Hey folks! Here’s an interesting thing that happened with me: I love action RPGs, I love western RPGs, I was addicted to Skyrim. So when The Witcher 3 launched, one of the most well received open world action RPGs I loved it, right? Well… No. In fact, for some reason I can’t really understand I could never play more than 2 hours before dropping it.
I restarted that game about 5 times before, never liked it, wished I could refund it.
Until about two weeks ago I randomly decided to try it again and… oh boy, let’s just say I’m a child considering if I should sleep for work tomorrow or continue playing all through the night.
Does anybody else have a game that they couldn’t like but it suddenly clicked and now they enjoy it?
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It kinda happened for me with Fallout New Vegas. I was maybe 11 and never played anything from the series. I spent my time killer hobo-ing my way through but I always felt like I was missing something, then I started reading negative opinions about it online and got influence by that, so I dropped it. After some time I played Fallout 3, liked and thought it was much better than New Vegas and decided to give NV another shot (I was at 12 or 13 by then). I loved it to the point where it is probably on the top of my emotional top 10. It got me into 50s/60s music, got me interested in politics and ethics, made me become a fan of science fiction and old school RPGs focused on story and a variety of approaches. Really a fantastic game
That’s what’s up 🤙
The first Dark Souls. At the time I had played Demon’s Souls, but didn’t really play games for the challenge so I was very much not used to those types of games. Was also a diehard FPS player.
But a good friend, the same one that introduced me to Demon’s Souls, gifted me Dark Souls. It was a game a genuinely enjoyed, but couldn’t quite find my groove. I’d create a character, get to a certain point, then feel lost or too frustrated to proceed. So I’d stop playing for a few months, then pick it up again and roll a new character.
This trend repeated for a while, and I DID progress farther every time. Eventually, I hit a wall with one of the bosses and raged quit. So fast forward to my inevitable return to the game, instead of starting over I just went right back to that boss and tried again, and again, and again… and actually won?! That was the moment I feel like my gaming potential was awakened.
From Software fanboy, but also truly invested in a good challenge.
Unrelated, but I’m polishing of Nioh 2 now with NG+ and the DLC
Haha you and me both commented about dark souls literally minutes apart, what a world.
I have DS3 sitting on my shelf and will probably play it some time. For me the reason I haven’t even booted it up is the reputation… I’m a pretty good twitch gamer, but I play games to relax, not to feel stressed. I often turn the difficulty a layer or two down from what I can handle, because I’m not really playing to be seriously challenged most of the time. I get plenty of that in real life.
Stardew Valley. I pirated it because I really didn’t think I would like it, but was curious about all the positive buzz that was going on around it. Played for maybe 45 minutes and decided that it wasn’t for me. I think it was two weeks later that I picked it back up again because some article wouldn’t stop singing it’s praises. Start playing, look up, 4 hours had passed.
So I bought the game and proceeded to put over 200 hours into it.
Then I bought it on Switch and put like 160 hours into it.
Then I bought it on Mobile and put like 60 hours into it.
Never thought I’d click so well with some silly farming game.
I have heard so many good things… might need to add a new game to my Switch
You might want to opt for PC if that’s at all your style. The mod scene in Stardew is very strong.
It is mad cozy in Switch handheld mode though
I had a similar experience with The Witcher, but the first one. Bounced off the game twice. Third time was the charm. I fell in love with it and then ended up playing the other games in the series as they came out. I’m not sure what made me keep trying, but I’m glad I did.
Long before that, when Morrowind was released, I couldn’t quite understand it. I had grown up on JRPGs, and the openness of Western RPGs was confusing. I kept trying and eventually fell in love with it too. This opened up a whole new genre for me.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown had a similar effect for turn-based strategy games and Elden Ring for Soulsborne games. I’m still looking for the games that will open my eyes to several genres. I occasionally try games in genres I don’t typically like in hopes this will be the one. It’s really cool to have that new door opened for you.
The first time I played Jedi Fallen Order, I got through the tutorial mission, went ‘Eh’ and put the game down. Went back a year later and had an amazing time. Can’t tell you what it was that changed.
Morrowind, I played it near release and had no idea what to do or what I was doing. Then I played it a year or two later and played it for weeks straight.
CK2 also took a bit of learning to get used to.
Vampire Survivors. I did like it in the beginning, but I started to get bored since I got stuck in the first map. I uninstalled it for a while then I installed it again last week. I’ve been playing on and off again, since I was basically just trying to get a lot of coins. I managed to reach level 20 and unlock the second map, then yesterday, I reached 27 minutes in the second map and now I’m addicted to it lmao. I got the magic wand without cooldown on that playthrough, and it was so satisfying to see everything just dying.
Same for me too. When I first tried Vampire Survivors I died so fast and didn’t understand what the fuzz was about. I simply uninstalled it. But after seeing some videos and looking at some guides (mainly about weapon combination), I give it another chance. This time, however, it clicked after combining some weapons as seen in the videos. Quite a funny game after that experience and it made me think about giving other games or genres a try.
When I first played Dwarf Fortress, I thought it was the dumbest shit ever because it was taking so long during world gen, I thought that was the game and it was like an ASCII Progress Quest.
Then it took some time to get used to the terrible interface it had pre-Steam version.
Now I acknowledge it as one of the greatest games ever made.
I think this will be Disco Elysium for me. I keep bouncing off it, but I want to play it and so many swear it’s amazing. I’ve just been a bit too depressed and not focused enough I think to deal with the depth of it. I always end up playing something ‘cozier’.
Actually yes! Days Gone took me 3 reinstalls to get into it. I think I just pushed through the start. I ended up enjoying it I dont know why it got all the bad press.
I’m in the same Witcher 3 situation, except I haven’t been able to get past the hurdle. By coincidence I tried it again yesterday and… “Ug, what do those runes do again? Nah, lemme try the Mass Effect remaster instead.”
Your post made me think about kind of a reverse experience. One of the first games that deeply engrossed me and resonated with me was Alan Wake. I played it in my teens on a big old CRT (I believe it was like 40 inches, but a 4:3 aspect). I literally couldn’t stop, it was during summer holidays and I didn’t even open the blinds to be more immersed in the darkness. I binged through the game in about a week straight. I still consider it one of my all-time favourite games. But recently I started the remaster and just couldn’t get into it for some reason. Just didn’t click.
I am still waiting eagerly for the second game, and definitely will try again to get into the remaster. Maybe the understanding that I can’t recapture nostalgia will help me take it for what it is, not what I remember it being. Because I believe that even separate from that magical experience it’s still a good game that I will probably dig.
The Witcher 3 wasn’t fun at all until I reached level 10 or so, took me over a month to get to that level because I played in very short intervals. Some others I can think of are Dishonored, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and The Outer Worlds. Got Dishonored at release, played an hour and put it away, finished it five years later. For Assassin’s Creed Syndicate it was a year and The Outer Worlds around half a year. Ended up having a lot of fun with all those games.
Same happened for me with Deus Ex Human revolution. Back in 2012, I just didn’t understand the plot and the atmosphere of the game, and wasn’t a fan of the decision-making system. Last year, I plugged in my dusty PS3, started the game and I just had all the keys to a better understanding. Adam Jensen is a charismatic character and the scenario makes you want to go through the whole game in a row
Mass Effect the very first time. Got bored on the Citadel, quit for two weeks. Went back, started over, and now it’s my favorite game of all time and I’ve beaten it 23 times.
