Review the last game you didn't finish
Inspired by JuntMonkey's review thread, here's the place to talk about the games you just couldn't or didn't want to finish before uninstalling. Try to stick to games you're pretty sure you won't be finishing, not ones you just got bored or sidetracked with and still plan to come back to.
Transformers: War for Cybertron | PC, XBox 360, PS3
I put about three hours in to this one before giving up. The voice acting is awesome and the characters are very cool, but the missions are so scripted and linear I couldn't be assed to keep going once I'd seen and heard my fill. The transforming is fun, in so far as it's very fluid and neat looking, but there didn't appear to be much thought put in to making the missions balanced upon an effective use of different forms. Megatron's tank form for example, had to be used in a few spots for boosting or shooting something with a cannon, but other than that I rarely used it.
The PC port is also pretty crappy, a really tight FoV from the console and the graphics look very low-res.
13 Replies
Returnal - I bought this roguelikr ages ago, found the gameplay good but brutally difficult, stopped playing. I gave it another bash after installing an easy mode mod and a mod that gives you extra lives. Despite all that, I died on the second boss. The thought of going through all those areas again was just... uninstall.
There's a great game lying under the uncompromising difficulty. The immensely frustrating thing is that your permanent power level barely increases. Each run starts with you just as weak as you were when you first played.
Returnal - I bought this roguelikr ages ago, found the gameplay good but brutally difficult, stopped playing. I gave it another bash after installing an easy mode mod and a mod that gives you extra lives. Despite all that, I died on the second boss. The thought of going through all those areas again was just... uninstall. There's a great game lying under the uncompromising diff
I don't agree. You just have to commit to a lot of deaths, which results in you finding more artifacts and leveling up gun traits. I've finished the game three or four times now. At this point, with everything unlocked, I'd estimate that i have a 90% chance of finishing a game without ever getting sent back to the beginning. And that's avenging every scout and clearing every challenge room.
as mentioned in the other thread, I recently had a long streak of not finishing games (which I usualy do), none of them were really bad, but they just didn't work for me. Here's a few (not sure if that's all):
Ori and the Will of Wisps - I love metroidvanias and the presentation of Ori games is beautiful, but they are just too platforming heavy for my taste. The combat was supposed be a bigger focus in the sequel. but it also didn't work for me. Additionally, the plot felt kinda like sadness porn, where they kept introducing new characters just to kill them off in a saddest way imaginable. It's a good game, but not for me
Aeterna Noctis - same as above, good metroidvania, but extremely platforming heavy. The sheer scope of it is impressive, but it just didn't grab me for the same reason
Last Hero of Nostalgaia - an interesting case of a satirical souslike with some neat ideas and great world design, but the combat was just too janky to keep me interested. I am a huge fan of indie games, but I feel like 3d soulslikes kinda require a bigger budget, because janky combat is a no-go in this genre
Dredge - got it as a freebe from Epic and was quite excited, the beginning was awesome with its haunting atmosphere and fun gameplay, but in the long run fishing as a core gameplay loop just doesn't do it for me
Blue Fire - 3d metroidvania heavily inspired by Hollow Knight, looks awesome on paper and feels good to play, but again - the combination of heavy platforming emphasis and uninspired combat made me drop it. This and Aeterna Noctis I might re-visit relatively soon, but I'm probably done with the rest
I had a similar experience with RDR, got bored with rounding up horses and other seemingly meaningless exercises. Sold the game, then went back to it a couple of years later and realized all that "unnecessary" stuff was just training for what was ahead. I now consider it one of the greatest games of all-time, just behind RDR2. Makes me wonder about all the other games I gave up on early, like the Witcher series and God of War.
Red dead redemption
I really liked the setting and characters in this one but wasn't having fun. I spent ages ridding to get somewhere then got off the horse and was killed by a cougar out of the blue and I couldn't be bothered to ride all the way back so I stopped playing.[/QUOTE]
in a surprising twist, I gave up on Tunic a while ago - I was super excited to play it, as everything I heard about this game sounded fantastic to me. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get over how bad the combat felt to me, plus the controls were terrible. Why do you have to hold down the lock on button FOR THE ENTIRE TIME?! I think I made it through arund 2/3 of the game and just couldn't get myself to play anymore
I must be missing something about Warhammer Space Marine 2. The enemy hordes are impressive to begin with, no doubt. But then you fight the same damn horde over and over again, and it becomes boring. The lack of enemy variety is painfully noticeable when you're repeatedly thrown into the same combat situation.
Compounding the repetitiveness is the:
- bland level design (shoot, run down corridor, press button, ride lift, repeat)
- encounter design (shoot hordes in large open space, stop hordes before timer runs out)
- samey weapons (there are like four varieties of machine gun which behave almost identically)
- clunky movement (you swing your sword and roll with all the grace of an obese rhino)
As a result of all this, every level feels too long. The campaign's "only" 12 hours. I had to bail and uninstall well before that.
