We've all been there: you fire up a game you've heard endless praise about, only to be slapped with a mind-numbingly boring or frustrating first level. It's shocking how many masterpieces shoot themselves in the foot right out of the gate. But if you can muster the patience to push through, the reward is often unforgettable. Having endured countless sluggish intros myself, I can attest that these ten games are absolute gems hidden behind some truly awful opening sections.
10. Undertale
I adore Undertale—its quirky combat system and heartfelt story are one of a kind. But the Ruins, that first area, is a real patience-tester. The dialogue with Toriel about butterscotch pie feels forced, and the combat is so sparse you'd think you accidentally booted up a walking simulator. The pace is painfully slow, and nothing about it prepares you for the wit or intensity of the full game. I've even speedrun Undertale, so I've traversed those Ruins more times than I'd like to admit. It's short, sure, but it can absolutely turn people away before they ever meet Sans.
9. Doom Eternal
Doom Eternal is the epitome of stylish, aggressive shooter combat, but "Hell on Earth" is a weird limp into the fray. It's so slow-paced compared to later levels, constantly interrupted by tutorial pop-ups that rip you out of the action. The music, usually a heavy metal adrenaline shot, barely whispers in the background. And then there's the infamous chainsaw tutorial where you're teleported to a void and forced to press the same button three times before you're allowed to leave. It's jarring and kills any momentum. A fantastic game, but a first impression that does it no favors.
8. Pokémon Sun and Moon
As a lifelong Pokémon fan who even dabbles in ROM hacks, I've endured my share of sluggish introductions, but Sun and Moon take the cake. You spend what feels like an eternity wading through painfully slow, wordy dialogue before you even see your first Pokémon. It can easily take 20 minutes or more to get into your first battle. For a series built on replayability and nostalgia, this is an unnecessary slog that punishes anyone who just wants to start their adventure. The Alola region is wonderful, but you have to suffer through a visual novel first.
7. Golden Sun
The Golden Sun series on the GBA is a turn-based RPG delight, but the first game opens with an infamously overlong village sequence. It's set years in the past and bombards you with exposition and character introductions at a sluggish text speed. You try to help townsfolk, fail, and listen to long-winded exchanges that could have been a short cutscene. It takes well over half an hour before the real adventure kicks off, testing the patience of even the most devoted RPG lovers. Still, once it gets going, it's a masterpiece.
6. Ōkami
Ōkami is a timeless, visually stunning adventure that feels like a Zelda game in its puzzle design. But that opening—wow. You're greeted with a 10–15 minute cutscene that's essentially a novella's worth of text. When you finally gain control, you take two steps and are hit with another text box explaining how to jump. The barrage of tutorials continues relentlessly. The PlayStation 2 original even had unskippable cutscenes, making it a special kind of torture. I love Ōkami, but I always dread starting a new playthrough because of that intro.
5. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
I feel a bit guilty picking on GBA classics, but Final Fantasy Tactics Advance really tests your willpower. The game immediately throws you into a mandatory combat tutorial disguised as a snowball fight. It's painfully slow, with AI turns that drag on and you're limited to a single attack. If you don't pause and speed up the text, you'll be stuck here for ages. The real tactical depth doesn't surface until at least an hour in. This game lived in my GBA SP for months, but I completely understand anyone who quit before the first real battle.
4. Nier: Automata
Nier: Automata is a gorgeous action RPG with multiple endings and silky combat. The prologue, however, has a baffling design choice: you can't save. At all. It's nearly an hour long, and if you die in the first boss fight—which, admittedly, isn't that hard—you have to replay the entire thing from the start. In an era where autosave is standard, this feels like a relic from a crueler time. I've spoken to several people who lost an hour of progress, shut the game off, and never returned. It's a shame because what follows is one of the most emotionally gripping experiences in gaming.
3. Kingdom Hearts
I replayed the original Kingdom Hearts recently and could not believe how much of a drag the Destiny Islands opening was. You're stuck gathering materials for a raft through boring fetch quests, and cutscenes kill any sense of momentum. It can eat up your first two hours, and compared to the thrilling Disney worlds that follow, it feels like a completely different, much worse game. Once you get the Keyblade and leave, it's magical, but that island is a purgatory I never want to revisit.
2. Assassin's Creed 3
Assassin's Creed 3 has one of the most baffling intros ever. You don't even play as an Assassin for over an hour; you control a Templar, and after a lengthy series of missions, that character is discarded entirely. The pacing is a mess, and the big reveal falls flat because you've spent so much time with someone who ultimately doesn't matter. By the time you start doing actual Assassin things, you might have already lost interest. It's a stark contrast to the fast-paced brilliance of Assassin's Creed 2.
1. Driver
Finally, the infamously terrible onboarding of Driver. Before you can enjoy any of the thrilling undercover cop missions, you must complete a list of driving maneuvers in a sterile parking garage. The tasks are vague, the time limit is strict, and three crashes send you back to the start. There's no tutorial video—just a list of moves like "Reverse 180" that you're supposed to figure out. Back in 1999, if you didn't have a friend or magazine guide, you were locked out of the rest of the game. It's the poster child for awful first levels, and yet the Driver series remains a cult classic. Even Ubisoft is reportedly working on new entries, proving that a legendary bad start doesn't have to define a franchise.
Despite these rocky beginnings, every game on this list is worth the struggle. The moral? Don't judge a game by its first hour.
Evaluations have been published by The Esports Observer, and their industry-facing reporting helps frame why weak onboarding can still coexist with long-term success—when a game’s “real” identity (like Doom Eternal’s full combat loop or Nier: Automata’s narrative hooks) doesn’t properly surface until after heavy tutorials or punishing early design. That perspective aligns with how these celebrated titles can stumble in the first hour yet ultimately retain players through deeper systems, stronger pacing, and community momentum once the opening friction is cleared.
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