Almost all of them. I rarely finish a game. For a variety of reasons, all added together. The closer I get to the end, the more I want to put it off if I'm enjoying a game, so I will keep finding more and more nuanced stuff to do instead. A new game comes out and I eventually completely forget one of the 10 games I'm currently actively playing when it temporarily becomes 11, then back down to 10. My friends stop playing a game, but my character relied on them... maybe I'll just start over with a character that can solo. Maybe that game will just go on the pile of "not today, but I'll play it soon", until it's been in the pile so long that there isn't much point anymore.
I should mention I am autistic and likely adhd but I haven't got that diagnosed yet. So while some of this is probably normal behaviours, some of it probably isn't too.
The one that still pains me to this day is Black Mesa.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, I even played it before the last chapter was done. I was really excited to go through the redesigned Xen levels, and was enjoying every minute.
Then they throw that massive spider into a huge arena filled with micro obstacles that prevent you from properly avoid all the multiple types of attacks it throws at you, while absorbing insane amounts of rockets.
I'm not a skilled gamer but I was moving through the game just fine until someone decided to crank the difficulty to eleven.
That killed the game right there for me. Other than that, it's a brilliant game that I heartily recommend.
I'm not experienced in the usual "hard games" but it feels like Noita is the Dark Souls of 2D gaming. If I get to the 3rd area I'm hanging on by a thread and every boss has totally owned me. Is everyone using like invulnerability potions or something to get through this? I do neglect potions a lot.
I feel like everyone has their preferred builds they kind of gravitate to and feel comfortable with. That, and for me, a lot of luck to make up for my lack of skill lol.
Adding to Fallout New Vegas, which others have mentioned, Skyrim. I got into modding but then sold my Xbox and haven't yet gotten into the fuller glory of modding it on PC. And, anyhow, I don't really think of it as a game to finish, just a game to play.
Also haven't completed BG3 despite liking it. I suffer in games what I suffer in life: the desire to experience it all and not close any options. Which is to say, I struggle with the reality of consequences and so avoid choices and commitments
Had some good gameplay here and there but didn't seem engaged by the story. I guess that's the biggest problem with open world games, that everyone can get the story fed to them in a different order.
I beat this a few years ago, was by far the hardest game I've played.
Back when I beat it, the achievements suggested that about half of the people that made it to the last boss gave up. Which sounds about right in my opinion - I think I did that fight around 50 times.
Baldurs Gate 3, The Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2 and many more.
These games are all great and I liked them. But sooner or later I just stop playing. I can't even tell why. Maybe I am not a story gamer or the world's are a bit to big.
I think the most frustrating part is to lose your inventory if you're far into a mine and then die. So, as a purist, I only allow myself that one cheat: keepInventory=true
You keep the tension off Survival without the heartache of lost items
I know, I mean I haven't really played it much and haven't progressed far. I feel like I missed out on a huge part of the game. Will definitely get back to it some day.
I played through one single player save and two multiplayer ones with different groups, enjoyed it all - but only got a little ways into Act 3 on any one save. A combination of middling performance with my older rig and just having sank so much time in I burnt out a little.
Still think it's a fantastic game, but I don't know if I'll ever go back to finish it - I feel like I'd have to start a whole new save.
In my experience act 3 was extremely buggy, we had a blast in act 1 and 2 with my friend but the bugs in act 3 killed basically all our motivation and we never finished it.
It was the same with divinity original sin 2. The final act was so large, disorganized, and not fun. Like they had a lot of ideas they needed to use but didn't know where until then, so they threw them all in a big city and called it a day.
I'm in the same boat. I want to like the game and it is fun, but I got stuck with some area with orbs and my save corrupted...one of the orbs just disappeared after 50+ hours and I can't bring myself to play again and possibly have the same bug pop up. Maybe someday but it's just such a big game.
Red Dead Redemption 2. I love it but put it down for like a week then got distracted by other games. Haven't had the drive yet to pick the story back up.
Witcher 3. I never played Blood & Wine. I loved the game as well as Heart of Stone but I scoured every inch and burned myself out. Told myself I'd save B&W for when I make some changes in my life, as motivation. Still haven't made a couple of the biggest yet though.
You *have * to try Blood and Wine. Simply put, it makes up for everything before it.
The bright, warm, Southern France -inspired map, great quests, and finally a homestead.
Try Witcher with some QoL mods, like easier fast travel, auto harvesting, auto-applying of oils. Everything that lets you play the game instead of plucking flowers all day.
You had me nodding till the oils. That personally sounds a bit cheaty, but then I quite enjoyed the thoughtful aspect of planning your potions and oils carefully before combat.
But otherwise yeah I played with QoL mods before, mostly to help the UI and map and inventory. Worth the minor effort for sure.
Think of it this way. You're a seasoned witcher. You know the ins and outs of fighting and of the many monsters and oddities out there. You even spent the time to make the oils.
It's just the witcher's learned instinct to apply the relevant oil when fighting a monster. It's second nature. You don't even think about it. It's how it should be, narratively speaking and this is a narrative driven game where you role play as the witcher. It may not allow for min maxing your strategy, but it makes sense and is convenient.
Now, you the player do not always remember to apply it or even do it quickly. But the witcher does. He has the muscle memory down. The witcher is always ready. And you are the witcher.
For me the fun is learning to be more like Geralt. When I start as a player I don't have those instincts, and the progression of collecting more recipes and ingredients and learning what exactly I need to prep for the monster around the corner is an interesting challenge and good feedback loop. I don't want the game to do that for me, it would be too much like autopilot.
I almost never "finish" games. I tend to prefer games that either can't be finished or are of sufficient scope that following a main quest line is only a small portion of what the game has to offer. I generally think most game writing is bad, and am not playing for a story.
Most cases where I finish games, I consider it a letdown because I think there should be more.