I have recently played 3 games that have forced a lengthy, unskippable tutorial section that runs for several hours of the game, just to unlock the most basic functions like buying the items, customizing features, multiplayer, and even 2-player split screen modes.
For 2 of these games (Armored Core 6 and Gran Turismo 7), the major draw for me was the MP and I haven’t even gotten to check out MP yet because it’s locked out until you get passed a certain point in the progression system. Fuckin’ why do any developers do this? I just wanted to play with my sister but we have to get through most of the fucking game before we are allowed to do the multiplayer modes. Such bullshit.
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If there is a constant need to watch YouTube videos or look up game guides the days of playing that game ends very quickly. Must be intuitive to play.
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Factorio and Stellaris are another 2 great games with steep learning curves. They’re also 2 of my most played games according to steam.
Another commenter mentioned Elite: Dangerous. I have almost 300 hours into this game (rookie numbers for a lot of ED players), and I was still learning brand new mechanics I had no idea were in the game. One of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a game purely because it let me fail and learn on my own, even after I had lots of experience.
I returned a game because it went right into tutorial and story in an alleged “open world” game. When I got out, I you too close to an NPC and back into the story I went! Riders Republic didn’t last 20 minutes with me.