PS: AAA games suck. I struggle to remember the last one I enjoyed.
Expedition 33
It's rare that a game lives up to the hype, but this one definitely did for me.
10/10
Order of the Sinking Star **demo**
It's out now until June 22nd. And only the first 100 or so puzzles are available in the demo. But golly, this game is going to be a monster when it comes out. The game cold opens with you walking across a cloud asking yourself if this is Heaven. Well, after playing 8 hours the past two days (which is a ton for me, especially considering the cerebral nature of the game, I'm exhausted and calling it quits), It's safe to say that this game is a version of heaven for puzzle fans.
From the demo you learn there is an overworld that connects as you complete puzzles. The puzzles are a lot of fun and quite demanding. They are inspired from old school Sokoban puzzles, except they're absolutely gorgously put together.
There's 4 games. Each one has its own characters and mechanics. As you progress, the 4 games merge together in the overworld and in the puzzles.
The demo has a good amount of content. 3 of the 4 games are open to play, and i think there will be some world blending this weekend when the 2nd part of the demo comes out.
I'm probably tapping out though. I've logged over 8 hours the past day and a half which is kind of an enormous amount of playtime for me, at least for a game this demanding.
I'm buying it for Switch 2 when it comes out later this year.
It's a gem. Prolly 100/100 assuming the game continues to expand and surprise. Which, given this is the next game for Blow after The Witness, and he spent 10 years making it, I'm sure it will be incredible. I just need a breather and to pickup the game at a more leisurely pace.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
I'll be the guy to say he didn't finish Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Dodging/Parrying was too punishing on the normal difficulty and I don't have time to play every fight 20 times until I beat it. The easiest difficulty had good parry timings but even if you never dodged/parried, the enemies didn't do enough damage to you; it could easily be healed through. To get me back, there needs to be a difficulty with the damage of normal but the parry timings of easy.
Timberborn
The tutorial finished just before a Drought was announced but I couldn't really figure what was pushing me to continue. I have enough food and water in storage for 18 beavers so why make things more complicated? Maybe the Drought gets longer but I can just build more storage.
Order of the Sinking Star **demo**It's out now until June 22nd. And only the first 100 or so puzzles are available in the demo. But golly, this game is going to be a monster when it comes out. The game cold opens with you walking across a cloud asking yourself if this is Heaven. Well, after playing 8 hours the past two days (which is a ton for me, especially considering the cer
Can you give me your top 10-20 puzzle games? And if you've played them on handheld (Switch or Steamdeck) that'd help even more. Kind of a genre I see myself playing more along with deckbuilders, I just don't really have much gaming time for much else.
Can you give me your top 10-20 puzzle games? And if you've played them on handheld (Switch or Steamdeck) that'd help even more. Kind of a genre I see myself playing more along with deckbuilders, I just don't really have much gaming time for much else.
I'd be honored to further my recommendations. I must admit I am not that avid of a gamer (I'm more an enthusiast/hawk) and I'm not that strong at solving puzzles. I'm confident the following are very good games:
Tetris Effect (Switch/PC) - A high quality version of the standard game with excellent online multiplayer.
Manifold Garden (Switch/PC) - This game came to me during a mental breakdown and has a special place in my heart. A fully immersive 3d-world where geometry is different from here on Earth. You solve incredibly massive puzzles while touring a world of rich, impossible architecture and design. If you know what a möbius strip is, or if you just really like shapes, this game is probably for you.
The Artisan of Glimmith (PC) - Similar to a rich book of sudoku puzzles, this game has over 1 thousand stained glass window puzzles where you paint in the shapes. It's a very elegant and well put together experience. There's a demo.
Patrick's Parabox (PC/Switch) - Haven't played a second of this game yet. However, its creator is a part of the small team that put together Order of the Sinking Star, and according to my research this game will be excellent to grind. There's a demo.
Mario vs Donkey Kong (Switch) - A fun collection of sandbox puzzles where you complete goals as a toy mario in the vein of the old school donkey kong game.
Suika Game (PC/Switch) - Take tetris, replace the shapes with fruit, get rid of the linear geometry of it all, and try and and fit as many fruits in a basket. Sounds awful but its pretty fun.
Cocoon (PC/Switch) - This games really fun. I have to give it another chance. From Steam's page: COCOON is a unique take on the puzzle adventure genre, where each world exists within an orb that you can carry on your back. Wrap your head around the core mechanic of leaping between worlds—and combine, manipulate, and rearrange them to solve intricate puzzles.
And from following Order of the Sinking Star, I've discovered www.puzzlescript.net , The Heroes of Sokoban, and other free games.
Thanks for the list, I will check them all out. I saw you mentioned The Witness hadn't stuck with you but give it another try. I should also look for Talos 2.
