Has a QL turned you off a game that you were interested in?

I just finished watching the Humans Must Answer Quick Look. I had the game on my wishlist then I removed it after watching the video. It not like it seems bad, but it does seem only serviceable to me. Also, it didn't help that they reminded me just how much I love Tyrian.

So, have you been interested in a game only to become disinterested after watching a Quick Look?

No, probably because as a rule, I don't do hype - I only want to buy a game after seeing something like a Quick Look or an articulate review. I do get turned onto a lot of games after Quick Looks, but never really have the opportunity for the inverse.

Republique is the most recent example I could think of, and I backed that game. The gameplay seems fine, but all the little details surrounding it is turning me off (the fourth wall-breaking dialogue for example).

Yep, that was another one for me. I thought that game seemed interesting at first, but there were a lot of questionable things in that QL. Especially, as you mentioned, the fourth-wall breaking, which is particularly egregious given that the game seems to have a very serious story.

Not yet. But they have turned me on to many games. That sounded, dirty.

depends, quick looks are long form of continuing the discussions from podcasts and reviews. So it's not usually the Quick Look alone that turns me off.

State of Decay, I had heard it was buggy but DAMN seeing it for myself told me all I had to know.

Not that I can think of. At least not games I have strong interest in. Sometimes I'll watch a quicklook for a game I had passing interest in and come out not wanting to play it. But more than likely I never would have played it anyway.

I don't think there are many videos that completely turned me off from a game, but there are several that I was skeptical about and had my suspicions confirmed through the QL. Probably the most notable example in my mind would be RE6. I had played the demo and REALLY hated it; seeing the QL made me sure I never wanted to play it.

It's much more common that QLs turn me on to games I didn't know existed or convinced me to try out games not usually in my wheelhouse or that I didn't think I needed/wanted to play. This is probably what makes them my favorite feature on the site.

Republique is the only one I can think of.

I don't usually get hyped for something until a good amount of information is out for it. Or if names I respect are on it. So if I ever lose interest because of QL, it is very rare. And I can't remember it ever happening. QLs make me interested in games every once in a while though.

I can't really think of many examples of that, Republique sounded interesting, but after watching the video I didn't really like it...

Also first post with gold medal status, yay!

I'd probably have bought State Of Decay if I hadn't watched the QL. People seemed real exited talking about that game, but from what I've seen, it seems way more interesting on paper than actually playing it.

It goes both ways. There have been several times where I've quit the video early on just to go buy a game immediately. Mostly with smaller, downloadable titles that have flown under my radar. And other times I've been eagerly awaiting a game, only to see in a Quick Look that the gameplay is nowhere near what I expected. Can't think of a good examply off the top of my head, but I find Quick Looks to be a wonderful way for me to decide where to spend my time and money.

The fact that they're often hilarious in and of it self is just a bonus.

There have been a few times yeah. Mostly they have just made me affirm that I want to wait on a game.

Probably, but I cant really remember one specifically. Im going to say yes though.

Edit: Okay, here's a few. Arkham Origins (once I realized it was, pretty much, the same map from Arkham City I lost interest). Killer Is Dead (I was slightly interested, but then I watched the QL and that game kind of looked boring).

And QL's have gotten me interested in games that I had no interest in before! Id say more so than convincing me not to get a game.

Yeah plenty.... They've saved me from so many bad purchases. The Bureau for one...

Surprisingly few. It's usually the opposite as I've picked up lots of titles that weren't on my radar because of QLs.

The telling of a story is one of the most important parts of gaming for me, so if I'm really interested in something then I tend to avoid the QL until I've played it as I want that story to be fresh for me. For example I'd never watch a QL of games like Beyond or L.A. Noire before playing them, but I'll happily watch the latest racer/shooter/fighter etc.

I'd been on the fence about Knack. It isn't the kind of game that I'd usually pay any attention to. However, the fact that it was a first party game put together for a band new console had me at least curious; as whilst not usually the greatest mechanically those titles tend to show off what they new machine is all about. Instead I watched one of the poorest games from a major publisher that I can remember seeing for a long, long time and knew that I would not be picking it up at all.

NES REMIX it looks dire

I guess I'm a monster. That QL got me more turned on to Republicaque.

