henke on 22/6/2019 at 10:58
I can't remember, but I did struggle to keep playing it as well. I did eventually finish it tho.
Anyway, howlongtobeat says it's just under 7 hours for the main story: (
https://howlongtobeat.com/game.php?id=30385)
Thirith on 22/6/2019 at 12:42
Yeah, I would rather finish it than just skip it and read up what happens or watch a Let's Play. I do think it's the kind of game where making choices yourself does change the experience. At the same time, it does things in terms of gameplay, and in terms of content gating, that I find really grating. It's especially the boss battles, where the game does a terrible job of telling the player whether they're doing the right thing but not enough of it, or they're doing the right thing but not well enough, or they're doing the wrong thing altogether, so when I die and have to replay a battle I have little to go on with respect to whether I need to change my strategy. At that point, the boss battles start feeling random, and that's something I can't abide, because they keep me from continuing. As a result I feel that the game is dicking me around.
Malf on 23/6/2019 at 22:00
So this happened in AC: Origins tonight...
[video=youtube;_QWziRdzR7c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QWziRdzR7c[/video]
Thirith on 24/6/2019 at 06:58
Does anyone else have that thing where sometimes you've got a game that you really like while you're playing it, but you're finding it difficult to get yourself to play it? I'm currently playing Hitman 2 (well, replaying the Hitman (2016) missions leading up to the second game's missions), and I greatly enjoy the game when I'm playing it, but I find that I tend to launch other games instead. Same with Outer Wilds, a lovely game that is right up my street, but most of the time I start another game instead.
On the other hand, I installed XCOM 2 (with the expansion) over the weekend, and I can see myself getting addicted to that one. Outer Wilds and Hitman are much more 'my thing' in most respects, but there's something about XCOM's gameplay loop that pulls me in much more right now. Perhaps it's that at the moment I need the dopamine rush that come with clear-cut small successes, such as a headshot or a perfectly placed grenade.
Sulphur on 24/6/2019 at 07:06
You just described me every single time I look at my games list. It's very much a combination of, 'This is so good I need to save it for later when I can dedicate a few quality hours to it', the undercurrent being that it's going to take, you know, time and effort because of that, and the need for immediate gratification in the present leads to finding a game that doesn't need you to expend so much of both.
Who knew that liking things could end up being work? Anyway, sometimes I manage to slap that feeling aside and get on with it. Much of the time, like in the case of SOMA, I'm extremely glad I did.
henke on 24/6/2019 at 07:19
Hah, yeah I know that feeling, Thirith. In fact I think Hitman was one of those games for me as well. I liked playing it, it's just that... I never felt like playing it. Who knew being a gamer was so complicated. :erg:
Starker on 24/6/2019 at 08:11
I have the opposite problem -- I see a review or a speedrun or a let's play of a game and get the urge to fire it up again, only to lose interest when I start playing. Happened recently with Baldur's Gate and has happened multiple times with Deus Ex and Arcanum.
Sulphur on 24/6/2019 at 08:12
To be fair, all of those games have terrible/boring opening areas that take some investment to power through.
Starker on 24/6/2019 at 08:16
It's a little bit of that, but I think it's more that I'm getting older and games just don't grab me the way they used to. Certainly has been a while since I last pulled an all-nighter to play the newest game.
Thirith on 24/6/2019 at 08:46
henke and Sulphur, I think you both put it very well (I especially like "I liked playing it, it's just that... I never felt like playing it.") And you're absolutely right, Sulphur: some of the games I've enjoyed most were the ones where I had to meet the game halfway, I had to put in an effort, but in the end I was repaid amply for the time and effort I put in. Thief (or rather, Thief 2, since I played the two first games in reverse) was such a game, as were Stalker and Operation Flashpoint.
But yeah, sometimes I need games that offer more immediate rewards, and I get the impression that right now is one of those phases.
