What are your gaming “White Whales”?

[Archduke Kong]

What do I mean? Here's a diagram:

1) You own a game
2) You go to play the game
3) You kind of like it
4) You lose interest for some reason
5) You stop playing and move on to other things
6) You realize you own the game, didn't play much of it and should give it another try
7) The cycle repeats

Basically, games you own and probably don't like enough to play through all the way, but you don't have it in you to get rid of them. I have a few.

Viewtiful Joe is the main one. Since I was 12, once every few years I try getting into it, get stuck on the first boss for some reason and give up. I admire the game's style, I know it's a cult classic and people really love the series, but I just can't get into it. I mean, I'm personally at the point where I think it's just not for me and I'm probably going to sell it, but that also took me 16 years to admit.

Other games that seem to be on that path for me are Arkham Asylum (I love Batman, I love Metroidvanias, but I can never get much further than a few hours here for some reason), The Last of Us (the story grips me, the gameplay does not, but I still give it a shot every so often) and almost any 3D Zelda game (I somehow always have stuff distracting me around the time I start one of them up, and wind up losing interest as a result. Even Breath of the Wild took me two years to finally say "let's finish it", and that was the first 3D Zelda I fully beat).

What about you? What games are you constantly picking up and chasing fulfillment from but never get any yet just can't bring yourself to give up on?

 

[Bradford]

I have done this with Transistor and Darkest Dungeon hundreds of times. I really want to complete both, but I always end up shelving them and starting over, every time.

One day.

 

[MattyG]

It used to be Nier Automata, but I finished that on my 4th try a couple days back, soooo.... Probably Arma 3 or WoW. Both games I'm fascinated by and enjoy playing, but cannot stick with either due to the time commitment or investment in a community I'm not totally comfortable with that's needed

 

[Deleted member 74623]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Every time I go to play it, I put it down after 30 minutes and forget about it for months

 

[CannonFodder52]

Recently Dragon's Dogma is a game I've started a bunch but keep bouncing off. I usually finish any game I start, but I have had trouble with that game. A lot of people that I have similar taste with really love the game, so I gotta give it another shot eventually.

 

[Dylan]

It took me several years to complete Persona 3 FES. Now it's The Witcher 3, which I play for about 40 minutes every month.

Somewhere I have a copy of Order of Ecclesia which I've intended to finish for over a decade now.

 

[PucePikmin]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Every time I go to play it, I put it down after 30 minutes and forget about it for months

Click to shrink...

Same. I've picked it back up and abandoned it 3 or 4 times at this point. I always have to take a break with Xenoblade Chronicles games, but XC2 has been particularly hard to finish.

 

[Zookfoodle]

I have done this with Transistor and Darkest Dungeon hundreds of times. I really want to complete both, but I always end up shelving them and starting over, every time.

One day.

Click to shrink...

I can understand Darkest Dungeon (still have yet to finish) but Transistor? That's like, 8 - 10 hours to beat (unless you go for like full completion)

 

[JayCB64]

Persona 5

I got so far in then got distracted and it just doesn't feel right to jump back in but its gonna take forever to get back to where I was.

 

[SJUG]

Etrian Odyssey 3. Multiple playthroughs started, none of them ever finished. Closest I've gotten is the end of the 4th stratum.
I always get preoccupied with more stuff and leave it alone for a long time and start fresh each time.
Fun game though.

 

[Bradford]

I can understand Darkest Dungeon (still have yet to finish) but Transistor? That's like, 8 - 10 hours to beat (unless you go for like full completion)

Click to shrink...

The issue is not the time to beat; I know I could beat it if I wanted to. The issue is I generally get to the same spot and decide to focus on other things. This has happened, on a cycle, so many times that it is comical at this point. It is almost a ritual now.

 

[Duxxy3]

Oh that definitely describes Sekiro for me.

 

[Anustart]

I've got several.

Arkham Knight. I played City first and loved it, asylum after and it was ok, I'm sure I'd love Knight but can't get going on it.

