Games that you respect but aren't your thing

[Quillion]

What are some individual games, series, or genres that you think deserve to be influential or to have a fandom but you can't personally bring yourself to play or enjoy?

For me, I respect stealth games since games like Metal Gear and Hitman have done a lot to advance things like video game storytelling and diversify games beyond just "rush in and kill". But I just can't enjoy stealth in games personally, not even "stealth sections" in non-stealth games.

I also have this attitude towards "linear cinematic games", as I think they are fine enough artistic statements. I've just fell out of love with their mostly handholdy natures, and I much prefer "linear atmospheric games" for their combo of focused gameplay and illusion of player agency.

 

[nirvanafan]

Metroid & mainline Pokemon are 2 off the top of my head that stand out for me.

 

[fogbadge]

Portal probably

 

[Perkilator]

Most traditional fighting games. Basically, I like everything about them except having to actually do the command inputs. Luckily, Street Fighter 6 seems to be solving this problem by giving the option between a Modern control style and the Classic control style.

 

[Champion of Hyrule]

Dark Souls and Silent Hill. Both have very difficult gameplay which I think I don’t really like but I respect what it does for the industry. Atmosphere is obviously top notch.

 

[StrangeKitten]

(Probably a very hot take but) Minecraft. I've never liked how it looks, to the point of just having no interest in playing it myself. The style it goes for is ugly and cheap-looking in my opinion, which was excusable when it was a small indie game. I wish it had been given a strong glow-up when it made it big.

 

[Quillion]

Most traditional fighting games. Basically, I like everything about them except having to actually do the command inputs. Luckily, Street Fighter 6 seems to be solving this problem by giving the option between a Modern control style and the Classic control style.

The main issue with command inputs is that they're built for arcade-style controllers rather than conventional SNES/PS1-style controllers built for home consoles. If you can shell out for a fight stick, allegedly even pretzeling isn't that bad.

When I used to play MUGEN, even a literal QWERTY keyboard worked better than a handheld controller.
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I must also confess that I don't really appreciate role-playing games with a lot of number-crunching, like you have to decide where to allocate your stat points, decide which equipments give you the best builds, and decide which skills give you the best % of damage.

Seriously, I'd love to play a Souls-like game where you still have to dodge to avoid enemy attacks that hurt but unshackled from all of that building.

 

[Master Hero Sock-on-Rye]

Speaking for myself, I actually like speculating on, and collecting games, more than actually playing them.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Honestly many turn based role playing games have incredible art, great stories, and genuine depth with their combat and mechanics. But if they don't have timed hits as part of the battles, I simply find it very difficult to get into them. Selecting an attack and simply watching it play out with no visceral button involvement after simply isn't satisfying. As someone far too accustomed to the direct player vs enemy interaction of a platformer, there's simply too much of disconnect in the mechanics of various RPG's to get into them. I know for many that's a feature not a bug; the entire point is one of tactics and utilizing a combination of smart builds and understandings of stats to succeed. However for me it just doesn't end up being compelling unless there's action commands to bring me in.

 

[Quillion]

Honestly many turn based role playing games have incredible art, great stories, and genuine depth with their combat and mechanics. But if they don't have timed hits as part of the battles, I simply find it very difficult to get into them. Selecting an attack and simply watching it play out with no visceral button involvement after simply isn't satisfying. As someone far too accustomed to the direct player vs enemy interaction of a platformer, there's simply too much of disconnect in the mechanics of various RPG's to get into them. I know for many that's a feature not a bug; the entire point is one of tactics and utilizing a combination of smart builds and understandings of stats to succeed. However for me it just doesn't end up being compelling unless there's action commands to bring me in.

IMO, turn-based RPGs are absolute king in one situation: controlling multiple characters. If you have control of multiple characters outside of turn-based gameplay, you'll almost always have to cede control to the CPU, and that's not full control.

I think the only thing that comes close in handling multiple-character gameplay is RTS, and that genre tends to be so overwhelming that the genre evolved and simplified into MOBA.

But yeah, for single-character gameplay (which the majority of games have anyway), turn-based can't measure up to action gameplay no matter how you slice it. I'm actually starting to think that Pokémon should make doubles its standard rather than singles for this reason.

 

[Quillion]

Year bump because I remembered this thread...

Princess Peach Showtime. I didn't enjoy playing what I did of the game because one, the core gameplay feels blandly basic, and two, the transformations make the game feel almost Sonic Adventure-tier unfocused.

But at the same time, I actually have a lot of respect for the game because it has a cool stage theme, and it gives Peach a starring role that plays more into distinct fantasies that fit her character. It's kinda like the "be anything" ideal that drives the Barbie franchise to be successful from the end of the 50s to this day.

(Still want a proper Super Princess Peach sequel though, and if the abilities being based on emotions is a problem, just decouple them from emotions and make them tied to something else)