Objectively good games, that just were not for you.
- Thread starter Secretofmateria
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With Unreal Engine and Unity, there seem to be more well made games these days than ever before. Unfortunately, good game designers are a dime a dozen imo. So I feel like most games I just don't like, that are well made aren't just very good design wise. Its like TV nowadays. There is so much demand for long form media that most of can be well produced and has big budgets, but a lot of it is just not very good. Bad or generic writing that goes no where. But good enough to at least keep you slightly engaged, but not great.
If we're taking "objectively good" to mean "commonly thought of as good" then I'll say every mainline Mario/Zelda game post-SNES/pre-Switch except Mario Galaxy 1. Mario 64 was such a downer once I got past the various technical wonders of the N64 and it just got worse from there. I liked the various Metroid Prime games quite a bit less than their previous versions as well but I could at least see what they were going for there.
For me, the critically-acclaimed games that I didn't enjoy:
- Witcher 3: The story was first-rate, but the gameplay did nothing for me.
- Persona 5: Unlikeable characters and an underwhelming plot quickly ended my curiosity about the series.
- Kingdom Hearts 3: I was just in it for the Disney characters. Fun, disposable entertainment nonetheless.
- TLoZ Skyward Sword: There was an interesting game buried under mountains of filler. And Fi was more annoying than Navi voiced by Fran Drescher.
- Witcher 3: The story was first-rate, but the gameplay did nothing for me.
- Persona 5: Unlikeable characters and an underwhelming plot quickly ended my curiosity about the series.
- Kingdom Hearts 3: I was just in it for the Disney characters. Fun, disposable entertainment nonetheless.
- TLoZ Skyward Sword: There was an interesting game buried under mountains of filler. And Fi was more annoying than Navi voiced by Fran Drescher.
I agree. I don't get how anyone could play a Bethesda game and think it's a good game. Like I'm happy if you enjoy them, but I could never call them good games.
See I think there are objectively bad games like those that constantly crash soon after you boot them or those were every aspect of the design doesn't work correctly. Basically, asset flip trash on steam.
Definitely Cuphead. It seems to be mostly universally praised; I tried to like it but I can't help but see it as a good looking game with really terrible gameplay. I honestly think that if you took the art out of the game and just left the graphics as abstract shapes the game would be equivalent to some form of torture.
^ Also this. Especially in the games without any historical or real-world context.
^ Also this. Especially in the games without any historical or real-world context.
I find it very strange that many of you are reading "objectively good" to refer to general popular consensus when for me, the more interesting scenario—to which I thought this thread was referring—is when you personally recognize good design that you're not in a position to enjoy (due to genre preferences, mechanical limitations, disability or discomfort, not playing games at the right time or in the right order to appreciate their innovations, or whatever else). That's how I understood the question: when you can say, "This is great design and I wish I were the audience for it."
Because, as a lifelong Nintendo player since the NES, that's where I sit with both SM64 and OoT. These are games I respect more than like. Their contributions to game design are unfathomable, and I am still awestruck by just how much they got right on the first try. But I just find them impossible to love—not only because I've found them outstripped in every way by their successors in their respective 3D series, but also out of a long-held antipathy to the garish 3D takeover of the late 1990s. I've returned to both of them several times with fresh eyes and my opinion hasn't wavered: they're important to study out of historical interest and I enjoy them well enough, but I'll never be bedazzled by them the way I was by Super Mario Galaxy or The Wind Waker (or for that matter, Majora's Mask).
Because, as a lifelong Nintendo player since the NES, that's where I sit with both SM64 and OoT. These are games I respect more than like. Their contributions to game design are unfathomable, and I am still awestruck by just how much they got right on the first try. But I just find them impossible to love—not only because I've found them outstripped in every way by their successors in their respective 3D series, but also out of a long-held antipathy to the garish 3D takeover of the late 1990s. I've returned to both of them several times with fresh eyes and my opinion hasn't wavered: they're important to study out of historical interest and I enjoy them well enough, but I'll never be bedazzled by them the way I was by Super Mario Galaxy or The Wind Waker (or for that matter, Majora's Mask).
First off: I'm gonna go with the idea that the OP is more or less wanting us to post about games that we give a lot of credit to in their experience as a whole package but we, for whatever reason, still fail to enjoy. I don't believe in "objectively" good art.
Red Dead Redemption II has a ton that I absolutely adore about it but playing it is a slog to me. Like, I have a better time watching someone play it than taking the controls myself. I overall really respect the clear level of work that went into it but just can't stand to play it. When I'm watching it, I feel like it's absolutely captivating and beautiful and well-crafted; when I'm actually playing it, I'm always feeling like I actively want to disengage with it.
