Mr. Robot
I played around with Mr. Robot a few weeks ago. Initially, it was quite appealing even though I couldn’t quite explain why.
Mr. Robot is a pretty straightforward mix of SNES-era console-RPG style turn based battles and platforming that emphasizes box puzzles. The sci-fi wrapper is probably the most appealing part, and it’s chock full of references. However, I haven’t felt compelled to finish the game even though it appears to be pretty short.
I had quite a bit of fun at the start of the game when I was sorely outmatched fighting battles that I was supposed to avoid before I had an actual party. Making progress took a lot of effort and I was constantly walking on the wire, always on the brink of death. Resource management was really important, because if I screwed up I was going to end up burning more heals than I could afford to purchase. The problem I ran into is that the level curve is too shallow. Once I got a party member (and a healer at that), the game became really easy. I found out I was one level away from max in one of the two types of levels that progress simultaneously.
As I progressed through the game, my party got stronger… but the fights really didn’t get harder. The “tough” guys that I was fighting alone at level 1 are the common guys for my full, high-level party. It’s only introduced a single tier of new enemies that entire time, and those aren’t that much stronger. This creates a dreary feeling of monotony, as every fight is the same (and trivially easy). If there was more variety and growth in the enemies then I’d probably have finished the game by now.