(video game music chimes) - [Falcon] Some games
you instantaneously love. It takes nothing to get
into and you're just there. And some are not that way. Not necessarily that they're bad, but that they're an acquired taste. Hi folks, it's Falcon,
and today on Gameranx, 10 great games you
absolutely hate at first. Starting off with number 10. I know that there are people out there who will say they loved
this game instantaneously. In fact, I am one of them. But there is nothing else
like Death Stranding. It defies all genre expectations and was incredibly
divisive when it came out. Death Stranding came out during peak Walking Simulator backlash, and wowee did it get called that. Compared to something like
the Metal Gear Solid series, which is much more
traditionally structured, and saying Metal Gear Solid
is traditionally structured compared to something
is (laughs) it's a lot. But Death Stranding is crazy weird, and it's super off putting
in the first few hours. (water sloshes) (baby coos) It doesn't help that most of
the tools you eventually get that make travel more fun
take quite a while to unlock. The first few hours of the game are really just you transporting
things from place to place by walking around. (river runs) If the game had come out not much later, we probably would've called it
the Covid FedEx Guy Simulator and I'm sure some people
probably did anyway. But I guess the FedEx guys
did have a big advantage over our man, vehicles immediately. A lot of people just got
into this game and were like, you're walking around, huh? That's the game? It's a bunch of walking? Wow. And then they put it
down after a few hours. It's totally different
from what you would expect from a big budget game. Video games have trained us
to expect big bombastic action right from the get go, dropping you in the deep end so to speak. Even if they don't really, they at least give you the
appearance of being dropped in the deep end. In Death Stranding the deep
end is more of a mental thing. There is action occasionally, but it's more about the
strange meditative atmosphere and really just hauling stuff around. 90% of the game is hauling stuff. I mean, that's maybe a bit
of an oversimplification, but you could call it that. Eventually you start building
up roads and zip lines, and getting around gets so much faster, but at the root it's
still a glorified game of Truck Simulator and by default you're walking
rather than driving a truck. And that's the reason the
game got a lot of backlash when it first came out. A lot of people really didn't
know what to make of it. But if you're willing to take
this game on at its own pace, it is really full of
depth and interesting. It's completely bonkers
in every possible way, but over time lots of things
begin to reveal themselves as extremely interesting
and well designed. Not not bonkers though. It's bonkers. And number nine is Days Gone. Here's a game at the total
opposite of the spectrum. Back when it first came out, reviewers were not kind to it like at all. Seriously, like go back
through some of the reviews. Some of this stuff was really scathing. Recently it's gotten kind
of a critical reevaluation, and there's a lot of people
who actually like it a lot, and for good reason. Days Gone does not make a
good first impression though. They throw a lot of nonsense
at you in the first few hours. The main guy's goofy
name, Deacon St. John. Like, that literally
sounds like a character in one of the "Always Sunny"
gang's various terrible movies. The zombies are called Freakers, which I mean is still funny. And the opening hours of the story are just the least interesting
hours of the story. The main guy, Deac, starts
off pretty unlikable. He's constantly angrily
muttering and is just unpleasant. - [Person On Radio] Deac,
how's it going, brother? You ready? - Not yet. Still gotta find way into Willy's garage. Gotta be a few inside. - [Person On Radio] Hurry your ass up. - [Falcon] Most of the
characters other than him feel pretty stock as far as
zombie game archetypes go. The first few hours really
just aren't that interesting. And you combine that with all the standard open world gameplay and I can see why a lot of people. were not keen on it early on. But if you stick with it, it
does get more interesting. The story starts to pick up
by introducing more characters that you don't just automatically hate. Deac, he starts to chill out. And the actual gameplay starts to get a little more intriguing. It takes a long time
before you get the chance to take on an actual zombie horde, but these fights are the
highlight of the game. In certain locations there's
just hundreds of zombies all at once. (zombies growl)
(suspenseful music) And you gotta clear 'em out. It's these moments where
the gameplay really shines. There's really nothing else quite like it. And you're able to go absolutely
nuts with your weapons in a way that is just not
possible early in the game or really in a lot of games, period. What starts off pretty
standard gets better and better as it goes. And the first few hours
are tough to get through, but that doesn't mean it doesn't get good. Hold my Deac! And number eight is XCOM 2. Not that the game is weird
or anything or even boring. That's not why people hate it at first. It's just really hard. Even on normal, most player's
