What Keeps You From Starting Games You Already Own?

What Keeps You From Starting Games You Already Own?

I want to play Assassin’s Creed Origins, I really do. The other day, Kotaku‘s own Luke Plunkett told me that it takes inspiration from The Witcher 3, which is pretty much all you have to say to make me buy something and tear off the wrapping with my teeth. But then the other shoe dropped.

The first four or so hours, Luke said, are something you have to endure rather than wholeheartedly enjoy. They’re akin to the stale parts of older Assassin’s Creed games, rather than something fresh and witchery, he explained. I bought the game, but that tidbit from Luke has been kicking around in my head ever since.

Every time I go to click the “play” button on Steam, I hesitate. Then I black out briefly, and when I come to, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is somehow open on my PC. Is it ghosts? A hyper-specific and very dedicated prankster? Who knows! But since I’ve already beaten Original Sin 2, I know it will give me more than enough fun to make it worth my time, so I end up sticking with it.

This is hardly the first time I’ve procrastinated over a game I’m not 100 per cent sure about. Whether it’s because of a bunch of overly-long cinematics, complex mechanics I’m feeling too tired to learn, or a sloggy tutorial, I worry that the beginning of a game will feel like “work” when I’d rather have immediate fun. So I avoid the game in question for a while.

I’m sure I’ll get around to starting Assassin’s Creed Origins eventually — especially since Luke keeps telling me to play it — but I’ve gotta warm up to the idea first.

What causes you to put off starting games? Are you allergic to slow starts, like me, or are you intimidated by steep difficulty curves, open-world maps with too much Stuff on them, levels that everybody says are boring, or the looming specter of a crappy ending? Something else? Tell us in the comments.


The Cheapest NBN 1000 Plans

Looking to bump up your internet connection and save a few bucks? Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Kotaku, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


54 responses to “What Keeps You From Starting Games You Already Own?”