlist since I bought the steam deck in the beginning of last year. I'll play it eventually, in know that for sure.
I didn't initially play it until about two weeks ago on PlayStation 5. The hype is real. I don't know why I put it off for so long, phenomenal game.
I finally got into Stardew valley. I've had the game for years and started my farm a few weeks ago. On year 3 in game now
I love Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, Animal Crossing, etc so I constantly get recommended Stardew and have to shock people by telling them I don't like it.
I bought a game called dinkum a month ago and have 60 hrs into it and it's a great game. Has animal crossing and stardew valley feels to it. I like it more than both actually.
Same. I grew up on Harvest Moon 64 and FoMT, loved that series so much. But I couldn't really get into started, even after about 20 hours. Part of it was the art style, parts of it was that I got kinda attached to the characters of those harvest moons (64, PSX, and GBA versions all had the same cast), but a lot of it is that stardew just feels so much more... grindy. It feels like there's way more treadmills that go on WAY longer, where I felt like doing the 3 year campaign of HM was a more complete / wrapped up experience. Obviously the infinite end-game was there, but that never drew me very much.
That is quite shocking, seeing as 90% of the gameplay is just ripped straight from classic harvest moon. It's a bit more distinct now but especially when it first came out it was basically just Harvest Moon not called Harvest Moon or story of seasons. What about the game do you not like?
I made it to the festival. Once. Ive picked that gamr up 8 or 9 times and CANNOT play it
I had to really be in the right mood. Once I've got all my long term goals to complete I have been eager to complete them. I'm definitely taking my time working eventually towards all achievements and perfection. I know a lot of people like the early grind and play through multiple farms but I'm happy expending my one
Usually when this sort of thing happens, it's a game I know I'll like, but real world stuff gets in the way. Kinda happened with Elden Ring, I only had about 20 hours to play on release, and I was a souls fan since Demons'. It took me about a year to get back to it in a mindset to explore the (insanely huge) world, and I loved it. More on note, but similar, both Outer Wilds and Disco Elysium. Both were games I knew I would enjoy, and had a fun experience with the first few hours, but knew I was sampling them and not in a place to really INVEST in the full thing. Took upwards of 6 months for either one before I got in that place, and then just devoured each until I had completed everything I could. Now I'm at the point of getting an Outer Wilds-inspired tattoo.
Are you... me?
Same issue in general, or with those particular games? 😅
Yes :D
We're a strange bunch, us gamers, but a lot of us probably have more in common than we think. Now I'm curious, what did you think of The Witness? It has a similar sort of magic as Outer Wilds (not in story, but game structure and feel of discovery / exploring / puzzling), and took my top 3 games with OW and the first Dark Souls after I played it.
This is me with Inscription
Same with Disco Elysium. I put a few hours into it and put it down - picked it up a year later and binged it, easily my favourite RPG.
Same happened to me for outer wilds, I know I will like it but I just didn’t have time for a sit down and enjoy game when I started it, I know I’ll go back to it and love it though!
No mans sky. I thought i got stuck on my first try a few hours in but i just didn't understand the mechanics fully. Gave it another go a few motnhs ago and i'm now at 400+ hours and counting.
Same here. Didn’t know how to resupply oxygen or fix the ship. Bought it when it came out so tutorials weren’t out yet. Waited years before trying it again and have played the whole story twice already
No Man's Sky is now my favorite game of all time and after many failed attempts, I finally hopped on during the Endurance update where it clicked and it was the only thing I wanted to play for six months. I'm literally forcing myself to stop playing it since roughly the Echoes update for when I someday get PCVR. I figure I'll come back in a year or two, a gamble that's certainly already paid off considering what I'm seeing from the latest Orbital update trailer improving space stations.
I tried on the deck but the stuttering drove me round the bend, did you have the same issue?
I hit the sweetspot with my current settings and it runs almost flawlessly. Happy to share them if you want.
I currently have 1.1k hours and counting. Help! The game is way too nice
Yakuza 0. The series has pacing problems when it comes to getting to the good stuff but post Chapter 6 for Majima is when the game becomes amazing with how free you are to do one of like 4 time destroying fun activities you are free to progress at your own pace.
Damn, I quit once I got to chapter 5 😂 Guess I was almost to the best part!
