What features in an adventure game turn you off and stop you from purchasing a game?

Some thoughts:

Gadgets
Stealth
Mini Games
Timers
No Voices
keyboard only
Jump Scares
profanity


I'm loving your participation in the discussions! Thank you to all who contribute!

Ana

Having to learn how to use gadgets - especially when there are lots of different ones - or you won’t be able to complete the game 👎

Unfortunately, nothing stops me from purchasing a game. Playing the game is a different matter.

None of the thoughts mentioned is necessarily a game stopper, but possibly all of them could be. It depends on the game. How many gadgets? How much stealth? What kind of mini games? How short of a timer? Voices - I do prefer them but don't have to have them. Keyboard only might depend on what actions need to be done in the game. Jump scares aren't a problem. Profanity doesn't bother me, though sometimes it seems misplaced and there isn't any reason for it (but people could say that about my use of it also).

But, for me an Adventure game turns into a problem with too much stealth, being chased, dying, being on a timer, too much jumping, too much manual dexterity required. This to me, means Action game, though many of them are classified as Adventures.

Also, I was trying not to call you out Ana, on the Let's Discuss 3 topic. I was waiting patiently but never did see a response from you. We would all like to hear your thoughts on these discussion too you know!

#1 for me is unable to save at will, followed closely by lots of gadgets. The last Ghost game - can't remember the name - turned into a real chore after awhile because of all the gadgets and figuring out which one should be used when or where.

There is one game I can think of that I didn't buy because of some feature in the game. Trust No One. You apparently had to send an email somewhere to get something, and also use web browsing. The email part is what turned me away from the game.

READING!!! can't stand when there is so much reading, honestly...I gave up reading Adventure books back in 1995 when Adventure games gave me the ability of actually being in the type of books I used to read. I have quit many a game because of too much reading.

I am of very little use when it comes to mechanical puzzles. I don't care for timers, although I will put up with one or two if the rest of the game is really good. Another thing that makes me run screaming for the hills is games with some kind of societal message - i play games to escape from reality, not be hit over the head with it.

Hi Draclvr, it might not be this game: Dark Fall: Ghost Vigil, but I played it for about three hours and gave up because of All the complicated gadgets you had to use and found this one absolutely boring.

Not being able to “save at will” is another big turn off for me.
Real life can so often disrupt game play and not being able to immediately save and quit to go deal with it is extremely annoying !!
I absolutely don’t want to have to replay a sometimes rather large chunk of game just to get back to a point I’d already previously reached solely because of no appropriate save facility being on offer 🥺

Of the ones Ana lists, keyboard only is the only feature that unconditionally turns me off. I sometimes work around this by mapping the keys to a game controller using an excellent little program called Xpadder though.

Unforgiving timers make me rage-quit a game immediately.

However, I dislike all of the listed features if they’re used excessively or don’t fit in the game.

Other than that, lack of manual saves should be illegal. Also, having to click half a dozen times to use a single inventory item really gets on my nerves.

Well said. I totally agree. In addition, timed segments and keyboard only are also deal breakers for me.

Good topic...
I agree with everyone that lack of manual saves is a big issue...it makes the developers seem inconsiderate. Not sure how they can not be aware of the importance of this feature.

Stealth sequences really annoy me, especially if they can result in long or graphic death sequences. I play the games to relax, not to creep around trying to avoid a gruesome death. I love the Longest Journey games, but I always hit a roadblock in Dreamfall trying to creep around in the caves while avoiding the giant troll.

Voice acting adds so much to a game that I usually won't spend time on a game if it is unvoiced. Though I have enjoyed many games without dialogue in which the characters make noises and exclamations without printed dialogue that must be read (Samarost, Roki, Boxville1 & 2).

I did not like pixel hunting back in the day. The Runaways were good for that. I tried the first one quitting it shortly in never to play another pixel hunter again. I have yet to play a game from today's times that pixel hunts

Don't like reading a game any more. I had no trouble with text adventures back in the day. I enjoyed the heck out of them. It was all getting started and so interesting. You had to keep notes, draw maps on so on. I can still see the images in my head the text adventure created. That was fun

I am very disappointed with some of these beautiful looking escape games that contain puzzles that only a genius with a 300 IQ can solve

Games where you have to do favors for characters to get what you want sometimes going two favors back ...... nope!

Any kind of timed gaming is a bummer

Keyboard is not an issue as long as the keys are few

An overloaded inventory can be a pain especially when you need to combine. Having to go through them all every time you picked up another item I don't like.

I loved the Darkling Room games. I didn't mind the use of gadgets in a game from back in the day like the Darkfalls. When I tried the latest releases, Ghost Vigil and Incubus, I come to realize liking the use of gadgets in a game had come to an end

Don't care for pixelated games. That time too has come and gone

Don't mind auto saving as long as the game autosaves when you exit the game and not at save points. Nothing worse than trying to figure out what it is you need to do all over again, inventory, reading of documents, etc.....

Another thing that I find VERY annoying is if I don’t complete a section that ends in “death” quickly enough I am then forced to play not only that particular section over again but often the lengthy “run-up” to it as well !!
Even though the whole rest of the game might be fine ….

Awful 👎

I'll agree with the "lengthy "run-up" replays and also the "overloaded inventory". Both can be quite tiresome. I didn't mention about manual saves only because I think that goes without saying. I know I've mentioned before that I make many, many saves when the game allows me to. I'll also add too much choice making. I like the developers to write the game for me. I don't want to write it myself.

Arcade like puzzles.

Exotic interfaces irk me - what does the maker think they are achieving by trying to create something different? - as do games of chance against the programming.
I can't remember the game it was in but one that stands out was having to play Shove Ha'Penny. You just clicked and waited to see what the result would be. There was no strategy, no logic you could deploy; it was just pure luck and you could definitely lose.
I appreciate that it might be programmed to let you win after a certain amount of times but what is the point?
Stuff that feels like filler I don't like either. Bah humbug to most mazes.
And I agree re manual saves.

I don't like it if you can die without being able to save game in key spots nor timers and I don't like a lot of blah blah and reading. I just want to get on with the game and so glad that keyboard games seem to be a thing of the past for the ones I like.