Games you wanted to love that you couldn't stand?

Surely there are games out there you either went in wanting to like, for any reason, that simply didn't live up. Why and what were they for you?

For me, the best example is a little game called Kane & Lynch Dead Men.

Now, I wasn't totally unaware of its flaws; I had seen reviews saying it wasn't the best third person shooter, but the concept, presentation, characters, overall style just drew me in. Even after giving up halfway through from sheer infuriation, the style and character still almost make me want to try it AGAIN, despite how painful it was before.

Unlike other crime games that are over-the-top, like Saint's Row, or with heavy comedic or satirical elements, like GTA, Yakuza, and the like, the game offered a very mature and dead serious dark, dark, dark story. No charismatic characters here. Kane and Lynch are two extremely dangerous psychopaths with almost no redeeming qualities between them. And scariest yet, both are very grounded in reality; people like this could actually exist. The story of the game itself could actually exist.
You don't play the game to sympathize with them, you play it to experience the lives of two men beyond salvation in the crimimal underworld.


That alone captivated me. I was so interested, and starting it up, yeah, for a PS3 game, it was pretty laughable. It felt like a PS2 game from 2002 and the shooting was pretty wonky, but I soon grew to appreciate its own little unique quirks.
Every game has its own style and I soon grew to actually like it. It just needed more polish. The first couple missions were actually a bit fun too, if not a bit difficult. And already I liked the characters and story; I wanted to see more. Even the music added a really nice atmosphere. Nor was it open world like a sandbox, but more linear. Kane and Lynch go to new locations each mission and it keeps progressing like that.
With these controls, it worked.

And then I began to realize just what the reviews meant by "the game sucks, despite its merit as a story."

Night stages. And wow, did they ever exceed expectations in terms of bad. So bad, they are almost unplayable. Despite how much I wanted to get into it, they were so frustrating, I wanted to quit.
But I pressed on, hoping maybe that was the last night stage.
Nope. Another one. Then another. And then you have to headshot a guy in the dark, and if you fail, you gotta watch the whole cutscene AGAIN each time.
That was the last straw. I couldn't take it.

Funny enough, the guy I sold it too tried to return it to me under the guise it didn't work (it did), because he wound up hating it too. Tough break, resell it like I did. That's the risk.

Even now, I find myself thinking about it again and I want try it again, but I have to force myself not to, because it's not going to be any better.

I think I heard there is going to be a movie coming up, and maybe that will suit these characters and this story better than a game. That... or a better developer. But I doubt that'll happen. These guys got a sequel game to fix all the issues, and it's actually far worse gamewise than the first! Even the great story elements and style aren't there either. Totally wrong direction.

Anyway, that's mine. Share yours.

When Five Nights At Freddy's came out I really wanted to like it - I thought the premise was interesting and it had potential, but it's really quite boring after a while, even within the same game. Not to mention the 4 other games Scott Cawthon pumped out that year that were more or less the same, with a few new minor differences. I kept up with the theory videos that other people made for a while though, because those are a lot more interesting than the game itself.

Every Pokemon game after Platinum would be this for me. I can hear some of you snorting in disbelief, but I really DID try to enjoy them. I really did. It's not MY fault they're awful.

Anyways...

Eternal Sonata. This game has everything I could hope for...almost. It has gorgeous visuals, spectacular soundtrack, a fantastic battle system, a unique premise...and one of the most despair-inducingly bland cast of characters I have ever seen in a video game. There is nothing remotely likeable or noteworthy about ANY of the characters, and I actually found the little Chopin's life story segments to be dull as hell and extremely distracting. Fine if Chopin doesn't forget he's in a dream, but does the player have to suffer for it too?

Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I love the original game; it's my favourite game of all-time. I didn't enjoy X much BUT I could appreciate that it was more about exploration than story and the exploration was top notch. XC2 I really wanted to like, but it never went anywhere. It was filled with cliche tropes - that weren't even done well - and it was terribly paced. The battle system was alright, but the game itself was easy as hell. The voice acting was stellar, but the characters were bland and unlikeable. It couldn't even remain its own game at the end as it tried to tie itself to the original, far superior game. The main villain was pathetically awful. The soundtrack was mostly forgettable. Chronicles had its plot, and X had its exploration...this game had nothing. It seemed like it tried to balance the two elements and just ballsed them both up. I was bitterly disappointed in this game.

Tales of Vesperia is another game I want to like and just couldn't either - it never goes anywhere. The plot is a directionless mess, the cast is awful (except for Rita) and there is FAR too much focus on the worst of them all - Karol - and as far as Tales games go, it's easily the worst one after Abyss.