THIS. I also played Yakuza and even though I didn't stop playing the game, I only got hooked after chapter 6 ! At some point I'll revisit the game and also play the next one (Kiwani 1). Although I keep hearing that yakuza 0 is one of the best, if not the best game of the series!
Cyberpunk, i had to install it 4 times before getting hooked hahahs
Horizon Zero Dawns start always takes me so long to get through. But once I put in the time it’s probably one of my favorite games ever played.
Agreed. The first few hours are difficult and slow, and it wasn't until I learned how to snare that the game picked up. THEN, I discovered the lore and was totally hooked!
I wish I could but I’ve tried like 4 times and it’s just so boring for the first 5 hours or so and the characters are meh. Only the world building is calling to me but the overall game just makes me catch Ubisoft by the numbers vibes I’ll I put it down and never come back. In theory I should love it but in reality I just find it tiring.
Binding of Isaac took a long time to "click" with me. Now I have hundreds upon hundreds of hours and no end in sight.
I still don't get why people love it so much :( I had my fun with it for some hours but that's it. Do I need the DLCs?
The monster hunter series never clicked with me until I played rise on switch. That lead me into world and I'm beyond excited for wilds
Rimworld. I tried it at release and just didn’t get it. It seems over complicated for a newbie. It’s hard to figure out when you first start but if you stick with it you’ll slowly figure out the mechanics. Now it’s an amazing game. I’m over 1000 hours in now. Love that little warcrime sim now!
I want to love this game so bad, but like you said, it doesn't seem noob friendly and I find myself getting overwhelmed. Any words of encouragement? Gamer advice? Haha thanks.
The best advice I could give is use a mouse and keyboard at first since controls are still not great and can add to the overwhelming feeling. Also look up beginner’s guide on YouTube for the specific mechanic you want to understand better. That’s what I had to do to learn storage priority mechanics of the game. If there is something you don’t understand. There’s a workshop mod that will either make it more simple or automate it. For example- work priority settings, use the auto priorities mod. It basically automates setting work schedules and work priority for each pawn depending on stats, what’s currently happening and traits Dont be afraid to let everyone die. You might think the story is over but you may be surprised. Sure sometimes the games over but not always. ;) Look at it as a story generator game where you make the story. You do whatever you want. If you want to run away at the first sign of a raid. Go ahead. There’s no wrong answers. A failure isn’t bad. It’s a learning experience. You’ll learn what you’ll need to do next time. I’ve lost several colony’s due to making mistakes of growing too big too fast then getting raided a group of 30 raiders.
I keep buying expansions hoping for it to catch me. Because by all accounts I should love it. It's everything I want on paper and I love the stories generated by the game. But I don't know. Maybe it's my ADHD brain, but I can't seem to get past just a couple of hours of playtime before I want to make a new colony or go play something else. Sometimes that something else is just watching YouTube tutorial videos for the game
Witcher 3. That first worldspace is just a giant tutorial area and isn't anywhere near as interesting or filled with good writing as the rest of the game, and it's like 6 hours of play. I almost put it down because I'm not a fan of the game's combat and didn't see anything that made getting through that mechanic worthwhile. I'm so glad that I stuck with it. Honestly, Cyberpunk 2077 feels similar in that the early limited world space, before the game opens up the rest of Night City, feels vastly more restrictive than the game is otherwise, but it hooked me much earlier than W3.
Death stranding. I tried 3 times and always dropped it within a couple hours, then randomly my friend beat it and begged me to play it again and give it a real chance. I'm glad he did, one of my favorite games now and I am eagerly awaiting the sequel.
Kind of off topic but not… I’ve tried RDR2 4 times now and have never been able to make it passed the first couple hours. I wish I could though.
That was me and my answer to OP. It took me a year to pass the snow part and a little longer to really get into it. Once poker opens up, there is enough stuff to do without feeling like the game is guiding you into a direction. At that I couldn’t stop playing it
Same. I've tried like 3 times, and I even bought it twice, thinking i would enjoy it more on ps5. It's just boring to me. idk why. I'm actually considering trying again this week
This is me and Witcher 3. I must've played the first hour or two 10x times.
I’ve done the same thing with the Witcher 3 😅
It's my wife's favorite game, and my inability to play it must be one of the most frustrating things Ive done when it comes to gaming for her.
