Video Games I Didn’t Finish or Didn’t Like

Here’s a list of video games I’ve played but gave up on finishing, either because I didn’t like them or they just didn’t click with me. Maybe I’ll try picking them up again in the future.

This list is a work in progress. I will add more games as I think of them.

#

• 20 Small Mazes (2024) [Steam] — Interesting concept, but slow and boring.

A

• Angry Video Game Nerd I & II Deluxe (2020) [Steam] — Not bad. Difficult but not unfair; captures the spirit of the web series very well. But also isn’t anything special apart from the AVGN references. Very basic level design. Wasn’t worth the time and effort for me to beat.
• Aquarist (2024) [Steam] — Too much of a sim. Gameplay is tedious and unpolished. Would have prefered something more casual with a focus on creativity.

B

• The Binding of Isaac (2011) [Wiki] [Steam] — The gross visuals were a huge turn-off for me.

C

• Clickolding (2024) [Steam] — A unique game that masochists will love. Just watch a playthrough instead.

D

• Darksiders () [Wiki] [Steam] — God of War clone with less polish. Interesting premise, but gameplay in incredibly generic and mediocre. Combat feels slow, repetitive, and clunky. Good voice acting including Mark Hamill.
• Dragon Quest Builders (2016) [Wiki] [Steam]— Love the artstyle, but too much tedious grinding. The first main boss requires specific items to defeat and I didn’t want to grind for necessary materials. I’d rather play Monster Hunter where I can choose how to approach boss fights.

G

• Garden Galaxy (2022) [Steam] — Too simple and tedious.
• Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (2012) [Wiki] [Steam] — Boring and generic.
• Grow: Song of the Evertree (2021) [Steam] — Gorgeous art but too repetitive and grindy and there’s too much filler dialogue. The game feels unpolished and a bit unfinished. All the mechanics are very bare bones and generic. I played for about 2 hours, and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t feel the need to continue.

H

• Hack ’n’ Slash (2014) [Wiki] [Steam] — Good premise, but flawed execution. The story is boring and the gameplay is meh. It’s often difficult to figure out where to go, and the puzzles can be confusing. It also fails at actually teaching programming. Worth checking out if you find the premise intriguing, but go in with measured expectations.

I

• Ittle Dew 2 (2016) [Wiki] [Steam] — I loved the first game and really wanted to like this, but difficult controls and enemies with way too much health made it a slog. Enemies and bosses are repeated too much and puzzles are unmemorable. The 3D graphics are worse than the first game’s hand-drawn art. Very disappointing.

L

• Lego 2K Drive (2023) [Wiki] [Steam] — It’s fun to drive around and smash into stuff, but it’s otherwise a soulless experience. Mandatory levels that require slow precision to run over enemies ruin the game.
• A Little to the Left (2022) [Wiki] [Steam] — Some might find this relaxing, but I just found it tedious.
• Lovely Planet (2014) [Wiki] [Steam] — Love the vibes, but levels are repetitive and frustratingly difficult. There are apples that are throw into the air and you have to shoot them before they hit the ground or the level resets, very annoying. Lack of crosshairs also add unnecessary frustration.

M

• Mail Time (2023) [Steam] — Cute but gameplay is extremely barebones and lifeless. Feels unfinished. Characters talk way too much and it’s all boring filler dialogue. Entire game seems to be fetch quests and extremely basic platforming.

O

• Owlboy (2016) [Wiki] [Steam] — Nice pixel art, but boring gameplay and cliche characters.

P

• Paper Mario: The Origami King (2020) [Wiki] — Boring combat and story.
• Progressbar95 (2020) [Steam] — Great retro aesthetics, but boring gameplay.

S

• Sky: Children of the Light (2019) [Wiki] [Steam] — An MMO from the makers of Journey sounds great, but the game is brought down by frustrating controls and camera. Mandatory cutscenes interrupt the gameplay constantly.
• Slime Rancher (2017) [Wiki] [Steam] — Repetitive gameplay, too much backtracking.
• Strider (2014) [Wiki] [Steam] — Boring, repetitive combat.

T

• There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension (2020) [Wiki] [Steam] — Loved the original flash game, but this one has too many cutscenes and too many puzzles that don’t make sense and boil down to trial and error. Having to click and drag items from the inventory is annoying. I liked the LucasArts tribute, but it feels like half the game is cutscenes and the jokes are hit and miss.
• Thought Experiment Simulator (2024) [Steam] — Slow with annoying narration that tries to be funny and fails. Also doesn’t do a good job of teaching anything about the thought experiments. The flash game Socrates Jones is a much better implementation of a similar idea.

V

• Vampire Survivors (2021) [Wiki] [Steam] — Tedious and repetitive, too much grinding for unlocks.

W

• What the Golf? (2019) [Wiki] [Steam] — Fun premise, but pretty tedious in practice. Worth checking out, but I had my fill after about 20 minutes.

Y

• Yono and the Celestial Elephants (2017) [Steam] — Interesting world and cute art style, but the puzzles were boring. Pretty generic Zelda clone. Maybe I’ll try it again sometime.