What game does everyone keep telling you "you absolutely must play"?

What game does everyone keep telling you “you absolutely must play”?

“You haven’t played it yet?”

“It’s only the best game ever made.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

With possibly the exception of that last one (I hear that one all the time :/ ) all these phrases and more are not uncommon to the ears of one who plays videogames regularly. It’s not surprising really (The other part, well… I guess both parts :/. ). It seems to be more of a psychological trait imbedded into each of us that when one experiences something gratifying or that impresses them they want others to share in their own wonderment. In a way it is almost as if they get a sense of satisfaction in being the ones who recommended it.

The gaming world is no different in that respect. Not only are recommendations like these commonplace from friends and peers but you have an added layer of influence from the gaming media at large, one that prides itself on telling gamers what “they should be looking into” in the form of review scores and lengthy write-ups. Scenarios like these can have an even greater impact when awards for particular games are given out or big titles like GOTY scrawled on the boxes of games emerge.

With that said there has been one game that I have consistently avoided since its release despite hearing how amazing it is in addition to the aforementioned cliché’ comments that usually comprise of one’s disbelieve upon hearing my voluntary exclusion of said game (What the hell did we just read, Ninja? English… ENGLISH!!!). That game is none other than… okay, are you ready for this?

The Witcher 3! (Du du duuuummmm!)

-Wait… what?! But how, Ninja? It’s only like the best game ever made!-

That’s right. A game that has been talked about to death ad nauseam by almost every person on every gaming board, forum, website and one that has been repeatedly toted as one of the finest examples of gaming in the modern era by every credible gaming journalist, “youtuber”, and reviewer/industry critic has not even remotely been on my radar… until now (better late than never, right?). How is that even possible you may ask (-Uh, no we really weren’t asking Ninja, but…-)

Like everything in life it’s not just one thing but a conglomeration of many pieces assembled together (-rubs eyes- “can never be simple with you, huh Ninja?”).

1: Preference:

Probably the biggest factor into whether one will even look into something. I have never been a huge fan of the, not sure what it is technically called, mythical/fantasy genre (?). While I certainly respect and admire what certain forms of entertainment have achieved, like LOTR, I find myself never being fully engaged in that setting or the usual clichés associated with those narratives across all forms of mediums (Surprisingly the anime/manga Berserk is the only one that seems to captivate my interest for more than 2 seconds. I have no idea why this is.).

2: Recommendations or lack thereof:

A good friend of mine (Friend, Ninja? Now we know you’re lying.), whose opinion I actually respect immensely when it comes to games, and is usually dead on about most things in the gaming world, told me that the game was completely overhyped. One of his biggest complaints was the “terrible” and “sloppy” mechanics that comprised of the gameplay portion of the game. He gave it a fair chance too I might add, even going so far as to try to replay the game on 3 separate occasions at different points in the year. Needless to say he didn’t progress far. In his own words “I really wanted to like it, I did. But I just couldn’t get into it.” No doubt his persistence to keep trying was, similar to myself, due to all the buzz he had heard about this game from every corner of the earth but his reluctance to keep moving forward was impacted greatly by bad gameplay mechanics.

3: Game genre:

From what I understand, and everything I’ve heard and read, this is an open world/RPG type of game (please correct me if I am wrong.).

Once again the genre of game someone likes/dislikes is almost completely personal and from what I know about my gaming experience in the past I know I don’t jive too well with these types of games. I find that open world games, while providing the gamer with a bevy of resources, distractions, and extraneous things to do can more often than not inhibit the flow and main focus of the narrative as it pertains to characterization and other storytelling elements. C’mon, how many times have we played one of these games only to find ourselves in a time sensitive situation as it relates to the main plot but then go off a do some mindless side-quest that has nothing to do with the main goal of the game (ex: Character X is being held hostage at such and such location and villain Z is going to kill them unless you get there. “Guess I better hurry... right after I go herd some sheep, collect all pieces of trinket F in town D, and help a frail old granny find her lost pet.”).