I love From's Souls games but I bounced off of Sekiro. I generally like stealth games and character action games too, and I feel like Sekiro clearly takes Souls foundation and leans it in both of those directions a bit, and I theoretically should love Sekiro but my patience with that game is super low for some reason. I intend to try again someday, so I'm maybe not fully convinced that it's not for me just yet. I'm still very eager to like this game, but at launch I just could not really get into it and found myself becoming overwhelmingly frustrated with it too frequently to continue trying to play it.
Red Dead Redemption II has a ton that I absolutely adore about it but playing it is a slog to me. Like, I have a better time watching someone play it than taking the controls myself. I overall really respect the clear level of work that went into it but just can't stand to play it. When I'm watching it, I feel like it's absolutely captivating and beautiful and well-crafted; when I'm actually playing it, I'm always feeling like I actively want to disengage with it.
I love From's Souls games but I bounced off of Sekiro. I generally like stealth games and character action games too, and I feel like Sekiro clearly takes Souls foundation and leans it in both of those directions a bit, and I theoretically should love Sekiro but my patience with that game is super low for some reason. I intend to try again someday, so I'm maybe not fully convinced that it's not for me just yet. I'm still very eager to like this game, but at launch I just could not really get into it and found myself becoming overwhelmingly frustrated with it too frequently to continue trying to play it.
I JUST made a long ass post in the eShop thread about Witcher 3. So I'lll repost it here:
Okay, I played he Witcher 3 for a couple of hours. I don't like it.
While I was playing it I kept thinking it to other games I'd rather be playing...
1. Xenoblade Chronicles X. Exploring this world was so cool and fun. The monsters were awesome, you have this ridiculously long jump, you don't take fall damage. In the first 30 minutes of Witcher III I fell from tall heights like 4 times and had to sit and wait for the game to reload. So annoying. Going crazy and exploring everywhere is what open worlds are all about. I hated moving in Witcher 3. It was nowhere near as fun as Xenoblade X. In Breath of the WIld you have this awesome glider to mitigate fall damage. In Witcher, if you see something cool off in the distance, you just have to walk there.... carefully. So boring.
2. Astral Chain. The combat was totally okay fine in Witcher. But like, after playing Astral Chain, this just feels so.... blah. Witcher feels so unexciting and dull after playing something as flashy and involved as Astral Chain. If I wanted a fun action combat game with numbers flying off enemies and critical strike numbers... I'd rather just play more Astral Chain.
3. Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I know Witcher 3 is a scaled down version of an amazing looking game. I am NOT a graphics snob by any standard.But yeah, I thought Witcher 3 just looked bad and ugly in enviornments. It's NOT an attractive game on the Switch (I was playing portable, didn't even dock it once to see how it looked on TV). But yeah. Xenoblade 2 is also a scaled down game on the Switch screen with FPS issues too, but man, it's so much more bright and colorful compared to Witcher. Compared to Astral Chain which looks AMAZING on the portable screen, really nothing looked attractive in the Witcher in portable mode.
4. Dragon's Dogma. In DD you got to switch your class and change your weapons and costume and see different things equiped on your character. I couldn't get over in Witcher 3 you only have a sword and some magic spells and.... that's it. Realizing that I'm never going to get change weapons like bows or maces or some other medevial weapon kinda sucks. Like after 2 hours of the game I'm like: yup, I'm going to be swinging these swords and doing these combos for the next 100 hours if I keep playing this! That didn't sound fun.
What I did enjoy about Witcher:
The story seems very very interesting. (but the voice acting for Geralt is terrible. He sounds like a wannabe Solid Snake/David Hayter. That gruff voice was so off-putting. No way I could listen to him talk for a 100 hour game)
The music is so so nice. I'll probably listen to the OST while working on my computer in the future.
WELL THAT'S IT. I FINALLY PLAYED THE WITCHER 3! I'm glad I did! I'm really happy I got to see what all the love/hype was about. It seems like a very cool game! I'll be happy to sell it to someone else to enjoy and love.
Okay, I played he Witcher 3 for a couple of hours. I don't like it.
While I was playing it I kept thinking it to other games I'd rather be playing...
1. Xenoblade Chronicles X. Exploring this world was so cool and fun. The monsters were awesome, you have this ridiculously long jump, you don't take fall damage. In the first 30 minutes of Witcher III I fell from tall heights like 4 times and had to sit and wait for the game to reload. So annoying. Going crazy and exploring everywhere is what open worlds are all about. I hated moving in Witcher 3. It was nowhere near as fun as Xenoblade X. In Breath of the WIld you have this awesome glider to mitigate fall damage. In Witcher, if you see something cool off in the distance, you just have to walk there.... carefully. So boring.