experience with this game is they start a new game,
play for a few hours, and find themselves in an
unwinnable position and restart. XCOM 2 is a tactical strategy game with a few layers less than an ogre. Two main layers specifically. There's tactical combat
where you control the squad, which performs missions. Probably the bulk of what
you're thinking about when you think of XCOM. - Getting it done. (tech whirs) - [Falcon] And a strategic layer where you expand your
base, research technology, and decide which missions to take on next. Basically it's XCOM 1 with
a few additional twists that make it pretty difficult
particularly at the beginning. Those first few hours
are really unforgiving. You have very limited resources, not a lot of soldiers to work with, so if one of your good ones gets injured, you're basically screwed. Most missions include
some kind of time limit, and when it runs out, you either get infinite
enemy reinforcements or you just fail the mission instantly. Part of the challenge is just learning what you should be researching
and building first. The enemy is always getting harder. And if you're not getting
enough resources for missions, upgrading your base optimally, or going down the right research track, these are big no-nos. You're gonna really quickly
find yourself outpaced by the enemy, so you're only really barely
able to complete missions, which earns you less rewards, which traps you in a failure
cascade that is inescapable. If you've ever heard the term
diminishing rate of returns, that's it. For a lot of people the first
failure is where they give up, and it only gets somehow harder with the War of the Chosen
expansion in XCOM 2. It's a brilliant game. Absolutely fantastic, super satisfying, and really enjoyable once you get going, but you gotta get going. At number seven is The Last Guardian, the PlayStation exclusive from 2016. Depending on who you ask, it's an unplayable mess or
a brilliant masterpiece. The brilliant masterpiece
side also recognizes that it's very tough to get into. If there's one thing we
expect our games to be, it's consistent. When I press the jump
button, I want to jump. Don't want the rules to be
fuzzy, don't wanna be unclear. You wanna be certain when you choose to do
something in the game, there's clear feedback
that you did the thing. It all sounds very obvious, but the reason I'm saying
this is The Last Guardian intentionally breaks this golden
gaming rule intentionally. Let me repeat that word one more time. Intentionally. How it works is you play as a little dude, but most of the puzzles involve
guiding this gigantic bird, cat, dog, creature called Trico around. How do you do it? Well, by shouting "Trico" and hoping for the best most of the time. (boy shouts) (Trico growls) Yes, the game is essentially
press X to Shaun. Not quite. Like, in fact Trico is a
creature with a mind of its own, so sometimes it wants to do
things and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes you have to coerce
them into acting with food or clearing out obstacles, but it's never entirely
clear what Trico wants. (Trico whines) This can lead to a lot
of frustrating moments where you can't really tell
what Trico's supposed to do. Or even worse, when you know exactly
what you want them to do, but Trico won't do it. It is infuriating at times, very obtuse. And a lot of people give up
on the game thanks to it. It's a game worth struggling through. The relationship between the
boy and his giant monster is one of the most touching in gaming, and the whole thing ends
in one of the most dramatic and intense climaxes in any game ever. For people who stuck it
out, it's a worthwhile trip. But there's a lot of bumps in the road. The controls never quite feel
like you're fully in control. And eventually, yeah, a certain
logic does start to emerge, but it's never perfect. But a game can have some
pretty serious flaws and still be great, especially one that tries
to do something different, and The Last Guardian absolutely does. At number six is Prey, a game that definitely makes
a good first impression. The opening sequence is still
one of the all time best. But once you get through the prologue, you're left with what might at first seem like a pretty
middle of the road FPS. The controls are a little clunky, and the entire story seems
really basic at first. But as the game moves on, things just get a lot more interesting. What's unusual about Prey is that at first you really don't think about the potential of all the
abilities at your disposal. The glue gun is a useful tool
for slowing down enemies. - [January] Revive without using them to install new aptitudes. I've already updated your transcript with the list you requested. - [Falcon] But it can also be used to create makeshift stairs
and reach inaccessible places. The story seems very
straightforward at first, until you realize just how
many choices you actually have to influence events. The interesting thing is that the game doesn't just throw this
stuff at you either. It lets things play out
and adapts to what you do. What starts off as something that looks like a slightly
more modern Bioshock is slowly revealed to be much bigger and more interconnected. The entire station is a living environment that changes as you
