Some video games are so captivating that players find it hard to tear themselves away from them. This is why the idea of abandoning these experiences before reaching their conclusion sounds so hard to digest, but this is a reality many people must accept.
Even the best video games around can test a player's patience, especially near the end. More often than not, players drop this experience altogether before the final boss battle, although their fond memories of the game ensure that they will be talking about it for years to come.
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All completion percentages are based on Steam's achievement data.
Hollow Knight
Going Through The White Palace To Fight Radiance Is A Pain
Hollow Knight
- Released
- February 24, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Genre(s)
- Metroidvania
Hollow Knight is a labor of love that shows just how far the Metroidvania genre has come. What seems like a simple, cute game about controlling a bug that takes out other bugs balloons into an epic yet sad journey that's in a class of its own.
The game has so many magical moments that players will find it hard to tear themselves away from the screen as they try to defeat all Dreamers and take on the Hollow Knight. However, they'll soon realize that there's a true ending that can only be obtained by ascending the Dream Nail, entering the White Palace, and completing one of the hardest platforming challenges in the game. This can be a bit too much for most players, which is why only 18.2% have actually accomplished this impressive feat.
Darkest Dungeon
The Late-Game Dungeons Are Brutal
Darkest Dungeon
- Released
- January 19, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Alcohol Reference, Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Darkest Dungeon is a game that prides itself on its difficulty. Players must navigate horrible dungeons full of unimaginable beasts that will torment the minds of their chosen heroes. The game is ridiculously challenging, but players will eventually be able to form a party capable of dealing with tougher and tougher dungeons.
However, by the time players near the end, the difficulty of the game's dungeons reaches truly ridiculous heights. Losing party members over and over again simply isn't fun after a point, which has led to only 4.5% of players acquiring this achievement.
Baldur's Gate 3
Act 3 Wears On Most People's Nerves, After A Point
Baldur's Gate 3
- Released
- August 3, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
There's no denying that Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the greatest RPGs of all time. However, after players experience two of the best acts they've seen in an RPG, arriving in the city of Baldur's Gate feels a bit underwhelming for some.
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The game's glitches and technical issues are at their worst in this act. The duo of Gortash and Orin simply isn't as riveting as Ketheric Thorm, one of gaming's greatest antagonists. The difficulty doesn't let up either, which is why only 23.4%of players powered their way to the end while the others abandoned the game altogether — or restarted to explore new characters and choices.
Xenogears
Players Drop The Game Once It Turns Into A Glorified Slideshow
Xenogears
- Released
- October 20, 1998
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Xenogears is one of the greatest PS1 JRPGs of all time, if only its first half is taken into account. The game is basically a playable version of Neon Genesis Evangelion with a focus on philosophical storytelling and a bunch of riveting plot twists.
However, Takahashi's development process was too long, and the game ran out of its budget. As a result, the second half of the game transformed into a glorified slideshow that poorly summarized plot points that should've been groundbreaking. The excessive reading, coupled with the game's linear structure, makes it clear why players found it easy to abandon Xenogears after sticking with it for the first half.
The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
The Story Is A Second Priority In Most Elder Scrolls Games
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
- Released
- May 1, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Blood, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Pretty much every Elder Scrolls game is a candidate for a title that players abandon well before they reach the end, but this is just part of the journey. After all, these games encourage the player to carve out their own fate in the world instead of following a predetermined path.
Morrowind is a great example of this, lacking any map markers whatsoever. This makes exploration more rewarding than ever, but it also leads to some players dropping the game well before they get a chance to beat down Dagoth Ur, which is understandable given the title's enormous scope.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
The Overwhelming Open World Leads To Players Getting Fatigued
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
- Released
- October 15, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Open-World
Assassin's Creed Odyssey is the perfect example of a game that's stretched too thin for most people's liking. In a bid to try and recreate what made The Witcher 3 so special, the series lost its identity and turned into an open-world RPG for three games, Odyssey included.
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There's no denying that Odyssey is a blast to play and has its moments, but the game is also a perfect example of why so many people have open-world fatigue. Most of them dropped the game well before the story reached its conclusion, and only 32.5% of players reached the game's ending after a long, long time.
Blue Prince
The True Ending Takes A Ridiculously Long Time To Unlock
Blue Prince
- Released
- April 10, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Alcohol Reference, Simulated Gambling
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle, Adventure, Exploration, Strategy
When people start Blue Prince, they assume that reaching Room 46 is when the game ends. While the credits do roll at this moment, there's still a lot that players must accomplish before reaching the true end of this wonderful puzzle game.
This wouldn't have been a major issue, but Blue Prince's reliance on RNG leads to frustrating runs where players are just one step away from solving a puzzle. This agony builds up until some people decide that they're better off reading a summary or watching a video than pushing themselves to play this game for a few more hours.
RimWorld
No One Makes The Effort To Build A Spaceship And Leave
RimWorld
- Released
- October 17, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Use of Drugs, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
RimWorld does have an end goal where players construct a spaceship and fend off attacking colonists in a bid to escape. However, given the sheer amount of things to do in the game (especially with all its DLCs), some players prefer to leave their colonists stranded forever.
It may sound cruel, but RimWorld is at its best when a player is struggling to form a colony and populate it with productive residents. By the time they have the resources to embark upon the endgame, they'll be so attached to their colonists that saying goodbye will be almost impossible.
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