Mass Effect, I've started this a few times on PC but always end up playing something else.

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

For a long time it was Planescape Torment, but I finally cracked it last year.

Deus Ex 1 was the older one where I had that too, but I finished that around 2010.

I don't think I currently have any.

 

[Deleted member 66837]

Hollow Knight, Sekiro, Bloodborne

 

[EntelechyFuff]

Resonance of Fate. I've probably bought it 3 times at this point. Made it furthest this last attempt, but put it down for FF14. I think I want to like it more than I actually do. I'll beat it one day though.

Viewtiful Joe is the main one. Since I was 12, once every few years I try getting into it, get stuck on the first boss for some reason and give up. I admire the game's style, I know it's a cult classic and people really love the series, but I just can't get into it.

Click to shrink...

I totally forgot it was a series for years until you mention it. VJ is genuinely one of those games where the first one is all that matters, fwiw.

 

[RowdyReverb]

The Witcher 3. Lovely game. Still haven't made it to Skellige

 

[Aaronsteel]

Horizon: Zero Dawn. Whenever I have a craving for a mindless open world game I pop it in where I left off, play it for maybe an hour, and then come back for the same reason X months later. As much as I love the world nothing else keeps me hooked.

Also the same with most Fire Emblem games. I bought Awakening Day 1 and ended it up finishing it a week or so before Fates came out. After that I only made it halfway through Fates (Birthright) and a couple hours into 3 Houses (the latter I'll probably try again, the former not so much). I really like the gameplay and the characters but there's a certain amount of stress that goes into it (especially now with recruiting and teaching) that I don't really like to deal with.

I have done this with Transistor and Darkest Dungeon hundreds of times. I really want to complete both, but I always end up shelving them and starting over, every time.

One day.

Click to shrink...

Can confirm the same with Transistor. I've made it about halfway through on my 2nd try, but that was a few months ago. Now I feel like I have to restart to remember what was going on/get the full experience haha.

 

[Kapryov]

This wasn't the thread I was imagining with the White Whale mention, but I'll roll with it.

For me it'll have to be Horizon Zero Dawn. I loved the game, but put it down as 2017 was a packed year with too many other games to play.
I could never pick it up again from my last save, I've forgotten the combat and can't get into the rhythm of the gameplay anymore. I've tried several times now, and it looks like I'll just need to restart.
I will finish the game one day.

For a game that I actually did finally finish, it'll be Half-Life 2. After several attempts going back to around the original release date, corrupted game saves, discovery of motion sickness issues with FPS games on PC, etc... I finally finished it and the expansions at the end of last year!
It still holds up. Great game.

 

[Anjin M]

Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning. I've started that game a few times and always grind to a halt. Probably due to trying to do way too much instead of just advancing the story.

 

[Clive]

Vagrant Story. I love the setting, I'm intrigued by the story and the mechanics are interesting. But all that fiddling around with menus just drags it down so much and I lose interest. I really want to finish it but I have dropped it three times.

 

[kirby_fox]

I think I've restarted TWEWY 4 times now with intent to finish it. Farthest I've made is partner 2.

 

[Archduke Kong]

I totally forgot it was a series for years until you mention it. VJ is genuinely one of those games where the first one is all that matters, fwiw.

Click to shrink...

I actually wanted the DS one back in the day but never saw it in stores so I forgot it existed. There's a lot of games in the series, now that I think about it, even if there's only two numbered entries.

This wasn't the thread I was imagining with the White Whale mention, but I'll roll with it.

Click to shrink...

What were you imagining?

 

[Twister]

Ocarina of Time. I just can't get through that game, I get super bored and it's really confusing but I want to experience it too

 

[KhandoleezzaRice]

Viewtiful Joe is the main one. Since I was 12, once every few years I try getting into it, get stuck on the first boss for some reason and give up. I admire the game's style, I know it's a cult classic and people really love the series, but I just can't get into it. I mean, I'm personally at the point where I think it's just not for me and I'm probably going to sell it, but that also took me 16 years to admit.