Even though those moments are mostly choice driven it can be sometimes too enticing to pass up when the option to engage in them suddenly pops up on the map. For people like myself who have the attention span of a goat… whoa, a butterfly…. something like this can easily disrupt the overall flow, pace, and atmosphere of a game.

Then there are open world games that “force” these side quests on you, locking the main story/path until a certain amount of these extraneous missions have been completed even though (once again.) their significance has no bearing on the overall main focus of the story. Yeah, don’t even get me started on those. Once again, I feel it is necessary to stress that this is not how all open world games operate but I think it’s more than fair to say that more abide by this blueprint than not.

4: 3rd entry in a series:

This one is personally one of those interesting quirks that we all have in some capacity or another. It may seem like a rather odd pet peeve (like reading your comments, Ninja?) but this one ranks big on my list as it pertains to whether I engage in a game or not. It’s probably one of, if not, THE biggest reason as to why I didn’t immediately jump to playing this game earlier.

If a game is highly praised and I do have more than a moderate amount of interest in it than something as “trivial” as it not being the first game in a series or a numbered entry after ones I have missed can totally put me off; within reason of course (I’m not going to suddenly swear off a new Super Mario game for example because perhaps I missed the first game; which I didn’t for the record!).

Which begs the question… will I be completely lost and hung out to dry for the Witcher 3 having no previous experience/knowledge about any of the other prior games let alone the lore? I’ve heard from some that even those who have played all 3 games are still lost to the characters and setting due to the first game not starting at the origin of the series (I’ve heard there were books before the games.).

With all of that in mind, at this very moment I hold a copy of this highly acclaimed game in the palm of my hand right now (That’s right, I typed all this out with one hand. It’s clear I’m crazy as hell so just trust me when I say I’m not making this up.) – But then how can we trust you, Ninja? And how does typing with one hand make someone crazy?-

Touche’!

Part of the reason why was due to curiosity finally getting the better of me; everyone saying it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread (no joke, sliced bread is good. Very convenient.). Finally, and more than likely the culprit that made me pull the trigger, was that I purchased the Complete Edition with all the extra DLC for a whopping $30. I figured you can’t beat that price, might as well take a chance.

Listen, there’s always going to be tons of games that we miss for whatever reason, whether they be due to financial constraints, hardware limitations, a general lack of interest, or heck even something as trivial as our own stubbornness (Ex: “I refuse to play game X cause everyone else says it’s the best. What do they know.”). But still, the question still stands…

What game does everyone keep telling you “you absolutely must play”?

I understand that this kind of a conversation has the potential to get quite heated so hopefully we can keep things civil.

P.S: I genuinely hope I enjoy the Witcher 3.

-WITCHER 3 BOUND NINJA APPROVED-

Dark Souls/Bloodborne series. Played one once for 15 mins and thought it was hot garbage.

No one directly told me this one. Just kind of people talking highly of it on the net.

For me it was, Golden Sun. JRPG's just aren't my genre so when I get the sense that "oh, this is just another one of those" it repulses me pretty hard. I got about 6 hours in and decided I'm good to leave it forever.

Probably doesn't help that I played all the way through that terrible DS game. I couldn't tell you a single thing about that story either.

Undertale

The amount of people gushing about that game made me not want to play it, I don't know why but that kind of enthusiasm has the opposite effect on me

I don't really have people to talk to games about in my day to day but being on this site, I do feel some pressure to play Persona 4. I will 'cause I want to. It's just that P3, while I love the crap out it, drained me to the core. And I know I know, plenty of ppl have told me it's a lighter experience and they've improved on the UI. It's not the weight of the story but I guess I really do have PTSD from that UI.