Quick Looks usually help me confirm my dislike of games I'm already not interested in. Like, all this DayZ and Rust nonsense just seems like a pointless time sink, where you try to get rare valuables, and then some asshole with a rifle kills you and you do it all again. Also, I continue to not see the appeal of Terraria and Starbound. At least in Minecraft you can build some impressive statues/structures, but in the 2D versions, the stuff you can build doesn't look nearly as interesting (I guess the combat is arguably better). The Lococycle Quick Look confirmed my assumption that the gameplay in that game is not very interesting, and it was pointless of them to make that into an Xbox One game (because the graphics are kind of awful). They should've just shitted that thing out for the final Summer of Arcade on XBLA.

• You know, Godus might be the best example I can think of. I was interested enough to back the Kickstarter, but I can't be bothered to read the zillion fucking Kickstarter updates that the 15-20 games I've backed put out each month, so I kinda don't care to hear about any of them until there is some kind of playable version out. Godus seems disappointing based on the Quick Look, though I still haven't sunk any time into the Early Access version I have access to.
• Also, I was kinda vaguely interested in Puppeteer, but the Quick Look kinda unsold me on it, once I saw how verbose all the dialogue gets, and also the platforming has a weird Little Big Planet look to it (aka floaty and bad). Pid is in the same category of me being a little interested, then the QL showed that it was fucked hard (though they eventually patched it to be much easier).
• The QL for Layton Brothers: Mystery Room showed me enough of the game to make me realize I just don't like its format, and it's kinda of shitty that they slapped the Layton name on it in the first place. Again, I was only kind of interested in it.
• I was somewhat interested in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, but I played the demo before the Quick Look came out. The demo and QL both killed my interest in that game, because it looks TERRIBLE, and the combat doesn't translate down into 2D very well. No idea why Vinny kind of kept defending that game. Even as an XBLA/PSN game, I don't think that fixes the game's problems.
• The SimCity Quick Look unsold me on that game HARD. I guess maybe that was one of the first games press reactions I saw to the game? Before that point, I had mostly just watched trailers. I was similarly hopeful for Dead Space 3, but that Quick Look (and the opinions of most everyone who talks about that game) unsold me on it. Ditto for The Cave, though I got it for free from PS+, so I'll get around to playing it eventually. Kinda the same with Paper Mario: Sticker Star, in that the Quick Look was the first real gameplay I had seen of the game outside of trailers, and man, they oversimplified the fuck out of that series (and Paper Mario 64 and Paper Mario: Thousand-Year Door were really already quite simple, I don't know why they felt the need to dumb it down any more).
• I was sorta toying with the idea of buying Impire, but the Quick Look made it seem kinda tedious, and the execution of the idea seemed rough.

A really good example of me being turned off by a Quick Look is Fluidity: Spin Cycle, actually. Fluidity is one of the the top 3 WiiWare games. Like, right below World of Goo and Swords & Soldiers, sits Fluidity. It's a great Metroid-like thing where you're a pool of water. It's awesome. The game world is you moving around frame to frame in this big environment text book/comic book thing, so like one panel might be a hydroelectric dam, and the next is like a burning building where you can load yourself into a fire truck and move the truck around and use yourself to extinguish a fire. IT'S AWESOME.

The sequel on the 3DS (Spin Cycle) abandons the Metroid-style world, and turns everything into Super Meat Boy-sized levels more or less, which I think is a mistake. Also they changed the art style, and I don't really care for the new one. Granted, the original game also has very little personality, so I see why they did it, but still, I don't like the direction they went with it. I'm legitimately bummed that GB never did a Quick Look of the original Fluidity. I'm certain Brad or Vinny would've liked it, though it does have a fair amount of tilt controls, so they might've just bitched it out for that alone, even though I found them totally usable. On the other hand, they all liked Ridiculous Fishing, so who knows. I remember them being sort of "meh" on Spin Cycle, and I'm positive none of them played it after the Quick Look.

Alright, that's as far back as I'm going to go on the Quick Looks page. A year seems good.

Also, it's not really what you're asking for, but the Chivalry: Medieval Warfare Quick Look unsold me on War of the Roses. I was this close to buying WotR (waiting for Steam sale), but man, Chivalry is so much better.

@nezza: Oh man, right, fucking Knack. I mean, I wasn't going to buy that game in the first place because it looked like a kid's game with a Dreamworks sort of aesthetic, but wow, the gameplay in that just seemed terrible, and also I was pretty surprised to learn it is almost entirely combat, and has basically no puzzles. You'd be better off buying any Nintendo 3D platformer, or really any of the Sony platformers born of the PS2 era (Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper).

