Yes, video games are expensive these days. But I think we still underestimate just how much value a video game can have in terms of the amount of time they can entertain you compared to the amount of money spent on it. If I spend 40 hours with a video game that I spent $70 on, I just paid less than $2 an hour for what I got out of that game. When I compare that to so many things out there, that’s pretty damn good!
Perhaps that is why I don’t view it as that big of a deal if I don’t complete every single game I play. Obviously, my goal is always to complete a game, but sometimes, a whole host of factors can make it tough to carry on with a game. For a lot of people, any game that they don’t complete is probably one that they would consider bad. For me, I can still look back at the hours I put in and recognize that I enjoyed it, and that it was worth my time, just not the amount of time it would take to get to the finish.
But there are those times where it does bug me a bit that I didn’t finish a game. I’ll see dozens of other people on social media talk about why they love a game so much, and I’ll wonder if I missed something. Our mood, what we played last, and other life factors can have massive impacts on how we enjoy a game.
There have been so many great games coming out in recent years that I’ve found it hard to go back and play older games that I didn’t finish back in the day. But I’ve started using December and January as my “catch up” months, where I try and go back and play games that I regret missing out on or that I abandoned for some reason back in the day. The more I do this blog, and now my new podcast, the more games that I have been getting that itch to try to finish that I didn’t before. I’m almost writing this list as much for myself as anything else. Here are ten games that I abandoned that I want to try and play again sometime soon.
10. Baldur’s Gate 3
This one is pretty low on the list because it’s a pretty recent game, and I expect it’ll be a few more years before I really think about giving it another go.
I had no intention of playing Baldur’s Gate 3 back in 2023, as I really don’t enjoy playing games on my computer for very long. It’s just not nearly as comfortable as playing games on my couch. Yes, I’m aware I can probably do some work to play PC games on my TV, but I don’t feel like doing that when I already have consoles. I was also convinced that it would be clunky with a controller, which is why I didn’t want to get it on PS5.
Eventually, the overwhelming hype got the best of me, and I bought the game for my aging gaming laptop. Surprisingly, the game ran pretty well. Perhaps even more surprisingly, I was absolutely hooked. I was hunching over my laptop for hours upon hours, and I was absolutely engaged with just about everything about this game. The amount of choice, the depth of the combat and RPG elements, the excellent characters, and the addictive dice rolls had me completely locked in. Despite how much fun I was having, I wore down in Act 3 and stopped playing. I blamed it on playing it on my PC.
After seeing plenty of people enjoy the game on consoles, I did something that I never do, and bought the game a second time, this time on the PS5. My second playthrough was even more fun than the first. I much preferred playing on my console, and I actually knew what I was doing this time, so many things went way smoother.
And yet, I did it again. I stopped at the exact same point in Act 3, maybe 5 hours in or so, when I was pretty deep into the city. This time,
I couldn’t blame playing it on the PC. Because of this, I had to actually reflect on why I was having a hard time completing the game.
First off, I really don’t enjoy quite a few aspects of Act 3. It’s amazing being in Baldur’s Gate after the long journey there, but I don’t love how they constructed certain aspects of it. I really don’t want to talk to every NPC in the game, as there are tons of them, but you kind of have to, as the game doesn’t clearly define who the quest givers are. Despite many NPCs just having one line, the game will still switch to its cutscene mode for the conversations. It really bogs things down.
You also start facing a lot of big decisions in Act 3, and a lot of them are just depressing. I enjoy difficult decisions, but a lot of Act 3 decisions felt like they boiled down to “would you rather cut out one of your eyeballs, or have to piss painful blood for the rest of your life”. Those kinds of lose-lose decisions just don’t really hit for me. They are tough decisions, but not “fun.” I also got a bit sick of save scumming. Yes, I’m aware you can just live with the consequences, and I definitely did that plenty of times, but there were also quite a few scenarios where I felt like I was going to hate my run if I didn’t save scum, and that was annoying. Somewhat long load times on the PS5 and my older gaming laptop didn’t help make that any better either.
But despite all that, Baldur’s Gate 3 really is an amazing game. I put 80+ hours into it over two playthroughs in one year. The fact that I replayed it within the same calendar year is crazy, as I almost never replay games at all. I want to give the game one more chance and just push through to the end. I know it’ll happen one day, but it probably won’t be until a little before Larian’s next game comes out another 5 years from now or so.
9. Elden Ring
I went into Elden Ring not really expecting to beat it, as I had never beat a soulslike to that point.