[insert name of JRPG here]

I just, don't, care. Yes, I'm mainly keeping my Vita for Persona 4 Golden. I can occasionally go back to Final Fantasy X when reminiscing about Grand Wizard Wakka and the hungry adventures of Meg Ryan. And I'm still, reluctantly, on board with Kingdom Hearts to see how that train wreck ends. But other than that, along with a few other exceptions here and there such as Valkyria Chronicles and Metal Gear depending on how you look at it, I'm good.

I tried one of the Ys games for PSP. The first fifteen minutes couldn't hold my attention. Ni no Kuni: I never really cared to watch anything by Studio Ghibli even at the height of me caring about anime ten years ago, so why would I play something from them? I'd sooner play either Perfect Blue or Paprika The Game, but unfortunately Satoshi Kon isn't with us anymore. And there is no fucking way that I'm going to sift through every "Tales of" game to find the "good" ones. Symphonia never got my attention even back in the day when I was flirting with Xenosaga. Vesperia is just one of the many games that I vaguely remember seeing in a GameStop. And the only reaction I can muster towards Zestiria's Evangelion DLC is to flip the Steam page the double bird in a very Jeff-like fashion. ...And what the fuck is Idolmaster? Is that another one of those "cute girls doing cute things" type of shows that I want nothing to do with?

Horizon is the one lately but I don't think it looks fun to play or the story actually seems interesting from anything I've seen. It reminds me of Shadow of Mordor where I can't even see so much of the initial appeal to get into the whole thing.

everyone wants me to play playerunknown's battlegrounds but it's just not something i would like to play.

And because it's early acces i wouldn't buy it anyway.

Same here. This was the one I was going to write.

Me three - except I did eventually play an hour so of it and HATED it. Hate's probably too strong a word - I had zero fun playing it. I didn't like the characters and didn't like the battle system.

Me four. I'm sure it's totally fine but the crazy amount of hype people I know/people on the internet lavished on it became very off-putting very quickly. That sort of hype backlash happens to me pretty frequently; there's a threshold where praise becomes so effusive that I know reality can never match it and I lose interest. For another example, I was immensely turned off by Overwatch for close to a year after its release because of that same phenomenon (I did finally get it along with some friends and it's pretty alright, but not something I feel compelled to play constantly). If I hadn't gotten it at launch, the amount of praise Breath of the Wild got and kept getting for weeks upon weeks after the fact on the Bombcast and elsewhere was so exhausting I would probably have had a similar reaction.

Otherwise, my girlfriend's been bugging me for years to play Psychonauts. One day I probably will, but that day probably isn't today...it's not a genre I'm super fond of.

The Souls/Bloodborne games. Nope. Technically I have played about 20 minutes of Dark Souls after finding it cheap second hand on the 360, but I could tell quite quickly this was simply not for me. But then any game where the main selling point seems to be "THIS IS REALLY HARD" is not going to be for me, I am not good at video games despite having played them for 25+ years.

Others where I've played 20 minutes & then just shrugged that this was not likely something I'd ever go back to, Bastion & Undertale. Meanwhile I have 67 hours on Cook, Serve, Delicious and over 700 in Crusader Kings 2.

Another candidate is League of Legends. I tried DOTA, it reminded me why I hate competitive multiplayer with strangers, never touching it or other MOBAs again. Other genre you'll have a hard time selling me on a game are kart racers and whatever the hell Smash Brothers is. I played Mario Kart Advance & honestly none of the ones after that grabbed me in the same way.

I had a friend who was very insistent that I play Alien Isolation but thus far I've managed to avoid it. Horror games aren't my bag at all, and that particular one just sounds utterly frustrating to my ears.

Anyway OP, I hope you enjoy The Witcher 3. I've recently reinstalled it & started my 2nd playthrough after getting the DLC in the Steam sale. Having fun with it.

@wynnduffy: i agree completely, its funny, watching the guys play pubg makes me want the game, knowing its super popular, but no ones shoving it down my throat like say an undertale or something like that.

Minesweeper and fallout series. Not touching either.

