I’m fairly level-headed when it comes to video games, and not the type of person to rage quit and cause property damage. There are a few scenarios where I get close, and I’d love to share these pain points with you!
Hi. You might remember me from the After The Hype podcast. I talk sometimes on that, and am responsible for the video content you see. You might also notice that I bring up video games often on our WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN DOING segment of the show.
If you’re thinking, “hey, this guy is a gamer,” you’d be right, except I’m not THAT type of gamer. I don’t dox anyone or threaten lives or participate in those subreddits. I do occasionally feel a sense of “black out” rage when it comes to gaming, but they’re very specific circumstances and almost always involve some kind of mechanic in the game that is just too much for me. There are also a few instances in which the content itself is a bit much for my taste, stepping over a very subjective line that just ruins the whole experience for me.
You’re probably thinking at this point, “wow, these games aren’t that difficult,” or “jeez, what a little whiny snowflake.” That’s perfectly fine. It’s also perfectly fine for me to murder you in my mind over and over again, so maybe let’s be on our merry way and check out the FIVE MOMENTS IN VIDEO GAMES THAT NEARLY MADE ME QUIT!
5. RIDICULOUS AND INCONSISTENT DIFFICULTY SPIKE
(DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS)
I love the Fantasy genre, so it should be no surprise that I would love this game series from BIOWARE. The first installment was quite epic and had some great character moments. The controls were a little wonky, but nothing I couldn’t handle from playing World of Warcraft for all those years. What nearly killed it for me was the insane difficulty spikes on NORMAL mode.
NORMAL MODE.
THE ANYONE CAN PLAY IT…MODE!
I limped along through about 3/4ths of the game before reaching THE LANDSMEET, where I simply could not progress with how I had everything set up. To fix it would require backtracking through a few difficult sections and changing the outcome of at least one character’s betrayal. I’m STILL in the process of finishing this game.
4. TORTURE SCENE, AIRPORT DROP-OFF
(GRAND THEFT AUTO 5)
Grand Theft Auto 5 is a strange beast for me. Love the game mechanics in general, and the heists provided some amazing cinematic moments. What nearly did it in for me was the Torture Scene where you’re forced to torture a guy for a really long time, and then take him to the airport to let him “escape.”
Everything about it bothered me, and I hated that I was forced to use the torture mechanic to progress the game. I couldn’t at any point opt out and just kill the torturers. It was an ugly feeling and it took me awhile to finish the game. The asshole FBI guy who instigated the torturing “got his,” but it didn’t really fix the icky feeling inside.
3. SGT. HILDE, OR ANY BOSS FIGHT, REALLY
(DEAD RISING 3)
DEAD RISING 3 was a launch title for the XBOX ONE when it first came out, which means it was the only game we had to play when we bought our console. It made great use of the new processing power and even had some second-screen action to ice the cake. Where things got a bit much for me was with the character Sgt. Hilde; but let’s be honest, most of the boss fights really crossed that line for me. They were difficult in a way that didn’t seem fair. I could get everything right, but die in the last minute because the game did something a little different.
Hilde’s boss fight was particularly aggravating because she brought with her an entire SWAT team who were almost completely immune to my tactics, and who were bullet-sponges to boot. I think I screamed at my TV on more than one occasion (and maybe threw my controller, but let’s ignore that).
These boss fights were supposed to be funny, too, which made things worse.
2. ELEVATOR FIGHT / ESCORT MISSION
(PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME)
I had so much fun playing SANDS OF TIME, until I had to do this elevator escort mission. I get aggravated just thinking about it. The amount of skill and precision needed in this one section is exponential in comparison to the fights leading up to this. Good luck saving Farah.
1. OLD KING ALLANT BOSS FIGHT
(DEMON’S SOULS)
There’s a particular move-set that OLD KING ALLANT employs which caused me great strife. It’s that move where he stabs you through the chest, lifts you in the air, and takes away one of your hard-earned levels AND ALL THE GOD DAMNED STATS TO GO WITH IT. THIS FIGHT WAS SUCH BULL**** AND I’M GETTING HEART PALPITATIONS JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS FIGHT AGAIN. MY PALMS ARE SWEATING, MAKING THE KEYBOARD DIFFICULT TO USE. AARRGGH.
Ok.
Breathe.
Video games are my jam. They aren’t perfect – as evidenced by this list – but they do provide countless hours of entertainment and distraction from the drama of IRL. I hope this tumultuous journey was beneficial and that you were able to learn something about me that you probably didn’t care to know. Cheers!
Do you have any games that make you want to rage quit or cause excessive property damage? I’d love to hear about them here or on our FACEBOOK PAGE.
Writer/Creator/Web Guy for After the Hype. Created an animated fantasy webseries called Flagon. GM for Demon Dayz: An Actual Play Podcast, which you can conveniently find here on athpod.com