SimCity

I usually avoid quick looks of games I'm looking forward to play because of possible spoilers. I only watch quick looks of games I don't know anything about.

Generally not, because I don't trust Giant Bomb to not make games look bad. The crew is hilarious and that's what I come to the site for, but they're awful at video games and it often makes them look worse than they actually are. Metal Gear Rising's PC Quick Look is a pretty good example, Jeff had a lot of weird ideas about how the combat is supposed to work, never parried any of Ray's attacks, got hit a lot and insisted on doing the finisher on every soldier he encountered even though it's a waste of time in most situations and makes the game look super repetitive. You can cut through weak enemies at any point and strong ones once they turn blue, you don't have to constantly do the twenty second finishing move to get Zandatsus.

That being said Quick Looks have turned me on to games a few times, Cook Serve Delicious being a good example. I wouldn't have even known that game existed if not for Giant Bomb's coverage.

Every Assassin's Creed Quick Look, especially this latest one. Having gotten bored of the gameplay in AC and AC2 halfway through both, Liberation always really intrigued me because of the female lead and direct acknowledgement of slavery as a plot device and character trait. However, that Quick Look made the game look like a sloppier, clumsier version of an already clumsy franchise, and that bummed me out.

This one for me as well, I'm sure there are more but nothing stands out.

I've certainly had my assumptions about certain games confirmed by watching a quick look, but I don't think I've ever done a 180 on something because of them. Maybe because I've seen good games show poorly on quick looks thanks to the ineptitude of whoever was in control.

Yes, as a matter of fact, the most recent AC Liberation QL did! I was looking for some cool new game to play. Black Flag was a lot of fun so I thought, maybe some more AC wouldn't be that bad? Boy, did that QL change my mind quickly. I honestly didn't even finish it, it was just that boring to watch.

I had a free code for AC3 so I finally broke down and downloaded it through Uplay. I don't know what it is, but that game is just so dull to play. I got up to that Haytham reveal and it was a struggle. Almost started skipping cutscenes altogether as I couldn't care less about what the French are doing or whatever. Maybe if I was really into that history time period but alas, it was a snooze. I thought about deleting it outright but maybe.. maybe I'll give it some more time? Everything I've heard makes it seem like the game gets worse rather than better.

Neverdead and Lost Planet 2. I thought the idea behind Neverdead was really cool, and I played the shit out of the Lost Planet 2 demo but apparently it wasn't good. I think I would probably enjoy both of these games well enough if I actually played them.

No. There have been too many instances where the guys don't know enough of the game to represent it accurately. The habit of running through games without actually reading the most obvious instructions, and then blaming the game itself for their lack of competence have long since made them less of a factor in my decision making. Quick looks are foremost entertainment to me. They're more likely to make me interested in a game that I didn't know about than dissuade me from one that was already on my radar.

I'm curious if there is anyone who did not buy a game they were interested in because GB played the game "poorly" in the QL? I imagine no one would actually admit to it, but some people always get so upset that GB "ruined" the experience of their favorite new game for others.

One I remember was Sim City, was buying into the hype, seeing if my computer could run the game and creating an origin account. Watched the QL and decided not to get it. I will say more often than not they reset my expectations of games but I still get them, only a few were they unsold me.

Not quite. Citadels is the only game I can think of where I thought it sounded kinda interesting, and tried looking into why people were so down on it, and then Vinny's Quick Look (I think? It may have been an UPF segment) of it convinced me I should probably stay away from it.

Not for me at least, regardless of what they think of it and how they play it, you usually see enough of the game to decide for yourself if it seems interesting enough and if something they see as a major issue would really be an issue for you. I guess Ravaged may be an example of that, they didn't care for the weapons, the lack of an unlock system and the general designs in that game, for me the fact that it didn't have an unlock system was part of what got me interested in it, making it play a lot like the old Battlefield games and Codename Eagle, just pure fun with vehicles and guns on massive levels without systems that reward already experience players with stuff that make them better at killing inexperienced players. Sadly they patched one in a few weeks after release.

Yes, many times.

Plants vs Zombies 2

Almost every JRPG Quick Look has killed any interest or curiosity I had for the title. The tropes I liked when I was younger just seem incredibly stupid and far-fetched now.