Can completely understand that kind of mentality. I'm not insinuating in the least that that kind of thinking is reasonable but I think every once and a while we are all guilty of it to some extent. I know I have found myself in similar situations in the past with certain 'big name" games. Games that many in the videogame world would herald as among the finest examples in our medium.

-HIP TO HATE NINJA APPROVED-

@wynnduffy said:

I have the exact same thing. I came to the conclusion that no matter how good it is, the game would never be able to live up to the level of hype people were giving it and I'd inevitably come away disappointed.

Right now, there are 3. Resident Evil 4, Breath of the Wild and Pokemon Sun and Moon.

Breath of the Wild I refuse to play until I finish the other Zeldas I own (Twilight Princess and Wind Waker) because it pretty obviously was meant to take place after everything else.

Resident Evil 4 is just because I'm playing other things right now. I'll get to it when I get to it, and I know I won't enjoy it as much as I'm apparently supposed to if I try and force myself through it.

Sun and Moon have to wait because I can't justify buying yet another Pokemon game. I've kept up with the series for years, but despite all the ones I've bought, I seem physically incapable of finishing one. So despite how cool and updated the new gen looks, I've officially put my foot down until I manage to beat Y, the most recent one I bought.

Nobody in my life tells me to play games. I tell THEM to play games. And they mostly ignore me.

I do feel some pressure from "the gaming community" at large to play certain games that are considered all time classics, especially by critics or writers I really respect, but there's just no way to play everything. right now I'm feeling pressure to play Horzion: Zero Dawn, Yakuza O and the Persona series. I'm sure I'd like all 3, but man they are serious commitments. I gave into pressure in playing Zelda, and it was amazing, but it also took me 3 months to get through.

I know that feeling all too well...because it's exactly how I feel about Breath of the Wild. I played the first 20-30 minutes, thought "this seems near" then over the following 2-3 months, proceeded to get bombarded by every podcast, youtube video, and blog telling me how it's the mostest amazingest thing ever to be inventededed and every other game past, present, future is shit compared to it.

Same thing for Nier Automata (though losing my save after beating the first two routes didn't help...). Part of me really wants to go back to it, but every now and then I'll see/hear something like "if history forgets this game, then history has fucked up!" or "this game is already a classic!" and yeah, I don't know why but stuff like that just turns me off so hard in most cases.

But then, I'll come across something like Horizon and, at least in my experience, people kinda talk about that game like "oh it's good, but it's another 'one of those' and it won't set the world on fire" etc and that makes me more interested. Go figure.

@babychoochoo: Great expectations can create a feeling of pressure. It feels like 1) You better REALLY enjoy this game and be in the right mood and all that because you only get one bite at this delicious apple and 2) If you don't enjoy it then there's something wrong with you.

Saying a game is "just" a really good game of a normal type doesn't create that pressure so it seems more like fun and less like a momentous pressure filled experience.

Was another factor (although I didn't mention it in my original post.) why I was hesitant to initially begin a game (The Witcher 3.) that I did not have a substantial amount of interest in to begin with. Forfeiting possibly months in a game is a huge investment in one's time.

-TIME INVESTMENT NINJA APPROVED-

I'm sorry but it's always ridiculous to me how people's enthusiasm of a great game is a turn off.

They're simply trying to tell you about a fantastic game you should play. I was one of those people telling everyone to play Undertale....like...people are just trying to get you to share in this amazing experience they've had and that bothers you? The fuck.

Good games are good. It's also ridiculous when "fandoms" make people not play a game.

@frostyryan: I agree with this. And to add to it, it's pretty easy to just avoid things on the Internet that you don't care about. I spend way too much time reading about dumb stuff on the Internet, but if it's something I don't care about I just don't read it. Sure, Undertale was talked about on a bunch of podcasts, but it was for like 5 or 10 minutes at a time. Does that really infuriate you that much?