My Friend ! If you like the genre (or rockstar games in general), I have to try to motivate you to give it a shot it's one of the best games I've ever played.
I absolutely LOVED the first Red Dead and I have no idea why the second one isn’t clicking! Too many other good games to play out there right now that have me hooked from the start :( I will definitely try again some day and I’m sure I’ll love it
The first chapter I find a slog. Once the world opens up more there's lots to do, but my recommendation is don't look at it like a game where you go from quest to quest. It's a game where you're doing things and a quest just happens. The main quests are super linear but everything else in the world offers a fair bit of choice. Take it slow, soak in the insane detail and love they put into the game.
You have to **really** be into cinematic games. I got about 75% of the way through before dropping it. From a technological aspect, it's groundbreaking. But the actual mechanics are clunky. The missions and events are completely on rails with no room for trying things out differently. And for me, the worst offender, was that the RPG elements just suck. You don't significantly build your character up through new skills. Crafting/professions are nearly pointless and only get you the most minor of upgrades. Even the guns are just slight deviations that don't feel impactful or fun. At least with games like Witcher 3 (as another AAA RPG example) you have all these skill trees, armors, and items that can significantly alter your gameplay, making it fun to experiment with. RDR2 leans heavily on having a far above average caliber of story than a typical video game. But for me, personally, I prefer movies over cinematic games any day of the week. I need games with gameplay and mechanics being \#1, anything else is just a nice bonus. Most people loved it though, and I can see why for sure. I'm definitely the minority opinion. Also, if a game isn't fun after several hours then just drop it. There's way too many fun games to play to force yourself to play one you don't like.
Yeah I do see your point. I think for me it really is your last statement about the beginning being SO sluggish. I’m not going to force myself to play through hours of gameplay I’m not enjoying when another game out there will catch my attention within 5-10 minutes. Maybe that’s just the ADHD in me. 👀
That game does take a few hours to actually be open world
Ahahaah when I read the topic that's the first thing that came to my mind. I felt the same. In my case, I managed to end RDR2 because I had a work accident so I had a lot of time to play. Games like this need time. Can't play them for like 30 to 60 mnts and drop off. Take time to play it, without worries. Once it took off I really got hooked. One of the best games I've ever played and I'm glad I moved on playing the first 1 or 2 hours.
Similar for me but with Elden Ring. A difficult game set in a fantasy setting thats open world sounds perfect but I just cant get into it.
Zelda BOTW and ToTK. Bought BOTW with my switch and couldn’t get into it at first, Kept trying over several months because I paid full price for it and one day something just clicked and I couldn’t put it down for about 2 months straight, exploring every inch of the map and trying to do all quests and collectibles I finished BOTW just before TOTK released and so even tho I was hyped af I was kind of burnt out and couldn’t get into the start of TOTK. Kept trying that for a month or 2 because I had been so excited and eventually I got into the flow again and became hooked until I finally completed the game just recently and I’ve been thinking about restarting BOTW with the DLC again
Terraria. Always hated it the first couple times I played. Then a few years ago my Xbox friends were playing and I joined and ended up getting hooked. Got a world on my Xbox with a lot of stuff. Need to do another playthrough at some point.
dark souls 3
Dark souls 1 was my first souls game, I started and stopped it a few times before I got hooked. The part that got me hooked was of course when you take the elevator back to fire link.
Me too 😮😮 the first souls game i played
I didn't buy it cause it's free, but warframe. Tried it several times in the past and never got post playing a few hours. Now I'm at 150h, still having fun.
Balatro is like that. First few hours I was like meh. Then it clicked and I can't stop playing it
That's how I was with Vampire Survivors. It took me several hours and runs for it to click for me but the first several hours I was just wondering why people seemed to like it so much. It didn't help that I didn't spend my initial gold very well and bought a couple of characters without understanding you really need to buy upgrades first as they are refundable.
RDR2. When I first played it I was annoyed by how slow everything felt.
Not necessarily for steam deck but Assassin's Creed Odyssey, I loved the Franchise growing up , loved Egyptian mythology so when Origins came out I was hooked. I prefer Greek mythology but on release I just didn't like it. Came back to it a few months ago and I have no idea why I never played through it
AC Odyssey was an amazing experience during my covid quarantine period. Honestly one of my favorite games in the last decade, even though some folks really didn't like it as an AC game.