I would hesitate to add Breath of the Wild to my list of offenders, but...well, I put about 50 hours into it, and I did every single shrine and explored a lot. I bought it at launch with my Switch and I intended to approach it with an open mind. But my god, it was awful. It really was. Outside of the shrines - which ranged from being boringly simple to ridiculously frustrating (those fucking gyro sensor ones) - there wasn't anything to do in it. This beautiful, big, utterly BORING empty world. Four rubbish dungeons. Weapon durability meaning that the combat was no fun at all. No noteworthy music. What a wasted opportunity.

Monster Hunter World is this to a tee for me, too. The issues I had with it stuck out more to me than the so-called QoL improvements (not all of which were improvements) and I just preferred classic Monster Hunter more.

Also, pretty much any game I have ever bought that has not had an English dub when it should have - Nights of Azure, Blue Reflection, Atelier Lydie and Suelle, etc - qualifies as this. I want to like these games, and I should. But disgustingly lazy "localisation" of these titles has ruined them for me.

In my experience, it has often been the case for me that where I want to like a game, I often won't. I have very high expectations and, when your leading RPG experiences are Xenoblade Chonicles, Tales of Berseria, and Final Fantasy XII, very little actually comes close to measuring up. These days I try to take games for what they are and not make baseless comparisons, or go in with expectations I know will probably not be fulfilled. It never works out for me.

Thanks for reminding me. Monster Hunter is another one for me.

Bought it hearing such good things, along with quotes of "no bullshit story to drag you down", so then why was the first two hours sitting through a BS story? Awful controls, music, and overall gameplay. I immediately regretted my purchase, and gave the game two hours of my time to genuinely attempt to get into it. And I simply detested it, no matter what.

I love sandbox games, but I thought Minecraft was one of the most boring games of all time. Even after someone gifted me a free copy, I couldn't bring myself to play it. Generally, I hate crafting in video games. It turned me off from Skyrim, and it being such a big part of Minecraft is probably what turned me away from it.

I thought of another one:

LA Noire.

I had heard "Rockstar" "Rockstar" "Rockstar" for this game since it came out. And I love Rockstar. Basically what I heard was this Rockstar's take on the police vs being a criminal, as in GTA.
I couldn't wait to play it.

First time on PC, it nearly crashed the whole thing, so eventually when I found a PS3, I knew one of the first games I would be buying was LA Noire.

...And then I played it. It sucks. Badly. The acting is horrendous, the gameplay is very much a step down and generally not fun, and even if that weren't the case, it's so not the kind of game I enjoy at all. Its main gameplay is absolutely the worst kind for me, and worst of all, even if I did like it, it has virtually zero replayability.

And then I learned the truth. Rockstar didn't make it. They only published it. And that explains everything.
Hearing the awful backstory of the game and the studio behind it actually made me dislike it even MORE. So, yeah, I can't think of any other game I wanted to love and wound up detesting so strongly.

I don't get why it's beloved at all. It's a very mediocre game, at best.

Fallout 4. It was honestly so lacking compared to the other main titles.

pokemon mystery dungeon gates to infinity is the only one that comes to mind currently. i havent even finished it because of how boring it was to me. i tried so hard to like it and get through it, but i just... couldn't. it is really lacking especially compared to red/blue rescue team and explorers of time/darkness/sky.

Chrono Trigger

;; im so sad about it too

Its story and music and characters are AMAZING and I love the game for what it is, but it's a jrpg and I really am not enjoying the battle style. I grew tired of it way too soon and experienced the rest of the story through reading and watching others play.

adventure said:

Chrono Trigger

;; im so sad about it too

Its story and music and characters are AMAZING and I love the game for what it is, but it's a jrpg and I really am not enjoying the battle style. I grew tired of it way too soon and experienced the rest of the story through reading and watching others play.

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That's an interesting case, since you still wanted to experience it, just not from you personally. For me, I feel if I ever got to that point of tedium, I'd lose all interest and never want to look at it again. But I have a friend like that who actually likes experiencing games through others playing it, so it's not too strange to grasp.

It's odd for a gamer like me, but interesting what works for others.

Final Fantasy 15.

I have played and enjoyed many Final Fantasy and even replayed Lightning Returns multiple times and got all the achievements. However for 15 I think I am on Chapter 2 Noctis is such a dull character.

Maybe it's a 'slow burn' but I tried to play on last month and uninstalled it again the same day.

Enpatsu Shakugan said:

That's an interesting case, since you still wanted to experience it, just not from you personally. For me, I feel if I ever got to that point of tedium, I'd lose all interest and never want to look at it again. But I have a friend like that who actually likes experiencing games through others playing it, so it's not too strange to grasp.

It's odd for a gamer like me, but interesting what works for others.

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i done this with Wolfenstein II, I just didnt feel like playing through another ott shooter so i watched the game instead

Fire Emblem Fates is probably the very best example I have of this.

