I just read the following article on PC Gamer and I can truly relate to it:
For shame I have a growing list of RPGs, many of them fantastic games, that I have yet to finish. Part of the problem is having limited gaming time and the draw of multiplayer games (Used to be CSGO now it’s Apex). So a sizable RPG will take me months to finish and during that time there will be some new shiny game to draw my attention away.
I still need to finish The Witcher 3 and Assassins Creed: Origins, both games that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I don’t think I will finish The Outer Worlds though.
I have seen many of you have managed to do a full playthrough of the Witcher 3 with the game club challenge. Well done, give me a another year or so and I will join you in having completed the game too!
I had to laugh at this one comment on the article:
If there was an RPG game that was based on doing internet research on RPG games and then buying RPGs, then I’d have finished quite a lot of them in the last few years. The idea of playing one seems greater than actually doing it these days.
It took me 170 hours over the course of 3 years to finish The Witcher 3. I think (as the article mentioned), it’s too easy to drop off from these games, and then it becomes hard to get back in.
At other times, I find myself stopping at big decision points to “think it over”. Then I only go back much later, after forgetting why the decision was such a dilemma in the first place!
As DarthMol mentioned, the draw of MP games is strong, as they provide more instant gratification for me, which is essential for many of us.
With The Witcher 3, I enjoyed it at my own pace - I was never bored - but if I played it non-stop, I think I would have become fatigued.
I think one reason I tend to drop RPGs, is because I get stuck, and need to grind to get stronger to proceed. However, at that point I’ve often done so many side quests and explored so much, that the prospect of grinding more is just unappealing. If I only have an hour to play, do I grind in an RPG or jam some Overwatch?
Despite all of this, RPGs are still one of my favourite genres and I will continue to buy and not complete them!
The Grind is the ultimate evil in my mind. Once a game feels like the reward is too little, for the time I’m spending, I’ll drop that game like an orphan kid.
Playing co-op with friends helps keep the passion alive. Story driven RPG’s are also fantastic, because I need to know what happens.
I’m about 150 hours and 5 years into the Witcher 3 lol. Started playing when it first came out.
It’s become one of those games that I know if I load up, I’ll end up playing for 6 hours straight and forget to make supper.
The only “recent” RPG I remember finishing is Dragon Age. I finished quite a few during the school/college years.
As you get older you’re able to buy all the things 16 year old you dreamed of, but a fraction of the free time to play with any of it, such is life…