Click to shrink...

If it's not clicking for you at the first boss then I think you're right in saying it's probably not for you but the game has some techniques that are almost essential that it doesn't really explain. After 16 years I'm sure you already tried it but maybe watching a playthrough of the game up until past the first boss might be good? Viewtiful Joe gave me a tonne of trouble too.

 

[aett]

Coincidentally, this week I've been going through my PS4 white whales and finally dismissing a lot from my list.

I've decided I'll never fully finish Nier Automata, Last of Us, Bloodborne, or The Last Guardian. I'm going to give Death Stranding (stopped at the rain farm) another shot before dismissing that one permanently. I'm tired of these popular games hanging over my head!

 

[hydruxo]

GTA 5. I bought it on 360, got like halfway through the story then dropped it for a while. Bought it on PS4, got maybe 3/4ths of the way through the story, then stopped playing it. Returned to it several times here and there but never beat it. Basically GTA 5 is a game where I end up just screwing around in the open world and get too sidetracked to ever actually finish it. I don't know if I ever will lmao.

 

[Archduke Kong]

If it's not clicking for you at the first boss then I think you're right in saying it's probably not for you but the game has some techniques that are almost essential that it doesn't really explain. After 16 years I'm sure you already tried it but maybe watching a playthrough of the game up until past the first boss might be good? Viewtiful Joe gave me a tonne of trouble too.

Click to shrink...

I'm giving it one more chance (that's actually what sparked this thread idea) and I may take that advice, but I also don't think Joe feels good to control, like things take just slightly longer to happen than they should. I really hope this is the time it clicks though, I'd love for this game to finally grab me (but I have a feeling I'll be giving it to a new home soon).

 

[Kapryov]

What were you imagining?

Click to shrink...

I read "white whale" as the most sought after and difficult to obtain, I guess like a game that's extremely rare that you'd get obsessed with or something. Maybe it's just me.
Your thread still makes sense though.

 

[GamerJM]

Idk if it's really been long enough yet but CrossCode. I love everything about the game but actually motivating myself to play it is....hard. It's just kind of a daunting game in general to me. The fact that playing it was my main goal in the first half of 2019 is probably a non-insignificant factor as to why I played so few games then.

I also drop Pokemon gen 3 playthroughs a lot for some reason, though I've played through that gen like three times anyways. But I can remember even more I dropped (I think four or five?).

 

[ArjanN]

Can confirm the same with Transistor. I've made it about halfway through on my 2nd try, but that was a few months ago. Now I feel like I have to restart to remember what was going on/get the full experience haha.

Click to shrink...

Transistor is like 6-8 hours. (although I'd probably consider a New Game + run 'really' completing it) you can beat it over a weekend.

Games that falls into the white whale territory for me is more stuff like 50+ hour wRPGs, where I don't even want to start unless I know I have tons of time.

 

[Wood Man]

Shin Megami Tensei IV

In fact I was just playing it now. Getting this one going is difficult. Tried to get some demons on my team and they all just take my shit a leave. I already feel like giving up again.

 

[B.K.]

Breath of Fire IV.

I've started the game at least half a dozen times, but I've never made it five hours into the game.

 

[ghibli99]

World of Final Fantasy Maxima. I'm far enough into it that I don't feel like I can quit it 100%, but every time I go back to it, I can't stand it. I have problems. LOL

 

[Kawngi]

Final Fantasy XIV
Witcher 3
Bloodborne

Those are the three main ones that fit this for me. Currently in the 'give it another try' phase with Witcher 3 and BB.

 

[Boclfon479]

Recently Dragon's Dogma is a game I've started a bunch but keep bouncing off. I usually finish any game I start, but I have had trouble with that game. A lot of people that I have similar taste with really love the game, so I gotta give it another shot eventually.

Click to shrink...