Nah. There has been a few times where a QL has deflated my interest quite a bit, but not by their fault. Usually, I can tell when they are just playing a game bad. Thankfully, I've always been pretty adept at figuring out what I will and won't like, and I tend to not regret many purchases. I can also see through bad playing pretty quick, but some still slip through now and then. As for the initial question, Republique(I like Ryan Payton, but yikes that looks boring), State of Decay, SimCity(I wasn't even that interested in the series, but even I was completely disappointed by the city size), and others here and there. Hey, at least it saves me some money.

If you were aware that the GB guys were playing a game poorly then you already know enough not to pass judgement on that game based off that QL. So that's not possible :P

I suppose I should have worded it better. Like, someone was interested in a game, GB's QL sucked for whatever reason, and that person didn't buy it because of the QL. Then, later on, realized the game was actually okay based on other people's opinions outside GB, and go ahead and buy it despite what they originally thought based on the QL.

Something that sprung to mind, I guess. Originally, whenever there's a thread about someone criticizing GB's lack of commitment and uses the poor QLs as an example (fair enough), they fear their favorite game is not going to sell well because of it. I keep thinking to myself, "Who are these people they are referring to?"

I can't think of any examples, so probably not. I remember the Sim City quick look immensely deflated my enthusiasm for the game, but I still bought it. I've definitely watched Quick Looks for games and then become interested in them though.

The Brothers QL showed the worst part of that game and that dumb bug, so it put me off completely. Then later I bought it half price in a sale and thought the game was amazing.

Hmmm. As a general rule, I don't watch quick looks of games I either know I'm getting or am hyped for. For me, I'm the type of the guy who knows what games he wants and will play them. The Bomb Crew can sometimes bring me down about certain games so I choose to avoid them. Maybe that's being blind and naïve, but I sometimes don't let reviews and quick looks ruin the games I'm excited for. :)

There have been games where I was mildly interested in and a quick look will turn me away. Or the reverse, and a quick look or even a podcast talk or whatever will turn me onto a outta the no where game.

@benspyda said:

Yeah, it's always funny when they QL a game, and manage to start the Quick Look in literally the least interesting point in the whole game. That cave sequence in Brothers is really pretty dull compared to the beautiful vistas all over the rest of the game (though thankfully in the Quick Look, Brad was already cognizant of the fact that the environments had usually been more interesting up until that point). They really should've just shown the first chapter from the start, or shown the chapters after the mines.

I feel like that's probably what happened to the Assassasin's Creed: Liberation Quick Look, because I don't see how any level could be more boring than that bayou area.

These people are being really silly thinking people watching these video without foreknowledge and preconceived notion of a game would actually come out with a different impression because of that particular play-through over another. Quick Looks to me is like to listening to listening to a bunch of 10 seconds samples of music; you get the gist of the game by seeing the mechanics, the quality of the production, the assets, etc. You get what you needed from it. If these people claim that GB is actually misrepresenting the game, then they need to explain themselves. If they're upset because Brad didn't do a killer looking-combo, missed a pickup, or didn't collect all the rings, they're getting upset on things only they care about. I wouldn't have bought Sonic even if Brad had done a really nice run at Sonic.

If anything, the opposite for me? Sometimes when I see them really bumble their way through a Quick Look where I can tell I understand the mechanics of the game much better than they do, I buy the game and then take satisfaction in seeing the game "firing on all cylinders" as I play it.

It's not actually something that influences my purchase, though, in that I've probably already decided within 10 minutes of a Quick Look based on the genre and production quality and specific mechanics in a game whether it looks like it's for me. But it's a nice bonus after seeing them play it terribly to go and see that section done properly.

Example: Teleglitch seemed totally rad as soon as I saw it, but oh man, Patrick was A) terrible at avoiding hits, and B) clearly wasting scarce ammo on level 1 enemies that are not even particularly dangerous. Also, even Jeff realized he must be missing something in the Infinite Space Quick Look (there was a fatigue meter he had totally exhausted so his ship crew were useless and slow), but I was already sold on the concept and setting of the game, so I picked it up. To his credit, that game has like a zillion different ship stats, and only properly explains half of them.

@noizy said:

I just want to put these two posts side by side. I'll let you guys make the connection.

I know I'm being mean, but you'd think after spending several years in the gaming press and after all the story-driven games they've played, they would know that the beginning is usually huge and the second chapter is the cool down period. "Finding items in these sewers look hella awesome, guys; much better than the big chase with explosions all around and a T-Rex chomping everyone up while dubstep is playing in the background."

I understand they want to play a level or area fresh for the first time and it's difficult to know what is going to be good or not, but yeah, that Liberation QL was really hard to watch, and that rarely happens for me.