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[Filben]

Sometimes, I know after some 30 minutes when a game just isn't for me or when I'm in an impatient mood. Lately, I give most games a chance of a few hours, but usually not more than three (of course I'm not uninstalling the game the moment the clock says three hours; but that appears to be roughly the mark I'm willing to give most games a chance).

We all probably heard, "it gets better after the first chapter/first five hours" or something along those lines. My usual stance on this was that games rarely get better, more like, they open up, offer more options, etc. and depending on what you're looking for this doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be better.

As of now, I'm struggling with a few games that have many positives and I partly enjoy very much. Other parts of these games are a real slog and I'm in constant negotiation whether to pull through or, in view of so many other games on my list, put it down for good.

How many hours do you give a game until you put it down if it doesn't meet your expectations? Or, how many hours do you give a game to become enjoyable to you?

 

[TintoConCasera]

An hour is usually enough, maybe two if I'm in a good mood.

Imo games should give you a taste of what's to come in the very beginning of the game, instead of wasting time on 4+ hours intro sequences full of dialogue instead of gameplay.

The first Dragon's Dogma game did this right. In the first 10 minutes of the game you are fighting groups of enemies and even a boss. After that, the game takes it's time to introduce the story and slow the pace, but only after having shown what the game is all about.

 

[PeteBull]

Once i bought/installed the game its a given im at least somewhat interested in it, so 1h+ seems like fine benchmark, nowadays games show u what they are about fairy quickly, and if we still are undecided there is always tons of gameplay vids with even more info.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

I have finished a few recently that I wasn't really enjoying. Wish I hadn't done that.

Normally I bounce off a game hard if its a new genre and am unable to understand the appeal.

Besides, one of recent examples would be RDR2. Its game world is spectacular. But it keeps me doing mundane tasks in it. I enjoy spending time in it and here and there some neat writing/ characters are present. Its punctuated by quite a bit of boredom.

Not sure if I should drop it or keep in SSD. I cannot play it more than 5 - 10 hrs at a stretch. Keep bouncing off of it. But kinda enjoy when I come back after a while.

 

[Lupin3]

10 minutes, maybe. I have zero problems dropping a game as fast as I picked it up if it doesn't show any promise from the get go.

 

[MrJangles]

Zero. I'm too long in the tooth and have too much going on to waste time on games if they aren't perfect from the off. Too many controls, overwhelming in-game menu system, unskippable cut scenes, bye-bye. I don't care how good you are.

Even if they aren't a problem and I'm not feeling a game, 1 hour max. So far this week I've dumped Have a Nice Death, Sonic Superstars and Halo TMCC. All uninstalled and added to the hidden games option on my Steam account so I never have to be reminded of them.

 

[Brakum]

i quit many games during the tutorial

 

[Kupfer]

Can't say, it totally depends. Sometimes right after 2 minutes, sometimes I'm 25 hours in and still noping out.

 

[Parazels]

Normally I give a game 1-2 hours to impress me.

 

[Lethal01]

Zero, I watch ther trailer and see if the game is good before i get it.

 

[drganon]

I can usually tell within an hour if I like a game or not.

 

[TheUnicornGuy]

Games have a few minutes to grab me, an overly long tutorial or a slow intro with too much talking and I'm out.

Also games that start you off with powers and abilities only to take them away at the beginning generally get binned.

 

[Shockwave_Fox]

I usually know if I want to keep playing a game within 15mins.

 

[Shtof]

I say zero, albeit that's not always true.
If I trust the dev, I'll give it more time.

Example: Horizon Zero Dawn was tough sell for me for the first few hours, but being I big Killzone fan I trusted the dev a lot. Suffice to say, I now an even bigger Guerilla fan.

 

[Wildebeest]

Nowhere near an hour. I don't have to stay in the room if someone drops a stinky fart, no matter how clever they think they are, and no matter how good some games journalist says it smells.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Zero. I'm too long in the tooth and have too much going on to waste time on games if they aren't perfect from the off. Too many controls, overwhelming in-game menu system, unskippable cut scenes, bye-bye. I don't care how good you are.

These are the reasons I dropped my first and last Monster Hunter game around a year ago. It just flooded the player with descriptions and tutorials for more than half an hour. F that.

It depends on the game, though. Some games took a long time to click for me, then I loved them. Metroid Prime and Demon's Souls are my two preferred examples of this. But yeah, in time I got way less tolerant of games just wasting time, and I've dropped some after less than an hour.

 

[vodka-bull]

I like to collect platinums so if I start a game I'll finish it unless I'm too weak for a trophy (looking at you Titanfall 2!). The worst games so far I platinumed were Fallout 4 and AC Liberation Remastered.

 

[N0S]

Ive platinumed both Horizon games

 

[San Dan Glokta]

Until I have partially experienced every single mechanic the game has to offer at minimum. At max that's at about 15% of total playtime.

The rules change from genre to genre though.

 

[San Dan Glokta]

I like to collect platinums so if I start a game I'll finish it unless I'm too weak for a trophy (looking at you Titanfall 2!). The worst games so far I platinumed were Fallout 4 and AC Liberation Remastered.

You mean the gauntlet right? I practiced that for two weeks 20+ hours. One of the most difficult singular achievements I ever got. DM me for tips if you like.

 

[GHG]

2-3 hours.

If I bounce off it in that period then it's rare that I return.

 

[PauloRoberto]

If the gameplay is not good, 2 hours TOPS.
If the gameplay is good, 5 hours is more than enough to see is other aspects can hook me.
There are few games than can hook a player for gameplay only (MGS V Phantom Pain is a good example)

 

[vodka-bull]

You mean the gauntlet right? I practiced that for two weeks 20+ hours. One of the most difficult singular achievements I ever got. DM me for tips if you like.

