Games

I like skyrim, but completing it is kind of missing the point IMO. The draw is to install a whole bunch of new mods and see if the game still works.

Stardew Valley. He keeps adding things before I finish what was already released.

I think what you're describing is how I felt with Hollow Knight. When I set it down for the last time (so far), I did so knowing I would probably never return to finish it.

I don't get a lot of time to game, and the time I get is punctuated by months of hiatus each year. Any game that's too long, too difficult, or too complicated to pick back up quickly after I've been gone awhile is not a good fit for me.

I was too far along in the game to even consider starting over, not to mention that a lot of the magic would be lost. But I was also far enough along that I know I don't want to put the effort into relearning the mechanics, figuring out what I'm supposed to be doing, and having to re-explore everything.

Granted, by the time I stopped playing, it had already grown tedious and I wasn't enjoying it much anyway. It stopped being rewarding was just mostly just punishing at a certain point.

After I set Hollow Knight aside, I found other games that I liked better and were more accommodating to my circumstances (ex: Hades). And now, even if I did want some more time with Hollow Knight, I'd honestly just wait for the upcoming sequel / prequel / whatever it's going to be (Silksong).

Red dead redemption. I refuse to go in that fucking barn.

Satisfactory, it's so much fun, but looking forward to the endgame builds is super daunting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSV2Ku3DhTc

Most of the games I don't finish are because I don't want the story to end. Currently its cyberpunk

Skyrim.

I spent about 100hrs playing and even built my own house. There's a branch in the story line part way through where you have to choose to be a Dragon killer or supporter. I couldn't choose so I just kept doing side-quests. Not played it in years though.

Not my absolute favourite game, but one that I loved is Kingdom Come: Deliverance. But I just don’t have the time to invest into relearning the combat system anymore. Which is a shame because I think the world it creates is amazing and you can get a bit lost in it.

Noita, kinda. I've won a few runs and unlocked most of the secrets, but some of the late game quests just get absurd to the point of taking dozens of hours and even with a perfect god-mode setup there's still ways to get instakilled.

I love a game with depth and secrets but noita definitely reached the point of "y'know, I'm not having fun anymore. This is just work"

Fucked if I'll ever beat Nethack without wizard mode.

Death Stranding is another, though for a completely different reason. I know there's some super cool fun shit somewhere in there; but getting through the first few hours of the game to get to that point is so boring I always end up putting it down before getting to anything worthwhile. And that's with actually thinking the walking system is pretty kick ass.

Bg3. It's a fantastic game that I put 100 hours into. I'll never finish it though because I was just done with the well put together gameplay loop. It made me realize I may be done with that genre altogether now. I've put uncountable hours into various crpgs, and I've had my time with them. I finished off with one of the absolute best. Good enough for me.

Fallout 4. I keep finding new mods and other stuff to do so I never really got around to finishing it, even though I put hundreds of hours in.

Tetris

Europa Universalis IV and Stellaris. For exactly the same reasons.

I spend way too much time in those games. Hundreds of hours each. But the end game is just too much of a slog. You already won, so there is no challenge; the framerate tanks into unplayable territory; and the micromanagement to manage the late game wars and economy becomes insane.

But starting with a different empire, and doing early/mid game again is awsome!

Valheim. I just build shit though.

Half-life 2 has probably been installed on every PC I've owed over the past 20 years but I've never finished it. On the positive side I've managed to avoid spoilers for this long so what's another 20...

Old School Runescape. Kind of a cop-out answer as it's a MMO, but I'm never gonna get maxed there

Honestly, most big RPG's. I really love character creation, and I love watching a character progress in power. For most games, however, I find that if you put even a little bit of thought into character building, you either become far too powerful too quickly and lose any sense of challenge the game can offer or the game has such aggressive enemy level scaling that you end up feeling punished for trying to progress. To that end, as much as I love their early games, I've never completed a Bioware game, most Bethesda RPGs, all cRPGs including Baldur's Gate 3, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and The Outer Worlds. Whenever I get the itch to replay them, I always make a fresh new character.

Fallout 4 I have around 450 hours in it, and like 10 are in character creation and 400 are in settlement building.

I have not meet the Institute, I have had two run in with the Railroad, I have defended Far Harbor when you first arrive, I have meet Virgil ones and I have never been on board the Prydwen. I did get to some big fight in the Automatron DLC after you build the brain bot, but I have now idea if it was the last or not.

But I absolutely love the game to bits and can roll play in it for hours.

Ghouls n Goblins yo

Rimworld.

Over the years, on and off, I've put 2k hours into that game, and I've never, ever built the ship or helped the High Stellarch or found the Archo Nexus. Never even gotten close. I love building bases and growing colonies, and with all the DLC+mods there's an endless amount to do, but yeah.. doubt I'll ever actually get to the end.

Minecraft. I love building crazy things in creative mode or on peaceful but I will never play with monsters on or even attempt to fight the Nether dragon.

Morrowind is tied as my favorite game. I might never finish it. I have felt the urge to finish it, but it goes away pretty quickly once I start. The game is just more fun when dicking around and exploring.

XCOM Enemy Unknown might be my favorite game that I'm just not interested in finishing at all. I like the matches and the strategy. Not really interested in saving the world.

Tetris apparently

The full grand campaign in War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition.

Ypu fight the entire Pacific War in 3 day turns across a map with 40 nautical mile hexes with the full order of battle at your disposal. If you play seriously to win against a capable opponent, you have to manage everything right down to individual pilots. There are thousands of ships, thousands of planes and pilots, and hundreds of land units. It is almost more of a historical achievement than a "game". You can play against the AI, but the real experience is to play against another person by email. The full campaign could take 450 turns if you play it out right to the end. Of course, one side can concede early if defeat becomes inevitable, but even so, if each player takes one turn per day, it will probably take about a year to finish. And you won't just be spending time taking your turn, you'll also be reading up on the actual war strategies of each nation, analyzing your opponents moves, planning your own moves and strategies, figuring out supply logistics, learning the capabilities of the ships and planes at your disposal, reading intel reports, and managing virtual pilots and commanders. In many ways, WITP:AE is more of a technical and historical achievement than a game. I honestly don't know if I'll ever be able to complete the full campaign. I would certainly have to be retired before I'd ever attempt it versus a human opponent. And even if I could fully commit, who knows if my opponent would also have the fortitude to finish.

I was waiting to finish totk until the DLCs came out.

I'm still waiting.