The Games I Didn't Finish in 2025

Games I started but dropped

Well, it’s the end of the year, so it’s time to start the rankings and lists. For my first list, I’m looking back at four games I started, played a good chunk of, but ultimately dropped for various reasons. All four of these games could get picked back up next year and lead to an updated favorite games list, but for now, I talk about my time with each one.

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Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

One of the games I was really hyped for entering the year was Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, a soulslike from a Chinese studio. As a fan of the genre, I was looking for that itch to fill due to the lack of any new single-player focused From Software game. I was also interested in playing a game from China, a country increasingly involved in video games. What I played, I actually really liked… up to a point. First of all, this is a fairly pretty game in terms of art direction and graphics. It does have some performance issues, including annoying screen tearing, but it was playable enough that it didn’t bother me.

The game’s story was a bit confusing, but also understandable. I guess the story is never going to be the strongest suit of this type of game, although Lies of P does have a pretty solid one. As expected, it’s a challenging game, and I was ready for that. The bosses I fought took me a while, and I got Sekiro vibes from the difficulty (not necessarily a bad thing, but I have mixed feelings about that game). What was really giving me issues with it, though, was the leveling system. The leveling system combines weapon upgrades and skills all in one, which I really did not like. I couldn’t spec my strength or dexterity to higher levels to have a better chance with bosses, and I found the mechanics to upgrade weapons confusing and time-consuming. I also think some of the soulslike mechanics were a bit off, such as dodging, which is probably due to the studio’s lack of experience with the genre.

Ultimately, the reason I stopped playing this game is a combination of time and realization. I got up to a particularly hard boss, and since the leveling-up system was annoying me, I didn’t really have the patience to level up to have a better chance. Furthermore, I was getting tired of the difficulty. Look, I’ve played some really tough games, and I consider the fact that I beat Sekiro and Silksong to be trophies on my mantle, but as I get older, I am questioning whether I even care to deal with it. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the soulslike genre, I’m just getting burnt out on the difficulty part of it. Plus, Silksong was on the way, and I decided if I was going to have a hard time with a game, I would rather do it with one as anticipated as that one.

The Outer Worlds 2

I came into the hype of Outer Worlds 2 a little late, as I never played the original game and I wasn’t eying this one up. However, the Microsoft marketing for it did get me, especially the comedic parts, and I have had a great run with Obsidian with two games that have opened my eyes to their talents - Pentiment and Avowed.

The art direction is solid, and I like it when studios don’t just go for realism and instead add their own personality and flavor to a game’s visuals. Outer Worlds 2 has that; its visual presentation, from the look to UI, gives it a distinct personality. The shooting and gunplay aren't too bad, and the weapons I did use and found were pretty unique and creative. I also got that Fallout-like looting and exploring feeling, which Avowed does a good job of replicating. I could see the inspiration from the Fallout games in that department of the gameplay. I also liked the open zones, similar to Avowed as well, as it gives you similar aspects to an open world but without making you feel overwhelmed like many games can do the moment you open up a map. That said, I had plenty of negatives that played into my decision to drop it.

The main issue I had with this game was its story and characters. I just found myself not really caring or finding them interesting in any way. Unlike some critics, I didn’t mind the writing in Avowed and found myself liking the side characters for the most part, and Pentiment is a masterpiece as far as I’m concerned. However, Outer Worlds 2’s story just made no sense in terms of the motivations of the established villain (at least I think they’re the villain), and the lore of the world kind of annoyed me. The established factions and religions made no sense, and the supposed commentary on capitalism felt black and white. Part of it is due to me being an institutionalist in life, and I don’t mind if you want to make commentary criticizing those institutions. Still, you have to do it in a way that doesn’t just paint them with broad strokes and doesn’t have shades of gray for the people in those institutions. The game is meant to be funny and witty, but it might have gone a bit too far for my liking, and none of the characters really stuck with me.

Now, I’m okay with playing games even if a story or characters aren’t hooking me, but timing was an issue here too, as Metroid Prime 4 got closer and closer, and I didn’t feel excited to go back and play it. If I had had the time, I would have pushed myself to play the rest of it, and it most likely would have been headed toward a low-end recommend silver medal score, but I had to decide to drop it with Metroid on the way.

Winter Burrow

I have been excited about this game since it was first shown. I’m not a cozy game guy, but the concept and original trailer sold me. So, how did I feel about it now that it’s finally out? Well, I really like it. There is a solid game here, and I enjoyed the experience I had with it. I was surprised by how much more survival-driven the gameplay was, but I also went along with it, and I like the story and motivations of our protagonist. So why did I drop it? Again, a story of time. With Metroid Prime 4 coming, I had to drop it, along with Outer Worlds 2. Unlike Outer Worlds 2, however, I was enjoying my time enough that I would like to return to this one if I get the chance next year.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo

I’ve seen some mutuals and others say great things about this game. During a brief break I took from Silksong, due to my anger at its difficulty, I bought and downloaded this game and played for about 2 hours. The story did hook me, and it has a unique concept and pretty good writing. That being said, I was having trouble falling in love with the general gameplay, and I’m pretty sure I got lost in the world and didn’t really know where to head. This is one I do want to give another chance, especially since I paid for it, but it’s going to have to wait until time opens up.

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