progress through the game with every area accessible
from multiple angles and many different ways
to resolve the story, all of which feel organic
to the experience. Hard to describe exactly
what makes this version of Prey so special, but it basically took like
an immersive sim idea, like Deus X, but instead
of it being a game that's split into a
bunch of separate levels, it's one big immersive sim sandbox. It's a game that's easy to dismiss as maybe less scary than Dead Space, but there's a whole lot going on that makes it very different
and great in its own right. At number five is The Wonderful 101. PlatinumGames tend to be
pretty tough on new players, but you'd think something
that looked very kid-friendly and built exclusively
for Nintendo consoles would be maybe a little more forgiving. But no. This is actually possibly
their most inaccessible game. It's a game that looks like Pikmin but plays like a cross between, well, Pikmin and Devil May Cry. The opening levels are constant chaos, constantly throwing new ideas at you well before anyone's mastered the basics. (action music) And they don't explain to you something that's totally essential,
like the lock on ability. In any other game that would
probably be pretty obvious, but this is a game with a
really unique control scheme. On top of that, important
abilities like the stinger attack and deflect have to be
bought in the store, and they're mixed with a
ton of less important crap. For new players the game
can be really frustrating and difficult to get a hang of. And because of that a lot
of people just give up. But for the players who stick with it, the game is actually
one of Platinum's best. The depth and variety of the action here is literally second to none. It's over the top bonkers in its finale, and they haven't topped
themselves on this one yet. Yes, Metal Gear Rising:
Revengeance did come out after this game. And no, the finale of
that game does not top it. So that's saying something. It's an extremely complex
and unusual control scheme, and that takes some
serious getting used to. But once you do, this is one of the best
action games of all time. (action music) At number four is Dragon's Dogma, in many ways a game that
was way ahead of its time. That doesn't mean it didn't
have a serious amount of jank to it, but its
combination of Skyrim and Monster Hunter was
extremely forward thinking, even if the final product
ended up a little strange in terms of how it mishmashed
the ideas together. Even with that said though, Dragon's Dogma is a brilliant game with a long awaited sequel finally coming that could, in my opinion, potentially blow the roof
off of basically any genre that went into it. It's high time this original game gets the attention it rightfully deserves. And I think the reason it
didn't get that attention is because it throws so much, so much at you right at the start. It's a tutorial after a clunky tutorial interspersed with awkward gameplay that really doesn't effectively highlight how good the game is,
particularly in its combat system. It takes a long time to really
reveal how good the game is, but by that point, a lot of
people had already given up. (characters chatter) - Run away! Now, bring fire! Strike with fire before it recovers! - Lure them down and strike! - [Falcon] Everything about
the opening hours of the game are just kind of head scratching. And even people who love it know that you just kind of
have to push your way through that stuff before
the game actually gets good. Once you start unlocking abilities, team up with the team of pawns
that actually do something and start fighting some
giant monsters for real, then the game really
starts to come together and becomes the janky but beloved classic that everyone knows it has today. The first few hours are rough though. (suspenseful music) - No place to hide from
that multi-headed serpent! - I'll strike its head! - [Falcon] At number three is Rain World. Few games have a critical
reappraisal like Rain World has, which started out as a game that had a mixed reception at best and now has overwhelmingly
positive reviews on Steam. Part of that comes down
to how the developers have updated the game, but
a lot of it just boils down to how people engaged with it. Rain World is first of all a
brutal and unforgiving game. It's mechanics are obscure,
it's controls are unusual, and it's pretty easy to get yourself stuck in an unwinnable state. For any other game that
would be pretty damning, but for Rain World, it somehow
comes together and works. It's not a roguelike and it's not really a metroidmania per se, even though it does have
all the appearances of one. It's more like a survival exploration game with a living ecosystem you
have to learn to navigate and adapt to. I think what really throws people off, it looks like a cute platformer, but it's brutally difficult and obscure in a way few games are. You can easily take a wrong turn and end up in an end game
area right from the start. And unlike Dark Souls or
something with this level system and it's pretty obvious
which enemies outclass you, this game even that kind
of basic information, it's just not clear at all. It's the kind of game you gotta be willing to really knuckle down and learn, and that's scared a lot of people off. But it's also brought in a lot of fans who have come to appreciate