@hunkulese: I think people feel like they're being pressured to like something, and judged if they're not interested or don't like it. I don't personally feel that way but I kind of get it. It's like having an annoying step dad who keeps telling you to stop listening to your hip hop music and enjoy some good old fashioned country. I don't want to! I LIKE 2 LIVE CREW. THEY'RE LEGIT!

Games can feel like homework when people insist you play it, even moreso if they insist that you have to enjoy it. I think for a lot of people it reminds them of being pressured to like something they might not like.

Nier: Automata comes to mind but not in a bad way. That game sounds really smart and is working with a lot of themes I find interesting, and I want to play it, but getting AAA games before they've had some kind of serious price drop is expensive. There are plenty of other games that people aren't telling me directly to play but get discussed a lot and I'd like to play, e.g. Breath of the Wild, Prey. There are a few that get discussed quite a bit but not in any way that really bothers me hugely, e.g. The New Pokemon, The Witcher, etc. Then there's the Souls series. I'm not even completely uninterested in it, I've played some Souls before and I'm thinking of going back to it in the future. It sounds like the lore hooks into the gameplay in a thoughtful way and I love its architecture and most of its character designs. It's just difficult for me to get on with the way that game punishes you so strictly and even punishes you for not knowing things it hasn't properly taught you yet.

I think a certain chunk of the Souls community are respectful of this view but there's also a very vocal chunk that, when you try to tell them this, begin talking to you about why the game design is the way it is or suggesting that those design choices are objectively justified. For some, they can't see that even if the design choices have a context and make a good experience for some, that doesn't mean that objecting to them is invalid. There is also at least a small group of people who seem really happy about the idea of the Souls games being this way to gatekeep gaming and decide the legitimacy of gamers. Again, I want to stress that there are a lot of cool, supportive, and understanding people in the Souls community, but I've also had some interactions that have rubbed me up the wrong way and it's hard not to feel swamped by discussion of those games.

People who refuse to experience something for no reason other than "people are really enthusiastic about it" are bad people.

I stand by that always across all forms of media.

I guess I am going to go ahead and do what the main post is describing and go nuts on a few people:

I know you're probably being hyperbolic, but even then, I'm guessing you still didn't spend much time with it. When you're learning the controls, those games can be kind of rough, but it's worth it to stick with it for a little while, once you get the hang of it they are some of the most fun games out there.

It IS a good game, but it takes a while to really get its hooks in you. For me I actually beat it once, was confused as to why it was so insanely popular, then reluctantly played through it again and realized what was actually going on and absolutely loved it. Also, I know I'm probably contributing to you not wanting to play it by saying this, but if you like old school looking RPGs, then you should go ahead and try it, it's pretty great.

Well, P4 is great and all, but if you want an even easier (and better in my opinion) experience, just go ahead and skip 4 and go to 5. P5 has streamlined practically everything and made combat was easier as well. I think the UI is massively improved from 3, but to be honest, I don't really remember was the interface from 3 really looks like, so what do I know.

Minesweeper is a great game! It's actually my go-to podcast game. I remember playing it when I was younger, not really understanding it, and slowly but surely I started to learn the rules and how to play it. I don't remember when it clicked for me, but now I play it all the freaking time.

Completely agree, even though I am sure I have been guilty of this at some point in time.

I'm a victim of hype aversion from time to time. Undertale is probably the most recent and obvious choice. There's a point in which you're being criticized for not playing a game and thinking a certain way that feels a bit cultish. And then if you dogo along with the crowd and play it and don't like it as much as them?

God save you.

There's nothing more annoying than being told your feelings are wrong. You didn't hate this movie/book/game because you thought it was bad. You hated it because you didn't experience it right. Nah. Nah all over.

I did end up getting Undertale a week or so ago, because my daughter (who has never played it) is obsessed with it through friends at school. I played it for maybe an hour. It has some OK music so far, but it's not blowing me away. And that's the problem. I've gone in expecting it to blow me away instead of thinking "this game sounds pretty cool, I'll check it out". But I'm still early. I'm open to be blown away still.

