Three Games That I Never Finished…

Over the past 19 years, I have had the pleasure of playing many different video games on several different consoles, and I can honestly say that I have finished the majority of them.  However, there are several games that are on my list of “Games I Have Not Completed”, and each game has its own reason for my not finishing it.  Some of the games were too difficult and frustration took the place of fun, while others were too “buggy” for me to be able to beat the game.

Whatever the reason, the games that I have not completed are on a list that most game developers want to avoid.  Game developers spend months or even years to produce their video games, so having people not finish them probably feels like a bit of a letdown.  And even though I am not particularly proud of this, let us take a look at three video games that I never got around to finishing…

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is the first game on my list because it is the game I am least proud of not finishing.  I first heard of Amnesia: The Dark Descent through a video that a friend sent me, and I immediately want to play the game for myself after watching the video.  The game looked like nothing that I had played before and the “survival-horror” element of the game appealed to me. 

Just for reference, I will embed the video below if you would like to take a look at it for yourself.  Warning: The video does contain strong language throughout but it is hilarious to hear the reactions of the player.

Sadly, my faithful laptop at the time did not meet the requirements to run Amnesia: The Dark Descent so I had to wait for my chance to play the game.  Luckily, after months of saving money, I found a desktop that exceeded the requirements of Amnesia and was finally able to try my hand at the game.  I learned quickly about how scary Amnesia: The Dark Descent really was, and that is part of my reason for not having finished the game.

The scariest/most frustration moment that caused me to quit playing the game was in the “Prison” where I was trapped by one of the game’s enemy “Grunts.”  The whole situation was made worse when my lantern ran out of oil and I was plunged into almost complete darkness.  Standing in the dark will reduce your character’s sanity and that causes the screen to become disorienting, so the situation I was in was dire at best. 

It was at this moment that I quit out of the game and since then I have still not managed to load back into the game.  I know what’s waiting for me in that dark prison and am perfectly fine with never returning.

Homefront

Homefront is a first-person shooter developed by the now-defunct Kaos Studios and was released in March 2011.  I remember first hearing about this game and its “Red Dawn-esque” story and thinking it might have the necessary elements to contend with the Call of Duty franchise.  The game had a novel idea for a story and was to have a multiplayer element as well, so I was very excited when the game released.

However, Homefront was a disappointment and a big one at that.  The campaign lasted only about 5 hours, which is fairly short even for a first-person shooter.  This was compounded by the fact that the game was often unplayable with the glitches or bugs.  

The moment that ended my relationship with Homefront happened on one of the later missions when my NPC comrades bugged out in front of a ladder.  Not just any ladder though, the exact ladder I had to climb to continue the mission.  And the Homefront NPCs do not move when you run into them because I tried for about 5 minutes before giving up.  Homefront also had a checkpoint system that was not friendly so I almost had to start all the way over to complete the mission.

Not to be beaten by my NPC “teammates” (if they can be called that), I started the mission over with the intent of beating the game.  Remember that ladder?  Yeah, the NPCs froze in front of it for the second time in a row.  That was when I looked at Homefront with eyes of disappointment and then proceeded to use the game to collect dust.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Now, before anyone gets angry at me for not finishing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, let it be known that I have put my best foot forward at doing so.  Bethesda Game Studios is one of my favorite game developers and Skyrim is an amazing title.  The huge open-world adventure is packed is side quests to go along with the main story, and that is the only reason I have not finished Skyrim.

To be honest, the only reason I have not finished the main story for Skyrim is the sheer number of side quests in the game.  Whether it is working with the companions or assassinating targets with the Dark Brotherhood, Skyrim offers hours upon hours of fun, engaging quests.  And actually, the side quests feel more engaging than the main quest so far, so it is hard to focus on finishing the game.

I have played over 45 hours of Skyrim and have hardly progressed along the path of the Dovahkiin!  With school and work, I do not have near enough time to dedicate to completely playing through the game, but it is still my one of my favorite video games.  One of these days I will finish the story for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but for now it remains one on my list of unfinished games.

Which games have you struggled to finish in your time playing video games?  What reasons have caused you to not finish a game?  Let me know in the Comments below.