2. Astral Chain. The combat was totally okay fine in Witcher. But like, after playing Astral Chain, this just feels so.... blah. Witcher feels so unexciting and dull after playing something as flashy and involved as Astral Chain. If I wanted a fun action combat game with numbers flying off enemies and critical strike numbers... I'd rather just play more Astral Chain.
3. Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I know Witcher 3 is a scaled down version of an amazing looking game. I am NOT a graphics snob by any standard.But yeah, I thought Witcher 3 just looked bad and ugly in enviornments. It's NOT an attractive game on the Switch (I was playing portable, didn't even dock it once to see how it looked on TV). But yeah. Xenoblade 2 is also a scaled down game on the Switch screen with FPS issues too, but man, it's so much more bright and colorful compared to Witcher. Compared to Astral Chain which looks AMAZING on the portable screen, really nothing looked attractive in the Witcher in portable mode.
4. Dragon's Dogma. In DD you got to switch your class and change your weapons and costume and see different things equiped on your character. I couldn't get over in Witcher 3 you only have a sword and some magic spells and.... that's it. Realizing that I'm never going to get change weapons like bows or maces or some other medevial weapon kinda sucks. Like after 2 hours of the game I'm like: yup, I'm going to be swinging these swords and doing these combos for the next 100 hours if I keep playing this! That didn't sound fun.
What I did enjoy about Witcher:
The story seems very very interesting. (but the voice acting for Geralt is terrible. He sounds like a wannabe Solid Snake/David Hayter. That gruff voice was so off-putting. No way I could listen to him talk for a 100 hour game)
The music is so so nice. I'll probably listen to the OST while working on my computer in the future.
WELL THAT'S IT. I FINALLY PLAYED THE WITCHER 3! I'm glad I did! I'm really happy I got to see what all the love/hype was about. It seems like a very cool game! I'll be happy to sell it to someone else to enjoy and love.
I think things like objectively good are possible, but they still might not appeal to me. Games that are successful in their major intentions and their audience enjoys should probably be considered good. The idea that if a game doesn't appeal to me it must be bad is a pretty myopic way to look at this stuff and pretty dismissive of others peoples tastes.
As for the question, I didn't like Mario Odyssey at all. I gave it about four hours, I can see and feel that it is well made and if someone is up for some 3d puzzle platforming it will probably be great for them. Its just not my thing.
As for the question, I didn't like Mario Odyssey at all. I gave it about four hours, I can see and feel that it is well made and if someone is up for some 3d puzzle platforming it will probably be great for them. Its just not my thing.
People love Kojima games and I can see the appeal, but his writing makes no sense to me and I hate stealth combat.
Basically any Souls or Souls-like game. I can see the appeal and I love watching people play through the games, but I don't ever see myself playing them. I tried Dark Souls 2 and hated every second of its tanky, slow controls.
Souls games. I beat a few bosses and then lose interest every time. I just don't like playing them
I totally get the appeal though
I totally get the appeal though
Ah, perfect. A thread for me. I just started Planescape Torment tonight. I'd been looking forward to playing it for years. I didn't grow up playing CRPGs, so I have no nostalgia for these systems. I struggled to even push myself to play for 90 mins. I really like the character interactions and the lore, but I'm uncertain that I can continue. It really feels like a chore to play. I checked my map in one of the areas, and the game crashed. Dunno if I'll go back.
If I don't like something I have clearly defined reasons 99% of the time. If I consider something a "bad game" I have clearly defined reasons 100% of the time. The good thing is it's all opinion. Of the examples in the OP, I can say I found Bioshock to be incredibly unenjoyable despite its glowing reviews and word of mouth at the time. And I fimrly believe my opinion and experience is just as valid as someone who found it intensely enjoyable.
Sounds like you just value art that appeals to other people, even if it doesn't appeal to yourself. I don't see how that gets you to calling it objectively good though.
Witcher 3. I find Geralt so completely unrelatable that I can't get into to. His voice sounds bored to me half the time.
Uncharted 4.
It won a ton of "best of the year" awards, got amazing reviews, and is pretty much loved the world over, but I just didn't like it. I wasn't a fan of the writing, and yeah, I thought the pacing was really weird. It felt like it took an eternity to finish.
I'm definitely in the minority here, but I just didn't dig it at all. I loved The Lost Legacy though, so go figure.
It won a ton of "best of the year" awards, got amazing reviews, and is pretty much loved the world over, but I just didn't like it. I wasn't a fan of the writing, and yeah, I thought the pacing was really weird. It felt like it took an eternity to finish.
I'm definitely in the minority here, but I just didn't dig it at all. I loved The Lost Legacy though, so go figure.