Same. I've played it on my PS4 and switch and I greatly enjoy it, but stop playing for one reason or another and never get back into it :/

 

[iamandy]

Any CRPG.

 

[Dremorak]

Final Fantasy 10 was that game.
I got stuck and gave up about 3 times, with one of the breaks lasting 2 years lol.
Then I got to the final boss and it was complete BS and then I gave up completely

Also FF12 I got bored around 3 hours in, didn't play it for about 6 months.
Then I convinced myself to give it another shot, and now its my favourite Final Fantasy game :D

 

[Josh5890]

For me it is the Resident Evil Franchise.

Everytime I try either the PS1 game or the HD remake I keep dying 10 minutes into the game. I think I just suck at horror games.

 

[Aaronsteel]

Transistor is like 6-8 hours. (although I'd probably consider a New Game + run 'really' completing it) you can beat it over a weekend.

Click to shrink...

Right, it's a similar situation like Brad was describing:

The issue is not the time to beat; I know I could beat it if I wanted to. The issue is I generally get to the same spot and decide to focus on other things.

Click to shrink...

Also owning it on Switch doesn't help. Since travel is not really happening for me atm, it's fallen to the wayside compared to my PS4/PC. I only really pull it out before bed for an hour or so (or small bursts of free time during remote work), where it's much easier to do something simple that I can put down easy like Animal Crossing or Picross.

I do really want to beat it though! With all this talk maybe I'll see if I can cross it off the list this weekend.

 

[Soma]

Yakuza Zero

it's my greatest shame

 

[matrix-cat]

The original Deus Ex is this for me. I've played Human Revolution and Mankind Divided and loved them, and I've started Deus Ex maybe four times now, but I just can't get through it. It's the controls, I just hate playing it. You can't sneak up behind enemies unless you're crouched, but you can't bonk them unconscious without standing up, but crouched movement is too slow to actually catch up to them and if you accidentally stand before you've stopped moving they hear you and set off an alarm instantly. You can't shoot a target accurately if it's more than like three feet away. Every time I want to do any simple task I have to set a Quick Save and then try and fail like five times before I actually pull it off. I just get so frustrated with the game.

And yet, I still have it installed on my hard drive because I do want to finish it some day :P

 

[Korigama]

This applies to a lot of games for me, but Final Fantasy XII is definitely one of them (especially when I started all over again with The Zodiac Age).

 

[Gio]

Trying to prevent this from happening to me again with Bayonetta 2. It's lightyears better than the first one but I'm starting to think character action games just aren't my thing.

 

[SmilingSpoon]

For me that would be Fallout 4 and New Vegas, i loved them but i don't know why i usually play 1 or 2 missions and then return 1 year later only to repeat the cycle.

 

[Dylan]

I read "white whale" as the most sought after and difficult to obtain, I guess like a game that's extremely rare that you'd get obsessed with or something. Maybe it's just me.
Your thread still makes sense though.

Click to shrink...

That's what I was expecting also.

 

[Dinjoralo]

Everything, for me. I just can't stick with games for more than a week or two before falling off of them.

 

[Worldres]

This doesn't quite meet the criteria you set, but what I immediately thought of...

I've been trying to beat the Elite Four in Pokemon Stadium II on the N64 using only rental Pokemon since I was a kid. It's completely impossible. I keep picking up Pokemon Crystal with the intent to train up a team and dropping it. This year, my Crystal battery died, and I had to start over. It wouldn't be so bad if I could unlock Round 2, which lets you play the gameboy games in 2x speed, but I have to beat the Elite Four before I can unlock it!

This is an eighteen-year-old grudge.

 

[Theswweet]

It used to be FFXIV, but then quarantine happened and I finally managed to get past ARR and through to endgame ShB in 2 months.

 

[Loxley]

The Witcher 3. I swear I've started playing that game nearly a dozen times, but I always lose interest after the first hour. Then I go back, forget how everything in the game works and feel the need to re-tutorialize myself.