But then, I got hooked. Elden Ring has good combat and strong boss design overall, but I was absolutely addicted to the organic and rewarding exploration more than anything. It added another layer to the game that made me like it much more than the Dark Souls games. I loved that whenever I felt stuck, I could just explore elsewhere, get stronger, and then come back, instead of throwing myself at a brick wall over and over.
I was making really good progress with the game. I defeated the Fire Giant and felt like I was reaching the home stretch. Then, the game seemed to get harder. I still powered through before stumbling on a boss who was just wrecking me instantly. I think at that point, I just felt done with the grind. The funny part is now that I know more about the game, I think that the boss that was destroying me may have been optional, but if you are playing the game without guides, there isn’t a great way to know that.
Also, I think I had a fear of getting too into the weeds and taking on a boss that I was never going to beat. Because I had never beaten a soulslike to that point, I wasn’t sure if I had the skills. After beating Hollow Knight: Silksong with no health upgrades this year (well, Act 2, but still), I now have a lot more confidence in my ability to beat other soulslikes. Naturally, Elden Ring is one of the main ones I want to go back to because it really was easily one of my favorites ever in this genre.
8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Cyberpunk 2077 is my favorite video game of all time. The Witcher 3, from the same developer, is many people’s favorite game of all time. So it still bugs me sometimes that I’ve never been able to reach the end of any Witcher game. I bailed out on both The Witcher 2 and The Witcher 3 before reaching the finish. I’m fine with not going back to The Witcher 2, but I really want to play The Witcher 3 to the end before The Witcher 4 arrives.
I think The Witcher 3 was a classic case of open world burnout for me. There’s a lot to do in that game. The side quests are particularly hyped up as some of the best, but honestly, I don’t find them to be even close to the quality that CD Projekt Red would eventually reach with Cyberpunk 2077. I also wasn’t a massive fan of the combat, though I think it’s fine.
But I do love the characters, the story, and the world. Gwent is also in the running for the best video game card game of all time for me. At the very least, I want to have the full story context before heading into the next game. I think a more mainline run is in order, and I hope to do that once we are a little closer to The Witcher 4.
7. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Here is yet another example of the “open world fatigue” that I was experiencing around this era. Metal Gear Solid 5 was fantastic in so many ways. I always love a Kojima story. Kiefer Sutherland was great as Snake, and the gameplay is exactly as strong as you’d expect from this series.
But god damn, there’s a lot going on in this game! I think I just ended up tackling a few too many side objectives, and I slowly burned out. I really want to try MGS5 again one day. The problem is, I also kind of want to replay every MGS game first. Playing Metal Gear Solid Delta in the coming months can be my starting point in my journey to eventually play this one again.
6. Returnal
I have really respected Housemarque as a developer for a long time. I recently highlighted Outland as one of my favorite Xbox Live Arcade games, which they made. So I was intrigued and genuinely excited for them when I saw that they’d be going full AAA with a game for the first time.
When I finally got my hands on Returnal, the gameplay really didn’t disappoint in any way. It was very cool to see how Housemarque implemented a lot of things that they clearly loved from their past games into their first AAA game. The core gameplay mechanics in this game are so tight and also pretty unique.
Unfortunately, I thought Returnal missed pretty badly with its roguelike elements. Runs were both too long and not particularly rewarding. I got tired of that combination and eventually dropped it.
But seeing clips of their next game, Saros, has me thinking about Returnal all over again. I really want to give it one more go. Especially because Saros is already hinting at better progression systems. It makes me think that if I play Saros, then I’ll really never want to go back to Returnal. Because of that, this is one I want to fit back in very soon.
5. Persona 4
Persona 4 has been a tragic tale of “wrong place, wrong time” for me on multiple occasions.
I abandoned Persona 3 due to its dungeon design when I first played it, so I never picked up Persona 4 when it came out. However, after playing and absolutely loving Persona 5, I naturally wanted to go back and play this one. Unfortunately, I was very Persona-d out at that point. I didn’t get far before deciding I should wait.
When Persona 3 Portable dropped on Game Pass in 2023, I played it and got way farther than my original playthrough, but the dungeon design once again wore me down eventually. So, at that point, I decided it might finally be time to try Persona 4 because I’m an idiot. Once again, I was just Persona-d out at that point.
One day, I will get the urge to play this game when I haven’t recently played a Persona game. When I do, I have a feeling this will be an all-timer for me.
