When I was a kid, my view of what was and wasn’t a “good” game was very simple, I think. It’s difficult to accurately remember that far back, but I have this impression that I thought games were either good or bad. What I mean is that I thought there were games like Ocarina of Time that everyone loved and games like, uh, I dunno Bubsy 3D that absolutely nobody liked. It sounds ridiculous now, of course, but then time has a way of putting things into proper perspective, doesn’t it?

I got to thinking about this because I started trying to play Yakuza 0 recently after years of getting pushed to play it by my friends. They’re all super-fans of the series and talked my ear off about how amazing and zany the games are; saying that there’s absolutely no way that I won’t absolutely love it. So, I started it and…I don’t love it. I can see why they like it and why it’s a good game, but for me it’s just not. I’d actually rather not continue playing it to be honest.

I’ve had this happen a few times over the years. My friends will go on and on about how amazing some game is and how I absolutely have to play it, and I’ll wind up either only mildly enjoying it or even regretting my purchase. The odd thing is that none have been games that I’d call bad. The stories should be interesting and/or the mechanics should be fun, but the game just doesn’t click all the same.

I’m sure that part of it is some sort of emotional resistance to liking it. I don’t know about you, but getting a game constantly or consistently pushed at me tends to turn me off to it rather than make me want to play it. Yet, I feel like that shouldn’t last into actually playing the game. Once you’re in it, it should be able to win you over if it’s actually good. That’s not my experience though.

I’m starting to think that timing and some measure of openness is needed in order for you to actually get into whatever game you might be playing. You either need to be in the mood for whatever genre it is, or there has to be some sort of anticipation for it beforehand. Going into a game cold (or worse) is typically not going to yield a good experience, I think. The same goes for series expectations.

Like, if you enjoy The Legend of Zelda for its mostly linear structure and well-designed and intricate dungeons, you’re probably not going to be receptive to a “Zelda” that’s mostly focused on exploration and open world-style “emergent” gameplay. It might be fine in other games, but in Zelda, it’s a turn-off. Of course, one also isn’t going to suddenly start liking a certain genre or design structure if they’ve never enjoyed it before.

Some other examples for me would be games like Crypt of the Necrodancer or Hi-Fi Rush. Both of these games released to rave reviews across the board and absolutely do have the qualities to back it up. I went so far as to try them both out thanks to demos and Game Pass. And…I’m not a fan. I don’t dislike rhythm games, but for some reason the combination of rhythm and action just turns me off.

Like if I’m going to adventure or fight, I’d rather just do that and not have to worry about what (to me) feels like an unnecessary gimmick. I really wanted to like Hi-Fi Rush too; I went through a good few hours of it waiting for that moment when it would all click and I’d really start enjoying it properly, but it just didn’t happen. I can absolutely see the appeal; both games are certainly something novel and different, but they just aren’t for me.

I’ve got this feeling too that this is something to keep in mind when reading/ watching game reviews. Even though the reviewer typically does their best to remain impartial, those preferences and biases are going to creep-in regardless. They won’t (usually) result in a truly bad game getting a good score or vice-versa, but it’s important that we not take any reviewers impression as an absolute measure of a game. After all, what might be annoying and frustrating to them could very well be the kind of thing you enjoy most about a certain genre or series. Yeah, as it turns out, good games aren’t “good” to everyone.

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What are some games that everyone seems to love, but you can’t be bothered with? What is it that puts you off about them?

Image from the Yakuza 0 Steam page