You don't have to hate a game you can't finish. I love SMT5V even though I have dropped it mid playthrough 3 times.

I was watching Yhatzee's Semi-Ramblomatic video where he ended up being really confused on his feelings about Silksong. I remembered how I feel about the games Shin Megami Tensei V and SMT5 Vengeance so I'm here to tell you that a game being finished or not does not correlate to if you love a game or not.

In fact, SMT5V isn't even the only game like it. My very first blog post on this platform was about a game I never finished but love even now. I haven't replayed and dropped it thrice over times like SMT5V, but I still had a lot of fun solving the puzzles till the game broke me.

If you are confused about how you feel for a game, think about how you felt about the game in retrospect. Did you enjoy yourself while playing? Where there any moments where you were having fun and vice versa? Was what you did get worth the time you put in? There might be more questions, but the big thing is that the fomo or the lack of reward on your last stretch doesn't have to be what drives your opinion. You can disagree if you think the ends should justify your means, but if you never thought it was possible to like a game you haven't finished, here am I telling you otherwise.

Here is a little bonus: Did you know that you can also hate a game you are actively playing? Might seem a bit ridiculous that someone would willingly play a game they hate outside of work, but I hated Planet Zoldath from UFO 50 and was still trying to beat it anyway. The game didn't take long to beat, but there was almost no payoff for the work I did that could have been much better if I just watched people play it. It's the kind of game you remember beating and wondering if you are safe being so lonely without someone to make you stop making dumb decisions. There would be the joy of shared suffering with even one friend with you at the very least.