Games Given Up - Rare

I've got a huge completionism tendency which if I don't have the drive to 100% a game, I'll at least try and finish it. That is why this list stands out because it is not easy for a game to let me want to move on. So with that, here's a list of games I couldn't complete and a small blurb about why (or as best as I can remember). Ranking loosely follows my "let-down," factor for what I thought I'd like vs how I actually felt, or how much I turned around on a game that caught me at first.

List items

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  1. Elden Ring

  That's right, Elden Ring... Starts off great but gets long in the tooth... reeaall long in the tooth. Elden Ring took my favorite part of Dark Souls and totally went against the grain with it... a game about fighting tooth and nail about fighting for every inch of ground as you're struck with awe at every twist and turn... and just stretched it out to an open world where there is so much copy pasting and you have to really hunt for anything interesting... even then, the bosses in the second half are just giants with the least tight combat mechanics I've experienced in SoulsBorne games.. just AOEs and screen filling particles with the camera fighting the player to the point you can't even enjoy the art design of the boss. Started feeling like I was going to get no more from this game at a point in a part of my life where time is slightly limited and full of a variety of hobbies. A drop for me which is sad because there many different theory crafting and interesting weapons to use.... just not enough of an interesting world and enemies to use them in and against.

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  2. SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech

  Bland, uninteresting and mechanics don't progress enough to maintain interest. Pulling off the same tactics in fight after fight of same enemies is just not enough to keep me going. New character came in too far into the game and didn't change the game enough to want to keep going. It's a very *meh* game.

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  3. Totally Reliable Delivery Service

  Really wanted to like it but the controls and quality-of-life features just aren't there. A lot of pop-in, not enough freedom to just have fun in co-op, and traversal is far too finicky. Still got some good laughs out of it with my partner on our first (and most likely only) session.

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  4. Mages of Mystralia

  This one was totally fine but a bit slow. Some potentially interesting mechanics that I don't think I saw to fruition. It just doesn't do enough to *hook* me and keep me wanting more. I just played it on vacation and once that ended I never returned to the game. (Would be a great game for a young player expanding out)