I've been a huge fan of Fire Emblem since Blazing Blade released in the West, so when Fates was advertised as addressing complaints about Awakening's repetitive map design and lackluster plot, I was genuinely super excited for it. They premiered cool features like the return of Daggers as a weapon type in a new, greatly-expanded role, and the ability to make choices that affect the story, and I was really excited!

And then I actually played the game.

To start, there are no choices that affect the story. Kaze dies in Birthright if you don't A support him in time for some reason. You are literally asked whether or not you want to recruit Shura late in the game, and that's all that that choice affects. The only actual choice is the one between the three paths, which are just three different linear main plotlines like any other Fire Emblem game.

This in itself isn't that bad, but the story really, really is, and it really goes to show how botching structure and execution on a more intricate story concept can turn out far worse than simply aiming for something simpler, like what Awakening did. It follows the worst kind of amateur hour Shonen Logic, and the writing for certain scenes, plot points, and even a few entire characters is downright eye-rolling. The music and gameplay are fine, and Daggers are indeed reimagined and buffed in a really cool way, but the writing is so embarrassing that the gameplay and soundtrack just can't save it for me. I at most kind of care about only certain characters, and almost none of them are among the ones that are central to the story and therefore get considerable screen time outside of supports.

To this day, I haven't even finished the game at all, or even gotten past, like, Chapter 12 (of 28) on any route. To be honest, I don't know if I'll ever beat it. More than anything about the game itself, it represents such a betrayal of hype and expectations to me that I just can't stand to spend time playing it.

At least Intelligent Systems followed it up with Shadows of Valentia, which is leaps and bounds more charming and enjoyable for me to play.

Topaz Light said:

At least Intelligent Systems followed it up with Shadows of Valentia, which is leaps and bounds more charming and enjoyable for me to play.

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Exact opposite for me. Fates was my favorite and I couldn't stand Valentia at all. So excited to see a new game, only to find out it was essentially a graphical remake, and it sure felt like it game wise.

So I guess Valentia is another game to add here for me.

I should probably add Persona 4: Golden here. I tried, I really did. More than once. But it's actually offensive. Yosuke Hanamura is the worst video game character in existence, the "music" is absolutely AWFUL, and the clashing colours and yellow on black actually made me feel nauseous after a while. And it's so sloooooooooooow.

I also really wanted to like Skyward Sword, but the controls were so awful I just couldn't.

I wanted so bad to like Octopath Traveler seeing as it's a love letter to fans of the SNES RPG era, but it just didn't do for me. After completing everyone's chapter 2, the formula of getting to town - steal/interrogate everyone - do dungeon - fight boss (and tbh all the bosses had the same strategy) got old pretty fast. I honestly think I had more fun playing Xenoblade 2, which isn't even a game I'm too fond of either.

thedestinedblade said:

I wanted so bad to like Octopath Traveler seeing as it's a love letter to fans of the SNES RPG era, but it just didn't do for me. After completing everyone's chapter 2, the formula of getting to town - steal/interrogate everyone - do dungeon - fight boss (and tbh all the bosses had the same strategy) got old pretty fast. I honestly think I had more fun playing Xenoblade 2, which isn't even a game I'm too fond of either.

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Concurred.

Nintendo marketed the game so damn hard, I heard nothing but praise.... I got bored during the demo for one character. And I didn't care for the combat whatsoever.

When you can literalliterally predict story beats that are supposed to be dramatic, and are praised by critics, there's an issue.

At best, it was standard. Nintendo put a lot of money into spin marketing for it, I feel.

Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon. It took forever to feel as though the story started, I didn't like some of the mechanics, the AI is improved a lot but also terrible, and it's just incredibly difficult. It isn't the fun kind of difficult, either. It's just a horrible grind.

I'm especially bitter because I lost my save data due to human mistakes with the backup files... so I have to start over again. But do I even want to?

Enpatsu Shakugan said:

For me, the best example is a little game called Kane & Lynch Dead Men.

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I also wanted to like this game, it was one of my first 360 games. I sold it though. I think one day I'll try it and the sequel because they are fairly cheap.

The other game I can think of is Saints Row 3, after getting stuck on the sniper rifle mission I got pissy and sold it. I love GTA so really wanted to like this game.

tranceking26 said:

I also wanted to like this game, it was one of my first 360 games. I sold it though. I think one day I'll try it and the sequel because they are fairly cheap.

The other game I can think of is Saints Row 3, after getting stuck on the sniper rifle mission I got pissy and sold it. I love GTA so really wanted to like this game.

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The Kane and Lynch sequel should be avoided, I think.

For Saint's Row 3, I think I remember the mission you're talking about, but with a little practice it's not bad. Even on console.

I used to hate SR3 and 4 but I gave them a new chance on PS3 and they're actually pretty fun.