what it's trying to do. It's a game that's easy
to get fed up with. But a lot of people who
stick with it really love it. (eerie music) And number two is Dead Rising. It's the time limit. What else needs to be said? If you throw a big blinking
time limit in a game, then I'm probably going
to hate it at first. The entire Dead Rising series includes that kind of time limit. Your main guy, Frank West,
who's covered war as you know, starts off as a total chump. He's slow and weak and
there's zombies everywhere. So yeah, there's that. Just trying to keep within the time limit is a bit of a challenge, and for most people starting out, you're just gonna reach a point where you run outta time and fail, or maybe you die from the
annoying convicts in the park. I don't know. (gunshots) Even if you love this game, there's no excuse for those guys. They are the absolute worst. The whole thing starts
off slow and frustrating, and having a ticking clock
above something that is slow and frustrating, oh boy,
does that make it worse. Eventually after a few hours, it does get a lot more fun though. You start getting stronger, you learn new moves to
deal with the zombies, the inventory gets bigger, and you learn where all the best weapons and healing items are, so
fights are less of a slog. (zombie growls and gurgles) (zombie growls) People you have to
rescue never get smarter, but at least they're pretty
easy to babysit with a gun. Dead Rising remains probably
one of the most unique and cool games that Capcom ever put out. But there are some real growing pains when you're starting out. The time limit. It's really, it's the time limit. And finally, at number
one, the Souls series. Everyone who's played a Souls
game has the story about when the game suddenly
started to click for them. Sometimes it happens fast, sometimes it takes a couple games. Yes, the Souls series can take
multiple games to get into, which that's like peak curiosity. An open-minded person right there. Good for them. Usually it goes like this though. You're playing the game, dying
constantly, you're miserable, you're playing crazy defensively 'cause you don't wanna
die and lose your souls. And when you do die, it feels like you've
lost all your progress. When you're hating the games, the moment you lose 10,000
souls is the breaking point. And that's when a lot of people turn away and never look back. (suspenseful music)
(fire roars) Some people eventually come back though. And with perseverance, or
in one or two Wiki searches, they eventually start to understand how these games are supposed to work. The funny thing is that
the whole transformation's never really changed. The Souls games, which include
Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and now Elden Ring are really similar overall. Each game does have its own unique stats and confusing mechanics that
aren't completely explained. Sekiro alone had the
whole dragon rot thing, where if you died too much,
certain NPCs would get sick and be inaccessible, and that could be enough to
scare a lot of people away. Hell, Demon Souls, the first one, the one that started it
all, arguably anyway, I mean, From had games before
that that a lot of the stuff that we saw in Demon Souls was also in. But Demon Souls really gave
a bad first impression. If you die before the first
boss, you lose half your health. There's no way to level up your character or get stronger before the first boss, so literally the only way to get through the first
real level is to get good with half health. (character grunts) These games are obtuse and
very frustrating at times, but they're really good games, and it could just take a while to actually understand
what you're getting into, and constantly getting murdered by everything doesn't make it easy. And I don't mean like the
game, I mean, like emotionally. Once it clicks though, it's great, but until then you're properly miserable. One bonus for you, the
Fear and Hunger series. These indie RPG maker
games are having a moment on YouTube recently. To put it simply, they're
basically the Souls games taken to the absolute extreme. They're brutally hard,
intentionally unpleasant, and miserable experiences, and somehow garnered a fan
base of masochistic lunatics willing to put up with an
overwhelming amount of cruelty. When you first start these
games, especially the first one, you'll probably die in the first or second thing you encounter. It seems impossible. Like, there's not even a game
here, just a murder simulator. But with enough perseverance,
the pattern starts to emerge and a way forward begins to reveal itself. It's also grim and over the top dark that it seems to be a joke
on you for lots of reasons, but there actually is a way to beat them. The difficulty's over the top. But for a certain type of player, these games are some of
the most intriguing ones to have come out the last few years. And that's all for today. Leave us a comment, let
us know what you think. If you like this video, click like. If you're not subscribed,
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for watching this video. I'm Falcon. You can follow me on
Twitter @FalconTheHero. We'll see you next time
right here on Gameranx.