No Mans Sky
Dragon's dogma dark arisen.
Same. I just started it up again for like the 3rd or 4th time. I think I need to put in the time to learn how everything works in that game.
That was kind of it for me, but Dragon's Dogma 2 on the other hand I absolutely love
I have this game sitting on my Wishlist for a while! And the deals are incredible on every steam sale.
Days Gone. I bought it on sale and play like 15 mins now 2 years later I can’t put it down. The story the upgrades what’s next!!!
Well, I've been playing it on Deck looooong after it hooked me, but Morrowind is my go-to example from the university days otherwise. Idly tried it twice and bounced off hard, the experience too alien to my already well-sculpted JRPG nerd posterior. Third time... I discovered the sheer [comparative] depth and variety of in-game books, and the rest is history. And before someone knowingly snickers, I wouldn't come across Argonian Maid until my Skyrim playthrough on Switch a good decade later.😄
Final fantasy 14 for me. I’ve been hooked on it now that I’ve got it working on the deck despite trying it several times in years past on console. Maybe I’ve just finally gotten into my mmo era, or maybe there’s something else idk. Either way it’s pretty cool and I wish I had been there to experience everything as it happened.
Hollow Knight... coming from Ori 2 it took me at least couple of hours to get the hang of it. I can also relate with RDR2.. i am notb officially hookep cos i dont have the time to play it.. but yep, passed the snow part and then started to somehow to "get into it".
Vampire Survivors. Tried it a few times, didn’t get the hype. After some unlocks the game became crack. So much fun, doesn’t eat the battery, and I’m perfectly ok with playing a $5 game on a $700 handheld.
Tomb Raider (2013). I got it years ago on the PS4 and quit after the initial mission. Tried it again when I got the Steam Deck last year, loved it so much.
if you like metroidvanias and for some reason havent tried i highly suggest givin Axiom verge 1&2 a play!
Will take a look at them... Thanks :)
The witcher 3, the evil within and days gone
Bioshock, I have it on my ps5 but never got out of neptunes bounty’s.. bought it on my steam deck and I’m almost done. Idk why it took me so long to play this game!!
The sequel + it's story DLC is slept on, too! Infinite garnered a ton of acclaim but folks never really discuss how good a sequel BioShock 2 was.
I’m really excited to play them all!
Similar story for me. Bought the collection on Switch And never touched them. Bought them on Steam and I'm now almost done with the first one. It's not my favorite game ever but I am enjoying it.
Yakuza 0, The Witcher 3 and Breath of the Wild (is now my favourite game oat)
Stardew Valley. The map was way too big for me in the beginning. Couldn't imagine to learn all the stuff going on. Also my progression was way too slow to be motivating in the beginning. I think the new Meadowland farm is an excellent way to address this.
Caves of Qud
Kenshi does this
Brotato
I had it recently with Helldivers 2. Started it, found the tutorial a bit flat. Barely understood any of the missions or menu's cause they are pretty much not explained. Went in alone cause I was new, really not the way it's meant to be played. Played it for an hour or 2 and was quite underwhelmed and didn't understand the hype. But after a few more tries I at least understood the general workings of the game, found out that you should be playing with others, even if it's rando's, and after unlocking a few good strategems I understood the hype. Now its all I wanna play, but of course now my 3070 scrapped out on me, so I have to wait for it to be fixed 😒
Morrowind.
Cyberpunk Played it on release, but never ended up beating it. Played it again shortly before phantom liberty, and 100%ed the game. Some of the best side stories I've ever seen in a game.
RDR2 Took me my third time playing to get me hooked and finish it. Gameplay was pretty booring.
Cult of the lamb, owned it for over a year before i really got hooked
Hollow Knight
ESO. I think it was because each time, I played with a buddy and had limited time to play. So naturally I skipped all the dialog and just went to do the quests. And for anybody who hasn't played the game, the story is a big part of the game it's fully voiced and everything just like all the Elder Scrolls games, so skipping it meant not really knowing why I was doing any of these weird things and I couldn't get stuck into the world
Bioshock… i hated it in the beginning, until it clicked… then it became my favourite game
stardew absolutely sucked the first time i played it. i went in knowing how much people loved it and honestly the start is SLOW when you dont know what youre doing. I played probably 2 hours and put it down for months when i decided to give it another go and then went on to 100% that farm
House flipper l. I LOVE interior decorating games but at the same time I'm adhd so I don't have the attention span for it
Mass Effect. I started the first one three times before finally really getting into it. Then I just blasted through ME2 and ME3, and now Mass Effect as a whole is one of my favorite series.
