another portion are like me who are playing and looking for that moment where we can say it's great.
Usually that's a pretty good indicator of a miss.
When I first played 7dtd I hated it, all I could do was pick up flowers, there was no information on how to do anything. I didn't think to punch a bush or grass or anything because... why would you?
I quit, played a different game. Then it got boring and I just wanted a good zombie survival. So I tried 7dtd again because of the reviews. This time I went and looked up info on how to do basic things on the net.
From there it spiraled into being one of the best games I've ever played.
I didn't much like a lot of changes in 13, 14, and 15 and 16 was too easy and circle AI made the combat far to easy.
Then A17. FINALLY it drops, and I was appalled by the stamina and level gates, first things I removed.
and the horrible melee combat which was always the thing I enjoyed most in this game because guns should bring more zombies as it creates so much noise.
I play occasionally, just to see if I can get used to the things I don't like, but I don't play for long, I get bored fast. Or I get so frustrated with the melee combat I can only put up with it for so long.
I have all these good memories with this game, that I'm still hoping to have more, but I play for less and less because it really isn't as much fun as it used to be.
Player fatigue from so many hours? Or unenjoyable mechanics? Could be a bit of both, but I don't care for the stamina, lost wellness mechanic, skill system, level gates and terrible melee mechanic.
I can deal with the skill system, I can mod the stam and wellness system, remove level gates, but the horrid melee, that's an internal mechanic.
Regardless, of the things I didn't like in 13, 14, 15, 16, I still enjoyed them immensely. A17, I force myself to play hoping it gets better. So far it really hasn't been as much fun.
I agree with poojam, that smaller incremental systems should be introduced so it's not such a shock. I realize much had to be overhauled with the newer Unity engine. But so many drastic changes and some not even close to being finished (weapon and armor mods) cause much frustration.
I got bored of fallout 4 crazy fast. And sad that so much of that game seems to have influenced this one.
But that's the life of a game right. You enjoy it, play it, tire of it, then play something else. Maybe come back and revisit it to see if what you loved about it is still there.