This question popped into my head when I was playing Void Stranger. I just got done with the game and will probably never play it again despite not finishing it. The game is genuinely amazing but it just gets so demanding as you progress through it. I ended up watching the second half of the game on YouTube.
What is your favorite game that you feel is really cool and special but you never felt the pull of actually finishing it, and why?
I think what you’re describing is how I felt with Hollow Knight. When I set it down for the last time (so far), I did so knowing I would probably never return to finish it.
I don’t get a lot of time to game, and the time I get is punctuated by months of hiatus each year. Any game that’s too long, too difficult, or too complicated to pick back up quickly after I’ve been gone awhile is not a good fit for me.
I was too far along in the game to even consider starting over, not to mention that a lot of the magic would be lost. But I was also far enough along that I know I don’t want to put the effort into relearning the mechanics, figuring out what I’m supposed to be doing, and having to re-explore everything.
Granted, by the time I stopped playing, it had already grown tedious and I wasn’t enjoying it much anyway. It stopped being rewarding was just mostly just punishing at a certain point.
After I set Hollow Knight aside, I found other games that I liked better and were more accommodating to my circumstances (ex: Hades). And now, even if I did want some more time with Hollow Knight, I’d honestly just wait for the upcoming sequel / prequel / whatever it’s going to be (Silksong).
I went through the same thing with Dark Souls. Got it because of its reputation of difficulty, saw it was as I expected mostly pattern memorization but also was put off by the game simply refusing to tell you anything about anything. Got to the Gaping Dragon and quit for about a year. DS3 then came out and I gave DS1 another go, finally clicked. Beat it. Beat 2. Bought 3 beat it, got its dlc then beat those. I now have all those games and the only one I haven’t beaten is Sekiro. But I’m not going to say I will never beat it. Owl will be my bitch someday…
This also happened to me. Spent a week getting through Path of Pain only to die on the last hit from the two dudes at the end. I just turned it off and by that point I had advanced far enough to beat the game but just never did. I got the gist of it and my time is now too valuable to go back and relive the trauma of fighting those bosses…
I actually had a similar experience with Hollow Knight where I had to stop playing for a while and when I picked it back up I forgot where I was and where I’m going, so I had to start all over. It was really worth it imo, because the end sections of the game are insanely cool. But I can understand not wanting to repeat ~10-20 hours again.
I fucking loved Hollow Knight but I put it down right before finishing it and… god… I’d have to start all over again T_T