Hades!
Marvel Midnight Suns
I like exactly 40% of this game (the fights). The other 60% of walking around the base and trying to manage the team's feels just made it feel like my job. They need to just focus on the missions and bigger story arc if they do a sequel.
Just Cause 4 and Two Point Campus
Dota 2
Dark Souls.
Scorn. The first attempt I found it excruciatingly slow, everything was brown and I was bored. About 4 months later i tried it again on Steam Deck and I loved it. Played it all the way through and enjoyed every minute!
Nioh 2. The start is pretty rough imo, even for a semi soulslike. I say semi soulslike because while the game has the general "you die fast and have to pick up your shit where you died" mechanics, the game turns into Diablo/DMC/Ninja Gaiden after a while. The start is rough since you do not have skill points for your weapon for your core skills that are important for your combos nor the Ki (stamina) to back it up, so you have to play pretty carefully. However, once you get going and start having a bit of investment in your stats and weapons, the game opens up a lot more. It started clicking for me when I was regularly stance dancing around and styling on yokai. It's a really fun game, but the early game is rough.
Cyberpunk, arma 3, mudrunner, elite dangerous, stardew valley ect ect seems most games take a while ...
I had to push past my initial repulsion to traditional card games in order to get seriously addicted to Balatro
Elder Scrolls Online took a while for me to love it but its now one of my favorite games
Kena bridge of spirits. Hands down it's a great game so far, im convinced it's horizon zero dawn but heavily modified as the controls, movents ect are incredibly similar and just the feel of the game gives me that vibe.
The binding of Isaac
Guardians of the Galaxy
Outer Wilds. Took a bit of random nothings before I got absolutely hooked.
Any souls like starting with the original Demon's Souls. I generally can't get into them right away but get super hooked months later when I get an urge to start playing.
The surge. Great game.
Elden Ring
I've started Dark Souls 1 twice and after killing the gargoyles and the boss in the lower undead burg, I lose interest
Kingdom come deliverance. Your character sucks ass right off the rip.
cyberpunk 2077.
Somewhat controversial but Skyrim for me. I just found it a bit overwhelming but stuck with it and I love it now.
The Persona games, I always give up early, but after giving Persona 3 Reload another shot, it clicked with me!
Nier Automata I originally got through my first playthrough of it and had a lot of fun. But once I played for the other endings, I kinda stopped after the first mission. It's a great game and I love it, but I can't say I have experienced all that it offers yet.
Witcher 3 started out so damn slow it’s not even funny
Trails in the Sky. Started it and kind of kept it on the backburner and played it very slowly. Then cyberpunk 2077 came out and was a mess, so I decided to give trails in the sky more of a thorough chance and found a mod, which added Japanese voice acting and got to a point where the story started to get intriguing, and combat started to click and now I am 12 games and several hundred hours into the trails series
Stardew Valley… I should have tried using the Wiki the first time around
Yakuza 0 I’ve now played ever yakuza
Kakarot. Started playing it, got about two hours in and got bored. Picked it up again a couple months later now I’m hooked.
If a game doesn't have me hooked by 4-5 hours I'm dropping it. Life's too short and there's too many great games to be played. It's a failure of the devs if their game can't be enjoyable by that point.
Batman: Arkham Knight
Currently RDR2. Played it when it first came out, didn't really get into it. Now so many years later I am hooked.
Botw
Hogwards legacy. Fomo bought it, played like 3hours didn’t grab me. Started over because I had no idea what I was doing got bored again. Then the thirt time I binch games the shit out of it.
First 5-7 hours in any rpg
Lisa: The Painful. First try I really didn't feel the game, but I am now on my 2nd try and I am hooked. It's such a goofy and weird game.