The game that has sort of taken that throne is PUBG. That game is ubiquitous. It seems cool to me, even as a person who very much does not engage in any kind of online multiplayer. I like high stakes games, which is where my current obsession with Roguelikes/lites/likelites sprouted from. But I do not, in general, buy into Early Access.

I have been guilty of the other side, effusively praising a game in effort to spread the enjoyment. So I get it. I want everyone to love The Witcher 3, Spelunky, and Deadly Premonition. But they're not all going to. And that's OK.

Then again, if everybody loved them I would probably start to be turned off by it, because brains are weird.

I think this is a somewhat good explanation for this phenomenon; why someone might be turned off of a game before they even play it. Pressure. Being told something is the greatest thing ever can also leave someone skeptical to such claims and can sway their outlook before they even have a chance to experience it on their own. It’s not uncommon in this scenario for one to go into a game not wanting to like it (as absurd as that sounds.) whereas if they were never exposed to an outside opinion they might go in not trying to pick it apart.

-UNDER PRESSURE NINJA APPROVED-

The Last of Us. I played it for a while, got stuck at a point and put it down for a while. Came back, and who would've guessed, I was worse at the game and couldn't get past said point. When people hear I haven't beaten it they freak out. I do plan on going back and beating it, but I've since let the story get spoiled for me so it's lower on my list.

Portal (on my list) is another one....Persona games, but I really dislike the writing and tropes in those games.

Player Unknown's Battlegrounds. I recognize its the game of the moment but I just don't see how I could ever have as much fun playing it as I do watching the Giant Bomb or Waypoint crew instead.

Generally, if I hear a lot of praise for a game, I give it a shot. I don't really understand the hipster mindset that avoids good games just because they are popular.

I don't really care if recommending Undertale and NieR: Automata makes a few people want to avoid those games. If fans weren't talking them up, most people would probably never know they exist.

@bigsocrates: Horizon is like 20-25 hours long; if you're going to play games that's not much of a commitment; pretty laughable that half the staff won't play it until GoTY time.

@tineaus: Golden Sun is a pretty mediocre JRPG, people just played it when they were 8.

only like 2 people i know IRL reccomend me games, and they're both casuals, so it's stuff like fallout 4, battlefield 1, overwatch, rainbow six seige, etc, etc

on forums, it's always weird games like persona 5, horizon, and neir automata getting HUGE praise, most recently everyone is talking about how good those 2 are and i'm going to give into the peer pressure when the price drops. I don't care how much a game is hyped up, i'm not paying 60 bucks for a game lol

Not exactly recent, but The Last of Us is one that I refused to give its day in court. I was at peak zombie exhaustion and could not fathom how a game set in a zombie apocalypse could appeal to me. on top of my not being too keen on stealth/survival-based games to begin with.

I mean that's still a significant commitment. I'll get to it eventually, but I finished Zelda and then I ended up playing Shadow of Mordor for reasons and I'm just not sure I'm up for another open world game that's probably going to take me a few weeks to get through at the rate I play games (and I'm sure I'll go for at least some of the optional stuff and bump that length up.)

I am not a professional gamesman and I don't feel the need to play it at any particular time. I will get to it.

Jeez, dad, get off my back, ok? The lawn will be mowed, okay? Just relax. Have another beer.

Completely understand. Even though Shadow of Mordor GOTY edition is on sale right now for an insanely low price I am hesitant to get it knowing I'm playing a massive open world game like the Witcher 3 currently. It's the same reason I don't play a game like Darksouls then immediately jump into something like Bloodborne after. Even if both games are amazing it's easy (probably more so with open world games than anything else.) to have "burnout."