Well there's plenty of tips and guides out there, but I guess I'm just a little weak cunt not worthy of calling myself a core gamer. Tried it so many times, every once in a while I still try it because I can't just let a game have one last trophy I need for a platinum, but every time I retry I fail miserably and end up being disappointed about my mothers upbringing who couldn't train me more to become a better gamer but instead focused on some useless shit like getting a degree irl…

 

[Schmendrick]

An hour, max 2 (refund time limit)

 

[Baemono]

The fastest game I abandoned and uninstalled right away was Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.

But usually I try to start over or continue a game. I spent 20 hours in Cyberpunk 2077 and still don't see the appeal, the fun of it, and the driving is horrendous.

 

[JaxarGT]

I played RDR2 for about 30 hours before giving up out of on rails boredom. That probably says more about me though than the game.

 

[Gamerfan81]

A half hour now. I only have maybe 2 hours to play on most nights. If I don't like the controls, UI, whatever, I'm dropping it right there. Time is very important to me.

 

[Hollowpoint5557]

Between 5 and 10 minutes. There's too many other options to waste my time on rather than play games that aren't fun.
Best first 10 minute game I ever played was God of War 3, worst was Rollerdrome.

 

[ComputerBlue]

It depends on the game, sometimes you can tell within 10 minutes that the game isn't for you, other times you see potential so you stick it out a bit longer, also depends on the scale of the game, if it's meant to be a large and long game, I will play a little bit longer since more often than not they take a while to get going compared to a smaller and shorter game.

 

[Neolombax]

A few hours usually.

 

[DelireMan7]

Depends. I gave Octopath Traveler around 20h then I drop it. But it's more than it fell over time. It was good then with the time it was no so interesting.

For Death Stranding I gave 15 hours. Because I really want to see the story and like the game. But had to drop it. Game is not fun.

Nier : Automata, I think less than 10 hours. Bullshit 45 min intro/tutorial sequence with no save and doesn't even explains you can heal... Then gameplay and environment were dull. No comment on the horrendous camera changes.
The game definitely has something on its atmosphere and story but that's it.


I am a bit stubborn so I usually push quite to bit before dropping a game.

 

[Bond007]

I can tell pretty quickly if i dont like something. Im not gonna force the issue.

 

[cireza]

A few hours. For a RPG I will eventually make it to 10 or 20 hours.

 

[saintjules]

1-3 hours would be enough. I'm saying this because of the slow start with Shadows and I think I've experienced that in the past where the game really opens up shortly after a lengthy prologue.

 

[hinch7]

Usually around 30 minutes I get a grasp of a game. At most 40-50 mins. Under an hour for sure.

Kinda like watching a movie or TV show. If i don't find the first half hour or so interesting, I just switch off and do something else.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Same as books and TV shows, an entertainment product must entertain me from the start. If it doesnt, I drop it. Life is too short to waste it in things we dont enjoy.

So, 1 hour at most.

 

[Great Auk]

I like to give a game several hours. I don't think I'll even be that good with the controls yet after only an hour or two, especially when it comes to games that require you learn complicated mechanics and combat.

I just finished Have a Nice Death, there's no way I would have been good enough to truly rate the game after only an hour or so. I don't want to prematurely knock a game because I suck at it.

 

[Synastry]

30 minutes if the game doesnt click with me I stop and if after a few days have pass without me playing it again I deleted it of my system for good.

 

[kremiso]

a couple of hours, at least the first training part + some of the real game

i.e. yesterday i have tried Metroid Prime 2 Echoes GC (emulated) for the first time, and simply deleted after a couple of hours;
locked mechanic, imo completely different from the first Metroid Prime milestone

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

I am extremely impatient. I can't even stand 15 minutes without enjoyment in a video game. The same can't be said for literature, film or other forms of art, though. But if your game isn't designed to catch my attention and hold it right from the get go, i'm gonna drop it like its hot garbage.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Typically 1 hour max.

But I rarely buy a game I'm iffy about. I'm also rarely truly disappointend unless it's practically bait-n-switch or false advertising, like Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising.

And most of the times, I might be letdown about certain aspects, but enjoy the game overall anyway.

 

[DeepSpace5D]

Unless it's broken in some way, I see it through to the end.

 

[Magic Carpet]

I try to make it at hour before giving up. But some recent games I can't make it past the tutorial area before I'm out. Are Japanese games still doing that thing where they dump the entire games mechanics into the very beginning and just let you go. Wait, I didn't take notes. How do I do what? Forget it I'm out of here.

 

[bender]

My recent experience with subscription services has brought that number way down and sometimes as low as a few minutes, but I'd say in general 2-4 hours depending on the genre and the pedigree of the developer.

 

[touchfuzzy]

Depends on my expectations and investment. If it's something I've been excited for and spent full price on I'll generally at least give it ten hours even if I'm not really vibing. If it's some random indie I got for $2 on sale then it's gotta grab me in the first hour (so, first play session) or it's deleted.

 

[El Muerto]

About 3-4 hours. I got an hour or two in on Days Gone when it hit pc and put the controller down. Gave it another shot and it turned out to be incredible. Same with Prey.

 

[tr1p1ex]

I finish the game to make sure it was horrible.

 

[SpokkX]

3-5 hours

This means every single ubi soft game fails - stopped even trying them years ago because of this

 

[Humdinger]

1 or 2 hours.

 

[SomeNorseGuy]

Depends on the learning curve. If it's a mechanical rich game I give it several hours to "click". If it's a pick up and play, that shit better catch my interest real quick.