4. Final Fantasy VIII
I recently ranked my top 5 Final Fantasy games on The Big Nerd Gaming Podcast with my friend Paul. I played a lot of Final Fantasy games back in my emulation days, when it was really easy to just move on to a new game whenever I got tired of one. Part of me wanted to use the podcast as a way to figure out which Final Fantasy game I needed to try and replay next. I beat Final Fantasy 9 after abandoning it as a kid earlier this year and really enjoyed it for the most part.
After doing the podcast, it became clear that Final Fantasy 8 needed to be my next attempt at a past Final Fantasy game.
On the podcast, Paul spoke passionately about how Final Fantasy 8 nails its themes and about how a lot of them hit much harder as an adult. He also talked about how Squall and Rinoa’s romance really hit for him. He also discussed how cool the gameplay was.
I remember really disliking Squall as a teen when I played this. It felt like they leaned in to all of the worst elements of Cloud even harder. But I’d trust Paul with my life (seriously, I’d hire him as a lawyer if my life was on the line), and thus, I have no choice but to have FF8 up here. I am actually hoping to play it this January.
3. Transistor and Pyre
I mentioned that I highlighted Outland in my Xbox Live Arcade article earlier. Another game from Xbox Live Arcade that I absolutely adored was Bastion. It was my favorite game from that service.
I have also highlighted Hades and Hades 2 on the blog recently. I’d honestly say that those two games are the two best roguelites of all time.
Despite all that praise for three different Supergiant games, somehow, I have a bit of a blindspot with the two other games they have made.
I’m not 100% sure why I didn’t finish Pyre or Transistor. I felt like I may have been holding Transistor up to way too high of a standard after Bastion. I also remember thinking Pyre was really cool for a while before I got tired of the formula.
As I continue to play and love Hades 2, I’m feeling that urge to go back and correct my errors with these two games. I have a feeling I’ll love them both if I go in with the right expectations.
2. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
I realized after beating Silksong that a big reason why I had never beaten a soulslike up until then was that I generally gave up quickly if I thought something in a soulslike game was going to be too big of a pain in the ass. If I’m on a boss for a few days, that tends to be more than enough for me. Especially as a dad now, it’s tough to feel like I’m throwing away the precious gaming time that I have.
But there was one soulslike where I actually put in a decent effort before bailing, and that was Sekiro. Man, I love the combat in this game, I’m a huge fan of parries, and there is no game better than Sekiro at sword and parry combat. It’s so intense and feels so damn good to play.
I got about 25 hours into Sekiro, according to my Xbox, and I finally reached a boss that I just couldn’t beat. I wanted to so badly. I think I tried over 5-6 play sessions, but I just couldn’t get over the hump, and my frustration only grew the more I tried. I’ve seen other people do Sekiro playthroughs, and it seems like a common boss that people get stuck on for quite a while. I just didn’t have the patience to see it through.
I never intended to try again. But once again, beating Silksong has me feeling like I could if I really tried. I also absolutely adored Rise of the Ronin last year, which had combat that felt similar to Sekiro in a few ways as well. I’m not sure when I’m going to do it, but Sekiro is the biggest soulslike that I want to give one more try with my new soulslike powers.
1. Red Dead Redemption 2
According to my Xbox, I put something like 50 hours into Red Dead Redemption 2, yet my story completion is only listed at 31%.
Games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and the others listed here are exactly why I am so passionate about telling people to learn to ignore optional content. It’s also why I’m very passionately against getting platinum trophies.
I’ve never been a trophy guy, but I spent much of my life being someone that at the very least, wanted to clear every icon off the map. Open world games can be complicated in terms of completion. When I’m into a game and into the world, it feels like an easy decision to try and tackle any bit of content that I can find. But doing this can quickly turn into self sabotage if you aren’t careful. I think that is exactly what happened to me with Red Dead Redemption 2. There were a few things about the game that annoyed me, but I was very into it until I fell off hard. Because of that, I missed out on what is considered one of the greatest gaming stories ever.
Not long after crashing out on Red Dead Redemption 2, I finally figured out a formula for these open world games. I still try and do everything to start, but I quickly start skipping the clearly generic time wasting stuff that doesn’t have much benefit.
Also, when clearing icons starts to feel even a little bit like a chore instead of being fun, I start pivoting to mostly mainlining the game immediately. This formula has helped me complete way more open world games than ever before. With GTA6 on the way, I really want to go back and experience this story in full for the first time. This is my biggest priority for the “gaming offseason” in January. I hope that it lives up to the hype.
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