-OPEN WORLD BURN OUT NINJA APPROVED-

When the enthusiasm for a game turns into, "I can't believe you haven't played (insert game)! You're missing out and whatever else you're playing is not as worthy so just play it now!" that's when it gets annoying. The weird pressure from the gaming community to play every single good game is tough because the reality is most of us don't have time to experience everything so naturally we're going to all miss something here or there.

With that said, I need to finish MGSV because I know I'll enjoy the rest of it, but the likelihood of playing it again keeps getting smaller and smaller.

Half-Life series

Uncharted series

League of Legends

It's even more daunting when you consider the slew of big name AAA critically acclaimed games that have already released this year. Zelda, Resident Evil 7, Nier: Automata, Persona 5, Horizon Zero Dawn, and more.

-WHERE'S THE TIME!? NINJA APPROVED-

Souls games. I've played an hour of Bloodborne. I know that isn't what most consider "enough" to get it. But I know what I like and even more I know what I dislike, and I dislike pretty much everything about that game. I hate the look and feel of the world and characters/creatures, I hate the speed at which it moves, I hate having my actions governed by a stamina meter, and I hate games that punish the player that much. I can make these points and still be told I just don't get it though. I'm just wrong and I'm missing out. Whatevs. There's barely enough time for me to play games I actually want to play.

Ori and the Blind Forest. I finally played and they were right !

This is exactly what I feel about that series/style of game

I made a list of games a while ago that I'm embarrassed I haven't played. Most of those probably qualify as things "people have told me to play"

https://www.giantbomb.com/profile/slag/lists/holes-in-the-gaming-resume/359931/

but usually because of the volume of games I play, I've already at least tried most of what people get hype for. So I'm usually someone who extols the game than the other way around. Never pressure people though, that's a good way to turn somebody off the game.

As soneone who really, really likes the themes that Nier touches on, I honestly don't think it does a very good job at getting its point across. I was hopefuly in the beginning, when they revealed that the robots are smart and have feelings, because it left the doors wide open for them to go farther into exploring the ramifications of that reality. Except, they just kinda... don't. It never really goes beyond that.

I know Austin did a podcast about it and I want to listen to that, since Austin is an immensely smart dude and I really respect his opinions, but I came away from 60 hours of that game feeling like it only explored about 1% of what it needed to. It's like Blade Runner, if Blade Runner had sick combat, more ass shots and whinier characters.

There's a weird ongoing thread I see with people and Undertale. Those who only play the opening hour or 2, hate it/just don't care for it, and stop playing. Then there's the other people who keep going and end up loving it. For such a fantastic game, it's really disappointing to see that the beginning is the biggest hurdle for people to enjoy it.

And as far as "games people gush about and say to play", Shadow of Mordor and The Witcher 3 are the only two recent examples I can think of. I have only played the witcher 2 and didn't care for it, so I have no idea if I'd actually like the 3rd iteration. I have a copy of it on steam, and am just waiting till I get a 1070 or 1080 later this year to play it. On the flip side, I bought Mordor almost immediately coming off the quick looks and podcasts here on Gb of it. The staff went so gaga over it, and I usually line up with their tastes. Unfortunately it never clicked in the way it did for so many other people.

I thought the combat was lackluster, the movement was just as bad as Assassin's creed, the environment was so dull (that point most people can agree on), the story was a nonstarter, and the nemesis system (while really freakin cool) did not instill that personal touch that everyone talked about. I almost never remembered a face or name, so when I came across an enemy again who knew me, I just kinda scratched my head and dispacthed him. I really do wish it would've clicked with me. I ended up buying it off the steam sale for a few dollars, so I plan to give it another try at some point.

@themanwithnoplan: Which point of the game is considered the turn? Because my experience seemingly lines up with that thread.

World of Warcraft, Dragon Age Origins.

I can't recall more specific examples to be honest, but I'm very picky with games as it is. Not just gameplay wise only, just generally if I don't like the game's style or aesthetic chances are I'd never even touch it.