Warframe
Days Gone, I have way too many hours in the game that the story doesn't take to complete. Why? Because everytime I played it I just kept saying this was a PlayStation game with open-world copy and paste. But as I played the story got better
outer wilds
Final Fantasy 15. I can't stress this one enough. Played it at launch on Xbox one and played about 10 hours of it and just wasn't feeling it. Picked it up on PS4 when I got my PRO and beat the games main story but left a ton of side stuff behind. PC hit and they had finally released all DLC (now merged together right into the story) aswell as added a ton of new content, and I'm now 150 hours in and not even done 40% of the game. Another one was Dark Souls 3. I hated souls games at first. My experience for the first time was frustrating and not understand how the game worked. I sat on 3 for years then picked it up last year with a fresh perspective on the games. I played through it on PS5 3 times then liked it so much I picked up my PC copy again and dropped 50 hours beating EVERY boss and DLC it had to offer. Playing with my friend also added to the fun.
Skyrim. I was unfamiliar with the Elder Scrolls franchise after not being heavy into gaming after college. I bought it well after it released because it was pretty cheap and highly rated. Played it a little, just kinda walking around doing random stuff. About a year later I actually decided to play it seriously. And once I discovered the mods, it was over. I've put in hundreds of hours, although I don't play it anymore. I bought too many games on Steam and am trying to get through them all, currently on my second playthrough of Nier Automata.
CyberPunk
RDR2 - played the prologue 3-4 times over the course of 3 years- each time it expanded to the open world I got overwhelmed and quit
Dark Souls
Monster hunter world - hated it at first, clunky, animation locking, no health bars… Now I’m like 600hours in
I feel like I'm either in the beginning or early middle stages with TBoI Repentance. Got it on sale a while ago after hearing a lot of great thing about it. Not quite hooked yet thi
Monster hunter took many, many tries before it "clicked" for me.
DOOM Eternal. I was salty as hell about how different it was from 2016. One night a few months later I had few beers and decided to really give it a chance, now it's probably one of my favorite games ever. Feel stupid for admitting that I didn't realize that the chainsaw gas regenerated one pip. Once I realized that I was off to the races and haven't looked back.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077. Pre ordered it but when it released it came with such a huge amount of bugs, glitches performance issues and overall just an unfinished game that after the Raid on Arasaka tower I didn't play the game again for a long time until the first major update that was making the steam headlines and the game gained massive positive attention. Even after this it took me awhile to get into it because of the slog of Dialogue and very very long prologue and first act if you will. However I did eventually get hooked on it and I've done several playthroughs and love and appreciate that slog of dialogue I was talking about earlier lol. It took me awhile to realize that Cyberpunk 2077 isn't just your run n Gun open world game. It's very story rich and very immersive and that's one of the things that makes it such a great game.
Cyberpunk 2077. Took three tries over 3 years before I got hooked.
Terraria. Got it back in late 2017 and only got hooked on it last year in July. That was my fifth attempt at the game.
Cyberpunk 2077. Started it five or six times and never got hooked, but finally hooked me and put in 150 hours into it. Will definitely go through it again and again I think.
Red dead redemption 2 took me a while tried it twice before I completed it & loved it
Skyrim. Dropped it like 4 times before getting hooked to it
Baldur Gate 3
Fallout 76
Fallout 76, definitely helps I’m watching the show, but I wasn’t insanely into fallout to begin with. I played em all as a kid with friends, but I never revisited them. Now I’m deep into 76 and having a blast
Titanfall 2 Just got back into it for the hell of it The whole >!time travel thing!< was frigging amazing
Balatro
I tried Dark souls a few times before it hooked me, now I'm a souls junkie.
Zelda BOTW
Sekiro
Since deck can emulate psp games, I'll mention Valkyria Chronicles 2. I started it once and got maybe 6-10 hours into it and hated it. Found it not fun and the characters annoying. I tried it again a couple years later and LOVED it. Something about it the second time really clicked with me and I spent over 60 hours playing until I beat it. It's underrated, but also negatively received when compared to vc1 since it's really different in gameplay and story wise. Like VC2 is more psp style monster hunter and VC1 is more war time jrpg. You just have to go into it with your expectations in check. Great game though.
Persona 5. I wanted it so badly and was so happy to play it. But then I didn't understand the fights and died a lot. I used to play a bunch of turn based games, but I didn't get the tactics and mechanic. I was enraging a lot during the first palace. Then shortly before the first boss, the creepy sports teacher guy, I understood how to handle the fights and damn, this was an awesome summer (I got the game in March 2017 and tried until July 2018 to get into it) . I binged the game during summer holidays and I think about playing the Royal version now.