Animal Crossing. I just don't like the need of playing it pretty much every day, missing events due to timing, and just general lack of gameplay that interests me. I can totally see why its popular though, and wish I could get myself into enjoying it but after 3 attempts over 3 gens I know its not for me, so I won't be grabbing the Switch version.
Sticking with Nintendo, Pokemon. I have the whole 2 version thing, and upon replaying Fire Red I just didn't really have much fun with the game (while I enjoyed other RPGs like Tenchi Wo Kurau 2 and Sweet Home). Guess the formula isn't for me, pity as I really wanted to do a run on Gold/Silver one of these days.
Dead Space 2 is a game I have a really bizarre love/hate relationship with. What I thought was definitely bad in the game - the story was stupid nonsense. What I absolutely adore in the game - the graphics, setting, action etc. but what completely kills the game for me is a seemingly lack of a dodge button. Frustrates me so bad in later areas to the point of hating the game, despite recognising that the game is in fact pretty damn amazing otherwise. This is the one that annoys me the most, because if not for the dodge issue it'd be easily one of my favourite horror games of all time.
Sticking with Nintendo, Pokemon. I have the whole 2 version thing, and upon replaying Fire Red I just didn't really have much fun with the game (while I enjoyed other RPGs like Tenchi Wo Kurau 2 and Sweet Home). Guess the formula isn't for me, pity as I really wanted to do a run on Gold/Silver one of these days.
Dead Space 2 is a game I have a really bizarre love/hate relationship with. What I thought was definitely bad in the game - the story was stupid nonsense. What I absolutely adore in the game - the graphics, setting, action etc. but what completely kills the game for me is a seemingly lack of a dodge button. Frustrates me so bad in later areas to the point of hating the game, despite recognising that the game is in fact pretty damn amazing otherwise. This is the one that annoys me the most, because if not for the dodge issue it'd be easily one of my favourite horror games of all time.
RDR2
I'm used to shorter gaming sessions due to my erratic college + work schedule so I don't have the time or patience to learn the ins and outs of a game unless Im enjoying it really much.
I couldn't get into the RDR2 controls or cinematic style - it bored me how slow Arthur was so much that I found myself wanting to return to Spiderman or Zelda (or something that gave me a lot of freedom and mobility)
Games that make world traversal fun and engaging just feel like less of a chore to me, so I really couldn't get into RDR2 despite it being an objectively excellent game.
I'm used to shorter gaming sessions due to my erratic college + work schedule so I don't have the time or patience to learn the ins and outs of a game unless Im enjoying it really much.
I couldn't get into the RDR2 controls or cinematic style - it bored me how slow Arthur was so much that I found myself wanting to return to Spiderman or Zelda (or something that gave me a lot of freedom and mobility)
Games that make world traversal fun and engaging just feel like less of a chore to me, so I really couldn't get into RDR2 despite it being an objectively excellent game.
Immersive sims in general. They are praised, but not for me. I really tried to like Dishonored. But I couldn't play the way it felt intended, which made my own plays feel cumbersome and cheesy.
But I can see, Dishonored is a great game, far from thinking it sucks, it is just not for me.
But I can see, Dishonored is a great game, far from thinking it sucks, it is just not for me.
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That's not how 'objectively' works.
doom. im not that into first person shooters, not enough to enjoy a purely gameplay based one anyway.
Probably the Witcher 3. I just could not get into it due to the controls, but I recognize that it is an objectively good RPG.
This, but I didn't find it too weird, just superficially dark and grotesque like sketches from a goth highschooler's notebook. I want to give it another shot but the aesthetic doesn't do it any favors.
Ocarina of Time ( I only got up to Gerudo Valley, even on 3DS; love BOTW though)
Metroid Prime (bought it twice on Gamecube, nah)
DMC5 (finished it, but I was bored. I prefer Bayonetta)
Smash (played enough single player on Meleé and U and played with friends even 8 player but still prefer traditional 1v1 fighters)
MGSV (felt like it dragged)
THPS series (i got no explanation for this)
Half Life 2 (but I liked HL1)
Gran Turismo (I prefer arcade racers)
Metroid Prime (bought it twice on Gamecube, nah)
DMC5 (finished it, but I was bored. I prefer Bayonetta)
Smash (played enough single player on Meleé and U and played with friends even 8 player but still prefer traditional 1v1 fighters)
MGSV (felt like it dragged)
THPS series (i got no explanation for this)
Half Life 2 (but I liked HL1)
Gran Turismo (I prefer arcade racers)
Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
It just seems to go on forever and the characters aren't terribly likable.
Its just everything a good JRPG should.. just too much.
It just seems to go on forever and the characters aren't terribly likable.
Its just everything a good JRPG should.. just too much.