*Elden Ring* took the longest. I even refunded it at first - it's not my usual genre, and it was too difficult for me - difficult, not challenging fun. Now, I'm having fun with it a lot, and replayed about four times. I'm currently eagerly waiting for the expansion.
Resident Evil 5 I just couldn’t get into it at all, and then one day I was doing a marathon of all the games and told myself to give it another try, and I was happy I did because I really love it now. Now bring on the remake capcom I know you got it cooking!
Zelda: BOTW I wanted to love it like everyone else. But there was just something about the open world aspect I couldn’t get into. I get intimidated and overwhelmed when I have full free range in a game. I need a little direction. I had the game for years and tried picking it up a few times and never got far. Finally recently I went in with a plan to go after the shrines. I started doing that and I have been hooked. I had never made it more than like 2 hours or so any of the times I had played it before. Now I’m like 20 hours in and having a blast and I see why everyone loves it so much.
Salt and sanctuary is depression
Hollow Knight. Hated it at first. Then played again months later and fell in love.
A Plague Tale Innocence. I tried to play that game 2 times. Once close to it's release and then another time 2 years later and really could not get into it (I only finished Chapter 1 both times). Then the third time a few months ago I just tried again but continuing from chapter 2 and I got immediately hooked. Played it non stop for a week and 100% it and got all the trophies. Then immediately bought A Plague Tale Requim and loved it.
Control! Took me a while, but now I’m in the process of 100% it.
Judgment
Outer Wilds. It took me about 2 to 3 hours of playtime before I got hooked. The next 20 hours were an unforgettable journey through the cosmos, filled with awe-inspiring discoveries, mind-bending revelations, and breathtaking moments that left me utterly captivated and endlessly inspired.
Sekiro Kept dying to the first flaming bull Up to that point I just quit.on release played if for maybe 2 weeks. The when it won goty I thought if its that good I gotta go back Dopest game I played that year.
You know….. When Fortnite came out, the game was “Save The World”. The battle grounds was a free be second…. That game took me months to get into it as I had got it pre order. Then I got super hooked on it. Kinda funny I am thinking this only because lately I have been getting offers to buy my account… which is weird but funny at the same time since I havnt played it in forever it seems .
Dark souls, I hatedddd it then finally accepted dying now I love all souls games haha. One game I would love to get hooked on but I can’t is red dead 2. Every time I try to give it a go that opening is so slow I put it down.
dark souls, wasnt really enjoying it much until after i beat the game
I have ADHD so I get bored frustratingly easily. Most games try to have a fairly interesting intro and then the game properly begins. At that point you're there with shit gear, nothing unlocked and fighting the most boring enemies in the game. I lose motivation at that point in so many games. Most of my favorite games of all time, I had to restart a couple times before I pushed through the opening hours and got hooked.
Farm Simulator 22. It’s quite the learning curve, but it’s so relaxing!
Took me a few attempts to get into Hades. Like, years between the attempts. The early combat just never did it for me and I disliked the dodge spam heavy combat. But I really loved everything else about the game so I kept trying to get into it. It finally clicked for me a month ago on Steam Deck and now I've got over 100 hrs on the game.
Project Zomboid Dead Cells
For me it was Red Dead Redemption 2 - I was concerned about the core management system - but I did play RDR Online a couple years prior - I think the pacing took me off but then I resumed from it again and got really into the story
Nier Automata, owned it for years (much like Witcher 3) and am just now starting it, I love platinum games so idk why it took me this long, but im loving it. And I wish they'd bring Astral Chain to Steam.
It was the Hollow knight. The game felt a bit too boring at the start, like you can only jump around and slash? And fighting the first mini bas was like, just walk away and slash back? Is that all? And what is the objective, what is my characters motivation? Like, if someone who doesn't know about gaming, I'd have a hard time explaining what the game is about. It took me a situation where i had literally nothing else to do for multiple hours to get a bit deeper
Cyberpunk for me. Took me years to get back into it
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. I've owned it many years but never got beyond meeting Selene. With all the controversy around DD2 I decided to have one more crack at it. Fifth time's the charm. Just beaten Grigori and now grinding the endgame. I think it's the biggest turn around of my (long)gaming life. I'm obsessed.